Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Chipotle

 I saw this on Facebook today - Chipotle is giving teachers a BOGO deal on May 7th for Teacher Appreciation. My husband LOVES Chipotle - so this is actually good news for him…however, I won't have to cook that night, therefore, good news for me! Hopefully you can take advantage of this deal! Any other good deals I should know about for Teacher Appreciation??

Monday, April 29, 2013

Another Giveaway! Over at Teaching Special Thinkers!


I have a product in Gabrielle's Giveaway over at Teaching Special Thinkers! You should definitely pop over and check it out! She has TONS of stuff!

Vroom Vroom

If you live in the state of Indiana - you know MAY means the Indy 500! As a Hoosier, I felt like I should honor the "greatest spectacle in racing" with a clipart set!
 5 drivers (male & female), 10 race cars, state of Indiana (7 colors), and MoRe!
 And, of course, I created a FREE mini version.
One of my best friends married an IndyCar driver in March. Needless to say, it was a FUN wedding. And now I have even MORE reason to watch the race!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

FREE for YOU!

If you follow my blog - then I hope you will enjoy a set of FREE frames! I just uploaded them to my TPT Store!

They are part of my KDD: Dollar Deals, but you can get them for FREE right HERE! Thanks for following!

Out of Thin Air

There are so many reasons I love my six year olds in Kindergarten. They LOVE school, they LOVE me…and they often say things that come completely out of thin air.

Last week we were sitting at my Reading Rug in the morning and I was talking about what we were going to be doing for the day. One of my (very shy) students raised his hand and I called on him.

E: "Sometimes I poop at my house."

I was stumped. How do you respond to that? I muffled a laugh and said, "Well, thanks for letting me know….AND on that note, I think it's time for a bathroom break."

Never a dull moment, I tell ya…

I think teachers should unite and write a coffee table book with stories from the trenches classroom! Not only would it be hilarious…it might also give non-educators some insight into what we do all day!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Organizing My Life

My organizational skills have been put to the test this year! I'm balancing my first year teaching Kindergarten - with my day-to-day life - and sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind. (Only sometimes) I'm already starting to think about how I can improve this for next year. I created a set of editable calendars!

My New Years Resolution was to plan meals two weeks at a time. I started off strong, but have been slacking lately. I'm thinking these will be great for my Monthly Menu!

I also realized it would be really useful to have a set of editable Wish Lists to ask for classroom supplies. In Kindergarten, we ask for things (almost) monthly…or we spend our own money.

How do you organize your life? (I need tips!!) 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The Earth is TEE-Rific!

How was your Earth Day? My kiddos got SO into it! And I loved their enthusiasm. I hope I'm making a difference in the way they think about our Earth…and more importantly, how they view their job - to help do their part!

We used some of my resources and some FREEBIES from TPT. My students did a great job brainstorming ideas about how we can "LOVE" the Earth! Compost pile!?!? Impressive!
I used THIS FREEBIE from Phyllis Sprangel on TPT and my students had a blast designing their own t-shirts! I attached a picture of their faces and we have them hanging in the hallway. Needless to say, we have had LOTS of compliments from teachers and students. (it may also be the silly faces some of my kiddos made). :)



Today I talked to my students about how things we recycle can be reused to create new things. That's a hard thing for 5/6 year olds to grasp. BUT - I brought along one of my son's favorite toys. It is made by a company called Green Toys. Have you heard of them? I'm obsessed! All of their products are made from recycled milk jugs, right here in the USA! They are amazing.


(I do not get paid to discuss my LOVE for Green Toys. I'm just a mom who appreciates one company's efforts to create great products and be Earth Friendly)

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Earth Day and a FREEBIE

I worked hard this weekend to create some Earth Day Clipart! It's available in my store - HERE. Then I decided to write a book! It's FREE! Teacher Confession: My life-long goal is to be a published author. Baby steps. :)

 There is also a packet of activities to use with it - available for $2 in my Store!

How will you be celebrating Earth Day? Any good ideas to share?

Don't forget to stop by This Little Piggy Reads for her 150 follower giveaway! And leave me a comment HERE to get a set of FREE Sketch Labels!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

This Little Piggy Reads - Giveaway

I feel honored that Deniece over at This Little Piggy Reads contacted me about her 150 followers GIVEAWAY! I was happy to donate my Think Spring collection! Make sure you jump over to her blog and check it out!

And if you follow MY blog and her blog - leave me a comment. I'd love to send you my Sketch Labels for FREE.


Thursday, April 18, 2013

Carried Away

Last week, my students got carried away with some Kites. I pulled out the watercolors - and everyone got pretty excited. We used white crayons to "decorate" our kites and then painted them with watercolors.

They turned out ADORABLE! And I was pretty excited to show them off in the hallway along with the class' acrostic SPRING poems.

I purchased THIS unit from Ladybug in Kindergarten and it was fun to incorporate her unit into my classroom, as well. Plus - she bought her kite clipart from me! BONUS!


Sunday, April 7, 2013

Spring Break

My family just got back from a quick vacation to SUNNY Florida. It was SO nice to escape the Indiana gloom for a couple days. My parents live south of Orlando - so we were able to pack in A LOT on a very short (3 days) trip!
We did a character breakfast - which was PERFECT for my kiddos. I think they are too young to really enjoy everything Disney has to offer. We did ride one of the most popular rides at Disney - the Monorail. :) My son thought he was going on a Train ride. We won't tell him it was free…or that we literally rode right past the Magic Kingdom. Someday, buddy.
We spent an afternoon at Siesta Key and that was AMAZING. Both of my kids loved the white sand beach and the ocean. Who knew digging in the sand could be so entertaining?!?
We are back in (gloomy) Indiana and ready to hit the homestretch.  Only a couple months left in the year!

Did you do anything fun for your Spring Break?

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Two Things I LOVE

There are two things I LOVE: baseball and donuts. You see how that go hand-in-hand, right? Okay, whatever. I still love them both. So much so - that I used them as inspiration for two of my newest clipart sets!
My husband played baseball in college and I never missed a game. My 3 year old LOVES the sport and I'm trying hard not to be *that* mom. We cheer hard for the Detroit Tigers! This set is currently a Giveaway on TeachersNotebook! Enter between 4/7 and 4/10 to WIN.
My love for donuts was inherited. There is most definitely a "donut" gene in my family. It's a fun set of clipart and I'd love to see what people created with it!

Both of these items are available in my TPT Store and my TN Store!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Circles, Squares, and Ribbons

Spring Break has been awesome for allowing me to catch up on some products I've made and just needed to upload. This set is simple, but should be great in helping dress up some TPT products! They are $1 each or you can get the set for $2.50! 



And of course, there is a FREE mini version! You can get it HERE!