Christmas came EARLY!!!

Hey yall!

 

Have you all been shopping up a storm???

 

My cart was FULL of some amazing goodies...

 

But then this little lady had to stop and gain some control. I *sadly* put away a few units that I don't have to have right now, with the resolution that I will get them at the next big sale.

 

I did allow myself 4 units that I am planning on using this month, and I surprised myself by only having 1 Christmas unit left in my cart!

 

Here's my goodies from the sale:

 

1. Punctuation People from Michelle Oakes

 

 

My kiddos really, really struggle with punctuation. Since I started two months already into the school year, I hadn't taught any formal lessons on punctuation, thinking they must have already introduced punctuation. Big mistake...

 

2. HOTS Reading Response Sheets by Anna Brantley

 

 Anna always has amazing stuff, and I am never disappointed when I purchase her items. I've had an eye on this one for awhile, so it was the first thing to go in my cart :) After looking through this pack, I am already thinking how I am going to spend all the time I'll save by using these quick and ready response sheets!

 

3. All Aboard "The Friendship" by Lyndsey Kuster

 

 

My sweet friend Lyndsey always has the cutest stuff! I have a ton of her posters hanging around my room, and they make everything look so bright and friendly! Well, my kiddos need some friendly right about now...

 

My littles really struggle with being kind and respectful with each other. I have mentioned before the stress I have been under just trying to get my students managed in order to teach, and most of this stress comes from their interactions with each other. They just seem to not really understand the proper way to speak to others, so this pack will be a lifesaver {and stress saver!} for me.

 

4. Christmas Cut-and-Glue Sight Word Sentences by Teacher Tam

 

 

Remember that 1 Christmas item I said made the cut? Well, this was it! My students need some serious practice with sentences, and this Christmas themed pack is the perfect match! I plan to put these in my early finishers bucket to have my kiddos work on in their spare time.

 

Soo....what kind of goodies have yall bought this week??? You still have a couple of hours to shop....what are you waiting for?

All Aboard!!!

Hey yall!

 

Does anyone else have the Sunday night blues?

 

I've got 'em...bad :(

 

I have had such a glorious vacation and I am most definitely not ready to get back to work yet.

 

Can't I have just one more day....please???

 

Well, I guess there is a silver lining about tomorrow....the BIG sale!

 

Is your shopping cart full? I can't wait to check out and see all my new goodies!

 

I have been working really hard to get some more Christmas units ready in time for the big sale, and I finished one more today :)

 

Click on the picture to get your copy!



 

 



 This unit is full of literacy activities that coordinate with the book "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg, including:

*Story Sequencing: cut-n-paste sheet OR pocket chart activity
*ABC Order: center work with recording sheet OR pocket chart activity
*Noun/Verb Sort: center work with recording sheet OR pocket chart activity
*The Polar Word Search: individual sheet
*Venn Diagram {book v. movie}: individual sheet
*Writing Prompt: a variety of different prompts for all ability levels
*Train Tickets: something fun to give your students

 

Don't forget...sale starts tomorrow!!!

 

I am also throwing a little BOGO sale on my holiday items {Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, etc.}. Here's how it works: if you purchase a holiday item, just shoot me an email with your TPT username and the item you purchased. Then let me know which holiday item you want for free :)

 

Click on the picture below to start filling that cart!

 

 

 

Happy shopping!



Thankful for YOU!

Hey yall! Happy turkey day!!!

 

I'm spending the day eating, laughing with family, eating, mapping out our black Friday{and apparently Thursday} shopping, eating, relaxing, eating, watching football, and eating.

 

I just wanted to stop in and tell you guys how thankful I am for all of you! Without you, this little blog would not be possible. If I have even touched one person or given one idea or made learning fun for just one student, then its been worth it. I really do appreciate each and every one of you that read my posts, leave me sweet and encouraging comments, and share your ideas with me.

 

I also am super thankful for all of the other bloggers out there! I am become such a better teacher just from stalking yall :)

 

I hope everyone is spending today with someone you love.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving, yall!!!

 

Getting in the Spirit

Hey yall!

 

I cannot believe that tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I'm so ready for some turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing.....mmmmmmm.

 

Right now I am in Ft. Knox, KY visiting with my sister and family. My brother and family will be coming in tonight, too! Still missing a couple of siblings (plus a hubby, who's stuck in GA), but happy to be with family for Thanksgiving!

 

We have had the whole week off..PTL!..and I have been ultra productive! I know I shouldn't be working on my time off, but we both knew that was going to happen now didn't we?

 

I've got two new Christmas units up for sale, with two more in the works!

 

Holly Jolly Math Centers {Common Core aligned}

 

 

This unit includes:

 

*Double Trouble: doubles facts to 20

*Frosty Time: time to the hour and time to the half hour (2 separate centers)

*Ten Frame Gifts: matching ten frames to their corresponding number

*Christmas Stories: addition & subtraction number stories

*Christmas Character Memory Match: matching numbers to their written words

 

Granny Swallows Christmas

 



 

This unit accompanies the book "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell" by Lucille Colandro. It includes:

 

*Story Sequencing: pocket chart activity OR cut and paste sheets

*ABC Order: pocket chart activity OR individual recording sheets

*Rhyming Words Match: pocket chart activity OR individual recording sheets

*Writing Prompts: 4 different prompts to choose from {depending on your students' abilities}

*Old Lady Word Search: center work OR individual sheets

*Long Vowel Lady: color by vowel individual sheets

 

You can find both of these units in my TPT store now. However, I am participating in the B-I-G cyber Monday {plus Tuesday!} sale over at TPT, so these units will be 28% off then!

 



 

I've got a couple more units in the works, so I will *hopefully* have those ready by Monday, too!

 

Also, Chrissy from Buzzing with Ms. B is having a blogiversay giveaway! She is celebrating her one year blogiversary and is having an awesome giveaway. Go check her out and enter to win a $10 shopping spree in my store!

 

Stuffed with Thankful Thoughts!

Hey yall!

 

I feel like I have been super neglectful lately. Its been over a week since my last post..yikes!

 

Sorry about that :)

 

I would go through the whole explanation thing, but I'm sure yall are tired of hearing just how dang busy I've been lately, so I'll spare you the details.

 

I am *officially* on Thanksgiving break, so you probably won't see much of me for the next week either :)

 

So do you know Lyndsey from a year of many firsts???

 

She is such a doll and I absolutely adore her stuff! Well, she is having a fun linky so I thought I would join in!

 



 

Some things I am thankful for:

 

1. My hubs! He is always there for me no matter what, and supports me in all that I do. He makes me laugh every. single. day. and that is what keeps me sane.

 

2. My family! I have been blessed with the world's most amazing family and I wouldn't trade them for all the money in the world. I am the youngest of 5, so we have a large family. Just within my immediate family there is 18 of us!

Me with my Momma, sisters, sisters-in-law, and niece!

 

3. My job! Even though I have been struggling a bit with this bunch, I am still so thankful to have a job that I look forward to going to and making a difference to these kiddos...even though they drive me 12 kinds of insane sometimes!

 

4. A break! Although I am so thankful for my job, I am even more thankful for the opportunity to have such nice breaks :) We are out all of next week, so this little lady has 9 whole days to spend with family!

 

5. My pups! These sweet babies make me smile and give me a love I cannot describe. They definitely make life more interesting :)

Dude...the world's most snuggliest dog!

Abby...my crabby old lady!
 

Now I'm off to spend some time with my #1 before I leave him on Monday. I'm heading up with my folks to visit my sister and brother in Kentucky for Thanksgiving, but the poor guy is stuck at home thanks to his new j-o-b.

 

Also, before I go, Heather and Juli over at Simple in Second are having a 100 follower giveaway! I donated an item from my store, so head on over to enter! I got the opportunity to meet these sweet ladies at our bloggy meetup in September, and I am just loving their blog! I know you will, too!


 

 



Cooking with Fractions! {freebie alert}

Hey yall!

 

Almost there...only 1 more day stands between me and my 3 day weekend!

 

And then four days before Thanksgiving break...

 

And then 3 weeks after that before Christmas break...

 

But who's counting anyway???

 

This girl, that's who! I just really need a break to rest and recharge, know what I mean???

 

So we have been talking about fractions around these parts and most of my littles are doing an excellent job with it. My teamies and I wanted to incorporate a tasty treat to help them grasp the concept, and what's better to eat with fractions than pizza?

 

Plus...I got to use this lesson as one of my assignments for grad school. I call that a win-win.

 

We started out the lesson by reading this cute little book.

 



 It's about a pizza baker who has any ingredient you can think of, and makes special pizzas for all his customers. My littles really loved it, especially when he put squid on 1/4 of the pizza for the fishermen! Yuck.

 

Then we had to have the right attire to get to cookin' so we made some quick little chef hats. Since this was a spur of the moment kind of thing, I just printed out these hats from this website, the kiddos cut them out, and we stapled them to sentence strips. Voila-chef hats!

 

Then we got down to business...

 

 

Spreading their sauce

 

 

Time for cheese!

 

 

I caught this little sweetie sneaking some cheese. She just couldn't wait!

 

Waiting patiently for their turn...

 

 

Then, while our pizzas were cooking, we wrote some fraction number stories in our math journals. They all had to do with pizza, of course!

 

We also wrote how to make a pizza using this sheet. Click on the picture to get your copy!

 

 

 

Finally, it was time to eat our pizzas :)

 

 

I can't tell you how many "Your the best!" and "This is awesome!" statements I heard from my kiddos. I just became the best. teacher. ever.

 

Boom.

 

Manic Monday: Thanksgiving Freebie!

Hey yall! Happy Monday!

 

Anybody else have the Monday blues?

 

I sure do....

 

It may have something to do with the fact that I'm at home sick today...blah.

 

But that gives me plenty of time to work on my Thanksgiving pack! I know so many of you are getting geared up for Thanksgiving, so I'm trying to get this pack ready in the next few days.

 

In the meantime, please enjoy this freebie :)

 

Click on the picture to get your copy!

This activity includes ABC order to the 2nd letter. My students really need this, so I hope your's can benefit, too!

 

 

Have a great week, friends!

Currently and Soldier Love

Hey yall!

 

PTL it's Friday...and I can't say that enough.

 

I have had an extremely rough day...scratch that...week!

 

Let's start with my Currently...

 

Font by A Cupcake for the Teacher



 

1. Yes...I am ashamed to admit that I watch the Bad Girls Club. Why??? I have no idea...honestly. The girls are horrible and I completely disagree with everything they do on the show. But seriously??? I cannot stop watching!

 

2. This Sunday is my hubby's big 30th birthday! I think I am more excited than he is :) but that may be because I have some things planned for him that he doesn't know about <3

 

3. Management strategies-the reason my week has been hell. I am really, really, really struggling with my kiddos this year. I'm just going to be real with you....it's been making things less than fun. My school is about as inner-city as it can get around here, and most of my students come from extreme poverty. I am dealing with issues that I have never had to deal with before, and it has not been easy. I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad for me or my kiddos, but asking for help! What are some strategies that I can try with these kids??? I have tried every thing from my bag of tricks, but am still spending the majority of my day trying to just manage the kids and I feel as though my teaching is taking a hit. HELP!

 

4. Thanksgiving Break is 15 days away...not that I'm counting or anything. Thanks to a couple of furlough days...grrr...we have the whole week off. I most definitely need the break!

 

5. Party...hubby's turning 30...can't say much more :)

 

6. I love Pandora! I always have it open in my room. My favorite station is one simply called Solo Piano. It's anything and everything that I love....just a piano version. It's amazingly calming to both myself and my littles.

 

Before I head off to finish this BGC reunion, I wanted to show you guys some of the letters the students at our school wrote for the soldiers. I sent out over 250 letters this week! It put a huge smile on my face knowing that 250 soldiers would have a letter to read on Thanksgiving :)

 



 

Happy weekend, friends!