FREEBIES and GIVEAWAYS!!!!

It's the last few hours of my three week winter break. Oh I spent so much time in my classroom this weekend! And what's the first thing I did (after stuffing my face)? Perused Teachers Pay Teachers for freebies about our new unit starting tomorrow. Oh, did I not mention I am the President and Vice CEO of The Procrastinators Club? I would've been the CEO, but I waited too long to apply.

What I found was Uh. May. Zing.

There are SO many free things on TPT that I had yet to find! I've been so wrapped up in my mothering, and juicing, and creating, and mothering, and blogging, and mothering, and stressing, and potty training, and...well, you get the idea. I simply forgot that there are other things on TPT besides borders and clip art!

My absolute favorite find of the weekend was a "Weather Mini-Tool Kit" by Erin Palleschi.

In this tool kit, students tally the weather daily and then graph their results at the end of the week all on one sheet! There is a separate sheet for the weather person of the week. SUPER cute!

But the BEST part of the kit is a Weather Caterpillar! SO stinkin' cute! After downloading, I immediately went over to my cupboard and pulled out my stack of paper plates to create one of my own. 

Here he is!

He wraps all over the top and right side of my dry erase board. My kids are going to be surprised to see him tomorrow! Hopefully he'll take the sting out of Felf being gone?

Speaking of free...did you know that Jessica over at Covered in Glitter and Glue is have a giveaway to celebrate 100 followers? Click her button below to enter!

And if you haven't heard, Teacher's Notebook is having a pretty sweet giveaway too! They are going to be giving away your choice of an iPad mini, a Kindle Fire HD, or a Nook! You can enter once per day. 

My Sunrise & Sunset giveaway ends in a few hours, but I'll be posting a new giveaway soon (I like to have a giveaway for each new item in my TN store I post).

Whew! What a weekend! And what way to end my three week winter break! Happy Monday!

Notebook Tablet for the Teacher

I just received an e-mail for a promotion from Teacher's Notebook that I think is pretty sweet. You can enter to win an iPad mini, a Kindle Fire HD, or Nook HD! You can enter once per day and the sweepstakes ends on January 31st. I've already entered!

Felf the Elf on the Shelf

Here's what Felf the Elf on the Shelf has been up to while I was in a training today...

Can you see him? 

If not, I took a closer pic...

I also caught him hiding in the ocean diorama of one of my students. This sneaky elf really enjoys his job!

Be sure to check out Surfing to Success' HUGE Giveaway for reaching 200 followers!

Re-Inspired

I like going to trainings. Is it just natural for a teacher to want to learn? This week I'm in a three day training for our reading curriculum (Treasures). When I first heard I was going, I thought, "FINALLY! I've only been teaching this curriculum for four months now!"

When we would get something new at my last school, it was common to sift sort through everything and commiserate collaborate with your team about the "to do" list. It made life a lot easier. But at this school, that sort of time isn't scheduled into the daily schedule, so I was relying on my savvy "sort now, ask questions later" routine.

Although this training is meant for someone who has never even cracked open the spine of the teacher's manual, the trainer is well aware we're not total newbies, and she's doing a pretty good job of adjusting accordingly. I'm enjoying having the time to look at the website and see new and exciting tools to use in my classroom! I thought I'd share a few (in case you have Treasures, or just looking for new tools).

The first thing I have to warn you, is that I've clicked on my state (CA), so all the links are from there. Now that you have that info, you may want to start at the beginning with your state (click on the Treasures link above).

When you click on the tab for teachers, there is a link that says "Links for Professionals" if you scroll down. This is a great source of many nationally recognized sites for literacy. Most of the links work, I've noticed.

Under "Building Reading & Writing", there is a link called "Alphabet Songs". This has audio of alphabet songs in both English and Spanish.

On the left of the page "Teachers" tab, there is a sub tab labeled "Student Activities". The "Spelling and Vocabulary Activities" has online activities not only by grade level, but by the topic of study. VERY helpful! 

These resources are free and have re-inspired me. Now to find the time!

Speaking of free, make sure you check out Mercedes from Surfing to Success' HUGE Giveaway. It closes in 4 days. You can find my Christmas clip art along with 37 other freebies from other teachers! Several winners, so go check it out!

A HUGE Giveaway!!!

Whew! It's Saturday! FINALLY!

Anyone else feel like this past week has been one of the craziest yet? Between holiday program practice, birthday celebrations, a change in schedule, an elf appearing in my classroom, and rain all week, I feel like I've been picked up in a whirlwind and set down with a thump!

I changed my calendar yesterday after school. Sigh. Come Monday, I know that the Christmas excitement will take over and there's no turning back. Hopefully Felf will report back to me any upsetting news...I won't be there on Monday!!! *insert evil laugh here* 

 Hooray for curriculum training!

And hooray for giveaways! My friend Mercedes at Surfing To Success is have a HUGE giveaway to honor reaching 200 followers on her blog. That's quite an accomplishment, since she's only been blogging since the summer months!

She is offering quite a spread of freebies from her store and her followers (myself included)! I just counted and there are 38 different items to be won!!! Please stop by her blog and check it out!

Happy Cyber Monday!

In honor of avoiding long lines, traffic jams, grumpy cashiers, and a mental breakdown, Cyber Monday was created. This, in turn, created sneaky employees wanting deals, less productivity, grumpy bosses (who are also probably checking out deals too, but play the grump card so you don't interrupt their shopping), busy delivery drivers, increased sales, and happy consumers.

Yes, the holiday season has more than officially started. Don't worry though. I've done some research for you if you're looking for some great gifts online.

• Amazon.com always has great deals. If you haven't checked out their "Lightning Deals", then you are seriously missing out. It's like gambling and shopping all in one! 
• Looking for something a little bit kooky for your friend/relative who likes things the opposite of you? Shanalogic.com probably has the perfect gift. Last year, I found a ninja iPhone case for my sister. In years past, she received sushi earrings. They are all handmade, independent products. And well made I might add. Yeah, it's that cool! And yes, they have gift certificates too!

ninja necklace  $12.50

Toast Scarf $140

• Thinkgeek.com is one of my favorite sites for hilarious gifts for the techie in your life. My brother-in-law was the proud recipient of a photo lens coffee mug, while my sister received an office cubicle door bell ringer last year. If you love bacon, this is the place to be! 

Impress your students with these bandages! $4.99

Shhhh....don't tell your principal! $12.95

• Findgift.com has a great way to filter through gifts. You can search by category, or even by the recipient's relationship to you!

personalized shirts $19.99

grow your own tea & coffee kit $19.95

• And of course, you can find great deals on Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook. The sales are awesome! Get an extra 10% off on TOP of the sales price!
• And link up to my Technology Linky by clicking here!

Thanks for the Giveaway!*

Things I'm thankful for this year:

• My husband found a job after being unemployed for the past four months.
• My family is alive and well.
• We have a fireplace. This is both beautiful to sit in front of, but also helps keep the PG&E bill down.
• My son is still young enough to want to snuggle with me each night.
• Having a family who cares even when times are rough.
• Rain. We need it, even though it makes everyday life trickier.
• My car that is in working order (not perfect, but it runs).
• Night lights. They scare away monsters and allow me not to trip over our black cat.
• My cat. He makes snuggling in front of a fire even more cozy.
• My couch that has recliners (on each end) for my tired feet.
• Wonderful friends. They make me laugh, cry tears of joy, and bring a smile to my face no matter where in the country they live.
• My home. I fell in love with it the day we walked in. We've lived here for a little over a year and it feels like I've always lived here.
• My backyard. It has beautiful trees, a patio area, birds, and my son's toys that I love watching him play with.
• My husband. He cooks, he cleans, he helps raise our amazing son, makes me laugh every day, and is such a caring man. I LOVE that guy!

There is just so much to be thankful for, even when times are tough. This has been the most difficult year I've had in a loooooong time. It truly makes me appreciate the good times. 

*This Giveaway is currently closed

Holiday Shopping Secrets...shhhhhh!

Like most teachers (and mothers), I'm always looking for ways to save money. With Christmas right around the corner, I don't want to be caught unprepared. I also don't want to find myself standing in an eight hour line to purchase my groceries, no... the hottest toy umm...anything.

Last year I waited until Cyber Monday to do some shopping...that wasn't fun either. As you know, Cyber Monday falls on a...Monday. And having a tireless toddler means Mama didn't start her Cyber Monday shopping until after said toddler falls asleep. This in turn, means the Tuesday after was a no-fun-day at school for teacher (or students, I'm guessing).

Since I pretty much missed out on Halloween this year, I wasn't going to let Scrooge get me for Christmas. I asked my husband if we can decorate the tree extra early this year...like a few days before Thanksgiving. He actually said yes! I'm thinking it was the idea that he's going back to work soon and knows that having a toddler around makes everything trickier...or it could be the extra ice cream cone he had after dinner. Either way, I win.

Last night I was feeling pretty excited about having no school this week in honor of giving thanks, that the Christmas bug bit me pretty hard and wouldn't let go. How can I shop online to avoid stores, save money, and get all the presents before December even starts?

And then it hit me.

I checked my e-mail for any deals that might be happening this week. And sure enough....I had some Groupon invites. I also saw Amazon calling my name with it's "Gold Box" and "Lightning Deals". And even Living Social made its way across my screen. These are places that I rarely frequent, and after this epiphany, I'm wondering why?

I was able to buy a gift for my sister and her husband (to share), my brother (and 3 of his closest friends), my parents (to share), and my grandmother all for only $65! I am brilliant. I can make this holiday season stress-free and exciting! I was feeling so confident, that for an extra $8, I bought myself $16 at soap.com (one of my ALL TIME favorite sites). Tomorrow my mom will be watching my little man so my husband and I can head out to Walmart to scope out some deals for gifts from the "big guy".

So when you're feeling down about your shopping, start thinking outside the box to save money. Groupon and Living Social have experiences that usually are for two people, are local, saves the receiver space, and allows them to choose when to use it! It's a win-win-win-win situation!

 

In honor of saving money, Check out the cool free teacher stuff over at Classroom Freebies (I could spend hours on her blog)! The above clip art is yours free too!

Blog Hoppin'!

So this week I decided to start hopping around and check out what is going on in the teaching blog world. I can't believe how many different styles of blogs there are! I am amazed at the level of support everyone is giving each other! I also like the shout-outs that are as easy as adding a button to your own blog! I invite everyone who is visiting today to leave your blog link in the comments section below. I'd love to hop over to your blog and check it out!

One thing I kept seeing on several blogs was a cute "Currently" chart. I decided that this is something I want to participate in too!  Thanks to Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the Currently.



So here's my attempt at a "Currently":

And to top off this blog post. I just want to remind everyone that I'm running my first giveaway this week. Check it out here:

Here's the most delicious ice cream sandwich ever invented:

Two oatmeal cookis, vanilla ice cream between them, all dipped in chocolate. Oh so delicious!

Pretty Sweet Giveaways!

The Hands On Teacher is having a pretty sweet giveaway! Just thought I'd share!!! Here's her link:

I just came across another giveaway!
I've also decided to have my FIRST giveaway!!! I am giving away my Boxes Border 20 Pack (my number one seller on Teachers Notebook) to two lucky winners! Giveaway runs from Friday 9/7/12-9/15/12. Good luck!

Fairy Godmother Has Returned!

My Fairy Godmother returned! It was a shopping MIRACLE I tell you!

I worked retail for 6 1/2 years at an major office supply store and I have NEVER witnessed this retail miracle. Never.

NEVER!

As I was walking through the Martha Stewart Collection at Staples with a friend the other day, we came across a sale to beat all sales. There were coupons in the Martha Stewart Collection section for $2 off any of her labels. I found the cutest labels! And they were only $2. So...as I'm paying for my loot, I dug around in my coin purse to pay the $0.16 sales tax when the cashier hands me the receipt. I paid $0.00 for 36 adorable labels with a receipt to prove it!!! I have gone back the last three days in a row to do the same thing. I feel like I'm robbing them blind with my Martha addiction. So sad that they are only cheating themselves. I plan on going back for more labels.