5 for Friday & Main Idea Freebie!

This may be the first time I've ever linked up with Kacey for 

Five for Friday...on a Friday! 

I must confess the real reason I'm posting on time. It's 5:30 and I just walked in the door from school. Our holiday party is tonight, but doesn't start until 7:00. I'm blogging now to literally keep myself from falling asleep. I'm not sure when I turned ancient. 

It was terrific week! We started off with this:

 1. That's me waiting patiently for the school closing announcement. It was a miracle - we had TWO snow days in a row!

Extra time at home turned into a massive office cleaning 

& this happened:

2. I have a  beautiful cedar chest inherited from my parents. I ♥ it, but live in the city where storage is at a premium. Instead of storing the intended blankets and linens, I use the chest to store paper, laminate, cardstock, and Silhouette supplies. And, thanks to the snowstorm, they now have coordinating matching signs :)

3. We have seventh grade reading buddies/pen pals that are paired up with our first graders. They came down (the middle school is housed on the upper floors of the same building as the elementary school) this week to read together - it's precious to watch! 

Such good role models!

4. I was secretly a little bummed out about missing 2 days this week because I was already trying to squeeze about 35 holiday activities into a too-short time span! Luckily we just happen to be working on Silent E this week and next, so we were able to bring out the Coal  game cards:

If you squint, you'll be able to see a pair of eyes on the "make" card. We always draw eyeballs on our sight words to demonstrate how we know them by "sight." 

5. I've been dying to share this freebie for weeks now, but had to wait. Today was my student teacher's last day - he's been with us since August! To share our gratitude for his dedication, the two general education classes he supported made class books and my Power Hour group made him the main idea!

Graphics by Pink Cat Studio

We brainstormed the details together and made an anchor chart. All of the students signed the chart and we rolled it up to present to him. I also got him the Teach Like a Champion book (outstanding resource!) and made a little collection of all the students' main idea papers. 

Please click here to grab your own copy! 

The name "Mr. K." is not on the freebie :)

I'm also linking up with Teaching Blog Addict for Freebie Friday!

It's time for me to get this party started!

Have a wonderful weekend!