Monday, May 28, 2012

Huge Holiday Sale


My blog friends and I are all hosting a huge sale this holiday weekend! Everything in my shop is on sale for 20% off! I've just posted some new items for back to school and some to wrap up the end of the year!






Whatever your plans may be, enjoy the day and take a minute to honor those brave individuals who are to be remembered this Memorial Day!





Sunday, May 20, 2012

Slices of My Year Pizza Box Giveaway on Teacher's Notebook

The year is sadly, happily, well, just coming to an end in the next few weeks and so my class is getting ready to do some thinking about our school year and how much they have grown in first grade! 

I've been saving a project each month in a jumbo storage bin for our keepsake pizza boxes. The students really enjoy looking back at all of the fun times we have had with each of our themes and holidays as we pass back their forgotten treasures and photos I have taken.  I've been doing this craftivity for years and it is wildly popular with the kids and parents!

 It's now available at my shops and as a giveaway promo on Teachers Notebook!



Click here to enter the giveaway on Teachers Notebook:



On another note~I've been looking into custom blog designs (that is on my summer bucket list) and thinking about names that speak to lower elementary teachers and creativity. The one that comes to mind, especially when putting our projects into the pizza boxes is "Glitter Everywhere"! I'm sure you can relate!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Time to Plant, Grass Heads and a Freebie!

With our cute Mother's Day projects finished and sent home (whew!), we are ready to start a new unit on plants. Today the kids were busy crafting away these big and bold flowers that will decorate our bulletin boards until the end of our school year in June.

Our unit will include this project for labeling plant parts. You can get it at my shops.


It was really great practice for cutting, gluing and planning out how to arrange the pieces. We did this whole-group and they turned out really cute!

I started the unit with this PowerPoint for the Smartboard. I found the most beautiful images to use for this. The kids just loved it!



There are also some Thinking Maps having to do with planting in my Spring Mind Maps packet.




This is our cute seed-themed May attendance for the Smartboard!





Here's a cute freebie for your planting unit! Enjoy!





Be sure to check out my Mother's Day post to see our cute pots and planting kits!

In case you were wondering what they were, here are the grass heads:

This activity is great fun! Have students bring in a colorful sock. The colorful socks should be bright but dark like blue, red or purple or the dirt stains will show through. Fill it with dirt and grass seed. Tie the end and flip it over. Push straight pins through button holes. Set them in a small cup of water or a saucer and watch your grass heads grow! I made these with an entire grade level of students so I rested them in an aluminum tray until they sprouted.




The kids love giving them a haircut! If you don't want to use socks, the dirt can be put in a cup and students can add wiggle eyes or draw a face with sharpie marker. I can't wait to do this!









Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mothers Day

As a busy teacher-mom, I just had to share this funny. It's one of my all time favorites! Whether you have kids or not, I'm sure you can relate! Enjoy your special day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXgoJ0f5EsQ





123 Teach With Me is having a Mother's Day Linky Party. Head over to her blog to check out some of the great ideas for Mother's Day! I linked up!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Teachers Notebook Sweepstakes and my Banner Contest Cuteness for Teachers Pay Teachers

Hi! Just a friendly reminder to log in to Teachers Notebook today to enter the Sweepstakes promotion! I just did. You can enter every day! Sadly, my name is not listed as a winner for days one and two. Still keeping my fingers crossed! While you're there, enter my giveaway promotion!  I'm giving away my best-selling Comprehension Cafe Companion!


So this is one of my banner entries for the contest. It didn't win, but why waste cute?
 You can use it on your blog too if you ever would like to, just link it back to me somehow! Thanks!



There are such awesome sales and freebies being offered at Teachers Pay Teachers! The sale ends soon, so get the things on your wishlist from your favorite teachers!

I've got a huge sale going on at both of my shops, so take a peek and see if there's something there you may be glad you found!

 I'm off to shop!

Friday, May 4, 2012

So Sweet Thank You Freebie

My first graders are just too sweet! One child made me a lovely plastic beaded bracelet on a pipecleaner that I wore proudly today and another spent her "hoot" tickets to buy me a ring from the prize cart instead of getting something for herself!

This time of year, and especially with Teacher Appreciation Week right around the corner, there will be many thank you's to give. Here's a little freebie!




I'm all about keeping things simple and this is a cute and inexpensive way to thank your parent helpers, staff members, students and room parents. Just staple the tag to a snack-sized ziplock baggie and fill it with colorful candies!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Barbie Shoes and Mind Map Blues

O.K. This was a bummer of a day of changing all of my MIND MAPS (that's what I originally called them, then noticed others were using the "thinking" name in front, so I figured it was O.K....lots to learn). That's the blues part of this post. Read on for the Barbie shoes!


So tomorrow is my 15 years of service recognition in my district and I'm thinking about what to wear for that. Teaching little ones is not the most glamorous job~let's face it! But we're in it for the kids! It's our passion. The manicure is often ruined with paint, we dress nicely, but practically, for a day of being on our feet and getting down to their level. I can't imagine a day in shoes like these-ha!


I found this tape dispenser and just had to have it!!! It's from Staples! They have a pink Barbie shoe too! I'm bringing a little "glam" into the classroom tomorrow!