Long time.....Currently, catch up's, and a freebie!

Yes it's been awhile.....no I have no excuse other than....life is...Busy. Crazy. Fun. Stressful. Overwhelming. Joyful. Lovely....and the list goes on.

I've been busy. We all have. And honestly, having a blog is work at times. I'm so much better at FB posts or Instagram posts! :)

In all honesty.....I haven't been up to par on posting anything. If you've been following for the whole time (wow--thanks!), then you've seen bits and pieces of my posts about infertility struggles.

That darn endometriosis reared it's ugly head the past year or so and I've finally found some relief in a once a month shot....but that's about to be over....so we shall see what happens in the next couple of months.

In the midst of that all cra-cra health drama.....we've been working hard in the classroom. If you follow me on FB or instagram (links above) then you've been seeing some of the fun!

Just a peek of some of our past weeks!!

We launched peeps across the room (I have no clue why my face looks like that!)

We visited the local air force base and learned about fire safety!

We painted our elephants!

Our elephants! (Love the trunks!)

I work with these lovely ladies and we had Kindergarten registration on Friday! My awesome friend made our shirts!

Listening---the birds outside have built a nest right by the fire place wall. They are loud when they get to moving around! :)

Loving---My husband and his friend, along with one of our pastors and a few others, always go the first Sunday of each month, to the local women's prison. They have church and praise and worship. I'm so thankful that he's a part of that and using the talent God gave him to bless others. 

Thinking---It's already May, which means a crazy amount of testing this month. Grrr......

Wanting---Some rest...the above mentioned medicine I'm on sometimes doesn't let me sleep very well the first week I get it.....

Needing---To finish the 3-4 items I have been working on for months now...sometimes creativity takes a back seat as well.

Truth---Lesson plans are great to have....but sometimes, in all honesty, you just have them. Things change daily and I can plan an amazing lesson, but then the real world steps into my classroom, and it just doesn't go the way I "planned!" 
Anyone else??? 



It's Teacher Appreciation Week----Thank you to all you amazing men and women out there who are in the classroom trenches along with me, to those of you who wake each morning, put a hard to find smile on your face, and welcome those little ones with arms open. To those that know we may be the only ones to show love to that "kid" that day/week, to those that know and understand when I say GRRRR to testing, and to those that do it anyway. 

Thank you!

Currently & Flashback to October Fun!

We went on a field trip to the farm last Friday. Our kinders were able to "milk" a cow, go through a corn maze, play, and pick pumpkins!

They had a blast and passed out when we returned to school! (Red ribbon week, Halloween, field trip, and a full moon??? All in one week.....???) Yeh this teacher about passed out too....

 

 

Now for what's Currently happening!

                    

 

 Listening: The Carbonaro Effect---If you haven't watched this guy...he's a magician and amazing!!

Loving: Ok seriously....I have a sweet tooth problem. And it doesn't help that Chips Ahoy makes Chocolate Chip Brownie cookies. Seriously. Put them in the fridge. Then eat them. Oh. My. Word.  That is all.

Thinking: No lesson plans for me. My intern is starting her all days tomorrow. So this begins 15 days of me NOT teaching. Weird! :)

Wanting: I need some new black boots. Mine have bit the dust.

Needing: I have so many projects I need to finish. My creative juices have stopped flowing...probably b/c of all that binge Grey's Anatomy Netflix watching I've been doing. :/

Yummy: Chicken & Pastry with some corn bread. Goodness gracious.....making me hungry right now!

 

HalloWEEKEND Sale!!!!

Teacher's Notebook is having a HUGE Halloweekend Sale this weekend! My entire store is 50% off! 
Plus if you use the code: TNBoo4U  They are offering up 10% off of everything!

Click here to take you to my shop!



Here are some items up for grabs at 50% off!!

Last Week of October--Freebies!

I'm sure you've seen posts like this going around!!

 

Source: Education To The Core

So why not grab some freebies to get you through the rest of the week!!

Here you go! Click on the picture to grab them up!

 Read a little story!!

 

 Spin and Cover!

 Spin and Graph!

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

  

A+ Images Blogger Shirt

During the summer, I saw where A+ Images was offering up free blogger t-shirts! Well...of course I didn't make it to Vegas, but I definitely wanted to grab a shirt to go with my blog!

I've used them before when I won a contest for a class set of Classroom Faces t-shirts! 

 

So of course I knew I wanted to grab up a t-shirt to wear that matches my blog but also fits in for those comfy days that I need at school! :) I ordered the shirt and the NEXT DAY it shipped!!!!
But LOL---the post office made me wait forever for it! But I worked with Doug over at A+Images and they checked it out immediately and tracked the shirt down for me! :)

They are awesome to work with and have great quality material! :) Thanks A+Images for my awesome shirt!


 




Make sure you follow them over on instagram @aplusimages or FB!! 

Have You Heard of Speakaboos???

 

Have you heard of Speakaboos? I found it a couple of years ago just exploring various sites to find some great stories and books to use with the technology piece in my classroom. 

It offers up a free 7 day trial and you can explore everything from nursery rhymes to fairy tales to farm animals and MORE!

I LOVE using all kinds of resources to engage my students and sometimes listening to me read all day can get old! So providing a different way for them to engage in books is key to active learning in my classroom.

Once you log on, this is what the student's would see, and of course if you click on the purple arrow to the right, there's even more to explore! 

 


Once you click on the activity, the students will see this screen---which will allow them to hear the story being read to them, read it to their self, OR (my personal favorite) read and play! 

I love read and play because it's interactive! 

Some stories do not offer each option so it's a great way to differentiate instruction based on your student's needs.

 

In the teacher/adult's section, you can filter your searches by clicking on:

• type
• genre
• theme
• educational concept (subjects)
• characters
• ....and even LEXILE measure if you want to choose levels!

Again, there are also various modes for each book: some are Read To Me, Read It Myself, Read & Play or Sing To Me!


Here are a few other pictures that show various stories available! There is something available for everyone. It's also great for nonfiction stories! I'm excited to use the Fire Engine story and All About Firefighters for Fire Safety week! (not shown)



 


Here is some more information about Speakaboos and their mission!!

Speakaboos is an award-winning reading motivation platform for early childhood literacy. Our mission is to provide highly engaging and educational interactive stories that motivate every child to read. 

Speakaboos features a catalog of over 175 interactive stories with rich illustrations, animated characters and story-driven touch-screen interactions that bring favorite stories to life and keep children engaged through active learning. 

Head over and grab your free trial! I promise it's worth it! 
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Speakaboos, but all content expressed in this post is exclusively my own! 

Back To School Linky

I've been back to school since August 17th and the kiddos came back August 24th......so it's back to the grind. Busy busy busy and wondering how in the world I'm going to get these kids to remember the procedures! 

How easily I forget that I have to do this EVER.SINGLE.YEAR. and it always works out but my brain is still in end of last year mode, when all of my students knew how to do everything! ;)

I haven't even posted pictures of my classroom to show you! Nothing really has changed but it's still fun to see everyone's room. 

So with it being back to school time, even if you've been back for a while or haven't started back yet (who might that be???), this linky is for you! The Primary Pack is hosting this fun linky.....how do you or how did you really feel about heading back to school?

I always get asked, "are you ready to go back?" and I always say, "eh!". LOL I do love my job but I know the first month is always crazy chaotic! 

So Back to School time:

Remind me of: Standing in front of English class or any class for that matter....ugh the nerves. I hate talking in front of people (weird I know---but 5 year olds are a completely different!) so the nerves that come with that just tear me up! Just the nerves of not knowing who's on your class list, the behaviors coming in, the parents that come with those behaviors ;), the group of kiddos you'll be getting, the staff meetings, the paperwork.........the new staff, just everything....it's all a big bundle of nerves.

Makes me want: To scream and run and then just take a nap because it's the most exhausting time! I want to scream because of all the meetings and paperwork, just let me work in my room please!

Drives me to: Eat more junk food than necessary and by junk I mean whatever chocolate is around. Or maybe chocolate milkshakes.....have you ever tried the chocolate chip brownie cookies....oh my word. Seriously. D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.

Makes me need: More school supplies. You always need them. You need more than what you already have or you find something you didn't think you need and then you realize you do need it but not sure what you'll use it for. Yeh...all of that.

Causes me to: Realize I'm not as prepared as I like to think I am. Don't get me wrong, the room is always finished and lessons are done, but there's still something that ALWAYS need to be done. Things I lay awake thinking about, or something I saw someone else do that reminds me that I need to do it too. Whew. It's kind of exhausting if you really break it down.

Makes me think: That I do love this job and I couldn't imagine doing anything else.


Now---your turn. What are your thoughts? Does back to school time scare you or do you secretly love it??