Holy guacamole...don't miss out on this Giveaway!

Hey there!  I hope you are having a WONDERFUL Saturday.  I just wanted to stop by and let you know about an AWESOME giveaway that is happening this month. 

It is this Month's Mystery Box Giveaway! 

This is definitely a giveaway you will not want to miss out on! I was literally drooling all over my keyboard as I read through the list of prize they are offering this month. 

If you want to know more hop on over to Second Grade Math Maniac's blog to enter! (Click the button below to get started!) 

 Now, HURRY on over and get entered into this wonderful giveaway! I hope I brought a little spark to your relaxing Saturday! 

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway to win your very own copy of my End of the Year Extravaganza pack! 

Click here to enter for your chance to win! 

Thanks for stoppin' by! 

Five for Friday 4/25/14 ~End of the year Giveaway!~

Hey there! HAPPY FRIDAY!  I'm so glad you stopped by to kick your weekend off with my Five for Friday! This week has been crazy and I am definitely ready for this weekend!

So, without further adieu...

Let's get the party rollin'...

As some of you may (or may not have) noticed, I was a little absent from my cute little blog this week for a number of reasons. One of the MAJOR reasons was because my ridiculous, lovely wireless modem decided to stop working.  

So, much of my "spare time" was spent pulling a plug out of a wall repeatedly while yelling slanderous phrases at my internet modem.  Needless to say, I think all that yelling paid off because (as you can tell) my internet decided to work! YAY! 

Well, once my internet decided to cooperate I finally got to register my blog on blog lovin'!  Wanna show my blog some love? Click the link below to follow me on blog lovin'! 

This week the weather has been BEA-UTIFUL which means we get to go outside for recess! WOO!  My firsties, however, don't spend their time running around the playground like any six or seven year old child would be doing. Nope! Instead my kiddos are obsessed with sweeping the gravel off of our blacktop! Don't get me wrong, it is a clean obsession to have, but why didn't I discover this earlier?!  Can you imagine how clean my classroom would be?! 

I will definitely be putting this cleaning habit to use when it comes to cleaning out their desks at the end of the year! 

So...I need your help! 

I have been shopping for a new blog design and I have come to one major question....HOW DO YOU DECIDE?!?! There are SOO many talented blog designers out there how can you choose just one? After many hours of searching I have found some awesome designers, but still don't know what I want or who to pick! I feel like I am cheating or will regret choosing one over the other. 

So, I guess I am asking for your help.  Who do you use/love and why? How do you decide what you want your blog to look like?! I mean I love crayons, but that doesn't mean I want the sprawled all over my blog...I think. So, help me out and leave a little comment of link of some of your favorite designers! Your input is GREATLY appreciated! 

I have been working really hard on a couple of products to post in my store.  With my internet being difficult and a few other curve balls being thrown my way; I sadly had to put my Test Prep Pack on the back burner for now.  :(  Yes, I was a little bummed, but it opened up an opportunity for me to get rollin' on my End of Year Extravaganza pack! 

I am hoping to include my end of the year letter, gift tags for my firsties and maybe a few surprises!  

What would you like to see in a pack like this? Games, songs, scavenger hunts, etc?!?!?  

Enter the giveaway below to win your very own copy of this nifty little pack! You can earn up to 6 entries by doing 3 easy steps! 

Trust me...you DO NOT want to miss this! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well, I must say my weekend is looking like it is going to be filled with prepping my Words Their Way sorts for next year.  My goal is to have half of the first book cut and in my Word Work binder by Sunday night...can you say holy hand cramp?!?!

Who knows...maybe I'll accidentally forget about my cutting and wind up creating or blogging instead...clearly that is more exciting than the monotony of cutting out word sorts. :)  

Well folks, that's all I have for you this week! I hope you have a refreshing weekend that is filled with joy and relaxation. 

Thanks for stoppin' by!   

A Quick Monday Made it!

Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start so far! My Monday has been good, but I am getting this post a little later than usual due to quite a few things.  This Saturday I will be joining the Catholic Church and I didn't realize it would entail so much outside work on top of my regular school things, so it has been quite the week already. 

PHEW! 

With that being said, this Made it Monday post will be quite short compared to those in the past.  Considering I have not had  a lot of "extra time" (ha...extra time?!) to create/finish my idle TPT products that are waiting patiently on my computer, I will simply share with you a few of my most recent creations! :)

First....

Click image to check it out in my store!

Look how cute these are! 

We have my Math Workshop Essentials Pack.  It is filled with 16 rotation cards, 4 group signs, bulletin board headers and 4 editable pages for you to type your groups on or simply do something fun with!  This is the exact pack that I use in my classroom for my Math Workshop time...IN FACT there are 2 other teachers in my building that have started using this pack as well! Be sure to hop on over to my TPT store to check it out!  

And...

This is my NEWEST product...hot off the press! This is a skip counting center for your kiddos to practice skip counting in a hands-on way!  This pack includes counting cards for 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's with recording sheets starting a different numbers for them to practice that difficult skill of counting on! The reason I love using this pack is because the clip art images on the counting cards make it easy for me to glance over and see if my firsties have the cards in the correct order. It is a life-saver! 

Well folks, that's all I have for you for this very short Monday Made it. For more Monday Made It's be sure to stop by 4th Grade Frolics and check out some more SUPER cute ideas! 

I hope you have a wonderful week and a blessed Easter with your family and friends! 

Thanks for stoppin' by! 

Five for Friday! 4/11/14

YAY! You have made it through another week successfully! I'm glad to see you here and could not be more honored that you are kicking your weekend off with me. 

So, let's get this thing rollin'! 

Go Huskers! This weekend I will be sporting my red in honor of Nebraska's Spring Game. Now, I know that it isn't a HUGE deal, but it is a sign! The Spring Game means that warmer weather is heading our way, grills at tailgates will be sizzling with Fairbury hot-dogs and football games will be found on every TV channel.  It may just be one of my FAVORITE times of the year! GO BIG RED! 

Earlier this week I decided to try something new. I have heard and seen a lot about Farley and her "currently" linky party. In fact, Farley was one of the FIRST blogs I ever followed...crazy, right?! So, I decided to take a chance and join in on one of the largest link-ups I have ever seen! 

You can click on the image to see my "Currently" post! It was very exciting and a little scary to jump into such a large link-up, but I will definitely be doing it again in the future! Okay...so I know you may think that it isn't a big deal that I joined in a link up. I just thought it was really cool that I ( a little first grade teacher from Nebraska) was able to join in on a blog that I have followed since my first days of teaching! It was awesome! 

Okay....so this has NOTHING to do with education, but I just can't resist. I found this little chevron number at a half-price store and I just couldn't leave it there! I love patterns (gray chevron being one of my faves) and I have been looking for a little something to cute-ify my apartment.  As you can see, it is the perfect place to drop everything I have in my arms as I come barreling in through the door. I absolutely love it...now if only I could organize the rest of my apartment....NAH!

If you follow me on Instagram at all, you would have seen this post earlier in the week. 

My students know from day one that I have 3 favorite animals: dogs, cows and zebras.  One of my kiddos "borrowed" this project from her little brother so she could give it to me as a gift!  This adorable little cow is hanging on the bulletin board right behind my desk...every time I look at it I think of her little story that goes with it! AH...I love my firsties! 

My newest product is up and running! My kiddos struggle with skip counting so I whipped up this center pack that makes skip counting a little more hands-on. This pack focuses on counting by: 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's. Each group of skip-counting cards also follows a pattern with the clip art images this will help the kiddos figure out the correct order AND it gives us educator folk the ability to simply glance over from our small group or needy student and see if they are on the right track! Click the image to hop over to my TPT store to grab yourself your very own copy! 

Thanks for hanging with me for my Five for Friday. I hope you enjoyed your stop here on my little blog! I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with warm weather and relaxing...maybe a little productive if you need to be :). 

Thanks for stoppin' by! 

A little late to the party...

Hey there! Happy Monday! I'm glad you are here to join me on my VERY first 'Currently' link up! Now, this may be one of my shorter posts until I get the hang of doing these kinds of linky parties, but it is still just as exciting! 

Since I am fairly new to this world of educational blogging, I thought it was time for me to venture out and join a link-up that I have followed consistently for the past few years.  I am very nervous and honored to be partaking in a linky party on one of the very first blogs I EVER found my first year of teaching. *tear, sniffle, sniffle*

So, here goes nothing...

Listening- I have watched HIMYM on and off for the past few years. Recently, I had not been watching it consistently and was super bummed when I heard all of the amazing reactions to the finale. So, I have decided to pick it back up and thanks to Netflix I can get all caught up! 

Loving- I live in Nebraska and we are used to having some crazy weather, however, I am sick and tired of this cold and dreary stuff that keeps on lingering. I literally jumped out of my bed this morning when I heard the 10-day forecast for this week and saw that 80 was in our future! Thank goodness! 

Thinking- Every Tuesday night for the past 2 1/2 months I have been taking a class that our District offers/requires us to take in our first 3 years of being in the District.  Tomorrow is my last class *YAY!*, but I am avoiding my homework...I figure I'll get there eventually. 

Wanting- I recently started selling items on TPT and have had a blast creating products. I haven't had very many sales, but I still have set a very high goal for myself when sales actually do start happening. My goal is to purchase a new laptop... a Mac. I currently use a Dell that I used all through college and I think it is time for a change :). 

Needing- I am in the process of planning my wedding for the summer of 2015. I know I have PLENTY of time to get everything organized, but I have been very focused on my physique.  I have been trying to eat healthier (key word is TRYING) and although I saw some results, I haven't seen great one's. I am hoping that with the warmer weather, a new Jazzercise membership and all the fresh fruit that soon will be out that I will be back on track to my ideal wedding bod! OW OW!

Hours and Last Day- Everyday my little one's come barreling down the hall to my classroom door at 7:55 and I send them home at 3:20.  My last day with kiddos will be on May 21st with an early out and a work day on the 22nd to get everything in my room packed up so we can speed clean our school before we return in July :). 

Well, there ya have it! My very first contribution to the 'Currently' link-up! I hope you have a stupendous week and I will see you back here on Friday! 

Thanks for stoppin' by! 

Five for Friday...Giveaway winner announced!

Happy Friday!  Congratulations on surviving another long work week and reaching your weekend...WOOOHOO!! I'm even happier to have you here to kick off your weekend with my FIVE FOR FRIDAY! 

Let's get this party started!

PHEW! I don't know about you, but this week was a whirl wind for me.  We all know that around this time everyone is on edge due to those darn wonderful tests we all enjoy taking so much! Schedules are turned upside down and our nerves shoot through the roof!  I am known to carry stress around to the point of breaking out in hives ( it's really quite attractive....and itchy) unless I find a way to manage it. Well, I have tried going to the gym to run on the hamster wheel (aka: treadmill), tried classes at my local YMCA and even tried enjoying the bright outdoors. Needless to say, it just didn't work for me. I would get into the groove of going and then become exceedingly bored with my monotonous  routine and I would end up quitting.  

After a few months of frustration my mother talked me into going to a Jazzercise class with her.  I had nothing to lose, so I went and....I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!  I have finally found an "exercise program" that I might actually stick to, plus who doesn't like to go dance it out after a long day?!  If you have never tried Jazzercise I think you should AT LEAST try it once, like I said, you've got nothing to lose! 

I made a spontaneous trip into the big city of Omaha for a little fun.  My friend Lynn and I decided to stop at Francesca's. I'm not big into clothes shopping but,  I love going there simply because they have some of the cutest little knick-knack things to decorate with.  While Lynn dove into the clothing racks, I decided to wander around and looking at the wall decor.  I found some really cute signs with sayings of love and being fearless...and then I saw it. There I stood in my bright pink Batman t-shirt and Batman headband when the world decides to throw me a little bit of irony.... 

It was almost like it was meant to be.....

I saw this brilliant wall sign that I definitely will be purchasing in the near future. I LOVE Batman and this sign would just make my life complete.  

If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw this lovely post of my Math Workshop signs. 

My teaching partner and I are in the process of prepping our Math Workshop for next year and we were tired of our boring index card rotation board.  Since I love to create I immediately created these adorable little tags! I even made my teaching partner her own clip-art avatar (is that what they are called?).  After posting this photo on Facebook and Instagram I got quite a few questions asking when these would be up for sale. Well folks, you're in luck, because I have them ready for you right now!  Here is my most recent product on TPT ...

my "Math Workshop Essentials" and it's EDITABLE!  Click the image above to take you to my TPT and check it out for yourself! 

Now for the exciting news!  This week I held my very first Giveaway! It was very exciting and I am very grateful for those of you that took part in supporting my Facebook page and TPT store.  Quite a few of you entered the giveaway, but there can only be ONE Winner! 

DRUMROLL, PLEASE.....

AND THE WINNER IS.......

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Stephanie!  You're the LUCKY winner of my K-2 Dolch Bundle BANG game! Thank you to all that participated! Be sure to follow my blog and Facebook for upcoming freebies, products and giveaways! 

This year I have been working really hard on becoming a more efficient Guided Reading Teacher. I used to really struggle with planning reading every week until I read Jan Richardson's book. Holy cow...it is a life-saver! Now,  Guided Reading is my favorite subject to plan, but it takes me FOREVER to get done. As you can see, it also takes up a good portion of my table to plan as well.  Does anyone else love Guided Reading? If you have not read Jan Richardson's book on Guided Reading it is wonderful! Her formats are simply to follow and I love all of word work ideas she gives you in the back of the book! 

Well folks, I need to continue planning my guided reading groups and cleaning off my table before it gets completely lost under all of my stuff! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

Thanks for stoppin' by!