Back to School Sale

It's Here!!!The TPT back to school sale.  So excited to buy those special items from my wish list.  My entire store is 20% and with the special code you will receive an additional 10% off.  Don't forget to add the promotional code of  BTS13.    Check out some of my top sellers below.  Click on the picture and it will take you to the item. 

Thank you Krista for the sale button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4th of July Flash Sale

Well I'm just getting back from grocery shopping and Sam's Club.  Not a good idea the day before the 4th.  I have never seen so many hamburger and hotdog buns in grocery carts. 

To help celebrate the 4th I am linking up for a Flash TPT sale hosted by Flying into First Grade.  Everything in my store will be 20% off.  Just click on the picture below to take you to my store. 

 

 

Below are all of the other stores throwing a sale.  Enjoy your shopping.

 

  

An InLinkz Link-up

The Winner Is and More Fun Finds!

Hey friends, thank you to everyone who participated in the Bloglovin giveaway.  I am so excited about all of my new followers.  I promised to reveal the winner yesterday but I was busy working on giving myself a raise.  Ha! Not really, we actually have been working on refinancing our house.  After changing from 6.9% to 3.5% it truly feels like we gave ourselves a pay raise.  Hallelujah! 

Okay, now for the big winner..... The winner of 2 items from my TPT store is Charleen S.   I will be contacting you today.  Congratulations. 

Now for a few fun items I found today at Hobby Lobby. 

Chalkboard/Dry Erase Easels.  They range in size from 3X5 to 8X10.
These would be great for center directions or for the kiddos to write on.



Chevron and Polka Dot Burlap Ribbon....Sooo cute.



Duck Tape from JoAnns.  Fun colors for the 4th of July and Summer.

And Finally, these sweet little fingers belong to my daughter.
This is our latest project, these are at Walmart.  They are little
paper squares "tattoos" that you cut, dip in water then place
on top of the nail, then do a clear top coat. 
These are little maps on her nails.  She loves them.

Have a great evening.





 

I need some Bloglovin'

Hey ya'll. Well by now I'm sure all of you have heard of the Google Connect change that will take place on July 1st.  I'm linking up with many wonderful bloggers in a fun giveaway.  

 

 

I'm giving away two items from my TPT store.  All you have to do is follow me on Bloglovin' then sign in through Rafflecopter.  Just click on the little button on the left side to follow me.   Good Luck and Thanks for Following.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

Fun Summer Finds and Bloglovin

Hey friends.  I have been out doing some window shopping at a few of my favorite stores.  I haven't purchased anything yet...I usually wait until July.  In our county we usually get a little bit of money to use on our classroom called Florida Lead Money.  We have to keep receipts to verify what we have bought but are allowed to use any purchases we make over the summer (after July 1st).  I hate the wait because I am so afraid the items I want will be gone but I am getting better at self control, HA!
These are a few of the cute items, I want to go back for:

Beach Chairs from Walmart $4.97  How cute are these for a reading center?

Solar Lights from the Dollar Tree.  I would love to have
one on every table.  They have an on/off switch.  They
recharge in fluorescent, incandescent or sun light.
The overhead lights need to be off for them to light
up.  I know the little ones will want them on all day
so maybe a small piece of paper could cover the solar
panel when classroom lights are on.

Display at the Dollar Tree....they were going fast.

Target Summer Buckets Display (middle shelf).  Great to use for Big Books.
$14.99

Plastic Beach Basket...Another Big Book Holder from Target. $5.99

 This sweet little girl isn't for sale.  Meet CoCo...she got a new
red harness and I just had to show her off.  LOVE this dog.
I'll have to do a post about her one day, such a doll.

Last but not least, I have to talk about Bloglovin.  This has me a little worried.  I hope I have everything in place that needs to be done.  I have "claimed" my blog by using the tutorial I found on I Teach What's Your Superpower.  I also transferred over all of the blogs I follow from Google Connect.  Megan has another tutorial on that as well.  Ellizabeth at Kickin It in Kindergarten also has a nice little tutorial about claiming your blog.  Good Luck with the change.

 

 

 

 

Don't forget, please follow me on bloglovin.

 

Tammy

 

 

 

Monday Made It...Christmas in June?

With temperatures like this, sometimes staying inside in the air conditioning is a blessing.  Since I don't have a pool and baking on the beach just isn't my thing, Monday Made it is perfect for me.   

I'm linking up with  Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!  Okay don't judge but I am catching up on a lot of things this summer.  That includes Christmas projects that went undone!  In December we went to this sweet little Christmas store Santa's Claus-et in Gatlinburg.  They had lots of wreaths half price on their little porch  (rocking chairs and swings on the porch...so adorable).  

This German twig wreath caught my eye...I love anything primitive. 

 

I added the mini battery powered LED lights I found at CVS.   The rest of the "filler" items came from a primitive shop we found in Pigeon Forge.  My sweet husband agreed to leave late on our last day just so I could do a little shopping.  I was in heaven finding things for my wreath. Felt poinsettias, rusted jingle bells garland, old mini snowman hat (They actually cost more than the wreath).  Then I came home and found the burlap poinsettia at Kirklands for 75 cents, Score. 

 

 

Finished Project

 

I'm still deciding on a burlap bow at the top.  My daughter thinks it would be too much.  I can't wait to hang it up at Christmas.  It is a very large wreath, spans almost all the way across my door.  I didn't realize that when I grabbed it up at the store.  What do you think?

 

I'll be sharing some fun finds tomorrow from the Dollar Store and Walmart. Already spending money for the classroom.

 

How to Find that Font You Love!

Hey everyone, hope you are enjoying your summer.  I have been making more items for my classroom but really needed a D'Nealian font.  We use D'Nealian or Modern Manuscript in our district. Many of you tech savvy teachers out there probably already know this but if you love a font used in any document you can find out which one it is very easily.  Simply open the document and right click, when the small window opens click on document properties at the bottom.  When the next box opens click on the Fonts tab at the top.  It will tell you what fonts were used in that document.  Sorry for the poor photos but I just did a quick screen shot with my phone. 

Needless to say I found this out after I asked Christina (see below) about fonts she used.  Bless her for getting back with me so quickly.   I have used Young Reader font for many documents in my class but the upper case letters aren't formed correctly.  I'm so particular about what I use that it was driving me crazy to find something better. 


I emailed Christina from Bunting, Books and Bainbridge and asked her about a font she used.  She is so wonderful and shared her handwriting book with me that included a font very similar to D'Nealian.  Even better she is having a HUGE giveaway celebrating her 2nd year blog-a-versary.    Lots and lots of units have been donated so you could win a big haul.  Visit her blog by clicking below or on the links highlighted above. 

 

 

I hope this easy little font tip is something new you can use.  Enjoy!!

Informational Text Features All About Me Book

I have finally finished my Common Core aligned All About Me book.  My kiddos loved it at the end of the year.  As we all know our little ones love writing about themselves.  This book allows them to do just that, using Informational Text Features that we all are finding creative ways to teach. 

After introducing the book my students made a quick connection and were able to quickly identify the features in other non-fiction books.  Love that!

I have geared this book mainly to first and second grade. It could be used for kindergarten or third grade as well.  The time line page would have to be tweaked a bit but I can do that if anyone requests it.  I have it available for $3.00 at my Teacher's Notebook store or in my Teacher's Pay Teacher's Store.

 

 

 

I hope this is something that will make your teaching life easier.  The first three people to leave a comment telling me how you teach this concept to your little cherubs will get it for free.   Don't forget to leave me your email address.  Enjoy.

Another Project Finished

I wish I could say I finished this project in my first week off, but  this was done a while ago.  I just haven't posted the photo.  I was inspired by Cara's wall in her new house.  I just loved it and I had the perfect wall for it. 

I purchased everything at Hobby Lobby.  Love that store.  The best part of this project was that my husband and I were able to accomplish all of the measuring, hammering, and placement of pictures happily.  Ha!  You know exactly what I mean.  I love him dearly but when home projects happen,  it can bring out the worst in couples. 

That Family sign was about an inch off and I knew it would DRIVE me
Ka-razy....but he sweetly took it down re-measured and hung it again.  The rest of the frames were cake after that.   The wall color is Ralph Lauren Crab Apple.  We used Behr paint mixed at Home Depot.    I hope it inspires you to find a wall and decorate this summer. 

Summer Bucket List

Summer is officially here.  Well actually my last day was Thursday but I went in on Friday to do a lot of organizing and throwing away.  I am doing more and more of that every year.  Unfortunately,  I am never the teacher who is packed up and ready to leave the day of post planning.   I like to dust, scrub and cover everything in plastic so that the dust doesn't settle again by August. 

So my summer bucket list has already started.  First I organized my closet.  I threw out all of the shoe boxes that filled the floor and it looks like this:

2. I plan on making lots of these for my own sweet kiddos:

 

 

3.  We won't be traveling to any far away places but will stay close to home and visit Sea World's new Antarctica exhibit.  Love that Florida teachers get a free pass and the Florida Fun Card makes it affordable for our whole family.

 

 

4.  Then I plan on using my mani-pedi gift certificate from one of my little cherubs.   I love these two color from OPI....Barefoot in Barcelona and Lucky Lucky Lavender.

 

 

I know my summer may not sound exciting but I'm so thrilled to just be home and enjoying my quiet cup of coffee at 8ish in the morning instead of 6 AM.  The biggest plus is being at home with my own kids....best part of summer.

Teacher Appreciation Sale

I love a great sale! My entire store will be 20% off.   I have a bunch of clipart on my wishlist.  I can't wait to start creating new units.  Thank you to Krista for her adorable sale button. 

 

If you haven't seen my latest item.  It's my Word Family Sentence Scramble.  The reviews have been so positive. It includes 49 word families.  The download preview has a freebie attached.

 

 

 

Another fun unit that has been selling well on TPT is my Space Adventures in Literacy and Math with included Space Shuttle Craftivity

 

Have fun filling your shopping cart.  Happy Shopping. 

Spring Cleaning Sale

After organizing and cleaning my closet today, I thought I would join in on the fun of more spring cleaning before my spring break ends.  Thank you to Krista at The Creative Chalkboard for the cute graphic.  My entire TPT and TN stores will be on sale Saturday and Sunday. 

If you have something on your wishlist or just need something to get back in the swing of things after spring break head on over and take advantage of this super sale. 

My newest unit Word Family Sentence Scramble is on sale as well as one of my top sellers  Space Adventures in Literacy and Math (it includes an adorable Space Shuttle craftivity).

 

 

 

You can find them both at my TPT and TN stores on sale. 

Have a very happy Easter. 

 

 

 

 

Informational Text

Happy Wednesday...it's spring break for me so of course I can say that.  I have been quietly enjoying this every morning.  This morning it was even better with the 30 degree temps outside...it is March in  Florida, right?

To quietly sit and have coffee in the morning is a blessing.  Usually I'm on the run heading to school and downing a cup before the littles knock on the door.  Don't you just love the mug.  A gift from a sweet little girl in my class.  I had her oldest sister in my class years ago (she is now in college).  I love it when I get siblings of sweet families. 

I also wanted to share these amazing posters from Primary Punch.  We are really reinforcing Informational Text at our school.  It is the topic of conversation at every faculty meeting.  So we have been talking A LOT about it in class.  These Non Fiction Text Features posters are perfect and are FREE.  You can find them here on TPT. I trimmed them down a touch  and added neon pink paper to the back.  I wanted them to fit through my laminator with the background paper. 

 

 

I love these and my kiddos are making such a connection with them hanging right behind me at teacher table.   Head on over to pick them up. 

 

Don't forget about First Grade A La Carte's daily giveaway this week.

 

Take Care

Tammy

 

 

 

More OT in the classroom and The Giveaway Begins

Hey friends.  Well I was so wrong about the 70 degree weather for spring break.  It has been in the 50's all day long.  Brrr for this Florida girl.    I guess I shouldn't complain most of you are dealing with snow. I am a little envious.  I love the snow but only in small doses.   

 Just wanted to share a few pics of how Occupational Therapy is incorporated into our weekly routine.  We now do PGP's (Professional Growth Plans) in our county.  They are a lot of work and very time consuming.  However, this year I have been so fortunate to work with our OT teacher.  One of the key elements of our PGP is collaboration with other teachers.  Two days a week our OT teacher comes into our classroom for 30 minutes and does amazing exercises with my little ones to build their core strength, gross motor and fine motor skills.  They love it when she walks through the door.

This is called the Superman.  They lay on their tummies with arms and lower legs off of the ground and hold the position for as long as possible.  As you can see by the little guy on the right this is tough for some of my kiddos.  The OT teacher is timing them to see how long they can hold it.  They did really well this time because they had a hershey kiss reward for doing their personal best.  They have really shown improvement.  I have noticed the difference in their writing and their postures when sitting in their seats. 

She sets up 4 stations and rotates the class.  We had just studied about migration and she incorporated it into the exercises.  Here the children had to pinch a clothes pin to match the birds underneath. 

 

 

Crab Walking balancing a bean bag.

 

Rolling from one end of the rug to the other on the scooter, then using tongs to pinch the "bird food" (pom poms) and putting them into the "nest" (container). 

 

Don't forget the Giveaway going on at First Grade A La Carte.  Several days of great units being given away.  Don't forget to sign up here. 

 

Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

Spring Break, Leprechauns and a Giveaway

Spring Break has officially started for me.  The weather has been beautiful.  Cooler the next few days in the low 70's, just gorgeous.   This is a view of the little lake behind our house and the ducks enjoying spring time.  

 

 

I completely forgot to share the pictures of St. Patricks Day.  My little ones had such a great time.  The little sneaky green leprechaun decided to wash his feet in our toilet before leaving.  The kids enjoy this part the most.

 

 

 

We setup our trap near the window where the little green guy MUST have escaped.  They were so excited one of my kiddos jumped up on the counter to inspect.

 

 

Finally it was time to clean up the mess.  I have one sweet guy who loves cleaning the room.  He is the one who always ask to sweep,

organize the books, etc.  Love this kid.

 

 

Then finally a random picture.  This is our word family stamping center.  We did the IDE word family this week.  Check out this sweet little picture.  I swear it looks just like the little girl who drew it.  Her drawings are always so precious. 

 

 

Tomorrow I will be participating in a big giveaway with Kathy at First Grade A La Carte.  It's a big birthday bash with lots of amazing units you can win

through out the week. 

 

 

I'll be giving away my Word Family Sentence Scramble Unit. 

 

You can find it on TPT or Teacher's Notebook. 

 

 

Well in the words of Phil have a happy, happy, happy evening.

Gotta love Duck Dynasty.