"When I Was..." Linky Party

So I've been home sick today so I have nothing classroom related to share, but when I saw this fun linky from

 

I knew I had to link up!  It's "When I Was In..."  Linky Party. We are all linking up with pictures from the grade we teach.  Aka, a walk down memory lane.

So I went searching through my mom's photos and found my school photos from elementary school.  It took forever to find mine from third grade and I found some along the way I wanted to share too! (Oh and my scanner was being so mean, so I just took pictures of them with my phone!)

The summer before Kindergarten in my dance costume. 

Kindergarten 1991

First Grade. 1992 Do you want to know how I knew I was in First Grade, Check the Button.)

 

Ross Perot Baby!!  Apparently picture day was election day too. 

Second Grade. 1993

Third Grade. 1994

Gotta love that Western look.  I live in NC by the way. 

That's as far as I'm going because it's scary in fourth grade.

Was I not the tallest child ever? I was looking at pictures and I could not believe how much older I looked as a child. 

Just so you can remember how I look now...

Here I am with my very tall boyfriend.  I'm 5'8" and he is 6'5".  He was also very tall as a child.  Like 5' in 3rd grade tall. We may have the tallest children known to man.  Maybe they'll make us rich as basketball players. 

I can't wait to see everyone else's pictures from when they are young.  I think it's so much fun!

My Cyber Deals

Did you guys love the Cyber Monday Sales?? I sure did.  My wallet may not, but I love shopping.  Especially when it's from my comfy chair and in my PJs!  I'm not going to lie I shopped 4 different times over the two days.  I kept taking things out of my cart and then adding them back!  I bought lots and lots of clipart, plus lots of fun things for my classroom! So, when I saw Stephanie at Falling Into First was having this fun linky, I had to link up!

 Here are some of my fun finds!
You can click on each picture to take you to the store so you can add to your wishlist if you just have to have it for your classroom like I did.

My students love task cards.  I love task cards.  There are so many ways you can use them in your classroom, they are so much better than just having a boring old worksheet!  I usually make my own math task cards to teach exactly what I need, but I heart Rachel's reading task cards.  They are awesome.  (To be honest, these weren't even all the cards I bought from Rachel!)

I bought Jenn's Comprehension Question Fans on Monday and after I saw them, I had to have her Story Element Fans! I can't wait to get them ready to use in my room!

These are from one of my bloggy BFF's!  Elizabeth is a math guru and I really wanted her multiplication and division lapbooks! With our new curriculum we don't start multiplication and division until after Christmas and I can't wait to use these!

I have struggled with writing plans this year, because this is really the first year I have taught writing workshop. So I am currently in love with Jen's Units!  She is saving me!  She has lots of units and they are Common Core aligned. 

Can you sense a theme here?  I'm really focusing on literacy this year because this is where the kids in our school have been struggling.  The POV Unit is from Nicole Shelby.  I adore all of her stuff!  The Inference Detectives Unit is from Amanda Nickerson, another one of my blog crushes.  I also bought Julie & Krista's Reading Olympian Program. I am so excited to start it with my kiddos.  

There were so many cute holiday things to buy, but I kept myself at bay because I know I won't have a lot of time.  A big focus in SS is understanding other cultures, so I am definitely doing a Christmas Around the World Unit.  So I bought Christina's Powerpoints & Flippy Books, as well as SunnyDay's Hannukah Pack.  

I can't wait to use all of these in my classroom!  There was a lot more I wanted to buy but I'm just going to save it for later.  Oh and in case you missed out on anything from my store, I'm extending my sale until Friday!   If you are anything like me, I'm sure I missed something! :)

I've been sick all week, just a mean old cold, and I finally accepted the fact that I need a day to rest so tomorrow is a sick day for me.   I plan on resting, catching some daytime TV and printing out some of my purchases! 

Have a great Thursday friends!

Foldable Love & a Freebie!

Today sure was a long Monday!  Not to mention I'm getting sick.  Yuck!

Thank you for all your sweet comments yesterday!  I had my boyfriend choose 4 random numbers between 1-24.  He picked 3, 8, 22, and 24!  So I've sent an email to those ladies.

So I was looking through my phone pictures and I found some fun Foldable pictures I haven't shared yet.  I love implementing foldables during my lessons (as if you didn't already know).  It's so easy to use foldables in your classroom.  If you can use a graphic organizer with your lesson, you can change things up with a foldable!

First up, an easy math one.  We were reviewing the different properties of addition (Zero, Associative and Commutative).  So we just folded a paper hot-dog style.  Then cut the front flap into three sections.

Then they wrote a description of each property and some examples.  

Easy, right?  

Now, on to some social studies.  We were studying the different types of communities (rural, suburban and urban).  I created this foldable ahead of time, since I needed to staple it.  I cut 8 1/2 by 11 papers in half, long ways. Then I took two of the papers and stacked them on top of the other, so that the bottom paper was about two inches lower than the top paper.  Then, fold the papers in half and staple at the top. 

Then they wrote what a community was on the back of the top flap.  Then, instead of writing, I just had them draw what each type of community looks like.  They had so much fun!

One last Social Studies Foldable, then a freebie!  We were talking about different holidays and celebrations in the US.  So we created a petal book foldable.  

On the front flaps, they just wrote the name of the different U.S. Holidays (i.e. MLK Day, President's Day, Constitution Day, etc)

Then on the inside, they wrote when and why we celebrate the holiday.

They loved this foldable because it was so different!  You can grab the template for the foldable for free here!  I'd love to hear any ideas you have for using the petal book! :)

If you're interested in the whole set of foldables, you can check it out here!

Oh, if you noticed, we usually glue our foldables into our notebooks.  I haven't started doing true Interactive Student Notebooks, maybe one day!  I know they're great but I just don't know enough about them, so we are starting small.  So I usually just have my kiddos write a paragraph about something related to our lesson. For example, with the communities lesson they had to write what type of community they lived in and describe how they know.   It gets the kids writing, so that's definitely good enough for me! ISNs are definitely on my list.  

Don't forget, the big TPT sale has one more day!

Everything at my store is 28% off as long as you enter "cmt12"  at checkout!  

Have a great Tuesday!

New Products, Giveaway and a Wishlist!

It's almost here!

I am so excited!  I have so many things I want to buy, so I'm glad that there is a sale, because I'd rather not be broke!

I've been a busy little bee over Thanksgiving break and I finished up some products I've been working on.

First up, some Christmas themes Common Core Math Centers

Then some Literacy Centers to match!  

If you want both, you can buy the bundle and save $2!  

I have a brand new lapbook that my kids loved!  It just took me a while to get it ready for you guys!  It's a States of Matter Lapbook.  My kids LOVED it! It includes 8 foldables and reading selections!

I also updated my Economy 101 Lapbook.  It now includes 8 Reading Selections to use during your unit too!  If you have already purchased it, please redownload!

I'll give away one of each.  Leave a comment and tell me if you would rather have the Math Centers, Literacy Centers, Matter Lapbook or Economy Lapbook.  I'll choose one person to receive each one! Be sure to leave your email! :)

Sorry for all the shameless plugs.  No worries though, because there is a ton I'm planning on buying too!  I'm linking up with Shuna to share some of the things I'm planning on buying!  

This is only the beginning.  I'm a little scared as to how much I'm going to end up buying! I'm a little overwhelmed right now by everything that I want!  

What are you planning on buying?

Wowee! Time to Shop!

I am fully enjoying the beginning of my Thanksgiving Break!  I am drinking some coffee, working on some new items for TPT  and watching the History Channel.  Man, I sound like a complete dork.  Anyway... I am so excited to announce the BIG  I am so excited to be participating in the Cyber Monday & Tuesday Sale!  I started selling in January so I missed out on it last time!  Here are a few of the items you can get this weekend at my shops!

Those are just a few of my faves!  There are a lot more.  I have a few others I'm working on and hopefully they'll be done so you can grab them during the sale! 

Everything at Teachers Pay Teachers will be 20% off, as well as an extra 10% with the  CMT12 code! The sale is next Monday and Tuesday! My Teacher's Notebook shop sale will be Saturday-Monday and everything will be 20% off as well, and a 10% discount will automatically be added to your cart.  

Thank you so much to Michelle at

for hosting this big linky party!  Definitely go and check out all of the stores that will be participating in the sale.  I am already filling up my cart so I'll be ready to go on Monday!  Click on the links below to see who else is throwing a sale!
Happy Shopping!!!