Thank You A+ Images!!!!

This was a big year for my blog!!! I blogged more which I wanted, but I also got the opportunity to be a part of an awesome giveaway!!!! A+ Images offered the opportunity to get a t-shirt made with your blog!!!!

This is how cute mine turned out!!! Of course the model is so cute that she had to get her own!!! A+ Images!!!! Thank you for making me feel like a real blogger and for being so awesome to work with!!!

If you are ever in need of a t-shirt!!! Check out A+ Images!!!!!

Sunday Scoop

Sunday Scoop Time!!!  As always this time of the year is busy and this week is NO exception!!!!  A huge thanks to the Teaching Trio for hosting the Sunday Scoop Linky so I can organize my "to-do's"!

HAVE TO:  Seriously laundry NEVER stops!!!  It has to be done today!!!  My car use to be a little messy, enter my favorite three year old and it looks like a HOT mess....that will change today!  Friday is our class Winter Festival, perhaps I should get going on the planning of that extravaganza!!!

HOPE TO:  Christmas is going to sneak up on me and I am behind on shopping, and to complicate things further, I have to mail some gifts!!!  A long shot----hope---but my house is for sale and to sell it would be AWESOME!!!!!

HAPPY TO:  Joey is going to meet Santa!!! I am excited to see how she does.  She is loving all that is the Christmas season, so this should be a fun night for her!!!

That's my scoop, what's yours?

Go to the  

and link up with your

Five for Friday

Where did this week go??? WAIT, what am I saying??? TGIF!!! I mean I am certainly not the only 1st grade teacher who wonders if we will all survive until break... right????  I mean I love my firsties and I love the Christmas season, but put these two loves together and YIKES!!!!

Here is a little look at my 

1.  

This week I had the pleasure of spending Tuesday with one of my teaching besties, Molly!! Molly is a second year teacher and I am blessed to be her mentor!!! I must say I learn more from her, so I am not sure who mentors who!  Molly teaches Kindergarten and I just love seeing her little Rays in all their glory!!!  She does amazing things with them!

2.  

I am really trying to use more Kagan strategies this year and get my firsties working together.  They are loving it and we are getting better everyday!!

3.  

This school year has had many ups but also some downs!!! A few times my passion and love for teaching have been challenged. Through those times, I have been lucky to have my two pals above to get me through!!! These two know just what to say or do and when to say or do it!!! Blessed to have them!!!!

4.  

Today was College Colors Day!!! Bet ya can't guess we are in the Midwest can ya?

5.  

Joey's elf, Noel, arrived this week!!! She loves finding her and I love starting a new tradition with her!!

Thanks for checking out my Five for Friday!!! Go link up!!!!

December Currently!!

December 2nd, WHAT????  How can it be? Just 9 months ago I was in Haiti counting the days til I could bring Joey HOME!!!

Obviously life is all sorts of busy! Living with a three year old, selling a house, teaching 23 awesome first graders and oh ya... CHRISTMAS!!!!

More on all that later, for now I will focus on what I am up to currently!!!!

Link up with Farley!!!

Twin Tuesday on a Wednesday!

Well let's all be real for a minute, Twin Tuesday is suppose to post on TUESDAY...but when it is the last week of the first grading period...your days get all mixed up!  So give us a pass on this one:)

This week's topic...DATA!!!!!!!

Certainly, I am not the only teacher out there that thinks the word "data" MIGHT be slightly over-used...especially when dealing with six and seven year olds...right?

Molly and I are tackling the ever so fun topic of DATA this week!!!  Let's see just how "twin" we can be, as we explain how we use data in our classrooms.  Keep in mind, we do teach at the same school...so some of our "twinness" is completely out of our control.

NWEA MAP Testing:  Last year, was the the first year students in 1st grade  took the test.  We only take the Math portion.  At times, I wonder how beneficial the Reading portion would be...did I really just say that I might want my students to take another assessment? However, we don't...so onward.  MAP Math scores are used to create Math Workshop groups across the grade level.  We look at the different areas tested and find our scores for the area that we are currently teaching and use NWEA reports website to find the RIT score for that individual area.  I should also add, we do take into account our own personal observations and gut feelings, as well. We have 5 groups, with the two lowest groups having  less students, in order to provide more support.  We change any students that are showing HUGE gains or losses, about mid way through a six week span.  After six weeks, we will change our focus and regroup according to the scores from that RIT band.

We also use the screener from NWEA, which I am proud to say that after we had focused solely on Number ID and counting since the beginning of school, only 3 of my 22 students, scored below a 90%.  YEA!!!!

DIBELS:  First Grade does Benchmark testing on LNF (Letter Naming Fluency), PSF (Phoneme Segmentation Fluency), and NWF (Nonsense Word Fluency).  Truthfully, I find value in these tests, however I do not use these three tests to dictate how I group my students.  I have and still feel that many students can and are actual readers even if they can't read nonsense words:)  So I use DIBELS as one indicator, when grouping for Reading Stations.    

SIGHT WORDS:  We (my amazing)  first grade team divide the first 100 sight words into four lists of 25 words.  We roll them out approxmiately every four weeks and have them all introduced by the time we go on Winter Break.   Last year, I found the great resource, Sight Word Star by Jen at  Teacher by the Beach.  This resource has it all from flashcards, to assessment checklists, to practice sheets, and a great note to send home to parents on what to practice.  

DIBELS/Sight Words/Classroom Observations: This is how I create my Reading Station groups!  As I stated earlier, I don't always feel that one test should determine how a student is grouped.

There you have it!  Data at a glance!  Did I miss some?  Oh, I am sure!!!  But these are the ones fresh in my head!  That's the 1st grade take...now head to check out the Kinder take with 

Molly at Miss K's Little Rays

Motivational Monday

Today I am using Motivational Monday to remind myself, as well as anyone who will listen...to always count your blessings.

Today was a day off from school, a blessing that I have a job to have a day off from.  A day to spend with the best thing that has happened in my life,  Joey.  A day spent with a good friend, one of many I am lucky and blessed to have.  Blessed to talk to both my parents.  Blessed to have friends and family to chat with and text about the little moments in life, as well as the big.  

You truly can find a blessing in EVERYTHING!  And tonight I ask that you do.

This weekend, a young man (14 years old) was killed in my community.  He was a member of the first grade class, my first year of teaching.  I didn't have the pleasure of him in my class, yet he was a young man who always smiled.  His smile was a blessing, that I can still remember nine years later.  Tonight, I pray for his family and friends, and all of his teachers that they may realize what a blessing he was and pray that they find strength to carry his memory on.

Tonight, I hugged Joey a little tighter and I made a point to be thankful for my blessings.

Tomorrow, I will walk into a classroom of blessings and I will be sure to give them my best.

Twin Tuesday: Daily 5

I have to admit, I was never been a fan of Tuesdays.  Unlike Monday, it isn't a fresh start and unlike Thursday it isn't the eve of the weekend... it's just Tuesday!  Those feelings have changed because now it is Twin Tuesday!  A day very near and dear to my heart!!  My twinnie and I were able to sit down and develop a schedule, which let's be serious helps out our OCD mindsets a great deal.

Today Molly and I are going to share with you a little insight into what Daily 5 looks like in our rooms.  After you check out what it looks like in 1st grade, head over to Miss K's Little Rays to see how Molly and her little Rays rock Daily 5 in their room!

I truly can't remember when my school rolled out Daily 5.  I remember we got the book and we read and hit it full force.  I will admit as with many things, the priority of rolling it in every aspect somewhat fell to the wayside.  This year, I wanted that to change and I wanted it to fit the needs of my classroom. I started by changing that time of the day to Reading Stations.  It made more sense for what I am trying to accomplish.  Don't get me wrong, "The Sisters" are smart ladies...so I am utilizing some of their techniques, as you will see! 

Stations:

The first thing I did was really evaluate what my students need and the answers were help with sight words, rhyming, writing, and reading practice (at various levels of course).  So our Reading Stations are  the following:

Sight Words

Rhyming 

Writing

Reading

Groupings:

 I have 22 students, four of the students are taking part in a Fundations group with our Resource teacher, so that brings me to 18.   The remaining 18 are grouped by DIBELS data, classroom observations, and sight word assessments.  To make our groupings, more exciting...students will be grouped as sports.  We will have the football team, the soccer team, the basketball team, the hockey team, and the softball team.  

Timing:

We have 30 minutes to roll out Reading Stations!  My plan is for each group to meet with me at least once, and do each station at least once.  Timing will be an issue that is regulated frequently.

This year's class is great!  They are well behaved and ready to learn, but they LOVE to talk!  So building our stamina in "Reading" has been difficult, add in the heat schedule we had at the beginning of the year, followed by testing that had to be administered, and the occasional distruption in our day....we have finally made it to 10 minutes!  We have learned how to pick good fit books and our book boxes have been personally decorated.  Tomorrow, we will pick our books! Thursday, we will learn our the new activities for each station, and Tuesday we will be ready to roll!

**Disclaimer, we have been doing different activities to practice the skills of each station, but more as a whole group...Tuesday marks our Independence Day! 

Check back in a week and see how Week One goes!!!  I promise pictures!!!

That's the 1st grade way, now head over to Miss K's Little Ray's for a the Kinder way!!!

Ideas? Suggestions?  Leave me a comment!!

Twin Tuesday

We are back and excited to share with you a look at Classroom Management at the beginning of the year!  I will share my First Grade perspective and my twin (aka Molly) will share the Kinder perspective over at Miss K's Little Rays.

The beginning of First Grade is COMPLETELY different then the end.  And I am sure I am not the only First Grade teacher who will tell you, that it is hard to remember until you are smack dab in the midst of it!  I mean they leave you little learners who read and are gaining their independent wings.  Then Fall rolls around, and the new firsties arrive and you are like WHAT!!!  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE every aspect of new firsties, as much as I love every aspect of the soon to be second graders...it is just a whole different world!

Classroom Management is always a work in progress!  However, at the beginning of First Grade I try to take the approach of being a little tougher, yet with a soft side.  For 80% of my students they know our school expectations, which is FANTASTIC!  However, it is necessary for a great review of them, as well as my personal expectations!!!

Our school's expectations are Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible (Yes, we are a PBIS school!) So we start off the year, with what these look like and sound like!!! We always start with RESPECT!  It is our Core Value for the months of August and September and so VERY important!!!

We use our school PBIS matrix to discuss all the areas of the school, and what these expectations look like.  This year, I tried to be more thoughtful in my planning and repeated teaching of these expectations and so far that has paid off!!!  One thing with firsties, expectations can be boring!  I mean "they are big kids now" and they know the expectations, but knowing and showing are TWO completely different things.  **REFLECTION MOMENT...this is an area that I want to tackle this summer!  Making re-teaching of the expectations more fun and exciting!!!  A themed activity of course!!!  

I also roll out the Dojo's!!!  Most of our kiddos used them for a portion of Kinder, so it isn't new! However, teaching them ownership of their Dojo's is a First Grade skill!  We talk about what we should receive Dojo's for and choose their pictures together.  We also discuss what behaviors might require myself or another teacher to take away a Dojo!  As the year progresses, we will start giving ourselves our own Dojo's, both positive and negative.

This year we are off to a great start!  However, as we all know CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT is an on-going issue.  We are always tweaking and spicing it up.  As teachers we all know we have to do this because there is always a holiday around the corner, a drastic change in the weather, or a FULL moon that is out their messing with our kiddos and getting them all sorts of CRAZY!!!

This is a little bit of how we do it in FIRST GRADE!!! What do you do in First Grade to manage your firsties?  Leave me a comment and let me know!!! And if you are a KINDER teacher (or not, because really she is so fabulous everyone will want to read her post) head over to Miss K's Little Ray's and check out her take!!!!!

Twin Tuesday

Everyone has that someone in their life to make them better!!!  I am blessed to have more then one of those people, lucky...I know:)  One of those people is my pal Molly!  Molly is a kinder teacher, in her second year of teaching, and though the number of years that separate us by age is LARGE (don't ask, how large...just trust me!!!) we couldn't be more alike!

Somewhere in the last year since we met,
we have discovered more then a few things that we have in common.

Here are just a few..
the same high school
 the same college
a love of polar pops
our Catholic faith
a love of teaching
a love of work nights on the couch, instead of going out
a love of shopping
and a love of
BLOGGING

Each day, we are there for one another to lift each other up, to bounce ideas off of each other, to laugh at the crazy of the day, and to even shed a tear if necessary.  On a recent work night, we talked about the need to blog more.  Then came the idea of Twin Tuesday!  We teach in the same school, just a different grade.  So why not blog about how one topic or theme can be done differently in two different grades!!!

We will give you a glimpse into our rooms, our lessons, and our ideas!!!  Then hopefully you will grab your "Teaching Twin" and do the same!!  Who knows, maybe this will end up being a linky!?!?!

Be sure to head over to Molly's blog to check out her take!

If you have any suggestions or would like to hear about something in particular, leave one of us a comment!  We would LOVE feedback!!!

Motivational Monday

Who else happens to think that Monday comes around awfully quick??

I would totally agree, but today I tried to wake up with a fresh mindset!!  Like I mentioned yesterday, the start of this school year has kinda been rough...but when I think about it...there are many things that could be MUCH worse.  So it is time to put on my big girl pants, remember why I wanted to be a teacher, and get back on track to "Shoot for my Goals".

We are all good at making excuses, why not...it's easy!  But excuses do not get us closer to the things that will make us better.  So if you are struggling or feeling low,  pick one thing to focus on tomorrow!  One thing, take it on, and DO IT!!!  Shoot for those goals because if you don't who will?

Have a great week!!!!!

A Peek Into My Week..

Before I get into a Peek into My Week, I will give you a little peek into my life!!! We have now been in school for one full month!  Progress Reports went home on Friday and we are half way through Quarter 1!  WHAT??!!??!!??  I know all you teachers out there will understand when I say, where the heck did the month go?  I mean, I love FALL and all....but October is 11 days away, how did that happen??  Well as always, I had a plan and it has been a rough start to the school year!  Not rough in a bad way, just rough on my side...trying to learn to juggle life, school, and my amazing little three year old!  To add to the fun, we of course experienced the hottest temperatures of the whole year...once we started back to school in our non-air conditioned building!  No one knows hot, til they are hanging out with 22 first graders in a room with temps WELL over 90!  We survived and the smell of crisp air is on the horizon.  The amazing three year old is adjusting to our new schedule (thank God for her amazing babysitter). And I, am beginning to keep my head above the water! I have a new plan and I think it is attainable!  So be sure to stop by more frequently, as there are amazing things happening in Room 105 and you won't want to miss it!!!!

Now on to our week...

Events for the Week:

SIP Day

Back to School Showcase

Core Value Assembly

DIBELS testing

Our current focuses:

ELA- Pete the Cat Unit: Story Elements, Punctuation, Nouns, & CVC Blending

Math: Ways to Make 6,7,8,& 9 & Number Sense to 120 

Science: Objects in the Sky

Daily 5 looks a little bare on purpose!  We will be using that time to tweak our skills, as well as work on some projects for our Back to School Showcase!  

A few of the resources we will be using are:

The Groovy Cat Pack from Teacher by the Beach

ABC ya

My Math

Give the Dog a Bone

100 Chart Puzzles from First Grader at Last

So there is your peek!  Now be sure to check back and see how it goes!!!!

Reading Strategies Book Study!

I am so excited to be a member of the #ReadingStrategiesCrew!!!  I will say, I got the book back in July and read it and highlighted it, made notes and everything.  Did I think to write the post then?  NO!!!  So I apologize now for the this post as it wont do justice to the amaziness that Jennifer Serravallo shares in the this awesome resource.

If you have heard of it, then I am sure you are already using the amazing strategies that have been shared.  If you haven't heard of The Reading Strategies Book, then you popped on my little blog on the right day...click on the cover above to order your copy today!!!

This year my school and my team are really going to put an emphasis on Non-fiction reading.  Yes, we are first graders...but we can do it!  So I was happy to take Goal 9 Supporting Comprehension in Nonfiction! And I wasn't disappointed.  Due to the fact that it is Day 11 of school and it was over 90 degrees in our non-air conditioned building, I am going to share with you my thoughts and ideas on this chapter as it pertains to the "littles"...however if you are an upper elementary or middle or even high school teacher, more then half of the strategies apply to you all.  

Who can benefit from this goal?  EVERYONE ( In my opinion) However, Jennifer does a great job of being specific, a student who can support the main idea with one detail and needs prompting to list more (HELLO FIRST GRADERS!!!), support the main idea with just a portion of the text, and list details, some or all of which may not even support the main idea.

A key to using this strategy is determining a student's ability to find the key details to the main topic.  EVALUATION!!!  Now on to the strategies...

Like I mentioned previously, I am going to be short and sweet...so please invest in the book!!  It will be worth it!!

Strategy 9.2 Reading with a Sense of "WOW"

This one caught my eye because of the title!!!  Everything reading related in 1st grade can be paraphrased with the word WOW!!!!  Reading as an action tends to get lots of WOW cheers as we begin emerging as readers.  This strategy is all about reading new information, letting it sink in, and think "Wow, I never knew..." (As Jennifer puts it!)

Activity idea:

*  Anchor chart to use for a whole class discussion after reading. Students could share their "wows".  

*  Use Wow, I never knew as a journal prompt.

Strategy 9.3 A Spin on KWL

I am sure we have all used a KWL chart at some point in our career.  This is a little different and might be a little more descriptive for your students, particularly the younger ones!!  This is a strategy  that could be used over and over in your nonfiction readings, so much so that it can be used as part of your instructional routine.  Grab some markers and some paper and make an anchor chart.  Laminate it for multiple use!

The 3 important statements...

What you know for sure...

What you think you know...

What you wonder...

WONDER!!!  What a great way to teach and create excitement for further reading!!!

Strategy 9.6 Consistently Ask, "How Do I Know?"

This was such a great strategy!!!  Jennifer talks about when you have read a section or a whole book, and asking yourself what it is mostly about. Then asking yourself, "How do I know?"  She encourages using your hand as a visual.  The main topic/idea is your palm, then using your fingers to come up with the supporting details.  I see this as an anchor chart as well, laminated again for reuse!  Or if you are reading about a specific topic, for example cats.  The body could be the main idea and the legs could be the details.

Is this it, NO!!!!  But you will have to read the rest to get scoop!!!

Be sure to check out my other crew members for their fantastic take on their goals!!!

Melissa at Inspire Me ASAP as a link to all the amazing posts!!!  Go Check it out by clicking on the schedule below!

And be sure to hop over to my friend Sarah at Mrs. B's First Grade for more on comprehension in Nonfiction.

It's Currently...August 2nd!

I am late to the party, but all for a good reason...I was hosting the birthday of my NOW 3 year old!!!  As some of you may know, my little girl came home from Haiti in March!  This was the first birthday that she actually celebrated!!  So of course it had to be kinda big and Minnie Mouse might have exploded all over the room...but in the end we had a blast and Joey loved it!!!!

Now on to Farley's Currently party!!!  I just love Currently, don't you???

listening:  I hate to admit that I have two shows recording, so I can't watch anything right now...so we have no television on right now, just a little Joey chatter every now and then!

loving: Sunshine!!  We are finally having SUMMER in Illinois!!  Warm but not scorching and SUN!!!  I am one happy lady.

thinking: I have a lot to accomplish this week and soon I need to craft my to do list!!!!  Probably after a little someone heads to bed!

wanting: A magic wand!   I mean my house is dirty and now it looks like Toys R Us exploded after the birthday festivities!!!  I need to figure out where everything is going.

needing:  To actually clean since the magic wand is not in my possession and my house is truly a mess!!!

B2S RAK: I love this!!  I think I am going to make up some little surprises for my team for the first week or so!!  All of them have their own stressors and back to school can intensify those, so some pick me ups are just what the doctor ordered!!!!

That's my currently!!!  What's yours???  Go Link up with Farley at

Here are the rules just in case you are curious:)

The ABC's of First Grade

Dare I say it???  School is quickly approaching!!!  I mean, I can't be the only one who is excited and overwhelmed...can I???  I am so excited to announce the ABC's of First Grade linky with some of my First Grade Tribe friends!!!

I mean, you think FIRST GRADE and you think so many things!!! So now is your chance to BLOG about it!!!

I have the letters E-H!!!  

I am certainly not the only one who thinks EXCITING, when they think of First Grade!!!  First graders are many things, and excited is definitely in the top 3!!  They love school (well usually most of the time) and learning.  They get excited about doing new things and call it an activity and they are over the moon bursting with excitement!!!

Not many people can say they have a FUN job!  But I can!!!  First Grade is all about learning while having FUN!!!  I think we can all agree, the more fun you have, the more learning that takes place.

First graders are GABBY!  I mean even when they don't have anything to say, they are still talking:)  I like to remind myself that they are learning how to socialize, rather then just ignoring the rules!!!

This one is more about the First Grade teachers, HARDWORKING!!!  Can I get an AMEN???  I mean we work hard!  It is worth it, but it is a tough, ever changing job that requires HARDWORKING peeps!!!  The First Grade Tribe is filled with these hardworking teachers, and I am proud of call you my colleagues!!!

Hope you enjoyed my part of the alphabet!!!  

A huge shout out to my First Grade Tribe friends who are joining me on this great linky!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Tell all Tuesday: My Dream Classroom

I almost missed the party!!!  Thanks Diana at My Day in K and Jayme at Teach Talk Inspire for hosting the Tell all Tuesday!!  This week might end up being my favorite so far... My Dream Classroom!  Uhh I totally get chills just thinking about it!!  

Classroom decor is one of my passions!  That being said...

Is my classroom perfect, uh NO! 

Is it spotless? NO 

Is it organized 100% of the time?  That's a BIG FAT NO!! 

My room is a place, that I am proud of and I like my students to LOVE our room.  If you figure out the Math, then you know we all spend A LOT of time in our rooms.  So why not make them cozy & fun!!  I mean I teach first grade...it has to be FUN!!!!

Themes are big to me, I am a self proclaimed THEME girl.  I have done Arthur, Clifford, Jungle, Beach, Surfing, and Nautical classrooms (not all at once).  And yes, I am only entering my ninth year!  I just love to change it up!!  This year, I am going with a Sports Theme!!! 

I am creating a wish list for My Dream Classroom:

I Pads for each student

Individual lockers (preferably outside the classroom)

Whiteboard tables & an assortment of seating (balls, pillows, chairs, stools)

Matching Storage Containers (for everything)

A loft 

Air Conditioning

I have been learning a lot about 1:1 technology (huge shout out to Kirstin at Hip Hooray in K for letting me ask her all my questions), so I would love the opportunity to have I Pads for each student.  The things that can be done are amazing!!!

We have closets, with hooks that aren't spaced out properly and can't fit nearly the amount of things a first grader needs particularly during Illinois winters!  So individual lockers would be AWESOME!!!  Plus it is something else to decorate:)

I love seeing rooms that don't have tables or assigned seating!  I switched to tables last year and LOVE it!!!  But I would love tables that had whiteboard capabilities.  I would also like my kiddos to have a choice of what kind of seat they want to sit in that day.  I mean a "bike" chair, HELLO...genius!!!

I am a bit of a freak when it comes to organizing, or at least planning organization!!  I buy containers all the time, I mean what teacher doesn't.  I just wish they were all matching and the right size!!!

A loft!!!  An opportunity for my kiddos to have a loft to go read in and store our books!!!  It could be transformed each year to follow my theme...uhh what a dream!!!

Air Conditioning!  Now I know you are thinking...WHAT???  Yes, that is correct!  I teach in a school where the classrooms are not air conditioned!!! ( I know I am not alone in this area)  The office, teacher's lounge, cafeteria, and our computer labs are but not the classrooms!!!  It is just hard to concentrate in August when the heat index in the room is like 90 degrees.  We push through and eat lots of popsicles and drink water, but WOW...August could be a lot more effective if we had AC!!!

So there you have it...my wish list for my dream classroom! Do I need all these things..NO.  Because come August 17th, I will have transformed my room into an awesome sports arena that my little firsties will love and I will call home for the next 10 months!!!

I will do a classroom tour once it is spectator ready!!!!

What's your dream classroom??? Go link up!!! I can't wait to read about it!!

Take me out to the Classroom

One of my passions (and yes I have many) is classroom decor.  I love it. I am the crazy teacher who changes her theme/room every year (or almost).  Don't hate me!!  I do it because it is a labor of love and I don't regret it for a second!!!  However, as a teacher I am very specific about certain things I want.  You know, you get an idea in your head and then it has to be that way.  

So I decided to go with a Sports theme this year.  In my mind, I had the perfect classroom set up thanks to the many teachers out there in social media world and that little website we call Pinterest!!!  I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I jumped into creating my own.  I LOVE IT!!!  I am so happy with it and am sharing it on TpT!!!  

It is a great pack filled with 109 pages of sport decor!  A few different options are offered and there is even a ink friendly option in there too.  If you are interested, click here.

Here is just a little sneak peek!!!! If you have any questions or need something like this or in addition to this, let me know!!!  The creative bug is ready to work!!!

Sunday Celebrating

I am so excited to link up with my fellow firstie teacher Kellee at Stomping Through First!  She is the cutest and is hosting a Sunday Celebrating Linky!!!

This week:

 rainy

hot

work

Three things that don't really illicit celebration!  However, I did manage to have some fun!!  I mean I live with a two year old....of course I had fun!  

I am celebrating that I got to go shopping with my teaching buddy and get all  almost all the things I needed for my classroom transformation.  Here's a little recap of the adventure.  I am calling it Comfy Shoes and Cash!  I decided to set myself a budget (two reasons what teacher doesn't need a budget when shopping for her classroom and it truly makes it fun trying to get the best bargains).

First Stop...Polar Pops!!  I mean you can't conquer an afternoon of shopping without a polar pop, especially when it is 95 degrees!!!

Our next stop, our local school supply store!  I shop the big box stores but if I can help a local business out, I will!!!

A huge thanks to Mama & Papa Baer (my parents) for the amazing gift card!  Obviously, that was a huge help to the budget!!!

At the The School House, I was able to get borders, stickers, notepads, red library pockets, and pencils.

Next stop, Jo-Ann Fabrics!  I like to cover my bulletin boards with fabric.  The main reason is I am not that "coordinated" to work with paper.  Fabric is very giving and easy to put up.  On the list was fabric, fleece, and ribbon.  Fleece was 40% off and the solid broadcloth was $1.99 a yard.  Some of the ribbon was on clearance and the other was not.  I checked out and had a 25% off coupon for the total purchase.  Once again, I came in UNDER budget!!!!

On to Party City.  No coupons for here:(  However, it was the smallest of all the lists!  Paper Lanterns, CHECK!  And guess what, under budget!

On to Wal-Mart!  Thanks to all the budgeting moms and teachers out there, I knew that many of the school supplies I wanted were the least expensive there!  This was initially not on the agenda, but where there are bargains, I will be!!  I will admit, I slightly went over budget (but only because I bought things for my house, as I am trying to get my garage organized.)  I picked up notebooks (as we will be doing interactive notebooks), crayons ( a whole class set times 2), and a set of markers for each team. 

Last stop, Dollar Tree!!!  I had a good list and have to admit that I wasn't overly successful!  And let me mention, the Dollar Tree I went to had no AIR!  Remember when I said it was 95 degrees!!  That gave me a horrible flashback/reminder of how it could possibly be in my classroom come August 17th!!  I was only able to score, a football, clothespins, a megaphone, a football platter, and a white basket.  Obviously way under budget, BUT only because they didn't have everything I needed and I think I was delusional from the heat!!!

(no pictures from Dollar Tree, let's be real...it was too hot for pics!!!)

You might wonder about my random shopping list but in the weeks to come, it will all make sense.  So a HUGE celebration for spending the afternoon with my teaching buddy and staying under budget, while securing almost everything I needed!!!

Thanks Kellee for an awesome linky!!!  I am sure you all have a celebration, so go link up!!!