Solar System--so much excitement

Hi bloggy friends! I hope your Monday was grrrrrreat (in my 
Tony the Tiger voice)!! :) 
We study Space/Solar System for two weeks (while finishing all the Winter stuff I wanted to do that I haven't gotten to yet). There are not enough hours in a school day to get all the amazing stuff done that I'd like to do with my kiddos. It's funny, I find there are never enough hours in a day to get everything done in any area 

of my life. I know I'm not the only one who has that problem. 

I decided I would put a Solar System Unit together to use over the next two weeks. It is full of stuff my students love doing. We filled out the KWL chart this morning. Being first graders, there wasn't much my kids already know about the Solar System. If only I had my camera out when I told them I wanted them to write something they knew. I got the "huh??" look from most of them. It was quite funny. Then I mentioned the word planets. I had a couple who knew a thing or two then. One of my kiddos wrote that she knows the planets spin. I was proud of that. 
Then, on the W of the KWL, a couple wrote they want to know how many planets there are.  Some want to know more about specific planets. I have to be honest, I'm glad they don't know too much. That means I get to teach them more. They will be able to fill out the L of the KWL with several facts. 
This afternoon, we started talking more about what the Solar System is made up of. I gave a quick overview of what we would be learning. Then we discussed the sun and moon. I showed pictures of the moon and Neil Armstrong on the moon. They thought the craters were gross, but they thought going to the moon would be awesome. I also showed pictures of space suits, and we talked about how astronauts are not able to go to the moon without a suit because it's so cold and there isn't enough air. Gravity and floating in air was also brought up. They were just amazed by it all. My little ones were sooo very excited to be learning something new. Something fun. They love the word "Science". I think it makes them feel like the big kids. Their excitement about learning makes me even more excited to be teaching them. 

Click TpT or TN to check it out. 

TpT             TN

Sorry for the long post. I got a little carried away. :)

Have a marvelous week!!

A Teacher's Life BUSY BUSY BUSY

If you watch Duck Dynasty, them you've heard the saying from Phil: Happy Happy Happy. I love that show.

Source 

                              This is more like how I feel...

Frame from Krista Walden on TpT.
Font by Khrys Bosland of Keepin' It Kool In Kinderland

Yep...that about sums it up. Always busy! :)

Frusteration with technology and we made it

UPDATED: Thanks to bloggy friends, I am back in business with my pictures! :)
Thanks Lisa from Growing Firsties and Khrys from Keepin' It Kool In Kinderland!

Why is Blogger not letting me upload pictures???? I've read several other blogs that have pictures. I couldn't upload them last night either....frusterating!

Anyway, we made it through our first two days back to school. It was three days for me, but who's counting? I was so sad to find out that one of my little loves was moving away. How can they let us have them for half of the year, and then take them away from us. She was such a sweet, hard-working little girl. I can only pray that she gets a loving and caring teacher at her new school. On the same day, I got a new student who came to our school, so I still have 17 little loves.

We had oodles of fun for two days. We don't have to teach a new story from our reading program on the short weeks, so we read The Mitten by Jan Brett.
 Click {here} to check it out on Teachers pay Teachers.
Click {here} to check it out on Teachers Notebook.

I like my anchor charts to be in shapes.

See...

On Friday afternoon, we did the little craft from my New Year Pack I put out there as a freebie. My kids loved being able to make the crafts the way they wanted. I heard..

"Mrs. Key, can I draw my hair?", "Mrs. Key, can I draw my body?" "Mrs. Key, can I put a bow in my hair?", Mrs. Key, can I draw some clothes?" My answer to every questions.."You sure can!"

It makes me smile to see my students being creative.

I left my metallic ribbon at home, so we had to compromise on the little party blowouts we made. I ended up cutting small strips of construction paper to let them glue. It wasn't what I originally wanted, but it worked. I think they turned out as cute as could be. I loaded pictures to post, but Blogger is not being nice to me this weekend.
Updated thanks to bloggy friends. :)
These are pictures that were finished.

Next week, we will be working on compound words. I know some of my kiddos are going to struggle with the skill, so I created three differentiated centers for them. After I printed them out and laminated them, I got my youngest, who is in first grade, to test all three centers out. She loved them! Success!! :)
Click {here} to check them out on Teachers pay Teachers.

Click {here} to check them out on Teachers Notebook.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Back to school and a freebie Linky

It is back to school for me tomorrow. It's a PD day, so I won't get to see my little loves until Thursday. I sure hope they all had a great Christmas break. You just never know...

I do feel (a little) bad that my own kids have to wake up so early. I always take them with me. Does your school allow you to bring your kids? I'm thankful mine does.

I'm linking up my Happy New Year Freebie with Teachingisagift. It's what we will use the two days when the kiddos come back to school.

 

You can click the picture to check it out.

 

I'm off now to prepare my alarm clock and my lunch.

Currently

This is my first time linking up with a Currently post.

 

 

Listening

My kids are 12 (almost 13..whooo), 8 (almost 9), and 7 (just turned).

One minute they are playing and laughing together. The next minute, they are arguing.

Gotta love it!

 

Loving

I feel like I am on the go all the time. I have had a few stay-in-my-jammies-all-day kind of days during the break. It has been soooooo nice. No hair doing, no make-up doing....

 

Thinking

Did you read the above statement? Hehe We go to bed when we want. We wake up when we want. I love my job, but I don't love waking up so early. One day, we will live closer, and I will be able to sleep later.

 

Wanting

I want a treadmill. My elliptical machine needs a parter to help collect dust. :)

I say that as I sit here eating a bag of popcorn and drinking sweet tea.

 

Needing

I need a haircut. Thankfully my appointment is on the 3rd after school.

 

OLW

I believe life is all about the choices we make. I haven't always made the best choices in my life, but that's one of the many things that makes me human. The best thing is that I've learned how to make better choices. Making a choice is probably the biggest character building area I teach my little first graders. They may not fully understand it now, but maybe one day they will remember me talking to them about it.

 

Happy New Year!

 

You can join the fun here.

Farewell 2012 Sale

Blogging and making things to sell are all still new to me. I started my little TpT store back in October. I never really thought my creations would sell. I was wrong. Things have sold. Amazing. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I'm up for the challenge (I think..hehe).

I have a new blogging buddy from Keepin' It Kool In Kinderland. Her creations look wonderful! Plus, she has several fonts in her TpT store. Get this...they're FREE! That makes me want to sing. Only I don't sound good, so I will spare your ears! :)

Anywho, I'm linking up with her to have a Farewell 2012 Sale. I just had a two day sale to celebrate my youngest daughter's birthday, but that's okay. Shop away!

 

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year 2013 Freebie

I have been enjoying the break. I've enjoyed it so much that I made a Happy New Year Freebie.

 

When we go back to school, we have two days to review. It seems like the perfect time to do some quick New Year Activities. I'm going to read Squirrel's New Year's Resolution. It is a really cute book!

Source

 I made a resolution definition page to help my little loves understand the meaning behind making a New Year's Resolution. After reading the book, we will talk about all of the different resolutions the animals make. Then, we will use the 2013 foldable that's included in the packet to make four of our very own simple resolutions.

*Note: The 2013 foldable is not my original idea. When I first started teaching, a friend of mine shared the idea with me. I'm not sure where she got the idea from.

Under each flap, we will write...

2-In 2013, I want to learn ______.

0-In 2013, I will ______ to be a good friend.

1- In 2013, I will exercise by _______.

3- In 2013, I will help my mom and/or dad by _______.  

 

After making the foldable, we will write about our resolutions on the writing page.

I will print the circles for faces and the triangles for hats.

My kids can draw their face in the circle and decorate their hat as they would like.

To make a streamer, we will fold and glue a piece of construction paper into a long tube shape. I will give them some wrapping paper ribbon to make the streamer part.

The writing page and the face, hat, and streamer will all be glued to a long sheet of construction paper. We will hang those in the hallway.

 

Click the picture to check it out!

 

 

 

My baby has a birthday!

My youngest daughter is another year older today. She is SEVEN! Where does the time go?!!

In honor of her birthday, I am throwing a 20% off sale in my little store.

 

All of these goodies would be great through the month of January.

Click on the pictures to check each one out.

 

Have a great day!

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Wrap Up the End of the Year Sale

I'm not usually a last minute shopper, but I can't seem to get everything together this year. I can't figure out how people keep up with teaching, blogging, TpT, their own children, and everyday life. Whoo! There are not enough hours in a day.

I sure hope I find some great sales when I try to finish Christmas shopping this weekend. For the last minute shoppers, I have decided to link up with First Grade and Fabulous and put my little TpT store on sale. I have a few fun things in there that will help me get through the rest of this week and next week.  

Good Night! :) 

Mrs. Leeby's 100 Follower Giveaway

I have entered to win a sweet giveaway! I'm excited. Great teaching products and a Starbucks gift card are being given away. Go enter!  

 

 

Liebster Award Nominations

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Don't forget about the TpT sale. There are a lot of great deals out there! Click on the picture to go to my little store.

 

 

I am feeling the bloggy love. I haven't been blogging long, but I can definitely tell there are people out there who care and who work hard. It is nice to get on the computer after a long day of inspiring a love of learning in little ones and seeing all the blog posts of others who have a passion for inspiring learners. It just warms my heart and keeps me inspired me! :)

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Learning With Mrs. Leeby and Teaching Snip-Its. What a blessing. Just a couple of months ago, I didn't know anything about these ladies. What an awesome feeling.

 

 

The Liebster Award is for new bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It is a way for others to find and follow new bloggers.

 

The rules:

- You must post 11 random things about yourself.

-Answer the questions the nominator set for you.

-Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

-Choose 11 blogs you love (with less than 200 followers), and link them in your post.

-No tag backs (but please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you)!

 

11 Things About Me

1. I do not like to cook, but I absolutely love to eat!

2. I must have coffee on my hour drive to work each day.

3. I am extremely cheap. I clip coupons for nearly everything I buy, and I don't buy anything unless it's on sale!

4. I can't carry a tune to save my life, but I love to sing. It's a good thing my first graders don't judge :)

5. Mountain Dew is my soda of choice.

6. I'm a little OCD (just a little or maybe a lot..haha)

7. I got my college degree after having my 3 children.

8. I love anything pink or zebra print.

9. I would rather read children's books than adult books.

10. I do not have any major talents like cooking, sewing, or playing instruments. Those talents just skipped right over me.

11. I could make a living out of shopping (cheaply of course).

 

11 questions asked by Learning With Mrs. Leeby.

1. Do you play an instrument?

No. I tried a clarinet once, but it didn't work out.
2. Where have you travelled?

I've only been to Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee.
3. What is your favorite thing to cook or your favorite recipe?

I do not like to cook. When I do, I like it to be something simple like spaghetti or some type of casserole.
4. How long have you been teaching?

This is my third year.
5. What's your zodiac sign?

I am a Leo.
6. Camping or hotel on a beautiful summer weekend?

Hotel
7. Most embarrasing blogging moment?

I'm still new, so I've probably made a ton of mistake.
8. Bath or shower?

Shower for sure! I don't feel clean after a bath.
9. Wine or beer?

Niether. Yuck!
10. Real or fake Christmas tree?

Fake
11. Is blogging taking over all of your free time?

I can't say it takes all of my free time, but it gets a lot of it. It's addicting.

 

11 questions asked by Teaching Snip-Its
1. Why did you want to be a teacher?

I always played teacher as a little girl. I think inspiring little minds is amazing! Teaching is so rewarding!
2. What is your favorite subject to teach?

Since incorporating Daily 5 this year, I'd have to say reading is my favorite.
3. What's your favorite thing to do on your days off?

I like being with my family. We stay up late together and sleep late together.
4. How does your grade level plan together?

We have a 45 minute planning period we use one day out of the week to all sit down together. We are known to talk after school, during our 20 minute lunch as we are all shoving our food down, during other activity times if we have a spare minute, and any other time we can fit in.
5. What is your favorite blog for inspiration?

I can not pick just one. There are so many out there that I follow and have followed for about a year before making my own.
6. What are you afraid of?

Everything. Haha..I'm a scaredy-cat.
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I tend to be very direct, and I sometimes say things in ways that I don't necessarily mean. I would definitely change that and be more tender-hearted. Sadly, I'm not as bad as I used to be. I'm working on it.
8. What is one teaching area you are working on improving this year?

I changed reading to incorporate Daily 5 this year. Now, I am trying to improve my math block.
9. What is your favorite vacation spot?

I love the beach!
10. How long do you spend getting ready for work in the morning?

On myself, maybe 45 minutes, but I fix my girls' hair also.
11. Do you pack a lunch or buy?

I almost always pack my lunch.

 

Questions I am asking:

1. Why did you become a teacher?
2. If you weren't a teacher, what profession would you have choosen?

3. How long have you been teaching?

4. What has been your favorite thing about blogging?

5. What is your favorite holiday?

6. If you had more time in a day, what would you do with that time?

7. If you had any amount of money, what would you buy for your clasroom?

8. What is your favorite food?

9. Where do you like to shop?

10. What is your favorite travel destination?

11. Do you have a favorite shoe to teach in?

 

Blogs I'm nominating:

1. Forehand's Phenomenal Firsties

2. Seriously in Third Grade

3. Mrs. Christy's Leaping Loopers

4. Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten

5. For the Love of First Grade

6. Rivers' Kindergarten Roundup

7. Little Miss Organized

8. Fun in K/1

9. Crazy About First

10. Tales of a First Grade Teacher

11. Special Teacher for Special Kids

 

What fun that was! Blogging has been such an adventure. I can't wait to see what's to come! Yay! When you answer the questions, please leave me a comment under this post with the link to your post, so I can go read your answers.

Enjoy your week back at school!

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



A sale!!

 

I'm going to be offering 20% off of everything in my little shop. When you check out, you will get another 10% off if you enter the code CMT12.

 

 

A sale is always exciting. Is it just me or does a sale make you think you HAVE to have something??!! I know I have my eyes on some things I want need.

 

 

I'm new to blogging and putting things on TpT and TN, but it sure has been fun. I've made a new little Polar Bear Facts pack. Check it out!

 

TpT                 TN

This little fella is included in the Polar Bear Facts Pack. I just think he is too cute, and he will be just right for my little first graders.

 

 

 

My Sweet Christmas Time pack is full of Christmas time fun.

TpT      TN

 

 

I'm way too excited to start using Winter Wonder.

 

TpT      TN

 

 

 

Don't forget there are some cute little freebies in both of my little shops as well.

 

TpT      TN

 

 

TpT       TN

 

 

Have a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!! I know I have a lot to be thankful for!

 

 

Worth a Million

I think it is important that teachers tell their students what they are worth. I found some Buttermint Cream candy that had $1,000,000 on it. You will never guess where I found them. You got it, the famous Dollar Tree! I've seen them in there before, but it gave me an idea today, so I made some cute little tags. I give my students a Christmas book each year, but this will be a cute addition to my gift to them. Only because they really are worth a million!

 

 

 

Download it for free!!

 

 

 

Winter Wonder

It's cold here in Alabama again. The cold really makes me feel like a hermit crab. It's ironic how hermit crabs make me think of the beach, but this is definitely not beach weather we are having. Anywho, I finished my Winter Wonder Unit. My sweet little first graders need extra practice with short and long vowels and nonsense words, so I can't wait to let them practice with these. My very own little first grader likes it. Maybe my school babies will, too. My favorite part is that I don't have to laminate anything. The sorting mats are in page protectors. So quick and easy! My kids do a good job of taking care of the things I put out for them, so I don't have to laminate the sorting cards. However, you can for durability if you prefer. Check it out to see all the goodies it includes.

 

TPT      TN
Click the links to check it out.
TPT-Teachers Pay Teachers
TN-Teachers Notebook

 

Don't forget that I also posted a Christmas Tree Family Project Freebie.

TPT  TN
Click the links to check it out.

I will give my Winter Wonder Unit to the first commenter who leaves their email address.
Enjoy your Saturday!





Inspiration and a couple of freebies

I love inspiration! I love it even more when I find it at the Dollar Tree!  

I was browsing the candy isle when I found these.

So, I bought them and made little baggies for my kiddos. All with the help of my own children. I was the nice mom who let them eat some of the candy! :)



Then, I was inspired to make this little graph to go with the candy.
Snag the FREEBIE on TPT or TN.

This could be the next Laura Numeroff book!

I've also been busy making a Christmas pack for my little loves to use. You can check that out on TPT or TN as well.

I even loaded a little Christmas Tree Family Project as a FREEBIE! TPT TN

I'm still working on my Winter Pack. Maybe I will have that completed by the weekend...maybe!

If you made it this far, I will give my Christmas Unit to the first commenter who leaves their email address! :)