Teacher Week + Leibster Award

Okay, y'all! It is teacher week 2013. I am excited that this is a thing! What more could you want?!

Well before I tell you 10 things about me, I wanted to tell you that Ashley Copeland at Tacky the Teacher nominated me for the Leibster Award. I just could not believe it when I read my comments. Thank you so much! 

To accept the nomination you must:

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees

6. Contact your nominees and let them know you nominated them

I nominate the following blogs:

1. 2 Preschool Pals
2. Fun in Pre-K 1 & Kindergarten
3. Mrs. Brown the Bookworm
4. If you Give a Teacher a Treat
5. Paula's Place

To answer Ashley's questions: 

1. How long have you been blogging and why did you start?

I just started blogging this summer. It has been something that I have been wanting to do for a long time. I just love sharing my ideas and getting ideas from others. It is also a great way to see how others would do it. There are so many lovely blogs out there! 
2. When do you get into your classroom for the first time in the summer?

Well school has already started and I am enjoying being back. (I know, crazy!) I went back to work on my room in July because I found out that I was moving in to a different room with a different Para. There was so much work to be done so I spent most of my July days in the room. It looks fabulous, by the way. 
3. If you were not a teacher, what would your career be?

I am obsessed with tigers. It is a weird fact. I even used to save pictures of them on my computer when I was young. I would love to work with tigers, if I wasn't a teacher. 
4. What children's book is your favorite to teach with and why?

I love to teach with the "There Was an Old Lady..." books. I feel as though they are a great way to teach math patterns and have fun. The kids love them! There is so much to do with them. 
5. What is the most embarrassing teacher moment you have had?

This may be TMI, BUTTTTTTT one time I was hanging something up and I farted so loud. I didn't even know I had to do it. It just came out. It was so embarrassing and hilarious! GROSS.
6. If you could eat one food every day what would it be?

Cheesecake. I love cheesecake. (I blame it on Eric)
7. What is your favorite classroom theme you have had?

This is my second year teaching and both years I had a polka dot theme. I love it because you can do anything with it. This year my theme is a mixture of colors and patterns. I call it: "Dr. Seuss Threw Up" Theme
8. What is your favorite blog to read? 

I love the Tattooed Teacher. She is one of the blogs I follow religiously. She just puts it out there and I love it. 
9. What is your favorite subject to teach?

I love to teach Math. It is so hands-on and fun. That is one thing I miss about the older grades (K-5). 
10. What color would you use to describe your personality?

Oh gosh, do I have to choose. What color says happy, carefree, and a little bit sassy? What ever it is, that is me. 
11. What professional development book would you recommend?

I have not had to read one. I am dying to get my hands on that Talking, Drawing, Writing. I feel as though it can be beneficial for all grades. 

For my 11 random facts I can incorporate the All About Me Monday! 

1. Seriously, I love Tegan and Sara. They are my favorite band and they have been since I was 14. I own like 8 band T-Shirts and I have seen them in concert 4 times. I get to see them again at Music Midtown in September and I am stoked. It is actually quite ridiculous. 

2. There are several TV shows that I have a guilty pleasure for. The biggest is Pretty Little Liars. I know I am an adult and I should be in to cool, mature things but I just cannot help it. The mystery is too inciting. (I do like good, adult shows too)

3. I have 4 animals (5 if you count Kinley) living in the apartment with me and Eric. One is a little Chihuahua named Chewie (Chewbacca for you Star Wars lovers) and three rats. There names are: Whisker White, Saul Goodmouse, and Jesse Pinktail. *insert Breaking Bad pun, here*

4. I have a shopping addiction. Seriously. It. Is. BAD. If I cannot afford to buy too much, I go to the Dollar Tree to get my fix. I just can't help it.

5. I pay Target's bills. I am there everyday it seems. Eric went to a birthday party once and one of the party-goers said, "I rang up your fiance today at Target. She is there like everyday." LOL They need a Target's Anonymous.

6. I don't exercise but I really want to. I just never feel like it. Does that make sense?

7. It is the 6th day of school and all of my students already know I am crazy! They tell me all the time how silly and crazy I am. I guess as I get older I can't hold in the "weird" as much. 

8. I really like ice cream. My favorite flavor is Mint Chocolate Chip. 

9. Going to the movies is my favorite thing to do. Forget the romantic, over the top dates, I just wanna go to the movies. 

10. I spend a lot of time watching youtube tutorial videos. Eric makes fun of me for it, but I just can't help it. You can learn how to do everything through Googling and Youtubing! 

*11. I enjoy fonts. I can spend several hours a day looking and downloading fonts. It is so weird. 

My 11 questions for my blogger friends:

1. When did you first realize when you wanted to become a teacher?

2. What was the hardest year of teaching you have had? How did you overcome it?

3. What is the most embarrassing moment you have had at school?

4. What is your favorite blog to read?

5. What subject do you enjoy teaching the most?

6. If you weren't a teacher, what else would you do?

7. What are your guilty pleasures?

8. What was your favorite classroom theme?

9. What past lesson you planned was the most successful? Why?

10. Name one of the most rewarding moments in your teaching career.

11. What has been your favorite class theme over the years?

Thanks for reading my blog. Check out the blogs I nominated and all of the great blogs that have posted their about me's on Blog Hoppin'!

Meet & Greet!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! This last week has been a whirlwind of crazy! Thursday was the first day of school and we had Meet & Greet on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun. I had to make sure all of the things I worked on this summer were ready.

Here are some photos of my room for the lovely occasion. :)

I definitely am lucky that so many great ideas are floating around on the internet from seasoned teachers. All of their advice and ideas on Pinterest and blogs helped me to have a smooth Meet & Greet. Everything was in place and worked great. 

I had 5 stations. They are as follows:

As soon as the parents walked in the door, they had to sign in. The parents also had a choice to sign up to be a volunteer. It is always nice to see who wants to volunteer so you can see all of the options you have to lend a helping hand. Parents are just awesome like that! They love helping, so use them. :) 

Step 1: The parents followed the yellow signs. This took them to a table where they needed to pick up a baggie with their child's name on it. This baggie had everything they needed to know and sign inside of it. I even had all of the forms that needed to be signed and sent back paper-clipped. Easy and convenient for the parents. Remember, some parents have several children and have to sort through the paper work. This helps them a lot! Here is a close up of my baggies.

Inside of the baggies were as follows:

1. Meet the teacher letter
2. Remind 101 letter
3. 2 flyers about why reading is important *I found these on Pinterest..they are not created by me.
4. Lunch information
5. Student handbook pages that needed to be signed
6. Pre-K Handbook
7. Student information sheet *found on Pinterest

All of this information (except the handbooks) can be found below. 

*****One thing I forgot to put in the bag was what the students NEEDED for school**** 

Um hello! How could I forget that!? I did write that info on the board though.

Step 2: The next step was to find the brown paper bag with their child's name on it. This was a way for parents and the child to see that they had an important project to do together. The label says to bring in a few (5-6) items that tell us about you. I was going to put it in the baggie with all the other information,  but I wanted it to be a separate thing to that wouldn't get pushed to the side. On the first day of school, ALL of my bags returned. I credit this to it being separate from the baggies.

 

Step 3: This step is for the parents to tell us how they are getting home on the first day, the second day, and the rest of the year. This is definitely the most important step of the whole meet & greet affair. My Para manned the station and verified each address and made sure parents filled out everything correctly. This made for a smooth first and second day. 

I asked for the first and second day because we started school on a Thursday. Monday would be when each child really gets their routine down for dismissal. 

Here is the link for my how will your child get home.

Step 4: This step was the most fun! Parents were able to grab a scavenger hunt and explore the room with their child. This really helped to keep everyone moving and not standing around the room or talking to me the whole time. I was able to move and talk to all parents and students. It was nice! When the students were finished with the scavenger hunt, they were able to get a treasure from the Treasure Chest. 

Here is the Scavenger hunt that I used. I found it thanks to ....Pinterest, of course. Bu tI have made it easy for you to download here. It is from Little Kinder Warriors. It is a great blog! 

Step 5: This step was available for parents to grab a helping hand! I wrote down a few things we always need in Pre-K. It was a great idea. 

Meet and Greet was great! It was super busy and crazy but so much fun. I am going to have a great year this year. :) 

Monday Made It -July 22, 2013

So...only two more days of freedom and I still have work to do! lol

I am excited to get back and meet my new kitties! I even have some cool ideas for my door! But since it is Monday, I guess I should get in to some of the things I have been working on making. :) 

Here is the first thing. I made these awesomely huge pillows for my reading area (don't worry I added a carpet to the reading area, looks much better) that have been floating all over Pinterest. I made mine a tad bigger! Check it out.

Step 1: You really need to pick two corresponding fabrics that you want to use as your pillow. One for the sides and one for the top and bottom. The fabric that you choose for the top/bottom needs to be 2 yards. The side fabric needs to be one yard long. You need to lay the 2 yard fabric out and cut it in half. Take the yard of side material and measure two pieces to fit the length and two pieces to fit the width. The depth of each side piece needs to be 7 inches.

Step 2: Once you are finished cutting, make sure that you pin the sides to the top (like sides facing each other) and sew them together. Do this for each side. When you are finished, make sure you take the other yard of fabric (the bottom of the pillow) and start pinning them to the sides of the fabric. Sew it all up! While you are there, sew the creases except for one. Pull the fabric right-side-out. This is where you will shove all of the stuffing. 

Step 3: With the last slit open, get some help from little hands (child labor laws don't apply to home situations, right?!), and push the  stuffing in. When you are finished make sure you sew that slit. 

Finally, enjoy your pillow. Kin and Eric looooved it. They want me to make them their own. 

Here are some links that helped me: 

I got the tutorial and idea via Pinterest. This is the lady's tutorial (it is probably way more in depth and helpful than mine). She really uses plain English and no-sew terms that works for beginners. 

Also, be aware, I made my pillows much bigger than hers. She made hers 30X30 and mine were about  36X42. I used 5 pounds of stuffing. You can get it at Hancock Fabrics for $15.99 plus 15% off with your teacher badge..it came to $13.99 with mine.

This is what it looks like

The next thing I made were some tissue paper pom-poms to spice up my room. I made them myself because in the stores, they want like 6 bucks for them! Seriously!! But thanks to the internet, I made these babies for a whopping $1.99. Get you some tissue paper from the good ole HobLob and find a tutorial on line (like this one) and you are there!

And finally, as promised, a close-up of my job chart and weather chart. I failed to do so in my last post, so here is a better view. 

Now that I am almost finished with everything, I have to make a "How we get home" board. I guess I will work on that for next week. :) 

Currently July - and late!

Oh, July! You are going to fly by! It is another month, which means another Currently over on Oh Boy! 4th Grade. Check it out! Her site is great and full of useful tips!

Listening: So I saw the music video to Passion Pit's "Carried Away" and I just cannot get enough of it. It is so cute and a great song at that. Watch the video below. You will NOT regret it. 

Loving: I am loving my new necklaces that I got from Groopdealz! I love that website. Get your deal on today! (Maybe they should be hooking me up for this free publicity, right?! LOL)
But seriously, aren't these necklaces gorgeous? They will spice up any boring outfit.

Thinking: Will I ever be finished with me new room? The answer is yes! I am slowly getting there and there are only a few things left to do! Here are a FEW of my favorite parts of my room so far. Remember that I am not finished...I am still working (here's a tiny sneak peek). :)

Wanting: New Skin! This humid, rainy mess of a July we have been having is killing my oil skin. I have been breaking out like a thirteen year old lately and that is so unlike my skin! I have to blame it on something, so I think I'll go with the weather. I step outside and I have enough oil on my face to fry an egg. GOODNESS! But BirchBox sent me this mattifying French lotion called G-1. It has really been helping a lot. Click the pics to check the website out!

That's the stuff! Oh and I also found the best lotion, thanks to Birchbox! This stuff has zero greasy residue (which is the worst on a humid day). It made my skin the softest ever! It was amazing. 

Needing: I don't know about you, but this summer has killed my sleep schedule. Instead of waking up automatically at 7:30, I am waking up at 9! And I can hardly get out of bed. Summer made me tired and let's face it, in a week I am going to be dying when I have to wake up at 6 to get ready for work. So pass me the coffee, lots and lots of coffee. Which means, I might have to don this shirt when we go back. 

Tips, tricks, and hints: I have some cools tips for the reading center on Monday Made It! I am going to post a tutorial on how to make giant pillows! These pillows are so freaking cute. And how to make your wooden cubbies/centers from drab to fab! Here's a sneakypeaky!

Better pictures and more of an explanation on Monday!! 

Monday Made It! 7/15/13

Welcome to Monday Made It! This is one of my favorite Linky Parties! I just love getting to make things from other things that have inspired me. Did that even make sense?! LOL Well I have so many projects happening right now that I don't even know where to start or finish. So here is what I have finished for sure..Also, I am the worst at taking before and after pictures! So I have a lot of finished things that I have been doing this week, BUT I never took a picture of. So look for those next week (hopefully)!

So there is so much on Pinterest that we all love and want to re-create, right?! Well a while back I pinned a picture of a gift idea with 30 lollipops with the caption "30 Blows!"

Well, July 4th was my sister's 30th birthday! What better way to say happy birthday than 30 lollipops. I set out on my journey looking for 30 lollipops (Blow Pops to be exact) and something to hold them in. Well, after a trip to the Dollar Tree, I had all that I needed.

Here is the Pin-spiration and here is my creation!

I also got the chance to finish my job chart. I posted some graphics of the job chart I made a few weeks back and did not know what I was going to do. I posted the pin of the iHelp iPad and loved that idea. So I ran with it! After all, we are living in a technological world! :)

There it is on the board that I finished up the other day! I didn't take a close up. I should have!

I also made the weather chart that's on the board. I saw it on Pinterest and followed the link. When I went to the blog, the blogger offered it for free but you had to pay to use the document download site. I decided to make my own! The only thing is.... I made the snowy and weather today boxes a little too big. You'll have to cut them to size! Sorrryyyyyy. 

This is the Pinterest one I was going to have to pay for! Click to get my version! :) 

Well that is it for my MMI! Check out the other great links on 4th Grade Frolics. There are some good ones. Oh and keep checking back this week...I am going to post some pictures of my *ALMOST* finished classroom.

Favorite Pins Friday Linky Party!

Welp, it is Friday and the First Grade Parade is hosting the Favorite Pins Friday! What fun! I don't know about you, buuuuut I love Pinterest. And I am a little obsessed about pinning things. Check this out..!

I love this blog (click the pictures for the links)! She always shows great make-up tricks. I do not like my nose too much, but by using her contouring method, I find this little trick makes me pretty happy! If you are having nose doubts, hop on over to maskcara and have a DIY make-over!

I love pallet wood projects. They are so beautiful and rustic. This pin is the perfect summer DIY! Who wouldn't want to sit on the porch in this beauty?!

Eric and I are in-talks to buy a house. This has got me obsessing on Pinterest over home decor. How amazing is this living room? Definitely going to try and make my *maybe future* home this awesome. It is all about the fine detail. 

This should say style PINS*! I cannot help but love these Fall and Summer outfits. The mix of prints and colors are totally adorable. The left says, I am so ready for Fall, but the right makes me want Summer to stick around. ;) 

Links: : Left ~ Right

How amazing is this?! If you sign up, they send you different supplies each month and you have to come up with a creative activity and send it to them. Umm, yes! I cannot wait to try this out! By the way...who doesn't love free?! 

I love this print! It makes me think of Eric. I feel as though, when I met him a MILLION years ago, I knew. It was always him. Ahhh, so sweet! I cannot get enough. Is it October yet?! 

So I am totally obsessed with this blog! I love her outfits and how cute is her hair? I saw this post and read that she also had thick, curly hair like me. She said she was trying out Pantene Ultimate 10 with the BB Cream and it was working great. She documented her hair 10 days and 10 ways. Long story short, bought the products and I am not looking back! My hair has never been better. 

This was over on MelonHeadz and it is the cutest! I cannot wait to hang this in my classroom. It is a great reminder to stay sweet and follow the rules.

Make sure you check out the other blogs on the First Grade Parade. There are some cool pins the other ladies have!