Back to School

Well...my maternity leave ended last week and I started back to school on Monday.  Leaving my baby Andi was not my favorite part of being a parent yet but she gets to stay home with Dad so that makes it a lot easier.  The teaching part of school is going really well but the rest of it has been hard to get a handle on.  I was welcomed with stacks of papers to read and sift through and I keep getting handed more by the day.  I'm making progress little by little, day by day.

I don't have much new stuff to share right now however I did whip up this cute Apple Web that we did yesterday.  I don't know about you but I am loving all this Apple/Fall stuff.  Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, it brings back such good memories from my childhood.

Click {HERE} to get your free copy of the Apple Web.  Hopefully it will help you out a bit or at least get your wheels spinning.


L

Thinking Halloween?

Is anyone else thinking about Halloween yet?  To be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with Halloween.  It can be so much fun and so much work at the same time (oh wait, that's all the holidays!).  I think the biggest thing I dislike about Halloween is our school parade where everyone has to dress up and we parade through each classroom and end in the gym where all the parents are waiting for us.  The kids love it and so do the parents but for me it is pure craziness and I have to dress up!  I actually don't mind the dressing up part but coming up with a costume idea is something I think and stress about all year long.  To top it off, it never fails that I think of a great idea at the last minute and don't have time to pull it off.

Putting aside my ill feelings about Halloween I do have to admit that I love all the cute and fun crafts, games and activities you can do during this time.  With that said,  I have created some cute and fun games and activities for you to share with your class.

Click {HERE} or on one of the pictures above to grab your copy.

I'm always a fan of free stuff and of my readers who have stuck around through my 9 month baby lull. So...the first 2 people to leave a comment telling me what they are going to dress up as for Halloween this year will get this packet for free! (Don't forget to leave your email address!)

L

Skill Rings

First of all, it's been a while.  I know, I know, I said that the last time!  My goal this summer was to create, create, create but...it never happened.  I had a few things in the works and then suprise!  My little Andi Joy came 2.5 weeks early, put us in the NICU for a week and now 5 weeks later I feel like my head is finally above water again and I am feeling the urge to create some new things for my class.

Here's a picture of my little miracle.

I am loving every minute I am getting to hang out with her and am dreading the end of my maternity leave (only 2 more weeks).

It is actually weird for me to see back-to-school posts from many of you because that honestly hasn't even been on my radar (except for the calls and emails I'm trying to ignore from school).  Some of me is ready to dive in to another year and the rest of me feels completely unprepared.  If any of you have ever started the school year late I would love to know how it went for you.  This year we have a new principal, one of my best teacher friends that I did all of my planning with moved to a different state, I moved to a new room that is smaller and doesn't have any windows (by my choice, why again?) and we have tons of new curriculum that I have never looked at.  I guess I will enjoy this head above water thing while it lasts because I have a feeling it isn't going to last long.

Okay, enough catching up for now.

I have been wanting to create Skill Rings for 3 years now and have never done it.  All year long my kiddos work so hard to pass off skills like their letters and sounds, colors, numbers etc. and when they do, I don't have any way to celebrate it, that's just wrong!  Okay, this isn't totally true.  I did have a designated spot above my cupboards that said I know my... Colors, letters, numbers, shapes and when they passed those off they got to write their name on a die cut and I stuck it up on the wall.  I did a really good job of keeping up with that 2 years ago but last year about half way through the year there was no more standing on counters for the pregnant lady so the poor kiddos didn't get anything.  With the creation of these skill rings I hope that won't be the case this year.

The idea for the ring is that each kiddo would get a looseleaf binder ring and when they pass off a skill they get that card on their ring.  I think they will be super proud to show off their skills and rings.  I made the cards square so that they would be easy to cut.  My original idea is that each one would be a different shape but who has time to cut all those out?  Not me!

Click the {HERE} or the picture above to check them out!

I hope your school year is off to a good start and just about the time you all have adjusted I will be diving in!

L

MIA

It is safe to say that I have been MIA for quite some time now.  I have been thinking about blogging a lot but I didn't really have the ideas or energy to get something up.  You may wonder why I haven't had the energy, well probably not, you get it, we are all teachers!  On top of teaching my biggest, toughest, and most challenging class yet (some of you are thinking, just wait, it's only been 3 years!) I am also expecting my first baby in August!  I can't even begin to explain to you how happy and excited I am for this new little life to join us and for the changes and challenges she will bring.  Anyways, now that it is summer I may have a little more energy to update you or ask for your suggestions on how to prepare for a school year that I will not start myself.  Ahhh!

Right after I got on the blogging and creating train I got pregnant and became very exhausted.  There were many days, no, actually everyday for at least my first trimester I came home from school, plopped on the couch, ate some dinner when my hubby got off work and cooked it (he is such a trooper and has been doing pretty much everything around the house) and then fell asleep at about 7 or 7:30.  Needless to say, it is a miracle I made it through this school year alive and awake.  Our last day of school was June 1st, we had family in town over the weekend putting in air conditioning for us (it's a must for a pregnant woman due in August who lives in Utah).  On Monday my husband and I ran around with normal life errands plus buying a dresser for the baby.  Tuesday I babysat for a friend, and Wednesday I flew to Ohio to be with family for a few weeks.  Friday night we hosted a bridal shower for a family friend, Saturday my sister and sister-in-law threw a baby shower for me and today we hosted an 80th birthday party for my grandpa.  I am exhausted!  I was looking forward to this weekend to see some friends and family that I haven't seen in almost a year or more and it filled my heart beyond belief but when the last person went out the door I hit the couch for a nap!

You can thank Pam Neal for getting me on here today.  A week or so ago she emailed as she was having difficulty downloading some items (if you have the same problem please let me know!).  One of the items she wanted was Popcorn Bang with sight words.  She asked if I would also create it with letters so...I did that today and will leave that for you, as a reward for reading all my blabbering this far!  Hopefully I will find some time this week to get something else up for you.  If you have any suggestions I am also open to trying to create something for you.

Click the link below to download.

Letter Popcorn Bang

Thanks for reading and happy summer!
L

Gifts, gifts everywhere!

I am very lucky to have a handful of aides that are in and out of my classroom throughout the week to help my kiddos.  They are wonderful ladies who love working with kids and love on my kids.  In my classroom they are often referred to as the "ladies" which just cracks me up.

Anyways, I like to give these "ladies" a little something during this gift giving season to show and remind them how much I appreciate them.  This year they will get some soap (which you use a lot of if you hang around kindergarteners!) with a cute little tag to accompany them.

Incase you can't read the tag it says, "Wishing you a holiday season full of peace, joy, and hope soap!"

Click {HERE} for a free download of the tags!


L

Liebster Blog Award!

My first award!  I'm really stepping into the blogging world now.  Johanna at First Grade Fanatic and Sara at Kindergarten is a Hoot  both nominated me for this award.  Thanks ladies!  The Liebster Blog award is for blogs who have less than 200 followers.

This award is for newbies, and it's goal is to spotlight up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  If awarded, you must:

♥ copy and paste the award on your blog

♥ thank the giver and link back to them

♥ reveal YOUR top five picks and leave a comment letting them know

♥ hope your followers will share the love with them :)

Here are my five newbie picks. Enjoy!!

1. Karen at A little kinder told me so: She has the cutest ideas and tons of winter activities.

2. Mary at Adventures in Kindergarten: First of all, I just love the name of her blog!  She has lots of cute and crafty ideas.

3. Mrs. Huff at Mrs. Huff's Kinderblog: She posts so many practical and cute things to use in your classroom especially during center time. 

4. Holly at Criss Cross Applesauce in First Grade: Right now I am in love with her snow globe families. 

5. Wild about K Kids:  She has some of the most adorable ideas such as her fruit turkey, you have to check it out!

So now I have payed it forward and I hope you find the above blogs to be as helpful as I have! 

Tomorrow I will be telling you about the gifts I am giving to all the aides and helpers I have this year!

L

Tuesday Tip

This tip is probably better suited for the beginning of the year but I'm going to share it with you now anyways.  My short term memory is pretty much non-exsistent and so when it comes to remembering things during the day I need all the help I can get.

This year I have 26 kiddos and being able to run through a list of them at the beginning of the year to see who didn't line up at recess wasn't going to happen from memory.  I saw our dear kindergarten aide carrying around a big piece of paper with her all the time of the kiddos names and I thought to myself, there's got to be something better and easier than this.

Here comes my great idea...a label on the back of my ID badge with all my student's names!  I always have my badge, it's the key to my school and holds the key to my classroom.  Putting a label on the back is the perfect way for me to know who I have and who I am missing at all times.  Not only is this great for recess time but fire drills as well.  It is much quicker than grabbing their attendance cards and I will never forget it.

Hopefully some of you are already doing this and if so, why haven't you shared your brilliant idea with me yet?!

L