and so it begins...{classroom setup!}

Happy Friday!

I'm excited for the weekend, even if I didn't

work all week, ha!

Honestly, I feel like I've had a part-time job

packing and moving to a new school this summer.

I'm not complaining though...it was my choice and

it will definitely be worth it.
I love creating anyways, so designing a new

classroom is fun but also a lot of work {and time}!

I'm just starting to actually put things together in my new

room so it is nowhere near finished, but I thought I'd

share a few pics of my color scheme.

I love the Dots on Turquoise line from Creative Teaching Press.

You might remember from this post last year when I purchased

several of the items in their line. I just love the color combo!

Anyway, I'm using it all again and its really coming together.

I have to thank Melanie from Schoolgirl Style for a lot of my new inspiration

with this line. She is amazing! She used the line in her

carnival themed classroom which you can check out here.

Here's a pic I took with my phone of some of the boards in my

room. I even tried the valance look on my windows with

wrapping paper and border that Melanie use.

I think it turned out cute!

 

 

 I'll be adding more pictures to my "classroom" page

as I make more progress.

Anyone else a fan of Dots on Turquoise?

I love getting new ideas about how to use the products

so leave me an idea, link to photo, etc. if you also

use it in your classroom.

Since I'm sharing a pic of my new word wall, here's a sneak

peek of what I've been working on.

My move to first grade this year prompted me to brainstorm

how I can get my firsties to learn their sight words...and enjoy it!

 

 

 I'm hoping this baby will be done soon and I can share with you

how this system works and how I'm setting it up in my classroom.

 

I'm off to watch the Olympics!

randomness :)

Today I'm linking up with the fabulous Amy over at

Step into Second Grade With Mrs. Lemons!

Don't you just love her blog?!?

 

So here's some random facts about me...

 

1. I could eat Mexican food every day. Seriously.

Put some queso on it and I'm good. :)

2. My sister's pin says it all...

 3. I'm tall. 5' 10" to be exact.

When I was younger I didn't exactly enjoy it

but now I do!

4. I was in a Miss Teen Kansas pageant.

I really can't believe I'm going to share this pic

but here goes...

 

 It was my first and ONLY pageant and I got 1st runner-up.

Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

This was right after high school, and although I enjoyed

the experience and gained a lot of confidence from participating,

it wasn't really my thing.

I'm not really the "pageant" type. ;)

 

5. I have a crafty bone.

 

 

 

 I like to create personalized baby gifts for friends and

even used to have my own Etsy shop.
But it was a lot of work to keep up with and I decided

to focus more on other creative things...like this blog!

6. Some of my favorite movies to randomly quote...

 

What About Bob

The Burbs

Christmas Vacation

Father of the Bride

7.  One of my favorite quotes...

 

8. The hubs and I just got back from eating our way

through Chicago with friends. Here's my new favorite

restaurant...RPM!

I may or may not have been trying to stalk

Giuliana Rancic...ha! :)

There's some randomness about me!

Go link and up share yours!

 

Monthly Binders {Get Organized!}

 

 

 During my student teaching I bought 2 in. binders

to start organizing activities and lesson plans I would

find. I decided that 7 years later, I needed to "update" the

look of them. Since I'm going with the same theme from last year,

which is just a color scheme, I made these

to match.

 

 

 

I LOVE using these binders to store seasonal and holiday

activities and lesson plans.

I don't "forget" a holiday or special activity during the

month because I have it all in one place.

I even store my examples for crafts and art projects by

using clear plastic sleeves.

There are 12 monthly binder labels included for the

front of the binder and also labels for the spine

of the binder. These fit 2" binders. :)

In my picture above, I don't show June and July,

but for any year-round teachers or those who

teach into June, those are available too!

Click here to purchase your own copy.

The first 3 people to comment get a copy for free!

Happy organizing!!!

 

Winner of Ten Frames and Dot Cards Pack

Sorry to leave you all hanging!

The winner of my Ten Frames and Dot Cards pack

is Cathy from missversteeg.com!

 

{if you'd like your own copy click on the pic}

 

 

 

She was the first to leave a comment and

guess AND she was also right in thinking

I'd be heading to CHICAGO!

Thanks to all who played along. :)

Here's the hubs and I in Chicago a few summers ago...

Can't wait to head back with friends! 

Dot cards, ten frames, & a FREEBIE!

How's your summer going?!?

I'm so excited to be going to the lake with family

this weekend, and then on a little trip the weekend after

that with friends!

I've been working on more posters for my new classroom

and needed some things for the begining of the year.

So, I created these ten frame posters and dot cards to

hang in my room. {#'s 0-10}

In this pack you get all the posters and activities

that I'll be using for math workstations.

{over 80 pages of goodies!}

Everything comes in color AND black and white

versions.

Here's a little preview...

I'm loving this color scheme and making LOTS

of stuff that coordinates with my classroom decor. :)

Here's a FREEBIE for you that is also included

in this pack.

It's the dot cards in a mini version!

{#'s 0-10}

I laminated and cut these and put on a book ring

for my daughter...and I'll be making more for my

students, too!

 

 

 

Click any of the pics below to download this

from my TpT shop.

 

 

 

AND.....I'm going to give the whole pack for FREE to one

lucky reader who can guess which major U.S. city

I'll be visiting with friends in two weeks!

Leave your guess, name, and email in the comment

below.

 

Good luck!

sight word ideas and winners!

 Thanks for all your ideas about how

your kiddos practice sight words in your classroom!

Here are some fun ideas I've found scouring

blogs and pinterest:

iPhones, iPads, & iPods

I'm sure my first graders will LOVE practicing

their sight words using these!

Get these FREE iPhones from Dragonflies in First

here. 

Get the FREE iPads from Mrs. Gilchrist here.

Get the FREE iPods here.

Candy Land: Sight Word Edition

What a great idea! See Mrs. Cooley's post here.

I SEA sight words

I can't wait to use this FREE activity by Marsha McGuire

from Differentiated Kindergarten!

The kids use a magnifying glass to find tiny sight words

hidden in a picture. There is also a recording sheet included.

Perfect for a literacy center!

 

 .............................................................................................................

On to the winner's of the Classroom Poster Pack

giveaway!

 {I'm working on a set of these with a pirate theme, too!}

I used the random number generator...what a handy little tool!

The winners are...

Barbara!

 Rachel

 Ashlee

 Delighted imteachingfirst@gmail.com

 Kristy

You all will see an email from me soon. :)

Thank you all for supporting my facebook page

and reading this blog!!!