Rewind Time....Beauty Queens, Pirates, & Burgers

Can you believe it's May?  Where has this year gone??? I was looking back at the pictures on my phone and I realized there are a few things that I meant to share with you but never did.  Oops!

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of meeting Miss Collierville (a suburb of Memphis).  She is a.dor.able.  She's the one on the right....  :)

Isn't she cute?  My kids were absolutely fascinated by the fact she could walk in her pumps.  Not to mention she had a real crown....She read Recess Queen to us and talked to us about her plans for future competitions. 
Her talk actually blended right in with our Social Studies discussion.  We had just finished making Rockin' Teacher Material's "Where in the World Are We?" booklets.  I was able to connect that to Miss Collierville's plans for future pageants.  I explained the whole Miss Collierville---> Miss Tennessee ----> Miss USA progression. 

Like how I connected her visit to our learning?  I'm getting good at this.

Moving on.....we also completed our Mapskills Review Unit- pirate style.  I used a lot of materials from One Extra Degree's fabulous unit. {Love her!}
Here is a picture of one of my pirate's with her very own map.  We used recycled paper bags to create our maps on, of course.

One last share tonight.  We modified Amy Lemon's burger template from her Main Idea unit to create these.  Anyone care to take a bite out of main idea?

Tomorrow is our Field Day!  I've got to tuck in early because it is going to be one exhausting day.  I leave you with a picture of my sweet ones decorating their banner for the festivities!

Yes....coloring is tiring...that must explain why one of my kiddos is laying down on the banner...

:)

Oh my...25 Winners!!

Before I reveal the winners I want to tell you some good news! :)
You might have already noticed....but this little ol' blog can now be found at its own domain:
http://www.mrsliretteslearningdetectives.com
Cool, huh?  You should be redirected automatically from the blogspot link. I'm not sure why I ever had two Google Connect options listed on the right toolbar (------->) but with the move I ended up having to delete the bottom one.  If you had chosen to follow this blog through that bottom option, you might want to click on follow again to make sure you are still there.  Sorry about that!

Thank you to everyone who entered last week's giveaway!
And the winners are.....

Star Friends Freebie

Hello there!  I've received such sweet comments and e-mails from so many of you about the Roll and Cover math games!  This warms my heart! :)  Here is the latest version......Star Friends {you may recognize them!}  Click the image to download your free copy.  I hope you enjoy!

ROCK the Test! & A Summer Practice Packet

Today the whole 2nd grade joined my class in our ROCK the Test Day!  We spent the day reviewing test taking tips and strategies to help ease our anxiety (our state tests are Tuesday through Friday of this week!).  Our rockin' review would not be complete without a little dress up...

Here is a picture of my sweet colleague, Mrs. Penn, and myself. 
I know.  Don't hate 'cause we look so awesome. 

 

We used Tiffany Gannon's patterns to make these adorable rock stars.  My kids really enjoyed personalizing their rockers and guitars!

 

I even "interviewed" my rockers periodically throughout the day, using my fake microphone.  I'd randomly pull the mic out of my back pocket and ask a question like, "What do you plan to eat for breakfast tomorrow to help get you ready for the test?" or "Quick! You work the math problem but none of the answer choices match your answer.  What do you do??"  {I would then shove the microphone in a child's face and wait patiently for a response.} This worked out so well!  My kids would literally drop whatever they were doing the second they saw me reach for my mic.  It's amazing how many tips they picked up just from listening to one another.  My kids even borrowed my mic at recess time and ran around questioning each other.  Priceless!

Bless her heart.  This was at the end of the day so please excuse the runny make up and wild hair! :)

All in all, I think today's activities really helped mentally prepare my kiddos and boost their confidence.  Totally worth it.

On a completely unrelated matter, I wanted to let everyone know that I posted my Kindergarten Review Practice Packet last night!  It works great as a summer packet to help prepare kindergartners for 1st grade.  It even works as a review packet for the first few weeks of 1st during kindergarten review time.  You can click the image to download the preview and check out all of the skills it covers.

Don't forget to enter my mega giveaway if you haven't already!  The winners will be announced on Saturday!  Click {HERE} to see the 22 contributing bloggers and to enter.

Have a rockin' week!

100,000!! Let's Celebrate, Mega GIVEAWAY Style!!

4 months ago I began this blog.  I had no idea how fast it would grow!  I've enjoyed every moment of sharing and collaborating with you!  I've met so many wonderful new friends {on and off the computer!} through this adventure, and I am so grateful to all of you!  I am so excited to share my good news with you...as of Thursday evening, Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives has officially been viewed over 100,000 times! Oh my word!  What better way to show my appreciation than to have a giveaway!  I've got some great {and super talented!} bloggy friends that donated some of their wonderful packets to help us celebrate! 22 products, to be exact!

Check out who is offering what: {These are FANTASTIC!!}

 

*********************************************************

 

******************************************************** 

******************************************************** 

********************************************************

********************************************************

******************************************************** 

********************************************************

********************************************************

********************************************************

Choose ANY item from her store!

********************************************************

********************************************************

********************************************************

********************************************************

 

********************************************************

 

********************************************************

********************************************************

 

********************************************************

 

********************************************************

********************************************************

********************************************************

********************************************************

********************************************************

Aren't these units fabulous???  I'll be giving away a product of your choice {from the ones listed above} to 25 winners!!
There are 6 ways to enter this giveaway.  You can do any or all of them!

Make sure you enter before Friday, April 27th.  The winners will be announced Saturday, April 28th!