Elf on the Shelf Has Arrived!

Omiword! That tiny lil elf sure does cause a ruckus in the classroom! The kiddos were really excited but....my oh my did that inspire some awesome writing! I made these cute little journals for the students to keep track of our elf activity for the next couple weeks.

If you would like to download a FREEBIE copy of My Elf on the Shelf Journal, just click {here} or on the pic above. Feel free to PIN and share a lil love! I can't wait to see where our little elf friend is tomorrow! Happy elf-hunting!

Cyber-Smile Sale

It's time for a lil cyber sale! Many TpT sellers are running sales for the next 2 days PLUS TpT is offering an additional discount when you enter the promo code: SMILE at checkout. Everything in my lil shop is on sale so head on over and check it out!

 

Happy shopping!



Just in time for Thanksgiving! {FREEBIE-LICIOUS!}

Well it's the week before Thanksgiving and I finally finished revising my Turkey Time Fun unit. Woo-Hoo! So...if you had previously purchased this, please download the new update!

It's packed full of 68 pages of learning fun for your kiddos plus I have included a lil freebie in the preview. "I See A Turkey" is an emergent reader that reinforces color word recognition. I've got mine all copied and ready for this week!

Click here to see a previous post about activities in this unit that I have done with my class.

Hope you love the turkey fun & freebies!

 

A Little Peek at my Classroom

Here's a few pics from my classroom. After a few weeks in school, I'm finally getting around to posting them. (I'll have to say...the first few weeks of kindergarten are a doozy! Whew!!! H-E-L-L-O exhaustion!) After moving my classroom last year, I found myself packing up & moving again (groan)-that's 2 years in a row! Don't get me wrong, I was super excited for the opportunity to move to kindergarten but....all that packing!!!...the only good thing about moving classrooms is the opportunity to throw away some   a LOT of the "treasures" that I have collected. Aghhhh! How does one accumulate SO much stuff?!? Well, anyway here I am! And I love LOVE it!

LUV my chevron rug!

Lunch Choice & End of the Day Transportation Board

 

view from inside my classroom

peeking into my classroom (it looks so quiet!)

Hallway Bulletin Board

I hope that everyone's school year is off to an amazing start! Happy fall!

More LOVE for Back-to-School Sale!

Whoop whoop! It's another quick sale day...August 19th! Check those wish lists and get your shop on! Lots of great sales...plus enter code MORE15 at checkout and receive an additional 10% off!#bestyearever

LOVE Back-to-School Sale!

Hey y'all don't forget about the  TpT's amazing back-to-school sale!!! It is August 3-4 only so it's time to get your shop on!!! My cart is overflowing! Happy shopping!

 

I'm headed to school to put the finishing touches on my new classroom...can't wait to share the pics!!!

Target Gift Card!

Woohoo! Had to share this with all my blogging buds because who couldn't use a $5 gift card to Target?!? Happy shopping!

Chalkboard-Style COLOR WORD Posters

Woohoo! I just finished up my Chevron & Chalkboard-Style Color Word Posters!

 

 ....and YES, I am already starting to get things ready for my classroom...and YES, I know, I know its July... but.... I'm moving classrooms AND I can't get into the building until August 1st! Yikes! ...and our kindergarten orientation is August 6th!! Double YiKeS!! So my extra bedroom will be transformed into a holding cell for all of my classroom goodies until August. I'm not in total back-to-school mode yet but sneaking in a little work when my kiddos are asleep. My son woke up the other night because of all these crazy storms that we are having and when he saw that I was working on school stuff he said, "Gosh, all those people that think teachers don't do anything all summer are SOOOOOO wrong!" Love that boy!!! lol

I also created these posters with a whiteboard-style background. Both of these sets are now available in my lil TpT shop. Check it out!

 

Hopefully it stops raining here soon so we can enjoy some more summertime fun before we all shift into full back-to-school mode. Happy summer y'all!

My Big Announcement!

Happy July y'all! It's time to make my big announcement...

Yep that's right...I will be teaching kindergarten this year! I'm super excited (even though I had to move classrooms AGAIN!) Oh well, that just gives me another chance to use some of those amazing classroom organization ideas that I've pinned! I keep telling myself "No excuse for not being organized Christie!" lol Guess we'll see if I accomplish that goal!

I was also very fortunate to be given the opportunity to attend Linda Dorn's Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Institute this summer. My own kiddos weren't too happy that mom was gone for a few days during our summer break, but I am SO glad that I had this opportunity! I will be working with K-1 teachers during this school year to set up reading, writing & language workshops in our classrooms. I can't wait to get started!! (Well, actually I can wait a couple more weeks-don't want to wish my July away!) I would love to hear from other K-1 teachers about how you have structured your literacy block...especially how Language Workshop fits in. Happy summer!!!

Teacher Appreciation Days!

What do teachers love almost as much as summer? ...a SALE! Don't miss Teacher Appreciation Days at TpT & remember to use the code "ThankYou" at check out for additional savings! I have so many "wishes" on my wishlist & now...my cart will be overflowing! Happy shopping y'all!  TEACHERS ROCK!

Easy Peasy Seussy Photo Prop!

Say cheese! I'm super excited to use this fun lil photo prop picture frame with my kiddos! Instead of celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday in the classroom, I celebrated in my living room since we had a snowday! On Thursday, we are planning a super-fun Seussy afternoon to celebrate Read Across America Week. Each of my teammates is planning a fun Seuss-themed activity for the kiddos. I thought some sort of zany seuss-tastic photo booth would be a hoot. So...after I dropped my own kids off at school (they did NOT have a snowday and....OMIword was my son mad at me! lol) I ventured down into my basement to find stuff to make my photo booth props. {I will just say...there's a lot of stuff down there...like a LOT of randomness!} It didn't take me too long to find 4 small pieces of wood that I could use to make my photo frame. They were not all the same size but that's really OK because Dr. Seuss is zany and out-of-whack, right??? I also find a can of blue spray paint & some random leftover Christmas ribbon. Perfect! Now, if you know me, you know I going straight for the hot glue gun! Forget a hammer & nails...I think I could build an entire house using hot glue & duct tape! So here's my simple DIY directions...
#1-You will need 4 fairly thin boards. They do not have to be the same length.
#2-Use your hot glue gun to connect the 4 boards. No need to make them straight...we like it a lil zany!
#3-spray paint your zany picture frame. You really could use just about any paint that you have around the house. I also found some paint pens & drew dots and stripes on the frame.
#4-print out some cutie-patootie Dr. Seuss pictures and attach to the frame. I also added some fun ribbon & a bow. (Yep, I used hot glue to do that too!)

That's it!! Easy peasy, huh?!?

Now, I just need to grab my ipad & my lil instant photo booth is ready!!! ...and...hopefully no more snowdays this week! Hope you have a seuss-tastic week!!

 

Let's Celebrate Read Across America Week!

Hey all! It's March and time to celebrate someone's birthday by reading, reading, READING! I have been soooo excited about Read Across America Week! There are so many silly-filled learning activities that take place! It's just a hoot of a week!!! Well....guess what??? SNOWDAY!!! Yep that's right...all that snow dancin' that I've been doing is really working....BUT...tomorrow??? Oh well, like I always say, you can't complain about a snowday! I believe that for teachers they are truly a gift from God!! Well this snowday just gave me permission to stay up late and put together some of the activities that I've made for this week. This little NO PREP packet has oodles of print-n-go activities...close reading passages, poem, word search and lots of math & literacy activities that can be used independently or with a partner. Head on over to my lil TpT shop to check it out....AND....don't forget to grab this FREEBIE in the preview!

Grab your cat! Grab your hat! Maybe a fox and his socks, too and let's celebrate!!!

Our 100th Day Fun & FREEBIES!

Woohoo for the 100th day of school! Just another 70 to go until summer vacation! ....Oh, is it too early to be counting down yet?!? :) The 100th day is such a hoot! I always dress up (of course, I love LOVE to dress up!) I told my class that they were going to have a sub that day & pretended to be "Ms. Berlener's grandma"! Oh my, did I have fun!! Here's a pic of me on my way to school when I realized that I had forgotten to get gas the night before & had to stop to fill up! Oh wowsie! I sure did get some funny looks! Haha!!

This year I decided to make a little 100th day journal so that the kiddos could keep all of our activities together. (I have to admit...a desk full of crunched up, scattered papers makes me a lil bit crazy!!!) I took some of my printables & stapled them all together to make "My 100th Day Journal". (I also added some of the other 100th day activities that I had from other teachers who were so very sweet to share with me!) It was super easy peasy & organized for the kiddos to use throughout the day. (NO loose papers flying around!!! YAY!) If you would like a copy, just click on the pic below.

 

Here's a pic of me & my "old" friend-she's sooo awesome! We definitely had a blast with our kiddos!

 

I have to admit my back was killing me by the end of the day...(Remember when your mom used to tell you to sit up straight??? I believe her now-good posture makes a big difference!) And to top things off...I had to make a quick stop at Wal-Mart on my way home...YES I went into Wal-Mart dressed like this!!! I had no choice...just imagine what my real hair looked like after being trapped under that beautiful wig all day!?! YIKES! So....here I am....in Wal-Mart!

 

And.. can you believe that no one even looked at me funny!?!? :)

 

Hope you love the freebies! I would love to hear about your 100th day adventures!

 



Groundhog Day Ready-to-Go Printables {& a FREEBIES!}

I am finally finished with my new Groundhog Day Ready-to-Go Printables!! Whew!! Good thing too because its almost time for that cute lil rodent to be making his yearly appearance! This packet has everything that you need to make a little Groundhog Day Research Journal for your students and also oodle of no-prep printables that are perfect for assessment or extra practice. Click on the pic below to check it out! Don't forget to download the preview for your Groundhog Day FREEBIES! Yep that's right...2 FREEBIES!

Click the pic to check it out! Download Preview for your FREEBIES!

 

 

This Ready-to-Go Printables pack is the perfect companion to my "Groundhog's Day Fun" mini-unit! {TpT Top Ten Bestseller} 

I know its not quite February yet but I am really REALLY ready for spring!! So any of my blogging teacher friends from Pennsylvania...please, oh please pass that on to Punxsutawney Phil for me!! :)
Have a great week everyone! I've gotta squeeze in a lil cuddle time with my kiddos before bedtime!!
Hope y'all love my groundhog goodies!

Ready for 2015!

Happy New Year friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break. I only have a couple days left until my kiddos return to the classroom & I am planning to spend the first few days reviewing skills from the first part of the year. I just finished revising my January Ready-to-Go Common Core Printables pack-now includes printables for both 1st & 2nd grade! If your looking for a lil review or quick assessments in the new year...check it out!



Just click the pic to see more!

Happy 2015 y'all!