Five for Friday--Giveaway, Games, and Freebies!

Happy Friday!

I'm linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs for a peek at my week.

1

This is week 2 of my DIY version of the 21 Day Fix. I looked into buying it, but then realized it was really about making smart choices and portion control--something I felt confident I could do myself. I am so proud of myself for eating LOTS of fruits and vegetables--I even craved fruit yesterday! That's a new one for me! LOL!

2

So...this kid is so excited. I know it might not look like it. He shows excitement like his dad. What can I say? I had to make him smile! Some of you watched the video on Facebook of him running for the first time since February 23rd last week--now that showed a genuine smile.

He is released for cross country. He doesn't have to go to therapy for two months--when they will start working on making cuts, sharp turns, etc. for basketball. Woohoo! And mom and dad are happy that insurance is covering his expensive brace at 100%! Praise the Lord!

3

This pic takes some set-up.

I have not been sleeping well for months--which means hubby has not been sleeping well. We had our queen-sized bed for 15 years and it was a hand-me-down from hubby's parents so who knows how old it really is... 

On July 4th, we decided we'd had enough and loaded up in our truck and went shopping. We spent hours picking the perfect king-size (hubby wanted to go up a size)! To my disappointment I learned that we would have to wait 7-10 days to have the bed delivered. 

So we waited. 

It was coming the 10th day.

Then the 11th day.

Then they said it wouldn't be here until today (the 13th day).

So the mad face is on our old bed...that's how I felt about spending one more night in what I have not-so-lovingly termed the "torture chamber."

The other picture is me on my new bed that was delivered yesterday--hooray! 

Please ignore the snowflake pillows and camo blanket. The king-size means I got new sheets too--woohoo! And in case you're wondering, I slept like a baby last night. :-)

4

In case you haven't entered yet, you're going to want to click here to enter our giveaway! Prizes include $50 to Target, $25 to Amazon, and $25 to Etsy.

We're also having $1 Deals every day the giveaway is open (until July 20th at midnight). Today's deal is our Connect Four Sight Word Mega Pack--marked down from $5! 

Feel free to pass the word along about the giveaway and $1 deals.

5

Freebies!

At my school last year, we all had "versions" of the Whole Brain Teaching rules and they were all in different orders... Talk about confusing when we teach each other's kids for specials! In music, I'd say, "What's rule #1?" And the K and 1st would say something different than what I had in 2nd...etc. We decided to all get on the same page and I came up with these. Click the picture to grab them for free!

And...I've had some people ask me about our Robot Calendar. It is updated in our Robot Theme Pack if you purchased that. I decided to also put it on Facebook as our Fan Freebie for now. I tried to let our followers know, but considering it has only 30 or so views I think FB might be "hiding" it...so weird the way that works.

Speaking of FB hiding things, I wanted to let you know (in case you didn't see it) we have a little game going on over there too. Comment with what you would like to see as $1 deal in the coming days and on Monday will draw a winner, who will get whatever they selected for FREE! The game post is pinned at the top of our page for now so head over there to play along.

Okay, I'm out! 

Back-to-school panic is setting in...I report back one month from today, students the 21st and I have so many "projects" I haven't finished yet. Yikes! Need to stay focused today!

$50 Target, $25 Etsy, $25 Amazon and $1 Deals Anyone???

It's giveaway time!

We haven't celebrated our followers in quite some time, so we decided to do a big giveaway! 

I have to admit that I am still amazed and humbled by the number of followers we have--especially on Facebook! 

Kristi and I are so thankful for each of you.

In addition to the giveaway, we are having $1 Deal Days every day while the giveaway is live--July 16th - July 20th! Make sure you are following us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook because that will be the easiest way to share the $1 deals. You won't want to miss them! 

Today's deal is...

...drum roll please...

That's right! 

Our Fractions Mega Pack is only $1 for today only! 
This pack includes seven fun and engaging games designed to help your kiddos with those tricky fractions...for $1!

I told you that you wouldn't want to miss these $1 deals! 
The rest of them will be announced via IG, Twitter, and FB so use the buttons in the top right corner to follow us if you aren't already!

How can we top that $1 deal?

A giveaway, of course!

Here we go...

Three winners. 

$50 to Target. 

$25 to Etsy. 

$25 to Amazon. 

Perfect for your back to school preparations!

You're going to notice an emphasis on following our TPT store in order to enter. That's because I have only recently realized the benefits I'm getting by checking out the new listings e-mail I receive for stores I follow. I'm often able to grab FLASH Freebies and/or resources at great discounts. We want to offer that same thing to our followers--and we want to make sure you don't miss those specials!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ok, I hope you're as excited about this as we are! 

Best of luck! ;-)

Wisdom of Wednesday - How We View Ourselves

Good morning! Crystal here.

**Warning--total transparency ahead!**

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I posted this picture on Saturday. I attended a Ladies Conference with the theme of "Trash to Treasure" and Psalm 139:14 as the theme verse. The lessons and messages were all centered around low self-esteem and/or feelings of inferiority. The answer is, of course, seeing ourselves as God sees us which led me to this quote.

The quote comes from Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free.

I didn't consider myself as someone who had low self-esteem or feelings of inferiority, but as the lessons began I realized I do have some "issues."

I had to admit there are times when I'm not comfortable being me.  

Not sure how to explain that, but I will try...

I'm a "tomboy."

I'm not good with decorating, fashion, hair, or makeup.

I struggle to make conversation.

I wonder after a conversation if I really sounded as dorky as I thought.

I keep others at a distance.

I have a hard time "investing" in others.

I have failed in some areas of my life.

This weekend, I realized that I was allowing some of those "issues" to become excuses in my life. Excuses why I wasn't good enough or wasn't able to do what the Lord wanted me to do.

Instead of focusing on those "issues," I need to focus on God and Who He is!

God created me. 

He knows my flaws--and my strengths.

He loves me just the way I am.

He loves me despite my past failures.

He has prepared me for what He has prepared for me.

If you struggle with low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority, I'd encourage you to read Judges 6-7, the story of Gideon, with this in mind: God took a "zero" and made him a hero. Take special notice of Judges 6:12 when the angel of the Lord called Gideon a "mighty man of valour" while he was hiding from the Midianites!

Thanks for joining me for another issue of Wisdom for Wednesday! If you enjoyed it, please comment. I'll be wondering if I was too dorky...too transparent...too...well, you get the idea!

Have a blessed day!

Must Read Monday: Books About Compassion and Caring

I have linked up with:

I love this linky because I have gotten so many great ideas of new books that I want to use in the classroom this coming year.  Here are the books that I like to read to teach caring and compassion.

1.  

This is a great book about a boy who has a favorite Teddy Bear and one day he loses it.  In the end, it teaches a great lesson of compassion.

2.  

This is a cute book that has an elderly zoo keeper that gets sick and all the animals go see him and cheer him up.

3.  

This book is about a bird that wakes up and finds out that all of his friends and family are gone.  With the help of a friendly cat, he finds his way to his friends and family. 

4.  

In this book, Bear gets sick and all his friends come over to take care of him.

5.  

The boy in this book finds an injured pigeon.  With the help of his mom, he takes the pigeon home to nurse it back to health.  

Make sure you link up and share your favorite books about compassion and caring!

July Currently

I have linked up with Farley for her July Currently.

 

Listening-We have been having some thunderstorms the last few days here in Kansas.  It has been nice because it has given us a break from the heat.

Loving-I feel so much better when I get some things done off my to do list.

Thinking-where has the summer gone?  I can't believe it is already July.  We will be back in school soon!

Wanting-I've been wanting to relax on the couch and watch a good movie. 

Needing-I haven't taken my daily nap that I've grown to love this summer.  It has been awhile since I've taken one and I am ready for one now.  :-)

All-I am not much of a shopper but when I do shop I like to find bargains and make sure I save!

 

Don't forget to link up and do your Currently for this month!

 

Have a great day!

 

 

Wisdom for Wednesday-The World

Welcome to another week of:

I heard the other day that this is one of the most read and looked up bible verses in the bible.  After reading through it, I can understand why it would be so popular.  It is so easy to fall into this world and become adjusted to the culture around us.  Instead, our attention should be fixed on God.  As Christians, we shouldn't just settle for things in this world, nor should we just coast.  We should be transformed!

Have a great day!

What do you mean--Hotshot?? #MakeYourMasterpiece

This week's #TPTSellerChallenge was all about making a new product. It was the perfect motivation I needed to *finish* a product I've been working on since March!

We call it HOTSHOTS.

I want to explain how these daily math and language "hot topics" review pages came about. I also want to explain how I've used them and how I plan to use them this year in my classroom.

You're also going to want to stick around and check them out for yourself because they are 40% off today!

Two years ago (when I switched schools and switched to 2nd grade), I had 15 minutes at the end of the day in my schedule when we returned from specials. We called it "Snack and Pack" but it didn't take anywhere near 15 minutes and my bunch would get talkative and rowdy waiting to be dismissed. It was a complete waste of time!

I also had a group that struggled with math and wanted to give them all the practice I could on the skills that seemed to cause them the most problems. I created some PowerPoints with math review questions on them and projected them on the board. Students worked in folders to complete them before being dismissed.

I did the same this past year until March. 

I had noticed some things I wanted to tweak and tried out my new HOTSHOTS for the remainder of the year. 

SUCCESS! 

The first problem...projecting on the board. Some students struggled to follow along or copy problems from the board. Also, if they needed to go back later and finish, I had to pull up the slide for them. 

The second problem...sentences! My second graders (which I would call a "high" class) were still struggling to use correct conventions and misspelling "easy" words. As I thought back to when I taught first grade, I remembered Kristi and I used a "Fix the Sentence" book. We thought it was a bit hard, but it definitely made them be detectives and spot those common errors in sentences. 

So HOTSHOTS was created!

#MakeYourMasterpiece

In my classroom we don't do them every day (to make a complete product, I made 180--four sets of 45). We usually do 3 each week, but my students remind me if we haven't done them. They loved them. Of course, it helps if you really "play up" the name and tell them they have to be Hotshots, show me their stuff, etc. :-)

I'm also excited to have plenty to choose from. Sometimes I have kiddos with wandering eyes (if you know what I mean). It would be easy enough to give half the class HOTSHOT #1 and the other half #2 (for example).

If you purchase HOTSHOTS, you're going to get two versions. One with a margin and one without. As I mentioned, my students kept theirs in folders with the brads so the margin is needed.

No folder at home, but you get the idea...

 You'll also get the version without a margin--perfect for a printable worksheet or putting them in a plastic sleeve to be completed with a dry erase marker. 

This is the direction I'm leaning for next year. I'm considering putting them in my math rotations. I love it when I can save paper, and my kiddos love using dry erase markers! 

Don't worry my First Grade Friends. Kristi is working on a HOTSHOTS set for you! 

Second Grade Friends - Head on over to our store and check out HOTSHOTS for yourself. They will be 40% off until tomorrow morning!

#TeachMiracles

Thanks to Ashley at Teach Create Motivate, Jen at Sparkling in Second, Amber at Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Emily at Third in Hollywood for putting together the #TPTSellerChallenge!