Dr. Seuss and St. Patrick's Day!

It's almost March... crazy!  February just flew right by...

I've been collecting my ideas for Dr. Seuss's birthday and St. Patrick's Day.  :)  Do you usually do the same holiday activities/crafts each year?  I'd love to be one of those teachers who can create something, find something, make something... and stick it away for the next year.  But, I'm not.  I like to create things new and fresh.. because the old one would probably be wrinkled, ripped, and in the back of my file cabinet. :-/

Dr. Seuss's birthday is on Friday so I wanted to make sure I had a concrete plan of what in the world I'm doing... especially because I feel like I might need to run out for some supplies or treats.   There are so many great ideas.  I've gathered a bunch of them on my Dr. Seuss board on Pinterest.   I really need to figure out what to do...

I've also been hunting around for some fun St. Patrick's Day activities.  

I whipped up some St. Patrick's Day writing paper to use with my students.  I also added in 3 graphic organizers, too! Click the pictures to check it out! 

I've also been compiling some cute ideas on my St. Patty's Day board on Pinterest. 

I also got this super fun St. Patrick's Day Roll and Graph from Ashley at the School Supply Addict.  Click the picture so you can grab yourself a copy from her store.  You should definitely take some time to look around her store, too... she has such cute stuff!

Source: http://www.theschoolsupplyaddict.com/

I've been staring at my computer screen allll day... time for some dreaded housework! :)  Happy Sunday!

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Achey Fingers

I've been creating things for TpT NON-STOP lately.  :)  That's why my fingers are achey... all the clicking, dragging, sizing, cropping, typing... oh my!

I branched out a little bit and created some frames.  I'm more comfortable with Photoshop and finally figured out a way to make some pretty cute, colorful frames.    :)  It's a good thing because my brain was all out of more color combinations for digital paper packs!

Click the pictures to check them out!

On a different note, I went to a restaurant that served Filipino food today.   My dad had gone there a couple of times and said it was so good.

I was a little scared to go for a couple of reasons.  First, I always go to the same restaurants and order the same thing.  All the time.  I don't like branching out.  Next, the restaurant was connected to this dark, little Filipino store.  It just didn't look like you should be dining in there.  Lastly, I was afraid because my dad had mentioned that if you wanted anything other than tap water, you had to go to the store next door to get it.  Interesting...

But, it was delicious!  All of the people were so welcoming and friendly.  It was a buffet lunch that they only have on Saturdays.   You can order carryout food any other days, though.  The owner and staff were so nice and genuinely interested in whether or not you were enjoying their food.  It felt very "homey"... almost like, we were having dinner with them at their house.

It was true that the pop came from the store next door.  But, the store is connected.  I guess that's just where they keep the pop.  It doesn't seem so weird now.  :)

I'm happy that I tried some new foods... I really couldn't tell you what I was eating though.  But, it was tasty!

Have a spectacular Saturday night!

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What I'm Loving!

Love.  It's one of my favorite words. :)

I stumbled upon Kathleen from Growing Kinders linky and I couldn't wait to start making my list! 

Here are some of the things I'm loving right now... 

Yum!  Cucumber, lemon, mint water.  Sounds weird.  But, it's delish!  It's supposed to be a metabolism-boosting, "detox" drink.  I'm not sure about all of that, but it tastes great!  I found the original idea from Lipstick, Heels, & a Baby. 

Source: www.aveda.com

I'm loving my Aveda Lip Saver.  It is honestly saving my lips.  :)  I got it from my cousin at our Christmas party.  We always have a theme to direct our gift buying and this time it was our favorite things... kind of like what Oprah does.  :)

I got a delicious donut, seltzer water (you know it's my FAVE), a Starbucks gift card, and this awesome chapstick.  It's not just any chapstick though.  It's amazing.  And, it should be... because it's $8!  I'm happy I got it was a present because I sure wouldn't spend $8 on chapstick. 

Source: http://www.lushusa.com

I'm not a bath girl.  I would be a bath girl if we had a bathtub that could fit an adult.  It's uncomfortable and kind of gross to be sitting in all of your body scum.  BUT.. I got these awesome bath bombs and bubble bar things for my birthday.   I have only used the Butterball and I can't wait to use the other ones.  It left my skin smooth, moisturized, and smelling good.  They are handmade and they don't test on animals... you can't go wrong! 

Source: http://us.toshiba.com

This may seem weird, but I am loving my computer.  It has allowed me to branch out.  I have grown so much as a teacher - reading blogs, writing on my blog, creating for TpT, and finding great ideas on Pinterest. I don't have a fancy computer or anything.. but, it works and I love it! 

And... of course I'm loving my family.  :)  My two guys are perfect... especially my Tobey. <3

What are YOU loving?  Link up! 

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Sight Words on Sale!

President's Day, how I love you.  I'm really enjoying the fact that I don't have to get up early for work tomorrow.  I don't know about you, but I still get up "early" on days off.  On work days, I'm up by 5.  On weekends and days off, I wake up at about 7.  I love being up before other people... and when I'm not, I feel like I'm just wasting my day.   What time do you get up on days off? 

So... I will NOT be wasting my day tomorrow.  I have a breakfast and Hobby Lobby date with my friend from work.  :) I've never been to Hobby Lobby but I'm so excited to go! 

Yesterday, I spent the day re-vamping some sight word activities that I use in my classroom.  We spend the first (almost) half of the year reviewing the pre-primer and primer lists because so many students come in not knowing those words.   Thankfully, we are just about wrapping up the first grade list now.  

I put all of the Dolch first grade words into groups of 5.  There are 41... always an odd number! So, the last list has 6 words instead of 5.  I made an activity for each day of the week and an assessment for Friday.  Although the activities are like "worksheets", they involve different skills like building words, coloring, cutting, graphing, gluing, and reading.   They are so versatile... you can use them in whole group, small group or as an independent activity, center activity, or even homework... you could use them for anything!

I compiled and neatened up my file of sight word activities and put it together for Teachers Pay Teachers.  I added in an assessment checklist with all of the first grade words so you can keep track of each student's progress throughout the year.  I also added a parent letter to send home and cut-apart flashcards for each week's word list.  

It's pretty much all there for you!  AND... it's on sale right now!  8 weeks of sight word activities, assessments, and flashcards for just $8.00!  :) 

Interested in grabbing it while the discount is going on?  Click the picture to check it out! 

Time to relax!  Enjoy your President's Day!

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100th Day Fun!

We had TONS of fun on our 100th day!  :)  Here are some of the things we did...

This was probably the best part of the whole day for my students.... our closet door.  They just wanted to keep walking under it.  :) 

Here is what their desks looked like.  :)  

In the morning, we made our 100th day gumball  machines.  I don't have a picture of our final product.. but, I will tell you that they look so cute hanging in the hallway!  

If you ever want to do this activity, here's a tip...
It was SO hard for my students to keep track of the number of gumballs they had painted.  So, we used a hundreds chart.   The student would make 10 dots of one color and move their block to the 10.  They continued making 10 dots and moving 10 until they were to 100.   It was SO much easier for them! 

We also counted out 100 Froot Loops by making groups of 10.  Once they had them all on their sorting mat, I came around and listened to them count to 100 by 10s.  :) 

Click on the video above to listen to one of my sweeties counting by 10s to 100. :)

We practiced our number identification skills by coloring in specific numbers to make a big 100.  All of the students did one at their desk while we also did one on the Promethean board.  

And, last but not least, we came up with 100 words.  My students really enjoyed this activity! 

I found the jackpot when I stumbled across Amanda's blog: Mrs. Terhune's First Grade.  I found so many of my fun ideas there.  She has lots of other great 100th Day ideas that I just couldn't get to.

Happy Saturday!

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Currently and WINNERS!

I'm finally linking up with Farley for her monthly currently!

Listening:
I love TV.  I would be happy watching TV all day long.  It's sad.

Loving:
I had a lot of fun making new sparkle pins and pretty pins for my class.  Find out how I use them here.

Thinking:
Days off are bittersweet.  It's great to get some time away from the classroom.  But, you spend the day before your day off preparing for being gone.  So, the day before is jam packed and busy.  I guess teachers work hard for our days off, huh?  But, anywho.... I'll have next Monday off (for President's Day) and then I took Friday off (just because).  :)

Wanting:
It's been about 12 years since I've had my eyebrows waxed.  No!  I didn't let them grow out into a bushy uni-brow! ;)  I pluck them myself.  I just need a professional to make them pretty again.

Needing:
I have a lot of time in my classroom without kids.  We are required to be at school an hour before the students but I always get there even earlier than that.  I could always use more time though.  With meetings, phone calls, copies, grading, conversations... teachers never have enough time!  I DO NOT stay after school though.  I like to scoot out as soon as I can.

Pet Peeves:
I've always been annoyed my slurping, lip-smacking, gum-chewing sounds.  Oh!  I forgot my BIGGEST pet peeve ever... silly me!  I HATE WHISTLING.  It's the one thing that turns me into the exorcist (head spinning and all).

I also don't like when my students leave glue bottles open and expect me to make it work days later.  I'm not a miracle worker!!  I should teach my students more about glue bottles in the beginning of the year.  Or, we can just use glue sticks and not worry about glue bottles! :)

And.... NOW FOR THE WINNERS...!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will you be emailing you ladies later today! :) Thank you to all who entered in my very first giveaway!  It was so fun and I can't wait to do another!

Don't forget to link up with Farley!

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LOVE Giveaways!

The giveaway that I started yesterday has made me so happy!  I have a few more likes on Facebook and I even got a couple of new followers on my blog!  Thank you to everyone who has already entered!

This makes me want to have a daily giveaway.  ;)  It would probably lose the thrill if I did them every day, huh?

But, here's what I WILL do...

I'm going to pick THREE winners instead of just one.  :)  But....I'm going to change the cut-off.  I can't wait until next weekend to pick the winner... the suspense is killing me!  So, the giveaway will officially end on Tuesday at 12 AM.  :)  Winners will be announced  later in the day on Tuesday.  

Do you want to win one of my digital paper packs?!  Read more about the giveaway here.

There is still time to enter!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, everyone!

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My First Giveaway!

I'm having my first giveaway!  Yikes!  I got so nervous setting it up on Rafflecopter.  I'll probably mess it up somehow...

Ok... here are the details!  You can enter to win any one of my digital paper packs from my TpT store!  There are two ways to enter!  Don't forget to do both! :)

The giveaway ends next Sunday (Feb. 17th) so enter now!  I will email the winner's favorite pack to them on Sunday, February 17th.

Here are the digital paper packs you can choose from!

If you want to know more about each just check out my store.  Don't forget to enter!  Feel free to spread the news about this giveaway.  :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway Good luck!

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100th Day!

Is your 100th day celebration coming up?  Ours has been changed  a couple of times because of snow days but it is (I think) technically on Monday.  We were going to do a combined 100th day/Valentine's Day celebration on Thursday but decided against it because we have way too many fun activities for each.  I don't want to skip over something fun because we only have one day to celebrate.

I pinned some cute 100th day activities onto my 100th Day pinterest board.

Here are some cute ideas that I really want to do in my classroom...

Source:http://www.alyciazimmerman.com/

http://mrswilliamsonskinders.blogspot.com/

Source: http://littlemissglamourgoestokindergarten.blogspot.com/

Source: http://kinderkollections.blogspot.com//

I'll post again during the week with some pictures of our 100th Day fun!  :) 

I also wanted to show you my latest digital paper packs that I am IN LOVE with. :)

I will be giving away a free digital paper pack to one special winner soon.  Come back tomorrow to find out how to enter my first giveaway!! :)

Happy Saturday!

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