28 March 2014

Spring Cleaning TPT Sale

I'm joining a bunch of bloggers for a TPT Spring Cleaning Sale!  All of my products will be 20% off until Monday.  My TPT wish list is a mile long.  I can finally move a bunch of the items from my wish list to my cart.  Then, off course I will probably fill it right back up.  First, I plan to leave feedback on all my previous purchases.  Those valuable points add up!!!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Colleen-Alaniz

I also wanted to share an election resource I updated in my store.  Actually, I was going in to edit the resource and ended up deleting the whole thing instead.  That was a big oopsy!  I just added it back to my store with the additions I made.  We always learn about elections in November, but I ran out of time this year.  Looks like I may have to do it in April or May for my kiddos this year.  My kids have a great time with it and I would hate for them to miss out.  I just might do it that last week of school when we are wrapping up,  and all of our test books have already been picked up. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/MM-Elections-1175985

As always, the first 3 people to leave a comment will get this election packet for FREE. Just don't forget to leave me your e-mail address.
Have a great weekend!!!






20 March 2014

Team Jackson

It's almost Friday and I couldn't be happier.  This has been a busy week and I'm already feeling Friday tired on a Thursday!

This is just a quick post to let you know about a fabulous fundraiser that I'm super thrilled to be a part of.  My bloggy buddy, Dixie, from Teachin' Little Texans started a fundraiser for a friend of hers.  Their little one, Jackson, was just diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer.  My heart broke for their family, and I was ready to jump on board when I heard about this fundraiser.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Team-Jackson-Fundraiser-1165334

You can check out the Team Jackson resource by clicking here.  There are 18 products included in the bundle for only $20.  Not only is a great deal, but all the proceeds will go to Little Jackson's family.    My poetry journal is included in the bundle.  If you haven't seen it before,  check it out here.

http://totallyterrificintexas.blogspot.com/2013/02/poetry-journals.html
 
I purchased the Team Jackson resource yesterday.  I was super excited when I peeked at all the goodies included.  There are so many great resources! There are a few I plan to start using right away. In addition, to all of that, Dixie is also having an amazing giveaway on her blog.  If you buy the bundle, you can enter her drawing for $40 in gift cards and access to her TPT store  for LIFE.  Oh my gosh, I'm entering for sure!  I love her products!!!  Check out her giveaway HERE.

15 March 2014

Sunshine Blogger Award



Kayla from Texas Teaching Fanatic just brought some sunshine into my day by nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. 

I am supposed to start by listing 11 random facts about myself.
Here we go...
  1. I once lived in Montana. So BEAUTIFUL!
  2. This year, I tried creating clip art and I actually enjoy it! I find it relaxing, strange as that is. 
  3. I was born in Germany! Yep, I'm an Army brat. 
  4. I LOVE books.  My hubby should probably ban me from  Amazon and EBay. I definitely keep the UPS driver in business!  These are just my books at home!!!
  5. I LOVE skiing! Texas is great, but I do miss the snow!
  6. I have a huge respect for Speech Therapists.  My son was diagnosed with severe Apraxia last year.  We spend  several days a week at speech therapy.  I have also tried to learn everything I can about Apraxia, so I can continue therapy for my sweetie pie at home.
  7. I love watching the Voice.  We actually have a gal from Corpus Christi on it this year.  Whoo-hoo, she got 4 judges to turn.
  8. I have NO sense of direction.  Honestly, none at all!
  9. I blog really late at night, so if you see any misspellings or something doesn't make sense, you know why.  I'm probably half asleep, or perhaps I'm sleepwalking!
  10. I sleepwalk- Creepy, I know!
  11. I am obsessed with monsters! My classroom is a wonderful mayhem of monsters.   I got these cuties for Christmas from my teaching buddy.  She made them by hand.  I am totally in love with them.  The one holding the heart is my fave!


     I got these as a gift from a wonderful parent.  They were made by hand and are super adorable!
    This little guy is a tissue box holder.

 Okay, next step is to answer the questions from the blogger that nominated you. 
So, here it goes with Kayla's questions...

1. Where are you from?
I grew up in the military, so home was wherever we happened to be stationed.  My children call TEXAS home!
2. What is your favorite animal?
 Cute Monsters- Does that count?
3.  What is your favorite thing about teaching?
The ability to touch so many little lives.
4. What is your favorite children's book?
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell- It has a great message and how can you not love this adorable picture?
 5. Why do you blog?
I love to share ideas with other teachers. 
6. Who do you look up to?
Absolutely my parents!  They are my heroes.
7.  When did you become a teacher?
2004- Yikes, now I feel old!
    8. Would you rather have a side soup or side salad?
I guess that depends on the soup.  But, most of the time I go with soup.
9. If you could click your heels together and be anywhere, where would it be?
I'm right where I want to be! There really is no place like HOME!
10.  What is your favorite quote?
I tend to be a worrier by nature.  This quote helps keep me grounded.
"Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace." 
 By Randy Armstrong  
11.  If you could read minds, whose mind would you love to read?
For sure, my little Greysen.  He is 4 and still learning to talk because of Apraxia.  I would love to be able to ease his communication struggles by reading his little mind. 
 
 Now, I'm supposed to nominate 11 bloggers who bring sunshine to the world and give them 11 questions to answer.  I'm going to be a bit of a rule breaker bender.  I have 3 bloggers I'd love to honor.  Kayla gave me such great questions, I'd love to pass those same questions on to my nominees.


Please check out their blogs and definitely check out Kayla's Blog below:

http://texasteachingfanatic.com

08 March 2014

Tall Tale Freebies

Spring Break is finally here and I am looking forward to some much needed R&R.  My class learned all about Tall Tales before the break and I'm so glad they enjoyed them.  It was a nice change of pace from our basal stories.  I wanted to share a little of what they worked on.

We created a poster for each of the tall tale characters we learned about.  Here is a list of the characters we covered.
* Pecos Bill
* Slue-Foot Sue
* Paul Bunyan
* Davy Crockett

I had my students work in groups to complete  the pages that made up our class posters.  Anytime I can get them working together in groups, I go for it.  I love to see them problem solving and working cooperatively.

Here are their posters:






You can get the templates by clicking the image below.  I am not able to include the title page for each poster because the images are copyrighted.  However, they are all coloring pages available for free on-line.  I just did a google search for each tall tale character.   I simply added my own title for each one. Click the image below for the free download of the other pages. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6YVRKNGNLcW4yZUU/edit?usp=sharing

I f you are wondering where I get the stories for this unit.  Please check out my post from last year by clicking here.   You will find a few other Tall Tale activities along with  a couple of free downloads.  You can also click the image below to head there:

http://totallyterrificintexas.blogspot.com/2013/03/tall-tales.html

This year, I also bought Hope King's Tall Tale unit.  I absolutely LOVED all of her activities. This little guy is from her unit.  I decided to create a summarizing page to go in the middle of her adorable Pecos Bill!


This poster is also from Hope's unit.  One of my teacher buddies had the idea of using a bandana to tie the posters together.  Love how it turned out!

We ended our week with a Tall Tale graph.  It was the perfect way to integrate literacy and math.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6SmJaWkFQUXpONTQ/edit?usp=sharing

Click above to grab this freebie.  I also use this same template to create graphs for a lot of our different read alouds throughout the year.


It looks like our Texas cold weather may behind us.  It's starting to feel more like spring around here.   I LOVE that our Texas bluebonnets have started blooming.  I found this lovely little flower in my mom's front yard.

01 March 2014

Leprechaun Freebie

This is going to a super fast post!  I was looking through my last few posts, and realized it was definitely time for a freebie! 
So here is my latest holiday freebie:  
(You can simply click the image below to grab it.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6eVJyNzJRNVpUdXc/edit?usp=sharing

I thought it would be a cute little activity for St. Patrick's Day.  I can't wait to see all my students as leprechauns.  I'm going to have my students draw in their faces, but you could also take pictures of your little ones.