Check Out This Great Giveaway!

Hi there! I just found Lisa's great giveaway at Learning is Something to Treasure. She is celebrating reaching 50+ followers. She is giving away 2 gift cards to Teachers Pay Teachers ($25 each). What could be better? I know I still have a long wish list - even after all the great deals I got during the Teachers Appreciation Day sale!

Better hurry! The giveaway ends tomorrow!

Crystal

P.S. I can't wait until we reach 50 followers so we can have a giveaway too. :-) And yes, I admit, I'm blogging for more chances to win! Good luck! :-)

A Confession and a Money FREEBIE!

Can we make a confession?

We were starting to feel like the "I Have, Who Has?" queens in our TPT and TN stores. We have made A LOT of the games to practice reading sight words, vowel sounds, consonant blends, etc. We were afraid we needed to put the brakes on and try something else (which we are doing and can't wait until they are finished so we can share).

...but then...

Can you guess what happened?

That's right! We had a request for more!

Are you kidding me?

No, there it is in the questions section of our TPT store. You can check it out for yourself if you don't believe me. :-)

So, Crystal got busy and came up with a FREEBIE!

Our math curriculum introduces the penny and nickel first, then we have some time before adding the dime and finally the quarter. We wanted a game to play as each coin is introduced. So check our store if you would also like the games including the dime and quarter.

The coin graphics are pictures of REAL money!  I love that Crystal was able to do this with the real money.  The coins seem to be a difficult skill for first grade and I think having the real deal is really going to help a lot!  Come check them out, I know that she spent a lot of time making sure that each coin was perfect (that is her perfectionism that comes out - LOL!).  If you don't know yet, Crystal is one that will work on something and never give up until it is PERFECT!!  I wish I had that in me - maybe she will rub off on me!

Thanks for all the congratulations on getting the teacher of the year award.  It was a very humbling experience.  I was very surprised when they announced my name and don't really believe that I deserve it. 

Anyways, I was wondering why Crystal was making such a big deal about me going and using the restroom during the awards ceremony.  I was thinking to myself, "What is her deal about me going to the bathroom?"  She continued to try to give me every excuse she could think of to keep me there, but in the long run it didn't work.  I made it to the restroom and luckily made it back to hear my name called. 

Yes, it is true that when my name was announced, I turned to Crystal and asked if I had to go up in front of all those people.  I am not one that likes to be the center of attention, so as I'm walking up I feel my stomach flipping and the sweat starting to run.  I made it through and I thought it was very nice of those that nominated me for this award.  I feel very blessed to be surrounded by people who I not only teach with but care about a lot!  

Hope all of you are enjoying summer so far if you are on break at this time.  If not, hang in there I'm sure it's just around the corner for you!  Have a great weekend! 

Kristi  

District Teacher of the Year!!!!

Okay, so Kristi will probably want to kill me when she sees this post, but I just have to brag on my teaching buddy. We had our district breakfast and awards ceremony yesterday to close out the year and guess who received the District Teacher of the Year award?

Kristi, that's who! :-)

There were several in our building that nominated her so we were waiting with anticipation yesterday morning to find out if she had been selected. I was getting stressed out because she kept having to go to the restroom (too much coffee, that is all I will say about that), and I was afraid she was going to miss the announcement. Then when they called her name, she says, "Do I have to go up there?" LOL!

Here's a few parts of the nomination letter I sent:

I will never forget the first time that I saw Kristi teaching. It was the spring of 2008, and I was observing various schools and classrooms in order to decide where I wanted to student teach. I watched that morning as students started filing into the classroom, each receiving a personal greeting and a hug. Then as Kristi began to teach with such animation and excitement, I knew that I wanted to learn from her.

As I think about what makes Kristi a great teacher, the first thing that comes to mind is her love for the kids. She takes the extra time necessary to truly foster a relationship with each of her students and bring out their best. Some in our building even call her “the child whisperer” because of her talent in the area of classroom management. Aside from that, Kristi works many extra hours searching for resources online that can make her lessons more exciting. She presents her lessons with such enthusiasm that the students are actively engaged – even during direct instruction.

Kristi would probably disagree with what I have written here. She is very humble and does not realize what a wonderful teacher she truly is – which makes her all the more deserving.

And I have to apologize for our lack of posts this last week. After the zoo trip, things just got a little crazy. I will say that I CRIED the last day of school as I was saying goodbye to the kiddos. I thought I could make it through the line, but then one of my sweeties told me a 5 minute story and I just couldn't hold on any longer! By the end of the line, I was crying so much I could barely talk. I really enjoyed this group and I'm going to miss them!

Today, I slept in until 8:00! My hubby and I do P90X every morning before work...last night, I told him he was on his own because I was sleeping in on my first day off. :-)

Have a great day!

Crystal

Field Trip to the Zoo = Sleeping Kids!

Whew! We are exhausted! Today was our big field trip to the zoo. We left at 8:30 this morning and headed to the zoo (about 45 minutes away). It was such a fun day. I had one in my group who wore a watch and decided to be the official "time-keeper" for us. He told me the time at least every two minutes - seriously! LOL! There was a few times when he would say, "It's 10:26" and a few seconds later, "It's still 10:26." Kristi and I had a lot of good laughs today!

Here's what some of the kids looked like on the way home... I had 6 go to sleep. Kristi had 0 go to sleep...our classes are so different! Glad no one snapped our picture because we probably looked just as tired, but I promise I did not fall asleep on the bus. :-)

Quite a difference from when we left... Our 10 day balloon countdown had "1st graders are so bright, we have to wear shades." Kristi and I bought them all sunglasses (party favor aisle) and gave them to wear on the field trip. They were so excited.

Oh, and here's one picture of fun at the zoo. You'll notice the timekeeper pointing to our twins. Kristi and I each have one of the twins so we teamed  up so they could walk together. They are such cuties!

TWO more days! Tomorrow we're cleaning in the morning, then having an AR party - watch a movie and floats. Friday is Field Day!

I know some of you have more days left, so hang in there!

Crystal

Our Summer Bucket Lists

We're linking up! Hadar, Teri, and April are hosting a summer bucket list linky party and since we both love to make lists, we had to get in on this!

Crystal's Summer Bucket List:

1. Write a book - don't laugh. I really am a writer. I haven't written much since I started teaching and feel the Lord prompting me to "get to work" so...

2. Clean out my buffet - which has all my scrapbooking and stamping goodies in it that I wish I had time to use and it is where I put all the memorabilia stuff the kids bring home throughout the year.

3. Finish my new laundry room and 2nd bathroom...I'm so excited!

{you can see we have a ways to go}

4. Spend plenty of time floating in my pool!

{getting ready to open it up - when you live 30 minutes from nearest pool, having your own is a MUST!}

Okay, on to some school stuff...

1. Figure out how to do my clip behavior system up and down. If you already know how to do this - HELP ME! Ha! Ha! I really want to make it more positive, but I have some questions. If a student moves up in the day, but later breaks a rule do they move back to the start with no consequence? Or do they bypass the starting point and go to the first consequence?

{each clip has a helmet with their names, the flags are their consequences}

2. Plan a new prize box system that does not require me to remember to give stars on a chart everyday. To be honest, I hate the prize box, but I know the kids love it so...

3. Figure out how I will work the MTSS requirements into my classroom next year.

4. Create some things that correlate with our curriculum that will provide plenty of Common Core reinforcement and assessment.

Kristi's Summer Bucket List:

1.  ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE-OK, so I put it off all year long!!  Now I have to get it done.  I need to organize everything at my house.  My plan is to get everything organized and keep it organized forever for at least one whole week!

2.  RELAX-take time to enjoy each day that I have to spend with my family and friends. 

3.  Sit in my hot tub-at least on the cool summer nights (which I hope we have a lot of those)

AT SCHOOL:

Mine are the same as Crystal only I have to add the following:
1.  ORGANIZE-yes I need to get organized there as well.

Can't wait to see everyone else's Bucket List!! 

Torn Paper Fun Thing

This week in reading, we had the story Dot and Jabber and the Big Bug Mystery.  We discussed with the kiddos how the illustrations had been done with torn paper.  Many of the students thought that it would be easy to make the illustrations with torn paper, so we put it to a test!  Well, in the end they turned out great, but they figured out quickly that it wasn't as easy as they thought it would be.  Check out the results that took a good hour to do and was only one page.  We did pick out only the best ones that we had to share.  LOL!!

We are down to 5 days left!  Next week is going to be lonnnnggggg!  We have our field trip to the zoo, field day, and an AR reading party to add to all the other chaos fun. 

Hope you have a great weekend!  Crystal and Kristi



Teacher Appreciation Sale!

Yeah! It's Teacher Appreciation Week--finally! On one of my calendars at home, it said Teacher Appreciation Week was last week and Teacher Appreciation Day was on last Tuesday. Each day at work, I thought how quiet everyone was being about it. Usually our awesome parent organization has several surprises up their sleeve and I wondered what was going on...but I didn't want to ask. I didn't want to "assume" that they should be doing something for us. Finally on Wednesday when there was still no snacks in the lounge (I was really hungry that day), I asked someone...and you can figure out the rest of the story. LOL!

Okay, so maybe I am a bit blonde... :-)

Anyway, yeah, it is finally here and we are celebrating by participating in the Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook sales. Head on over and check out the great deals!

Okay, so here is hoping you enjoy the REAL Teacher Appreciation Week!

Crystal

Busy Saturday and May Currently!

At the beginning of the week, I had only one thing to do on this beautiful Saturday - Mother Daughter Luncheon at my church. It is a great time to enjoy the ladies of my family: my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister, my sister-in-law, my precious daughter, and my three nieces. We all sit together at the lunch - this year catered by McAllister's Deli. Hope they bring plenty of sweet tea! Then we get to listen as someone (changes from year to year) gives us a challenge from God's Word. Come to think of it, last time it was me who had the honor of speaking...a little scary because there are about 100 ladies in attendance, but the Lord helped me through. Anyway, I love it and am excited to go, but I now have a long list of errands to do as well. 

From one thing to...well, let's see.

• 90+ degrees here in Kansas this week means I've got to go to the pool store and make sure I have everything I need to open the pool ASAP!
 
• Hubby has tilled up the garden and it is begging for plants!
 
• My sweet daughter is long overdue for a haircut.
 
• Wal-Mart for sunglasses for my firsties. Kristi and I totally "stole" Erin's cute 10 day countdown idea and quickly put it together after school last night. Check it out at First with Franklin.

Okay, enough about my busy day ahead...

It's time again for Farley's Currently! Wow - those last ones are tough. Pageant title and platform...had me stumped for awhile, but I came up with something. See below:

Have a great day!

Crystal

School Memory Book

So I have been missing my co-teacher the last couple days. Kristi had a little mishap this weekend that required her to be laid up for a couple of days. Praise the Lord she is coming back tomorrow - though I think her doctor would rather her continue to take it easy! Her kiddos have definitely been pushing things little angels in her absence. And I've been getting a ton of work done because we have not been running to the other's room to chat collaborate during our plan time. It is just not normal and I miss her! :-)

The good news is that while Kristi was laid up, she worked on a great School Memory Book and posted it on TPT. We do one of these every year and the kids just love them. Head on over there and check it out.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/End-of-School-Year-Memory-Book-for-elementary

Counting down the days - 12 more to go (with kids - 14 total)!

Kristi and I are both trying to continue with as much normalcy as possible and plunge ahead in our lessons, but so many things are popping up to mess up our schedules. What about you? Still in the routine? Or busting out and letting loose? Ha ha!

Have a great evening!

Crystal