Jello cake(huh?) and more sight words...

Oh boy, does Macy's do an extravagant awesome fireworks display or what?  We had thunderstorms with full on lightening in our town,so we ended up watching the fireworks on the t.v. while eating Jello cake!  Not my daughters idea of a fun 4th!  She did have fun however, when she helped me make the cake.  What is Jello cake you ask?  I'm gonna go ahead and share about this summer tradition in our family just in case you don't know what it is!  So simple, but so fresh and you can change it to taste by using different flavors of Jello.  You're probably thinking "who hasn't heard of Jello cake?",  but I'm sharing this because I had never had it until I met my hubby about 12 yrs ago.  Since then, I make it every summer.  So, all you need are these items...

I couldn't decide if I wanted red or blue so I got both but ended up using the blue. =)

First, you bake the cake and let it cool for and hour or so.

When the cake is cool, you want to poke holes in it with a toothpick. I poke them about an inch apart.

Next, you mix a small box of whatever flavor Jello you have chosen and pour it over the cake. Make sure you cover the whole surface of the cake.  Now, you want to put it in the fridge for a couple of hours so that the Jello can set.

So, once the Jello has set, you simply cover the cake with Cool Whip.  Most of the time, I leave the cake just like this...

However, I've totally been inspired by Pinterest and the blogging world so I decided to fancy it up this year.  I rinsed and cut the blueberries and strawberries...

and laid them over the cake in the shape of the flag!  I thought it came out nice,I got lots of compliments, and it was super yummy! =)

My whole family loves this cake and it sure doesn't last long,so if you need something simple to turn into a summer tradition...there ya go =)

 And speaking of traditions,I'm pretty sure that tracking mastery of sight word lists is a tradition in most K and 1st grade classes.  In my experience, it isn't done as regularly in 2nd grade.  I believe it should be and maybe in some places/schools it is.  Maybe my idea isn't nearly as creative as I think it is (lol).  My idea was a unit to go along with the monthly homework sheets I made up and plan to use this coming year.  So, I wanted to share a preview of the unit with you and hopefully get your feedback.  I am adding more as I go and hope to be finished by tomorrow.  I am going to print it all out and share my ideas for use this weekend.  So far I have this (and a little more ;))

I'm really happy with it and can't wait to put it to use this year.  I hope to see a big improvement in my kiddos reading with the added emphasis on sight words.  I think that the visual tracking of these sight words will motivate them to try harder.  You know they won't want their soccer ball to be the only one that didn't "Make the Goal"!  I also like that it will appeal to the boys,it seems that they are the ones who most often don't want to read!

So, tell me what you think,would you use a monthly unit such as this?  I'm fairly new to all this so I could use all the tips you have to share!  Thanks so much!

Its almost the weekend ya'll =)

Sandy