Yowsers. So y'all... Can I just take a moment to tell you how BUSY my life has been for the past two weeks??? AYE-YI-YI!!!! Seriously, there has been nary a moment to fix my mascara much less log into Blogger as of late. But, I am very pleased to announce the end of the madness because... let's face it- life without internet-laden free time is HOR.EN.DOUS. And that is why I am back. Backety-back-back-back and oh-so-excited! Well, wanna know what I've been up to while I've been gone? I have been testing the willies out of nineteen of my favorite First Grade friends. DIBELs, sight words, math, you name it, they've done it. And if they haven't done it, they probably should have. Of course having all of this testing to do, I was naturally faced with the age-old teaching dilemma of what to do with the nineteen students I wasn't testing while still managing to maintain a silent classroom for the one student I was testing. Answer? I used Cut and Paste friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These little buddies occupy AND assess. TOTAL. BONUS. I use them to assess my Firsties knowledge of various components of language (syllables, parts of speech, etc.) while I get my testing done. Keeps the kids occupied, gives evidence of learning, and gives me a product to send home for parents to enjoy and admire (refridgerator work, anyone?) These buddies aren't much, but having TOTALLY saved my life in the past two weeks, I just knew I had to share them. (And don't mind my tacky Easter-themed syllable sort. What can I say? Giant chocolate-dispensing rabbits just gets me in the mood to decorate syllable sorts.) Want your own cut and paste friends? Click any picture preview to download. Compound Word Sleuth Contraction mania! Easter Syllable Sort Homophone Match-Up Synonym Match-Up Verb and Noun Town Wishing you a marvelous Monday!