Fabulously Frugal Finds

As much as I hate to admit it, the end of summer is almost here...sad, I know. But I am looking forward to meeting a new group of kinders. This week while I was out running errands, I picked up some things for school.

A new Target opened up closer to my house (45 mins.) than any other Target so I had to make a trip to see what they had in store. Let me just say that I had a great time in their Dollar Spot. Here are some of my great finds!

Star student chair cover for $1!
I plan to hang this over the back of my star
student's chair. They will love it!

Adorable notepads!

Dr. Seuss border and nametags
I am saving this for next school year when I am
thinking about doing a Dr. Seuss theme.

Monday Made It - Polka Dot Name Canvas

I am once again linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Folics for her Monday Made It linky party.

I saw this adorable canvas on Pinterest and thought it would fit in perfectly in my polka dot themed classroom for this upcoming school year.

http://pinterest.com/pin/39688040436722761/

So now I did my own take on the adorable canvas for my classroom. I wanted to use primary colors since I use those colors in my classroom. I used an 8x10 canvas from Michaels.

Before adding the ribbon

After adding the ribbon
(hanging on my kitchen door)

In other news, I can't believe the increase in my number of followers. I now have almost 200 followers! WOW! I can't believe it! Now I am planning a giveaway for my little blog when I reach 250 followers so please tell your friends about my little blog. Thanks!

Tell Me More, Tell Me More! Linky Party

I am linking up with Amy at Step Into 2nd Grade for her Tell Me More, Tell Me More! linky party.

I am borrowing Hadar’s idea and giving you the ABC’s of my life. So here are some things you may not know about me:

A- Age - 28

B - Bed size - Queen. My hubby and I slept in a full size bed for the first 4 years of our marriage.

C - Car - I drive a navy Saturn Vue! I love my SUV. It is perfect for me.

D - Dogs or cats - I'm such a dog person! I want to take home every cute puppy I see!! I have 2 dogs – a yellow lab named Chloe and a walker named Crook. They are my big babies!

E - Essential to start your day – I must have something to eat as soon as I get up. I love breakfast!!

F - Favorite color – Yellow is my all-time favorite color, but I also love pink!

G - Gold or silver – Silver! I also love platinum and white gold. I always wear white metals!

H - Height - 5'3" I am a shorty!

I - Ice cream - My favorite is Strawberry Cheesecake! This was also my grandfather’s favorite ice cream and we loved to get it together when I was growing up.

J - Job title - Teacher!

K - Kids - None yet, but hopefully we will have a little one soon.

L - Live – South Carolina only an hour away from Myrtle Beach!

M – Mom’s name – Sherry, but I still call her Moma! She is one of my best friends!

N - Nickname – Monk was the nickname my daddy gave me as a baby. He and his dad (my granddaddy) are the only ones who have ever called me that!

O – Overnight hospital stay – None! Thankfully!

P - Pet peeves – People who pull out in front of me and then drive way below the speed limit!

Q - Quote from a movie – “The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.” – Steel Magnolias (My favorite movie ever!)

R - Right or lefty - Righty.

S - Siblings - I have a little brother who is 24!

T – Time you wake up – I wake up during the school year daily at 5:30 am. I am a morning person and get a lot more done in the mornings before my fellow teachers and hubby are up!

U - Unknown fact - I refuse to touch/prepare uncooked chicken! I have a major phobia of it!

V – Veggies you dislike – I dislike most veggies. I only eat butterbeans, peas, cucumbers, potatoes, and lettuce.

W - What makes me run late – Using the computer (FB, Pinterest, and blogs) keeps me from getting ready sometimes.

X - X-rays you’ve had - My teeth, my ankle, and my hand.

Y – Yummy food you make – I love to make my famous bacon wrapped chicken. It is DELICOUS!

Z - Zoo animal – Monkeys! They are such adorable animals!

*******************************************************

Here are a few of my favorite things:

Target! I love this store!

This is my all-time favorite soda! I love this stuff!

Using coupons! I love to save money!

I am loving this new world I have joined! I have learned so much from other
bloggers and I feel like a better teacher because of blogging!





Manatees! - I LOVE these gentle giants!
I was able to live a dream in 2010 when I went swimming
with them in Crystal River, FL.

 

I hope you enjoyed learning more about my life. I can't wait to learn all about yours too!

Summer Vacation & Some School Shopping

This week, my sweet hubby and I went on vacation to the lake. We stayed in a wonderful little cabin right on the lake and had such a nice relaxing time. We spent lots of time on the water fishing and just riding in the boat as well as swimming in the lake.

My hubby and me with a gorgeous lake sunset!

The sunset view! We could walk right out to the edge of the lake.

Inside our lake cabin - I LOVED the beautiful oak walls!

We had no internet service at our vacation spot, so I have not been able to post or read my fellow blogger's posts. I guess I will be spending the weekend catching up!

While we were on vacation, we made a stop by the local Walmart to pick up some necessary items to take with us to the cabin and I found some things I needed for my classroom.  I found the poly folders for $0.50 each which is a better buy than the usual $0.88 they usually are. I was able to grab 28 blue folders that I will be using for my kinders' homework folders. I will post pictures when I make the labels to go inside as well.

I also ran in the local Dollar Tree and found these wonderful baskets. They are a little larger than letter size paper and will be perfect for paper baskets. I can find so many uses for these and they were only $1! I bought all 4 they had and I will be looking for more of them when I go to another Dollar Tree. The worker there told me they came in yellow, red, blue, and green; I got the green and blue.

I also found an adorable star pointer at Michaels a few weeks ago for $1. It is laying in the basket right now.

Sorry for this incredibly long post, but I had so much to share with y'all!

Monday Made It - Welcome Banner

This week I am once again linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Folics for her Monday Made It linky party.

This week I made a welcome banner that I plan to hang above my classroom door. I think it turned out very cute! I found the pieces at Live Love Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten and printed them on cardstock. The ribbon that I used to tie them together came from Walmart on a roll for $1.00. So the entire project only cost about $1.50 with the cost of the ink and cardstock.

Of course right now it is laying on my living room floor
because I cannot get into my classroom to hang it.

Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop

Hi everyone! I am linking up with

for a

I still consider myself a newer blogger and I am hoping to gain some new friends for my little blog! Here is my info...

1. what state you are in: South Carolina (If you are a blogger from SC, I would love to hear from you! I have already "met" some other fabulous bloggers from SC.)
2. your current teaching position: Kindergarten
3. your teaching experience: I started teaching after graduating college in Dec. so I taught a 1st grade class for 1/2 a year. Then I taught kindergarten for 2 years, changed schools and moved to 1st grade for 3 years. Now I am back to kindergarten and this will be my 2nd year in kindergarten at my current school.

4. when you started blogging: I started blogging in Sept. of 2011.

5. share a blogging tip / blogging resource: Turn off word verification for comments on your blog. They are too annoying and time consuming. I find that I don't comment on blogs as often if I have to use the word verification.

This is a Blog Hop! Now it is your turn to link up!

Must Have Picture Books linky party

Lindsey at The Teacher Wife is having a great linky party about must have picture books. 

 

Since I love to read aloud to my kinders, I had to participate in the fun! Here are my favorites in no particular order:


1) The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn - This is a must read for me every year on the first day. It is so sweet and touching and has beautiful illustrations.

2) Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle - This books has such cool illustrations and the repetitive text is perfect for kinders. They always want to read it multiple times and then learn to "read" it to themselves.

3) Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes - I love using this book during my All About Me unit at the beginning of the school year because it shows my kinders how they are each unique and special. They always become champions for Chrysanthemum!

4) The Sand Castle Contest by Robert Munsch - This is an adorable book that always keeps the kids laughing. Robert Munsch books are always a hit in my classroom!

5) A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon - The perfect book for my kinders who are ALWAYS sick! They love how her appearance changes throughout the book!

So now hop on over to The Teacher Wife blog and link up with your must have picture books!

Monday Made It - Dry Erase To Do Board

I am linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Folics for her Monday Made It linky party. Hop on over to see some other great things made by teachers! :)

Ok...I have been reading everyone's cute Made It Monday posts and feeling like such a bad teacher for not having one too. I have been so busy this summer and just haven't gotten around to completing all my projects. This week I did manage to complete my dry erase to do board.

I think it will be adorable sitting on my desk!


The idea came from Pinterest (of course!).

http://pinterest.com/pin/39688040436887598/

Letter Sounds Concentration Games

I have made a few more concentration games for other alphabet letter sounds. I hope you can use these too!

Cc Concentration Game - color

Vv Concentration Game - color

Ww Concentration Game - color

I am sure there are many ways to store these kinds of games, but here is the way I store mine. I purchased a set of index card dividers (4x6"), put each game in a labeled envelope and store them alphabetically in a plastic shoe box. This keeps them organized so I can go back and pull them out each year.

Ocean Calendar Pieces Winner(s)

Well I only had 10 entries in my giveaway, but it is summertime and I am not spending as much time on my blog as I do during school. So without further ado, the winner of the ocean calendar pieces is...


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Louanne! I will be emailing you the file in a little while! 

More Giveaways!

Wild About Teaching is having a fabulous 500 follower giveaway. I hope one day to have 500 followers too! Her blog is adorable and I have found so many great ideas on there, so head on over to enter her giveaway. The giveaway ends on July 16th. Click on the blog button below.

  

Mrs. Shelton's Kindergarten is having a 100 follower giveaway with lots of prizes from some great blogs. The giveaway ends on July 17th. Click on the picture below to enter!



Also, please don't forget to enter my quick giveaway. It ends Friday night. 

Ocean Calendar Pieces Giveaway!

I have updated my Ocean Themed Calendar Pieces set I have for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers. I am hoping to generate some interest in it so I am giving away one set to a lucky follower.

You can earn up to 4 entries for this giveaway:
1 entry for following my blog
1 entry for following my TpT store
2 entries for blogging about my giveaway and posting the link in the comments

The giveaway will end on Friday, July 13th so you only have a few days to enter. I will draw the winner's name on Saturday. Please help me spread the word! Thanks a bunch!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Also, if you have already purchased these calendar pieces from me, please go back to TpT and redownload them. I have updated them.

Common Core Standards for Math

I have found a great resource that I plan to use during the coming school year. Little Minds At Work has posted a free 40 page Common Core Math Skills Check. It looks fabulous! I can't wait to use it! The only thing she asks is that we share it. If you would like a copy, click on the picture below.

Teaching Letters & Sounds

In our school district, we teach 2 letters each week so that we have taught all 26 letters by the beginning of December. I am always trying different ways to help my students learn the letters and their sounds.

One way that I review letter sounds is using letter sound concentration games I created. I have my teacher assistant use these with her small group (about 6 students) while I am working with my guided reading group and two groups are doing individual activities. I print 2 copies of each on cardstock and laminate for durability. Then they play concentration with them by identifying the two pictures they have found. Some of these concentration games have been updated with color clipart.

Hh Concentration - color

Ii Concentration - color

Jj Concentration - color

Mm Concentration - color

July Currently

Well I somehow missed the June Currently linky party so I am joining in the July Currently linky party hosted by Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade. I can't believe that we are already 5 days in to July! The summer is going by too quickly!

Happy Independence Day!

Hey everyone! I am so sorry that I am still not on a regular posting schedule. I have been oh so busy with our garden. Over the past few days I have picked and shelled 4 1/2 bushels of butterbeans and put up over 100 ears of sweet corn. If you have never grown and put up your own garden, let me tell you it is hard work but it will be oh so worth it when I have vegetables to cook this winter. I wish I had taken some pictures, but that was the last thing on my mind at that time! 


During my time away, I also celebrated my birthday. Wow! I can't believe another year has gone by. It was great spending time with my family and friends. We went out to dinner and spent some time on the water. A perfect birthday by my standards! 

Photo by my sweet niece

I just wanted to stop by and tell you Happy Independence Day! Here is a photo of the flag that I took on our weekend visit to the beach a few weeks ago! I hope everyone has a fabulous 4th of July with family and friends! Don't forget all the soldiers who are fighting for our freedom instead of spending the day with their families.