Friday, August 10, 2012

Back to School Sale and Wishlist Wonders


TPT is having a Back to School Sale starting Sunday, August 12th and ending on Monday, August 13th.  Everything in my store will be 20% off.  Combine that with the 10% TPT is offering off by using code BTS12 and you can save 28%.  I've already added tons to my wishlist and I'm sure I'll be adding lots more.  Here are a few of my favorite finds that I just have to have! 

Kindergarten Smiles

I had seen Caitlin's A to Z Letters for Bulletin Boards or Banners packet and fell in love with the way she used it for her word wall.


The only problem was that the colors wouldn't match my classroom:(  You don't know how excited I was to find out she was making a primary colored set.  She already has it made and posted for those of you that need primary colors.  You can find it here

And just look at these cutie patooties!


I love everything Teri from A Cupcake for the Teacher makes.  I'm pretty sure she has more creativity in her pinky toe than I have in my whole body.  Ughh!  Makes me jelly! But I still love her stuff lots!  Especially these little All About Me craftivities.  They will be so cute to start back the school year with.  Just click on the pic to find them in her TPT store.


 
 
I can't wait to get my hands on some of Krissy Miner's things either.  Her things are always so cute and functional.

Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business

Her 1st Day of Kindergarten packet looks AMAZING and will be a wonderful time saver and stress reliever for teachers trying to plan the 1st day of kindergarten.


She has also bundled her Stamping Centers and they are a GREAT deal!  This bundle will save you lots of money and time.  Just click on the pic below to check them out at her TPT store.


I love Donna Glynn's things.  Her stuff was some of the first TPT items I ever used and they're always awesome.  Her Back to School Kissing Hand packet is filled with activities and centers to start off the school year.  


I can't wait to purchase all these great items! Let's hope I can wait until the sale starts.  Patience is not my forte. 

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Where Have I Been?

Well, sweet friends, it has been a LONG time.  I didn't plan on being an absentee blogger for the past few weeks but that's what happened.  Here's a quick recap of what I've been up to these past weeks.  We went on vacation to the most magical place on earth, Disney World and I'm just going to tell you it's not that magical in 90 plus Florida weather and lots and lots of people you don't know surrounding you at all times.  No really .... despite the temps and crowds we did have a great time!  Here's a couple of pics of my sweet girls from our trip.



While on vacay I noticed my face swelling a little.  I could especially tell when I looked at pics that one side was bigger than the other so last week was filled with visits to the dentist and oral surgeon. I am a tee-total WEENY when it comes to dentists.   I do NOT like them at all!  And the absolute worst thing that could ever happen at the dentist happened.... I didn't get all the way numb and they started working on doing a bone graft on my jawbone (with cadaver bone... Is that not the grossest thing ever?).  I know you other dentist haters are gasping out loud with me here.  To say I was traumatized would be an understatement. 

I have been able to work in my classroom a few days but don't have pics to share yet.  I changed my classroom theme yet again (Do you think I might be indecisive?) so I'll give you a tour with the theme I went with soon.  It's super duper cute and I LOVE it!  There's still a few things to be done but I plan on enjoying my last few days of summer break and waiting until I go back next Monday to get those things finished up.  Who else is going back Monday??? Where did summer go?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The Magical Product Swap

Oh my! I just got on the computer for the day and my post didn't post.  Why?  Because this gal scheduled it for tomorrow.  Ugh!  Sorry!  I hate to be late so this has me in a tizz! So without further ado, here's my post- only 10 hours late.



Jessica from Mrs. Stanford's Class had this great idea to pair bloggers up to swap products and do a review of the other blogger's product.  I was paired with Karen Stamp from Mrs. Stamp's Kindergarten.  We do take home reading each so I was excited to get to review her RAH! RAH! Read at Home packet.  Everything you need to track progress and motivate students to read each night is included and it's super duper easy to keep track of everything without taking away extra time from you--which is so important for all of us teachers. 

There is a RAH! RAH! Read at Home!! individual student recording sheet for each month that is sent home with students for the corresponding month. A parent letter is also included in her direction section so parents know exactly what to do to help out their child. Students color in a row for every 20 minutes of at home reading.  **I didn't see that Karen had already added the 's at the top until after I wrote my name so kindly ignore that.  I love the little cheerleader graphics she's included.



At the end of each month you see how many students met their goals and color in that many rows on the RAH! RAH! Read at Home!! class goal chart.  She has included 5 different charts that vary according to the number of students you have in your class all the way up to 30.   I really hope no one has more than 30 students.  I don't know what I'd do with more than 30 little sweeties everyday.  Karen color codes her class chart by coloring in each month with a different color.  I think that's a great idea so students can easily distinguish between month to month when looking at the chart.  Great way to tie in some math standards too!



I can't wait to incorporate this into my take home reading program this upcoming school year.  Don't forget to stop by and visit Karen at her blog and her TPT store