A Happy New Year Sale and Linky Party

I'm having a SALE and linking up with The Teachers Cauldron for a New Year's Resolution Linky Party.  Everything in my Teachers Pay Teachers store and my Teachers Notebook store is 20% today and tomorrow!!!!

For my PERSONAL resolutions

1.  I plan to spend as much time with my family as possible. 

2.  Walk, Walk, Walk. 

I just got a new treadmill and plan to use it at least 3 times a week.

3.  More family dinners at home. 

The everybody sit down at the table together kind, not watching tv

     at different times of the evening kind. 

 

 

For my BLOGGING resolutions.

1.  Post more. 

I have neglected my little ol blog and plan to post much more in 2013.

2.  Leave more comments on newer blogs.

I know how much I like receiving comments so I will be stopping by more

to leave a little love.

3.  Finish all those activities I have sitting on my jump drive. 

Not only do I need them for my little ones, but I love sharing them with all of you.

 

Thank you for taking the time to stop by. I would love to hear from you.  Remember my stores are on sale and include A HAPPY NEW YEAR UNIT.

 

Wishing you a safe, healthy, happy 2013. 

 

 

Tammy

Counting our Blessings.

I didn't have to think hard about this one.  Now doing it is another thing.  I'm linking up with Amy at Step Into Second Grade.  Today's post is about downtime in the new year.  Downtime? Really?  This is what I think I should do with downtime... clean my house, paint walls, comment more on blogs, work on all of the unfinished TPT projects sitting on my jump drive, document all of the data for my little firsties .  Now for the things I like to do....

 

 

Many of the days in the pictures are spent on days off from school.  Who has down time during the school year?  With a teenager in high school, a 5th grader with tons of homework, and a hubby who owns his own business, our evenings are very full.  However, with our parents getting older, a recent health scare with my dad, a dear friend's husband surviving a major accident we are MAKING time in our busy days to enjoy all of the people in our life.  The power of prayer gave us happy news with my dad and more prayers continue help our friend improve everyday.   We are truly blessed and enjoy every minute of our crazy life. 

 

I hope you take the time to enjoy the downtime in your life.  As teachers we pack so much into a day (can you say multitasking) that we forget about our own families.   Our families are the reason we are able to be such dedicated teachers.  Take time to tell them how much they mean to you.   Blessings.

 

 

Tammy



New Year's Unit Linky Party

Hey everyone.  I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  I am linking up at Teaching is a gift blog with my Happy New Year Unit and my FREE Squirrel's New Year's Resolution activity.  You can click the pictures below to take you there.




Teachers Pay Teachers Store

 

Teachers Notebook Store

Squirrel's New Years Resolution


Have a great night.

Tammy





Reindeer Ornaments and Free Poem

My dear friend who is a kindergarten teacher at our school is on leave this year.  I have her precious little guy in my room.  She found this idea on pinterest and asked if she could come in and do them with the class.  Of course I said yes.  They turned out so cute.  The biggest problem was finding plastic ornaments.  I have the glass snowman handprint ornament she had made with my daughter in kindergarten.  I am always so afraid I am going to break such a precious keepsake so plastic was a must for this project.  We mainly used the silver, but I have several students who have divorced parents so we used clear for those children to make two ornaments. 

She also created this sweet little poem to go with it.  You can find it here.

 

Every year I also make these mason jar lid ornaments using the kid's pictures with glitter.  You can see that post here.

 

 

 

Take Care.  I hope everyone is enjoying their much needed break.

 

 

Thoughts and Prayers

Today I went on a field trip with my daughters class. I had planned on sharing photos. We had such a happy day and then after returning to the bus we heard the horrific news about Sandy Hook Elementary.  I have watched the news... cried, prayed and cried more for these families.  As a mom and teacher I can't imagine this happening.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the families tonight.  May God watch over them and help ease their pain at this time.

Math Wall and Birthday Display

The bulletin boards in our classrooms are from ceiling to floor.  We have 4.   That sounds wonderful but you lose a lot of space when you have a table pushed up against it.  Sooo, I decided to make my own.  I went to the dollar store and purchased 4 sheets of foam board.  Taped them together and covered it in the fadeless paper from Lakeshore.  I bought the big roll and had a lot left over after doing the 4 bulletin boards.  This is how it turned out.  The dot posters are from Creative Teaching Press.  $11.99.   They were handing out the paper flowers at our fall festival, so I added it to fill the space. The Addition Strategy Posters on the tall bulletin board are available for FREE in my TPT store.  I also have FREE Subtraction Strategy Posters too.

Remember in August when Walmart had all of those 88cent goodies.  This is what I did with my cupcakes set.  I have a small area near my door where they fit perfectly.  I bought the ribbon at Walmart and laminated the cupcakes.  I used a Vis-A-Vis marker so that I can use them over again.

Have a great night. 
Tammy

Talking Turkey and a Cyber Sale!

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone.  I wanted to share some of the activities we did in class on Tuesday.  I have enjoyed 5 glorious days off with perfect weather.  We didn't have the big feast in our class but we did enjoy some pumpkin pie.  I have many little ones with allergies this year so some passed on the pie and went straight for the whipped cream!



For those of you who shop at Publix.  In the background is the Publix Pilgrim Activity page I got at our local Publix years ago when they visited our store.  Love those chubby Pilgrims.  

 

 

Our school improvement plan is focusing on using more informational text in our classrooms.  So we read this little ol book about turkeys. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of information and the kiddos loved it.  We made an anchor chart with all of the new info we learned.  They were also very impressed with my version of a turkey. Let me say I am NOT an artist.  I leave that to my son and hubby.  But I have to say I was very proud of myself.  When I texted my husband a picture of the little guy, he asked what kind of "cobra" turkey is that?...hence the face and neck on my turkey.  He later said he was pretty proud of my new found artistic ability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we made these cute little gobblers from kindergartenmonkeybusiness.blogspot

 

 

Finally, I'm having a sale. All of my items will be 20% this Monday and Tuesday.  Plus TPT is adding an additional 10% off.  Click on the picture below to take you to my store.  Don't forget to use the promo code cmt12.  Have a great week back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made It Monday and a Behavior Chart Freebie

Finally I'm participating in Made It Monday from 4th Grade Frolics.  I had been looking for a mailbox for my classroom.  They were a little pricey so I continued to make my own center  folders for my kids.  One of our teachers was cleaning out her room and decided to give away this little gem.

My first thought was Eeww yuck, but it was free so I wasn't complaining.  Then after going home and remembering that my daughter had an enourmous amount of duck tape in her room, I got an idea. I chose a color and after 30 minutes I have this.

Not too bad, right?  After looking on the back I realized this mailbox has been handed down a few times at our school.  It had several teachers' names on the back.  They just didn't see the potential.  I added numbers to clips and attached them to each slot.  My kids each have a number so they know where to put their work.  I just love it. 

I have also attached the behavior chart I use in my classroom.  I use the clip chart where the students can move up and down the chart, but some of my little ones still need a daily reminder note home to keep them on track.  I just add a smile, straight, or unhappy face to the bottom of the "eyes".  It's quick and easy especially when trying to get them out the door at the end of the day. If they get an unhappy face I write a comment so that my parents can talk with them about it.   Click on it HERE.  Have a great night.

An Early Quiet Morning

My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the families affected by the hurricane. I have been through many.  Some we rode out and some we didn't.  Either way the days after are horrendous.  We decided to take an early morning walk on the beach now that things are calmer in our area.  We headed a little south and these are a few pictures I took.



My kiddos enjoying the waves



This little guy was the first thing we came across.

 

Hatched Sea Turtle Eggs.

This crazy person flying above us

Beautiful Waves

The Inlet



Erica Bohrer has posted a hurricane unit where all of the proceeds go toward her hometown that was hit by the hurricane.  You can take a look here.   Wishing a quick recovery to the northeast. 
Take Care Everybody.







 

Veterans Day Literacy and Craft Unit

This year is just flying by.  I can't believe it's November already.  I have a quick post tonight.  I'm so excited to share my newest unit.  It includes a craft for all 5 branches of the military.  You can find it HERE or click the pictures below.  My kids have been so excited looking at the samples on the board.  They keep asking..."When are we going to make our soldiers?"  We live near an Air Force Base so several of my students have parents in the miltary.  My little ones who don't have parents serving, know someone who has and they want to make one for that family member.  




Marines, Coast Guard, Navy, Army, and Air Force

They are so easy to make.  Just cut construction paper to fit in the copy machine and use the black line masters to copy.  The children can personalize their own by drawing the face and writing their name on the pocket .  Each soldier is standing at attention.

Have the students make an additional head and hat, attach to a paint stick and you have a fun craft to take to any Veterans Day Program or Sing A Long at your school. 

 

 

The unit also includes more activities

Writing pages that go along with each military person. 

I Am Proud to be an American writing page.

Stationary to write to our veterans.

Noun and Verb Sort with recording sheet.

The History of the Poppy

Poem commemorating the Poppy

A Veteran is... Bubble Map

A Veterans is... Cut and Paste

 

 

Thanks for looking.  Have a great night.



A Sale, An Ugly Pumpkin, Freebies and A Hurricane?

Happy long weekend everybody.  Well it was for us anyway.  Thursday afternoon we received the news that we would get Friday off.  Hurricane Sandy was just a little too close to our coastline and the over 40-MPH winds wouldn't allow our school buses over the bridges.  No evacuations, power outages, or anyone hurt.... so all was good. 

 

Saturday we headed over to the beach and saw these 10 feet waves crashing in.  Unbelievable. 

Now the fun stuff, I'm having a sale on TPT.  My store is 20% off until October 30th.  Click the picture below to go to my store. 

I have an Ugly Pumpkin Unit that transitions between the holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving.  It makes text to text connections with The Ugly Duckling and has a cute craft project.   Click the picture below to take you there.

 

 

Now for your FREEBIES.  I just added my Subtraction Strategies Posters for Free to TPT.  I also have Addition Strategies Posters for free too.  Just click on the names to get yours. 

 

Not only did the hurricane bring us a day off but I guess cold weather too.  A high in the 60's on Tuesday.  Love fall in Florida.  Happy Fall Ya'll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IKEA Frames

It's been a long while since my last post.  This school year has been OVERwhelming to say the least.  Not enough minutes in the day.  I finally put school work to the side (or so I thought) and took a trip to IKEA with the family.  My son and daughter wanted new desks for their rooms.  We chose their desk color and size and then....around the corner I found these A-dorable little frames.   I could hear my son saying "Oh No, more things for mom's classroom!"  How could I pass these up?   

 

A few of my little cherubs are having difficulty remembering what literacy center they have completed or not completed.  I thought that having a bright visual  might help jog their memories. 

 

 

Here they are at our reading and listening centers.

 

 

Thanks for taking a peek. 

 



Free September 11th Craftivity

I apologize for it being so late, but I have posted a FREE September 11th craft.  I put it together today during planning so it is very easy and the kids did a great job.  We watched the BrainPop movie then discussed all of the events on that tragic day.  One of my little ones said, "My mom talked to me about it, but it makes me cry when I think about it."   I hope this is something you can use with your little ones. The uploaded craft has the pentagon included even though it is not pictured on the sample.  

 

 

 I wanted to share a photo of President Obama visiting my town this weekend.  He was here on his campaign tour and spoke at the university.  He landed at our Air Force Base and came down the main highway behind my home.  We stood outside and watched an amazing "parade" of over 100  police and sheriff's motorcycles zooming down the road.  In addition there were tons of black armored trucks and  emergency vehicles.  It was an exciting Sunday morning. 

 

 

Back to School Sale

Hi Friends, starting tomorrow August 12th - 13th  all of my items are 20% in my TPT and Teachers Notebook stores.  If you are shopping at TPT remember to enter the code BTS12 for an additional 10% off.  What a bargain.  I also have several FREE items for you to pick up.  Enjoy shopping.

Last Chance Pete

Hey Friends.  Well I've been back at school for 3 days.  I made a dent but still have so much more to go.  I'll have before and after pictures soon.   Until then head on over to this sweet blog to get a last chance Pete poster set. It's absolutely adorable and even better it's

FREE. 

Click on the Photo to take you to
the download.

Teaching Stuff I Can't Live Without

Linking up again with Teacher Idea Factory...This time for the fun stuff I can't live without in my classroom. 

First thing is this saweeet pencil sharpener.  I had the professional grade electric kind that eventually started eating my pencils.  I swore it was just cheap pencils until I came across this heaven sent sharpener. Sharpens pencils to perfection.   You can read more about it here.

Classroom Friendly Supplies

Next, is Lakeshore's Sight-Word Sentence Builder Kit.  The best $50 I have ever spent.  The sentences are organized in sets of 5.   The children then "fill in the blanks" with the correct word.  The sentences become more difficult as you go from the first set to the last.  It includes pictures and words which are perfect for beginning firsties.  You can see how we use them below. I haven't seen them in the most recent Lakeshore catalog so they may have discontinued them....sorry.

This is how we use the sentences pictured above.  I have two of these magnetic pocket charts from Lakeshore.  The magnet is so strong.  I place one on each side of my filing cabinet and they become a center during my 90 minute reading block.  I use two because my center rotations last a week.  The kids do one side the first week then go to the other side the second week.  So for this particular center I only have to change it out every two weeks.  Makes my life so much easier.  Even better my sweet daughter is old enough now to help me change it out.

After filling in the sentences the children write the sentences out
on story line paper and illustrate one of the sentences.

The next item I LUUUVVV is my new gently used Lakeshore easel.  I've been making due with a small Little Tykes easel that I bought for my daughter at a yard sale for $5 a few years ago.  I actually had to cut my chart paper in half so that it fit the easel.  I purchased this from a friend who got a new one.  I am so excited to use it this year.  My hubby is putting locking casters on it this weekend.  WooHoo!

Finally this little easel is another favorite.  I use it at my Rhymes and Chimes Center.  I create small word family poems that the children have to copy, highlight the word family rhyme, then illustrate.  It's magnetic, doesn't take up a lot of room, and stores so easily. 

Well those are all the goodies I can't live without. Can you tell I love Lakeshore.  We have a store about an hour away  that I visit before school starts.  I haven't been yet!  School starts in a week so I better start making my list.  It's a dangerous place.  You know that feeling you get as a teacher when you pull into the parking lot.  Your breath catches, you jump get out of your car and sprint  walk to the front door.  Such a fun place to shop.



Thanks for looking!!!









Better Late Than Never

I'm finally joining the  Tell Me More Linky Party from Step into 2nd Grade with Amy Lemons.  Doesn't she have the cutest name!

It's been so fun reading about some of my favorite bloggers.  Now here's a little about me.

1.  I've been teaching since January 1993.  My first teaching job was at the elementary school my husband and I attended.  And believe it or not the principal that we had is still the principal now....what?, yes it's true.
I've taught Title One, Third Grade, Second Grade and First.  I'm currently teaching first. 

2.  My husband lived around the corner from me in elementary school and I started dating him when I was a senior in high school.  He asked out my best friend and she asked if I could go along (what a third wheel) but he and I talked all night about growing up in the same neighborhood and going to the same elementary school.  Our first date was August 1983 and here we are in our wedding photo (big hair and all). 



3.  We have two very sweet kids.  Our son will be 16 in a few days and our daughter is 10.  Both of my kids went to the school where I teach.  I only have two more years with my daughter, then she will be off to junior high.  My son  is starting his sophomore year at the same high school my husband and I attended.   My daughter is going into 5th grade and her teacher will be a friend of mine that went to high school with me.

Believe it or not our city is not that small...but, being born and raised here and having a dad that retired as asst. fire chief of our town makes it feel like we know everybody. 

4.  I went to The University of Central Florida and my husband owns his own business.  He's a jeweler and has owned his own store since 1985.  You can take a peek here.  Luckily I am not a big jewelry wearer and own very little.  I had a friend that once said "You should be drippin in gold".  Ha!  Could you imagine....we would be broke.  

5.  My favorite t.v. show is

Love the old time values and small town surroundings.  Just the other day they were complaining that Opie needed to get outside and play more because he was doing "Too much listening to transistor radio".  If they only knew what was to come.

6.  Could eat these in mass quanity. Rarely have them in the house.

7.  Our all time favorite place to visit is Tennessee.   After finding this amazing hotel we just can't get enough of it.  We took our kids to see snow for the first time this past Christmas.  While we were there I overheard a lady talking in the lobby about how she was a teacher in Florida.  I asked where she was from and can you believe she teaches in my district at a school only 15 minutes away from me.  She found the hotel on the internet and said on a whim drove up with her sister.  How strange is that?

The Inn At Christmas Place

Well that's enough about me.  Head on over to join the party.  Would love to hear more about all of you.  If you made it this far and loved my big hair picture give me a shout out...Ha!

Tammy