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Handprint Calendars for Christmas

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Looking for a super cute keepsake for your students to make their parents for Christmas?? Check out my handprint calendar pack! I comes with everything you need to make an adorable keepsake for your parents that they will treasure forever!

This pack includes detailed instructions on how to create an adorable seasonal handprint shape for each month. There are also full color calendar pages to print out, as well as black and white to help save on ink. It also includes an adorable "hands of a child" poem to include a picture of the child for the cover page of your calendar, an additional handprint poem for the end of the calendar and a poem to go with the seasonal handprint for each month.

These projects DO take some time. And if you have a large class like I do this year, you may want to recruit a volunteer to come in and pull your students out during small group or center time to help you get the handprints complete :) But, the time is totally worth it!! The feedback you will get on these is wonderful!! Parents LOVE and appreciate all the time and love put into making them!

Click on the picture below to go check them out!!



Writers Workshop: Where We're At

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Last week we did our first real 100% independent writing!!!!  We have been working, working, working, our illustrations, labeling and finishing prompts up to this point. I wanted my kiddos to have a great understanding of print concepts and how to sound things out and write what they hear before we dove into any independent writing.

Well, last week, I decided it was time!!! I thought they were ready!!! And I am soooooo happy with what they did!!!

First of all, let me just say that I could NOT teach writing without these 3 things!! They make the task of teaching kinders to write sooooooooo much easier. You know that if you teach Kinder-writing is NOT an easy thing to teach!! In fact, in my opinion it's the absolute hardest!!

Here's one thing: this "what can we write about" anchor chart is a must!! We used this to decide what we were going to "write about" even when we were working on labeling. They had to decide what they were going to draw for that day and label.


 This little rating scale has improved our illustrations tremendously!!!!!!  AND it promotes self-assessment! I just have pictures on there for now because that is what we have been focusing on. There are lines under each picture and the chart is laminated. I figure I can add words to show 4 start writing when they ready for that....perhaps after Christmas. This will also allow me to change it as my expectations in their writing for them change and they I can just erase it at the end of the year for next years' class :)


The third thing are these direction cards.  You can find them HERE. These cards force the kids to think about their writing and PLAN it out before they start! I like to have my kiddos think about their sentence, count the words and draw that many lines. It helps with knowing what they will write before they write it AND it helps them have correct spacing between their words ;)


 Here are some of the samples of their writing that I got on that first day!! I'm a happy teacher!! <3


 {Me and my Dad are go carting.}


{I love my family.}


{I have a cat named Tiger.}


{A fairy has wings.}


{Ralphy is my favorite dog.}


{Me and Avery play soccer together.}


{Patrick and Sponge Bob are friends.}

This is the kind of writing you know you are going to get when you have 16 boys in your class!!!

{Mario kills bad guys.}

AND this one is my personal FAVORITE!!!!!!! :)

{Murphy is going to the bathroom.}

I'm just so proud that they all picked a topic, drew a great illustration and wrote a sentence to match!!! We're getting there......

Cyber Monday & Tuesday

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OOOOOOH, Friends!!!! It's Sale time!!! Are you ready??? My wish list is stocked...but, I still have a lot of work to do to find the best products and get some of the best deals of the year!! I can't wait to stock up on some amazing resources by my friends at Blog Hoppin' and all of the other amazing teachers on TPT!!
I just wanted to let you know that I got a new little packet out JUST in time for the sale...yep, I'm talking 11:30 PM last night! LOL!!
This is a little survey pack that I think you'll love!! It was inspired by some of the graph pages I had seen from a couple of my Blog Hoppin' buddies, Deanna Jump and Kim Adsit! I had used a couple of their graphing pages in my Math center and was immediately hooked!!! The kids LOVED them, not to mention-practically NO PREP for me!! ;)
I just copy the survey, give them a pencil and a clipboard and turn them lose!!! Let the surveying, graphing and data analysis begin!!!! And yes, my kiddos can do them 100% independently!!! One of their favorite centers!!
This survey pack has over 40 different surveys for your little ones to conduct covering all of the holidays, seasons and events that will take place throughout the year! Make sure you check it out!!

Gingerbread and Stinky Cheese!!!!

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Hi Friends!!! Just wanted to let you all know about a little mini unit that I just posted!! The Stinky Cheese Man!!! Do you know him?? Do you have the book?? And, do you use it during your gingerbread unit??

Well, the kids think that this silly story is just the most fun and hilarious thing ever! ;) I love to incorporate it into my Gingerbread Man unit! If you're not familiar with the Stinky Cheese Man story-Here is a little Youtube movie that will acquaint you with him!! Silly!



Here is our Stinky Cheese Man pie graph!!


Here are our Stinky Cheese Man glyphs. We did our Gingerbread Man unit last week-but, it was cut short by SNOW!!!!! We got about 6 inches here! So, hopefully we will get to finish our unit this week and I will be able to post more pictures of the activities for you!!!


Moving right along to The Gingerbrad Man...I just LOVE doing this anchor chart to compare the different versions of the Gingerbread Man stories!!! The idea for this chart is in my friend, Deanna Jump's Gingerbread Man Unit! LOVE it!!!!! We also kept our Gingerbread Man journals to keep track of the different versions that we read...but, sadly, I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of those either. (Please don't judge my drawings :) Ha!!

I've blogged about this book before and have to share again because I just LOVE this version sooooo much!!!! It's called "The Gingerbread Boy" and it doesn't have an author. I found both copies of these little books at yardsales....one is from Dollar General and the other one is from a Rally's Kids Meal ;) But, in the story, the Gingerbread Boy is given pepper corns for his eyes. So, when the fox tries to eat him-he sneezes him out and the little old lady catches him with open arms <3 and they live happily every after!!!!


I also like to show this cute little clip because it talks about how Gingerbread Men are "reborn" at the end :) Cute!!!!


You might also want to check out my Gingerbread Man Hunt! It's a FREEEEEBIE in my TeachersPayTeachers store! It is written in a way so that you can use as many or as few of the clues as you want AND you can do the clues  in any order that you want! ;)


There is a letter from the Gingerbread Man at the end of the hunt! I have a big gingerbread man pan that I found at Wal-Mart that I bake him in. And, I also leave them little gingerbread Men for each of them to decorate and eat :)
Enjoy!!!!



 

Christmas Questionnaire

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My friend, Michelle, at Fabulous in First is having a fun little Christmas Questionnaire link-up....so, I decided to join in on the fun!! Here goes.....

Hot Chocolate or Eggnog?
Ummmmm...Hot Chocolate all the way!!! I'm not even sure I ever even tasted Eggnog before! All I can picture is cousin Eddie drinking it out of his moose cup with his see-through white sweater and black dickie on under it....enough to make anyone gag!! Ha!


Does Santa Wrap presents or just sit them underneath the tree?
OMGoodness!!!!! Wrapped!!!!! Half the fun is ripping into that wrapping paper! I think it would be a BIG let down to see all of your presents just sitting there!!!

Colored lights or white?
We have white lights on our tree now. But, when I was little, my Mom had the really big, old fashioned colored lights on the tree! I LOVED those....but, Man, they got hot!!!! Probably not the safest thing! :)

When do you decorate?
I docorate whenever I get around to it and can find the time!! ;) And I wouldn't really call it "decorating". We put up stockings and a tree. LOL! We live out in the middle of the woods-so, we don't put up and outside decor because no one sees it except us. AND we only do a few simple decorations inside. I just feel like as soon as I put them up, it's time to take them back down. Ahhhhh, I know that's horrible and I can't believe I'm admitting it to the world! :)

When do you decorate?
An angel. I was always a star girl until I met my husband. His Grandma has always made everyone in his family these precious angels to put on top of their trees. She gave us ours the first year we were married. she passed away this year-so, it's even more special. She'll always be part of our Christmas.


Favorite Christmas Memories or Traditions?
Definitely piling in my Grandma Blue's living room with all of my millions of cousins (and somehow we were like all the same age :) ) with our mountains and mountains of presents from all of our aunts and uncles!!! It was the most exciting and fun times ever!!! THE BEST!!! There was no taking turns opening presents with us! We all just tore in at the same time. It was pure chaos and utter joy!!!!!
Here are SOME of us sitting in the living room waiting for our presents...probably '84. (I'm the one with red tights sitting in front of the TV.)


And here are a few of us about 10 years later :) I added this picture so you could KIND OF get the idea of the mountains of presents :) Yes, that's me sitting over by the TV making the face :) Don't judge!!! It was my "grunge" faze. LOL!

Do you remember your favorite gift as a child?
I remember getting my pink and purple two wheel Huffy bike! Awesomeness!!!! ;)

Do you prefer giving or receiving?
I was super shy when I was little and hated having to open up presents in front of people when they were watching me. I was sooooo scared and I didn't want everyone looking at me and waiting for my reaction. I've since gotten over that fear....but, I still think giving is more fun! Especially when you have that perfect gift for someone you love!

What is your favorite Christmas song?
I'm not a huge fan of Christmas music and always roll my eyes at my Mom when she starts listening to it in early November. But, by the time December rolls around, I am constantly whistling "Sleigh Ride". It gets stuck in my head and I CANNOT get it out!! ;)

Candy Canes. Yuck or Yum?
Sick.

Favorite Christmas Movie?
OMG!!!! Christmas Vacation!!! We watch it EVERY Christmas and we all laugh hysterically at the "SQUIRREL" part and my Dad has to rewind it 1,000 times. NEVER gets old!




Do you shop online or at stores?
Both!!! I LOVE going out and shopping in the madness-but, shopping at home in your PJs can be so convenient sometimes :)

Photo Cards, Letter or Store Bought Card? 
Photo cards!!!!!!!! Opening it up and not getting a picture is a pure let down!!!!!

Now it's your turn! Get in the spirit and go link up!

Remember. Heal. Act.

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As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School.  We honor them each day in our classrooms where in which we continue their dream of teaching our children. We honor their memory with our service. The parents of the Sandy Hook victims have made one beautiful request to remember their precious angels....."Be kind to others".  Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

All during this week, please promote the RAK on social media.  Use the hashtag:  #love4SH

For each random act of kindness you do, you can enter it HERE and for each action you take to help others, Hasbro will donate a toy or game to Toys for Tots until December 20th. 

ELF YOURSELF!!!!

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Just uploaded my "Elf Yourself" craftivities and Literacy Activities Pack!!! I'm so excited with how cute it turned out!! If you need some last minute activities for this week-you and your kiddos will LOVE this!!!!!

This Pack includes:
All the patterns to make your own elves
Patterns and directions to make your own elf hats
An Elf Application
Elf writing prompt/book page
Elf interactive emergent reader


Click on either of the pictures to go check it out!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

The Best Teacher Gifts EVER Linky Party

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After receiving the most amazing gift this Christmas season that a teacher could receive, I was inspired to write this post. (You'll have to read to the end to find out what it was :)  Maybe this post, or one linked to it, will inspire you to think of a creative way to thank your child's teacher! ;)


Soooooo, after teaching for 10 years now, people often ask me what my favorite gift was or "what should I get my child's teacher...what do you like to get??" 

Well, let's face it, it's always nice to get Gift Cards. As teachers, you put soooo much money into your class each year and after Christmas, it sure is nice to go into Target or Dollar General and pull out that gift card to pay for your weekly teaching supplies :)

I've also gotten things "just for me". Something personalized or a Gift Card to a spa or favorite restaurant is always a treat!!!

I also LOVE getting those Super thoughtful gifts. Even if the family can't afford to go out and buy a present, a really nice note can go a looooong way!!!!

Sometimes teachers need to be lifted up!!!!  Sadly, a lot of times, teachers don't hear the good things that people have to say. Many times, the only time they hear from parents are when they are upset about something, or when something is going wrong. And, then there's the media. So often, the only things we hear from them, are the things that are going wrong in our schools. When, in actuality, for the majority of our schools, there are sooooo many things that are going RIGHT!!

Here are some of the AWESOME gifts that I got this year!!! I LOVE all of these!!! I can tell that a lot of thought and planning went into these gifts, which makes them even more special! <3





So, needless to say, after the last day of school before break, I was feeling pretty good....feeling pretty loved and appreciated.

THEN, I got home and after chasing my own babies around for a while, I sat down to my computer and checked my Facebook page. I noticed some notifications, so I clicked on them and I just could NOT believe what I found. There was a video on my timeline that a family from my school had tagged me in. They are an absolutely amazing family of 10. I have had 5 of their 8 kids over the years and they are ALL such wonderful little people. And, when their parents would come in to volunteer in my classroom, it's very easy to see why! ;) Very down to Earth, REAL, genuine, GOOD people.
As I sat at my computer, tears streaming down my face, watching this AMAZING gift, my heart was touched in a way that I cannot express. The impact that this little video left on me is indescribable.

  Here is what I saw...


Teachers! Do you have a favorite gift that really just touched you and made your heart happy?? Share it with us and link up below!!



New Years Unit + A Freebie

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First, Grab this little New Year's Freebie!!!



Now, go check out the post that I just did about my New Year Unit over at Blog Hoppin' by clicking on the picture below!!! ;) My favorite...A New Year's Toast :)

HaPpY NeW yEaR SaLe

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Holy Smokes!!!! 2013 sure did FLY by!!! But, my friends and I at Blog Hoppin' are looking forward to a Fabulous 2014!!!! So, to start the New Year off right, we are throwing a SALE!!!! 


ClickHERE to see all of my friends' shops that are participating in the sale. It will start at midnight tonight and go through January 1st!!


To help start your year off with TONS of Fun, you might also want to check out my New Year's Math and Literacy Unit-which includes the "New Year's Toast" craftivity!!




You might also want to check out my New Year's Math and Literacy Centers:


P.S. Save the dates for that first week of January to link up with Blog Hoppin'!!!! We will be having a Super Fun New Year's linky party!!! Hope you can join in on the Fun!!!!


Happy New Year!!!!!!

Fun and Family! Happy New Year Linky!

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Happy New Year, Friends!!! I'm linkin' up with my buddies over at Blog Hoppin'! The post for day one (yes, that was yesterday! Whooops!!!) Is Fun and Family!!

My Biggest goal for the new year is to be the BEST Mom I can be to these 3 loves of my life!!!!!


It can be really tough juggling teaching, blogging and Mommying...sometimes I have to remind myself to chill, stop sweating the little things and just STOP to ENJOY life!!!  Anxiety is my middle name!! ;)
Life sure does seem to FLY by and I wonder how my babies have gotten to  be as big as they are!!!

My Finny, who is 15 months old-just finally took his first steps on Christmas Eve!! :)


And here he is making his new "surprised face"!!! LOL!! Melts my heart!!!

And here is my whole amazing family that I love soooo much!!! My Momma is my best friend! We live just through the woods from each other! ;) I've lived on the same little back country road for my entire life! Ha!! And, there's my AWESOME, genius brother who works as a computer programmer/analyst for Boeing and knows everything about everything when it comes to computers!! Yay for me!!!! ;)


I'm sure we'll all go on a few fishing trips this year...my Dad is a "professional" crappie fisherman now that he's retired :) So, we have our own personal guide! ;)


Maybe I'll even find time to get to spend some quality time with this guy!! I'm tellin' ya, with 3 kids-it sure is hard to get any time to share with just us. We need a date night!! ;)


I am also one of the luckiest girls in the world because I have these lovely ladies in my life!!! We have been best friends since high school and we know everything about each other!! We have been there for each other through EVERYTHING! They are like family to me and I love them to pieces!!
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Maybe we can even find time this year to take another all girls trip like this one we took to Nashville! Fun times!! Yes, that's a pedal tavern! ;)


I'm sooooo lucky to have such amazing friends!!! Even our kids are BFFs!!!
Cheers!!! Here's to a fabulous 2014!!!! Don't sweat the small stuff, spend time with those that you love and enjoy life!!! Don't let a thing pass you by!!!!!!!


Don't forget to link up with Blog Hoppin' this week!!

HaPpY nEw YeAr!!!!!


Tips for Getting Organized in 2014

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Organization....my weakness!!!! Anyone that knows me REALLY well-knows that I am NOT an organized person by nature!!!!!  People that see me at work-might beg to differ-but, those people have never seen my house or the inside of my car or the desktop on my computer!!!!! LOL!

If there is one thing I have learned in my 10 years teaching Kindergarten, it's that you have to be organized to survive!!!!!!! And, I'm talking SUPER organized!!!! If one thing is lost, or out of place or not at your fingertips the moment you need it-you LOSE them!! And, when I lose 26 5-year-olds attention and the noise level starts to rise and things start to happen that shouldn't be happening, my anxiety level immediately rises!!! LOL! Chaos is something that I don't deal well with!!!

So, here are a few ways that I have found work wonders for me. There are VERY few moments these days when I can't find what I want anymore in my classroom (besides my keys) :) So, I'm never wasting time looking for things and tearing my class apart trying to locate something, because, let's face it "Ain't NOBODY got time for that!!!!" 

A couple of years ago-I decided to get rid of my desk. BEST decision I ever made!!!! I have a small classroom and often have big student numbers (started with 26 kiddos this year.) So, this is a HUGE space saver. But, I found this PERFECT piece of furniture at a used furniture store in town. I LOVE it!!! The top of it has mailbox slots. So, I have a slot for every student. In this slot, I store their testing information, personal information and their portfolios. This is PERFECT!!! So, if I need to make a phone call, I know exactly where to quickly find their phone number. If someone loses a tooth-I go straight over, pull out their portfolio and write it down immediately. Quickly, easily, efficiently! No wasted time!!


Last Summer, I spent a TON of time going through all of my files!!! This hadn't been done since I started teaching here!!! I still had stuff from the teacher that taught before me. And, there would be like 20 copies stuck in a file of the SAME printable!!! LOL! What a waste of space! This took me WEEKS-but, I organized everything in binders by the month. I wish I had pictures of the inside of the binders to show you!
Inside each month is organized by theme. I have a zippered pencil pouch at the beginning of each binder to store small pieces. I also use these dividers to divide the themes. That way, if I have an art project example or something like that, I can store it in the divider.

 One of my most favorite things that I found this Summer are these little magnetic storage containers! I cannot tell you how much I LOVE them!!!! They don't take up ANY space because they hang right on the side of my cabinet!!! They have clear little windows so that I can see what is inside of each one and as soon as I take something out, I hang it right back where it came from-so, I always know where to find my stuff!!  I tried one of the teacher tool boxes that were ALL over pinterst a couple of years ago-but, I didn't have a good place to store that thing and it just wasn't convenient. The drawers would get stuck in it and I just wasn't happy with it. This is a WAAAAAY better option for me! AND they come in different colors-so, they match my classroom! ;)


I think it's sooooo important to have all supplies easily accessible to everyone!! So, if I'm in the middle of teaching and someone lost a crayon-they can go grab one out of the labeled crayon buckets. Or, if we are in the middle of a project and someone runs out of glue or loses their scissors-I can just tell them to go grab a new one for now and we never miss a beat. We just keep on movin' along! ;) I found these adorable polka dot baskets at Dollar General this Summer and made these cute little labels to put on them! As you can see, the labels never made it on! LOL!!! That gives me a goal for organizing in 2014! ;)

Here is how I have my books organized by theme.  I splurged on these AMAZING book bins this Summer and I'm soooooo glad that I did!! They are SUPER sturdy and JUST the right size for my books. I LOVE them! Before, I had bins from the dollar spot at Target and they weren't the right shape for the books and after only a year they were warped mangled! LOL! My goal this year is to make large labels for the outside of the bins and small matching labels to go on each book so that anyone can easily tell where to return the book to :)

Lastly, here is my Centers storage. You can find these Staralite containers from Target or Dollar General. They are the perfect size and they stack nicely. You can grab the labels that I have on these bins for FREE in my TPT store HERE!!

You can visit Blog Hoppin' to see how others organize or link up to share your own tips!!!

MLK Freebie

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I'm sure that you have seen this MLK day activity out there :) It's been around for a while. I wish I knew the original source!! I did this last year with my kiddos and decided to make a response sheet for the it. All you need is a white egg and a brown egg. Talk about how the eggs look on the outside.


 Have them color the egg to show how they look different. Then, crack open the egg.
Surprise!! They look the same on the inside!!!!
Talk about how sometimes people look different on the outside too...but, we are all the same on the inside <3

Here are some examples of our experiment from last year! You can grab this response sheet at the bottom of this page!




Enjoy!

Groundhog Day Throw Back

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This is a post that I did about Groundhog's Day last year. I was a little late on writing this post last year, so, I wanted to post it again in case you missed some good stuff :) Here goes....

Last week we learned all about groundhogs! Who knew they were such interesting little creatures?!?
Here is a little prediction craft that we made. They turned out pretty cute~right?



If you like these little guys-you can pick up the craft by clicking on the picture below. (Pin it?) This download comes with the patterns for the craft, 2 different writing options and everything you need to make a class graph....which I didn't get pics of-Dang it! ;(


We learned sooooo much about groundhogs!! Need some free resources on groundhog facts??? Kathleen at Growing Kinders has a FREE non-fiction book on groundhogs for you to download!!!! You will LOVE it!!!! Go grab a copy!!!!

I also got this link from on of her older posts! Such a GREAT youtube video about groundhog facts! Thanks for the links, Kathleen!!!



After learning so many facts about groundhogs-we made this can/have/are chart.

Then, we wrote some of our facts in our groundhog facts book;)


Have you seen this AWESOME little game about how shadows are made by bbc?!?! I stumbled across it last year when I was looking for things to do in the computer lab for groundhog week. If not, you MUST check it out!!!!!!!! The kiddos learned soooooo much from it about how shadows are made! We did it as a class through the projector so everyone could see it and I explained what was happening and why. FAB!

After we learned about how shadows were made-we experimented with groundhogs (on a stick) and flashlights to see if we could make shadows for them. See what happens when you move the light farther away?!? ;)



We also started poetry journals this week-which I'm really excited about! I got Deedee's February Poetry Pack and this Cute, cute little groundhog poem was in it! Perfect!!! Be sure to check out these poetry packs!! They're GREAT!!!


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I also wanted to share the centers that we did last year for Groundhog's day:
(You can Check them out HERE)
Literacy Centers:

 Math Centers:

One more thing....
I found this cute little anchor chart on Pinterest that will go nicely with the light/shadows website and experiment!




It's a Super Sale!!!!!!

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Hi everyone!!!! Happy Sunday! Getting ready for the big game??? Got all of your appetizers ready??? Well, snuggle up on the couch with your favorite beverage, a plate of snacks and your laptop!!! And, while your friends are cheering on their favorite team, you can stock up on some items from your favorite sellers!!!
I have teamed up with my friends at Blog Hoppin' for a big Super Sale today!!! Check it out!!!




How to have the BEST Valentine's Day Party EVER!!!!!! Ideas and FREEBIES!

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O.K. First things first! How cute are these adorable blowing kisses pictures?!?! Found this idea on Pinterest!! Where else???? All I did was tape some paper hearts on the whiteboard, had them pose and snap a photo. Then, we printed them out and made some super cute Valentine cards for our parents!!! Too cute!!!!


 Now, the first thing you will have to start thinking about for that Valentine party is the mailboxes!! Check out these SUPER cute, creative boxes that my Kinder families made this year!!! So stinkin' cute!!!! Valentine mailboxes are our Kindergarten family projects for February!   This project is sent home in their homework pack at the beginning of the month-so, they have a couple of weeks to work on these!! Now, I have 25 kiddos in my class-so, there is bound to be kiddos who forget, or parents that just don't take the time. I keep an eye on that. I just save a couple of extra, empty boxes and attach the note to the empty box and send it home a few days before V-day as a reminder. I also ask a couple of those SUPER DUPER crafty families if they'd like to make an extra box for someone who doesn't have one. Everyone in my class had a box and they were all ADORBS!!!!!!!!  check them out.....




You can find this family project in our February Homework Pack for Kindergarten. I co-authored these packs with my friend Erin Eberhart from Eberhart's Explorers. All of our homework packs have a monthly family project included. You can check this homework pack out here. Just click on the image below:


Now, you just need some Valentines to stuff in those boxes!!! Here are the Valentines I made for my kiddos this year! You can grab the little tag for FREE by clicking on the picture below!! Just print on cardstock, cut out and staple to a bag of goldfish crackers :)


I would also recommend NOT sending a class list home for those valentines!!!!! It makes them sooooo much harder to pass out!!! Just have your students sign their cards so you know who they're FROM!!! Here is a cute, FREE letter from Simply Kinder that you might want to use that states that:


 Now, for the party!!!!!! My school only has TWO official parties a year....Halloween and Christmas. Well, Valentine's Day is such an exciting time and these babies are only 5 and they need some excitement in their lives!!! ;) So, during our Math Center time on this special day-we have a our celebration....but, with out all the commotion and parents :)
Like I said, I have 25 kiddos in my class (15 of them are boys) So, how do I do this with little help and maintain control and structure??? Here's how!!!
I split my class into 3 groups. One group goes to the carpet to open valentines. I have already set out pieces of construction paper ahead of time and SPREAD THEM OUT :) I explain before they get there-that the piece of paper is their spot to put their valentines on. I explain that they will open one card at a time and each time they open one-it goes ON their piece of paper. This is their own personal space for their things....that way, nothing gets mixed up!!!!

The second group goes to the game table. You will need a simple game that they can do ON THEIR OWN. I chose bingo. (This is an OLD SCHOOL bingo game that I made before my TPT years and before all of the cute clipart that you can find now :) But, it works!!! I just wrote sight words on the bingo cards and cut out hearts that have the sight words on them. The hearts are flipped over. Kids take turns flipping one over and calling it out. They then all look to see if they have it and cover it with a heart gem until someone gets BINGO. Then, they clear and play again. SIMPLE.

Aaaaaand.....then, there's the chocolate fountain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!! The kids go CRAZY over this!!!!! They LOVE it and they talk about it for years!!! ;) This is where I spend most of my time, obviously :) But, it's sooooo worth it!!!! I just get some skewers that they can put marshmallows, bannanas or strawberries on to dip in the chocolate. I also buy pretzel rods because they are easy to dip! Then, they all just dip and eat!!!! so, soooooo fun and delicious!!!!
 I set a timer for about 10-12 minutes and when the timer goes off, we calmly all switch. NO craziness!!! It actually, surprisingly always goes really smoothly!!! Now, you will want to keep your eye on the timer and have your kids on the carpet start cleaning up their valentines when there is about 1 minute left AND having your kids at the fountain stop eating and start cleaning up their plates, drinks, etc. And, when the new group gets there-I remind them NOT to touch anything until all of the plates, napkins and drinks are passed out before they are allowed to dig in :)


Now, if you DO have a big old party and have more helpers in your room-you may want to try a game like this!!! I made these posters for my son, Brody's class to use at their Valentine Party!!! You can save the image of the mustaches and lips to your computer and then print them for your own use if your interested!! ;)


Hope you found some good ideas and freebies!!! Don't forget to pin for next year!!!! ;)
xoxoxo

3 Million Strong=1 Awesome Sale!!!!!!!!!

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Teachers Pay Teachers has reached 3 MILLION teacher members and going strong!!! How amazing is that?!?!
To celebrate, I am throwing a sale in my store!!
All products will be 20% off!
But, that's not all!!!! TPT is offering 10% off as well!!!! Be sure to use the promo code TPT3!!
That's a combined discount of 28%!!! Whoooohooooo!!! Shoppin' time!

Here are some of my products that might come in handy this spring!!!!

                           
   


  
 





  


Be sure to stop byBlog Hoppin'to check out other great stores that are on sale!!!!!

Xaivore Strong

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Meet Xaivore


This post is titled "Xaivore Strong" because Xaivore is just that.....one of the strongest people that I know.

This all started back in August.  Like the rest of us, Xaivore was ready and excited to start a brand new school year.  He was going to be in second grade!!! But, a damper was put on all of the excitement when his whole family came down with the flu during that first week of school. They all had the same symptoms....you know how it is. Everyone is weak, tired, throwing up and feeling achy.  That's when Xaivore started complaining of his head hurting. Well, no one really thought much of that....everyone's head was pounding. They were just SICK. You tough it out a couple of days, get better and go on with things.  That's how it goes. That's what we all do. And, that's what THEY did.  Well, all of them...except Xaivore.

Xaivore's head was still hurting. But, everyone else had gone back to school and work so, Xaivore decided to give it a try. Now, I told you before. Xaivore is a very strong little boy. He's NOT a complainer. He's a "go with the flow" kinda kid. So, although his head was really hurting him, he was toughing it out. But, Xaivore ended up getting sick at school. His parents came and got him. Maybe he wasn't quite over the flu yet. That's what everyone thought.

But, Xaivore's headaches just wouldn't let up and he wanted to sleep all the time. His family began to think that maybe he was suffering from migraines.  So, on August 26, 2013, they took him to his pediatrician. The doctor noticed that Xaivore's coordination was a little off. So, an MRI was scheduled for the next day.  Just seven minutes into the MRI, Xaivore's Mom was told that he had a brain tumor and they would need to operate the next day.

I just cannot imagine. Think about getting that news. You think you have a healthy kid....a kid with the flu....a kid who's having migraines........you're child has a brain tumor the size of a baseball. He has cancer. He will be having brain surgery tomorrow. The immediate, urgent and life changing decisions that had to be made are just incomprehensible.  And, where was Xaivore's Dad during this?? He was in California for work.

The next morning, Xaivore was admitted at 8:00 AM for his surgery. His Dad flew home from California on the next available flight and made it to the hospital just as they were wheeling Xaivore into surgery. He got to see, hug and kiss, and tell his baby boy that he loved him.  A parent's worst nightmare. So many unknowns. Just utterly terrifying.

Xaivore's surgery lasted 11.5 hours. They were able to remove 99% of the tumor. It was discovered that the tumor was a WHO grade IV medulloblastoma. You can read more about it HERE.
They were told that he would have to endure 55 weeks of treatment.  First, was 6 weeks of radiation that successfully shrank the remaining tumor. He is now currently undergoing a 3 cycle multi regiment Chemotherapy process. He has an MRI and lumbar puncture every 3 months for the first year, then every 6 months for second year, then once a year for the rest of his life.



After the surgery, Xaivore had to learn to walk again. He now has eye problems and has double vision that he has to take muscle relaxers for. Through this whole long, hard process he has also acquired some learning disabilities.

Through it all, Xaivore continues to come to school every day with a smile on his face. That's all he wants......to be a kid.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I'm hoping that by sharing this story with you, that maybe you will want to help.

I have put together a little fundraiser along with my friends at Blog Hoppin'.  Xaivore's medical bills are mounting. His procedures and treatments are extremely expensive and there's more to come.

The bundle has 19 products that will help get you through the end of the year :) If you don't teach K-2, you could still donate and give the pack to someone that you teaches at your school.

Click on the picture to check out the preview. Each picture in the preview is clickable so you will be able to see exactly what you are getting.


My friends at Blog Hoppin' are some EXTREMELY generous ladies!!!!  This bundle is valued at $120!!!!!! You can grab this awesomely phenomenal pack for only $25!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you will consider donating!!

Thank you all so, so very much!!!!!

Safety Street-A FREE, Interactive Program

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I feel so lucky to be just 30 minutes away from one of the top children's hospitals in the country!!!! St. Louis Children's Hospital!!!

I took my Gray there when we suspected that he might be having seizures...don't worry he was fine :)


And, they took great care of my Finny when he had RSV!!



Everything that St. Louis Children's Hospital does is pretty great and amazing!! And,
Safety Street is no exception!!!! If you are from the St. Louis area, you will want to check this out!!!!!! 
I know, for many schools, money is tight and for many of us, field trips have been cut! No worries here!! This program is TOTALLY FREEEEEEE and they bring it right to you!!!!!


All they need is a big area to set it up (usually a gym) and 4 hours to be able to do their set up!

Safety Street is an injury prevention program for K-5th grades. It features an interactive life-size cityscape to help children learn important safety lessons.
I was very impressed with the organization and set-up of this program! My students were totally engaged the entire time!! They took only 4-5 kids around in a group at a time through the "city". While the rest of the class waited, they watched a very entertaining, age-appropriate safety video. The instructors were very knowledgeable and their lessons were age appropriate.

Here, some of my students came to a stranger that actually speaks to them. He asks them if they want some candy and some other phrases that a stranger might use to lure a child over. The instructors were there the whole time explaining to the kids what to do. In the other picture, kids learned what NOT to do if they come to a vacant lot....see the piles of trash? There was even a fake rat! Yuck!! 

At this point during their walk around town, the kids came to a group of dogs. The dogs actually start barking at the kids!! The instructor explains what to do if  a scary dog approaches them and what to do if the dog starts to chase them. I didn't know you should get down on the ground and cover your neck! I learned something new too! :)


There were also working stoplights and railroad crossings! (Even the train moved across the tracks!!) Students learned and practiced what to do at these crossings.

As we walked through the town, there were some cars passing through as well :) The car at the top was backing out of the driveway. Students had to stop and they talked about how they could tell it was backing up and what to do. There were also cars being "driven" by volunteers through the roads!

I was just so impressed with this program that I had to share it with you!! AND it's for everyone!!!! They will bring it to any school in the St. Louis area (MO or IL) and again, it's FREEEEEE!!!!!!

Get more information about how to get Safety Street at your school HERE.

You can also watch this little Youtube video...


Spring Sale!!

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My store will be on 20% off before deactivating seasonal products.  Please check outKinderGals for all stores participating.  Click the graphic above to access goodies my files discounted at My store!!!!
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