January - Currently (3 Hours Early)

Yay!  It's my favorite time of the month.  Farley's Currently is up and ready.  Remember, if you decide to post it to follow her Rule of 3.  Link back to her site and comment on the 2 blogs before yours and the 1 blog after yours.  This way everyone should end up with 3 visits (If my math is right).  Honestly, I  typically look at 7 to 10 of them.  I've found some of my favorite blogs on the Currently.  CLICK HERE to go to Farley's Currently.

Listening - My hubby has the controller, so when I typed Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives that's what I was listening to at that moment.  If your hubby is anything like mine, it has changed at least 30-50 times since then. 

Loving - If you saw my earlier post, you know that I found tons on Pinterest.  Every time I pin I try to tell myself that my followers don't mind although I have to say, in the back of my head I'm thinking every non-teacher despises me.  My mom already told me she loves my pins, but quickly figured out how to not follow my teacher boards.

Thinking - Yes, that's a lot on my mind, but that's how it usually works :)  I'm always thinking at least ten things... yet, am I doing any of those things right now - nope!  I'm blogging... again :)

Wanting - I got three REALLY cute pairs of pants for Christmas, but I just don't think Crocs are going to go great with dress pants.  I hate heels since I'm on my feet all day, so finding new shoes is a must, especially since my favorite dress shoes slide across the tile at school because I've worn them so much.

Needing - I saw a thing on Pinterest called a grateful journal today.  I loved the idea.  Here's a picture of it and a link.  CLICK HERE to read about the thankful journal.  I want to make mine a little creative, so I'm using the thankful journal idea from one site and then I'm using create your own art journal from another site.  In the end, I should end up with a creative grateful journal.  You can CLICK HERE to find out how to take a composition notebook and turn it into the picture on the right.  Mine probably won't have quite as much detail because I want to write in it, but I'll take pictures when I finish it.  Hopefully, it will help you out.  This lady has some really neat ideas, so you will enjoy looking at her site.

OLW (One Little Word) - Ambitious.  I know that word is loaded, but that's how I feel.  Ambitious always makes me think of the person that lives to their limit.  They push themselves past the point that no one knows exists to prove there is another level to reach.  That's what I want to do.  I want to see what other level is out there when it comes to creating, teaching, blogging, etc.  So, I'm going to be ambitious which means I could fail, but I'd rather be ambitious than a dreamer because in my mind ambitious means you are putting your dreams in action.

Alright friends, talk to you tomorrow :)  

Marvelous Manic Monday

Oh, New Year's Eve - how I love you... well, kind of :)  It's funny how when you hit middle school, New Year's Eve becomes so important.  Then, as an adult, I have to say it is just another day to me.  I don't like big crowds of people, especially loud, obnoxious ones, so hibernating feels pretty good.  So, on this New Year's Eve I will enjoy printing out all the things I've purchased or created, eating cherry and strawberry gummy bears, Zaxby's, and watching whatever I can find that's entertaining.

Before I forget, here is what I've come up with for my resolutions.  I don't really like resolutions, but I can handle these two (I think).  I've decided that in 2013 I want to make sure my craft room happens. I've been planning for it for a year, but haven't actually made it happen.  Then, I want to find at least one thing on Pinterest every week to create or make for either my house or my classroom.  I have pinned almost 4,000 items, but out of the 4,000 I know that many of them have remained untouched, so Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, and Michael's - watch out!  I'm a girl with a mission :)

Also, yesterday I mentioned that I was going to create a few freebie pages, but I have to tell you guys after pinning today, you may not want my creations.  I'm still going to give you my freebies, but I have to tell you there are a TON of great items and ideas out there.  You can tell that the teachers are busy on Pinterest.  Below, I'm posting a couple of my favorite finds today.  Actually, you know what - I think I'll post 13 finds for 2013 - wow!!!!  I bet no one else has thought of that, huh?  Yep... I know... everyone has.  

The New Year's Resolution packet was done by CLICK HERE to go see it.
The Lesson Plan Diva.  All of her writing packets are adorable.  You can

The Happy New Year mini book is adorable to me :)  It's something I'm definitely going to be doing with my little people, although I may only do a few of these things.  CLICK HERE to go see it.

My next New Year's find is this and it's FREE - 50 free pages!  I went through a lot of the packet and most of it is perfect for pre-k or for k.  There are a few pages mixed in that I want for first.  Just take time to go through it and you will definitely find a few little activities for your kiddos.  CLICK HERE to go see this packet.

Now, onto some winter items.  I have to say, this first one is my favorite.  I love it so much I repinned it to three boards and decided the minute I saw it I HAD to put it on my blog tonight.  Honestly, it's so great I told the creator, Lisa, that I'm amazed it's free because I would have paid for this one.  If you teach first grade you know how difficult it can be to find something that really covers CLICK HERE to go get this packet.  Oh, and leave a comment for Lisa :)  That's all she is asking us to do.
syllables, especially something fun - this was the total package for me.  I can't wait to have it ready for my kids.  We will be diving into this ASAP.  

This next winter item is also a freebie.  I went to the site and the teacher has 2 for free and 2 for sale.  The free ones are adorable for K and 1.  I will definitely be downloading the addition one and printing it before I return to school.  I think you will find it as adorable as I do.  CLICK HERE to go get this freebie.

My next item is one of my creations.  It's one of my favorites because it helps me keep tabs on my students' reading.  One of my teammates asked me to do this back at the end of November and now the plan is for me to make them for the entire year.  Our school decided not to do Accelerated Reader this year, but we needed a way to make sure our students were still comprehending what they were reading.  This helps up make sure they are comprehending and it covers several of the CAFE skills and our common core standards.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy!  I included a snowman and a bear book report.  Click on the picture to get this freebie and if you don't mind, leave me a little feedback so I know if it's as useful to you guys as it is to us.

This next idea is really cute.  You really don't do anything, but what a fun idea.  January 15 is National Hat Day.  I'm going to talk to my team about this and see if we can do this.  If you CLICK HERE you can get information about how you may be able to use it in your classroom.  If we do it, I want to tie it into a book about hats.  I know it may seem silly, but I fully believe that we have to make learning fun (At least some of the time).

With January, also comes The 100th Day of School.  I cannot wait to do this monster as part of a writing activity.  If there is one thing I have learned, my students thrive when you give them the opportunity to write goofy, silly stories.  This site also has 25 other ideas you can use for The 100th Day of School.  CLICK HERE to go read more about this little craft.  

Here are 100th Day of School sunglasses.  I'm thinking that running them on card stock will help them hold up better.  I'm also thinking about making up a frame and taking pictures of my kids in the frame.  I did that at the beginning of the CLICK HERE if you are interested.

year, so I thought what a great end of the year gift.  I could have a picture from the beginning, the middle, and the end.  Shhh... don't tell my parents in case I forget ;)  This site also has a ton of 100th Day of School ideas, so

I LOVE this worksheet and best of all it's free!  I can't wait to use it for word work on The 100th Day of School.  You will definitely want to get this one.  I may end up using it when I'm teaching dictionary skills or have them each pick a different book.  Even better, if I have time I will try to come up with words from the Fry list that I can print.  If I do, I'll be sure to share.  You can also see how many words they can come up with using the word, but I may skip that part (at least for my lower students)  CLICK HERE to go get this sheet.  

January is definitely a busy month, at least in the elementary world.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day is also CLICK HERE to get more information on how to make this craft.

in January, not to mention the hope for snow... well, for the ones of us that live in the South.  This first picture is MLK Jr.  I definitely want to use it when I do the informational writing activity I created in my packet.  It's so cute!!!!  This teacher also had several other ideas, so make sure you look through her blog.   

I know this one is a little different, but I think it's cute and since our kids have to learn to write using the words First, Next, Then, and Last, I thought this could be a fun project to do and then have the kids write about it.  I know... it seems like everything with me always leads back to writing, but I LOVE teaching writing.  Anyway, if you like this picture, CLICK HERE to get the drawing sheet.

Last, but not least, I love snowmen.  Seriously, if I taught art, we would be doing snowmen projects for the entire month of January.  It doesn't help that Pinterest has 50 different ways to make a snowman.  There's the one where you can mix glue and shaving cream to make a puffy snowman.  There's the snow globe snowman.  There's the snowman you hang from the ceiling.  I'm telling you, the list is endless which means I have to figure out a way to do all of them.  Maybe ALL of our Fun Fridays could be snowmen in January :)  Yeah, I doubt that will work either.  Since I couldn't decide on a favorite snowman, I went for the next best thing - a snow polar bear.  I love this bear and I can't wait to make him with my kids.  I'm including a link because this is a really cool site, but there aren't instructions on making this polar bear.  As soon as I make mine, I will make sure to post instructions on how we made them and if any templates are needed I'll get those made.  CLICK HERE to check out this site.   

Alright, so hope you like the 13 in 2013.  Hopefully, this will save all of you some time.  I will try to do another post like this in February.  Until this post, it never occurred to me how long it would take to share all of these goodies.  I know it's long, but hope it helps you get through January.

Oh, and I'll post my goodies tomorrow :)  I have a feeling this will keep you busy until then.

Happy New Year's Eve! 

Super Sunday

Today I caught up on reading a lot of blogs.  I still want to go through my comments and check out those, so that's next on my list.  I love reading blogs because in a world where there can be so many people saying, "You can't" in the teacher blog world it seems that everyone says, "You can" or they have a solution.  Stop and think about it.  When was the last time you read a blog not giving you something to use or not cheerful and upbeat?  Even the comments are all sweet and encouraging.  The last blog I looked at was Deanna Jump's blog.  She just remade it :)  It's funny to me because although I realize none of the people that commented know my name, I recognized each of their names and as I said before, every comment on there is genuinely sweet.  They are the very people that inspire me to be better at my job and that unknowingly have helped me figure out the Teachers Pay Teachers and blogging world.  So, if you ever need a boost go read a couple of blogs.

Now, I had this post all typed out and was adding pictures and the wifi went out.  I finally get it up and running again and you guessed it, lost the whole post.  Well, technically, not the whole post, but everything except the first paragraph.  That means I'm out of steam, so I will cut straight to what I have for you tonight.  Yesterday, I finished my Let it Snow Math Centers packet.  CLICK HERE to go see it and to download my freebie.  Both are in my Featured Items area.

Today, I finished my Martin Luther King Jr. printable packet.  I am so excited to have it ready to go since MLK Jr. Day is only a few weeks away.  Below are pictures of what I have included.  The packet was created for K-3.   There are two versions of the writing section of the printables.  The first set covers lower grade writing standards and the second set covers third grade writing standards.  If you like the pictures, CLICK HERE to go get the packet.  The preview includes one of the sheets from the packet for free, so make sure you go check it out.

 Sorry so short, but this first grade teacher is wiped out!  Tomorrow I'm planning on having pictures of some cute crafts for 2013 and a new freebie :)

Super Saturday

Sorry I haven't posted in several days.  Between a trip home, creating, and seeing my friends, I've been a little preoccupied.  

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  I got to see all 6 of my nieces and nephews, so for me that always equals fun.  My two nephews are in the picture to the left.  They are in kindergarten and keep all of us entertained.

As a bonus, I got to stay at my parents an extra day.  I was kind of a hermit, but it was nice.  They have this HUGE bonus room upstairs that has feather pillows and everything you could need to survive (except a refrigerator).  I ended up catching up on some much needed sleep and to top it off, they made my favorite meal - chicken casserole with broccoli and cheese sauce.  When I left, I brought enough food home that I could have skipped the grocery store until next week.

Now, I know you noticed that word "creating" - my mind has been swimming with ideas.  I ended up starting a notebook to write down everything I want to create because the list just gets longer and longer.  I'm sure since most of you are teachers you know exactly what I am saying.  

Here are pictures of my newest creation.  If you like it, please go over to TPT and get it.  It will be available later this afternoon.  I am going to buy ink and card stock today to print out all the things I've bought the last few weeks and the things I've created.  We have a work day next Wednesday and I want to be ready to go.  Oh, and what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't offer a freebie.  My freebie is a small portion of my Let it Snow Math Centers packet.   The freebie includes the first picture shown here and a page similar to the marshmallow picture below.  CLICK HERE to go get it and if you like it, please leave me a comment and check out the complete Let it Snow Math Centers packet.

Also, I've used some amazing clip art in this packet.  I know two of the people I just discovered in the last few weeks.  I went ahead and included the last page of my packet so if you are looking for some awesome fonts or clip art you will know where to go.

Have a great day and check back tomorrow for more winter freebies :)