Rainy Day and a Rainy Day Pack

Most of my Spring Break has been raining. Like pouring down and one day we had wind gusts. *sigh* So it's no wonder that I've been inside most of the time, except to visit with my college buddy and to go grocery shopping.
I've been working on units and packs a lot. My couch is going to get an imprint of my behind getting a lot of use. So of course I rotate from couch to recliner, hahaha! No I am exercising too, so I get off every once in awhile :)

I was inspired by the rain to create a new unit. I think it's pretty cute! It's word families and the rain drops go with the umbrella (3 different word families) and the puddles go with the boots (2 word families) and the clouds go with the sun (2 word families).

7 word families!

It's available at my TN store which today is the last day for my sale!  

The first three that comment and leave their e-mail will get this for free :) Happy Saturday!

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Friday Freebie Spring Quote

I had so much fun meeting up with my friend from college! She likes coming down and visiting my friends' farm. At the farm they have animals and they have a huge shop that has fruits, veggies, a bakery, a coffee counter with fudge, and they have homemade jams/syrups/apple cider and other food stuff, and they also sell plants and cute garden/country decor. The place is just so cute! And in the fall they have pumpkins and a corn maze and tons of other fun stuff.

So the first thing we did was head to the animal barn. We said hello to the turkeys, chickens, and roosters. Next were the rabbits. A few weeks ago two babies were born but they're in the store since their momma died. So sad! And then there were the goats and baby goats! So tiny! And a llama. And a sheep. With her baby born just an hour before we got there. So new and tiny!

We headed inside and smelled the fresh apple cider doughnuts just made. But I was good. I bought fresh fruit and veggies. We looked at the beautiful flowers, so bright and cheery. And then my friend who is the daughter of the owners, came in with her 3 day old baby! Oh Mr. Chubbers! Born, he weighed 10 lbs 11 oz!

It's definitely spring for me now. Between all the rain (the last few days), the flowers, babies, and animal babies... that is spring to me.  I was racking my mind for a freebie and decided to make a little poster with a quote about spring.

Click here to go get free at my TN store!

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Font Addiction

I don't know what it is about fonts, but I love them! I have sooo many downloaded and still keep finding new ones all the time. They just make you units/packs/creations have a little something extra. I've made a list of just a few of my favorites.

I believe that all of these are from kevinandamanda.com one of my favorite places to get fonts. Pea Nathalie at the bottom is just one of many "pea" fonts and I love them all. There are other font places out there but these are my regular go-to sites:

kevinandamanda.com, dafont.com, and 1001fonts.com.

Are you addicted to fonts too? And don't even get me started on clipart. At least they are good addictions, right?

Alright, I have to get started on my day because I'm meeting up with my bestie from college today, woohoo!

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Wednesday, TTCT, and a New Pack

I have taken my time off for Spring Break and put good use to it! I've been working on units/packs like a madwoman. I finished a counting change one (someone already bought one yay!) and think I finished another coin counting one last night.

Graphics by The 3AM Teacher

Students read the money amount and choose which letter has the correct word amount. I'm pleased that someone bought it already, but my whole store is on sale, so they got it for a steal!

Yesterday I went shopping for my adopted teacher from:

I was getting very emotional shopping. I wanted to buy everything for her! It was fun picking things out, thinking "Oh I hope she would like this!" or "Her kids would love this!"

Some of the loot :) I got some classroom staple like pencils and paper clips. I also got flash cards and all the books in the back are reproducible books for phonics, telling time, writing, and literacy stuff. The Clifford cds up front are spelling and the other is counting, though I know she may not have a computer, she can still use them in the future. I also burnt a cd with all the stuff from my TN store, so she now has a ton of math and literacy unit/games!

And then I thought, this is nice stuff for the classroom and the kids. But SHE needs stuff herself. So I bought:

The little polka dot box, she can put something in. The paisley print is a writing pad. And the photo frame and ribbon, I'm going to make into a post it note holder like the one Vicky from Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After made me in a giveaway:

Isn't it cute (this is zoomed in). She got the idea off of Pinterest somewhere. So I'll take scrapbook paper and ribbon and make the holder. I still might add more to the package, but I'm pretty happy with it so far!

I'm trying not to panic that today's the 1/2 way mark of Spring Break. Though next week there are conferences and rumor from other subs was that Monday and Friday next week cannot be taken off in conjunction with Spring Break or conferences. Really? I don't know. Maybe I'll have 2 weeks off lol.

I'm giving away my Counting Change pack to the first three comments that have e-mail with them.

Happy Wednesday!

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Time Out Tuesday

Before I get to TOT, I just have to get this off my chest. I totally was not saying in my post yesterday that the flash drive is for everyone. I know that stuff can happen to it too. I was saying that's what works for ME. The main point of my post yesterday was: back up your stuff! Whether it's flashdrive, external hard drive, Drop Box, or any sort of those things, do what works for you !

Now, on to my TOT. I'm taking time out today to celebrate my fur baby. She came into my life 7 years ago in March.

Cats are connoisseurs of comfort. 

James Herriot 

I'm thankful everyday that she adopted me! That she chose my house to come to and that she came to me before a very rough point in my life when I lost my cousin Nicole.

I know I talk about Checkers often, but she brings such joy that I want everyone to get a little joy too! Yesterday I watched her frolic in the sun and chase her tail. Just those little things make me laugh.

The little things like meowing back at me, nudging me, attacking invisible things. Or the looks she gives me.

Way down deep, we're all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them.

Jim Davis

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.

George Eliot 

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Organizing, Backing Up, and Late Night Brainstorm

I took my own advice and put a pad of paper and a pen by my bed. Thank goodness I did, because last night watching tv, it was like a trickle of ideas, which eventually ended up as a flood of thoughts. So now that I have all these ideas, I just have to figure out if they will be math, literacy, or both.  Maybe the tv was good for my brainstorming? When do you get your best ideas?

I also took some time to back up my files and freebies that I've won from other teachers and my stuff I've bought. I kept having awful thoughts that if my computer goes out on me, all my stuff is lost. And I couldn't download the stuff fast enough. I recommend backing up your stuff people! I think I need to do this once a week to stay on top of it.

My next step is to back up all the stuff I have made. Same reason as above; if I lose my computer all my stuff will be gone. I also organized some of my downloads and have several folders now and I'll be able to find everything much easier now!

Do you back up your stuff? Flash drive or external hard drive? I have a flash drive (2 actually) and they hold a lot! I got them for Christmas from the parents and I they're 8 GB by Sandisk.

Mine looks very similar to this.

They were on sale, but normally not too bad priced at regular price either. They are worth it anyway, backing up all the stuff!

It was really simple saving stuff to the flash drive. I just right clicked the item, picked "send to" and the flash drive was an option. So I clicked that and zoom! it was on the disk. Simple, quick, and will save me any headaches I might have had if I had lost all my stuff!

Little edit: Someone also reminded me that you could also use Cloud (if you have an Apple account) or Drop Box. Those are both great ideas too :) Here's a link to DropBox.

Bloggy friends...I  can't wait for the week of April 1st on TBA... lots of good stuff will be happening to celebrate TBA's first birthday, so be on the look out :)  If you haven't seen the schedule of events, here they are:

Behind the scenes, best of the best posts, time out Tuesday, a birthday pinning party, classroom birthday link party, and Friday is the gigantic giveaway winner announced ( there are tons of stuff to win by amazing authors!) and also it's Freebie Friday. All sorts of fun stuff going on. So mark your calendars!

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Lazy Sunday

I feel like it's a lazy Sunday but I've done some stuff. Like worked out and made lunch. That's worth something right? I had an idea last night for a new unit and silly me, forgot to write it down and now I can't remember. *sigh* Does this ever happen to you?

My hope is to complete some new stuff during Spring Break, but we'll see! I'm trying not to freak out, but a pack I was working on won't open and PowerPoint keeps shutting down. *sigh* Man I keep sighing a lot lol. WHEW! Crisis averted and I finished the pack.

Purses have coin amounts on them and students have to put that amount in coins on the purse and then record  what money they used.

I'm also working on another Lily math pack with quarters.  Seriously in love with the Lily graphics and the money graphics, courtesy The 3AM Teacher , Michelle!

Right now with my spring break sale going on, it's only 80 cents! Check it out and other items at my TN store.

I'll give a few away to the first 3 that comment with their e-mails :)  

If you ever want me to create something, let me know! Any ideas, suggestions, feedback, let me know!  Happy Sunday :)

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First Day of Spring Break and a Flower Match Up

Hello bloggy buddies! Isn't it a gloriously sunny beautiful day?  The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and it's the first day of Spring Break!  I still can't believe it was snowing two days ago!

Last night after work, my mom and I had a little retail therapy :) We are fortunate (maybe unfortunate for my wallet) to live so close the Outlets here in Oregon. It was rated the number one attraction in Oregon (kind of sad considering our natural beauties of the ocean and mountains!)  First store we hit was Coach! And straight to the back where the 50% off clearance stuff is. I left with a purse that ended up being $50! Not shabby one bit! Loved the blue and the snakeskin look on the strap and sides.

Then we went to Guess Accessories but nothing  caught our eye. And we went to Van Heusen where I got a shirt for $5. And to Columbia, where my mom got stuff but I didn't. And then I got a cute shirt at Aeropostale for $5. Finally we went to Wilson Leather, who was having a huge liquidation sale and I got a $100 purse for $26!

I love it! It's got a zipper pocket on the back too.

My mom says that a woman can never have enough purses. She's right! It was good shopping with her and we only bought things on sale. And one of my besties from college wants to meet up sometime during spring break, so excited! We get together a few times a year to catch up, reminisce, and just chat and laugh. We can spend hours together and act like we haven't been separated at all! Don't you love friends like that?

Ok, on to some teaching stuff (guess I could have put percentages on sale stuff to be educational lol). I uploaded a new pack on my TN store. It's noun/verb/adjective flowers and bees. And bees have different words that the students have to move onto the flower that matches that word. So the bee with 'huge' on it would move to the adjective flower.

Bees with signs and bees with stars. 12 words for each category!

A record sheet for kiddos to write down their matches! And only $1!  And I've just put everything in my store on sale...til the 30th! Cheapest thing is 35 cents and the most expensive is $1.20! 

But like always when I upload a new product to my store, I am giving a few away. The first 3 commenters with their e-mails will get this flower match up free!

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Spring Break and Friday Freebie!

I SURVIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This has been a horribly long and hard week and to celebrate I'm going to go shopping tonight (I got my paycheck today too!)

And so you know how it was snowy and delayed yesterday? Sun and warm today! Crazy Oregon weather!

Here's a freebie at my TN store! It's Spring Writing! Included is a spring acrostic poem, an "I like spring because" paper, and a blank spring template.

And be on the look out in the next day or so (most likely tomorrow) for a spring break sale at my TN store. Since most of my stuff is already under $2, it'll be suuuuuper cheap when it goes on sale! In fact, most of my stuff is $1, so it'll  be really low priced!

I also wanted to say hello and welcome to my new followers! Welcome and I hope you get some ideas from my blog! 

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Snow What?

Really? Really? So before I went to bed last night, the yard looked like this:

Barely anything and then picked up a little.

Then I woke up at freaking 3 am exactly...out of the blue (should I blame the 3 AM Teacher? Lol just kidding, love ya Michelle!) .

And I peeked out the window and dropped my jaw. It was still snowing and there was this:

And now:

And the district I'm working for today is only 2 hour delay. Everyone around here is closed! Ok so we normally don't get snow. And definitely not right before Spring Break. Odd Oregon weather lol.

Which is ok, because I'm only working a 1/2 day to begin with at 11. But still! I see kids playing and it makes me think of my childhood when we had snow days. And how the older kids pulled the younger kids on sleds around the block. Or how we'd go to one yard and build a fort and then have a snowball fight and the adults would join in. Or how one neighbor invited us all over to his yard because he didn't have a fence (one side of the street has sloped yards, including ours) and we'd sled in his back yard, down the slope but stop before reaching the street below. And how one silly neighbor sprayed all of our sleds with Pledge and we FLEW! 

Before I forget, I have a few things to mention to you. First, Teacher Blogger Exchange has a new exchange going on, and it's very interesting. I mean Pinteresting. Click the button for more info! I'm participating and I'm so excited!

Next, Amber from Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher is having a 200 follower giveaway with some great stuff!  Like a gift card to Target and stuff from her store. Plus, myself and some other fabulous bloggers donated items to her giveaway. You should enter! Just click the button below :)

Here's to hoping you see a blog post from me tomorrow lol. I'll let you know how I survive the class with a reputation (did I mention they threw food at one of their last subs? That so better not happen!)

I'll leave you with a photo of my fur baby who is enthralled with the snow. She was watching it fall yesterday and is looking at it now. 

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Wednesday is Over...

Whew, I survived! Can you believe it, my partner sub from Monday cancelled today! And they had no sub and ended up having  2 subs in that class. My morning was fine, it was the afternoon class that is the harder of the two. Two kids ended up in the office for different reasons, but one of them, he was mad at me because I had him go to the office during specials which was computers. Sorry little guy, but next time you'll listen to me and you won't wrestle with a little lovely who was reading (and he never does anything so I didn't want him to stop reading!).

The morning class said some stuff today that cracked me up. One kiddo told me his pencil ripped. I looked and the tip was broken. Love how he said ripped lol. Another little one told me she was going to get her dog a husband so they can have puppies. And a third little was cleaning up crayons (the teacher has the red ones in a red cup, the blue in a blue, etc. for each table) and he turned around and shouted, "Next time, sort the colors and show a little respect people!"

And seriously people, it's supposed to be spring right? Well we had snow (still snowing a little). Guess Oregon didn't get the memo! It snowed Monday too a little.  I can't wait for Spring Break next week, though the only thing I really have planned is using my flash drive and backing up a lot of my new stuff. And probably working on units.

Is it Friday yet? :)

Oh and The 3 AM Teacher is having a giveaway....

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Time Out Tuesday: Do What You Can

I honestly don't know what to write today. After yesterday, I was tired. After today, I'm wiped. And I go back to the same kinder tomorrow and just heard that my 5th grade class on Friday is pretty cruel on subs. *sigh*

Trying to keep positive, but it's pretty hard when the classes are so tough, you are just happy any work gets done and the kids are safe. Thankfully next week is Spring Break. That is what has me hanging on there by a thin thread.

Good old Teddy Roosevelt has a good quote: "Do what you can, where you are, with what you've got." I have to do that sometimes. Tough class? Then do what you can, get what work done you can, that's what I've got to do.

Oooh found another good one: “Head up, heart open. To better days!” 
― T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph Over Death and Conscious Encounters with "The Divine Presence"
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Grumblings and Sweetness

O.M.G. Can we say that I'm soooo glad Monday is over? So I'm in a kinder class and my morning was fine. Then the sub next door and I went to switch kiddos for the day (dual program) and I get the growling kinder class. But first I had to go in the room and tell them to sit down first as they are running around the room. Then they get their backpacks and I said, "Now you can enter the classroom" and they came in.

They sat at the carpet and I had a little chat with them. Asked them what respectful and responsible kinders look like. And they told me. And I asked, "Are you looking like this?" And they said no. So then I took the bit of Whole Class Teaching with the smiley and sad face on the board and the reward they were working towards was a little bit of free time. Sadly, they never got it. I won't go into details, but let's just say I earned my money in full today lol.

Oh how I wish they would have been sweeter. But they weren't. Speaking of sweet, I made a Sweet Math game. Students put numbered jelly beans and/or candy into numbered jars. They have to use +, -, X, or /. It's great for all ages because the little ones can stick to + and - and the older kids can use the X and /.

I include blank jars and candy so you can write your own. And only one page of colored candy since I know many of you are restricted on color :) And there's a record sheet so kiddos write what number sentences they  made. 

This can be found at my TN store. But the first three commenters with their e-mails get it for free! Hope that helps someone elses Monday get better!

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