Successful Saturday Linky!! St. Patrick's Day Crafts!

Happy Successful Saturday! I have been one BUSY teacher! I have so much to show you! This is the edition 2nd of the new Successful Saturday Linky! Share your success stories by linking up below! This is my 200th post!! WOW!!!

I've been super busy so there is A LOT for me to share this week. Overall it's been a really great week in Lower El! I took lots of pics because I was super excited to brag on Successful Saturday! Success stories are what help me get through those tough days. I want a whole pile of them to read!

Here's how it works:
Every week I open it up for you to post your links to your blogs where you share something successful that really worked for you this week. Did you try something new that was a total hit?! Share it! Did you do an old favorite that always works well in your class every year? Share it! Did you make a super awesome craft you'd love to show off? Share it!!

This linky is for ALL GRADE LEVELS and BOTH General and Special Ed blogs!

Here are the Successful Saturday Rules:

1. Share your success story on your blog! 
2. Link up your blog (not your store) with the linky banner and a link back to this post so others can share their great ideas and link up too.
3. Go read at least 2 other Successful Saturday blog posts and leave a comment. I don't know about you, but I LOVE finding other blogs to follow and get ideas!  

Here are my success stories of the week, sorry there are a TON, but it's been a great week and who doesn't love reading great happy things?!

#1 My most touching moment was this text message from a mom tonight. (Yes, she has my cell number, but when there are only 5 kids in my class and I talk to every parent every day, it's never been a problem). The student left school early today for a trip to Tahoe with his family and his friend's family. He'll be missing 2 days of school next week, so I gave him work to do. In order to motivate him to actually DO the work, I first asked what type of work he'd like to learn about when he's gone. Then went to town making copies and decorating a clasp folder labeled "____'s Special Tahoe Pack!" and covered it with cute stickers and added his favorite pencil inside the folder, along with his favorite stickers to put on his work pages as he finished them.
"I just have to tell you, the minute we got here we were at the pool and ____  pulled out his homework! Our friends are here and it's 70 degrees and all he cares about is that packet :) Thanks for taking the time to put that together. We are so lucky to have you as ____'s teacher!

#2 I went a little St. Patrick's Day crazy this week! Every single day at least one of my 4 students (since the 5th moved away last week-sad face) was gone. There was no point in moving on with major science/social studies lessons with half the class gone. We made some super duper cute crafts!

Torn paper leprechauns!

Fruit Loop Rainbows!

Thanks for the idea Smedley!!!

Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow!

#3 Our mystery caterpillars finally hatched from their creepy cocoons! You can read the whole story here, but the short version is that I found a ton of caterpillars in the weeds in my backyard. I took them to school since it was time for life cycles anyway and last year I ordered ones that all died before forming a chrysalis.

So we observed my garden caterpillars and each made a hypothesis about what it would look like: moth or butterfly? What color? So this morning I discovered that two of my 7 hatched! So it was time to make a conclusion about our correct or incorrect hypotheses, then set the little guys go. They were far less creepy than I thought they would be based on the eerie cob web like cocoons! Thank goodness!

The kids were SUPER excited to see them change!

Sorry it's blurry, the little guy was too fluttery to focus my camera

On my finger before he flew away

Resting on the fence after being set free in the school garden :)

How creepy are these cocoons?!

The hypothesis and then the conclusion from one student. I love that the caterpillar has a human face! Haha!!

#4 Lastly, but certainly not least... my BRAND NEW bookcases have been filled and organized! Here is one before pic, and a couple "after" pics :) It makes my life soooo much easier! Now the kids can get to the materials themselves and I don't have to dig things out from my jam packed closet for every single activity. Yay!!!

Before!

After:

All of the shelves in order! (mostly)

Games and hands-on learning materials!

Teacher Resource books, Data Binders, Books on CD in Gallon Zip-Loc Bags with book

Check out the cutest labels ever!! I found them on Pinterest from an old post on First Grade Fever. These are adorable, super clear for the kids to read, and include EVERYTHING you can think of! I managed to think of 5 more with weird titles like "blends and digraphs" and "subtraction games," but it was easy to write them in rainbow sharpie colors and fit into the set perfectly using the blank labels she included. LOVE THESE!! My teacher friends have all popped in and loved seeing how organized the shelves are now!

Okay, now it's YOUR TURN!! Link up!!