Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Peacock Themed Classroom Decor

Hey yall! Happy hump day!
 
Before I introduce my fabulous new classroom decor set, I want to give myself a little pat on the back.
 
I've been working through the Couch to 5K program for the last couple months. It's been challenging, because I am so NOT a runner. It's supposed to be a 9 week program, yet it has taken me almost 12 weeks to get Week 6. I didn't always (okay, almost never) run the 3 days a week, usually only about 1-2 days. I also repeated weeks 3, 4, and 5 at least once.
 
But I never gave up, which would have been par for the course for me. When it comes to exercise, I usually keep up with it for a bit, but then get lazy. This time....I stuck with it! And now I'm super proud of myself, because tonight I ran for 20 minutes straight.
 
That is HUGE for me, people!
 
Just the run I needed to keep me pumped to finish out the next few weeks :)
 
Okay, okay, enough about that....on to my most favorite pack EVER!
 
Behold.....the beauty of peacocks!!!
 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Peacock-Themed-Classroom-Set-EDITABLE-1228267

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Peacock-Themed-Classroom-Set-EDITABLE-1228267

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Peacock-Themed-Classroom-Set-EDITABLE-1228267
 
Between the stunning colors, the gorgeous peacocks, and the beautiful patterns, I don't know which part I like best!
 
 I'm thinking it's time to retire the owls, yall.....seriously.
 
You can snag this pack here or by clicking the pictures above.
 
Want a chance to win a copy? Head on over to my Facebook page!


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Another Day in 1st Grade

Hey yall!
 
The year is winding down yall.
Only 23 days left...eek!

We are in full force finish-out-first-grade mode, so I thought I would pop in and share some of what we've been up to these past couple weeks!
 
We wrote clown stories and made these adorable clowns for our study of diphthong ow/ou.
 
 
 
For our study on economics, we made these goods and services flapbooks.
 
 
On the inside, they wrote whether each job provided goods or services.
 
We also wrote about what we want to be when we grow up and whether that job provides goods or services.
 
 
 
In science, we've been learning all about sound!
After learning about pitch, we composed and played songs on glass bottles filled with water.
 
 
Since today was Earth Day, we wrote all about how to keep our Earth clean.
 
You can pick up this little craftivity here.
Then we put our words into action and cleaned up the playground!
 
 
The next few weeks are going to fly by, I'm sure, so forgive me if I'm a little scarce!
Time to put the petal to the metal, yall!


Saturday, April 12, 2014

Save the Trees! {a bright idea}

Hey yall!
 
I am currently immensely enjoying my Spring Break.
 
After we get back from our glorious break, we only have 28 days of school left!
Seriously?!?! 28???
The end of the year will be here in a flash.
 
As we get closer to the end of the year, supplies seem to dwindle.
We're down to our last box of pencils, we've been out of lined paper for weeks, and you can forget about glue sticks....not even one in sight.
 
Another thing I'm almost out of? Printer paper.
Each teacher got a ream of paper at the beginning of the year and I'm down to my very last pack.
 
As if running low on paper isn't enough, the copy nazi printer police office has laid down the law.
Only 200 copies can be made for the entire 9 weeks and all copies must first be approved.
 
Yikes.
 
So what's a teacher to do???
 
I had to find a bright idea, yall!

 
 
Hopefully, my bright ideas will be helpful for yall, too!
 
 
 
It seems that center and station activities require a ton of paper. Each one includes a recording sheet for students to record their work. However, there is no way I can print off a recording sheet for every single student for every single center.
Just not gonna happen.
 
So instead of printing off a recording sheet for every student, I only print off 5.
Laminate those suckers and throw a few dry erase markers in and you're done.




My favorite way to say paper is by printing multiple copies of a sheet.
This saves you at least half the amount of paper! Even more, if you print 4 to a sheet.

Here's how you print multiple copies:
1. Choose the page that you want to make smaller copies of. Say I want to make copies of this place value center recording sheet. Go to that page and take note of the page number (in this case, page 12).


2. When you go to print, choose the page number that you want to make smaller. Type in the page number twice, with a comma in between.


3. Click on the button that says "Multiple." Change the amount to whatever you wish-I usually make it 2 pages per sheet. Be sure to click the button at the bottom that says "Auto-rotate pages within each sheet."

 
That's it! Click print and you're done.
 
Note: if you are trying to print off a document that has only 1 page, it won't allow you to type in the page numbers to print. Unfortunately, this prevents you from printing multiple pages :(
 
 
Now, I know these are super simple tips, but for some reason it took me until this year to utilize them! They honestly have saved me a ton of paper, though :)

For more bright ideas, check out these amazing bloggers below!

 


Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Sharpie Love {A Review}

Hey yall!
 
Last summer, I was doing a little back-to-school shopping when I came upon this aisle at my local store.
 
 
Yes, that's right....I snapped a picture of the Sharpie aisle. Because what teacher can resist the Sharpie aisle???
 
Well, a teacher on a budget, for one!
 
So when Shoplet.com contacted me and asked if I wanted to review some fun-colored Sharpies, how could I resist??? I already had a love for all things Sharpie and bright colors are definitely my thang :)
 
They sent me these beautiful neon-colored Sharpies.
 
 
How can I resist neon, yall???
These colors match my classroom perfectly, so they've been getting lots of great use!
 
They also sent me these fun metallic ones and this awesome Sharpie pen!
 
The gold metallic Sharpie was absolutely perfect for a gift I had recently purchased for my momma.
We all had fun writing our names in such a glamorous color and they looked awesome!
 
 
 
The names really popped out and have such a pretty shimmer to them.
My mom definitely loved her gift!
 
Have you ever written with a Sharpie pen before? I had owned a few in the past, and I've always loved them. But this little baby quickly became my favorite pen and nestled right in to its new home in my teacher planner :)
 
 
 
What I love about this pen is that it writes so smoothly and doesn't bleed through...score!
I may have doodled quite a bit with it... :)
 
 
Another cool thing about these fun Sharpie products?
They are way cheaper over at Shoplet.com!
So head on over now and getcha some :)

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Currently April


Hey yall!
 
Can you believe its already April?
I mean.....REALLY?!?!
 
I haven't linked up with Farley in a hot minute, but since I've been totally slacking about taking pictures lately, I figured now was a good time!
 
 
1. Mark Wahlburg. Enough said.
 
 
2. Three more days, yall! Three!!! I am in desperate need of a break, especially one where I get to visit with my big sis and family! Kentucky, here I come!!!
 
3. Even though I'm trying to resist those fudgy looking brownies sitting on the counter, I'm pretty sure I'll be enjoying those suckers with some ice cream soon. If only to forget how much pain I'm in...
 
4. Does anybody else get the incessant need to shop? I mean, it doesn't matter what I buy, I just feel the need to buy something...anything! But I'm resisting the temptation, so I can save as much money as I can for my trip :)
 
 
5. Yes, the previously mentioned pain is in my back and butt. What happened, you ask?
Well, apparently I forgot how to walk down a set of stairs. No, now I enjoy tumbling down them instead...much more efficient.
 
 
6. We are officially on the end-of-year countdown, yall. Only 26 days to go! The kiddos last day of school is on May 23rd and the teachers is on May 28th. So thankful we were pardoned for all the snow days we had, because I am not down with school in June.
 
Hop on over to Farley and check out her Currently!