This week was the LONGEST week! Why do the admin always wait until we have 1 week before school to start to begin piling us with new changes and procedures we have done several times over. Luckily, they tried to work in only having meetings/ training in the morning... although that is not what happened near the end of the week. One day were were in meetings most of the day except when he pushed the meeting back an hour and lunch... then had the nerve to say that he was NOT going to open the building for those of us who needed to finish!
I wish I could just go into my room and miraculously unpack and set-up my room without having the stress of finding where things need to go. One day I need to attend some quick fast, unpack teacher training in order to be more organized. Does a training like this exist already?
So yes, we were able to talk our principal into letting one of his wonderful APs open the building for us today. And she was AWESOME!!! She might have said 10:30-2pm but when 2pm rolled around... she didn't rush us out... she let us FINISH! I think we (me and 3 other teachers) left the building about 4:30 and even then our AP was still in her office working. By then I was done! I even went by and checked on the teachers who were still working, we put up two bulletin boards and fixed a welcome window.
However, a I write this post I realize that I did not take any pictures of my room. Sorry! Hopefully I will get in early on Tuesday to take pictures of the room before my kinders come. Currently I only have 9 on my roll... however, this will change as our district rezoned schools and many parents did not spend the summer registering their child for school. So as Tuesday is the first day of school, it is also the dreaded CHAOS day of registration!
How does your FIRST DAY of school look like before you are able to continue with instruction? Are you forced to "climb" around parents who are anxiously waiting the news for what class their child will be in? Or in our case this year, many parents may find out that their child is not supposed to attend our school due to the re-zoning. I just hope and pray that our parents will be patient, kind and bring in all their paperwork in order to help those people who are trying to register their child for school. I pray that we all have a WONDERFUL first day and that everyone is returned home safely.
Now I am on to ENJOY my holiday weekend... and finish up MANY of the last few things I have to get ready for Tuesday. Enjoy!:)
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Happy Birthday to Me! 4-Hour SALE and GIVEAWAYS!!!
Yes, it's my birthday today and I am celebrating all day! I have some goodies on sale at my TPT store until a limited time.
Plus my Top 4 Sellers/Most Wishlisted Items are on sale for $1 only from 10am-2pm. After that folks they will be back at their regular price!
My Top 4 that are $1 until 2pm today:
Please leave a comment below answering the question for your chance to win ONE of these products: What is your favorite birthday memory?
*Don't forget Tales From a Naturalista Teacha ends TODAY!
Ashleigh's Education Journey's $200 Staples Gift Card Giveaway
My fellow VA Blogger Kindergarten Love is celebrating Back to School AND 100+ Followers and is having a giveaway. Stop in at her blog and enter to win the Quietest Classroom Pencil Sharpener it ENDS in a few HOURS!!
If you need a few more freebies, don't forget about my Freebie Finds Tab on my blog.
Enjoy!
Plus my Top 4 Sellers/Most Wishlisted Items are on sale for $1 only from 10am-2pm. After that folks they will be back at their regular price!
My Top 4 that are $1 until 2pm today:
Please leave a comment below answering the question for your chance to win ONE of these products: What is your favorite birthday memory?
*Don't forget Tales From a Naturalista Teacha ends TODAY!
Ashleigh's Education Journey's $200 Staples Gift Card Giveaway
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| iTeach what is your superpower? |
If you need a few more freebies, don't forget about my Freebie Finds Tab on my blog.
Enjoy!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Fun Times... Freebie and a Giveaway!
I know it has been a few days in between when I last posted. It seems as if it is that time again, back to getting my classroom in order. Sometimes it is really hard to get it in order when I stand around talking with my co-workers. Anywho, speaking of co-workers, my friends surprised me for my birthday (it's really on Saturday) and we went out to The Melting Pot. It's a fondue restaurant and I had never been. Earlier this week I was talking to one of my friends and she wanted to go out to dinner for my birthday since everyone was having their last hurrah of a vacation before all teachers report back on Monday. She even let me chose the place, thus The Melting Pot. If you have never been and you don't have one close to you, I apologize for teasing you with the menu. But we chose the 4-course menu and you get a cheese course, a salad, a main course (steak, chicken, shrimp, pork, or fish) to dip into the fondue mixture of your choice, and of course the DESSERT!! I had a great time but can only visit there once maybe every 6 months just to treat myself.:)
So I missed Monday Made It... it would have been my first posting... Have you seen all the teacher tool boxes out in blogland and Pinterest? Well, I had a box like this (the before picture side):
But I bought them last year. One is used for my magnetic letters in magnetic station. So at least that one has a purpose. The other one was bought so I could put those hundreds of alphabet letters I have to use with our district's reading program. However, last year I ran out of time sorting them in and just kept it behind my teaching table all year. However, since my teaching table is also my desk (a tip from Debbie Diller, if you don't NEED your desk, give it up) I needed to house all the little things that I can never find but always need. After much searching on Pinterest I was unable to find any labels that I truly wanted and the scrapbook paper I already had wasn't the colors I really wanted. My theme colors in my room are blue, purple, black and green. And these are also my favorite colors too so it is easier to choose more things around these colors. So I created these:
And they are FREE at my TPT store (or just click on the picture) for a LIMITED TIME. I also included red, pink and orange as background colors. And when you download it if you find that you need another label for something else, just ask it of me by leaving a comment on my blog or "Asking a Question" at my TPT store. I would be happy to help. These will be FREE until Saturday August 24th (my actual birthday) then they will be $1. Plus be on the lookout on Saturday when I post my Top 4 sellers/most wishlisted items on sale for ONLY $1 for FOUR HOURS!! Plus, I may give away 1 of those Top 4 items to a lucky person on Saturday!! **Just be on the lookout for more details. :)
**Update: Here is my box that I just put together this morning: I seemed to have TOO much carpet in the picture, sorry!
And if you were waiting for me to finish all the Virginia Standards of Learning I Can posters, then you are in luck! They are all done. However, only Language Arts is on sale for $1.50 until Saturday.
Then it too shall be regular price come Sunday for $3. And if you made it to the end of the post. Be sure to stop by my fellow blogger, Karmen Kinders' new blog name: Tales from a Naturalista Teacha for her Back to School giveaway.
My fellow VA Blogger Kindergarten Love is celebrating Back to School AND 100+ Followers and is having a giveaway. Stop in at her blog and enter to win the Quietest Classroom Pencil Sharpener it ENDS in 3 Days!:) Enjoy!
So I missed Monday Made It... it would have been my first posting... Have you seen all the teacher tool boxes out in blogland and Pinterest? Well, I had a box like this (the before picture side):
But I bought them last year. One is used for my magnetic letters in magnetic station. So at least that one has a purpose. The other one was bought so I could put those hundreds of alphabet letters I have to use with our district's reading program. However, last year I ran out of time sorting them in and just kept it behind my teaching table all year. However, since my teaching table is also my desk (a tip from Debbie Diller, if you don't NEED your desk, give it up) I needed to house all the little things that I can never find but always need. After much searching on Pinterest I was unable to find any labels that I truly wanted and the scrapbook paper I already had wasn't the colors I really wanted. My theme colors in my room are blue, purple, black and green. And these are also my favorite colors too so it is easier to choose more things around these colors. So I created these:
And they are FREE at my TPT store (or just click on the picture) for a LIMITED TIME. I also included red, pink and orange as background colors. And when you download it if you find that you need another label for something else, just ask it of me by leaving a comment on my blog or "Asking a Question" at my TPT store. I would be happy to help. These will be FREE until Saturday August 24th (my actual birthday) then they will be $1. Plus be on the lookout on Saturday when I post my Top 4 sellers/most wishlisted items on sale for ONLY $1 for FOUR HOURS!! Plus, I may give away 1 of those Top 4 items to a lucky person on Saturday!! **Just be on the lookout for more details. :)
**Update: Here is my box that I just put together this morning: I seemed to have TOO much carpet in the picture, sorry!
And if you were waiting for me to finish all the Virginia Standards of Learning I Can posters, then you are in luck! They are all done. However, only Language Arts is on sale for $1.50 until Saturday.
Then it too shall be regular price come Sunday for $3. And if you made it to the end of the post. Be sure to stop by my fellow blogger, Karmen Kinders' new blog name: Tales from a Naturalista Teacha for her Back to School giveaway.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Attention Virginia Bloggers!!
I have just finished my VA Standards of Learning (SOLs) Posters for Math, Science and Social Studies. And just in time for Teachers Pay Teachers Back to School Sale. I haven't finished Language Arts but it is on my to do list, among other things. Remember to shop, shop and even move some of your Wishlist Items over to your cart and enter the code: BTS13 for lots more savings. Check around at your favorite sellers as they may even be having a sale!
Below are the preview of each set. Click on the picture to be taken to them. And for a limited time you can get them at 50% OFF which is great with the Back to School code up to 28% off!
VA SOLs Kindergarten Math I Can Statements
VA SOLs Kindergarten Science I Can Statements
VA SOLs Kindergarten Social Science I Can Statements
I hope that you will be able to use them. Check out Melonheadz and her free teacher clipart at her TPT store. And as I LOVE to give, I will give away ONE set of my I Can statements (you decide) to TWO random people who leave me a comment with your answer to: What is your favorite subject to teach and why? Don't forget to add your email. I will choose my TWO winners on Tuesday! Good luck!:) Enjoy!
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Winner and some STEM insights!
Thank you to everyone who responded to my technology post. And if you really thought I was talking crazy, sorry.
Congrats Cindy on being my winner and writing the awesome expanded definition of technology {here, just scroll up!}.
I recently attended an AWESOME workshop about all the ways to incorporate STEM into my classroom. I knew what STEM stood for: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. But I had NO IDEA how to really incorporate more science and engineering into my classroom. Yup, I skipped over the T in STEM because I thought I really had technology down and I was using it. Boy was I wrong. I found out that technology is anything that is human-made and it doesn't have to be used by electricity or with batteries. So we did this activity called Mystery Bag. Yes, if you do show-n-tell you know all about a mystery bag. But inside the mystery bag were all these common materials: light bulb, brad, paper clip, plastic container, pen etc. that we normally use just every day and don't think anything of it. But really they are considered technology... even a pocket chart is technology! So if you were (or are) the teacher who says that they don't use STEM in their classroom, you might use 3 out of the 4 letters every day and just not know it. If you want to learn how to use more of the E in STEM, check out these websites/blogs (some courtesy of Cindy from Kindergarten Love/Scientifically Science Fun):
Science for Kids
Growing a STEM Classroom (TPT store with TONS of 3-5 challenges)
Little Miss Hypothesis (also Little Miss Kindergarten)
The Science Life
The Science Penguin
Engineering is Elementary (EiE)
PBS LearningMedia--Science
Children's Engineering
Lego Education (yup, legos are so much more than just building what is included in the box)
NCTM Illuminations (you have to go here and click everywhere!!)
Get Caught Engineering
Peep and the Big Wide World (ages 3-7) or PBS Kids--Fetch activities and ruff guide (ages 8-10)
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (make sure you have Java installed)
Engineering for the 21st Century (website from the MathScience Innovation Center, place where I had my workshop in VA)
Lamppost in a 1st Grade STEM classroom
I hope these are helpful... STEM is already spinning around in my head trying to make me figure out how to incorporate it all...:) What is one new thing you can incorporate in your classroom that deals with the four parts of STEM. Leave your comment below. Enjoy!
Congrats Cindy on being my winner and writing the awesome expanded definition of technology {here, just scroll up!}.
I recently attended an AWESOME workshop about all the ways to incorporate STEM into my classroom. I knew what STEM stood for: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. But I had NO IDEA how to really incorporate more science and engineering into my classroom. Yup, I skipped over the T in STEM because I thought I really had technology down and I was using it. Boy was I wrong. I found out that technology is anything that is human-made and it doesn't have to be used by electricity or with batteries. So we did this activity called Mystery Bag. Yes, if you do show-n-tell you know all about a mystery bag. But inside the mystery bag were all these common materials: light bulb, brad, paper clip, plastic container, pen etc. that we normally use just every day and don't think anything of it. But really they are considered technology... even a pocket chart is technology! So if you were (or are) the teacher who says that they don't use STEM in their classroom, you might use 3 out of the 4 letters every day and just not know it. If you want to learn how to use more of the E in STEM, check out these websites/blogs (some courtesy of Cindy from Kindergarten Love/Scientifically Science Fun):
Science for Kids
Growing a STEM Classroom (TPT store with TONS of 3-5 challenges)
Little Miss Hypothesis (also Little Miss Kindergarten)
The Science Life
The Science Penguin
Engineering is Elementary (EiE)
PBS LearningMedia--Science
Children's Engineering
Lego Education (yup, legos are so much more than just building what is included in the box)
NCTM Illuminations (you have to go here and click everywhere!!)
Get Caught Engineering
Peep and the Big Wide World (ages 3-7) or PBS Kids--Fetch activities and ruff guide (ages 8-10)
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (make sure you have Java installed)
Engineering for the 21st Century (website from the MathScience Innovation Center, place where I had my workshop in VA)
Lamppost in a 1st Grade STEM classroom
I hope these are helpful... STEM is already spinning around in my head trying to make me figure out how to incorporate it all...:) What is one new thing you can incorporate in your classroom that deals with the four parts of STEM. Leave your comment below. Enjoy!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Last Chance! And BTSS
Today is Friday. The wonderful day we get before the weekend. Today is also the day that I will be choosing who gets to own my newest product: Farm Detective-Sight Words Edition. Just make sure to stop on over to my technology post (you can eve just scroll down if you want as it's a long post) and enter a comment.
Details of how to leave a comment at my post {here}: I will choose a random winner on Friday (about 11pm). Leave your comment with your email and the answer to this question: Name a technology that you use in your classroom but it has to be something that DOES NOT need to be plugged in or hooked to electricity... I will give you a hint, think of materials you already use in your classroom.
Also stop in over at Blog Hoppin' if you haven't already and learn some tricks and tips from other teacher bloggers. I was reading the post and might even change how I do my Fun Friday and collection of their folders. I use chart folders, an idea I learned from Teacher Tipster. I had already planned on my students turning in their folders because they had their pencil pockets to turn in (pencil management). And they would need to have all their work done before they could participate in Fun Friday but now I am trying to figure out if I have too many ideas I want them to use. Idea #1: Incorporate Fun Friday (check--not changing); idea #2: pencil management (check); idea #3: chart folders (worked last year, check); idea #4: gold tags (earn a tag for good behavior, compliments, etc. count them up to figure out order for picking Fun Friday choice...); idea #5: secret walker and certificates (get them here FREE). See that isn't even the rest of the list I want to change. My living room currently still houses my files that I am trying to organize for the school year, that was a new idea. What do you do in the classroom as an incentive for your students?
I feel so out of touch this week, I haven't even checked in with Bloglovin'. I am sure I am missing a TON of new giveaways, my apologies. But don't forget about the Back to School sale over at TPT for 20% off in your shopping cart, so go get some of those things on your wishlist. Plus, some sellers are offering an extra 10% off!
And if you are in Virginia, check your local OfficeMax for your Teacher Appreciation Event. Mine is August 17th-19th. Stop in to save 25% off the things you need... like me I have been waiting to save on INK!!! If you don't buy anything, just go and get your bag filled with coupons and goodies. Last year I got a planner filled with coupons for the whole year (til July). Check with Staples and OfficeDepot but make sure you have Teacher Rewards! Have fun grabbing your goodies! Enjoy!
Details of how to leave a comment at my post {here}: I will choose a random winner on Friday (about 11pm). Leave your comment with your email and the answer to this question: Name a technology that you use in your classroom but it has to be something that DOES NOT need to be plugged in or hooked to electricity... I will give you a hint, think of materials you already use in your classroom.
Also stop in over at Blog Hoppin' if you haven't already and learn some tricks and tips from other teacher bloggers. I was reading the post and might even change how I do my Fun Friday and collection of their folders. I use chart folders, an idea I learned from Teacher Tipster. I had already planned on my students turning in their folders because they had their pencil pockets to turn in (pencil management). And they would need to have all their work done before they could participate in Fun Friday but now I am trying to figure out if I have too many ideas I want them to use. Idea #1: Incorporate Fun Friday (check--not changing); idea #2: pencil management (check); idea #3: chart folders (worked last year, check); idea #4: gold tags (earn a tag for good behavior, compliments, etc. count them up to figure out order for picking Fun Friday choice...); idea #5: secret walker and certificates (get them here FREE). See that isn't even the rest of the list I want to change. My living room currently still houses my files that I am trying to organize for the school year, that was a new idea. What do you do in the classroom as an incentive for your students?
I feel so out of touch this week, I haven't even checked in with Bloglovin'. I am sure I am missing a TON of new giveaways, my apologies. But don't forget about the Back to School sale over at TPT for 20% off in your shopping cart, so go get some of those things on your wishlist. Plus, some sellers are offering an extra 10% off!
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| Image by The 3AM Teacher |
And if you are in Virginia, check your local OfficeMax for your Teacher Appreciation Event. Mine is August 17th-19th. Stop in to save 25% off the things you need... like me I have been waiting to save on INK!!! If you don't buy anything, just go and get your bag filled with coupons and goodies. Last year I got a planner filled with coupons for the whole year (til July). Check with Staples and OfficeDepot but make sure you have Teacher Rewards! Have fun grabbing your goodies! Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
What "technology" do you use? Make sure to comment and enter!
I want to know what technology you use in your classroom. The technology I am speaking of does not need to be plugged in and is not a computer. If you name your technology and leave your email you have a chance to win my newest product, Farm Detective: Sight Words Edition. Make sure you visit my post {here}.
Yesterday's training led me to visit the session called Make n Take with the Bag Ladies. I had never heard of them and was interested in what I could make that I could use in my classroom. Boy did they squish a lot of projects into a 3-hour session!! Check them out if you want to know how to truly use those extra grocery bags you have lying in your house... other than using them to put kids work in at the end of the school year! They are on Pinterest if you want to check out their projects and click their logo to visit their store.
I was checking in at Blog Hoppin' for Tuesday's topic on Classroom Tours. You should check out those who have linked up and get some good organizational ideas. Or even just some rearranging ideas that might need a change of "scenery" for this upcoming school year. I have not been to my classroom yet... we didn't even know we could go in. But speaking with our awesome school secretary yesterday I found out that I could have been going since the beginning of August. Frustrating, but I couldn't really complain as I am currently in my 2nd workshop of August. So my plan is to visit my classroom next week... hopefully. So I am still in the planning stages of my classroom. I still have some things that I am undecided about (classroom theme, will I do monkeys and/or frogs this year, how many NEW things am I planning to do this year?) So make sure to check out the tour and explore other teacher blogger's classrooms.
I found a few new blogs while classroom touring. Check them out and show them some blogger love by visiting, following and leaving a comment to let them know you are a new follower.
Growing Kidlets
Kinder Colors
It is definitely great to know that your blog posts are at least read by 1 person.:) Thank you to my wonderful followers!
Also make sure to check out the Blog Hoppin' Wednesday post on Organizing for Instruction! This is one area I definitely STRUGGLE with!!!! Make sure to check out Bloglovin' for new posts on giveaways!
Yesterday's training led me to visit the session called Make n Take with the Bag Ladies. I had never heard of them and was interested in what I could make that I could use in my classroom. Boy did they squish a lot of projects into a 3-hour session!! Check them out if you want to know how to truly use those extra grocery bags you have lying in your house... other than using them to put kids work in at the end of the school year! They are on Pinterest if you want to check out their projects and click their logo to visit their store.
I was checking in at Blog Hoppin' for Tuesday's topic on Classroom Tours. You should check out those who have linked up and get some good organizational ideas. Or even just some rearranging ideas that might need a change of "scenery" for this upcoming school year. I have not been to my classroom yet... we didn't even know we could go in. But speaking with our awesome school secretary yesterday I found out that I could have been going since the beginning of August. Frustrating, but I couldn't really complain as I am currently in my 2nd workshop of August. So my plan is to visit my classroom next week... hopefully. So I am still in the planning stages of my classroom. I still have some things that I am undecided about (classroom theme, will I do monkeys and/or frogs this year, how many NEW things am I planning to do this year?) So make sure to check out the tour and explore other teacher blogger's classrooms.
I found a few new blogs while classroom touring. Check them out and show them some blogger love by visiting, following and leaving a comment to let them know you are a new follower.
Growing Kidlets
Kinder Colors
It is definitely great to know that your blog posts are at least read by 1 person.:) Thank you to my wonderful followers!
Also make sure to check out the Blog Hoppin' Wednesday post on Organizing for Instruction! This is one area I definitely STRUGGLE with!!!! Make sure to check out Bloglovin' for new posts on giveaways!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Do you use Technology? You have a chance to be a WINNER!!
I have returned from my mini vacay and I wanted to share with you the post from my blogger exchange partner. If you remember, my partner was Jayne from Smart Kids. She wrote a post about all the goodies I sent her if you want to see it. Also she gave me a shout out about my new product, thanks Jayne!
How is everyone doing? I will be attending a Title 1 workshop today... one that I don't even know if I got in to. It was said that the office was calling those who didn't get into the workshop, I didn't get a call so I am hoping that I am on the list. They had to turn a lot of people down because they were only hoping for 450 but got over 600 teachers requesting in... I guess that is the response you get when you offer teachers a STIPEND to come learn how to help their students better. So I have that for 2 days until about 5pm. Plus we have our school retreat on Thursday. I know I will just be plain exhausted by the time Friday rolls around.
Don't forget about The Polished Teacher and her HUGE giveaway...
Plus I missed my Clutter-Free Classroom post yesterday but make sure to check out her posts, hit refresh so you can grab some Flash Freebies!
There is also a linky party going on now: Teacher Week @ Blog Hoppin'. Yesterday was Let's Talk About Me. How many times do you really get to talk about yourself when the school year rolls around? Well now is your chance to tell about yourself to the bloggers of Blogland and read about other teachers as well. Check out the schedule too so you know when to link up!
I just finished that STEM workshop last week and I have been looking for ways to incorporate it more on a kindergarten level in most of our upcoming SOLs. How do you incorporate STEM? (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Do you teach the other parts of the word STEM, other than science and math? I am looking forward to introducing my students to more of the engineering side of STEM this year while incorporating science and math too.
**I will choose a random winner on Friday, leave a comment with your email and the answer to this question: Name a technology that you use in your classroom but it has to be something that DOES NOT need to be plugged in... I will give you a hint, think of materials in the classroom. So I bet you are wondering what you are trying to win, huh?? Well if you can name one technology that you use that DOES NOT need to be plugged in or hooked to electricity, I will give the winner a copy of my new product, Farm Detective: Sight Words Edition. (see pics at top of post)
I can't wait to hear about all the "technology" you use in your classroom. Have a great day and the rest of the week... Enjoy1
(You can win it if you keep reading...)
How is everyone doing? I will be attending a Title 1 workshop today... one that I don't even know if I got in to. It was said that the office was calling those who didn't get into the workshop, I didn't get a call so I am hoping that I am on the list. They had to turn a lot of people down because they were only hoping for 450 but got over 600 teachers requesting in... I guess that is the response you get when you offer teachers a STIPEND to come learn how to help their students better. So I have that for 2 days until about 5pm. Plus we have our school retreat on Thursday. I know I will just be plain exhausted by the time Friday rolls around.
Don't forget about The Polished Teacher and her HUGE giveaway...
Plus I missed my Clutter-Free Classroom post yesterday but make sure to check out her posts, hit refresh so you can grab some Flash Freebies!
I just finished that STEM workshop last week and I have been looking for ways to incorporate it more on a kindergarten level in most of our upcoming SOLs. How do you incorporate STEM? (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Do you teach the other parts of the word STEM, other than science and math? I am looking forward to introducing my students to more of the engineering side of STEM this year while incorporating science and math too.
**I will choose a random winner on Friday, leave a comment with your email and the answer to this question: Name a technology that you use in your classroom but it has to be something that DOES NOT need to be plugged in... I will give you a hint, think of materials in the classroom. So I bet you are wondering what you are trying to win, huh?? Well if you can name one technology that you use that DOES NOT need to be plugged in or hooked to electricity, I will give the winner a copy of my new product, Farm Detective: Sight Words Edition. (see pics at top of post)
I can't wait to hear about all the "technology" you use in your classroom. Have a great day and the rest of the week... Enjoy1
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Blogger Exchange goodies!
I participated in the Blogger Exchange from Adventures of Ms. Smith and Covered in Glitter and Glue.
I hadn't participated in anything major (searching for a gift for a secret blogger pal) since last summer. It is always nice to give to others and I love seeing what they give me. Plus the way it was done made it easier on everyone. My secret pal was Jayne from Smart Kids (and ABCs of Reading) and I had her.
I hadn't participated in anything major (searching for a gift for a secret blogger pal) since last summer. It is always nice to give to others and I love seeing what they give me. Plus the way it was done made it easier on everyone. My secret pal was Jayne from Smart Kids (and ABCs of Reading) and I had her.
These are my goodies from Jayne. It is like Christmas in July but it's August. The black piece in the back is a frame decorated by Jayne to match my theme. Isn't she so creative? And she included her blogs in the place where the pictures are supposed to go.
I think I packed her box with some of my favorite goodies. She said her theme was farm with red and black. Well most of the things I found red and black, it didn't seem to go well together. So I stuck with the farm theme and ran with it. Thus, I created my new product called Farm Detective: Sight Words Edition.
My students last year LOVED when I had the magnifying glasses in their Word Work station. And since it seems as if I just love teaching sight words, we call them popcorn words, to my students I try to create more of these. So check out Farm Detective which was inspired by Jayne from Smart Kids and her wonderful kinders. :) Check out her post on how you can win awesome goodies from the sellers from Teacher's Notebook! Also I am having a sale in my TPT store until Tuesday August 13th to celebrate with my blogger friends.
And my post would not be complete without some giveaway reminders:
You have a little bit of time left in Learning with Mrs. Leeby's fabulous giveaway! Chipotle any one?
Don't forget about The Polished Teacher's awesome alphapalooza! It is still going strong:)
Teaching Heart Mom and her Kid Carpet Giveaway!
The 2nd Grade Surprise is celebrating her 500 Follower milestone. Go check out the fabulous prizes you can win.
Linky Party and freebies:
Stop in and check out the Math Linky Party from I Surf Maths. Gain some great tips and activities to use with your students. And add your math activity too.:)
Check out The Teaching Tribune for organizational tips and maybe some freebies!
Don't forget that there is a Facebook Frenzy Freebies going on until Monday the 12th.**Click in the comments section to find the link for your "treasure map" by grade level!** This time it is broken up by Grade Level so make sure you go and grab your freebies. Make sure when you hit LIKE on their page that you also click "Get Notifications" as you are notified faster than just getting it your News Feed when a blogger has updated their Fan freebies or they are hosting a Flash Freebie!! All the details start with Creation Castle if you get lost and can't find your way.
Have fun and enjoy!
I think I packed her box with some of my favorite goodies. She said her theme was farm with red and black. Well most of the things I found red and black, it didn't seem to go well together. So I stuck with the farm theme and ran with it. Thus, I created my new product called Farm Detective: Sight Words Edition.
My students last year LOVED when I had the magnifying glasses in their Word Work station. And since it seems as if I just love teaching sight words, we call them popcorn words, to my students I try to create more of these. So check out Farm Detective which was inspired by Jayne from Smart Kids and her wonderful kinders. :) Check out her post on how you can win awesome goodies from the sellers from Teacher's Notebook! Also I am having a sale in my TPT store until Tuesday August 13th to celebrate with my blogger friends.
And my post would not be complete without some giveaway reminders:
You have a little bit of time left in Learning with Mrs. Leeby's fabulous giveaway! Chipotle any one?
Don't forget about The Polished Teacher's awesome alphapalooza! It is still going strong:)
Teaching Heart Mom and her Kid Carpet Giveaway!
The 2nd Grade Surprise is celebrating her 500 Follower milestone. Go check out the fabulous prizes you can win.
Linky Party and freebies:
Stop in and check out the Math Linky Party from I Surf Maths. Gain some great tips and activities to use with your students. And add your math activity too.:)
Check out The Teaching Tribune for organizational tips and maybe some freebies!
Don't forget that there is a Facebook Frenzy Freebies going on until Monday the 12th.**Click in the comments section to find the link for your "treasure map" by grade level!** This time it is broken up by Grade Level so make sure you go and grab your freebies. Make sure when you hit LIKE on their page that you also click "Get Notifications" as you are notified faster than just getting it your News Feed when a blogger has updated their Fan freebies or they are hosting a Flash Freebie!! All the details start with Creation Castle if you get lost and can't find your way.
Have fun and enjoy!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
New TPT products and sale!
I'm going to try to not go overboard with this post (laughable, I know!) but I have homework to do from my STEM workshop. This STEM stuff is starting to become clear although sometimes it still goes over my head!!
Anywho, I wanted to let you know what I have my two new items on sale at my store until tomorrow 8/8 for $1 off. And if you are a follower of my TPT store, check your inbox as I sent an email out to all my followers. One product, my big number order pack, Colorful Rainbows: Number Order, that took off. But I have TONS of skip counting cards (1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 number sets) plus lots of recording sheets that are simple, medium and challenging.
I finally finished my Halloween Math pack and it has MANY more pages than what I first began with which was 10! As you can see from the preview I now have more. Plus more that you can't even see from the picture... 56 pages!! Lots of cards and recording sheets. And something new I tried, Crack the Halloween code. If you hang up the domino pumpkin cards or the ten frame cards around the room, students have to count up the dots and record their answers on their recording sheet. Then solve the riddles. **Halloween is coming faster than you know it. Get it now because this might not be on sale after this!**
My state is 1 of the 5 that DO NOT do Common Core (sad I know) so I didn't even want to attempt to label them as such and mess you guys up if you were looking for something specific. If you feel you are a Common Core guru and can help me label my products, please leave me a comment with your email and I will contact you for your help.:) Thanks in advanced.
Giveaways:
The Polished Teacher (her alphapalooza is still going strong!!
Growing Firsties Favorite Things Extravaganza
Crayons & Curls Thinking Mats Giveaway (K-5) ends soon
Life in First Grade Teacher Anchor Giveaway Share It to Win It! (this was a new find)
And don't forget my Freebie Finds tab at the top. I have added lots new freebies, just scroll down if you have already seen them. Enjoy!
Anywho, I wanted to let you know what I have my two new items on sale at my store until tomorrow 8/8 for $1 off. And if you are a follower of my TPT store, check your inbox as I sent an email out to all my followers. One product, my big number order pack, Colorful Rainbows: Number Order, that took off. But I have TONS of skip counting cards (1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 number sets) plus lots of recording sheets that are simple, medium and challenging.
 |
| Colorful Rainbows: Number Order |
I finally finished my Halloween Math pack and it has MANY more pages than what I first began with which was 10! As you can see from the preview I now have more. Plus more that you can't even see from the picture... 56 pages!! Lots of cards and recording sheets. And something new I tried, Crack the Halloween code. If you hang up the domino pumpkin cards or the ten frame cards around the room, students have to count up the dots and record their answers on their recording sheet. Then solve the riddles. **Halloween is coming faster than you know it. Get it now because this might not be on sale after this!**My state is 1 of the 5 that DO NOT do Common Core (sad I know) so I didn't even want to attempt to label them as such and mess you guys up if you were looking for something specific. If you feel you are a Common Core guru and can help me label my products, please leave me a comment with your email and I will contact you for your help.:) Thanks in advanced.
Giveaways:
The Polished Teacher (her alphapalooza is still going strong!!
Growing Firsties Favorite Things Extravaganza
Crayons & Curls Thinking Mats Giveaway (K-5) ends soon
Life in First Grade Teacher Anchor Giveaway Share It to Win It! (this was a new find)
And don't forget my Freebie Finds tab at the top. I have added lots new freebies, just scroll down if you have already seen them. Enjoy!
Monday, August 5, 2013
My school supply adventures & thoughts
Sorry I haven't posted lately. I've been kind of busy using my last free days to actually go shopping for my classroom. Last night around 10:30pm, I finally had the motivation to get up and see if I could catch some of those Tax Free deals. Yes, I know I didn't have much time but when I tried to go earlier in the day I would find something more relaxing to do. So I ventured into the Walmart with a mission in mind. I was going to look for my folders and I would not pay 75 cents a piece for them! Luckily, Wal-Mart had folders for $.50 but I had to search for colors because there was some slim pickings.
This is a picture of what they sort of look like... check out the green one in the back but they have the prongs on it. Yes! I got a lime green color folder. I am going to use these for my kinders chart folders. The chart folders idea I learned from Teacher Tipster I think. But it is a folder that has charts in it that students review on their free time or when they are finished early. I also combined and had my students keep unfinished work from the morning and the afternoon in there. However, my kids never remembered to complete the work and would only do it if I had something fun going on and I said check your chart folder to make sure your work was done. Of course I always had those kids who was always finished and had no work in their folders... I have a solution for them this year.
I am going to try to incorporate Fun Friday and Gold Tags into my classroom. I learned about the gold tags from A Teeny Tiny Teacher and she uses them instead of a clip chart like I use. But I did figure out a way to incorporate both. Anywho, her students collect gold tags (strips of yellow paper laminated) when they have good behavior, etc.
And the end of the week her students count up their tags in a tally mark format and the order of choosing their Fun Friday activity is based on who has the most to the least. So my hope is to have my students earning gold tags depending on where their clothespin is on the clip chart at the end of the day, turning in folders daily and especially on Fridays, turning in homework, receiving a compliment, etc. So on Friday they will get to count their tags and have Fun Friday at the last 30 minutes of the day.
She has Fun Friday labels {here}. I am determined to do something fun with my kids as I know they do a lot of work, work, work all week. I just don't know how to fit the treasure box in too. I might have a mini solution to it, below...
But the main reason I started talking about my folder choices was because I want to also put a pencil pocket into my kids folders and start the Pencil Management System. If you haven't checked it out yet, it is a FREEBIE on TPT.
But it basically is a system in which you give your students 4-8 pencils, 4 for me because I use those big beginner pencils, at the beginning of each week. It is their job to keep track of their pencils and keep up with them. If at the end of the week, they return their pencils (or in my case, their folders) with all 4 of them and none of the erasers are bitten off, they can receive a treat put into their pocket for the next week say erasers, pencil toppers, candy or something else pretty cool. I just need to make sure that their pockets are replenished with pencils and their prize for the next week. There is also a "sorry, maybe next time" note in the packet too. Last year I had this one kid who liked to bite/chew on the pencils and stick it back in their friends' table bucket. Needless to say the kids refused to use the pencils and I had to throw them out... because I couldn't pin point which kid it was as I had TWO! So I had to find folders in which I could put my pencil pockets in... I thought if they were left out of the chart folder then my kinder would not be able to keep up with it. This way if the pencil pockets are in the folder, before selecting what they want for Fun Friday, they need to check their chart folder to make sure they have nothing to finish (Ketchup)--because they can't participate in Fun Friday if their work isn't finished. If all of that is done then they can turn in their folder. I know it sounds like a lot but I think I can train my kinders to do it... or am I lofty?
Today I was trying to feel like I was accomplished and thought I would get one thing complete off of my long school list. I took my composition notebooks to OfficeMax to see if they would cut them in half.
And they did!! Woohoo, I got 10 notebooks cut in half for $2.20 ($2.29 with tax). That was awesome! Anyone have any ideas of what to use them for? I found one idea here from The Schroeder Page, but I just have to dig through my pins and figure out which idea I really wanted to do. I did find a pin about using them for math from Living, Laughing & Loving. I was able (and lucky) to buy Mrs. Wills Kindergarten's Daily Math Journal bundle so I do have that... and since I didn't quite stick to that last year I could use them this year. I wish someone bound a blank paged notebook that way when we cut them in half it could be used for drawing practice. You can hardly see their drawing on lined paper.
*Update: I found one of the reasons behind me wanting to cut the notebooks in half. Science notebooks! And they are fitting right with the STEM training I will be attending this week. Check it out!
Anywho... my long post would not be complete without a few giveaways and goodies to share:
-Where you able to stop by Mrs. Russell's blog and adventure on their FL Bloggers Facebook Freebie Hop?
-Or did you stop by and check out the Virginia is forLovers Bloggers' hop? Lots of great freebies for different grade levels.
- Don't forget about The Polished Teacher's huge alphapolooza giveaway. You still have time to go back and check out the past letters and enter the giveaways. Today we are on letter J!
This one is a HUGE giveaway!
This is a picture of what they sort of look like... check out the green one in the back but they have the prongs on it. Yes! I got a lime green color folder. I am going to use these for my kinders chart folders. The chart folders idea I learned from Teacher Tipster I think. But it is a folder that has charts in it that students review on their free time or when they are finished early. I also combined and had my students keep unfinished work from the morning and the afternoon in there. However, my kids never remembered to complete the work and would only do it if I had something fun going on and I said check your chart folder to make sure your work was done. Of course I always had those kids who was always finished and had no work in their folders... I have a solution for them this year.
I am going to try to incorporate Fun Friday and Gold Tags into my classroom. I learned about the gold tags from A Teeny Tiny Teacher and she uses them instead of a clip chart like I use. But I did figure out a way to incorporate both. Anywho, her students collect gold tags (strips of yellow paper laminated) when they have good behavior, etc.
And the end of the week her students count up their tags in a tally mark format and the order of choosing their Fun Friday activity is based on who has the most to the least. So my hope is to have my students earning gold tags depending on where their clothespin is on the clip chart at the end of the day, turning in folders daily and especially on Fridays, turning in homework, receiving a compliment, etc. So on Friday they will get to count their tags and have Fun Friday at the last 30 minutes of the day.
 |
| Post about it here and here |
She has Fun Friday labels {here}. I am determined to do something fun with my kids as I know they do a lot of work, work, work all week. I just don't know how to fit the treasure box in too. I might have a mini solution to it, below...
But the main reason I started talking about my folder choices was because I want to also put a pencil pocket into my kids folders and start the Pencil Management System. If you haven't checked it out yet, it is a FREEBIE on TPT.
But it basically is a system in which you give your students 4-8 pencils, 4 for me because I use those big beginner pencils, at the beginning of each week. It is their job to keep track of their pencils and keep up with them. If at the end of the week, they return their pencils (or in my case, their folders) with all 4 of them and none of the erasers are bitten off, they can receive a treat put into their pocket for the next week say erasers, pencil toppers, candy or something else pretty cool. I just need to make sure that their pockets are replenished with pencils and their prize for the next week. There is also a "sorry, maybe next time" note in the packet too. Last year I had this one kid who liked to bite/chew on the pencils and stick it back in their friends' table bucket. Needless to say the kids refused to use the pencils and I had to throw them out... because I couldn't pin point which kid it was as I had TWO! So I had to find folders in which I could put my pencil pockets in... I thought if they were left out of the chart folder then my kinder would not be able to keep up with it. This way if the pencil pockets are in the folder, before selecting what they want for Fun Friday, they need to check their chart folder to make sure they have nothing to finish (Ketchup)--because they can't participate in Fun Friday if their work isn't finished. If all of that is done then they can turn in their folder. I know it sounds like a lot but I think I can train my kinders to do it... or am I lofty?
Today I was trying to feel like I was accomplished and thought I would get one thing complete off of my long school list. I took my composition notebooks to OfficeMax to see if they would cut them in half.
And they did!! Woohoo, I got 10 notebooks cut in half for $2.20 ($2.29 with tax). That was awesome! Anyone have any ideas of what to use them for? I found one idea here from The Schroeder Page, but I just have to dig through my pins and figure out which idea I really wanted to do. I did find a pin about using them for math from Living, Laughing & Loving. I was able (and lucky) to buy Mrs. Wills Kindergarten's Daily Math Journal bundle so I do have that... and since I didn't quite stick to that last year I could use them this year. I wish someone bound a blank paged notebook that way when we cut them in half it could be used for drawing practice. You can hardly see their drawing on lined paper.
*Update: I found one of the reasons behind me wanting to cut the notebooks in half. Science notebooks! And they are fitting right with the STEM training I will be attending this week. Check it out!
Anywho... my long post would not be complete without a few giveaways and goodies to share:
-Where you able to stop by Mrs. Russell's blog and adventure on their FL Bloggers Facebook Freebie Hop?
-Or did you stop by and check out the Virginia is for
- Don't forget about The Polished Teacher's huge alphapolooza giveaway. You still have time to go back and check out the past letters and enter the giveaways. Today we are on letter J!
This one is a HUGE giveaway!
-- PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't forget about The Teaching Tribune. Even though their HUGE giveaways are over, they are still offering up some great tips. This month all the bloggers will post about ORGANIZATION!! Oh boy, I so need to read those. So if you know of a new teacher, a seasoned teacher, or if you just want some tips from other bloggers, make sure to keep refreshing daily The Teaching Tribune page for more ideas. Here is today's link for organizational tip #1, on numbering your students... which I love. I love that I can just go down the list of numbers in my head and match it with my student's faces... it saved me on a field trip one time!
**Don't forget to get your blog updates through Feedly or Bloglovin' so you don't miss the goodies. Plus I've been on Facebook more this summer than I have ever been clicking on notifications. So many of the bloggers that I have LIKED keep posting Flash Freebies, some good ones too, I catch some but I miss a lot. I will be at S.T.E.M. training all day. So have fun!! Enjoy!
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