Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey yall!

 

 Just wanted to drop by and tell you...

 

Do you know what I'm thankful for? All of yall!

 

Seriously...it means the world to me to have such loyal and supportive followers. And to show just how thankful I am, I am offering my Granny Swallows Christmas unit for free today only. Click on the picture below to snag your copy...but hurry! It's only free until 10 pm tonight.

 

 

And I'm so excited to tell you guys about the HUGE upcoming sale over at TPT! On Cyber Monday {and Tuesday!}, everything in my shop will be 20% off. Use the code CYBER at checkout to receive an additional 8% off! So get those wish lists ready folks...Monday will be here before you know it! Click on the picture below to start stocking up :)

 

Adorable graphic from Jen Jones

 

Now....get off the computer and spend some time with your precious family!

Take Me Back Tuesday: Room Mom Gifts!

Hey yall!

 

Anyone else already on Thanksgiving break? We have the whole week off and it is glorious! Sleeping in, hanging out in the jammies til 2, shopping, catching up with my girlfriends....loving every second of it!

 

So since I'm trying hard to not do anything productive, I'm joining Hope for her fun linky :)

 

 

This is a post from awhile back where I shared the gifts I gave my room moms at the end of the year. I thought with December just right around the corner, they would also make great gifts for Christmas! Take a look and let me know whatcha think :)

 

Originally posted on June 2, 2012

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Hey yall! Happy Saturday!

I have been on summer break for about 12 days now and it. is. fabulous.

I feel sorry for you poor souls that are still locked away in a school building. But only if you promise to feel sorry for me when I start back to school in early August, while you are still enjoying the summer through Labor Day! That is, if  I get a job!

Anyways, I wanted to share with you guys something that I did last year for my room moms. I was super broke at the time, so I needed to make something incredibly cheap and easy, but that still looked cute.

Now, I cannot take credit for this idea. I found it somewhere on the world wide web. This was pre-Pinterest, and before I became a blogstalker, so I honestly have no clue where I found this idea. If anyone knows, let me know!

Here is what I made for my room moms:



They are little Chinese takeout boxes with chocolate dipped fortune cookies and a tag that says "I am so FORTUNate to have you as a room mom!"

Now, when I made these last year, I didn't cutesify everything I made.

Shock! Gasp! Aww!

I know.

So, of course when I decided to share this with you guys, I just had to make some cute little labels to go with it!



I thought it would be cute to roll these up fortune cookie style and attach them to the takeout boxes. This would be mucho adorable than my lame index card label that I made last year. Ha!

Click on the picture below to get a copy of the labels. It also has step-by-step directions on how to make the cookies....not that you will need it, because they are seriously super easy to make!

Graphics by The Digital Cake Shop.
Fonts by Kevin and Amanda.

I have also included tags that say 'room parent' instead of 'room mom.'

If you have something else, say a room dad or room grandparent, just shoot me a quick email and I will be happy to make a different tag for you :)

Alright yall, off to wash my car and clean my room!



No Peeking! {freebie!}

Hey yall!

 

3 more days, 3 more days....that's what I keep telling myself :)

 

Anyone else get a whole week off for Thanksgiving???

 

Today I wanted to share how I make my kiddos offices. Super simple and easy :)

 

All you need are some manila folders (or colored ones if you want to get fancy with it!), some scissors, a stapler, and the freebie below. I prefer to use the Smead Super Tab Heavy Weight folders, because they are sturdy enough to last my kiddos all year.

 

 

First, cut your folder in half hamburger-style.

 

Yikes! Sorry about the glare there!

 

Then take the two pieces and fit them together so that they overlap.

 

 

 

Staple the two pieces together where they overlap.

 

 

Download this freebie and print them for your littles. Staple them to the inside of the folder (although I would recommend laminating them first for durability).

 

 

 

Voila...instant office! My kiddos feel very legit when they pull these out for tests and what have you. Sometimes, they like to be secretive and pull them out during classwork so their neighbors can't peek at their work.

 

I usually let them decorate their offices during the first week of school. Then they just keep them in their desks for the rest of the year! There's always going to be those one or two that lose theirs, but the majority of my kiddos keep up with them. I always make extras, though...just in case! 

 

Head on over to Shoplet.com to order your folders! They are nice and sturdy and I LOVE the super wide tabs. While you're there, check out their FasTab Hanging File Folders. They have built-in tabs that are ten times better than those pesky plastic ones that fall out after awhile.

The people over at Shoplet.com were also nice enough to send me the Easy Grip Pocket expanding file. The nifty thing about this file is that the sides have a non-slip grip pad that allows you to easily pick up the file, without the contents falling out. Genuis! It's also pretty heavy duty, so perfect for holding all those awesome teacher files :)

 



I Just Want to Do It My Way!

Hey yall!

 

I'm so excited today to be taking part in a fun blog hop for Julia Cook books!

 

 

Have you read any of her books before? They all focus on an important topic that is important for young people to learn in the classroom. Bullies, teamwork, tattling, blurting out, stealing.....just a few of the topics that her books are about!

 

I recently purchased the book I Just Want to Do It My Way! and read it to my class. I have a few sweeties who really struggle with staying on task and getting their work done, so this book was just what we needed!

 

 

This book is about a little boy named RJ who always wants to do things his way. Whether its eating an ice cream cone from the bottom up or sleeping with his pajamas on inside out....he's got to have things his way! Um.....can't our kiddos definitely relate to that?

 

RJ gets in trouble at school for not getting his math work done. He says he can't focus with Norma the booger-picker sitting right next to him! RJ's parents and teacher help him understand the importance of staying on task in school and getting his work done.

 

After we read the book, we held a class discussion on why it is important to stay on task and brainstormed some ways to stay focused and get our work done. We made a class anchor chart and then the kiddos created their own organizers to put in their journals.






They did such a great job! Hopefully, these friendly reminders will help them stay focused throughout the day. Click on the picture below to snag a copy of the organizer we used.

 

Check out these other books below to continue the fun!

 

Let's Talk Turkey!

Hey yall! Happy Friday!

 

Was it just me, or did this week drag by? Something about short weeks always makes them feel extra long...

 

Well, we finally started to get into the turkey spirit this week! We've started our plants/animals unit in science, so I thought it was the perfect week to start learning about turkeys!

 

We started by reading some informational texts about turkeys that I checked out from our library.

 

 

 

Then we used a graphic organizer from sweet Rachelle over at Want the Teacher Wants to help us get our facts in order (what would we do without all these wonderful bloggy resources???). We made a large class anchor chart, and my kiddos put their own chart in their reading journals.

 

 

 

We discussed some good opening and closing sentences and brainstormed a few that might work for this type of writing. Then my kiddos got to work! They certainly love informational writing! As a fun Friday activity, we whipped up some quick little turkeys to go with our writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love how all their turkeys turned out a little different. I gave them patterns for the body and feathers, but had them choose their own googly eyes and add feet and a beak. My room was littered with a bazillion tiny pieces of orange paper, but they were super engaged so it was worth it!

 

We've got lots more Thanksgiving goodness planned for next week, so I'm hoping to fill all the boards with student work! What are some fun activities you have planned for next week?

 

Happy weekend, friends!

It's All New!

Hey yall! Happy Veteran's Day!

 

Aren't Mondays so much better when you have them off? Well, I know not every school is out for Veteran's Day, but ours is and I am so thankful! This long weekend was exactly what I needed.

 

Not only have I cleaned the house, worked on my thesis paper {almost done!!!}, done about 1,356 loads of laundry, and bought groceries.....I've also finished up my newest addition to my Granny series!

 

 

This unit coordinates with the book "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie" by Alison Jackson. It includes:

 

 

My kiddos absolutely love the Old Lady books and look forward to completing these fun extensions.

 

Want to win a copy? Head on over to The Teacher Studio and enter her amazing giveaway! If you win, you could pick up this pack from me {or any other pack in my store!}.

 

 

Want to snag this pack now? Then check out the Veteran's Day sale I'm throwing in my store! You can pick it up for 20% off today only!



The Journey for Baby

Hey yall! Happy weekend, my friends!

 

This post is not at all education related, but I hope you will still stick around and give it a read.

 

So I have shared some of my fertility struggles in the past and was overwhelmed by the sweet comments and prayers. You can read how our journey started here.

 

Well, I thought I might give yall a little update! The hubs and I did not have any luck conceiving on our own {or with the help of some meds} so we were referred to a fertility specialist. We started seeing our doctor back in August. He is a wonderful doctor and very encouraging, but also a realist, which I'm thankful for.

 

We started with some tests to find out the cause of our struggles. Well, after a couple months {and several hundred dollars later!} we finally had some answers. Turns out, my antibodies are attacking and killing the hubby's little swimmers. Not the best news to get, but we were thankful to finally get some answers.

 

The chance of us getting pregnant on our own is slim to none, although not impossible. However, we decided to move on to the next phase, which is an intrauterine insemination {IUI}. We began the first cycle and were getting excited to know that we could be pregnant within a couple of months. Well, halfway through the cycle, the doc checked my levels and they were just not high enough to perform the procedure.

 

I had been given a pretty strong drug to stimulate my ovaries, but apparently it wasn't strong enough. This news was very hard to hear, as we had been so excited to start the process. We canceled the cycle with the hopes of trying again the next month. This time, I will be taking hormone shots to help me reach the optimum level.

 

IUI is not a guarantee. In fact, the success rate is pretty low, only between about 10-15% each month. And, frankly, they are pretty expensive at about $1,200 a pop. Insurance doesn't cover any of the cost, so the hubs and I are trying to save where we can {and we are incredibly thankful for an amazingly supportive family!}.

 

So here we are, anxiously awaiting to begin another cycle. This journey has been long and hard, and it's not anywhere near over. We still have high hopes that the IUI procedure will be successful, but doubts have crept their way in. I'm sharing with you not because I'm looking for sympathy, but because I would love to hear some success stories.

 

Anyone have a similar situation or know someone who has? I would love to hear any stories you have that will help encourage us as we {hopefully} begin another cycle this week.

 

And, of course, your thoughts and prayers are always welcomed :)