Target Finds, B-day Winners, and 2nd Grade Treasures Long Awaited Product!!!!!

The Dollar Spot at my local store (which is 35 miles away, but SO worth it!) overfloweth!

Here's what I got...  The first is a picture of everything...

*SO* psyched about these "Star Student" seat backs!  I have been eying these from Really Good Stuff for a loooong time... you can't beat spending $2.00!  And, of course, I had to get pocket charts!  When I unpack my classroom, I'll take a picture of the insane amount of Dollar Spot pocket charts I have that are unopened.  Now I can add three purple ones to my hoard!

Two super cute dry erase boards for word work, erasers, and prize pencils.

Foam pennants... you know- for my whole "bunting" thing I have going on!

CONTAINERS!!!!!!!  What do I need these for?  No idea yet... but how could I pass them up?!  Love the little yellow "5 Minute Quick Quiz" book in the bottom corner.  I'm going to laminate them (they're all spelling/vocab related) and use them as a word work activity!

And... the two winners of my impromptu giveaway for my new b-day bulletin board set are...

You're both winning this and I'm e-mailing it to you now:

 
If you missed it, check out the comments of THIS POST for some awesome new ideas for celebrating birthdays in the classroom!  If I get time today, I may compile them into a book like I did for Christmas!

Last but not least... a while back I posted my first grade Treasures spelling packets and I have had many, many requests for the 2nd grade set.  It is FINALLY done!

This one is a little larger than the 1st grade pack... it's 306 pages... and, due to the size, it's only available at TpT (thanks for increasing the file size, Paul!).  Right now it's only $10.00!  If you download the sample, it's Unit 1, Week 1 so you can see what the packet has in it for an entire spelling week.

 Grab it on TpT!

I guess next would be a 3rd grade set with some slight modifications.  This set is identical to the 1st grade set- since it's what I used in my split class last year.  But, now that I'm movin' on up to 3rd, my brain is spinning with possibilities for the bigger kids!

Mini Birthday Bulletin Board... Want to Win?

Hey there!  Happy Wednesday!  I'm on my way to the dentist... so maybe not to happy for me... however, I do see a trip to the Dollar Spot in my future this morning!  I went to Target on Monday and the Dollar Spot was completely empty except for some Spam stuff... Spam?!  Who knew!  But the workers were busily unpacking loads of boxes and getting ready to stock it up!  So, I'm hopeful that it will be full of goodies today!

And I'm going clothes shopping!

And to get a coffee at Biggby!

So, before I go, I wanted to share with you what I made yesterday!

In my quest for the perfect birthday bulletin board kit, I realized that what I wanted only existed in my brain.  Everything else was too big or just not right for 3rd grade.  I wanted something more than a poster but less than a mondo massive bulletin board display.

So, I ended up making my own!

It has 2 different sets of month cupcakes- one set has month names in plain fonts and the other has month headers with little graphics that coordinate with whatever holiday/season is that month.  There are candles you can write students' names on or type and two different bulletin board titles.

I'm psyched about getting these laminated and hung up!

 Find it on TpT          or          Teacher's Notebook

You can win a set!  If you will share the fun birthday things you do in your room on your students' birthdays, I will use the random number generator to choose 2 winners tomorrow morning and then everyone else can look through the comments to get some fun new ideas to add to their classroom traditions!

I'll go first.

I have this guy:

and the b-day kid gets to keep him at their set and press his foot at any time during the day if I am not giving direct instruction.  He sings "Happy Birthday" and does a little dance!

I used to have all of the words to "Happy Birthday" printed separately on cards and the b-day kid would arrange them in a pocket chart and we would sing their version to the right tune... it was fun!  But last year, I just had kids stand on a chair and we would scream at the top of our lungs "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" and they really liked that!


I also give out a pencil and a b-day sticker badge with their name on it.

The last thing we do is create a birthday book for the kid.  Each student writes a birthday message and colors a picture and then I bind them all into a book.  My theme packs at TpT and TN all include a themed birthday book cover and themed book page.  Or you can download a general one on my class website HERE.

Calendar Pieces Freebie!

Yesterday I was looking at all of the amazing pieces of Poppin' Patterns stuff I bought from Creative Teaching Press... and I loooove it!

But, the calendar pieces only came with numbers and so I made my own set of special dates and such.

The background on the set I made for me is yellow, but I wanted to share with you too and didn't know if you'd appreciate a yellow background... so here it is in white!

It's got graphics from three sources... which I usually don't do.  Mixing graphics?  Whaaaat?!  DJ Inkers, Melonheadz, and Thistle Girl Designs living together harmoniously in one document?  I do think so!

I'm pleased with how they look!

So... here's a freebie for you!  Hope you can use it!  Just click the picture- there are 33 of them to supplement your calendar numbers!  And I'd loooove some comment lovin' if you can use them!

I'm Moved Out!

That's how I feel about some stuff today.  I'm annoyed.  Not about moving rooms or schools- I'm thrilled about that.  But other stuff.  GRRRRR!  Or, as Judy Moody would say... ROAR!  But, in an effort to keep this a positive place, I'm getting it all out... nooooow.

Let me just preface this blog post with a;sdkjl;kqwjerf0sadfjkld;joi34ej-!  And a big GRRRR!

Now a deep breath... and...

Better!

On to a happier topic...

I went in today and got the last of my things out of my classroom.  Currently, the back of my vehicle is full of more STUFF.  Most of it is stuff I'm not planning to use but wanted to keep, so when the hubs gets home, we'll be doing some unloading!

My living room can't take much more classroom storage... there are boxes everywhere of stuff I've bought but haven't taken into my new room yet.

Oh well!

Tomorrow is a meeting of 3rd grade teachers and I'm looking forward to tossing around ideas and doing some collaborating with my new colleagues!  And peeking in my room and crossing my fingers it has been cleaned so I can start making it home!

Happy Sunday & Advice!

Katy and Lori both guessed my dad's age correctly (56, btw), so I'm e-mailing you both right now to see if you would like my set of reading comprehension flippy books or my new syllable activities!

Thanks everyone for your guesses and b-day wishes for my dad!  The hubs and I went to my parents' house for the day and we had a cookout and lots of swimming with my parents and other family.  It was so fun... but I am burnt from spending hours in the pool!  Oops!

Today's agenda is coffee, groceries, and laundry.  Hope your Sunday turns out more eventful than mine!

Deb over at Fabulously First is hosting a linky party where we can give some advice to new teachers!  And who doesn't love to share their opinion???

So, here's mine:

1.)  If it's 10:08 and you thought you were going to start your math lesson at 10:07... it's OK!  Sometimes you can't fit everything in and if you don't get to it today, you can try again tomorrow!

2.)  It is not your stuff that makes you a good teacher.  I learned this my 3rd year after my school suffered a fire and I lost almost all of my possessions.  I had very little stuff for a while and my students still learned and I was still good at my job!  You can see some pics and read a bit about the fire at this "3 Year Fire Anniversary" post from last August.

3.)  Just keep in mind that your kiddos who try your patience are the ones you will look back on in a few years and credit with making you better at your job.  My most famous ever sweetie jumped out the window the first day of school when the bell rang and I chased out after him, carrying him back in... my first day as a new teacher!  He threw desks and chairs... but he made me good at classroom management and I will truly always credit him with that!

4.)  When you're flying by the seat of your pants, your kids won't know the difference... so just smile and teach on!

Head over and link up... share your tidbits of wisdom too!

Reading Comprehension Flippy Books, Syllables, Mr. Rogers, and a Contest!

I'm so excited!  I finished up my reading comprehension flippy books yesterday and they are now available!

I decided just to bundle them together- there are six of them for $4.00 in predicting, questioning, inferring, visualizing, summarizing, and making connections and they would be great for grades 1-4... as long as firsties are using them with teacher guidance.  I'm thinking they would be GREAT for guided reading too!  I am so psyched about using these in my 3rd grade ELA class this fall!

Here they are on TpT and TN...

Get them at TpT or Teacher's Notebook!

I also worked on a new "Let's BUG OUT for Syllables" pack!  This is a teeny, tiny pack with 17 pages including 2 games/center activities and a follow-up worksheet.

 

Get the set at TpT or Teacher's Notebook!

Third... have you seen this autotuned Mr. Rogers video?  I understand that it was created in conjunction with PBS and there are more in the works.  I hate to admit this, but I pretty much listened to this on repeat while I worked on that syllable pack yesterday!  I LOVE IT!!!!  Love the tune, love the message, love that it's MR. ROGERS!  I shared it with my blog's FB friends yesterday, but needed to get this out in mass form to all of you!

And... happy birthday today to my dad!  :)

So... the contest!

I will give the first person who guesses my dad's age correctly a free copy of either of my two new items... winner's choice!  Be sure to leave your e-mail address in your comment!  Good luck!  There's a pic of me and my dad to help your guessing... it's from my birthday, which was in October!

Look What I Made!!! And New Flippy Books Coming Soon!

Yesterday I went scrapbooking and didn't accomplish much.

I did two pages from Halloween with my hubby and my mom as we passed out giant Pixi Stix at my house... hubby was a pirate and I was a hot witch!  :)

And then I made this clipboard:

I've made loads of these in the past, but have never Mod Podged them... so I Mod Podged this one to death and I LOVE IT!

I know- it's not buntings, but I liked these colors and had these papers on hand so I didn't have to buy anything extra to make it!

I've also been working on a new collection of comprehension flippy books.  Right now, I have them bundled together in one file... do you think would be better or should they be separate?

Here's a sneak peek at the "Making Connections" flippy...

I was going to go into my old classroom and get the last of my things today, but it's supposed to be around 100 degrees!  I think I'll park it at the computer and get these flippy books done instead!

Tonight the hubby and I are going to see the musical "Legally Blonde"!  I have seen it before with my mom, but it's so funny!  I was so psyched to see that a local theater would be putting it on!  Hopefully the hubs will enjoy it too!

Mystery Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be participating in a Mystery Blog Hop, organized by Christy at Ms. Fultz's Corner!

Just use your smart phone to scan in the QR code... or click each one to be taken to a mystery location!

The post I've liked up with is an oldie, but a popular one!

Have fun and happy hopping!

Get Your Shop On!

Who doesn't love to shop?  Getting hired for a new grade has been an excellent excuse for me to spend some moolah!  Sorry, Mr. Bainbridge!  I'm loving it!

Well, last week I placed an online order with MPM School Supplies and I couldn't be happier!  The site was easy to use, the prices were great, and they had TONS of great things... not just "supplies" but other STUFF... and I do love stuff so much!

It arrived today and I'm so psyched!  The shipping was crazy fast!

Here's what I got:

A bulletin board storage kit, reading comprehension cards, birthday pencils, GLITTER AND METALLIC water color paints!!!!!, and main idea and cause and effect quiz cards.

I LOVE the quiz cards by Edupress.  Did you see my post on the game "Back to Back" a while ago?  Well, I have several sets of those cards and I use them for the game.  I punch a hole in the top of each card, put them on a metal ring, and... viola!  Instant way to do a quick review game!

Here is the best part!   MPM has offered you all 15% off of their already discounted prices!  Just follow this link to get your discount!  It's only available for the first 25 shoppers... so go and get your shop on!
http://www.mpmschoolsupplies.com/redeem/S1206P8CLHSLY

And, if you missed the post on the "Back to Back" game... you simply must check it out!  And then go order some of the Edupress cards from MPM School Supplies and get your kiddos "Back to Backing away" when you head back in the fall!

My Weekend... In Classroom Pictures!

Wow.

I am tired!

It was a busy weekend thinking and working on the new classroom!

Today, my hubby, sister, brother-in-law, and friend Principal D, helped me clean my room and move the majority of my possessions in.  I absolutely could not have done it without them!  So if any of you are reading this... THANK YOU!  Let me help you move into the lake box, Principal D!

My new room went from looking like this on Friday before J, J, and B helped me purge...

To looking like this... now dust free and full of 75% of my belongings from my other building...  Nothing is unpacked yet, but here it is!

And my room at my other building went from looking like this:...

To this one sad pile in the middle that has the rest of my things in it...  I'll be back later this week to collect them.

But... I did find this exciting thing in my new room...  Looks like a built in bookshelf...

But... lift it up and...

SECRET COMPARTMENT!!!!!!!  My SUV has a secret compartment (insert teasing from husband here) and I just really dig them!  What shall I hide away inside?

And here we have my lovely brother-in-law modeling his cleaning wear...

Last...

Everyone at my new building has a wooden mailbox hanging outside of their door.  I took mine home this weekend for a little TLC and it went from looking like this after I repainted it white yesterday...

To this, fully installed on my wall...

 

And I'm officially in love!  Look at the buntings!  And the reference to books!  And the word BAINBRIDGE!

Tonight my plans include cutting out new laminated items for my room and indulging in a movie that sneaked into my head on a whim today... "Sister Act 2"!  HA!  I can't WAIT!  It was either that or "Encino Man"... but Whoppi is really calling to me!

Please tell me you love my mailbox as much as I do!  I am telling you, I could not peel my eyes away from it when I finished yesterday and it was the first thing my hubby did for me when we got into the building this morning!

Now to wait for something official to wind up inside!