Ring in the New Year with a Sale and a Linky Party! Yay!

Hello Friends!

My friends and I at Blog Hoppin are celebrating the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 with a sale! Hurray! All our stores will be on sale from December 31 - January 1. Click the image above to take you my store and click HERE for our Blog Hoppin links.


AND........ Blog Hoppin is hosting a super fun linky party starting January 1! Stay tuned for more details!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Blessings,

Remembering Sandy Hook

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School. We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children. We honor their memory with our service. Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

Rudolph in the Window, Gingerbread Houses, Elves, Teachers Helping Tornado Victimes, and Five For Friday!

Hello Friends!

Oh gosh.... It feels like such a long time since I have written here! This time of year is so busy as so many of you understand!

1.  Here are a few pictures of our gingerbread house making.......

 

2.  I love these reindeer pressing their noses against the window! Here and here are the links where I found the idea. I added a writing aspect to them. My kiddos made these during a literacy center rotation. I gave them the step by step illustrations for completing their reindeer and they were FULLY independent! Yay! Click the image to download the step by step directions!

These are the ones that my wonderful co-worker, Lisa did with her kiddos.......

 
3.  Everyone has their own little elf project..... Here are some pictures of mine!

4.  Here is a picture of one of my bulletin boards.......

Here is a picture of my door....... This is NOT my original idea, but the link to the original owner of the idea is broken, so I cannot add it here. If it is your idea, let me know and I will add your link! I have had SO many compliments on this door!

5.  Finally, our Illinois Tornado Relief store is still open! Here is a link to the post I wrote for Blog Hoppin. There are so many wonderful resources included in these bundles for a very reasonable price. Remember ALL the profit that we make from these bundles will go the Central Illinois Red Cross to help victims of the tornado that crossed through Central Illinois almost a month ago. Thank you!!

Don't forget to visit Doodle Bugs Teaching for more Five For Friday ideas!

Until next time!

Blessings,

Central Illinois Tornado Relief Bundles, a HUGE Cyber Monday Sale AND if you make it to the bottom of this post, a FREEBIE!

Hello Friends!
First off, I have to say that I am greatly overwhelmed by the generosity of so many teachers. After the devastating tornadoes that hit Illinois on November 17,  a few of us woke up on that following Monday morning with the nagging question "What can I do to help?" Well........ I am so excited to say that through the generosity of so many wonderful, kind hearted teachers, we were able to create five AMAZING bundles filled with AMAZING resources from AMAZING teacher/bloggers!  And with the aid of our AMAZING partner, Teachers Pay Teachers, Amanda Pauley from Mrs. Pauley's Kindergarten, Kyp McLaren from Mrs. McLauren's Little Super Stars, and I are very humbled to announce that our store has opened and will remain open through the entire month of December! 100% of our profit will be given to the Central Illinois American Red Cross! Yay!

Here are the bundles that we are offering... You will find MANY of your favorite teacher/bloggers included in ALL of them!

If you can find it in your heart to donate towards this cause, I KNOW that it will make a difference to these strong and struggling people! AND you can use the TPT code CYBER to receive the TPT discount on December 2 and 3! Here is a link to some photographs taken by amateur photographers of the tornado damage in Gifford, Illinois. I taught second grade at Gifford Grade School for 7 years and I continue to feel a connection to this town.

On another note...........

My entire store will be on sale at a 20% discount on December 2 and 3. With the discount from TPT, that adds up to a 28% discount! Yay!

Here are a few of my new and favorite units!

 And since you made it all the way to the bottom of this post, here is a freebie for you!

Have a wonderful week, my Friends!

Until next time!

Blessings,

Happy Thanksgiving! Where did Summer Go? and a Flash Black Friday Sale!

Hello Friends!
First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! I am doing an EARLY post and then plan to turn off the computer and try to keep away from it for most of the day. All my kids are home and the morning is lovely. Here are a couple of early morning pictures that my brother in law took yesterday.

Yes, the pictures are lovely, but. . . . . .  this shows how I REALLY feel! Give me Florida! LOL!

My friends and I from Blog Hoppin' are having a special sale on Black Friday! Woo Hoo! If you click the link at the right of my page, you will be taken to our Blog Hoppin blog and you can click on our logos to  find our stores. Everything in my store will be 15% off on Friday! Enjoy!

Until next time!

Peace and blessings,

Please Pray For Illlinois and Five For Friday

Hello Friends!

 1.  I begin this post with a request for prayers for my fellow Illinoisians.


My first teaching job was in a little school called Gifford Elementary School in Gifford, Illinois. I taught second grade there for 7 years. Last week, this small town was hit by a devastating tornado. The people of this town are strong, but they have many, many months of clean up. I am asking for prayers for the people of Gifford as well as the town of Washington, Illinois near Peoria. 


Because this devastation has hit so close to home, Amanda, from Mrs. Pauley's Kindergarten, Kyp from Mrs. McLaren's Little Super Heroes, and I are working with TPT to raise funds for the families that are in so much need right now. As we get the details worked out, I will share with you how you can help!

2.  We have been busily working in our literacy and math centers and trying to finish up our Native American unit.

I am so proud of what a great job my little ones did on illustrating their Native American book! I am also proud of what they came away with after doing this unit. It was my intent that they understand that we were learning about people of the past and that not all Native Americans lived the same way. Woo hoo! They rocked today when I we were doing our end of unit discussion!

Here are a few photos of their cute illustrations!

3.  We also do a mini unit on horses. We begin with reading "The Mud Pony" by Caron Lee Cohen. In this book, a young Native American boy forms a pony from mud who turns into a real horse which guides the boy into a strong adult.

Our students use white Crayola Modeling Compound to create their own horse. We use acrylic paint (yes, acrylic!) to paint the horses and then when they are dry, they add details with yarn, felt, google eyes, and upholstery trim. LOVE this project!!

4.  Look at these cute turkeys we made today!

5. I made this quick "Gobble, Gobble Bump" game this week for math tubs! My kinders loved it! They had so much bumping and building that they didn't even realize they were practicing addition facts!

  It's free in my TPT store! Click to image to download it!

Take care, my Friends and have a wonderful, Thanksgiving holiday! Hug your family close!

Make sure the you hop on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching!

Until next time!

Blessings,