Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas Lights 2013

Hello Friends!
I can't believe Christmas is really over... I absolutely
LOVE the holiday season!
When I was younger my mom and I would drive around
our little town with hot chocolate and caramel popcorn
to see all of the Christmas lights. My fiancé
and I have continued the tradition! This year
we ventured out of our neighborhood and headed to Arvada, CO.
Just as we were getting ready to head out for the night
we saw a house with beautiful Christmas lights highlighted on the news.
So, we quickly mapped out a new route and headed northwest!
 
Some of the pictures below do not do the houses justice, but
I wanted to share them anyhow because they were
so beautiful in person!
 B. E. A. utiful! I love how the lights outline every inch of this home.
 
I absolutely loved how these homeowners made snow ice from lights
and fluffy cotton in the front yard! 
 
These lights had a lot of movement! There was a
train that circled the entire house, a Ferris Wheel (to the left),
and a ski lift that lifted stuffed animal bears from the ground
to the roof of the house.
 
 These lights were set to music!
 
This was the house we saw on the news! This picture does
not do it justice, so we decided to take a video of the house as we drove past.
It was absolutely stunning!
 
Last, we got our dog Bentley a Candy Cane Bone for Christmas!
He wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first. Now we
have to take it away from him so he will go to bed!
 
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
 

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Parent Volunteer Gifts

Hello Friends!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
I apologize for being MIA recently. The month of December has to be
one of the busiest months of the school year for me.
Everyday it seems as if I cross one thing off of my to do list
and add three more!
Anyhow, I now have a few moments of free time to blog. I might add
that I am multi-tasking as I am blogging
while watching the Denver Bronco game!
 
Below are some pictures of the parent volunteer
gift I made for my wonderful and amazing
parents I have this year!
Do you notice how many baggies there are?!
I have LOTS of parent volunteers this year!  
{The Elf hat and Elf feet are from Krista Wallden... ADORABLE!}
 
Candy Cane Popcorn
Click Here for the recipe!
 
I typed the recipe and added a little color and a cute border.
Then I printed the recipe on cardstock paper and laminated it. I put the recipe
card along with a little baggie of the candy cane popcorn
in a decorative snowman or penguin gift bag
I got from Target.
Next, I attached a cute little "Thanks for "Popping" in!" tag.
{I saw this idea on Pinterest awhile ago, but I can't seem to find the original pin.}
Finally, I attached the tag to each baggie with fun holiday ribbon.
 

 to grab both freebies!
 
 
Winter Break is Here!
 
Enjoy!
 
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Sunday, December 8, 2013

Five for Friday {Linky Party} December 6th

Hello Friends!
 Hope you had a great Friday. This week absolutely flew by for me.
I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for the weekly Five for Friday.
1. Conference Week Survival Kit
This gift is from a teacher parent of mine! I think it is
ABSOLUTELY adorable!
I have the MOST amazing parents of my students this year!
My kindergarten families have been so supportive.
I have amazing parent volunteers, as well as, parents that
send little gifts to me on regular school days just to say Thank you!
I really appreciate the family involvement and support
my kindergarten students receive at home.


2. Scholastic Book Club
https://clubs2.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/LogonForm?fileName=teacher-toolbox
I love books and it just makes my day when the new
scholastic catalogs arrive!
I recently had a parent offer a gift for the classroom and I think
this simple gesture is so kind!
It makes me smile and the students LOVE reading new books!


3. Pentatonix: Little Drummer Boy
If you have any sort of social media I'm almost positive you have
already seen this video, but I love it so SO MUCH
that I had to share it with all of you!

Here is another great song maybe you haven't heard them sing yet!
Pentatonix - Royals (Lorde Cover)  

O.M.G. I am obsessed! ;)
We Are Young - Pentatonix (Fun Cover)


 4. Teachers Pay Teachers {Cyber Monday Sale}
Here is a shout out to Teachers Pay Teachers!
This past Monday was the annual Cyber Monday and Tuesday Sale.
I have some amazing followers that came out in huge support of my store.
To say thank you is not merely enough.
My life truly has changed since joining TpT. I know there are those haters
out there who simply don't understand it yet, but I hope
they too someday will understand the greatness behind the whole idea of TpT.
I bought my first product from TpT two years ago from the
Top Seller herself the inspirational Deanna Jump.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Autumn-Math-and-Literacy-Centers-155524
After purchasing this packet I was hooked!
A year later my full time teaching job was cut to part-time. We had
just recently purchased our first home
and I didn't know how we were going to
make ends meet with my small teaching salary now being cut in half.
It was then that I decided I needed to just TRY!
I became a premium seller and haven't looked back since.
This is the first FREEBIE I posted on Teachers Pay Teachers.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/WritingReading-Comprehension-Back-to-School-Bucket-Fillers-269912
This seems a bit silly to me now, but it does offer a variety!

This is my first paid product I posted on TpT.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/I-Need-My-Monster-WritingReading-Comprehension-280630
This packet has since been one of my top ten selling items.
How Teachers Pay Teachers has changed my life!
Not only has TpT provided me with financial security.
TeachersPayTeachers has...
1. Inspired me
2. Made me a BETTER Teacher
3. Challenged me to do more for the students in my classroom.
4. Given me a creative outlet
5. Allowed me to connect with teachers around the world.

I am so THANKFUL for Tpt!


5. Sorting Long Vowels
We are reviewing long vowels this week during our reading instruction.
Here is a LONG Aa Vowel Sort FREEBIE!


CLICK HERE to get this FREEBIE!

http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2013/12/five-for-friday-linky-party-december-6th.html

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Winter Writing and Phonetic Spelling

Hello Friends!
Yesterday we had a pretty good snow storm that
we woke up to. The kindergarteners
were CRAZY excited, so I decided to veer from the
lesson plan just a teeny, tiny little bit!
In writing we are really working hard on stretching words
and spelling words phonetically.
I gave the students a blank piece of white paper
and they could draw anything they
think of as a winter day!
The final step was the students needed to label their picture
by stretching the words slowly and writing
the sounds they hear.
 
Here are a few examples of the finished products!
I think they turned out pretty cute myself!
 
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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

TpT Winter Holiday Book and a FREEBIE!

The Teachers Pay Teachers Winter Holiday
Grades Pre-K and Kindergarten 
Tips and Freebies Book is here!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2103-Winter-Holidays-Tips-and-Freebies-Grades-PKK-Edition-1007993
Click HERE to grab up this goodie!
 
This packet is jammed pack with lots of winter tips
for the classroom, as well as, just as many FREEBIES!
 
Here is my freebie that is included in the packet.
My students love LOVE playing the
Spin, Read, Color! Sight Word Game
Click HERE to grab this FREEBIE!
 
Enjoy!


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Thanksgiving Birthday and Husker Football!

Hello Friends!
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

I spent it with may family in my very small hometown in Nebraska.
Yes, we are HUGE Husker fans! GO BIG RED!
This year my birthday landed on the big Husker game the day
after Thanksgiving. While the game turned out to be somewhat of  a
disaster.... YIKES! My family and I still managed
to have a great time celebrating with a
red and white Husker theme!

We were all decked out in Husker gear as well!
A teacher parent of mine got me a Husker cup
similar to the one below.
My fiance got me a Husker Hat!
This was not easy for him being that
he is a HUGE CU fan.
http://www.nebraskaredzone.com/products/husker-ski-hat
 
Now it's time for Christmas!
 Our Christmas Tree and decorations are up
and the Christmas music has begun!
Happy Holidays!
 
 
 
 
 Graphics by SPC
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Stef-Swanson/Category/Digital-Paper-Fonts
 
 Creative Clips
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Krista-Wallden