Name Idea

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I'm happy today because I am going on vacation tomorrow!

"Where are you going, Mrs. Greene?"

I am taking my kids to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Yes, we are going to Disney World!

Every summer we go camping at Fort Wilderness for a week.  Just me and the kids (Hubby has to work....awe, so sad!).  We have a wonderful time every year and I always look forward to this special "mommy" time that I get to spend with them.

I always plan it just before the chaos begins!  You know the chaos I am referring to.

BACK TO SCHOOL chaos!

Now back to school means one thing for kiddos, but it is an entirely different ball game for us teachers.

It means:

• Hours upon hours spent setting up our classroom, even working well beyond our scheduled work day and sometimes even working on Saturday and Sunday.
• Meeting, after meeting, after meeting, after meeting....oh, and let's throw in one more impromptu meeting. 
• Too many trips to the Dollar Tree/Target/Walmart to get those items that we MUST HAVE, of course, spending our own money.
• Lesson planning, Lesson planning, Lesson planning!
• Meet The Teacher Day
• Coming home so physically exhausted that you drop your bags by the door and head straight to bed (No strength to read blogs, play on Pinterest or Facebook, or even feed your family. Thank goodness for drive thru's.  I think they were invented just for teachers during pre-planning week!)

Yes, that insane wonderful chaos is right around the corner for me and probably for you as well.  

So, at least for this next week, I am going to forget about ALL THAT CHAOS and play the role of MOMMY with my two littles.

Well, if you have stuck with me, I am finally going to reward you with a back to school name idea.

I was going through my hundreds of school photos from last year and deleting many that I don't need anymore (you know, freeing up some hard drive space).  That's when I came across this little idea that I used last year and thought I would share it before I delete it.

This is my pocket chart center.  It is one of those cheap clothes racks from Walmart.  I think I spent a whopping $10 for it.  The kiddos can pull it out and both sides have a pocket chart.  

Each week I remove one of the pocket chart activities and replace it with a new one that goes along with my weekly theme.

At the beginning of the year I always read Brown Bear, Brown Bear to my students as we are learning about colors and senses.  After reading it a few times, we learn to manipulate this pocket chart by replacing the blank spot with friends names.  I find that these type of activities, using each others names, are perfect at the beginning of the school year.  Not only do they learn to read each other's names but they build confidence/fluency in reading.

Anyway, that's it for today! 

I am off to continue packing for our camping adventure.  I'm looking forward to some "magical" fun with my kiddos at Fort Wilderness.  

Happy Blogging!

Ann  (a.k.a. MOMMY)

I'm Still a Newbie!

Janis over at Grade Three Is The Place For Me is hosting a linky party:

Since I still think of myself as a newbie at this, I decided to link up.

So here goes...

1.  What state you are in?

Florida

(The Sunshine State)

2.  Your current teaching position:

Kindergarten

(But that could change...Shhh!  It's a secret!)

3.  Your teaching experience:

20 years

(It really doesn't seem that long.)

4.  When you started blogging:

August 7, 2012

(I actually discovered the blogging world in June 2012.)

5.  Share a blogging tip / blogging resource:

I love bloggers who make me laugh!

So, if you consider yourself a newbie...go link up!

Happy Blogging!

Ann

Tell Me More

Hi all!

I am joining in on the fun!  Mrs. Lemons over at Step Into Second Grade is hosting a linky party titled:

I decided I like the way Hadar (a fellow kindergarten teacher) presented her "extra" info, so I hope she doesn't mind, but I am going to alphabetize too.  

Here goes:

A- Ann 

Ann is actually my middle name.  Most of my friends have called me this since second grade.  My real name is Gay Ann. Add Greene to the end and that is me.... Gay Ann Greene.  Say it three times fast and see what you get.  It's pretty funny!

B- Beach

I love EVERYTHING about the beach!  My home is decorated with beach decor and so is my classroom.  THANK GOODNESS we live at the beach or I would be vacationing a lot!  Oh!  And when I do vacation....I prefer to go to the beach.  Here is a pic of me...at the beach, of course!

C- Coffee

I LOVE COFFEE!  I think that is an understatement!  I get it from my Grandma Underwood.  She drank a pot a day and she lived until she was 95 years old.  Figure that one out?

D- Derek

That is my husband.  He was my best friend in high school and we married when we were 20.  We will be celebrating our 22 wedding anniversary this year!  He is my ROCK!

E- Education

My bachelors degree is in Early Childhood Education and my masters degree is in Reading.  I think that makes a great combination!  

F- Friends

I think Friends was the best TV sitcom EVER!  I wish they would come back and make a sitcom titled OLDER FRIENDS.  I would probably watch it if it had the same cast.  I think I will send NBC that recommendation.  I am sure there are others of you out there who would agree with me.  If so, we should start a petition!

G- Giving

My friends have always said that I am a very giving person.  That I always want everyone else to be happy and often forget about myself.  I get that from my dad!  He was and still is the most giving man.  He runs an assisted living facility in his home in Illinois.  He has always been my hero!

H- Home

My husband and I have lived in the same home for almost 20 years.  We bought it fresh out of college as a fixer upper.  We have fixed it up alright!  We have redone every room but one, the Great Room.  It was the room that we fell in love with...it already had hardwood floors, cedar wood planked walls, high ceilings, and a fireplace.  It still is my favorite room in the house.

I- Ice Cream

My favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla.  I know!  I am very plain!  But I like to add the flavors to the top like hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream and a cherry!  Oh and don't forget the rainbow sprinkles. YUMMY!  I think I see a visit to Dairy Queen later.

J- Jeans

If only I could, I would wear jeans EVERYDAY!  I don't understand why jeans cannot be part of professional attire.  Jeans can really be classy looking if you doll them up a bit.

K- Kids

The hubby and I have two wonderful kids!  Alan (12), our boy, is so talented and handsome just like his daddy.  He has taken piano lesson since he was four and still makes me cry when he plays.  Abby (7), our girl, is beautiful and talented as well.  She loves to sing and dance.  She takes piano lessons as well and is becoming quite the pianist too!  We finish our family out with our furry kid:  Jo Jo.  We rescued her from the humane society about a year ago.  I am not a dog lover...but she was scheduled to meet her dooms day (I had an insider friend), and I just couldn't let that happen.  So now, I am a single dog lover!  She has brought me around, but I still don't like the hair or the smell (The poor thing get's bathed once a week, sometimes twice.).  Here's a pic of the fam:

L- Laugh

I love to laugh!  Do you know any good jokes?  If so, please share.  

M- Movies

My favorite movie of all time is Pride and Prejudice.

N- Neat

I am a "Neat Freak," otherwise known as OCD.  I just like things to be clean and orderly.  And yes, the pillows must be arranged correctly on my couch or I WILL stop and fix them.  It's okay...it only takes a few seconds to do this.  It doesn't bother me, if it doesn't bother you!

O- Osceola

That is the name of the elementary school that I have taught at for the past 15 years.  I call it "My home away from home!"  and everyone there is part of my "extended family."  It is a great community school of about 500 students located one block from the beach.  I bet you are JEALOUS! On quiet days, we can hear the roll of the surf.  

P- Photography 

Next to teaching, this is my second love!  I have gone through many SLR, DSLR, and point and shoot  cameras over the years.  I keep all my older oneS on a shelf in my scrapbook room.  Some still work, many don't!  I truly believe that I wear them out with all my picture snapping.  Quite a few years back, my hubby had to buy me an external hard drive to store all my photos.  It was a T bite.  Just recently, we had to buy a second one.  Yes, the first one is full.  Oh my!  Here is one of my recent pics from a photo shoot that I was doing.  No, I wasn't doing a photo shoot with a bee family.  I just happened to notice a swarm of bees attacking some flowers near by and my adult ADD took hold of me.

Q- Quiet

When I was a little girl, I was extremely QUIET and shy.  I really don't know what happened.  That's all I have to say about that! 

R- Reading

I love to read!  And yes, I have read the Shades of Grey Trilogy.  All I can say OMG and I am anticipating the movie.  It might knock Pride and Prejudice off of the #1 spot of my all time favorite movie list.

S- Scrapbooking

I am an avid scrapbooker.  I have been doing this hobby since 1993.  I realized a few years ago that I had to go mostly digital when I discovered that I had scrapbooked so many pictures, my albums filled an entire closet of my house (and it's not a small closet either).  On a side note, I love my scrapbook room.  It is my second favorite room in my house.

T- Travel

I love to Travel!  My hubby and I did a lot of traveling prior to kids and still do with our littles.  We usually take 3-4 major trips a year, two of those with our kiddos and one or two without.  Our trips with the kids are ones that they enjoy...I don't believe they would find the hubby and my vacation spots as interesting.  We go to places where we can sit, relax, sip on an exotic drink, while we soak up nature's beauty.

U- Underwear

Nothing fancy here...Jockey brand, white or cream, bikini style, preferably all cotton.

V- Vacation

I just love summer break!  Don't you?  It is a great time to take my kids on several "mini" vacations.  As a matter of fact, the kids and I are going on one next week.  We are going camping.  The MR can't go due to the nature of his business.  He runs a rental stand on Daytona Beach.  The summer is a busy time for him, so no vacation for him!  I know!  It sounds like a rough life...you have to go work at the beach everyday.  Poor thing!  (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice...because I sure can in my head!)

W- Walt Disney World

We go there A LOT!  We only live about an hour away and we have season passes.  Even though we go all the time, amazingly, the Magic never goes away!  How does Disney do it?  

X-Xanax

I HATE to fly!  It is pretty bad!  All I can say, is thank you to the makers of this wonderful drug.  It helps me to even consider getting on a plane.

Y- YUMMY

My favorite thing to eat is salad!  You know...the healthy green stuff.  When I go into a restaurant and they hand me the menu, I first go to the salad section to see if they have any interesting ones that I must try.  I know I'm weird!

Z- Zimmerman

That was my maiden name.  I always hated being the last one for everything when the teacher alphabetized.  Therefore, If I have to alphabetize my kinders, I use their first names.  However, I always feel sorry for the child named Zach or Zoe.  Hey!  Maybe that is why I named my children Alan and Abigail.  Hee!  Hee!

Well, that's it!  That is the ABC's of me.  I hope I didn't bore you. 

Go link up and tell us more about you!

Happy Blogging!

Ann

I'm Back...With An Award

Hi all!

Company's gone so I am finally back to my normal summer routine of staying in my jammies until about noon while I consume at least a pot of coffee.  And, of course, blogging and playing on Pinterest all the while!

I don't know about you, but it is going to be so difficult to give up this routine in a few weeks.

Anyway, while I was being an entertainer and taxi driver to my sister, her fiance, and her grandaughters,  my little blog received an award.

Catherine over at Kinder Cuties awarded me the following:

Thank you, Catherine!  It is so nice to be recognized.

If you are unfamiliar to this award, it is a blogging award that is given to newer blogs that have less than 200 followers.  It is kind of an award to "welcome" them to the community.

So here is what you have to do if you receive this award:


1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.
2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

So, here are five "newbies" that I feel deserve this honor:

1.  Sunshine, Sand, and Scissors
2.  Co-Kindering
3.  Coloring Books and Funny Looks
4.  Creating Kinders
5.  Joy of Kindergarten

So go check out these newer blogging buddies!  Tell them I sent ya!

Until next time, Happy Blogging!
Ann
  

Teacher Tip Thursday

Hello Bloggers!

Sorry I have been on hiatus.  My sister and her granddaughters are visiting and I am playing entertainer and taxi driver right now.  I am loving it because the little ones have never been to Florida before.  So we are taking them to so many wonderful places.  You should have seen their faces when they tasted salt water for the first time yesterday while at the beach.  Yes, I had my camera ready!  It was priceless!

That's enough about me, now onto my tip for today.

How many of you are ADDICTED to pinterest?

I know I am!

I am on there several times a day pinning this and pinning that!  I am pinning so much you would think I were a seamstress!

Do you ever feel like you pin so much that you forgot what you pinned?

Or, how about you found this awesome pin and you said to yourself "I SO WANT TO MAKE THAT!" but then you forgot about it and now you are asking yourself  "WHICH FOLDER DID I PUT THAT AWESOME IDEA IN?"

I hope you feel like this too, or maybe I am just getting old and losing my memory.  If that is the case, please let me know so I can go see the doctor right away!

Anyway, I am always forgetting about my pins.

I finally found something that works for me and it is so simple that maybe you already do this too, but I am going to share anyway.

When I find a pin that is something that I want to make, I simply follow these steps:

1.  right click on the image 
2. click on "save image as"
3. and then save it to my desktop

Now I have all those wonderful pins as a small image on my desktop and I remember to actually make it.  No more forgetting!

I figure, if I get too many images on my desktop, I will make a desktop file folder that says "Make These Pins" or something of that nature.

Well, that's it!

That's my tip for today.

Now I'm off to taxi my girls to Marineland.  We are going to play with dolphins today!  Fun!

Happy Blogging!

Ann

Made it Monday

It's Monday, so I am joining up with 4th Grade Frolics to showcase what I made this week.

On Tuesday, I was able to do a little retail therapy.  During that outing I got some cheap clipboards from dollar tree (five of them @ $1.00 each) and some decorative duct tape from Michael's (on sale 2 rolls for $7.00).

So I got to work, wrapping tape around the boards and then added a bow at the top.  Here is how they turned out.

I think they turned out great!  Isn't the duct tape very beachy?  I can't wait for the kiddos to use them in the classroom.  

Next up, my table supply baskets.  I finally found some at the Dollar Tree (4 @$1.00 each) and got some ribbon at Hobby Lobby (2 rolls at $1.99 each).

These were simply adding the ribbon to fancy them up a bit. Nothing major!

Again, I think they will work out fine this year and I love the colors!  Doesn't ribbon make anything look like you spent a million bucks.

Lastly, I am very proud of my table signs.  I blogged about them on my Saturday post, but in case you missed it, here is an image of them:

These were the best find yet!  Only a $1.00 at the Dollar Tree.  They had them in hot pink and blue.  They had luau images to be attached but I just made my own images.  I can't wait to hang them in my classroom.  As a matter of fact, I have to stop by school today to drop off some of my retail therapy finds (my pile is getting mammoth), so I may just take a few minutes to hang them.  

So what have you been making?  Go link up and share.

Happy Blogging!

Ann

Saw it on Pinterest Saturday

How many of you have heard of Schoolgirl Style?  If you haven't...OMG, you must go check her out!

Her classroom designs and decorating ideas are....let's just say, INCREDIBLE!

So I truly have spent hours just looking at all of the different ways she has decorated learning environments and I was inspired by these cute, little signs...

click here for link

So....

during one of my retail therapy outings, I was casually walking the isle's of our local Dollar Tree and stumbled upon these:

Of course, my mouth just dropped.  Does the Dollar Tree realize that they are sitting on a goldmine here?  Obviously not!  They are only charging a dollar for these cutie, patooties.  

Now the good lord above must have had a hand in this find because not only is my classroom beach themed, but my colors are hot pink and blue.  WOW!

So these signs would be cute just as they are but then I discovered something upon further inspection.  Check it out...

Notice anything?  The tiki decor (which is awfully cute) is not attached to the blue puff prior to assembly.  OMG!  My mind started racing!  I realized at that moment that I could attach anything I wanted to the blue puff!

Next, 

I looked around to see if anyone was staring at me because I was jumping up and down like a little kid in a candy shop. 

I eagerly grabbed every one that was displayed and stuffed them into my shopping basket that was already overflowing with too many classroom purchases.

 I got my wits about me and decided that I could reasonably purchase four of each color.

I was so excited about this purchase that I came home immediately started playing with my new found decor.

Here is what I created...

These adorable puffs are going to be my table signs for next year.  You can't see from this image, but I put the table number circles on both sides.  I adhered them with hot glue.  Are't they cute?

Here is another image!

So go check out Schoolgirl Style and see how her creativity inspires you to create a beautiful learning environment.  Oh, and let me know if you hear about her doing a classroom makeover giveaway.  I would so LOVE to win that one!

Happy Blogging!

Ann

Birthday Winner!

Hey Ladies!  Thanks for all of you who played along with me on my birthday.

We have a winner...

Karmen

@ 
Karmen's Kinders of Room 103

Karmen was the first to guess my correct age of.....  42.  Congrats!!!!

However, I don't feel 42.  I feel more like I am 33...or maybe 35....how about 18.  That's what they told the waiter at dinner last night....he just laughed!  I don't think that was very nice of him.  How does he know my true age?

Anyway, I got some FABULOUS gifts for my birthday.  So I thought I would share...you don't mind, do you?

I must preface with...teacher's ask for the most interesting gifts for their birthday...don't we?  Often, we forgo the normal birthday gifts and ask for stuff to help make our lives easier....hence, you know where this is going...stuff for our classroom.  Well, I did get a few gifts to help me in the classroom and then a few just for the fun of it!

So here is my first gift...

My mother-in-law, who is a former teacher herself, got me one of these with laminating sheets, of course!  She obviously knows from her 30 years in the classroom how important it is for a teacher to have her stuff laminated.  Yes, we have one at school, but now I can make that last minute center, that I have probably found on one of your wonderful blogs, and have it ready in the morning.  What an AWESOME gift!

Next, my hubby got me one of these...

I already had the iPad2 but I really wanted the keyboard attachment.  This one is really nice because it all fits in a case too and folds up just like my old case, very compact!  I can't wait to use this at my guided reading table.  I have lots of plans for this and I am sure I will share these ideas with you in later posts.

Next up, my seven-year old daughter picked this out for me...

Remember these?  They came out many moons ago.  Well, I had one and mine finally bit the dust (I think from overuse).  So my sweet pea decided I had to have a new one.  Yes, we are a family that likes grilled sandwiches....all kinds of grilled sandwiches:  Grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, grilled mozzarella,  grilled mozzarella and pepperoni, grilled salami, grilled pastrami, grilled peanut butter and chocolate chips....I think you get the idea.  That last one is one of my personal favorites...I highly recommend that you try it.  Your kids will think that you are the World's Best Chef!  And they will tell all their friends about you! And you will be the talk of the lunch room! I know you are envious!  Furthermore, I even took my old one to school several times to make grilled sandwiches with my littles.  Personally, I think whoever invented this little contraption is either a genius or a teacher who was looking for a time saver when it comes to making a quick dinner.  It was probably the teacher!

Lastly, my wonderful son, who knows I love to scrapbook, got me this...

For those of you who have no idea what this is, it is a scrapbook page holder.  This will display your 12 x 12 scrapbook pages after you make them.  I have the perfect place in my scrapbook room for this.  And...I already have several completed pages that are notable enough to earn the status to be displayed in this cutie patootie.  Yes, only my special pages will get the honor of being in this little puppy.

Now I know that a scrapbook holder has nothing to do with school, but I know I have some scrapping friends out there who read my blog and they are going to be so ENVIOUS of me because I have one of these.  Hee! Hee!

So that is what I got for my birthday.  It was a great day and we finished it with this...

This is my traditional Banana Cake.  My hubby had to search high and low this past week to find a bakery that would make me a banana cake.  We use to get it from Holiday House, but they closed down a few months ago and he didn't know how he was going to find a place who made banana cake. Amazingly, he found a sweet little old lady at a local bakery who knew exactly what he wanted because she too use to eat at Holiday House.  She did a FABULOUS job.  It tasted even better than the one we use to get.  I am going to have to stop by her bakery and thank her!

So that was my birthday!  Thanks for sharing in my fun with me and thanks to those of you who played my birthday game.  It was fun!

Until next time....Happy Blogging!
Ann

Starbucks Giveaway

Today is my birthday!

I am 29!

Or maybe I am 33?

How about 52?

Well, I am not going to tell you....you are going to have to guess.

Think of it as if you are playing a game at my birthday party and the winner get's a prize!

Don't you just love when you do this with your students?  Especially if you teach kindergarten.  I just love the ones that say "You are eight, Mrs. Greene."  And in your brain you are just thinking...

 ...Are you serious!  You must be blind if you can't see the wrinkles around my eyes.

...Awe!  Thanks for making me feel old!

...Hmmm...little Suzie really needs to work on number sense.

Anyway, you are probably asking yourself..."If I play, what do I win?"


A trip here....

Well, not really!  Although I would love to reward everyone with a trip to a beautiful, tropical, relaxing location as the one pictured above, I don't think my bank account will appreciate it (Remember, we function on a teacher salary).

Instead, I have one of these pretty, little cards as a prize!

I just love me some Starbucks!  How about you?  This one is $10 worth of Starbucks.

So here are the rules to my game:
1. Guess my age
2. Show me some love and leave a comment
3. Please make sure I have a way to contact you (blog link/e-mail/etc)

The first one to guess correctly is the winner and I will announce who won tomorrow.  Oh, and don't worry!  I won't judge your guesses like I do my students.  I know all of you are very good at number sense and who knows, your blogging research skills might even help you out a bit (Wink! Wink!)

Join in the birthday fun and play along with us.

Happy Blogging!
Ann

What I'm Pinning Wednesday

Hi all!

I had a great time with my girlfriends yesterday.  We had a great lunch out and then we did some retail therapy at Michaels, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, and Target.  I finally got to use my gift cards that I have been carrying around in my purse FOREVER!

At each store, I got some goodies for school and I am sure I will be sharing pics with you in the near future.

In the meantime, I want to share with you what I have been pinning.  I am linking up with Kinder Kraziness to share what has inspired me on Pinterst.

First up... I know!  I already made my birthday balloons for this year, but aren't these really cute?

You can find this free printable at Once Upon A First Grade Adventure.  Of course, I pinned it for next year but I thought I could share it with you too!

Next, I liked the following alphabet assessment sheet.

You can find it at Heidi Songs.  What I like about it is that the children simply are focusing on letter formation.  I am going to adapt this one to meet our teams needs.  We assess letter formation four times a year and we have to assess upper and lowercase letters.

These table signs are awesome!

These signs belong to Erica Bohrer's First Grade.  I am going to make something similar but I found some cute hanging decorations at Dollar Tree yesterday that I am going to repurpose to beef them up a bit.  I am sure I will post a pic after I make them.

I found these as I was pinning just this morning.  All I can say is WOW!

They are Common Core "I Can" posters that were made by Mrs. Fulbright.  She did a fabulous job on them and I can't believe they are a FREE DOWNLOAD.  Again, WOW!

Lastly, I am always looking for some good humor when I am pinning.  Here is my latest find.

Really, If only we were paid for pinning!  I would be making a fortune and could afford that "Dream Home" that I keep pinning about.

Well, that's what I'm pinning these days.  How about you?  Go link up and share.

Happy Blogging!
Ann

Teacher Tip Tuesday

Today's a happy day for me!

Why?

I get to go out to lunch with my favorite girls...my co-workers....my team...my besties! 

We are going to Red Lobster.  Yum!  Well, actually it is not one of my favorites, but.....

it is right next to  Michael's, Hobby Lobby, a Dollar Tree and the "ultimate" TARGET!  You know we strategically planned that meeting place, don't you?

Whohoo!  I know I am going to do some purchasing today!

Especially because I still have my two Target gift cards and one to Hobby Lobby.  Yes!

I am really hoping that Target has filled their Dollar Spot with the new teaching items that I am seeing circulating around blogs.  Especially that Dr. Seuss stuff that I saw over at Hanging with Mrs. Cooper's Blog. So cute!!!!

Anyway, here is my tip for Tuesday.  It is simple, but it is all my ADD brain could think of this morning (remember, I am in a funk).

Have you seen these little cuties at the Dollar Tree?

If you can't tell what they are, they are birthday paper plates shaped just like a monkey's head.  So stinking cute!

Well, of course, when I saw them, I had to have them because my brain automatically thought "Five Little Monkeys!"  Actually, I had to purchase four packages because I had to have some for me and my besties.  I am such a giving person.

I am sure you have figured out what I am going to do with them.  I am going to add some craft sticks or paint sticks to the back.  I prefer the paint sticks, they are more durable.  But I am going to have to bribe the nice man at Lowes for some.  I am currently out!

Then I will use these little monkeys with my students when we do our Five Little Monkey's book/retelling.  I can just visualize my little cuties right now with their monkeys in their hands.  They are going to love it and Mrs. Greene is going to run and get her camera for a picture.

I am always looking for those special, animal shaped paper plates.  I have a bunch of these that I use for a variety of fingerplays/songs/stories.  They are so easy, cheap, and durable.  I have had some that I have used for the past five years that still look practically new.

Here is an image of other's that I have seen on the market.

So keep your eyes open when you are walking through the birthday/paper plate isles.  You never know what gems you will find that can be used for your retelling center.

I hope you enjoyed my simple tip for today.

Don't worry!  I am sure I will post pics about what I get today during my shopping spree outing.

Also, I spent an enormous amount of time cleaning my scrapbook/craft room yesterday?  Would anyone like me to post pics, since it is clean?   Just thought I would ask to see if there are any takers.  My hubby allowed me to transform one room in our house into "my" room but it seems to be a favorite place for the entire family since my daughter loves to create too, my son likes my computer the best and so does the hubby (They say my computer is the fastest in the house.).  I guess I have to share.

Until next time, Happy Blogging!
Ann

Made it Monday

It's Monday, so I'm linking up again with 4th Grade Frolics for her Made it Monday Linky Party.

I just love linking up with her for several reasons...

1. It reminds me to share pics of all those cool things I have made for my classroom (Remember, I'm ADHD,  I make and make and make but often forget to share!).
2. I get to see images of what others are doing and then I have a reason to go shopping (I personally love any reason to go shopping!).
3. I don't have to think "What should I blog about today?"  (Sometimes I get in a Bloggers funk...does this happen to anyone else?).

Anyway...here is what I have been working on this past week.  

First, I saw these on Pinterest and it was love at first sight!

They are birthday balloons made with crazy straws.  The best part, Amy over at Step Into Second Grade has the free downloadable balloon.  So of course, I had to make me some.

I got my straws at the Dollar Tree and I was ready.

Here are mine.

Aren't they just the cutest!  I can't wait to give one to my kiddos on their birthday.  Don't you just love the red solo cup (Yes, you can thank me because now the song is playing in your head, isn't it)?  I am going to try and find something as cute to put them in, something as cute as Amy's (see pic above).  I just haven't found the right thing yet.  I saw a cute hot pink tall basket at the Dollar Tree...Oh no, now I might just have to go back and do more shopping!  Hey!  It's only a dollar!

Next up...I purchased this locker crate from Walmart the other day.  It looked like the perfect size for my daily folders and, even better, it was hot pink!

Here is what I did to it so far.

That is a blue polka-dot ribbon added to it (I just love my colors this year!).  I do need to make a label for it, but labeling always seems to happen later for me.  I think I always have to see how everything fits into my classroom and then I make the labels.

Here is a pic of my next project.  I am sure you have seen people do this on Pinterest.  You know the one, where you take a picture frame and make a "To Do" list out of it.  I got the frame at the Dollar Tree as well.  Can anyone guess how much I spent?  And, how come when you go up to the front to purchase and your cart is full the cashier automatically says..."You must be a teacher."  I think the Dollar Tree is starting to stereotype us.

Well, here is mine.  Unfortunately, I didn't write down who I go the free printable from.  I apologize for having one of my adult ADD moments.  If you know who did the download, please let me know so that I can give them their shout out because I just love mine.  I need to find a cute hot pink bow to add to it, but that will have to come later.

Lastly, I found these cute baskets at Dollar Tree as well.  I already have a few in my classroom (Which my seven year old daughter had to mention as I was purchasing more...she is so observant).  I also got the ribbon from there too but it was way back at Easter.  I remember driving to several different Dollar Trees at Easter time to purchase as many of these as possible because I knew I would use them this summer.  I have quite a collection now...but I still think I am going to run out! Ugh!

Here is what I did.  These are going to be my work table baskets.  I have four tables in my classroom and each table has a shelf at the end of it (another Pinterest idea).  I have them place their completed work in these baskets as they rotate through the tables.  That way they are not coming up and bothering me during reading groups.  Of course, a label is forthcoming. I am envisioning something in black and white maybe.

Oh and remember my treasure box?  The one I found at Walmart for a whopping $4.97?  Here is how it turned out.

I added letter stickers and then used my plethora of "O" stickers to accentuate the grommets on the container.  Of course, I had to add some bling (which I had on hand in my scrapbook room as well).  I think it turned out cute.

Well, that's it!  I have been busy creating but, unfortunately, I am not keeping up with my purchasing.  If you could only see the amount of stuff that is sitting on the floor of our game room (That is where everything seems to pile until I can get it to school).  The pile needs to find a new home soon since we have company coming in town on the 17th of this month.  

Which means I will be making a trip to my classroom.  

Which means that I will be bringing home even more projects.  

Which means that the pile probably won't be shrinking much.  Oh well!

What have you been creating?  I can't wait to see!  Go link up!

Happy Blogging!

Ann

Giving Advice

Deb over at Fabulously First is doing a great linky party where we (the experienced) get to give teacher's advice.  Sounds like fun...go check it out.

So here are my insights for new teachers:

So that's my advice...personally, I love the last one.  I got that idea from a retired teacher.  At her retirement party, she shared her journal with everyone at the party.  It was quite an emotional moment for her and I do believe that every teacher at the party was crying right along with her.  

So go link up and share your wisdom.

Happy Blogging!

Ann