Silence For Sandy Hook Elementary

Currently, giveaways and a FREEBIE!

This weekend has been great.  I completed two 5K's and my legs are a little sore, but overall I feel awesome!.  It's time to keep my running shoes on and not give up.  Saturday's 5K was for the Girls on the Run program which is a great program we have at our schools that help train 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade girls for a 5K.  I got to run with one of my former Kindergarten students who is now in 4th grade, Ahhh!  I am starting to feel a little old.   

I enjoyed running so much yesterday that I decided to wake up early today to do it all over again with a great teacher buddy of mine.  After today's run, I will be resting the remainder of the day.  And maybe creating more freebies for the future.  

Well, now onto ...December Currently!  I am linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for this month's edition.  I know I am a little late to the party but better late than never!  I completed my December currently yesterday afternoon, so no I am not eating popcorn for breakfast.

A good friend of mine is having a 12 days of Christmas giveaway!  You have to stop on over to Learning is Something to Treasure to enter your chances of winning.  Lisa has some great items she is giving away.  There is still plenty of time, enjoy!

And now what you all have been waiting for...A Holiday Write the Room FREEBIE!  I created this for my class.  My students love writing the room this year.  It is one of their favorite activities   I decided to make it a little bit more fun and theme it around the upcoming holidays.  Santa's Elves are being mischievous again, they took all the holiday presents and are hiding around the classroom.  Santa doesn't know where to find them... Students will enjoy searching around the room for Santa's little helpers.  This is a perfect literacy center activity for building sight word recognition and writing skills.  Simply cut out the twelve sight word elves and stick them up in various places around the classroom.  (I created two different sets.) Students use the master page on  clipboards as they walk around the room to search for the elves and their presents.  As they find each numbered elf, they write the sight word on their paper.  Students have fun learning their words and searching for them! 

Click the image to go directly to my TpT store to download this file for free! 

Enjoy!

Until next time Friends!

Cyber Monday Sales!

I am so excited for the upcoming Holiday season.  I am in the shopping for great sales kind of mood.  I am a frequent Black Friday shopper and I have to say, I love the rush of it all.  I got to experience this Black Friday with some of my great friends   We started at 6:30 Thanksgiving evening and continued till 6:30 in the am.  It was exhausting, fun, and exciting.  The best part of it all is, I have most of my holiday shopping done.  I just have a few items in my amazon wish list to purchase on Cyber Monday.   Speaking of the great Cyber Monday, I am throwing a sale on my TpT store.  I have some great common core activities posted.  If you like anything you see please follow me,  I hope to continue adding to my store.  I am working on completing more common core math assessments to utilize in the Kindergarten classroom.  You can click on the image below to go right to the sale!

Until next time friends!

Thanksgiving Unit finally finished! FREE to the first 5 bloggers!

It's been awhile, I guess you can guess life had been pretty busy for me.  I just celebrated my 31st birthday with some great friends.  Even though I am another year older it was one of the best birthdays ever!  I have my wonderful husband and friends to thank for that.  

This weekend I finally finished my Thanksgiving literacy and math unit.  I have to say, for my first themed unit I am pretty proud of this one.  I would love to hear your feedback on this unit, therefore I am offering this unit to the first 5 bloggers who post about what they are thankful for.  (It can be school related or personal).  Don't forget to leave an email address in your comment so I can quickly send you the file.  

Here is picture of some of the activities you will find in this unit.  If you are not one of the first 5 bloggers to comment you can click on the image below and it will take you to my TpT page where you can download this file for only $3.50.  

Now onto a fun linky.  Since some of you will be sharing somethings you are thankful for, I thought it only be fair for me to do the same.  I am linking up with Storie from Stories and writing about my top 10 things I am thankful for.  

Don't forget to join in on the fun.  This is a linky with a prize.  Storie is giving away a $10 TpT gift card   All you have to do is join the linky party and you are automatically entered to win.  

So here it goes...

Now, think about the top 10 things you are most thankful for and hop on over to Stories page to link up.  The linky will be open all through November! 

Giveaway Shout Out!

 No time to blog today because I am working on something special to share with you all soon.  I have been busy all day creating a fun common core aligned thanksgiving unit.  Keeping my fingers crossed I can actually finish this in time to share with everyone so that you can use it in your classroom.
Just dropping by to give ya'll a quick giveaway notification!  Corinna Over at O"Fish"ally a first grader is having a huge 100 follower giveaway.   Click on the image below to go check it out!  

Blog on friends! 

I have been booed!

Wow, I get to blog on a weekday!  This rarely happens these days with my busy schedule .   Good news is our first quarter is coming to an end very shortly.  Let's just say I have assessments and grades up to my neck and I almost feel like I am drowning in papers.  Anyway that is not what I really came on here to talk about, what I really want to tell you all is that I have been BOOED by my good friend Lisa over at Learning is Something to Treasure!

So here are the rules:

1. If you've been booed, copy and paste the above pic and these "rules" into your post.

2. Give a shout out to the blogger who booed you and link back to their site!

3. Share 3-5 October activities, books, products (yours or someone else), or Freebie(s) that you love!

4. Share the Boo love with 5 bloggers- make sure you check this link to make sure you don't boo someone again: I've Been Booed

Here are some of my favorite October activities, books, products:

1. Halloween Candy Sort by beginning sounds.  This was created by a teacher friend.  It's fun, yummy and a great learning tool!

2.  I also love the bat craft in this "Going Batty Craftivity" by A Cupcake for the Teacher!

 

3. Here is another great October activity of mine:).  Julie from Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten created this "Pumpkinlicious" Activity which is full of math activities and more! Click on the image below to go to her TpT store.

4. One of my favorite books is :

5.Finally, a great FREEBIE from Jennifer over at Kindertrips.  I love the organizers and writing papers that go along with some great fall themes.  She even has organizers/writing papers for the 5 senses, great for our science unit!   Click on the image below to go directly to her TpT store.

Okay I am booing the following people:  

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5. 

Have fun friends! 

October catch up!!

Ok, so I have been MIA lately and it is now time to play catch up.  Although I have not been posting lately, I have had a few moments to look around to see what everyone else is up to.  I have been trying to make the time to join some great linky parties so here it goes.  The first linky I am joining is the Freebie Flashback hosted by my good friend Lisa over at Learning is Something to Treasure.  I know I am a little (a lot) late to the party but this is her first linky party and it is a good one.  So many great Freebies!!!!

Today I am sharing with you a few FREEBIES from my Freebie page located on my blog.  Click HERE to check out my blog page.  My Writer's Eye posters are a big hit and I love referring to my Writer's Eye bulletin board this year.  I have a few different versions so make sure you check out my entire store to see which is best for you. My students are really starting to grasp the skills they need to become great writers at such an early age. 

 I also have signs for good readers (Another FREEBIE)! 

  

Another late to the party, but this is one of my favorites!  I am linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her OCTOBER CURRENTLY! 

Hope you find the time to join in on the fun, even if you are late to the parties like ME! 

Happy Sunday Fun-day Friends!

Well it is almost 2:00 here in Florida and I just finished cleaning the house.  My weekly chores are mostly finished...all except my piles of laundry.  This was on my to-do list yesterday but when I went to turn the water on to start the laundry, nothing happened.  So as of now my washer machine does not work. Hopefully, hubby can fix it when he gets in from work.  The trials and tribulations of being a homeowner sometimes stinks!    But for now I am not going to worry about school or home because today is my Sunday Fun-day and all there is left to do is enjoy some good company, play cards with some good friends, watch the EAGLES beat the giants (hopefully Vick will get it together for this game) and eat some good football food.  I just bought my new Eagles attire for this season and I can't wait to where it proudly today.  Check them out...

Well, this weekend I went a little Amazon crazy, not only did I buy Eagles attire for myself but I also got some for the hubby and in my wishlist I have an Eagles jersey for my dog.  (That will have to wait until next pay day, sorry Buster.) But my favorite thing I bought was the new Kindle Fire HD!  I am so excited, I can hardly wait.  I loved my old Kindle Fire and used it all the time at home and in the classroom.   I even used it at the beach this summer and that was not such a great idea because my kindle fire kinda went swimming in the ocean and I have been with out a Kindle ever since.  My smart hubby did buy me the protection plan so I was able to get a new one and upgrade for hardly no cost at all!  I only spent about $50 out of my own pocket to buy another two-year accidental plan.   Knowing me this is WELL worth the investment.  For some reason technology and me (and water) are NO good together.  I have lost plenty of phones, one ipod, and now a Kindle to pools, oceans and even toilet water.  My husband is now so used to these accidents that everything we buy now comes with a protection plan or insurance:)



I can't wait to start using this with my kiddos again.  They absolutely loved it last year.  I hope to get my new students used to using the Kindle because my school has purchased about 30 ipads for us to share and use in the classroom.  I plan to use the Kindle until all the ipads are set up and ready to go.  This way when they are ready my class will be too!  I would love to hear about any great apps out there that you may be using in the classroom.  Please leave me a comment and let me know which is your favorite app.  Thanks for reading and go E-A-G-L-E-S!

Great Giveaway!

You don't want to miss out on this giveaway.  Dana from Fun in 1st grade is giving away over 50 prizes with the help of many bloggy friends.  You have to go check it out.  Click on the picture below to head on over to her blog and start entering to win!

Common core number workbook finally finished!

Does anyone else feel that this school year is already starting off CRAZY!   With so much to do in the classroom I barely have time to get on and post new blogs.   I have become a casual blogger, but I promise I will make more time in the future to get on the computer and read everyone's wonderful posts.   So the not so good news is... I have developed carpal tunnel in my right hand and man oh man does it HURT!  Who knew that carpal tunnel could be so painful.  Thankfully today my hand has felt a little better so what is the first thing I decide to do?  Of course it involves typing and blogging about what's happening.  

I am just loving common core!  I love the fact that most of us are teaching the same standards and we are on the same page.  It allows us to share so many more wonderful ideas and the students all over the country are learning the same material.  What a magnificent concept!  

We started adapting to common core last year, but this year we are in full common core mode.  With many of our standards changing I found that I was left with some missing resources, especially in math.  Therefore, I started to create my own common core math assessment and practice workbook.  I just posted my numbers and operations workbook to my TpT store this week. It is very similar to my geometry packet but this one has over 20 worksheet that correlate to the Counting and Number standards.  And wait for it, wait for it...The best part, it is on sale all this week.  Feel free to click the link below to go directly to my TpT store to snatch this up for only $2.50.

Click HERE to purchase this packet.

Good things are happening and Fun Friday Linky!

After a very long stressful week, I ended the week with some good news, good friends, and a great idea for my personal developmental improvement plan.  So the good news is I received a Futures grant for $500 to improve my Kindergarten Team's science materials.  With this grant I am going to purchase some really awesome already made science centers from Lakeshore learning center that correlate with the new common core standards.  I can't wait to go shopping and to use these new materials with my little Kindergartners! 

Next, I got to relax (Well I relaxed as best as I could since I was the hostess)  with some great friends as we celebrated one of my favorite people: Lisa from Learning is Something to Treasure, who is our Teacher of the Year.  I am so excited for her, she really deserves it. 

We needed a little relaxation after Friday's professional development day.  We sat in a meeting for a few hours on Friday morning discussing and learning about how we should develop our personal improvement plan.  We always had to do some kind of personal improvement plan but this year we are learning how to complete our personal improvement plan using a new system.  I think the meeting went very well because now I know what I want to do for my students this year.  I am going to focus on writing skills with my students.  This has always been one of my most challenging subjects to teach.  It is just not my favorite subject, but I created a few items this year to help my students become better writers.  And to help me become a better writing teacher!

(Writers Eye Poster is available for Free on my TpT store and My first writing journal is available for $3.00, click below to check them out.)

Click HERE to download for FREE

Click HERE to download for $3.00

Now, onto Fun Friday linky hosted by Cynthia over at 2nd Grade Pad.  We all know as teachers we love Fridays!  Every Friday is Fun Friday in my classroom.  This is the day I usually give my students extra time during centers (this helps me complete my one on one kindergarten assessments), science movie during snack time and Fun Friday crafts.  This week we had a teacher duty day on Friday, so therefore, we had a Thrilling Thursday instead.  For our "Fun Friday" craft activity my students completed their Macaroni Mm's on Magenta paper.  Next week we are learning the letter S, so we will be making sequence letter Ss's. Wish my luck this can get messy.  My students love making things, they are so crafty and artistic this year.  (And actually pretty neat overall... no major messes.)  As the year proceeds, I incorporate sight word games that are quick and easy games like "Around the World" and "Sight Word Survivor", both games students challenge one another using sight word flash cards.   I think in my Fun Fridays to come I am going to incorporate Cynthia's Splat activity.  It is so adorable, check out her post she is giving this activity away for FREE and don't forget to join in on the linky fun. 

Here is a picture of my students completing their Fun Friday craft. 

Until next time friends:) 

I have been a bad blogger lately:(

Hello everyone!  I missed you guys, I have been a very bad blogger lately.  I guess you can say that the start of the school year is always so exhausting.   I feel like I am running a marathon, and each time I see a little water break in my near future they take it away, I just can't catch my breath this year.  So today, I decided to just sit back, relax and do something I enjoy...like going to the gym and blogging.  (OK, so I skipped the gym and took a nap instead).  It's an all about me afternoon so NO school work.  Yea right, like that last comment is even possible.  

My little ones are well on their way to a successful year. 

I loved this name tile idea so I decided to make some for my students this year. (Sorry, I can't remember where I found this).  My students are really starting to recognize the letters in their names and the names of their classmates.  They first had to complete their name with letter tiles and then I let them pick another friend from the bin and spell their friend's name.  They loved it.  

Click HERE to grab a FREE editable version from my TpT store.        

Another great love of mine is an oldy but a goody, It's my TV center!  That's right I said TV CENTER!! Myself and my students LOVE this center.  My students rotate to this center and watch Leapfrog, between the lions, and other educational videos.  I think it has really helped my students over the past few years with letter recognition, letter sounds and much more. If you do not have a TV center I have to tell you, you are missing out:) 

Ahhh...It feels good to be back in the blogging world!  Until next time friends...

My favorite freebie linky...

I know, I know, I am posting twice in one day which is a big NO, NO but I am stuck in bed sick... what else is a girl to do?  Firstly, I want to thank those who have commented already on my Common Core Geometry assessment freebie, I look forward to your feedback.  I am still giving some more away so If you hop on over and comment I would love to share this piece with you.  

Now onto this lovely Linky Party hosted by 2nd Grade Pad.

My favorite freebie has to be my What do good writers and readers do poster pack.  

The story behind it: I saw this picture on Pinterest and I wanted to create something like it to go with my Jungle themed classroom.  

I created a few different versions and all of them are FREE!  Go to my TpT store to check out many other freebies too!

It's my favorite because:  I absolutely love my new bulletin board that I created.  I have already started to refer to these with my new little kindergartners and I think it is going to be an awesome resource for my learners.  I can't wait to get more into the writing and reading process with my little guys.  

Now to use it:   I created a bulletin board near my guided reading table to refer good writing and reading strategies.  I plan on making a writers checklist for my students as the year progresses that looks similar to my writer's eye strategies.  But I have some time before I have to create that, we are still practicing writing out first names. 

If you have freebie to share or want to take advantage of all these wonderful freebies hop on over to the 2nd Grade Pad and link up.