Giveaway from Mrs. Tabb

From Mrs. Tabb at Another Day in First Grade! I betcha this will be ca-ute!! And fun!!

So I attended a week-long conference on inquiry or...project based learning. It was pretty cool. But anyway- we got to talking, and someone mentioned that their students were always obsessed with their shoes.  I got to thinking about it...and you know what? They totally are. I thought of those mornings when Anthony came in with his cheesy smile and just blinked at me until I finally shifted my line of vision to his crisp new tennis shoes- or when I turn the lights off and there seemed to be a disco ball in the room...oh, no- just Hannah's bedazzled, rhinestoned, glittered shoes that also light up because they weren't fabulous enough before. =)

Well, if you can't beat 'em...teach 'em.

I've turned our love of shoes into a fun mini unit that would be great for the first few weeks of school (because most of their shoes are NEW therefore NOT STINKY!) and the best part is that you don't need anything for this unit but shoes!

There's sorting, classifying, graphing, a SHOE CLUE mystery, and lots of fun activities about shoes!

Go Check it Out!!

Because I want to get lucky in Vegas, I'm going to give you some luck too...
I'm going to do this. It'll be free to anyone who blogs about this mini-unit. I don't have enough energy for another giveaway...so if  you want it, post it on your blog and tell your friends to snag the limited time freebie, and leave me a comment telling me you've blogged it WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so I can send it to you...for FREE!

This is limited though. I'm going to Vegas and I'll be back Monday. SO you have until Sunday (7/24) to do this giveaway homework. I will send out the units on Monday night!

Wish me luck in VEGAS!!!

Mold =[

So I am a little sad and upset tonight...I received word earlier today that our school has been overcome with mold. Alright, you got me, that us probably an exaggeration but seriously, at least 15 of our classrooms have mold and we are banned from school until it has been taken care of. Our state lawmakers decided to cut education funding by approximately 6% this year and in an effort to save money, our district, as well as many others I'm sure, decided to turn the AC off for the summer. I'm sure the heat and humid conditions were perfect for mold to thrive in. Hopefully they get it taken care of and it will not cause any health issues for any staff, students or parents that will be in school this year!
If you're a pray warrior like me, please remember our staff, school and district in your prayers as my school was not the only one affected. Hopefully everything will be taken care of and I will be uploading pictures and documents soon!!!

100th Day Celebration & Linky Party!

Teaching Blog Addict is celebrating being in the blogosphere for 100 days with a celebration/ Linky party about how classrooms celebrate the 100th day of school!

Well....without any pictures to share, :( here's how we celebrate in 1st grade at my school!

We all dress up like we would when we are 100 years old. We invite the kids to dress up, too! It's so stinkin' cute! I think this year I will bring in nursing home food. You know, jello, mashed potatoes, tic tac "pills", cranberry juice, etc. I can see that being super fun.
Then, we also draw our school picture of when we are 100 years old. These are CLASSIC!!! The kids then write about what they would do when they are 100. I should mention, we brainstorm a list of things first, such as, play rummy, play with my grandchildren, go fishing, wear dentures, etc. These stories are HILARIOUS! Usually the 100th day coincides with our parent/teacher/student conferences so I have them hanging in the hallway and parents love reading them!

There's what we do on the 100th day of school...what do YOU do??? [=

Soon...

Yay for 23 followers! Hooray!

I don't want you to think this is the most boring blog ever, so I wanted you to know I emailed our technology guru at school to see if he could set my computer up at school. I have all of these great pictures, stories and ideas to share with you and I can't figure it out on my iPad. So here's to hoping he'll save the day sometime this week so we can get this blog on the road!

And on a personal note, can I just share how excited I am to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary next weekend?! We are heading out west to the BEAUTIFUL Black Hills of South Dakots! I am running the Spearfish Canyon Half Marathon on Saturday and then my sweet hubby and I will enjoy a relaxing weekend of rock climbing, cave diving, four wheeling goodness and much more! I.cannot.wait!!!!

Sister Teachers Fabulous 50 Followers Giveaway!

I don't know if your familiar or not with these Sister Teachers, but they are GGGGGRRRRReeat!





They have helped me so much already and are oh so sweet. So, head on over and follow them! AND don't forget to enter their giveaway for TWO, yes, that's TWO! custom buttons!

For now, I'm off for a long run, hittin' up some garage sales and getting groceries! Have a Fabulous Friday!!!! [=

Button...HEeeELp!

You guys! I have a whoppin' 17 followers! I think it's time for me to get a button! How do I do that?! I know, I need a picture too...I'm working on that but all we have are iPads in our little, cozy house and I can't figure that out either!

So...does anyone want to help me with a button? How do I go about creating one of those lil' buggers? Any and all help would be appreciated! (I told my sweet hubby I needed a button and he said, "A button for what?". Bless his heart, that's why I love him!) [=

Linky Party: "Welcome Students" Letters/Notes

I don't for see this happening again, but 2 posts in 1 day for me....HOT DOG!!!!! (hot dogs, another favorite food of mine!)



I couldn't resist joining First Grade Frame of Mind's Linky party because this will be the first year I send out a letter to my new students! I'm getting picky about school supplies, so I thought I'd send this letter out the first week in August so that will hopefully give my families some time to get their supplies before Open House on Aug. 16th!

So, here is my first rough draft of my letter to my new families. I have no idea how to put it in google docs, so here goes the longest post EVER!!!!!!!

To the soon-to-be Busy Bees and their families-
I hope you all had a relaxing and fun summer! Full of memories, love and laughter!
I am so excited to get our school year started! I have been thinking about you since we met on the last day of kindergarten!
I have included a few things for you to bring to Open House on Tuesday, August 16. Please be sure to follow the enclosed list for buying school supplies as I am a bit partial to specific items not on the district list.
Please email me if you have any questions or concerns. I can't wait to see you and meet your family on Tuesday, August 16 at our school Open House!

Again, this is totally a rough draft so it may change in the next week or so. I'm not sure if I should include a bio of me or not yet...I don't want to be braggy, but I am a pretty big deal! ;)

Blog Mixer Linky Party

Let's hope I can link this up right!


Denise at Yearn to Learn has started a Mixer Linky Party! To join this linky party, check out the "Yearn to Learn" blog and link up!



Here's my post about it:

1. A blogger who is a New Kid on the Block:
I liked reading posts from Lauren at http://2ndgradesweeties.blogspot.com/. It's been awhile since she's posted so I hope everything is okay with her! I look forward to seeing more out of her and hopefully this will give her the boost she needs. Head over and give her some hugs!

2. Post a blogger who is in the same grade level as you:
I enjoy reading "Fun in First with Mrs. Ward" at http://wardswayofteaching.blogspot.com/ She has some cute ideas and you definitely can tell she loooooves her kiddos!

3. A blog from a different grade level:
I love Deanna Jump's blog at http://mrsjumpsclass.blogspot.com/ because she has so many stinkin' cute ideas!



4. Find a super cute button!!!
I love http://mrskincaid.blogspot.com/'s button because it has a super cute elephant and they are my ultimate favorite animal! [=

1st Post!

Hello bloggin' world! I have been meaning to start an official blog to share the happenings of my teaching, but couldn't manage to find the time until now. I tell you what, we've been on summer vaca since May 19th but I haven't accomplished much! I don't know what I have been doing this summer, but my house is still a mess, the yard work has much to be done and I have not done much school stuff either! I have been training for my first (and probably only!) half marathon so that has been very time consuming!
I spent most of today in our classroom and accomplished so much! I have an arrangement that I am pretty happy with (so far) so we'll see how long this lasts! School starts Aug. 22nd for my little buzzers and I'm getting anxious! It will be wonderful to get back to a normal schedule again, even though I LOVE the warm weather!
I am looking forward to keeping y'all posted on our classroom happenings!