First Day Jitters Blog Hop

July 30, 2012
I'm linking up with Ashley from Fierce in Fourth to share with you some of my first day jitters...

The three things I am most jittery about:

1. A given- "The New Bunch". It doesn't matter how long I've been teaching- each year I get "nervous" about receiving my new batch. I also have a student with special needs this year and since it's been two years since I've had one, I need to get the ball rolling on organizing my assessments and other documents. 

2. Balancing home vs. school. My little one's are quickly growing up and every now and then I worry that I'm missing out on precious family bonding {typing this brings a tear to my eye}.

3. Our new team member. We finally got word that we will be getting a new teacher. I am both excited and nervous for her :)



Hop on over to Ashley's blog and share your first day jitters!

Have a great day!
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Something for my 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grade Friends...

July 29, 2012

I teach an intermediate combo class of 3rd and 4th graders during our after school program and I recently made these math journal prompts to help some of my kids who are still struggling with multiplication and division. I enjoy using these prompts because they are quick and easy to incorporate throughout the day- there is not a lot of prep needed. I encourage students to use words and pictures to show their thinking and verbalize how they got their answer.

Math Journals are a great way to reinforce skills while meeting the standards at the same time. I enjoy using math journals in my class because they provide me with a quick and easy way to informally assess student understanding of specific skills. Math journals are also a way of keeping documentation and accountability of student work all together in one place.


You can choose to do a prompt each day for added practice. This pack is differentiated so not all the kids will be on the same prompt a the same time, unless desired. There are 30 prompts in all.

You can take a closer look at the packet here:



Do you use journal prompts in your class? I'd love to hear all about it!


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Another Sweet Award

July 21, 2012
Vicky from The Madness that is Kindergarten just nominated me!! You can check out my original post about this award here. Vicky has some really neat crafty ideas including a ziploc quilt and some fabric cushions she made for her library area so hop on over and check it out. Thank- you so much Vicky :)


Here is my "so random"- not sure what the limit is but here goes;

1.  My heart aches for the victims and survivors of the Colorado theater shooting. There are just no words.

2. I just found out today we will only be given one week to set up our rooms- new principal- new rules! Can I get an "UGH?!!". We've always been allowed to go in as soon as our rooms were ready which can sometimes be a whole month before we start.

2. I can't post pictures of myself or my full name because "blogging" is frowned upon by my district :(

3. My school is almost 50 years old & my classroom is really small. Everyday I wish it could be bulldozed and rebuilt...wishful thinking? Maybe it's time I transfer..lol!

4. I have terrible OCD...my closet is color coordinated and my shoes & bags are organized by style. In college I used to organize friends and relatives' closets for a small fee. I've also helped a few co-workers purge and organize their classrooms. The golden rule, "If you haven't used it in the last 6 months, your probably not going to use it in the next". 

5. I have 10+ projects running at this time but I get easily discouraged when someone posts something very similar & beats me to the punch. The cover page alone takes me forever to make {I know, OCD again!} I guess the early bird really does get the worm.

6. I am addicted to dark chocolate acai blueberries! Ah!

7. I am obsessed with orange & lime color combinations.

8. I want to attend ScrapFest 2012 but I don't see my new boss letting me sign leave in September...lol!

9. I've contemplated deleting my blog because sometimes I get so overwhelmed and feel like I just can't give it 100%. 

Ok, friends that's all for now. I just posted my latest item to TpT- a circus themed pennant pack I made for my bff who teaches Pre-K and I wanted to share it with you.  I hope to have a freebie for you by next week so please check back. Also, some of you have emailed me about having some problems with links on my page, I apologize for this and hope to have these issues fixed asap. My makeover is not completely done, I still need to add custom labels and I'm not so happy with my blog button- who knows I may scratch the whole design again...yikes!!



Have a great weekend!
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Throwback Thursday!

July 19, 2012
My family and I left for California three days after school let out which left me no time to post pictures of our last couple days of school. I finally went through my camera today and uploaded almost 2,000 pictures- some including our last few activities before the summer vacation. I decided to share some random photos with you here on my first installment of "Throwback Thursday".

 If you remember from my previous posts {and on my fb page} I was that lucky teacher. The one who had absolutely no students attend on the last day of school. Yup, that was me- then envy of half of my co-workers...lol! I'm not even sure I've ever heard of such a thing happening before. Not one single student showed up. Word spread quickly throughout my school and I was the subject of stares and snickers in the hall. Everyone asked me what I did or what I said to my little ones. My principal even asked me if I "bribed" them. Say What?!! While I giggled along with everyone else a part of me began to feel a bit offended. And maybe this is where my anxiety or my OCD comes in and tends to "over analyze" situations but a part of me was really bummed. I love my job. I hate the drama and politics that comes with it- but I love what I do regardless. I had a really great class this year, okay- with the exception of maybe two- but you get what I mean.

Anyhow, I wanted to share pictures from my Kindergarten Keepsake pack but I couldn't find them so I am assuming I loaded them on my school computer.


So instead I'll share with your our rainbow words  activity:


 I also had them cut out their sight words and glue it onto their rainbow.


 A little OCD if I do say so myself...


Here are some of the Father's Day cards we made. I had students write a short message inside and draw a picture of their dad. For those without a father, I had them make the card for their grandpa or uncle.



I hope you enjoyed "Throwback Thursday", have a fantastic day friends!!

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Finally Home & Picture Book Linky Party!!

July 16, 2012
Hello friends!

I'm finally back home and settled in. It took me almost 2 days to unpack my family as well as the extra stuff we brought back {school supplies included- ssshh don't tell the hubs!} Needless to say my living room was a MAD HOUSE- now I'm having vacation withdrawals...lol!! It's back to reality for me. I can't return to my room until August 6th {we start on the 20th} so in the meantime I'm stuck at home jotting down great ideas and pinning more things to my pin boards on pinterest. I saw the cutest clothespin tags to hang student work that I'm in the process of making- I also saw it featured on another blog which I can't remember...oops. Speaking of other blogs, please add your blog to my "Blogs that Inspire" tab on the top of my homepage. I wanted to create a navigation bar so my blog wouldn't be so cluttered. I worked with Emily Bruno from Sweet Bella Roos on etsy. She is absolutely wonderful to work with. I must have emailed her 50 times, and each time she responded really quick and was always one step ahead of me. She also has a blog and makes the cutest hair bows!!

I'm also linking up with Lindsey from the Teacher Wife {l-o-v-e her blog!!!} and sharing a few of my favorite picture books. I am with Lindsey on her addiction to picture books- I too- must have them all!!! lol!!


Here are some of my favorites- click on the picture to purchase:


This is one of my son's favorite books! I use this book to teach colors at the beginning of the school year. It also gives an important message about being open to new things. Picky Mrs. Pickle loves green and only green. She refuses to try anything else until her niece makes her an offer she just can't refuse. 


Another favorite from bestselling author Nancy Tillman. This book discusses the special love and bond parents share with their children. No matter where our children go in life our love will always find them. The illustrations are just beautiful!!


This is another book I always use at the beginning of the school year to help my little ones with separation anxiety.



I use these books to teach my students about feelings & individuality. I love the illustrations in The Way I Feel, and I'm a big fan of Jamie Lee Curtis' books. Choosing five favorites was tough- I could go on & on!!

I also came across this blog I wanted to share with you called Carol's Corner which features lots of neat children's books. Hop on over to her blog and check it out :)

Thank-you Lindsey for hosting a FUN party! Stop by her blog & link up friends!!

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Currently July

July 3, 2012
Say it isn't so!! Sigh...July already. WOW! Time sure is flying by rather quickly....I'm linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade. I just love participating in her linky parties and seeing what everyone else is up to :) 



Click on her button to hop on over & join the fun!!



Have a safe & happy 4th of July!!! 
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