August Slant Box

I've been so extremely busy and exhausted when I get home each night that I haven't had a chance to blog about the wonderful box of goodies that my SLANT box partner sent to me. 

Slant box is a wonderful idea that is coordinated by the awesome Jameson over at Lessons With Coffee. It is a monthly themed exchange. You are paired with 2 teachers each time you sign up. One will send a box to you and the other is the person that you will send a box to. September sign-ups are over but be sure to be on the lookout for the October sign-up so that you can join in on the fun!

One of my August SLANT box partners was Bobbie! The theme was "My Favorite Things..."! Bobbie did a great job of finding things that were perfect for me! 

I'm addicted to tumblers, so of course I loved this instantly!! :-) I also have become slightly obsessed with all things chevron so I cannot wait to give the chevron tape a try. Now just to figure out what to use it for. The Spider-Man pens are perfect for our school wide superhero theme this year. I am always in need of post it's and ironically I've never had any that have my initial. Lol! Of course I love bright colors so the bright neon sharpies are fantastic. Last but not least was the nail polish! I love, love, love this color! I of course had to use it immediately and give myself a mani & pedi!! 

Thanks so much Bobbie for all of the wonderful goodies!! It was some of the happiest mail I've received in a while!! 

Until Next Time....

Remember to Have Fun Learning!

Back to School

Man oh man!! After enjoying such a relaxing summer I completely forgot how hectic things can get at the beginning of the school year! Teachers reported back on August 15th and our students started on the 20th. There never seems to be enough time to get everything ready but somehow it all seems to come together just in the nick of time! 

I actually remembered to take pics of my classroom this year BEFORE our Open House began so that I could remember how neat and orderly everything once was. Lol!! I'll admit I'm still not in my groove yet and not believing that I'm actually back in school, FOR REAL! My teacher bag and binder have yet to be organized but I've created a fun learning environment for all of my new kiddos!!! And that my friends, makes me happy :-)! 

I'm pretty exhausted right now, and this has only been the 2nd day with students but I wanted to leave you with a few pics of my classroom this year! 

 

Until Next Time!!!

Remember to Have FUN Learning!!!

Educents Sight Word Practice Set from Teaching in Blue Jeans

I'm here to share another great deal with you being offered through Educents.

This sight word pack is normally $31.00 but if you purchase it through Educents, you can get it for $7.99!!! That's right that's a 74% discount! See below for more details about this amazing offer.

Sight Words – one of the underlying foundations to reading and writing.  A solid understanding and mastery of these most frequently used words in the English language help a child not only begin to read those first books, but also develop fluency and automaticity in their reading.  This in turn leads to comprehension which is the goal of reading – deriving meaning from words.  However, sight words are also some of the most difficult to learn because many do not follow the typical phonics patterns.   This set is designed to make the practice and review of sight words fun and engaging for the child.

Who is it for?

• Recommended ages 4-10 / Pre-K – 3rd grade
• Teachers and homeschooling parents who want a multi-sensory approach to practicing sight words
• Parents who want to help their child get ahead in reading
• Parents of a struggling reader looking for a multi-sensory approach to learning, reviewing and practicing sight words

What is Included?
In this deal you will receive the following products focused on sight word instruction and review:

• Multi-Sensory Sight Word Practice Pages for the complete list of 220 Dolch Sight Words.  Each page includes a section to read it, trace it, write it, rainbow write it, find it and build it.  Perfect for whole group instruction, independent practice, or as part of a learning center rotation.  These pages are divided according to the Dolch word list which makes it easy to differentiate for students at different levels.
• Multi-Sensory Sight Word Practice Pages for the common color words (black, blue, brown, gray, green, orange, pink, purple, red, white, yellow)
• Multi-Sensory Sight Word Practice Pages for the number words from zero to ten
• Sight Word Sticker Book for a fun and motivating way to encourage kids to learn and practice their sight words.  When words are fluently read, the child earns a sticker next to the word.  This set includes pages for the alphabet (to practice letter names and sounds), color words, number words, and 150 of the most common sight words.  Choose from four different cover
  options.  Also includes a progress monitoring data sheet for all the pages in the sticker book.

Why buy?

• Easy to use for both teacher and student
• Makes learning sight words fun and hands-on
• Ready to download, print, and use today

What Others are Saying:

• My kids LOVE these! It keeps them very engaged.” -KJNelson (3/27/2013)
• “Thank you so much! My students AND I love these! They are a great "wake up" activity. :)” -Angela B.  (4/16/2013)
• I am so excited to send this home with my students!” -tcater (2/17/2013)

How does the deal work?

• Download link will be sent via e-mail
• All sales are final

So head HERE to grab your copy of the Sight Word Practice Set. Don't hesitate, this offer is only good for 7 more days!

Until Next Time...

Remember to Always Have FUN Learning!

Grammaropolis Deal on Educents

Good Afternoon Friends!

Hope that your Tuesday has been terrific so far! I just wanted to share an awesome deal available at Educents right now!

Grammaropolis is where grammar lives! Hailed as a Schoolhouse Rock for the 21st

Century, Grammaropolis uses the parts of speech as animated characters starring in

books, songs, videos, and interactive games. This innovative, classroom-proven

approach blends character-based content with more traditional quiz-based assessment

and is designed to address students' varied learning styles. Because the parts of

speech are personified based on their roles in the sentence, the characterization

provides students with a more effective way to visualize and internalize the roles of the

parts of speech and to identify how a sentence is put together. This deal includes

unlimited access to Grammaropolis for up to 5 students!

Who is it for?
*  Kids who would love learning about grammar if only it weren't so boring
*  Parents who want to help their children with their homework but might need a
refresher
*  Homeschoolers searching for a comprehensive parts of speech curriculum
*  Teachers eager to address the varied learning styles of their students and to
incorporate an innovative approach to grammar in their classrooms
*  ESL learners of all ages

What do you receive with this amazing deal?

•   Forever Passport to Grammaropolis includes
•   One-time fee
•  Unlimited access to every part of speech for up to 5 students
•  8 different parts of speech
•  20 animated shorts
•  9 animated music videos
•  28 different quiz categories
•  9 illustrated books
•  5 student accounts

So why should you buy this?

•  Grammaropolis is lots of fun! Our innovative blend of creative content and traditional instruction includes every part of speech!
•  A firm grasp of grammar is an essential building block for effective communication in any subject.
•  Don’t teach grammar with memorization and drills any longer!
•  Try noun neighborhood on the site for free HERE

How does the deal work?

•  Voucher expires on December 31, 2013
•  Customer will need to enter credit card information to set up account, but will not be charged.
•  All sales are final

So now that you have all the details,  go HERE to order Grammaropolis!


Until Next Time...

Remember to Always Have FUN Learning!!

The SLANT Box

Good Morning Friends!

I hope that your week is off to a fantastic start. It's a beautiful morning here in Maryland and that's always a welcome sign of a great week ahead!

I wanted to share with you a wonderful idea that Lessons with Coffee has just begun!

The idea behind the SLANT box is that you will be paired with 2 other educators, one who send a box of goodies to you and one to whom you will send a box of goodies to. There will be a theme each month and you can sign up for a month or not! You have to sign up by the 3rd of each month and packages must go out by the 20th. This is meant to be an encouraging and uplifting activity and way for us educators to receive some Happy Mail! Who doesn't love that.

Hop on over to Lessons with Coffee to sign up and find out the rest of the details!

Until Next Time...

Remember to Always Have FUN Learning!!

Liebster Award!!

Can you believe that it is already close to the end of July! Where has summer gone?!? I’ve been enjoying the time off to get rejuvenated after a long and trying school year.

About a week ago, I found out that Portia Pits over at Tidbits From Ms. Pitts, nominated my blog for the Liebster Award! I am so happy for this nomination and for a chance to help others get to know a little about me!

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs. I am so happy to be apart.

So here are the rules (we all know we must follow them )
1.  Link back to the blog that nominated me.
2. Answer the questions posted for me by my nominator.
3.  Share 11 random facts about myself.
4.  Create 11 questions for my nominees.
5.  Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers.
6.  Contact my nominees to let them know that I nominated them.
So I’ve completed one of the 6 requirements. Now on to fulfilling the rest!

11 Questions from Tidbits from Ms. Pitts

1. Why did you decide to become a teacher?
This one is easy! I’ve known since the 4th grade that I wanted to become a teacher. While some family members were always trying to tell me that this was not the career that I should chose, due to the amount of money educators make, I did not let that deter me one bit! I knew that my calling in life was to help others and more importantly to help them to learn. It’s always been in me to help others enjoy learning as much as I do!

2. What are a few of your favorite TV shows?
I’ll be brutally honest…I’m a reality TV junkie! I try not to indulge in too much TV, but when I do, it’s nothing but reality series, typically. I’m a BIG Real Housewives fan, don’t judge me! LOL! My faves are Atlanta, New Jersey and Orange County. I also LOVE Law & Order: SVU! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every episode of all 14 seasons, thanks Netflix! Some other shows I enjoy are Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Cake Boss, Cupcake Wars, and Tia and Tamera.

3. How are you spending your summer break?
So far this summer, I’ve gotten back into a semi-regular exercise routine, that I will hopefully be able to maintain once school starts back up. I’ve been catching up and on stalking reading LOTS of wonderful blogs, that I don’t always have time to read or visit during the school year, but that will change this year! I’ve also taught a few classes for our Kids College Summer Camp. Last but not least I’ve done WAY TOO MUCH some shopping!

4. What educational websites or apps do you like for your students to utilize?
I just had a SMARTBoard installed in my classroom towards the end of the year so I’m looking forward to finding more websites that I can use with it. I also just got an iPad for myself at the end of the year and I’m hoping to utilize it in the classroom as well. Some of the websites/Apps that my kiddos enjoyed last year are:
* Starfall
* ABCya
* PBS Kids
* Storia
* Sock Puppets

5. Where are your favorite places to shop?
My most favorite places to shop are Target, Old Navy, Michaels, New York & Company, JoAnn’s, & Amazon!!

6. What is your pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is when my students leave trash or do not clean up after themselves at the end of the day. There have been a few times when they left such a mess, that I’ve asked our Building Service Managers to NOT clean my classroom so that my students could see the big mess that they left. Needless to say it only takes one time and then they take cleaning up at the end of the day more serious.

7. What makes the state you live in a great place to visit?
Maryland is home to the oh so delicious & famous Blue Crabs! You won’t get any better seafood anywhere else! We also surround our nations capital, which is even better. What other state could put you oh so close!

8. What is your favorite subject to teach? Why?
I LOVE to teach science because it can be such a hands-on learning experience! I love to conduct engaging and memorable experiments with my firsties. No matter how many times I’ve done  an experiment it never goes the same way each year.

9. What's one new thing you are going to implement this new school year? Why?
I am hoping to implement some elements of Daily 5 and more focused writing. I want to start using a little bit of Daily 5 to hopefully help me to grow and become even more effective as a Guided Reading teacher. I am always open to new ideas and I’m interested in seeing how my new group of students will respond to this structured way of learning. I also want to try to incorporate more focused writing into or day/week. This is an area that my team and I went back and forth with last year and I’d love to find a method and try to become more consistent with it.

10. How do you manage grading papers where you are not left with stacks upon stacks?
I am guilty of having stacks of student math homework pile up. Although this past year was slightly, not by much, better than years past. One things I started doing, but of course not until we were 3/4 of the way through the school year, was to have one of my “high flyers” grade stacks for me. Occasionally I would get the whole class involved and have the students switch papers to get them graded and handed back. When the students completed something that was easy for me to glance at in class, I would walk around with my scented ink pads and stamp their paper. They loved trying to guess what the scent was!

11. What random act of kindness have done in 2013?
I love to bake so I’ve been known to just bring in and leave sweet treats on my co-workers desks! Sometimes it was just the pick-me-up that they needed because they were having a difficult week. I also like to leave coupons that I don’t use/need near the items that they can be used on in hopes that this small gesture will help someone!

WOW! 11 questions is quite a bit, but I enjoyed sharing a little bit about myself.
Now I get to share 11 Random Facts About Myself! Let’s see….

1. I love the 1920s!
2. I’m addicted to all things with strawberry, caramel, or mint! Yum!
3. I love to cook!
4. I love buying new pens, especially colorful one, but then end up using the same ones all the time.
5. I’m a huge procrastinator but deliver some of my best work under pressure! (I’m sure I’m not the only one!)
6. I’m the 1st in my family to not only go to a 4 year university and graduate but I’m also the first to earn a Master’s degree.
7. I LOVE Sweet Tea!!
8. Cheesecake is my favorite dessert!
9. I’ve never been to Disney World but hope to go soon, or at least once I have children.
10. I love Disney Movies, especially the movies involving any of the Disney Princesses. Ariel & Tiana are my favorites!
11. I’m highly addicted to Pinterest and may need to seek help for this problem soon!

Here are the 11 Questions that I came up with for my nominees:
1. What type of behavior management do you use in your classroom?
2. How do you get parents involved?
3,. What your favorite sweet treat?
4. If you were stuck on a deserted island, what are your 4 MUST HAVES?
5. What’s one thing you created or want to create to use/display in your classroom this year?
6. How do you infuse technology into your teaching?
7. What is your favorite sport?
8. If you could take a trip to any place in the world where would you go? Why?
9. What is your favorite hobby when not teaching?
10. What is your favorite quote?
11. What is your teaching philosophy!

Now that we have all of that out of the way, it’s about time I let you know who I have nominated to receive this award. 
And the Nominees are…

Teaching Tidbits with Jamie
The Blessed OCDiva
Fun & Easy First Grade Ideas
A Plus Creations
Fearless in First

I can’t wait to hear your answers and to learn more about each of you! Be sure to leave me a comment so I can come check out your post!
Thanks again goes to Portia for nominating me! This was a lot of fun!

Until Next Time…

Remember to Always Have FUN Learning!

Long Time No See & A GREAT Sale!!

Well, it's been quite a LONG time since I've done any blogging! This past school year was pretty draining and I just didn't have the drive to do anything outside of my classroom walls. But with summer break, comes rejuvenation and the desire to want to get back into the things that I enjoy most!

I'm going to try my best to get back to blogging faithfully on this blog and my crafting blog as well. I think if I just make myself schedule time to do them, I'll be more apt to sticking to some sort of schedule. I also have some things I want to work on to add to my TPT store.

My real purpose for stopping in today was to share a GREAT deal that I ran across! In following so many blogs my interest has been piqued in deciding whether or not a I should purchase a personal laminator. I've been contemplating this for a while, and my interests has become more heightened over the past week as I've begun to think about getting things prepared for my classroom for next year. I know, I know, I've only been on summer break for 2 weeks, and I'm already thinking about next year. A teacher's work is never done! But it's fun to start to think about decorating and things I want to do better in the coming year.

Oh yea, I digressed, back to the laminator issue! :)

So I've done lots of research, ok not lots, but enough to finally decide that I was going to take the leap and get my own laminator. We have one at my school that we are able to use, but like most schools, it takes FOREVER to heat up, and I'm not always that patient when I want to quickly get things done! With my own laminator I'll be able to have things done prior to getting to school, and that will save valuable time, in the beginning of the year and all throughout.

The company MyBinding.com, has the laminator that I have seen shared and discussed by many of the bloggers that I follow. So this morning I decided to just go on the site and just confirm that it was really the one that I wanted. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the laminator I've been looking to get, was on SALE!!! I of course had to jump on it right away and place my order! You can see what I'm talking about by going HERE.

So now I have to sit and wait for it, but I'm willing to be patient for this one! :)

Well I'm off to organize my office and then go spend some quality time with my teammate!!

Hope that you all have a fabulous day!!

Remember to...Always Have FUN learning!