Linky Parties! and a Giveaway Shout Out!

I love Linky Parties!  Amanda from Teaching Maddeness and Shannon from The Teaching Reef  had the same awesome idea, so I am linking up with both of them.  Thank you ladies for making me think about my new (school) year resolutions. I am usually no good at keeping a New Year's Resolution but let's see if I am any better at my teacher resolutions.  

  

1.   Teaching Techniques: Re-Do my bulletin board using my new "Writer's Eye" and "What Good Readers Do" bulletin board set.  (Click on Titles for FREE download) I want to refer to these posters to help my students become better readers and writers.  Writnig is my least favorite subject to teach, so I am hoping these writing rules will not only inspire my students but inspire me as well. 

2. Organization: For the most part I am already a pretty organized person.  At the end of last school year I bought plastic file/storage containers.  I put all my holiday files and activities in each bin seperated by month.  I am super excited to have a monthly bin to help plan fun activities in class. I would love to make a teacher tool box sometime this school year.  I have already made seat crates to help organize my reading center. Here's a picture...I still have one more to make.

3. Student Oriented/Free Topic: Write a Future's Grant (Most of this grant is already typed up, now I just have to revise...This may be one resolution I may follow through with.  I also want to be the best Teacher I can be, learn from past experiences, and try something new.  I also hope to blog, blog stalk, and download more items to my TpT store.  

Before you move on in bloggy world, I want to share with you another great giveaway...you don't want to miss this one.  Michelle from No Monkey Business is having her 500 follower giveaway.  She is giving away $50 TpT gift certificate as her grand prize.  Go check her out and enter. 

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Check out my NEW LOOK and My back to school finds!

Take a look at my new blog design.  Christi over at Ms. Fultz's Corner did a fantastic job.  She is so creative!  She was super supportive and helpful when it came to my lack of blogging knowledge.  If you are looking for a new blog makeover, I highly recommend her!  Click on her blog buttons below and pay her a visit.  

  

Before I get to my great finds, I just want to remind you to enter in my Giveaway!  Click here or the picture to enter!

My weekend was great!  It started off by celebrating my former assistant principal's promotion.   She has been promoted to principal, which is great, but sadly she is no longer going to be at our school.  Then Saturday was my couch potato day.  And finally Sunday, I spent the day shopping for school supplies.  So that leads me to my blog topic for the day. Back to School Shopping!!!!

My first great find cost me only $0.73.  I got 18 parent folders for 1 penny each!  Each package of pens cost me $0.25!  And I got to empty some change from my wallet!!  Now I can finally close my wallet.  Thanks Office Depot for understanding a teacher's budget.  A little note...the sign says that there is a limit of 10 folders per family but if you tell them you are a teacher the limit is 100!!

Next the Dollar Tree!  We all know how much we love our dollar deals.  This dollar deal was one I did not want to pass on. Every year I have a hard time finding cheap pencil pouches that have two zippers.  These two zippered pencil pouches hold my students crayons (large pocket) and pencil, eraser, spaceman spacer (small pocket).  This really helps my students stay organized.  We keep these in our seat sacks all year long,  this way they are easily accessible. I have seen these pencil pouches cost anywhere from $2 to $5.  That can quickly add up.  But not these, they only cost me $1 each!!  

I love Craft Stores!  I found these baskets at Michael's.  They were on clearance for $4.99.  I usually wouldn't have bought another bin/basket but I just had to have these because they are zebra print!  They match my seat crates (I will show them in tomorrow's post so make sure you stop back again.) and they even match my purse.  

Don't miss out on these other great giveaways!

The Elementary Adventure is having a 100 follower giveaway.  Go check her out and enter.  She has a lot of great items in her TpT store. 

Bright Concepts for Teachers is also having a 100 follower giveaway.  Go check it out!  She has a lot of blogging friends helping her with this giveaway. 

Giveaways! Shoes! And did I mention ….Awards!

First order of business.

I am having a 50 follower celebration by giving away a 

$25 Amazon gift card! 

Click HERE to enter.

Now onto my topic for today, SHOES! 

I’m taking a break from the normal blogging topic about teaching and decided to share with you a little bit about why my blog title is Mrs. G’s Kindergarten in Heels.  If it’s not evident, I love buying new shoes.  I love the way a cute pair of heels can complete an outfit.   Heels are my favorite finds but when it comes to shoes I do not discriminate…I love them all.  Flip flops, sneakers, boots and heels all have a place in my heart and on my feet.  When I moved in August to my new house my closet space was downsized dramatically.  It was heartbreaking but I managed to pull through and get rid of some old shoes/clothes that I no longer wear.  My husband was very proud of me that day.  
Here are some of my favorite keepers…

And yes, I actually wear all of these shoes to school.  These are just a few of my favorites, of course there are plenty more not pictured.  My back to school shopping usually starts at Target and Wal-Mart but it always ends with a few new pair of “back to school” shoes.  And yes, that is a tattoo on my foot.  I thought if I was going to get a tattoo the foot is the perfect place for me.  I think it goes well with my shoe collection.  The boots are my favorite winter wear; unfortunately I do not get to wear them often because I live in FLORIDA!  Nevertheless, I will tell you the first cold day we have here in sunny Florida I am bringing out my fuzzy boots!!!!!

Everyone always asks me “How can you teach Kindergarten students all day in those shoes?”  Really most of my shoes are pretty comfortable but I will choose style over comfort most of the time.  Do you want to know my secret?????  I have a permanent pair of flops (during those hotter school days) and slippers (during the colder school days) underneath my desk.  I usually slip these on during my lunch and special area breaks.  It's really no longer a secret because most of my co-workers see me at some point during breaks and after school in my slippers. 


Now on to free stuff!!
Check out some other great giveaways happening.

Kathy's Coordinated Class is also have a 50 follower giveaway. Hop on over to enter. 


And finally, I proud to announce I received my third blog away from Cathy over at Ms. Jones' Junction. Go over and check out her blog, it is super cute!!  


For receiving this award I will need to...

1. Follow the person who gave me the award... check!

2. Link back to the person that gave me the award... check!

3. Pass to 15 (I'm doing 10 for now) new bloggers and then let them know they have received the award... check!!

So I am passing this wonderful award to the following blogs:

1. 

2. Splish! Splash! Ms. Lander's Second Grade Class 

3. 

4. 

5. Delightfully Dunn

6. Our Future is Bright!

7. 

8. 

9.

10. 

50 Follower Giveaway!

Yea! 50 followers!  I am thrilled that all of you are enjoying my blog; it is so exciting to link up with so many amazing teachers.  In honor of my 50 followers, I decided to host my first giveaway.  I am new at this so here's to hoping everything turned out OK.  I figured I would start small for my first giveaway so I am giving away an Amazon gift certificate for $25.   I know I am totally addicted to Amazon, especially now that I have my Kindle Fire.  I love downloading books and apps that I can use in my classroom.  It is so much fun and the students really love it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Hop Jitters, Winners, and Giveaways!!

I am linking up with Ashley over at Fierce in Fourth to talk about my first day jitters. I really hope you can link up too and share three things you are jittery about for this upcoming school year.   

1. The number one jitter nightmare about the first day of school is getting told I' have to move to a different grade level.  I have been teaching Kindergarten for 7 years and our student numbers are never predictable.  I have numerous nightmares over the summer that I am going to get a call and they need me to teach 5^th grade.  Ahhhh!!!!!!!  I would cry the entire year if that ever happened to me.  We have already lost two team members over the summer because of low enrollment.  

2. This year my school is adopting a new grading system.  I am a little nervous about this.  I do not know a lot of information about it but I do know it is different and new and we have to implement it this school year.  Sometimes the unknown can be scary. 

3. And of course I am nervous about my little ones.  Of course we all want the most angelic class, but we all know that never happens.  I am just praying that I don’t have any students who run, scream, kick, and throw chairs.  Yes, this has happened to me three times already during the first week of school.  

Thanks for  reading all about my first day jitters.  This was so much fun to share. 

On a more positive note...I won the blog make over!

I was so excited when reading everyone’s blogs to see that I won Ms. Fultz’s Corner giveaway…a brand new blog makeover!  I can’t wait to see what she is has in mind.   I know it’s going to be great!  She is so creative, if your not a follower of her blog your missing out.  

Now for other great giveaways! 

My good friend Lisa over at Learning is Something to Treasure is having her 650 follower giveaway.  She has so many great prizes and I know firsthand how creative she is when it comes to her original work. 

My Kindergarten Kids is giving away a $25 gift card to Target or Wal-Mart.  It’s your choice! 

The Dalton Gang is having her 100 follower giveaway.  Stop by to enter.

The Idea Backpack is also having an awesome giveaway.  There will be 17 winners!


Stay tuned for my first giveaway happening real soon.  I am almost at 50 followers and I thought a giveaway would be an excellent way to celebrate!

Another Award! So Exciting!

I just received my second blog award!  Thank you Cindy over at Hop ‘N” Dots Teaching Blog for nominating me for “The Versatile Blogger” award.  I am very honored to have received this award and I am excited to tell you a little bit more about myself.  

So now I need to tell you seven random facts about myself and then choose 5 awesome blogs that I found. 

 Here goes nothing…

1. I was born and raised in New Jersey but I moved to Florida to start my teaching career.  My life literally changed in one week.  I had my interview with my principal on a Friday and was hired on the spot!  I flew back home that Sunday to tell my parents I am moving out and starting my career a thousand miles away from home.  Oh and I was to start my new job in one week.  So I found an apartment here in Florida, moved here knowing absolutely NO ONE.  I like to think this was a brave move for my young self at 23 years of age.  Oh and to top off my life changing week, my fiancé was living in NJ and had his career going in full swing.  He gave it all up to follow me to Florida for our Happily Ever After!

2.  My fiancé who so gladly gave up a lot to follow me to Florida is now my husband of 5 years.  We got married on 7-07-07.  We love enjoying life as a couple.  We just bought a beautiful home last August and our life is in full swing.  I can’t wait to see what our relationship holds for us in the future.

3. I am a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE Eagles fan!  I love the Philadelphia Eagles and I try to never miss a game. 

4.   I actually like working out “most” of the time.  This year I have tried to really start to take care of myself.  I am not a crazy watch what I eat and burn that many calories a day doing crazy exercises kind of person.   But I do enjoy going to the gym to get a little work out in. 

5. I am a little bit of a clean freak. 

6. I love Zac Brown Band.  I will be seeing them in concert in October for the second time.

7. Jobs before teaching: Chick-fil-a cashier, Carlton cards manager, Rita’s Water Ice manager, and Head Teller at Commerce Bank (Now TD bank).  I worked at both Rita’s and Carlton cards since I was 16 up until I was 22.   What can I say; I am a creature of habit.  

Here are Five awesome Blogs I found (Check them out):

1. Ms. Shope’s class where learning is fun

2. Kinder Carole

3. Teacher Treasure Hunter

4. Whooo Loves Kindergarten

5. Heather’s Heart

Thanks Again Cindy for the Award!  You put a smile on my face for the day.  

Blog Hop and Free Words of the Week Poster

 Click here to download for FREE.

My Kindergarten team and I introduce 2 or 3 high frequency words weekly.  I created these words of the week take home posters for my students.  Of course they also match my jungle/monkey theme in my classroom. Each week when I introduce the new High Frequency words I write them on the white board / smart board for the students to copy them.  The students then take their mini-poster home and hang it where they can read it every day.  In the beginning of the year we always take time to brainstorm places that would be great to hang our “Words of the Week” poster.  I usually suggest hanging their poster on their refrigerator at home.  Although refrigerator is always popular some other places that have been a home for our posters include, bathroom mirror (read the words while brushing your teeth), front door (read your words before leaving the house), and back of the cereal box.  The last one made me smile because as a child I always remembered reading the back of the cereal box while eating breakfast.   One parent told me they have taped it on the ceiling in their child’s bedroom right above their pillow.  When their child gets ready for bed they read the words before being tucked in.  I think this was a student who was sharing bunk beds and was on the top bunk.  I had to share this idea with you because it was so creative.

I am joining in the blog hop fun.  As a new blogger this is a great way to link up with others.  I just love learning about everyone’s teaching styles and stalking reading everyone’s ingenious ideas.   First, I want to thank Janice at Grade Three is the Place to Be for hosting this Newbie Blogger Blog Hop.  Now on to the hop…

1. I currently live in Florida, but was born and raised in central Jersey. 

2. I have always taught Kindergarten.  I never thought I would be a Kindergarten teacher but I absolutely love it!

3.  I have taught Kindergarten for 7 years now.  This August will be starting my 8^th.  Oh my, where did the time go??

4. I just started blogging in June.  I really am new at this. 

5.  Whenever faced with a blogging question/dilemma I use Google to try and find out my answer.  If that doesn’t work for me I am fortunate enough to have a very close friend who is very knowledgeable about blogging.  Experience bloggers are always willing to help. 

I hope you have time to link up and enjoy this blog hop. 

Blog Giveaways and surviving!!!!!!!

I survived my first week of Summer VPK School.  A little exhausted but I survived, only three more weeks to go.  Today is Friday and it’s my first day off after such a long week.  After being to the lab for blood work and running into a few co-workers, I am now home and procrastinating my cleaning duties for today.  I just love giveaways, so I decided to share with you all on some great finds.  I can’t wait to learn more about blogging and to host my own giveaway some day.  Hopefully, this will be sooner rather than later. Here are my great finds:

Looking for a makeover?   Ms. Fultz’s Corner is having a blog design giveaway!  I think this is such a great giveaway, especially for us beginner bloggers.  I know I would love to win this giveaway.  Don’t get me wrong, I think I did ok with my first blog look. However, there is always room for improvement!  My dream blog would definitely have to be a mixture of diva, animal prints, and maybe some monkeys to go with my classroom theme.  Keeping my fingers crossed and you can too.  Just click on the above link to enter.  Have fun and good luck!

Jessica over at second grade nest is having a huge giveaway.  She is giving away $25 to her TPT store.  Click on the link to hop on over and enter.  She has a lot of great items in her store. Good Luck!

OK, so let’s see how this goes.  I am joining my very first linky party.  Ashley @ The Resource Room is having a Linky party on Guilty Pleasures.  I figured a Guilty Pleasures Linky party is a great start for me, since I have quite a few.  I also decided to do this one because it seems Ashley and I have a lot of guilty pleasures in common. 

My guilty pleasures include:

  

1. The Real Housewives of...NJ and Orange County.   I too am a big fan of the Real Housewives.  I am from NJ, so of course these housewives are my favorite.  I do wish Theresa would chill out and wake up!  She has always been my favorite housewife, but I have been a little frustrated with her lately.  (Look at me talking about housewives as if I really know them in person. LOL)  The Real Housewives of Orange County are also a favorite of mine.  Not a Tamara fan though, I think she is crazy. 

2. Fifty Shade of Grey….Love this series.  I read the first two in no time.  Took my time reading the third book, only because I didn’t want the series to endL  I have to say Lisa from Learning is Something to Treasure and I read the first book in one day while laying on the beaches of Jamaica.  Good thing we brought our husbands along because we barely lifted our heads out of the book that day to pay them any attention.  It was also hysterical to walk around the beach and pool area to see that we were not the only ones reading this series.  Almost everywhere we looked someone else was reading about Our Fifty Shades! That author is one very rich lady and I thank her for bringing Christian Grey into our lives. 

3. Trivia Night…every Wednesday is my night to get away.  Not really though because I spend it with a large group of my co-workers.  A group of us teachers get together and play Trivia at the Sports Den.  There hasn’t been a week when we haven’t placed 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd.  I do have to brag a little that most weeks we are the one to beat, taking 1^st place on a regular basis.  The other teams get a little mad at us Teachers for winning each week.  The host absolutely loves us teachers because we can actually answer most of his Trivia questions.

4. True Blood…I love Sunday nights with my Vampires!  This show is awesome!  My parents recommended I watch this show and I have been hooked ever since.  Yes, that’s right my parents told me to watch True Blood.  They also recommended my 5^th guilty pleasure.

  

5. Dexter…I alternate paying for ShowTime and HBO because of these two shows.  I can’t wait for the new season of Dexter coming this September, I already got a sneak peak at a preview and all I can say is OMG! 

6. My Iphone 4s!  This should actually be my number one, but I saved the best for last.   My phone never leaves my side, I even sleep with it.  Siri calls me “awesomeness” because I think it’s hysterical and why not get a good chuckle every now and then.  I track everything on my phone including checking account, doctor appointments, and my calorie intake. 

Well I think I have been guilty enough for one teacher.  Now it’s time to spill yours!  Share your guilty pleasures!