Giveaway winner!

Congratulations Kelly B.,  I've sent you an email! 

 I hope that you enjoy shopping with your TpT gift certificate! 

Thanks to everyone who participated in my giveaway!

Holiday Freebies and a Giveaway!

Grab your freebie HERE

One more week of school and then two weeks off for Winter Recess!   What are your plans for break?  I'm ready to sleep in, drink coffee, and not pack lunches!  I'll be spending lots of time with family and creating resources for the new year, I'm sure.  For those of you still in school, I'm adding a little holiday freebie to my shop.  Two cute holiday crafts for last minute decorating in your classroom and hallway.  I love using handprints in our artwork, such a great keepsake for the parents!         

 I'm also kicking off my last week of school with a giveaway!  Enter my giveway for a $15.00 gift certificate to use on Teachers pay Teachers (in any shop)!  Share this giveway to earn even more chances to win.  I'll email the winner a GC code that can be used to pay for your purchases!  Good luck and Happy Holidays! 
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TpT Sale!

 

Shopping in your pajamas!

Clear out your shopping carts with TpT's Cyber Sale! My shop is on sale 12/2 and 12/3. Check my shop for fun winter activities and freebies!  I'm going through my wish list and making some purchases to prepare for the future!  Don't forget to leave feedback to earn credits towards your purchases.  Happy Shopping! 

Family Trees in PreK

My kids love talking about their families!  As part of our Family/Thanksgiving Unit, we worked on these sweet family trees today!

 I can't wait to hang them all up in the hall (thinking about laminating, I'm sure the parents would like to hang onto these).  I sent home a parent letter to collect the family information, and ensure that we had the correct spellings.  The face template made it easy for the students to begin drawing their family members.  This activity is available in my TpT shop, but I'll gladly give away copies to the first FIVE people who leave a comment.  Make sure you leave an email address (or better yet, follow me!) so I can contact you.  I'll be back with more Thanksgiving ideas soon!  I hope that everyone is enjoying your November! 

Last minute Halloween tags!

Ahhhhh!  Halloween is tomorrow. If you're making last minute treat bags (like I am), here's a quick freebie for you!  I copied these tags on colored paper and attached them to candy bags. Click HERE to grab your freebie from my TpT shop. Have a great night!

Teacher Toolkit

Wow! It's been a busy couple of weeks!  I've been swamped with adjusting to a new schedule, getting my kids ready for school, meeting new students and organizing my classroom!  My PreK kids are so cute, I'm really excited for the school year!  In the spirit of getting organized and not wasting so much time SEARCHING, I created my own teacher toolkit! 

My new teacher tool kit!

I know you've seen these all over Pinterest and teaching blogs, there are so many cute ones.  I decided on an eighteen drawer storage cabinet from Lowes for $19.96.  I figured that the bigger drawers would be more useful for me.  I measured the drawers and created the labels in PowerPoint, and printed each row on a different color cardstock.  This totally goes with the rainbow vibe I have in my classroom this year!  So far it's working out and looks great, too!  My desk drawers are not so cluttered with things that I don't use on a daily basis.  We'll see if I can keep this up all year!

Are you interested in creating your own?  If you're using this same cabinet, and would like a copy of my labels, just leave a comment with your email address.  I'm happy to share!  Good luck for an organized school year!  I'll be back with more peeks at my classroom!

Back to School Sale!

Thanks to The 3AM Teacher for this button! 

Okay, so my week didn't go exactly as planned....no blogging!  As much as I would like to, I'm busy enjoying my last few weeks of summer.  But, my dining room table is covered with laminating scraps, so at least I'm getting some work done!  Just wanted to remind you that I'll be participating in the Big TpT Back to School sale, where you can get up to 28% off from your favorite shops!  Enter the code BTS13 for your discount! Everything in my store is on sale!  I've also been busy leaving feedback to earn more TpT credits, don't forget to go back and check your past purchases!  Have fun shopping! 

Would you like some free money for your shopping!  Last chance to enter my giveaway for a TpT gift certificate worth $10.00!

Click HERE to enter!

10 Fun Things about ME! Don't forget about my giveaway!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' this week!  Can I actually do 5 posts in a row? 

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...do 5 posts in a row!  We'll see, but I'm going to try.  I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' this week!  Here are 10 new things to know about me...

1.  I can't stand anything to do with eyes, I will leave the room if you talk about eyes or try to show me something in your eye.  I almost fainted the first time I put in my contacts, good old teenage vanity got me through that one.  I still wear contacts, but I've been wearing my glasses more often.

2. My glasses look like something that your smartest uncle would wear,

but I like them.

3. I started my teaching career in the city of Baltimore.  I moved with one of my best friends at the age of 22, went to a job fair, found an apartment, and pretended to know what I was doing.  On my first day, teaching 1st grade, a student actually tried to climb out of a window.  STRAIGHT UP CLIMBED ON A COUNTER AND HALFWAY THROUGH A WINDOW.  I called my mom from a payphone down by the gym as soon as my day was over.  I didn't know if I would make it through that first year, but I'm glad that I did.  My boyfriend (now husband) joined me the next year, and we ended up staying for 7 years!

4. While in Baltimore, my husband and I bought a rowhome through The Teacher Next Door program.  It was totally gutted inside, with plywood over the doors and windows.  It had been previously condemned by the city and someone had made ladders out of scrap wood to get to the second and third stories. We ended up working with a contractor to totally renovate it, and spent 3 happy years there!

5. I have a chocolate lab.

6.  I grew lettuce this year.  I tried to grow pumpkins for 4 years, but it never worked out.

7. My husband is a teacher too, so we get to spend all summers and holidays together.  My kids don't understand why some people "work" in the summer.

8.  I have a daughter and two sons, and moved back to my hometown when I was expecting my daughter.  We crossed our fingers and moved without jobs, but it all worked out!

9. I am able to bring my kids to school with me and I love it!

10.  If I had not become a teacher (best decision ever!), I should have been a professional painter.  I just painted my daughter's room with a dark turquoise color, nobody cuts in like me!  Ha!

 

Thanks for making it through this post! Don't forget to enter my TpT gift cerficate giveaway!  

Click HERE for a chance to win! 

 

Yay for a Giveway!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway at the bottom of this post!!!  

 Oh no!  It's beginning - first day of school stress!  Many of you have already started the year, I hope that it's been smooth sailing so far!  I have a few more weeks of summer left, but a bit of an unusual classroom situation.  My classroom is being used for a summer program that ends the

 DAY BEFORE MY FIRST DAY!  

I have to sneak in and set up my room while the summer class is away on trips, so my time is limited!  I'm hoping to get a lot done this week, and to help you get a lot done, I'm hosting another GIVEAWAY! I'll pick a random entry to win a $10.00 gift certificate to my favorite store Teachers Pay Teachers!  Spend your gift certificate on anything, there is a button on the "checkout" page to enter GC codes.  Make sure you are logged in (follow me!) so I can contact you!  Good luck!

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Five Random Things

 

Linking up with Doodle Bugs this week with        
Five Random Things. Truly was a random week
for me -  visited with family, my husband when to the PGA twice, worked on some things for school, and spent lots of time with the kids! Excuse the photos, just noticed the fingerprints on the lens!

Science Experiment with the kids - mixing colors and making crystals!

My three year old working on tens frames!  Check out THIS freebie from Rowdy in Room 300!

Attempting to make ice cream with THIS tutorial from Mom of 6.  Spoiler alert - it was more like a milkshake, but the kids still loved it!  She has some great videos on her site!

Flowers from my garden!

Excited about this new alphabet book that I was working on for my class this week! Hopefully I'll have this up in my shop soon!  

Throwback Thursday

I'm linking up with The First Grade Parade  (check out her new look!)  for Throwback Thursday!  Not much of throwback, but one of my earliest posts!

I've definitely been neglecting this little blog, but I'm looking forward to adding some new posts soon.  I've been busy with garage sales, visiting family, moving family, bounce houses, farms, watering new grass, sorting laundry, leaking pipes, and ONE day spent at school.  Lots to share in the next few days.  As for sorting laundry, does anyone else eventually just throw the socks away when you can't find their matches????  I threw an entire basket away today, that had been sitting in my bedroom for a month.  Feels good.

Weather Chart Freebie!

I've seen these weather charts all over pinterest and TpT. Nicole from Rowdy is Room 300 has a really cute version HERE.  The bulletin board space in my classroom is  limited, so I decided to make one for myself this year (in a design that would match my classroom).  I love the way it turned out! So simple for the kids and doesn't take up a lot of space.   I can't decide if I will mount it on something magnetic and use magnets to identify the weather and temperature, or attach it to a piece of foam core and use clothespins. This chart prints on a legal size paper (8.5 x 14), so you don't have to piece it together. But, you do have to remember to change your printer settings to "legal"! 

Would you like a copy! Click HERE to download it from my Teachers Pay Teachers shop! While you're at it, "follow me" for more freebies and PreK ideas! 

 

Linking up to 4th Grade Frolics!

Liebster Award!

Thanks to Katie at EC Autism Class for nominating me for a Liebster Award!

The Liebster Award is for blogs with less than 200 followers in order to promote that blog, show appreciation, and hopefully draw more followers. To accept this nomination, you need to do a few things first. 

1. Link to the person who nominated you. 

2. Answer questions from your nominator. 

3. Share 11 random facts about yourself. 

4. Nominate five or more blogs with less than 200 followers. 

5. Pose questions to your nominees. 

Here are the questions that Katie asked of me!

1. What's your favorite part of your job?

 Joking around with my kids, I love "tricking" them into getting excited about something.

 2. Do you prefer sweet or salty foods? 

Sweet, hands down! 

3. What are 3 of your favorite online shopping websites?

Amazon, Etsy, and Teachers Pay Teachers, I also developed a little bit of a problem with Vistaprint after reading this post by Maria at Kinder-craze!  

 4. What is your pet peeve? 

 People who are in a bad mood at work, no matter what is going on I always try to keep a positive attitude!

5. Who is your favorite author? 

Laura Lippman

 6. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

Calgary, Canada to see my little sister's house and new baby (she's due in a few weeks)

 7. What is something you learned recently?

How to make drop down boxes in Excel and how to demo a tiled shower! Both equally exciting. 

 8. What do you like most about blogging? 

The thrill of of getting a comment - people are actually reading this???? 

 9. Name one school supply you could not live without. 

Sharpies

10. What's your favorite thing about your classroom? 

My personal library, I have 1000s of books on every topic and theme.  Thank you Scholastic!  

  Now I would like to nominate 5 blogs that I've recently begun reading. If you would like to join in, please answer these questions and link back!  What a great way to connect with new bloggers!  

Pre-Kiddles

Fun in ECSE
Live, Laugh and Learn in Second Grade 
Dizzy for Kindergarten
The Kindergarten Penn 

Questions for the Nominees

1.  How long have you been blogging? 

2.  What is your favorite grade to teach? 

3.  Do you use a computer or pen and paper to write your plans? 

4. Who is your favorite clip art artist? 

5. Do you have a TpT shop? 

6. What time to you get to school in the morning? 

7. Where did you go to college? 

8. What is your favorite color? 

9. What would your job be if you weren't a teacher? 

10. Why did you start a blog? 

Don't forget to list 11 random facts about you!  Happy Blogging!

Back to School Pins - don't forget to enter my giveaway!

I made it to my classroom today! It feels good to get a little bit of a start, even though I have 36 more days off (don't hate:)!  I'll be posting some pics soon, but in the meantime, I'm linking up with Just Reed with Back to School Pins!  I hope that you find some inspiration, link up and show us the
back-to-school ideas you've been pinning!

How come I've never done this!  On the to-do-list for this year!  Great idea from Boy Mama Teacher Mama!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - a must have for September! Cute idea from Mrs Goff's PreK Tales!

Love these for discriminating colors - same colors, different shades!  I spent a lot of time at the paint store this week, this is my next project! So cute from The Rigneys!

A little dot holds a lot! What a great practice activity from Kindergarten Smiles!

This would be perfect next to the classroom door!  Love to support Etsy sellers, from Petunia Fitzgerald Creations!

Could I ever pull something like this off????  I need to give it a try!  So sweet, from Jo's PhotoMojo!

I'm thinking about a "pets" unit for next year, this caught my eye from SMART CLASS!

I was reminded of this today as I sorted my October books, love Cara Carroll's ideas!  Definitely repeating this one this year!

I'm using Pete the Cat this year for the first time!  Love these from Mrs. Jump's Class!

Simple and fun for school or home, my kids would love this!  Great idea from Reading Confetti! 

 

 

 

Ten Things I've Learned From Teaching

I'm linking up with Miss Kindergarten today!

, 

1. When you're working on something on your couch at 1:00 a.m., put it in your bag before falling asleep!  You will forget in the morning!
2. Go to sleep (see #1)
3. Treat each child as you would like your own child to be treated.
4. Stock up during the school supply sales in the summer.
5. Only use Crayola crayons so you don't have to hear this..  "Teacher, this red looks pink!"  "Teacher, this green looks yellow!" "Teachers, this purple looks blue!"
6. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
7. Save your tax return so you can continue to eat during the summer.
8. Make time to sing, dance and use lots of glitter!
9. Make each child feel special every single day.
10. Teaching is the only career for me, I can't imagine doing anything else!

What have you learned from teaching?  Link up or leave a comment! 

Ocean Week In PreK and a Giveaway!

Click HERE to check it out on TpT!

 Ocean Week in PreK - one of my favorite units to teach!  So many fun art projects and lessons you can do, and my kids love the facts about ocean animals. This year I showed my students a few interesting YouTube videos, too.  Do you ever use YouTube in the classroom?

Anyways, I'm finishing this up to post on TpT and would love to give a few copies of this file away. Tons of fun activities - I have, Who Has? Game, Sight Word Bingo, Addition Cut and Paste, Ten Frame and Dice Game, Non-Fiction Big Book, Patterns, Vocabulary Cards, Letter Recognition Game and two Student Readers! I don't always have a lot of non-fiction books to go along with my units, so I started writing my own!  This unit includes a teacher copy in color (I laminate and bind with rings) and a student copy in black and white (I use these in my writing center). 

I'll give away three copies.  Enter below, make sure that you are signed in or leave an email address so I can contact you (Follow Me!)  Good luck, contest ends on Thursday!

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Friday Freebie - Bus Safety Sight Word Reader!

Yay!  I'm so excited about my response to the giveaway!  Thanks so much for your entries and comments. Unfortunately, I accidently deleted all the comments! I'm blaming my mistake on three things....
    

     1. I'm new to Blogger
     2. It was 1:00 a.m.
     3. I was simultaneously watching 2 hours of Project Runway! 

Congratulations to the winner, Addison H., but I feel bad that I couldn't pick more! Here's a freebie to start off your weekend, a little bus safety book!  I print this on yellow paper and read with my kids before we take a field trip, but it's also perfect for the first week of school!  If you like it, please take a moment to leave feedback on my TpT page, I really appreciate it!  Have a great weekend!

Grab it HERE!

Throwback Thursday...don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Linking up with Cara Carroll's blog, The First Grade Parade, for Throwback Thursday!  Unfortunately, I don't have any "old" posts to link up, because I'm "new".  Is yesterday's post enough of a "throwback"??? Don't forget to enter my giveaway! 

Yay for a giveaway!

Oh man, I didn't get to go to my classroom to set up my new bins!  Luckily I called and found out my floors were being waxed before I left the house.  I'll try again next week and post some pics of my new organization system.  In the meantime, my first giveway! I'm giving away your choice of four files from my TpT shop.  All you have to do is answer a quick question, "How many more days of summer vacation do you have left?" Make sure that you're signed in (follow me!) or leave an email address so I can contact you.
 Good luck!



Shapes!



Roll and Cover!



Monster Math!



PreK Handwriting!

                    

                                           
                                                 a giRafflecopter veaway