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August 21, 2016

TPT Bonus One Day Sale!

What?! Yep, that's right... TPT is doing another site-wide sale tomorrow! For those of you who missed the last big sale or for those like me who already have a crazy long wish list... tomorrow is the big day!



What's in your cart this time?

I, of course, am loaded with clipart because I'm not in the classroom this year (if you are wondering... NO, the baby has NOT arrived yet and he is definitely late...). Here are a few things I've got waiting for me! SQUEE!!!


Teaching in the Tongass has such cute bundles! I have a project on the to-do list with cars and transportation and this is just the perfect set!


How do I not already own this?? These graphics are PERFECT for a lot of the activities in my Wonders packs!


And this one is just a super fun one that I can't pass up. I'll be getting it tomorrow for sure.


Don't forget that the BUNDLES in my shop WILL be included in the sale tomorrow! That includes the Year Long Kindergarten Wonders Bundle which brings the price of all the units to almost HALF off buying them separately. It also includes my Year Long Second Grade Growing Bundle which is already dirt cheap at only $28 and it will include all 6 units as you need them this year. Unit 1 is already posted a available and you'll get the updates for free if you purchase the growing bundle! Check them out below!





August 15, 2016

Teacher Wish List Feature!



You guys, I discovered something pretty awesome a couple of weeks ago. Let me break it down for you:

I am (hopefully) having this baby soon.
My husband and I got a lot of cool things as gifts from our baby registry.
I thought... It would be cool to have a teacher registry for those little things. I mean, I get parents and personal friends asking me all the time if they can help.



Yeah... it exists, ya'll...


Disclaimer: This post contains sponsored content, affiliate links, and review products. Regardless, these are 100% my own opinions.



Oriental Trading has started this new Wish List feature and it is basically a registry and with their amazing teaching supplies at reasonable prices, I made one. It was so fun! Just like making my baby registry, I loaded that thing up! Upon researching more about it, you can give the link to the wish list to anyone and your information is not given out, they can easily order something, and it gets shipped straight to you. This would have been a life saver for my first year teaching or the year I moved grade levels, so new teachers, listen up!

I then decided to do some searching around for some new goodies. Although I'm not in the classroom at the moment (seriously, why have I NOT had this baby yet??), I'm itching for new fun things to use! I also have a sub that could benefit, so why not now? I've got the time on my hands to shop, right? Right.

Here are some things I recommend for a Teacher Wish List: (click any of the images to head to the product on Oriental Trading).




Index Card Boxes

The pack on Oriental Trading came with 12 boxes! Two of six different colors. What I am most excited about is that I JUST discovered (it's been an enlightening month...) that it is possible to PRINT ON INDEX CARDS. This is a game changer, people. Look for a post in the future on how to print on index cards. Can you imagine the time saved from cutting out task cards?? And index cards are cheap!

I am also excited that there are 6 different colors. In the reading curriculum my district uses, there are 6 units, which means I can color coordinate task cards per unit for easy storage and ease of use for the kids! If you use Reading Wonders, check out the units I have available in my store. Kindergarten is all done and the 2nd grade bundle is growing!






Foam Math Dice

How useful are these bad boys?! This picture does not do the pack justice... because it comes with 144 dice!!!! I love that they are foam, because nothing is more distracting than loud dice rolling around the desks and floors during Math centers and I love how there is a mix of numbers, dots, and symbols. These are something that can definitely be used year round in multiple ways.

I can't WAIT to pair these with the dice games I use in my classroom. Take a look:





Large Pocket Dice

Speaking of dice... I have seriously wanted one of these for SO LONG, but the ones on Lakeshore were too expensive and then when I finally bit the bullet and went to buy them I couldn't find them on their site anymore! Thank you Oriental Trading! Definitely less expensive and I can't wait to use these for.... pretty much everything.....



Library Pockets

Aaaaaand, speaking of pockets... I love library pockets, ya'll. I usually order the ugly boring kind from the ordering system at school, but I had to have these. Look at the pretty colors! They had a ton of different designs, but I went with just the rainbow set. They also have an adorable Eric Carle set that was super tempting. Maybe I'll just plop it on my wish list and see what happens....




Number Order and Sequencing Cards (or what I like to call, Hundreds Chart Cards)

Where are my fellow 2nd grade teachers?? I LOVE THESE SO MUCH! They are dry erase, ya'll. Dry. Erase. And there's 50 of them. I have a feeling this will be used to death in my class. Not only are they dry erase and 50 of them, but they are front and back. The product description on the website does not do this justice. I was so excited to see how awesome these are. This is a fun unit to teach and I can't wait to pair it with my Hundreds Chart Activity Pack. The pictures included are similar to the activity in this product, but there are tons more activities included in this set like Diagonal Sums and Compatible Pairs. LOVE!


But for real, won't these cards go so well with this unit??




Composition Book File Folders

This image is from Oriental Trading's website. I did not get a chance to take a photo of this one, but will certainly do so in the future. I have a great writing lapbook idea that I can't wait to try out! I was going to just use regular file folders, but I mean... it's a WRITING lapbook... and these look just like the kiddos' writing notebook... so... how could I pass this up?! Future post for sure, so keep your eyes peeled!




Music Note Scratch Art

Okay, I didn't take a picture of this either... but it's because this is a present for my mom! She is a Music teacher and I thought it would be kind of neat for some of her students to help decorate the classroom with these cuties for the beginning of the year! If she remembers to take some photos, I'll post those to my Facebook and Instagram, so be sure to follow me! (PS- it was really tempting to open this and scratch them all up. I really had to remind myself that they were for the kids...)



I am loving my new goodies from Oriental Trading! I have more on the Wish List and would totally put the link in newsletters to families or even post online! You never know who is willing to help out a classroom in need. All you need to do is head over to Oriental Trading's website, make an account, and on any item you would like for your classroom, just click the little heart button that says "Add to Wishlist." 

Here is my current Wish List so you can get an idea of what other people will see when they go to it. As you will see, your personal information is not given out, just like a baby registry! :)



If you make a wish list, share it in the comments! I'd like to see what ya'll are shopping for! It will probably make me double the length of my own wish list... but... It's fun!!!

August 5, 2016

Five for Friday: Anniversary Edition!

Always a good time over at Doodle Bugs! I love the Five for Friday linky. :)


What are ya'll up to today?


First off, I hope you had an AMAZING time shopping for goodies earlier this week during the TpT site wide sale!!! It is my favorite sale of the year. I stocked up on some clipart goodies since I won't be headed back into the classroom this year. Check out what I got! I'm so excited!!!


How could I not get this?? I still haven't even decided what I'm going to use these masks for... Impulse buy that I do NOT regret!


Ah, be still my heart. Whimsy Workshop makes some of my all time favorite clipart sets (believe me, I own MANY of them...). And you know Interactive Notebooks are my favorite, too! This set is so exciting! Look for some new Interactive Notebook packs in the future!


This font pack goes down in history as one of the BEST purchases I've EVER made on TpT, EVER. I'm obsessed...


Sonya DeHart makes the most beautiful backgrounds! I own so many, but this one was too pretty to pass up. <3 I'm thinking of some New Year's freebies with this set in January!


Any time I shop for Science clip art, Artifex is my first stop. I'm still working on the Rocks and Soil Science pack, but when I'm done with that, come back and look for a Matter Science pack! These packs will be similar in types of activities to my Human Body Unit.


I absolutely love this art work! This was one I almost didn't buy because I do not have an immediate use for it... but I just couldn't pass up the sale. My favorite is the excited girl in the green shirt at the bottom!


This is another one of my favorite clip art stores! If you are a Second grade teacher like me, you probably spend a decent amount of time on life cycles, so this set is perfect. And she's not done with it yet, which means SURPRISES in the future! The best kind of surprises are clip art surprises, am I right?



Today is my wedding anniversary! 3 years! I also had several mild contractions all day and night yesterday, so we were thinking this baby boy would come on our anniversary... but nothing today. :/ Happy anniversary to the love of my life! 3 years married, 8 together!





If you are looking for a photographer in Florida, check out 1000 Words Gallery! She did our engagement photos and will be doing some baby photos in the future as well! <3 her!




Are you setting up your classrooms right now? I'm actually envious because that is one of my FAVORITE THINGS TO DO EVER! I love getting creative in my classroom and have certainly been jealous of all the amazing classroom photos and videos I've seen circulating the internet lately. 

If you are still looking for a theme or just want something more to add to your room, check out this newly UPDATED decor pack. The pirate bundle has most items individually as well, so click the link and in the product description will be clickable links to the sets individually in case you are looking for just one or two things. :)


Here's my very first Kindergarten classroom:








If you don't follow me on Facebook, you'll want to take a look! I have recently ventured into the world of video-making and am having a TOTAL BLAST! My Facebook will begin to feature videos on tips and tricks for the classroom, new resources (some free, of course!), and all kinds of fun topics! Here's the first video on a fun game I like to use with my students on Place Value.





And of course, a baby update! Well.... I got nothin'. He isn't coming yet. Although, as mentioned above, I did spend the evening with some mild and inconsistent contractions that were certainly different than anything I've experienced thus far, so that's a good sign, I suppose. He is due in exactly ONE MORE WEEK! So, really, any day now, folks. I can't wait to meet him! <3

If you missed my post a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I decided for me to take this school year off from teaching. We are very fortunate to be able to manage this on one income. I wrote a blog post about my mixed emotions on skipping this year that you won't want to miss out on. Click the image below to head to that post now!




Have a great year back, teachers! And stay tuned for more videos, baby updates, and all kinds of new resources and freebies to help you along your way with this brand new bunch of kiddos.