My Worst Critic

I am my worst critic. I always want to be perfect. Yes, I am aware that is not an option but I still strive. I've recently been taking a long hard look at some of my first resources. Wow! I have learned so much. (And I still have a lot more to learn.) I winced a little (a lot) this last week as I tried to bring some of my older resources up to my higher standards. Some are still a work in progress.

My Questions:
Does anyone else do this? At what point do you say enough? How often do you go back and update? Who do you believe is your worst critic?  Does anyone else beat themselves up? I'm not talking about the walking into things and tripping. I do that too. (Really I think gravity just hates me.) If you get a chance or feel inspired, please answer some of my questions.

I am pleased to say despite all my complaining, I have updated my Pirate Text Features Treasure Packet. I discovered it had a couple of errors. (Sigh) Hopefully this time I got them all. What can I say? I have a love hate relationship with grammar. I love it and it hates me. Check it out as it is one of my top sellers.

Field Trip Adventures

Today we went to a nearby aquarium on our field trip. The kids loved it. Penguins, caimans, jellyfish, otters, and touch pools. The sting rays were amazing. They were trained to flap up the sides of the pool which made it so much easier for my kids to reach them. They still managed to get completely soaked. :)

On the way to the aquarium I was sitting next to one of my students when he noticed I was married. Our conversation went something like this:

"You're married."
"Yes"
"This is your marriage finger. What's his name?"
"His name is Stephen."
"Oh, one day I will be married, but first I need a job."
"Really?"
"Yup. But right now I am working as a student. I work really hard at school every day."

I love my class but boy did I need a nap when I got home.

Inexpensive Resources

I love finding resources for inexpensive prices. I also love to share some of the great deals I find because let's face it, teachers do not get paid the big bucks. (We get paid in hugs, homemade cards, chocolate and love.)

Scholastic is having one of their dollar sales for downloadable books. I love this sale and wait for it every year. I find great books for all subjects and grades. Definitely worth checking out.
A technology tip: You can see inside the book by clicking on the picture. It takes you to a new window where a pdf version shows up. Scroll down to see all the great resources inside.

Hurry the sale goes until March 28th.

If I had a Time Machine

Michelle at Teach 123 is throwing a Linky Party

When you think about your first year of teaching or when you switched grade levels, what do you wish you would have known before you began?

Last year was my first year of teaching. I taught second grade in a public school as a student intern. I learned a LOT. Some of my tips:

Want to join in the fun? Visit Michelle and link up your own post.

P.S.

I am thinking of throwing a short linky party giveaway. The prize? Giving $10 to a Donors Choose Project, which is really worth $20 because Donors Choose is matching donations this week. Anyone out there interested? Help me reach my goal of 25 Facebook Fans or 175 Google Followers. (I know numbers don't really matter, but it makes me happy.)

A Litte Bird Told Me

A little bird told me I won a blog award! Thank you to Beth Ann! I'm so excited to be one of your top ten blogs. I am going to break the rules and not post my top ten blogs. Thanks for understanding friends.

Take a minute and visit Taming My Flock of Firsties! You won't regret it.

She's in the Money!

Congratulations to Sharon! You are the lucky lady who won my Pigs and Pennies giveaway.



Thank you to everyone who entered. Look for more giveaways in the future. (If I get to 200 followers I plan to giveaway a product from Wrap to Love Your Body.) Have a great Sunday! I can't wait to go on a walk with my husband. We are having such gorgeous weather this weekend. (It almost makes up for the missing sleep. Almost! Curse you day light savings!)

Currently March and a Freebie

I love Farley's Currently Parties. I am a little late with this one because I had a couple of posts already in the works. Sorry Farley.

So the three words at the end are words that begin with the first letter of your last name. I thought I would have a hard time with the letter L, but ut was surprisingly easy. Thank heavens.

Visit Farley to get your own copy and see what everyone else is doing.

I also wanted to share another simple behavior management tool with you. I use this for a student in my classroom and try to switch up the graphics each month. We decide a time period together, (10 min.) and for every (10 min) time they are on task they get a sticker/signature. When they have all five stickers they receive a small prize. I hope you can use it too!

How Pinteresting!

Did you know that you need permission to pin? Laura over at Corkboard Connections has a full post all about it. Click here to read all about it.

I love Pinterest. I think it exemplifies our teaching profession. We share, borrow, and copy lots of amazing ideas. I love being able I find ideas in one place. Check out my Pinterest boards to find some of the great things I have found on the web.




You are welcome to pin anything from my blog. Just make sure you have a proper link. :)

One Lovely Blog

Thank you Michelle for nominating my little blog for the One Lovely Blog Award! If you have not heard of  The 3AM Teacher hop over to her blog and take a look. She has the cutest clipart! She also has a code to easily embed the award into your post. Just saying. ;)

The Rules:

Link back to the person who nominated you. Follow them.

Nominate 15 other bloggers.

My 15 bloggers are:

Check out these wonderfully talented ladies. You won't be sorry.

Pigs and Pennies

With Kelly and Tara's help I finished my Pigs and Pennies packet! If you do not know their blogs, I recommend checking them out. Kelly teaches Kindergarten and Tara teaches Fourth Grade.

I am so excited that it is finished, I have decided to share a copy with one of my lucky followers. In order to win all you need to do is leave me a comment saying you follow my blog. If you want an extra entry "like" my facebook page. (Is anyone else sad that Facebook is changing pages into the timeline format? I am not a fan. But maybe it will grow on me.) I will pick a winner on Saturday March 10, 2012 when I wake up.

If you want a more in depth look at my packet, you can see it in my Teachers Notebook Store or my Teacher's Pay Teachers Store.

Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!