Friday, August 30, 2013

Go Meet the Chalkies!

Howdy!
 
Hopefully you guys have heard that I'm part of the collaborative blog, The Primary Chalkboard, which is specifically geared towards 1st and 2nd grade teachers!
 
I'm blogging over there today as part of our "Meet the Chalkies" series where you can meet all of the fabulous bloggers who are part of the blog as well as pick up exclusive freebies from EACH ONE OF US! That's a lot of freebies y'all!
 
So head on over and check out my post and all of the other posts too!


And if you haven't entered the pencil sharpener giveaway yet, click here to do that now! Only 3 days left!

Have a fabulous weekend! :)
 

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Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Best Sharpener Ever... Now in PINK!!!!

Hi guys!
 
I did a pencil sharpener giveaway a couple weeks ago and it was awesome!
 
So, I have reviewed the pencil sharpener (which you can check out here) and I've given one away.

But now I'm giving away another one!!! Woo!

Why you ask?

Because a BRAND NEW COLOR was just released and I am IN LOVE with it and I know you will be too!!

Meet the PRECIOUS PINK pencil sharpener!! Isn't it a beauty?
 Now, don't fret! If you AREN'T in the market for a pink one, you will be able to choose from any of the available colors if you win!

Check out all of the options here.
 
Just a few things before you enter. Unfortunately, this giveaway is not open to international residents. You must have a US shipping address! Also, if you are the winner, you must be comfortable with sending me your name, mailing address, email address and pencil sharpener color choice! If you aren't comfortable sharing that information with me, please don't enter as I will need that information to get the sharpener shipped to you! :)
 
Lastly, I WILL be verifying the entries from the Rafflecopter below. If you are entering, please make sure you are doing what's asked. Thanks so much!
 
Good luck to everyone! Please enter using the Rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


                                
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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Who's That Blogger REVEALED!

Who's that Blogger Reveal & Winners!!!


I have labeled the childhood photos with the matching blogs for you all to peek at!! Because of the volume of entries, winners will be notified throughout the weekend. I appreciate your patience as we send out emails and prizes.

Click on each image to see the photo



Winner of the $125 Amazon Gift Card!!!
CONGRATULATIONS to
MEAGAN RAVEY
You will receive an email notification and once your email has been confirmed, I will send you the Amazon gift card!!

Thank you so very much for playing!!

I also wanted to quickly mention an awesome giveaway going on! Check out this giveaway to win a Silhouette Portrait!
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Who's That Blogger?!?



Welcome Everyone!!

         Are you ready to have some fun??
        
                                              ....Play a game?
           
                                                              .....Win  prizes and cash?

I have teamed up with 65 AMAZING blogger buddies to put together the ultimate Back to School Linky/Giveaway!!!

Each one of my blogger buddies submitted a cute childhood photo & generously donated something special from their online TpT shops for this occasion!! We have included a fun game for you to play for a chance to win over $300.00 in prizes and a BONUS  CASH-PRIZE raffle you can enter at the end of this post!! 


CHA-CHING!!


The game is easy to play....

 Your job will be to try and match each blogger with their childhood photo!!! With over 60 childhood photos and bloggers to match up, this might get tricky!! As I mentioned above, each blogger has generously donated one awesome prize from their TpT store. Successfully match a blogger and childhood photo, and you win the prize offered from that blogger!!! The more you matches you make, the more prizes you win!!! 

Check out some of the prizes you could win!!!

but Wait....
That's not all....

ONE lucky follower will win a $125 Amazon Gift Card!! Scroll to the bottom & follow the directions in the Rafflecopter for a chance to win $$$


The link below will open a form that will allow you to submit your answers for the match up. 

Use the blogger links and numbered images to help you along the way!! Each childhood photo has been assigned a specific number. 

Once you open the form, use the drop-down menu beneath each blog button and select a number that corresponds to a childhood photo. 

The form results will be collected throughout the week. At the end of the week, each submission will be "graded" and you will receive a prize for each blogger and photo you successfully matched up!!

The game closes on Friday, August 23rd at midnight (Arizona Mountain Time). Answers will be announced on Saturday, August 24th. Winners will be notified through email throughout the week. 

Use the blog links below the photos to search for clues!!
Click HERE to Play the Matching Game!!





AWE!!! PuFfy HeArT SWEETNESS!!!












Follow the directions in the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $125 Amazon gift card!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for participating!!! Good Luck!!!

If you would like to post about this linky/giveaway, grab the special image below to display in your post and link up below!!! Make sure to use the link to the actual post,,,

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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Pencil Sharpener Winner!


Greetings!!
I am so excited that the TpT Back to School sale has finally arrived!
My entire shop will be 20% off! Plus, use the code BTS13 for an extra 8% off! That's a 28% saving! Wow! My wishlist is ready to go... is yours?
 
Don't forget to leave feedback for all of your previous purchases tonight so that you get those awesome TpT credits!
 
 
I am amazed that I had over 1,000 entries for the pencil sharpener! I wish I could give one to everyone!
 
But, one lucky winner IS going to get one...drum roll please...
 
 
 I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!





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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The Announcement You've All Been Waiting For!

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!
 
Friends, I am so happy that today has arrived because it means I can finally announce some AWESOME news!!!
 
Some A.MAZ.ING bloggers have all teamed up to start a brand new COLLABORATIVE BLOG specifically focused on 1st and 2nd grade!!!
 
It is called The Primary Chalkboard!
 
I am so honored to be part of this amazing blog full of wonderfully talented ladies!
 
Our very first post is NOW LIVE and we are starting with some awesome goodies that you don't want to miss!!
 
First up, you will find TWENTY Back to School Tips to help you have a smooth new school year! 
 
Next up, a FREE eBook full of goodies that are READY TO PRINT!!!
 
And last, but certainly not least, we are hosting a giveaway to get things started!
Prizes include:
Erin Condren Giftcard
TpT Giftcard
A 1st or 2nd Grade Product Bundle
 
Ok, time to head over and grab all those goodies and enter to win!
 
Click on any of the pictures in this post or on the button below to head on over to
And don't forget to tell your friends!
                                                       
 
                                        
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Monday, August 12, 2013

Teacher Week '13 - Meet the Teacher

Hi y'all!
 
I'm excited for this awesome linky hosted by Blog Hoppin' because I wasn't a blogger last year when they had it! So this is my first year to participate!
 
So, today is all about Meeting the Teacher... well, whaddya know?!? That's ME! :)
 
I have mentioned things about myself here and there... so I'm just going to recap all in one place for ya!
 
Let's see...let's do 7 fun facts about me! I'm choosing 7 because it's my favorite number!
 
1. I grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas! I lived on 190 acres in the country at one point! And let me tell you, I'm definitely a city girl at heart! Now, I love horses and I love riding horses. I also love the occasional 4-wheeler ridin' but I belong in the city because I love being able to do all kinds of things and places being open past 8 o'clock at night!
 
While I was in high school, I was part of the colorguard team and really enjoyed it! My friends and I had a blast!!!
 
2. My family and I moved to Orlando, FL after my sophomore year of high school. While I was in high school, I worked part-time as a character performer at Walt Disney World! I'm a huge Disney fan so it was an AWESOME experience!!!
 Check me out in some of my costumes!
 
3. After graduating high school in May 2004, I started attending the University of Central Florida where I earned my degree in Elementary Education!
 
While I was in college, I had several jobs! I worked at the on-campus health center in the medical records dept. It wasn't very exciting but it helped pay my bills!
 
On the more exciting side, I worked for Universal Studios as a performer! I was a scare-actor for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights in 2006 and I was a performer in the Macy's parade at Universal in 2005 and 2007. I miss the days of performing at these events!!! I also worked for Sea World's education department one summer. I was the person who went around to all of the animal exhibits and gave "spiels" over the microphone all about animal facts!
 Here I am in some of my Universal costumes!
 
4. The Hubby and I
 
Speaking of Universal and performing, that's actually how I met my husband! We were both performers in the Macy's parade in December of 2007! We met and hit it off almost instantly! We were an official "couple" as of January 2008! :)
 
 
 We got married on April 10th, 2009!
 
5. In October of 2009, I found out that we were going to have a baby! And on July 22, 2010, our sweet, beautiful daughter Arielle joined us in this world! She is the most precious gift God could ever have blessed us with and we love her sooooo much! She just turned 3 and it has been so wonderful watching her grow up!!
 
6. Let's talk a little about my teaching experience...I did two student internships as part of my college program. Both were in Kindergarten classes! I then taught Pre-K in Georgia my first year out of college! It was an AMAZING experience and I loved everyone I worked with! And the kids were sooooo sweet!!! I then moved back to Florida. Upon coming back to Florida, I joined a wonderful school in Lake County where I started teaching 3rd grade. I came in during March of the '09-'10 school year and I worked with some students from all of the 3rd grade classrooms. It was fun, but I'm definitely a "have my own classroom" kinda gal! For the upcoming school year, I got a very last minute phone call to return to the same school and teach 3rd grade again, this time in my very own classroom! I was also returning from maternity leave! It was a stressful year, but it was also a fabulous one! For the next year, I was asked to move down to 1st grade which is where I have been the last 2 years. I love, love, love those sweet firsties!
 
However, I have just moved  home to my home state of TX and will be teaching 2nd grade reading in a team teaching scenario! I am sooooo excited to teach 2nd grade! It's always been that one grade I wanted to teach because I think I will really love it! We shall see! I'm excited and nervous for this upcoming year!
 
7. And for this last fact about me, I'm going to tell you that I'm addicted to cruises!!! I just LOVE them! Anytime I get a chance to take a vacay, it's always a cruise! I have been on 18 so far!
 
Well, thanks for sticking with me! I hope you have a better sense of who is behind the computer screen now!
 
Also, if you haven't had a chance to enter my pencil sharpener giveaway yet, click here to enter!
 

                              
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Friday, August 9, 2013

Pencil Sharpener Giveaway {& a freebie}

Hi guys!
 
I am right in the middle of the craziness that ensues when you are getting your room ready for a new year! It's even harder with a new room, at a new school, in a new state, teaching a new grade level! I'm sure many of you are in the same boat!
 
Anyways, I'm keeping this post short!
 
Those of you that have been followers for a while most likely saw my pencil sharpener review post a couple weeks ago. If not, you can check it out here.
 
And guess what?!? NOW I get the chance to give ONE pencil sharpener away to a very lucky winner... just in time for a brand new school year!! Yayyy!!! I can't wait to spread the joy that is this pencil sharpener!!!
 
Just a few things before you enter. Unfortunately, this giveaway is not open to international residents. You must have a US shipping address! Also, if you are the winner, you must be comfortable with sending me your name, mailing address, email address and pencil sharpener color choice! If you aren't comfortable sharing that information with me, please don't enter as I will need that information to get the sharpener shipped to you! :)
 
Lastly, I WILL be verifying the entries from the Rafflecopter below. If you are entering, please make sure you are doing what's asked. Thanks so much!
 
Good luck to everyone! Please enter using the Rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Annnd I'm sure you're wondering where that freebie is that I mentioned in the title! Well, I have added it as a FAN FREEBIE over on Facebook! Click the picture below to head over and grab it up! :)


                                
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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

IT. IS. HERE. {And you don't want to miss it!}

I am SO SUPER EXCITED to be posting today!
 
Not only is it my first official post from my new home in Texas...
 I have something AWE to the SOME to share with you!!!
 
It's the 2013-2014 Teacher Smart Back to School Emagazine.. and it's FREE!!!
 
Some fabulous bloggers have contributed to this Emagazine to give you their TOP 3 MUST HAVE items for the new school year!
The Emagazine has been assembled and published by April from A Modern Teacher and Melanie from Schoolgirl Style! So a HUGE thanks to them!
 
So, without further adieu, here it is!
Remember, if you see an item you like, CLICK ON IT! Each item displayed is linked to a place where you can purchase it! Also, don't forget to click on all of the blogger's buttons to head to their blog and follow them for even more fabulous ideas!
     
If you enjoyed this Emagazine, please consider pinning this post so that others can enjoy it too! :)
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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Let's Get to know Ya! Guest Blog Post from the Applicious Teacher

Hey Guys! I am Leigh from The Applicious Teacher 


 I am hosting today's post while Daina settles into her new home in the Big T!

Today, I wanted to talk about getting to know your students.

I mean really KNOWING your students.

Not just their grades or who their parents are, but their likes and dislikes,  their academic strengths/weakness and their backgrounds.

Like in this video from SoulPancake
Do you take the time to really understand your students as little people?

You should! Research shows the more you know about a person, the better you can connect with them.


As a teacher, connecting with your students can help to build trusting and respectful  relationship. That ultimately leads to positive interactions and increased learning opportunities as students learn they can ask questions, make mistakes, and celebrate their achievements in a safe environment.

Now, I am not suggesting you set up a ball pit in the middle of your classroom (although that would be TOTALLY AWESOME!) But there are some subtler ways to connect and understand your students.

Student Information Sheets 

One of the easiest ways to get to know your students is to have them fill out an information sheet. I have parents fill one out at the "Meet the Teacher". Then I have students fill one out on the first day of school. I love using this FREE one from Katie Jones.

"Getting to Know You" Games

We all spend the first weeks of school playing the "Getting to Know You" games to help build a classroom community, but do you pay attention or *GASP* actually participate in the fun!?


One of my favorites is the simple, yet effective "Name Game". I always play this on the first day of school.  It is SUPER easy and requires absolutely NO PREP! Here's how to play:

Have students sit in a circle.

Then have students think of an adjective that describes them, but also begins with the letter of their first name. My favorite: Lovely Langton.

Starting with the teacher, move around the circle stating the name alliteration and the person before you's name. The kiddos LOVE playing this and it helps YOU learn their names pretty fast! For a challenge, you can have students reintroduce ALL the previous student's alliterations.

Student Annotated Notebook

When I first started teaching, I struggled with keeping track of the"little" information I would pick up through-out the year on my students. As I was complaining  sharing with a fellow veteran teacher about it while I filled out some IEP paperwork, he suggested I keep an annotated notebook on my students. GENIUS!



To set up the notebook, just assign each student a few pages. 

As you go through the year, use the pages to write down the "little things" that happen through-out the year. I also like to date things (had lunch detention or fell on playground on such and such date)

 I find my self reaching for this little notebook every time I am preparing for a Parent Conference     (their child's art was on display in the office!) 

and when I need to fill out PST or IEP paperwork (they are great with "hands on learning" but struggle to apply the same concept in the abstract)

Those are just a *few* ways you can "get to know" your students better. 

Thank you Daina for entrusting me with your glittery blog! 

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