Help Wanted!

I finished my new mini packet!

I would love for an extra set of eyes to look over it. I miss little things like commas, spelling errors, clear directions, and a cute title. Up for the challenge? You will get a copy of the finished product for your help. I will send it to the first two people to leave an email address. Thank you in advance!

Free Coin Poems (Updated)

I promise that I am working on my money packet. Fingers crossed it will be ready in time for the big sale on Wednesday. In the meantime I hope to leave you with a cute freebie. I love these poems! I wish I could take credit for thinking of them myself. Alas, I am not that creative. I hope you can use them!

Amy pointed out to me that I had a couple of typos. I fixed them. If you happened to download this file, please redownload them. Thanks!

Tech Tips

I decided this weekend that I would practice some of the html things I have been learning/reading about recently. I am rather pleased with some of the results. I made/redid a couple of my buttons, added a google plus button, updated my signature, and made sure my threaded comments were working. I feel so accomplished. If you need help with any of these projects there are a ton of great tutorials online. I used the ones on my technology pin board.

I am babysitting my nephew tonight, so I won't be able to finish my money packet. :( Maybe tomorrow? I am excited to get it finished. If I hurry maybe I can put in my store just in time for it to go on sale for leap year. TpT is having a sale and I am joining the party. Get up to 28% off when you use the code L2P9Y on February 29th!



Find a much larger list of stores on sale here!

Cops and Robbers Short Vowel O Packet

I did it! I finished my short o packet!

It includes 5 great activities to help your students practice -ot, -og, and -op words.
Sight Word Game - 5 pages of color and 5 pages of black and white cards, with detailed instructions on how to play.
Rhyme Concentration - Use the same cards to play a rhyme concentration. A simple rhyming worksheet is included for continued practice.
Write the Room - Students read and write the words in the correct box on a worksheet included for your convenience.
Board Game - A simple game for small group practice. Students read the words as they move their marker towards the finish. You will need to supply a numbered die.
Color by Word Family - Color a picture of a cop using the three word families; -op, -ot, and -og.

And because you're here visiting my blog I am going to give you a little hint. You can get the board game and color by word activity free by downloading the preview from my teachers pay teachers shop. :) I hope you use them both!

This product can be found in my TN Shop or my TpT Shop. It is also on sale until the end of the week!

I let my guard down

Why is it whenever I am about to have a day off I get horribly sick? Does this happen to anyone else out there? As a new teacher I must have the weakest immune system ever. One day I will be super woman and germ free. (At least that is what I hope.) Until then the cycle will probably continue. Blech!

In happier news I have been working and you should see some new ideas soon. They are not quite ready yet. But I have a short vowel game, a mini money unit, and a sight word game in the works. It all kind of depends on what I am motivated to finish first. :) Does anyone else have the same conundrum? Anyone interested in a particular item? Let me know.

How it all came together

Disclaimer: This post contains my religious beliefs. I am not trying to force anything on you. I am just attempting to tell the story of how my husband and I met. Feel free to skip this post entirely or ask me any questions.

It's funny how all the little things in life lead you to the one you love. (Just like the Rascal Flat's song, God Bless the Broken Road.) My husband and I grew up four hours away from each other, we went to the same college for a year, but we did not meet each other until we were both missionaries in Japan.

A little background for you. I am a Christian. And growing up I wanted to share the joy and happiness I felt with other people. When I turned 21 I volunteered 1 1/2 years of my life to fulfill that dream by serving a mission in Hokkaido, Japan. (I did not pick the location. If I did I would have picked someplace that does not eat fish or things from the ocean.) My husband did the same thing when he turned 19 except he served for 2 years. (God had a plan for us, we just didn't know it.)

While we served together I got to see him lead, serve, strengthen, and bless the lives of the people around him. I knew I wanted to marry a man like him. But as you may or may not know, missionaries are not serving to find a spouse. They are serving to bless other people. I kept my distance. I didn't even laugh at his jokes. Poor guy, he thought I hated him. He got transfered to a different area and I went home soon after.

When I got home he wrote me a letter telling me about other missionaries and asking me about my life. I wrote back and we became pen pals and then friends.  While he was still in Japan I attempted dating other people, but it was SO HARD. No one was as cute, kind, funny, competitive, intelligent, or compassionate. I could not wait for him to get home!

When he got home I was at college in a different state. Talk about frustrating! We skyped or phoned daily and I fell more and more in love with him. (And somehow he fell in love with me, craziness and all.) Eventually he returned to college and we spent more and more time together. After a couple of months he proposed. I was ready to be married in 2 months, but my mother was not. So we got married 6 looooong months later. And that is how I met my hubby. (All because God knew that we both needed to be in Japan to meet each other.)

Yesterday we bought our tickets to go back to Japan this summer! I can't wait!

One day I might have to tell you the proposal story because I think it is a little more entertaining. ;)

Thank you Buzzing with Ms. B for hosting this Linky Party. This was a perfect post for Valentine's Day! Want to share how you met your Hunny?

Love is in the Air

I received my Valentine's Day Exchange gift on Friday and I tried desperately to wait till Valentines Day to open it. As you can see, I didn't make it. I think my husband has a small influence here. "Are you sure you don't want to open it? Look it says fragile. I wonder what is inside." Hubby knows that if I open it he gets half of all the candy inside. ;) So I opened it and found the cutest gift.

Thank you Melanie! 

Hubby and I both enjoyed the candies and I am thrilled about the dangly earrings.  I love darling earrings! I am really excited to wear the warm fuzzy socks! We finally got our first real snow today and our little basement apartment is a little chilly. I slipped them on my feet right after I took a picture. :D I am also really thrilled about using my awesome cup at work. Now I will be more motivated to drink water at school. :)  Thank you again Melanie! I hope my Valentine enjoyed her present as much as I enjoyed mine.

In the spirit of love, I wanted to share a February Management Chart. I know February is halfway over, but there is always next year isn't there? I use this chart to motivate a student in my classroom who needs a little extra help. Every time I see 5 minutes of desired behavior I give her a sticker. When she gets 5 stickers she gets to pick a small reward. If you can use this with a student in your classroom please download a copy.

You Know You Are A Teacher When

Kindergarten Lifestyle is holding a Linky Party! Think about how you might fill out this sentence:

Here are some of my ideas:

Want to join in on the fun? Save the blank image above, add a text box, take a screen shot and make your own post. Sounds complicated, but I promise it can be done in less than 5 minutes. I would love to hear your ideas. 

Don't forget to visit our wonderful host:

Stickies

A while back, Miss Kindergarten posted about using Sticky Notes on her computer. It inspired me to create a similar post for all my MAC friends out there. (Notice it only took me a month to get to it.)

If you have not heard of Stickies, keep reading. You will thank me for it. Even if you have heard of them, keep reading because you might learn something new.

How to Start:

Go to Spotlight (aka the little magnifying glass) and type in "Stickies"

Make a new note by clicking on File or use Command N.



Change the color of the note by clicking on color. I love using different colors for different categories. Green for blogs, pink for personal, etc. Use a system that works for you!

Change the font by clicking on font! This means you can use all your favorite "teacher" fonts.

I like to keep all my stickies on my desktop. But you can collapse them to free up space if you like. Just click on the bar at the top of each note. Or you can click on window to arrange them by color, content, date, or location on screen.

Look how cute they are all collapsed down. :)

I love Stickies! The benefits include never loosing a note, never having one tacked to your bum as you walk down the hall, and being able to appease all your OCD tendencies. Thanks for humoring me. Have a great Saturday!

Movie Multiplication Madness

As if you did not learn enough about me from our tag game, prepare to learn two new facts!

1. I grew up in North Hollywood. (Notice this is not The Hills. North Hollywood is on the humbler side of things.) I lived 10 minutes from Universal and even worked there for a summer. Movies are a BIG part of my family.
2. My husband loves popcorn. He could eat it every day.

Why is this relevant? Because movies and popcorn go together. Obviously. And because I just finished a new packet with a movie multiplication theme. I love it. And I can't wait to share it!

This 27 page packet contains two complete leveled multiplication centers. Both games are played using two dice. You will need two 1-6 die and two 7-12 die. The first game features two leveled pages for numbers 2-12 for the student to work with by herself or against a friend. The second game is more comprehensive and covers a variety of numbers. It contains three different leveled game boards. Ready to use with a couple of dice, all you need to do is print it out. Children can start at the beginning and work up to multiples of 12 or they can focus on a number that they find difficult.

Want to get a copy for yourself? Follow my blog and recommend a movie for me to watch in the comments below.  I will pick the winner on Monday morning. So make sure you put in your recommendation before then. If you wanted to increase your chances make sure you are following my facebook page and let me know with another comment.

If you don't want to wait that long feel free to visit my store and pick up a copy for yourself.

What I am Currently Loving!

I have been dying to get to these Linky Parties but life has been a little crazy. Thank you Farley and Kimberly!

Want to share what you are Currently in Love with? Visit their blogs and share your love!

Brain Dance

I love the Brain Dance and I wanted to incorporate it into my classroom. But I had a problem. I have a terrible memory. So I whipped up a couple of cute posters with borders by From the Pond. Click on the picture below to get a copy for yourself.

For those of you that don't know the Brain Dance is a full body/brain warm up exercise. I love that students can complete the brain dance in a chair, on the floor or standing. This dance can be done to any song to fit your schedule. More information about it can be found here.

Here are more specific examples for each movement listed above:
Start by taking a couple of deep breathes.
Squeeze, pat, and brush all over your body.
Make a big shape and then a smaller one. Repeat a couple of times.
Wiggle all over, make sure to move your spine.
Move your upper half.
Move your lower half.
Move the left side of your body.
Move the right side of your body.
Use your eyes to track your hand up, down, right, and left.
Bring your right elbow to your left knee, then your left elbow to your right knee.
Lean over and swing between your legs.
Spin in a circle. Repeat the other way.