Kwik Stix Neon Solid Tempera Paint Review and Giveaway

Recently, I told you all about Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paints from The Pencil Grip, Inc. Well, now I'm back with another review and giveaway for these amazing paints, but, this time I'm showing you their beautiful 

neon colored paints. 

 The colors are super vibrant and the paints are extremely fun to use. Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint Sticks take the mess out of painting. Yes, mess can be fun, but, sometimes, we just don't have the time it takes to set up and clean up when using regular paints.

 Kwik Stix are solid tempera paints that require no water, paint brushes, or smocks. They are low on mess and high on fun! 

The paints come in tubes. All you do to use them is twist off the top and start painting. Kwik Stix are easy to hold and they glide smoothly across the page. You can paint lines of varying thicknesses, as well as, fill in large areas. 

 They dry with a beautiful paint-like finish. The paint doesn't crack, even when the paper is folded. You can use Kwik Stix on a multitude of surfaces, like paper, posterboard, wood, and canvas.

The paint dries in under two minutes. I certainly don't miss walking across the room with a dripping paper! 

 I highly recommend Kwik Stix for every home and classroom. 
They make it fun and easy to be creative.

You can purchase Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paints in so many different varieties. They have a 6 pack, 12 pack, and 96 pack. They come in the neon you see here, metalix, and classic colors. You can find them on Amazon, as well. Be sure to  follow them on Pinterest!

Would you like to win a 6 pack of neon and a 6 pack of classic colors for your home or classroom? I am giving both packs away to one lucky winner. Just enter using the rafflecopter below. I've given you lots of opportunities to enter, thereby increasing your chances of winning. Just pick and choose the options you prefer. But, please remember to enter with integrity, as all winners will be verified. Thank you and good luck to you!

*This giveaway is open to US residents only.*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fun and Engaging Phonics Printables

I'm all about hands-on learning, but, worksheets are also very important. They are great for morning work, station work, independent work, whole group work, small group work, assessments, interventions, homework, and they are great to leave for substitute teachers.

I'm also all about having activities ready to go, all year long. I don't want to hunt for anything! So, when I set out to create activities, I try to make them so they can be used all year, in case anyone else is just like me. 
Proactive and always prepared!

Our youngest learners practice CVC words, CVCe words, and CCVC words all year long, so I made a total of 286 activity sheets. Enough to last a long, long time! And they are fun to complete, so students will stay engaged and on task.

Here is a peek at the CVC Word Activity Sheets.

There are three different versions. In the first version, all four words are from the same word family. To complete the sheet, students color in the words, fill in the missing letters, highlight the words spelled properly, and write the words in the configuration boxes. Lots of opportunities to read and write CVC words!

In the second version, all four words contain the same short vowel.

In the third version, all four words contain different short vowels.

Here are the CVCe Word Activity Sheets. In the third column, students color in the letters that spell the word. Again there are three different versions. In the first version, all four words are from the same word family.

In the second version, all four words contain the same long vowel.

In the third version, all four words contain different long vowels.

And, here are the CCVC Word Activity Sheets. In the second column, students write the words using one color for the blend or digraph and a different color for the end of the word.There are two different versions. In the first version, all four words use the same blend or digraph. 

In the second version, all four words contain a mix of blends and digraphs.

If you are interested in adding these activity sheets to your collection of teaching goodies, you can purchase them all separately, or, in a money saving bundle! Click each image below to see them in my store. They are all on sale through Tuesday, April 19!

Interactive Notebooks: Your Questions Answered

I started using interactive notebooks in my kindergarten and first grade classroom two years ago. I had just returned to school after Spring Break and I wanted to spice things up for the remainder of the school year. During my break, I had created a few foldables and on the first day back, we just dove right in. It was a BIG game changer! 

I've received tons of great feedback about my grammar and phonics interactive notebook activities for first graders, and I'm going to share some of it with you, because I thought it would be a fun and beneficial way to answer all the questions you may have about interactive notebooks. I get asked a lot of questions about why I use them, how I use them, what do my students and their parents think of them, and how have my students benefited from them. I recently added more activities to my grammar and phonics bundle, so I'm going to intersperse some pictures throughout this post.

*Please note that some of the feedback written by the teachers may contain typos.
That is only because they were super excited to let me know their feelings!

Why should I use interactive notebooks in my classroom?

What are some of the ways you use these 

activities in your classroom?

How do your students feel about 

using interactive notebooks?

Can I use these activities if I use a reading series?

By the way, I have interactive notebook activities that are aligned to the 2014 Journeys reading series. These grammar and phonics activities are included, as well as, sight word and reading skills activities. You can find that here.

Can I use these activities if I homeschool?

Can students in other grades use these activities?

*I have interactive notebook activities for kindergartners, as well. I've received great feedback from teachers, and will write a similar post about them, soon!

If you are STILL on the fence after hearing from all these 

other teachers, here are a few last words of wisdom...

If you are ready to begin interactive notebooks in your classroom, and I hope you are, you can find my activities here. Or, click on the image below.