24 June 2015

TPT Seller Challenge: Dare to Dream

This is the second week of the Seller Challenge hosted by Third in Hollywood, Sparkling in Second, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Teach Create Motivate. This week is all about dreaming BIG.


When I first began my teaching journey, my dreams were simple. I wanted to inspire my students.  Little did I know that I would be the one to be truly inspired.  I've been inspired by so many amazing teachers along the way.  I remember when I saw a teaching blog for the very first time, I was like a kid in a candy store.   It was like a dream come true to have so many fantastic resources right at my fingertips.  I knew right away that I wanted to be a  part of this amazing community of teachers.  Thanks to blogging and TPT, so many of my dreams have already come true!  I've learned so much, made new friendships, and the extra income has truly been a life saver for my family.

As I think about dreams for the future...I find that inspiration remains constant on my list.

1.  It was inspiration that led me to where I am, and it's that same inspiration that keeps my classroom evolving and changing with the times.  It's important for me to stay inspired and keep that zest for learning and teaching.  I still get excited every time I sit down in front of my computer to embark on a new resource for my little ones.  I don't ever want to be one of those teachers that loses their spark.  Even my blog headings are evolving with me...


2. I would also really love to travel with my family.  It is sad to say, but my hubby and I have never traveled outside of Texas.  My littlest one has a severe feeding issue and aversions that can make eating on the road difficult.  God is answering our prayers and my sweetie is slowly but surely making progress.  He actually just came off of thickened liquids this summer!!! It was a HUGE milestone for him.  We definitely want to travel more and let our little guy see more of the world.


3. I'd love to one day become a published author.  I absolutely LOVE writing! If you've purchased some of my products, you may have noticed that I often sneak in original poems and stories into my products.  I really hope to one day write a children's book or maybe even a book of children's poems.

4. I also dream of one day building a new home.  Years ago, we were so anxious to get out of our tiny apartment that we just jumped right into our current home without hesitation.   It's been perfect for many years, but as our family grows, so has our need for more space.  I've already kicked my poor hubby out of the closet and I still don't have enough space (trust me it's tiny).   I also have my washer and dryer in the garage- UGGGG!  I end up battling the bugs and Texas heat every time I do laundry!  I dream of a larger home, but I do have a lot of love for this cozy first home.

My friends, what are your goals???

18 June 2015

TPT Seller Challenge: Product Makeover

I am super excited to join the #TPT Seller Challenge hosted by Third in Hollywood, Sparkling in Second, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Teach Create Motivate.   The first challenge is to make over a product.  For this challenge, I decided to give some love to one of my personal favorites.  This product contains my mighty message or theme posters.
 
The posters pretty much stayed the same, but I did add one more mighty message to the set.  It was time to add RESPONSIBILITY.  My students requested that I add it to our posters, since it's a theme we started to see frequently in many of the books we read.
 

If you purchased this product in the past, you are in for a surprise.  There are a couple of additions to this resource that I think you'll LOVE!.  Now included, you will find the Mighty Messages on a ring.  I absolutely love these!!! My eyesight is not so great, so sometimes I have trouble reading my posters from afar.  It will be nice to have these cards right at my fingertips.
 The cards can be printed 2-sided.  The back contains lines where you can record book titles that correspond with each of the mighty messages. 

 

I also added these tabbed journal pages that can be used to introduce each of the messages.  Students will also use these pages to keep their own list of book titles for each of the mighty messages.

This is one of my favorite resources and it's one that gets used daily by my little ones.  I love that my students often explain the mighty message of a story without any prompting from me.  This truly makes my teacher heart burst with joy!

Check it out in my TPT Store!!!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mighty-Messages-744034
I'd love to give away a free copy of this resource.  Simply leave your e-mail in the comments and I'll give a free copy away to one lucky winner tomorrow evening.

And the winner is...

 

07 June 2015

Father's Day FREEBIES

Yay, summer has arrived and I am beyond excited.  This was a very long school year for me.  Our district underwent a lot of change this year and with that came some growing pains.  I'm sure there will be a lot more changes on the horizon, but I plan to embrace those changes and continue doing what I love.   I especially loved all of my sweet second graders this year and am truly sad to part with them.

It took 11 hours to pack my room this year.  That's pretty crazy!!! Looks like I'm going to have to purge some of my stuff when I return in the Fall.  My hubby is convinced that I'm a hoarder.  He may have a point...perhaps I'm one of those hoarders in denial.  I guess he hasn't heard the saying one person's trash is another person's treasure.  I won't let him know, I was grabbing all the goodies being thrown out by my teacher friends.



 With summer finally here I have a list of a few things I plan to do...
1. Enjoy my FAMILY!
2. REST
3. Blog...my blog has been seriously neglected over the last year!
4. Clean my house
5. Exercise (Maybe this should be higher on the list.)

Today, I tackled #3 on the list.  I worked on a few projects for Father's Day.  I even made some clip art.  I haven't done this since last summer.  I'm surprised I even remember how to do it!

The Daddy Clip Art is a FREEBIE in my TPT store.  Head over here to grab it.


I also made some  DAD Recipe Cards for Father's Day.  There are a few different versions.  You could put a picture on the left hand side or use the version with the frame and they could draw their daddy in the frame.  You can click the image below to get this FREEBIE.
 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6SUl4clNIeEVuOUU/view?usp=sharing
 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6SUl4clNIeEVuOUU/view?usp=sharing
I also made a coloring page for Father's Day.  Click the image below to download.  Did you notice I used my FREE Daddy Clip Art?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6Ym1lVmNWbmtLdUk/view?usp=sharing

In honor of all these Father's Day printables, I have to share the wonderful daddy to my 2 boys.  I am truly blessed to have him in my life. 


I also want to share my own daddy.  Here he is with my oldest son.  As old as I get, my dad is still there for me come rain or shine.  Love you DAD!!!