Testing Fairy and Gifts Galore!

Well my friends, we are in FULL state testing mode at my school. We test for 6 days over 2 weeks. I NEED to keep my kids motivated and engaged during this time. We have had some HUGE surprises come to our room these last few days. Thank you to the ever creative Jessica at the Polka-dotted Teacher for introducing the Testing Fairy and I to one another. Each morning when I walk into my classroom there is a Tinkerbell fairy bag filled with something inside and a note on the white board for my sweet testing champs.

Here is what Day 1 brought us:

Baggies full of Smarties ('cause they are all super smart- NO Dum Dums here) and a note with 7 ways to prepare for "the test."

Day 2 T.F.(Testing Fairy) brought us:

Baggies full of Lucky Charms

Day 3 we are "on a roll" thanks to the T.F.

The kids love coming into the room to find a special note from their new friend and a bag of surprises! I love how motivated and focused they have been. Thank you Testing Fairy!

I have been reviewing skills with my kiddos each day to make sure they remember all those common core standards I have taught them through the year. I felt my class needed more reinforcement of the different kinds of reference materials. This skill seems to constantly show up throughout our testing and I wanted to make sure they really understood it. I have always struggled making this a fun and interesting topic for my kids, until now. I just posted my Rockin' Reference Materials packet-reference materials with a rock and roll vibe.

It includes: flap book sorting activites, anchor charts, centers and assessments! My kids were finally engaged and understanding the uses of the different reference materials at their finger tips. Now they will be more confident during "the test". This packet will be discounted in my TpT store through Friday if you are interested in grabbing a copy!

And now on to more BIG and exciting news.... This actually makes me the most gitty. My  BIGGEST pet peeve is the pencil sharpening debacle that never seems to end in my classroom. I have purchased so many different electric pencil sharpeners for my classroom and they all STINK!!! They literally "eat" my pencils....until now. Cue the angels singing... Can you hear them??? AAAAAHHHHHHH....

Look what the angels from heaven have bestowed upon little ol' me!!! This is the most INCREDIBLE pencil sharpener- EVER! the Bostitch COMMERCIAL Super Pro 6 electric pencil sharpener rocks my world! It is quiet. It is fast, easy to clean and empty. It actually sharpens the pencils and my kids can use it too. Simple, easy...best investment by far! I am in LOVE, people!!! This will end all your pencil sharpening woes- TRUST ME!

I hope you are all have a great week!