A Peek at My Week - Dec. 8, 2017

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have all had a great Thanksgiving! I loved spending the time with my family. We have so much to be thankful for! I am sharing a little peek at my last 2 weeks with you. 

This week has been a fun week around our school. We have been participating in a Secret Santa gift exchange. We each filled out a questionnaire about our favorite things. We drew names from a basket and got the questionnaire of the person we drew. Each day (Monday-Thursday), we were to give a $1-2 gift to our person. Then this afternoon we will do a reveal in our library to give our final and larger gift ($10-15) to that person. It is so much fun and always nice to find a surprise daily!

The gift I received for day 1:

The gift I received for day 2 (apparently my Secret Santa thinks I need a daily snack!):

This past week, we took Miss M to see Disney's Frozen on Ice. This was an early Christmas present for her and so worth it! It was so magical to her and she was so excited. They acted out almost the entire story with lots of music and dancing. It was beautiful!

Our family's elf, Sparkle made her return last week. We had one very excited little girl. She loves Sparkle and gets up every morning to see where she has landed when she came back from the North Pole. I haven't gotten pictures of her locations every day, but on Saturday she came back and landed on our oven handle, which meant NO COOKING for this mommy! YAH!!

Now I am off to enjoy my weekend with my family. Happy Friday everyone!

Long Time, No Blog Post!

I am so sorry for neglecting my little blog lately dear followers! I have been going through a lot in my personal life and have been unable to do more than the essentials, so please bear with me!


To get you up to date, I moved back down to kindergarten this year after 2 years in 2nd grade! YAH! I am so excited to be back where my heart has always been! This has been a great move for me, but also very busy as I am trying to get my brain wrapped back around kindergarten standards. Since I have been out of kindergarten for 2 years, we have changed from Common Core here in South Carolina to the new South Carolina standards which are very similar, but still different too.


I have also been going through some health issues with some of my family. This has made me find what is truly important in my life and do those things more than the less important things, so thank you to those of you who have stuck with me through this SUPER LONG post about nothing educational! As a "prize" to you sweet followers, I have this Christmas counting sheet, you can use next month. This is a simple print and do sheet for your kiddos to review counting up to 20 objects. It can also be an informal assessment if you choose. Happy Friday followers!

Christmas Counting to 20 Sheet

It Is A SALE!

I haven't been as active in posting lately and I am so very sorry for being a bad blogger, but I have been trying to be a good mommy, wife, teacher, and daughter. Let's just say I have had to overcome some obstacles in my personal and professional life this school year so I have done a lot of soul-searching to find some valuable answers. Please bear with me as I try to continue on with my blog.


As a token of my appreciation for those faithful followers on my blog, I am putting my entire TpT store on sale this weekend (Friday through Sunday) for 15% off. If you are like me with a golfer hubby, you will not be able to watch TV since the Masters is on. I am sure I will be spending some money on TpT instead! I hope you can find something you can use within your classroom.

I am currently working to make some supplemental materials to go along with our reading series: Houghton-Mifflin Journeys (2011 edition) for 2nd grade so expect to see more of those popping up in my store if you are a 2nd grade teacher. Thanks for being the great teachers you are!

Currently #5 of Sweet '16 & a TpT Teacher Appreciation Sale!

Well I missed the April Currently linky because of such a hectic schedule! So now I am joining the FINAL May Currently linky with Farley! I am so sad to see it go because I have met some awesome people through it, but I totally understand! So here's mine:

I can't believe that in 2 weeks my baby will be 3! I am working hard to plan her 3rd birthday but there is just so much to do!


Today and tomorrow TpT is celebrating US as teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week! Everything in my store is 20% off and with the code CELEBRATE, you get another 10% off! Now is the time to clear out some of the clutter in your wishlist! I am working on cleaning mine out! Click on the picture below to head over to my store:

Currently #3 of Sweet '16

It is the beginning of a new month so that means it is time for me to link up with Farley for her fun Currently linky for March! I know I am a little late to this party but here goes my March Currently:

Listening: I love the quiet of my classroom when all my students have gone home for the weekend. It is something to savor for sure since I have such a talkative group this year!


Loving: I have had such a great time this week with Read Across America week. I always love teaching with Dr. Seuss but this year the whole school got involved and we did 3 days of school spirit (Wed. - birthday hats for Dr. Seuss's birthday; Thurs. - silly socks for Fox in Socks; Fri. - favorite Dr. Seuss character day). I will be blogging about it this weekend so check back.


Thinking: I can't believe that today is mine and the hub's 10th wedding anniversary!!


Wanting: I have been dreaming about a vacation with my family. I think we may have to plan a little getaway for Spring Break 2016! We definitely need some time to do some fun things together!


Needing: I NEED Spring Break 2016 to hurry up! We still have 14 school days left until SB2016 but who's counting?!


Polling Site: I am so thankful that our school is no longer used as a polling site and when we vote we are out of school usually.


Now head over to Farley's blog to read other Currently posts!

Five for Friday - Feb. 19, 2016

Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky party. This was a short week for us with having the President's Day holiday off from school on Monday, but there was still lots happening this week. So here's a peek at my week:

I am working on acquiring a new blog design and name that will be more fitting of my current role. I have decided to rename my blog: Palmetto State Primary to show that I have taught and am teaching the primary grades in our school. I chose Palmetto State since that is the nickname for South Carolina (my state!). You will start seeing this name as the watermarks on my photos so don't be too surprised when you do! I hope to have a new design on my blog soon so please keep checking back!

Since we were off from school on Monday, I got to spend the whole day with my little princess. We had a nice relaxing day and even went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A (her favorite place to eat...and play!). We also got to feed the ducks and geese at the pond behind Chick-Fil-A which is what she is doing in this picture. She could stand there and feed them all day I think but eventually we ran out of bread!

This week our classroom has continued to study biographies. My students are loving learning all about other people's lives. This week we have focused on learning about presidents. Each day we have studied a different president by reading a biography about him. Then we created an anchor chart together of what they learned. I premade the anchor charts and laminated them at the suggestion of Step Into Second. Then my students added what they had learned on sticky notes to the anchor chart. These have been pretty amazing and I am so proud of what they have learned.

To extend my students' learning about biographies, each of my students has chosen a famous American to do a mini-biography project on. They are LOVING these! They have chose presidents, famous inventors, and even a few famous, positive athletes. I hope to have a finished product to share with you soon.

Finally, I made the plunge this week and joined the other teachers using Instagram. I am excited and nervous about where this new journey will lead. If you are on Instagram, please leave me your link so I can follow you too. I have learned so much from other wonderful teachers like you! Please hop over and follow me on Instagram too if can.

@palmettostateprimary
#teachersofinstagram
#iteachtoo

Now head on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching blog to see all the other weekly round-up posts from this week! Have a great weekend friends!

Currently #2 of Sweet '16

I just wanted to pop in to join Farley for her Currently monthly linky party. These are always so much fun and I love being a part of them whenever possible.

Listening: I love the quiet in my classroom at the end of the day. I can get so much accomplished in a short period of time.

Loving: I LOVE all the funny things my little one tells me on a daily basis. She is always telling us something to make us laugh. This morning she told me I better go wash my hair because it was going to scare someone if I didn't! LOL! I guess it was kind of messy when I woke up!

Thinking: I have so much to do to get ready for mid-year conferences with my students who are struggling. Our school district requires 3 mandatory face-to-face conferences with any child we feel may be at risk of failing a grade, so I need to get all my paperwork in order.

Wanting: I want more time in my day - 24 hours just isn't enough when I have to get so much done between being a teacher, mommy, and wife! Plus I try to work with my church as much as possible!

Needing: I would love to have a relaxing weekend without having so many places to go and things to do. I don't see it in the near future, but a girl can dream right?!

Swooning: I absolutely love my necklace that my hubby gave me for Christmas. He said he was giving me the key to his heart. I wear it almost every day and can't help but remember his sweet words when I look at it.

Now head over to Farley's blog to read the other Currently posts.

Currently #1 of Sweet '16

Ok so I know I am late to the party again, but I really wanted to participate this month so here it goes!

Listening: Since it is Sunday afternoon, we have already been to church and had a nice lunch. Now I am getting to spend some quality time with my sweet little girl. She LOVES putting together puzzles and they are such a great activity that we do together.


Loving: My Christmas break was absolutely WONDERFUL!! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute at home with my little one. We got to do lots of fun things like going to visit the zoo since we were having 80 degree days here in SC even though it was December!


Thinking: I have so much to do to get prepared for next week. I am just feeling overwhelmed with my new position in 2nd grade because it is such a new experience for me. I have never taught anything higher than 1st grade until this year.


Wanting: I want to feel more prepared as a 2nd grade teacher. I feel like everyday I am trying to "swim upstream" as I am learning along with my students.


Needing: I would love more time at home with my little girl. Macy is just growing up too fast. She is now 2 1/2 and changing everyday. After having 2 weeks off with her, I could definitely see how people love being stay at home mommies!


One Little Word: My One Little Word for 2016 is LOVE! I am definitely in love with my little family. I appreciate all the time we get to spend together. I love my students, but I am definitely working hard this year to begin to love teaching again.


Head over to Farley's blog to read more Currently postings!

Miss M Monday!

Since I have been out of blogging for so long, I just wanted you to see how much my sweet little M has grown. She is now 2 1/2 and talking all the time. I love hearing what she is going to say next. She is just SOOOOO funny!


Miss M was the angel in our church Christmas play. She was so beautiful dressed in her costume!

WOW! I have been MIA for TOO Long!

I am so sorry that I have neglected my little blog for so long, but my life has had a lot of changes in the past 6 months. I haven't been as faithful posting since I had our little girl Macy who is now 2 1/2! She keeps me busy, busy, busy when I am at home! She is not the reason I haven't been on my blog as much though...


During the summer, I got the phone call that I dreaded getting. My principal decided that I needed to move to 2nd grade! Needless to say, I PANICKED!!! I have never taught 2nd grade! I loved kindergarten! I had taught kindergarten for 4 years! I loved my TA! I just couldn't do it! But I didn't get a choice...I was moving! So after a few good cries and being very upset, I packed up my whole life in kindergarten, took home loads of things I wouldn't leave behind and stored them in my attic (thank goodness I have a BIG one!), and moved into my itty bitty 2nd grade classroom.


Fast forward to 5 months later, I am teaching a class of 18 active but sweet 2nd graders with a great team of teachers. It is very different from kindergarten and what I was used to but I am adjusting (at least on most days) well. Thank goodness for some great people to work with.


Now that my little update is over, I just want you to know that I still have all my kindergarten materials on my blog and TpT store, but you will begin to see more 2nd grade materials posted too. I also am planning to have an update done to my blog to make it more current with my new position...and a little more generic in case I get moved again! Thank goodness I can't teach any higher than 3rd grade with my ECE degree! :)


Thanks for listening to my little rant! Only 5 more school days!! YAH!!

Currently - June 2015

This is my last week of school (ONLY 4 more days!). I think I can make it now! As much as I love this group of kinders, I cannot wait for summer break - NO alarm clocks, NO early bedtimes!! YAH!!

In honor of the start of a new month, I am linking up with Farley for her June Currently Linky Party.

I am so looking forward to my summer lovin'! I can't wait to spend all summer with my baby girl waking up whenever she feels like it and getting to read fun books to her and hopefully read some for me too! I hope you all have a great summer as well. I know I probably won't be on my blog much this summer since Macy is now 2 and quite busy, but I will try to check in from time to time! 

Happy Summer!!

Five for Friday - May 22, 2015

Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky party. The past two weeks have been BUSY but I will be saying that until the last day of school on June 5th! I am catching you up on the last 2 weeks since my last post!

Last week started off with a wonderful surprise! Our Jr. Beta club decided to host a teacher appreciation breakfast (with some help from their parents). They dressed up the front walkway of our school like the red carpet and had signs stating that teachers are stars! They even had gold stars taped down on the floor with each teacher's name written on one. It was absolutely adorable and the food was delicious!

This past weekend we celebrated my sweet M's 2nd birthday. We did a ladybug theme for my lil' lady. I loved everything about her birthday party, but it sure made for a tired mommy!

Last week our butterflies finally came out of their chrysalises. We released them last Friday. The Painted Lady Butterflies were so pretty and my kinders loved seeing them come out of the net.

I don't have a picture of this one, but I only have 9 more school days until Summer Break!! Yah! I can't wait to spend the summer with my sweet Macy, family and friends!

Finally, I am going to leave you with a fun Friday freebie for all my other kindergarten teachers! I created this cute "Last Day of K" banner to take my kinders pictures. I thought it was absolutely adorable. We are having a kindergarten graduation on June 3rd but there is too much going on between now and then so I took their last day pictures today for their memory books. If you would like this freebie click on the link below and please leave me some feedback:

Last Day of K banner

Now head on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching blog to see all the other photos from this week! Have a great weekend!

What I'm Loving Wednesday - May 13, 2015

I know I haven't been posting on a regular basis like I was before I became a mommy but picking up the new job title comes with some more important activities that need to be completed in the afternoons. With that thought in mind, I decided today would be a prefect day to do a quick What I'm Loving Wednesday post.

1 - Springtime activities with my little one
This past week we went and picked strawberries in a local strawberry patch. Macy ate plenty of them too as you can see from the strawberry juice around her mouth!

2 - Watching my flowers bloom around my house
The amaryllis have been in full bloom and they are beautiful! I love watching these flowers bloom every year. My day lilies are also blooming although I don't have a picture of them.

3 - That the end of the school year is almost here
We only have 16 school days with kiddos left! I can't believe it but I am excited about summer vacation with my little one! She is so much fun.

So what are you loving this Wednesday??

Currently - May 2015

Wow! I can't believe it is already May! I know I am a couple of days late to the party but in honor of the start of a new month, I am linking up with Farley for her Currently May linky party. I haven't done this in a few months so I thought this month would be a fun one to jump back in!

Here's a little explanation of my Currently.

Needing: My sweet little Macy is turning 2 in less than 2 weeks. I have got to finish creating all her birthday decorations. I am doing a ladybug theme! (If you have any ideas, please send them my way!)

Summer Yes: The week after we get out of school for summer, my little family is going to see Thomas the Train at Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC. Macy is infatuated with Thomas and I know she will be so excited!! 
Summer Hope: I am hoping to spend some days this summer back at the lake relaxing. It is a great mini-vacay for my family since this is a perk of where my hubby works.
Summer Dream: I would love to go on another cruise with my family. We went last year before Macy was 1 and had such a good time. I would love to go on a Disney cruise this time!

Well I hope you enjoyed seeing a little peek into my world! 

Spring Break 2015 Recap

I am definitely late posting this, but I LOVED every minute of Spring Break 2015 which was the week after Easter for me! I spent it doing the thing I enjoy most - spending time with my family, especially my sweet baby girl M! Here is a photo dump of my Spring Break 2015! This will be a long post, but I hope you enjoy seeing how I spent my time off from school!

Easter 2015 was so much fun. M really understood the whole concept of the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts. She got a whole wheelbarrow full of goodies from the Easter Bunny! She is in love with Thomas the Train and got some Thomas DVD's to watch in the car. She also loves books and puzzles and got a bunch of Llama, Llama board books and two puzzles (one with her name!).

M really enjoyed our Easter egg hunt. She loved finding the eggs hidden all around our church!

We spent most of my spring break at the lake at my husband's company campground. This is a great perk of working where he does. Each employee can use a campsite for 2 weeks with their camper free of charge! It was sooooo relaxing. M got to dabble her feet in the water, although it was too cold for swimming! She thought it was so funny!

My husband took M and I for a couple of boat rides in the lake. This was M's first time in the boat at the lake but she loved it! As an added bonus, we got her a Puddle Jumpers life jacket and she liked it much better than the infant life jacket from last summer. We even went through the locks down into the river which is an awesome experience!

M loved how the campground has its own playground. She played on the swings and slides every day!

Now I am hanging on through these last busy days of school and getting so excited about spending my whole summer with my sweet girl! 

Five for Friday - March 27, 2015

Due to computer troubles, I have not posted in a while. My school laptop actually decided to DIE...can you believe that? So now it has to be reimaged, but thankfully I had just backed up my files and didn't lose them. Since I have been away for so long I am going to do a quick Five for Friday post today. Most of the pictures from this week are from my personal camera since I didn't have my school camera with me...OOPS!

My hubby and I finally went out to celebrate our anniversary last weekend. It was delayed because of us working different schedules but we had such a wonderful time. Of course, Miss M had to join us for dinner. She makes our little family complete and I am so blessed to have them both in my life!

The spring weather we have been having here in SC has been AMAZING. It has been warm in the 70's for the most part and sunny. M and I have been taking advantage of these pretty days and spending our afternoons outside. This kind of weather makes it difficult for me to get any housework or schoolwork complete since we just want to be outside!

My sweet "flowers" one of my kinders picked for me on the playground Wednesday. He was so proud of them and it was such a sweet gesture that brought a big smile to my face! I just love this age! They are so sweet and loving.

The Bradford pear tree on our playground has been in full bloom for the past week or so. It is beautiful to look at. This tree is the perfect tree to teach seasons to my kinders every year. Now the rain is washing away all the pretty blooms and making way for new green leaves.

Here is my only true school related picture this week. This week in one of my Daily 5 groups we worked on medial vowel sounds. This was a game I printed from Kindergarten Hoppenings blog several years ago but it worked out perfectly for this activity.

Now head on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching blog to see all the other posts from this week! Have a great weekend!