Teachers Pay Teachers Facebook Bloglovin' Pinterest Twitter Instagram Image Map

February 24, 2016

A Touch of Happiness

Do you LOVE mail as much as we do?
We LOVE teachers and we want a chance to send you a small token of our appreciation!
http://bit.ly/planethappysmilesgiveaway
We are very excited to launch our new idea of bringing a smile to another fellow teacher's face!
Each month we will be choosing at least two entries from those who fill out our form.
Click here or the picture to enter!
http://bit.ly/planethappysmilesgiveaway
You may receive one of the following:
*A free product from our store via email
*A free product printed and mailed straight to you
*An office supply of your choice
*A treat for your class
*Something that makes you smile!

We can't wait to make your day HAPPY!
Make sure you tell a friend or share with your staff!
Happy Teaching!

February 23, 2016

Tricks of the Trade Tuesday ~ Teaching Tips & Tricks

Welcome! We are so HAPPY you stopped by!

Here is another teaching tip!
Tricks of the Trade ~ Teaching Tips & Tricks

If you can't find the pocket chart you need, make it!
Word Family Houses Pocket Chart ~ Planet Happy Smiles
We have several old pocket charts and we wanted one with word family houses.

We also wanted two houses on the same one so they could sort the words into the houses.
We made these:
Word Family Houses Pocket Chart ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Here is how we made them:
Word Family House Pocket Chart ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Now they are ready for your station materials... 
Word Work Station ~ Planet Happy SmilesWord Work Station ~ Planet Happy Smiles
We found one you can purchase but it is a single house. You can check it out here:
We hope you find this tip useful!
Happy Teaching!

February 21, 2016

Apps We LOVE! ~ BT Handwriting

Image result for BT Handwriting
The app we are sharing today is BT Handwriting.
This is an app you have to pay for, but is worth the $$$!

Image result for BT Handwriting
Here is a video on YouTube to show you how it works.


Here are some screen shots from the BT website:

BT Handwriting Photos

Find it on iTunes:
We hope you like this app!
Have a very "APPY" Week!

February 16, 2016

Tricks of the Trade Tuesday ~ Teaching Tips & Tricks

Welcome! We are so HAPPY you stopped by!

Here is another teaching tip!
Tricks of the Trade ~ Teaching Tips & Tricks

Using Hula Hoops for small group work is great!


*If I say, "It's time to HOOP IT UP!"

*The kids get out their hoops and go to their spot in the room. 

*If there are manipulatives, they place them in the middle of the hoop and the kids sit around them. Instant Circle! Sometimes they are using whiteboards or paper copies and the kids can share their work in the middle of the hoop.

* They work with their new group of friends.  These are friends from other tables. The kids love working with different friends throughout the day!
Hula Hoop Groups, Planet Happy Smiles
The hula hoops work so nicely and everyone can see the materials in the middle of the hoop.

I purchased my set of rainbow hoops for "Hula Hoop Stations" from Oriental Trading Company.

We hope you find this tip useful!
Happy Teaching!

February 14, 2016

Freebie ~ NOISE

Do you have trouble with lots of talking in your classroom? Or ... just getting your students to use an appropriate voice level?
NOISE ~ Behavior Management
We teach in an open-concept school, which means we do not have doors or walls between 8 classes in one section or between 10 classes in 2 others.  Our classrooms are divided by cabinets. The noise level can get a little loud at times.

One way to help with this is a little trick called NOISE.
NOISE Planet Happy Smiles
There are different variations with this behavior management activity. I have no idea who started this, but I would love to know.

In my class, we loose a letter each time our voices get too loud.  Once the letters are down to the "NO" that means no more talking.
NOISE ~ Behavior Management

I do allow mine to earn letters back when they are working and using their "synergizing voice level." I also added the "!" so you can give them a *BONUS* if they can keep it on all day!

You could also build the word.  When they get to the last letter or the !, they can go outside and make some NOISE during extra recess. 

Here are some of the cards in a variety of styles. Just laminate, add magnets to the back and you are ready to go. You can also change your printer settings to make them smaller.

NOISE! Rainbow Chevron (FREEBIE)  NOISE! Black/White Polka dot (FREEBIE)  NOISE! Zebra Print (FREEBIE)  NOISE! Black/White Chevron (FREEBIE)  NOISE! Nautical (FREEBIE)
We hope you find one that fits your classroom needs! Visit our store, there are more styles!

All of these different "NOISE" sets matches our HUGE Classroom Decor Bundles!  You can find them in our TPT store.
Happy Teaching!

February 9, 2016

Tricks of the Trade Tuesday ~ Teaching Tips & Tricks

Tricks of the Trade ~ Teaching Tips & Tricks
Welcome! We are so HAPPY you stopped by!

Here is another great tip!

Today's tip is about organizing our literacy libraries.
There are so many different ways to organize your library ...
You just have to find the one that works for you!
Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles
In our classrooms we have different libraries that keep our books organized and easy for the students to locate the books they want. As a BONUS, when they bookshop they are not all shopping from the same place at the same time.

Our sections are:
Face-out Shelves~ Theme based or books about our current topic.

Heart's Desire~ Books children love to read over and over! These books are just for fun! (red baskets)

Favorite Authors~ These books are written by authors we love to read and they usually have a plush animal or doll to go with the book basket. (blue baskets)

Nonfiction~ This is our library that has all of our nonfiction books. (green baskets)

Just Right Books~ These are the books on the students reading levels. (yellow baskets)

*Each basket is labeled for the books that belong in it. 

*Each book has a label on the back for easy matching when the students return them.

*There are labels for the different book shelves, too.

All of this makes our book shopping and returning of books seamless!
It also saves us a ton of time!

In Karen's class there is a Dr. Seuss Section!  All of her baskets are black and she has zebra labels!


If you want more information about our libraries, please email us at planethappysmiles@gmail.com

We have marked this set 50% Off for this week.
If you are thinking about organizing your books, please take a look at the preview.
This set is a HUGE time saver!
Classroom Library Organization Bundle ~ (EDITABLE) Basket/
Here's are just a few pictures what's included in the pack. Make sure you check out the full preview in our store!
Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy SmilesClassroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles



Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles

Classroom Library Labels ~ Planet Happy Smiles
 Here is how we store our kid's reader bags:
Book Bags ~ Planet Happy Smiles


If you have any "Tricks of the Trade" you would like to share on our blog, please feel free to email us!

We hope this tip helps you!
Happy Teaching!

February 7, 2016

Sunday Scoop ~ 2.7.16

Teaching Trio
Happy Sunday, Friend!
We are linking up with Teaching Trio for The Sunday Scoop!
Here is Karen's Scoop:
Sunday Scoop ~ Planet Happy Smiles
I HAVE to ...
1. Go to the eye doctor to get my eyes checked after having LASIK on Friday.  I can;t wait to hear what they have to say.
2. Since I have been off the computer since Thursday, I have a ton of catching up to do!
3. I have to buy a good whistle for recess.  Mine is plastic, old, and not making a good sound.  It would be nice to get a good one.

I HOPE to ...
1. Blog and connect with others this week! I have missed everyone over the weekend!
2. Complete a few of my "To Do" projects since the I spent the weekend resting.

I am HAPPY to ...
Hug on my kids the minute I see them! I have been at my parents house for the weekend so I could get to the doctors office easily. I also needed someone to drive and stay with me since I can't drive, yet.  I also needed to rest a ton.  I miss my kids terribly!!!
We hope you have a HAPPY week!!!

February 2, 2016

Tricks of the Trade/Teaching Tips

Tricks of the Trade ~ Teaching Tips & Tricks, Planet Happy Smiles
Welcome! We are so HAPPY you stopped by!

I am very excited to bring you another fun tip!

If you have any "Tricks of the Trade" you would like to share on our blog, please feel free to email us!

OK ... get your pencils out for this tip.
No, really!

Today's tip is about those pencils that drive teachers crazy!  Yeah, you know the ones ... eraser missing or maybe the end is chewed on. You know ... they are the lonely ones that sit in the cup even if they are the sharpest ones in the bunch.

They look like this: 

Poor Things!

Now, I know we spend a ton of our own money on our classroom but I will either buy new pencils or something that might solve the problem.

So I bought these:
Pencil Cups, Planet Happy Smiles
Now each table has their own color (except red, they get pink) and they know where the pencils belong.

The kids were super excited and I love the organization!
No more arguing over pencils. 
Planet Happy Smiles, Happy Face
I still do the tins for unsharpened/sharpened pencils and that works really good.  Now when they need a new one, they just take the eraser off and grab a freshly sharpened one.

Pencil Cups and Germx Bottles, Planet Happy Smiles
We hope this trick helps you!
Happy Teaching!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...