Molly Lou Melon: Character Traits and Theme

I'm popping in real quick tonight to share some good things- well I think they're good things, and I hope you do, too!  

First Thing:

My very first Donor's Choose project is fully funded and lots of great books are headed my way!! I feel so blessed and grateful! I just had to get that out! I'm psyched! 

Now on to the main point of this post- one of my most favorite beginning of year books- Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell.

I adore this book for several reasons. First, just look at those amazing cheeks- she is adorable! Second, the characters in the book are great for analyzing character traits, and third, the book sends a wonderful message of acceptance and confidence. It's just so great!

Here's the book in a nutshell:

Molly Lou is the shortest girl in first grade, but she listens to the advice of her grandmother and doesn't let anything get her down- not her buck teeth and surely not her voice that sounds like a bullfrog. She is proud of who she is!

I mean, seriously! How can you not love this face?!! I love seeing the kids' reactions to this picture. Priceless.

Everything is great with Molly Lou until she moves to a new town. Ronald Durkin, the class bully, does everything in his power to bring her down. But Molly Lou will have NONE of it! She stays true to herself, wins the affection of all the other children, and eventually, Ronald decides to give being nice a try. He even brings her a penny to stack on her tooth!  I'm telling you, this book is just too much!

This book provides the springboard for some fabulous discussion on staying true to yourself, embracing who you are, accepting others, and not letting the negativity of others steal your joy. All of these are great messages for our kiddos and it's an easy and relatable way to introduce theme.

After we read the book, we filled in this trait web about Molly Lou. Click on the link above the picture to get a copy for yourself if you want it!

Molly Lou Traits 

Have a great night!

September Currently

It is so strange to think that only a month ago I was still enjoying the slowness of summer... now we're back in the full swing of things and September is here! Crazy town!

I'm linking up with Farley for Currently! Short and sweet, folks!

I never really like to do much explaining- everything is pretty self-explanatory! I've had a wonderful weekend hangin' with some great buds that we haven't seen in YEARS! I am so thankful to have had this weekend to slow down and relax after a jam-packed first week of school. My 'spend less time online' goal is going to be a big challenge... but it's necessary. It's shocking how many hours I can log sitting in front of a screen! One day at a time.... one day at a time....

I hope you had a wonderful weekend as well that that your week ahead with your kiddos is fabulous!! Link up and tell us about what's goin' on in your neck of the woods!

Place Value Quiz-Quiz-Trade... and a Bit of Blog Sickness

Hiiiii!!!!

I'm sure you are super surprised to see my blog name pop up on your blog reel- it's been weeks- WEEKS- since I have blogged and I miss it terribly!! My living situation at the moment is less than ideal, and the internet connection is spotty, which means most nights I can't read my blogs and I especially can't blog myself. I'm learning to cope with my blog sickness, but of course I had an all-out meltdown first! 

This weekend I'm hangin' with some awesome friends who totally understand my addiction and I'm bumming their internet for a few minutes to quickly post about something I whipped up for my kiddos to practice place value for the next three weeks. 

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you probably know that I LOVE quiz-quiz-trade. It's just about the BEST thing ever and I use it daily.  It’s one of the very first things I teach my kids the first week of school and we use it at least twice a day, every day after. It’s perfect for getting kids up and out of their seat, reviewing whatever skills you want them to, AND as an added bonus, it’s a great way for them to practice social skills. If you have never heard of quiz-quiz-trade, check out my post about it here. 

Because I am self-contained this year (YAAAYYY!!!!) after only teaching language arts for the last three years, my supply of math-related QQT cards is limited. Enter: Place Value Quiz-Quiz-Trade Cards!

Normally, I don’t like to advertise products with the risk of my posts sounding commercial-like, but seeing as I’ve already missed out on blogging about my classroom set-up, meet-the-teacher night, and all of our first week goodness (and how long it would take me to cover all of that in a post), I’m skipping right to this!

I made five different sets of cards so we can start with the first set, which is just two-digit numbers, and work our way through the sets and up to the last set, which uses six-digit numbers. Then I'll mix up all the cards from the different sets so students get practice with small and large numbers. The cards could also be used as task cards and students could self-check or the cards could be used in a scoot-like activity with the answers cut off or folded out of sight. I love the versatility! 

The cards provide practice with determining the value of an underlined digit in a number,

naming the place of an underlined digit, 

and also converting a number from expanded form into standard form. 

I’m sure I’ll make more cards that cover other skills later in the year.

If your students could benefit from this product, leave me a comment below! The first two who comment will get this for free!! Make sure you include your e-mail address.  

If you miss out on getting it free, it will be on sale in my store for the next few days! 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Labor Day weekend. Hopefully I'll be back soon!