Birthday Freebies and the Traveling Teddy Bear Project

Hey yall! Happy Monday!

 

This is probably my most favorite Monday ever....because its my birthday!!!

 

I was really not looking forward to turning 28, but its not too shabby so far :)

 

I had a fun little bonfire with my close friends on Saturday, lunch with my family yesterday {along with some red velvet cake...my fave!}, and dinner tonight with my hubs! The sweet man bought me flowers, took my car to get the oil changed and washed it, and is taking me to buy a new printer tonight!

 

 

My kiddos were super sweet to me today, too! I wasn't expecting anything, because these babies honestly just don't have much, but one little sweetie did bring me this!

 

 

It's an owl piggy bank! Everytime you put money it, it hoots! Haha I love it and it looks great in our classroom. A couple of other kiddos even wanted to give me some change to put in it!

 

So I wanted to share the birthday love with all of you. For the next couple of hours, I have made my Dr. That Shall Not Be Named math and literacy centers free!!! So hurry up and grab your copies!

 

I will leave these free until I get back from dinner with my hubby tonight. All I ask is that you leave me some feedback!

 

Before I go, I need to ask yall for a BIG favor!

 

Our class is starting a study on Theodore Roosevelt and will be completing a Traveling Teddy Bear Project. It is very similar to Flat Stanley, except the kiddos decorated a teddy bear to send around the country. Also, our teddy bears want to visit some parks, since Teddy Roosevelt was all about the parks :)

 

Here's where yall come in:

 

My kiddos don't have much family that live elsewhere, so we are running into an issue of where to send our teddys. I was hoping that some of you may be willing to let my kiddos send you their bears. It would really mean a lot to us and I know they are super excited to see all the adventures their teddys take.

 

If you are interested, please shoot me an email at nlemacks@gmail.com and I will get back with you!

 

Now, off to pick out my new printer {yes, that's really what I wanted for my birthday!} and have some yummy Japanese hibachi!

Common O'Core and a Review

Hey yall! Happy hump day!

 

Today was actually our first day back and it was HECTIC!

 

I'm sure it had NOTHING to do with the 2 club periods that was just added to our schedule and started today with about ohhh....a week of planning? It was chaotic, I tell ya.

 

Over the long weekend, I was super productive. I finished up a huge paper for my thesis class, cleaned the house top to bottom, and completed my newest pack!

 



 

I am loving this bright packet! Our school has really locked down our copies lately, so I'm trying to run the least amount of copies possible. Enter...pocket chart centers!

 

This 63 page packet is full of fun math centers that can all be completed using a pocket chart (or just any surface really!). I have not included recording sheets; however, if there is a huge demand for them, I will go back and add them. This packet includes:

 



 

I have also included every center in black & white for those of you that are trying to save on ink as well :)

 

*The first 2 to comment will get a free copy!*

 

Now, on to my review....

 

A few months ago, I was asked review to some products for Gojo. I'm always down for free stuff, so I quickly agreed. After a few weeks of waiting, I finally got the products....hand sanitizer! An essential in every classroom, yes?

 

The first thing I opened was this little guy...

 

 

So fun, right?? Oh my, do my littles love this little guy! He sits right next to our tissues as a reminder :)

 

He gets a ton of use, especially before lunch time! One of our classroom jobs is to give everyone hand sanitizer before lunch, and it is now a coveted job because of this guy!

 

The nice thing about him is that you can change the bottles out really easily. We have already gone through the first bottle, so now I've got to stock up! Notice how he is currently empty???

 I {heart} this little guy!

 

The next thing that came was this dispenser.

 

 

 

I was pretty excited, because I knew right where I was going to put it. We share a bathroom with the class next door, so I hung this right inside our little bathroom hall. I was excited because I knew we would get a lot of use out of it and that the foam would go a long way.

 

But.....that's not quite how it worked out. First, the dispenser gave out way too much sanitizer and it wasn't foam like I thought it was. Instead, it was just a liquid. The kiddos kept thinking it was soap, because they had to rub...and rub...and rub...to get it all soaked in.

 

And then they busted it... :(

 

I mean, its still in one piece in all, but the nozzle is kapoot. Hmmm...poor thing succumbed to 37 little first graders, I guess.

Overall, I'm super happy with our little Purell guy, but not so crazy for the dispenser.

 

Alright yall, time to catch up on some Dance Moms!



Five for Friday {love edition}

Hey yall!

 

Can I can a whoop-whoop for 4 day weekends? No matter that Tuesday is a furlough day and I won't get a penny for it...this girl will take it!

 

Its been a rough week for the family. My uncle passed very unexpectedly on Monday morning, so my family has been mourning the loss of a gentle giant. Uncle David was always quiet, but would give you a big smile and ask "What's going on, youngen?" Please keep my aunt and cousins in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with the loss.

 

I'm linking up again with Casey for her weekly Five for Friday.

 



 

It's all about love this week, folks!

 



 

1. This is my Uncle David and Aunt Donna. It was taken a couple of years ago at my brother's wedding. They were so in love and had been married for longer than I've been alive. RIP Uncle David...you will be missed by so many.

 

 



 

2. I found these adorable bags at Dollar Tree and they were perfect for my little Valentines! With all the stress of work and graduate school, I just went the easy route for gifts this year-a pencil, some cutesy erasers, and a lollipop :) Oh, and I made them some special Valentine's Day cupcakes that were oh-so-tasty.

 

 

3. I was so loving Casey's cute Valentine bags that she posted last week, so we made some of our own! They turned out super cute and the kiddos loved having their own special bag that they had made. Score!

 



 

4. Do you see those gorgeous flowers? I was telling my hubby last week how I had heard on the radio that roses were the way to go on Valentine's Day, but I disagreed. I have always been partial to tulips. That sweet man remembered our discussion and gave me these beauties for V-Day. Love him!

 

 

5. Speaking of the hubs, this was the card I got for him for love day. Now, I know what you're thinking...he was super sweet and got me beautiful flowers and this is the card that I got him?

But trust me...this card is so us. The thing I love most about my marriage is that neither I nor my hubby take ourselves too seriously. We love to laugh and have fun with each other. He actually really loved his card :)

 

Now that this crazy week is over, I can turn my full attention to the 30 page paper I've got due tomorrow. Remember that resolution I made to not procrastinate? Yeah....not so much. I've only got about 15 pages done so far...yikes!

Five for Friday!

Hey yall! TGIF!!!

 

I'm linking up with Casey over at Doodle Bugs to share five things from my week. This is perfect, because our week has been all kinds of random :)

 

 

Here we go!

 

 

 

1. My littles have been working hard on our Valentine's Day themed math centers this week. I stocked our centers full of activities from my Lots of Love unit and from Cara's awesome unit My Funny Valentine & Friends that I bought last week.

 

 

2. The Sweetheart Snatcher came to our room this week! If you don't have this unit from Abby, you must go get it! They were so engaged and loved every minute of it.

 

 

3. We were so glad to get our sweethearts back, so we could get to some sweetheart graphing! Sorry the pic is so blurry :(

 



 

4. We've been learning all about Harriet Tubman this week, and my kiddos were full of information about her! We put everything we knew on some cutouts of our feet and made this fun anchor chart.

Funny story about Harriet Tubman. The other day we were making a Venn diagram about how our lives compare to Harriet Tubmans. The kiddos had no trouble describing how their lives were different, but struggled with how they were the same. Until one little sweetie raised his hand and said, "We both got whoopins'!"
I about died.

 

5. This one isn't school related, but I couldn't resist! My sweet old lady always snuggles deep under the covers and I usually have to carry her outside in the mornings. Yesterday morning she just looked too cozy to move :) Love my baby girl! {please ignore my pajamas and the unmade bed}

 

Happy weekend, friends!

 

 

Looky, Looky!

Hey yall!

 

Is it Friday yet?

 

This week has seriously already been the longest week, and I can't believe its only Tuesday.

 

My kids have been NUTS, my brain has taken a vacation, and grades are due tomorrow. What does that mean? This teacher is BEAT!

 

Today I am linking up with Blog Hoppin'.

 



 

I did my shopping earlier in the day, because I knew I would be out at a Super Bowl party and not get a chance to take advantage of the great sales. I didn't buy a whole lot, but I've already put what I did purchase to great use!

 

 

This was my most favorite purchase. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this unit!!! I cannot tell you how much easier it makes my life. I also love that Anna is from Georgia as well, so I always know that her stuff matches up perfectly with what I'm looking for. Thanks Anna!

 

You can never go wrong with anything from Cara! I already had my own Valentine centers cut and prepped, as well as a bunch of freebies I have collected over the years, but I wanted to beef it up a bit. This unit was exactly what I was looking for! I printed, laminated, and cut them out before the game on Sunday and my kiddos have already been loving all the fun activities!

 

I have been really wanting to revamp my guided reading time for awhile. Plus, my team has just decided to switch up our reading classes and my new babies are all struggling readers. I couldn't think of a better time to get some help from the famous Deanna!

 

That's it for me folks! I had quite a few more items on my wishlist, but we are really trying to watch our spending, so I had to reign it in a bit.

 

Sooo....what did you get during the big sale???

 



Substitute Groundhog

Hey yall! Happy Groundhog Day!

 

So glad that Phil didn't see his shadow today...I'm ready for spring!

 

Speaking of groundhogs, I wanted to share what my littles did yesterday in preparation for Groundhog Day.

 

We read the book "Substitute Groundhog" by Pat Miller.

 

 

Its a super cute little book about how Mr. Groundhog gets sick right before his big day. So he holds auditions to find himself a substitute groundhog! Lots of little animals try out, but none of them seem just right. Until he meets....well, I won't spoil the book for ya :)

 

After we read the story, we wrote persuasive letters to Mr. Groundhog on why we would make good substitutes. We've been working on opinion writing, so this was the perfect culminating activity for my littles. We also used Jennifer's {First Grade Blue Skies} groundhog freebie to put at the top of our writing. They did such a good job!

 

"Dear Mr. Groundhog, I would make a great substitute groundhog. I can see well. I won't hop up and down."

"Dear Mr. Groundhog, I would make a great substitute groundhog. I can see well. I won't hop up and down. I will hop up and stay up. I will stay awake. I will fit in your cozy hole."

"Dear Mr. Groundhog, I would make a great substitute groundhog. I won't go to sleep and I will stay awake."

"Dear Mr. Groundhog, I would make a great substitute groundhod. I don't mind small spaces. I can see well."



Some of them took it upon themselves to sign their names formally, ie Mr. Shamir or Miss Brown. Ha!

 

We also took a vote on whether or not Phil would see his shadow {but I didn't get a pic of that} and graphed our responses. Almost all my kiddos thought he wouldn't see his shadow, so they will certainly be happy on Monday!

 

What did yall do to celebrate ol' Phil???

Currently and a Sale

Hey yall! TGIF!!!

 

I'm not sure about yall, but this has been one rough week for me! Well, maybe not the whole week, but certainly the last couple of days.

 

Wish I could elaborate, but I'm sure you can imagine. Let's just say "changes" and leave it at that. But know that I most definitely popped the cork on my most favorite pick-me-up :)

 

Its the first of the month and you know what that means....Currently with the fab Farley!

 



 

Anyone else watch The Office? It just isn't the same without Michael Scott...

 

I came home today and found 2 huge piles of...well, I won't gross you out. But my pups Abby apparently found the leftover chocolate chips from our 100th day, and went to town on those bad boys! I'm thankful she was able to get it all out of her system, but it wasn't a pretty sight to come home too!

 

I'm sure you've all seen this video by now, but if not, GO WATCH IT! Seriously, this kid is the best and totally brightened my day :)

 



 

Now, my pet peeves...

 

1. Rudeness...there's no cause for it! I cannot stand for people to be rude, especially without reason. Especially if its your coworkers...seriously, we all work together so just get it together people!

 

2. Whining...isn't this everyone's pet peeve? But I really despise it. I even have a "No Whining Zone" sign that is hung in my classroom. Anytime I hear a kid getting into that high-pitched voice, all I have to do is say, "Is that whining???" and the rest of my kiddos say "It's a no whining zone!!!"

 

3. Swallowing....here's where I'm a little strange. I DO NOT like the sound of people swallowing! I'm not crazy about any sound that people make while they are eating/drinking, but swallowing is the big one. It seriously makes me cringe...its like nails on a chalkboard to me! Anyone else have this issue???

 

Before I sign off for the evening, I just wanted to let you know about a blowout going on over at TPT!

 

 

Just click on the picture to start shopping :)

 

Go link up with Farley, friends! And I'll go finish off this bottle have another glass :)