Keep Calm and Chevron

...don't stress about your classroom decor! I have just created a turquoise, black, & white chevron classroom bundle!  I am still waiting for that public school job, and therefore, I am constantly thinking about what my classroom theme will eventually be.  I made this bundle so I have options (I am wavering between this theme and a movie theme).  This is my favorite color combo, and I LOVE chevron!!

There are a lot of classroom essentials included in these 70 pages:

*Page 1-2: Clock Numbers (:00, :05, :10 etc.) **I use my fiskars circle punch to punch out black circles to back the numbers before laminating!**
*Page 3-10: Table numbers (small for tables, large to hang) numbers 1-6
*Page 11-21: Calendar Pieces (months, black and turquoise numbers, today/tomorrow/yesterday cards, birthday cards, blank holiday cards)
*Page 22: Homework Page (M,T,W,Th,F,Sat/sun)
*Page 23: Lesson Planning Page (math, science, social studies, reading, writing, other)
*Page 24-30: ABC Word Wall Headers
*Page 31-37: Number Cards (0-10 & two blank cards)
*Page 38-52: Animal Alphabet Cards (including 2 blank and 1 page listing what each picture is)
*Page 53: 2 Name Plates
*Page 54-55: Bulletin Board Borders (Black & Turquoise Chevron)
*Page 56- Blank Gift Bag Labels
*Page 57-61: Welcome Banner Flags
*Page 62-70: ABC Bunting

As always, I'd love to hear your suggestions on what else I can make!

Lights, Camera, Action!

So, I promised I'd update you guys on my kindergarten graduation... one month later, here it is!  Graduation was great... even though the kiddies did not sing as loudly as they did during practice... there were two break downs... and one "I'm not ready, call me to get my diploma last"! 

I made popcorn cupcakes, used popcorn containers I got at the dollar store for chips and snacks, rolled out a wrapping paper 'red carpet', and put their goodies in popcorn containers from the party store! The room looked really cute... cleaning everything up a few hours later... not so cute!

Sticking with movie theme for the upcoming school year, I made a great bundle that I just posted on Teachers Pay Teachers!! I am so excited because this is my biggest packet yet, and I worked really hard on it!

Seriously, I can't stop staring at it!

I've already cut out and laminated these for myself!

I am always looking for new ideas, so if you have any suggestions for products I should make I'd love to hear them!

Now, if you can help me find my first public school job in Connecticut, I will give you a packet FOR FREE! ;)

A Little Pomp, A Little Circumstance...

Pomp: "stately or splendid display; splendor; magnificence"... (mosey on over to dictionary.com and listen to the pronunciation of pomp, I can't get enough, she really puts the emphasis on the final "p")!  
  
There is definitely a lot of pomp in my life lately between my surprise graduation party and the graduation I am planning for my kindergarteners!  If you've never had a surprise party, you should definitely consider subliminally planting that idea in someone's head ASAP.  My boyfriend convinced me we could never afford a graduation party, but then got all of my family and friends together at my favorite bar, bar 140, and COMPLETELY surprised me... I cried!  There was even a bloody mary bar... and a giant cheese cake! It was such an awesome night!!  Good thing I had bought a graduation head band a few weeks earlier... (thinking back, I wondered why Greg didn't question that nonsense purchase, haha).

I may or may not have walked out of the bar with all the balloons... and they may or may not have gotten stuck in the fan... only for a second!

Now my focus is on my movie themed kindergarten graduation!  I wanted to show you the completely adorable self portraits my class did of themselves in their caps and gowns!! These are definitely worthy of being on the cover of the yearbook I am making!!

I will be finishing up the yearbook and getting my decorations together this week! Super stressed, but also super excited!! Updates soon!

Teacher Talk Tuesday: P is for Peanuts and Plants!

Have you heard of "Teacher Talk Tuesday"?... Michelle over at Apples and ABC's along with another blog have designated Tuesdays for teachers to post pictures of what they are doing in their classrooms on Instagram and hash tag it #teachertalktuesday.  Today I was excited because I finally found a use for the peanut erasers I found at the target dollar spot.  I had no idea what to do with them, but I had to have them (and a lot of them!)... I think it's funny that Greg has just stopped questioning my reason for buying things at the dollar spot, he just quietly examined the package of peanut erasers and rolled his eyes... 

Here is my #teachertalktuesday:

We're working on greater than, less than, and equal to.  I made little elephant cards with the symbols on them (and the words on the back) instead of the usual alligator that we used earlier in the year because, didn't you know, elephants love peanuts! The kids rolled dice, chose the two different amounts of peanuts, and had to figure out which sign completed the equation correctly. 

We're also working on plants, and if you are too, check out my life cycle of a plant packet on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I have all of the activities from this packet set up in my classroom and...

...last week we observed different types of plants outside... we were able to sneak out in between rain showers.  I used the awesome clipboards I got in the... everyone together now... TARGET DOLLAR SPOT (duh!).  I plan on Modge Podging something to go along with my classroom movie theme on them eventually.

So there you have it, P is for plants and peanuts!

What are you working on?

Oh, HOPPY Day!

I am SUPER EXCITED! I just made my first packet for Teachers Pay Teachers!  We are learning about animals and life cycles in my kindergarten class, but I hated the pictures that were provided in the curriculum binder!  I decided to make something that better fit my own style and VOILA...

... my "Life Cycle of a Frog" packet was born (no pun intended)!

Here's what's included:

• Page 1: Life cycle poster
• Page 2-5: Life cycle stages writing pages
• Page 6: Life cycle stages cards
• Page 7-8: Word wall cards with pictures
• Page 9-12: Memory matching game
• Page 13-18: Large bulletin board pictures (eggs, tadpole, froglet, frog, arrow) & word cards.
• Page 19: Life cycle fill-in worksheet
• Page 20-25: Pattern strips and cards (pre-made and blank)

If you're interested you can buy the packet at my store... then check out Scrappin Doodles, where I get some of my awesome clip art (until I finally figure out how to make my own)! I will be making this packet for the life cycle of a chicken, ladybug, butterfly, plant... and possibly a fish. 

If there is something you want included in the packet, but don't see, let me know! I would love to create something to meet your personal classroom needs... suggestions are definitely welcome!!

HOPPY Saturday... sorry, not sorry!

Gettin' Skinny with It!

Seriously, if you haven't heard of skinnytaste.com you really need to head over there (after browsing here, of course!)  Gina, at skinnytaste.com, makes tons of amazingly delicious AND healthy recipes!  Her meals make portion control a breeze and she even calculates the Weight Watchers points, old and new, for everything she posts.  Lately, all of my meals have been coming from skinnytaste.com, and I have loved them all (Greg too)!  Even if I am not making an exact recipe, I am using skills and techniques that I have learned from the site.    Here are just a few of the things that I have made either from Gina's recipes, or that have been inspired by her cooking  (yup, I am one of those people who takes pics of their food).

... I can't wait for the day Greg and I have our own place so I can cook in our very own kitchen! Anyone want to trade a house for a delicious bowl of mac & cheese?

Haha, do you have any favorite cooking blogs?

Manicure Monday: Black, White, & BETSEY!

Every once in a while I visit the TJ Maxx that neighbors where I work.  Recently, I found a new laptop case with handles, but it wasn't the handles that persuaded me... oh, no... it was the print! I knew that, whatever it was, I had to have it!! 

When I laid my eyes on this beaut hiding behind purses upon purses I thought, what a great manicure idea!

Here is my Betsey Johnson inspired manicure.  I used a dotting tool and acrylic paint for the white dots and you can check out my tutorial on how to do the little roses here! Betsey has great patterns that double as manicure inspiration, including lots of leopard!

What inspires your manicures?

Teacher Tuesday: Playing Card Addition & Subtraction Worksheets

Here's an easy worksheet I used with my class today.  Students chose playing cards to make addition or subtraction sentences.  The kids are doing well with both... I think they are starting to understand the difference between plus and minus without being reminded!

You can grab the addition and subtraction worksheets in my TpT store!

Manicure Monday: Vintage Antique Roses

This is one of my favorite nail designs! I was worried about doing the vintage roses, but they were easy... and being messy is okay... I rely on the fact that people won't be looking at it super close up, haha!

Colors used:

• Blue: China Glaze "For Audrey" (if you don't own it, go buy it! the picture doesn't do it justice!)
• Pink: China Glaze "IV"
• Gold glitter: Sephora by OPI "Only Gold for Me"
• Green: China Glaze "Four Leaf Clover" (another AMAZING China Glaze color... wait til you see my peacock feather nails!)
• Light pink: Color Club "Vintage Couture"

1. Make random dots around the nail with the nail polish brush in the main rose color.
2. Make some "c's" on the sides of the dots and one coming out from the middle of the dot.  This color can be lighter or darker than the main rose color.   You can make a small dot in the middle of the rose to define the middle.  In other rose designs, I have swirled in other color pinks to give the rose more dimension.  
3. Make small leaves.  I used a small dotting tool for this.

P.S. always top with a clear top coat... I use Seche Vite... the top coat always makes everything look better!

I really want to do this design again!

Leaping Lily Pads... Frogs Eat Mushrooms?

Did you know frogs eat mushrooms?  I didn't either, but I didn't have any other erasers... what?!  HAHA, let me explain... so I made a frog math game and planned to put little bug erasers inside the frogs that I bought at Walmart, but they didn't have any at the store.  I thought that someone might have some fake bugs at work, but no luck there either.  I had these cute mushrooms erasers from Oriental Trading, so I decided that frogs eat mushrooms (I have since Googled this fact, and some sites say yes... some say no...).  Here is my "Leaping Lily Pad Lineup" game!

Students choose a frog from the "pond" (made with scented, YES scented, iridescent blue Easter grass) and count the mushrooms inside.  They write the number in the frog's tummy on the worksheet and then write the next four numbers that come after their chosen number on the lily pads.  We're still working on adding and subtracting, so this was great practice for number writing and counting. You can buy this worksheet at my TpT store!

I was finally able to test out my "Build a Bunny" game with the kids today!

Bunnies... All Day, Everyday

It's been all about bunnies since my trip to Walmart where I found Easter egg carrots (which led to many other purchases... picture me running through the Easter aisles throwing things into my cart... laughing a crazy teacher laugh... mwah haha)!  I knew they'd be perfect as a center for my students, and since we're working on addition and subtraction I went with that.  Here is the game I came up with!

 

Along with the carrot eggs (haha ew) I bought a bunny jacks game.  I wrote numbers on the feet of all the bunnies (1-8).  A bunny went into each carrot ( a little ironic, huh?) and the carrots went into a basket that looks like a picket fence with green Easter grass.  The kids had to pick 2 carrots and write the numbers on the bunnies in the boxes.  They used red bingo chips to help them add the numbers, and the answer was written on the last bunny.  The kids really liked it, it always makes me happy when they ask if they can do another worksheet.  I have a subtraction version that I haven't used in the classroom yet. 

Sticking with the bunny theme I made another addition game.  This one uses dice, or cards, and the students have to "build a bunny".  Each sum that they roll represents a bunny body part that they have to draw onto their bunny.   The student that gets each every number and completes their bunny first is the winner!

I am going to use this on Monday, so I'll let everyone know how it goes!  You  can always check out my TpT store!

Do you have any fun holiday activities that you're excited about?!

UPDATE!!
I used my "Build a Bunny" worksheet with my students! They turned out really cute!

Worksheet Wednesday: Plant Growth Observations

Spring has sprung... kinda... more like it's waking up slowly.  This is the time that classrooms will start units on plants.  My students did a science experiment with lima beans growing in bags, and a lot of them started to grow.  Instead of just throwing the plants out (like the curriculum said), we decided to plant them (having a boyfriend that works at Lowe's comes in handy... especially during our simple machines unit...).  I made a plant growth observation worksheet so that the students could track the growth of their beans.  So far they are great!  When we're done I plan to hang them in our science center.

 You can pick up this worksheet on Teachers pay Teachers!

 Do you have any planting plans?

Teacher Tuesday: Growing the Alphabet

Happy Spring!  I just made a spring themed alphabet worksheet.  This worksheet is meant to help students write their lowercase letters from memory.  There is an uppercase letter on a flower, and the student has to write the corresponding lowercase letter on the flower pot.  I plan on making one with lowercase letters on the flowers soon!  If you're interested in these worksheets check them out on Teachers pay Teachers.

What projects do you have planned for spring?

Manicure Monday: Leopard

I went away this weekend for my 11 year anniversary with the boyfriend! We went to the Finger Lakes in New York because we LOVE wineries... more to come about the trip at another time.  I  brought along some nail polish to the hotel so I could do my nails because I didn't have time the Wednesday before we left (my nails were naked for a day! eek... the kids in my class told me I "look different" without my nails done).  Even though I didn't have everything with me, I still wanted to do some nail art because we were away and I just didn't want boring nails.  This is what I came up with:

 

Leopard nails are pretty easy and I love the cool wintery color combo.  You may recognize some polishes I used last Manicure Monday, along with a few new ones. 

• OPI Skull and Glossbones (grey)
• Color Club Platinum Record (glitter) 
• Urban Decay Perversion (black)
• Sally Hansen 220 Celeb City (silver)

Okay, so you're wondering how to do the leopard nails yourself.  

 

1. Make dots and place them randomly on your nail.  I used a larger dotting tool, but you can use the actual nail polish brush or even a tooth pick.
2. Add "c's" and "parentheses" around the dots.  They don't have to be perfect because leopard spots aren't perfect either! I used a smaller dotting tool for these so the black part did not cover up the spots made in step 1. 
3. Add small dots to fill in spaces in between the leopard spots.  I used the same smaller dotting tool that was used in step 2.   

And there you have it!  I actually did leopard nails for my first nail art project and was pleasantly surprised at how easy they are.  Hope they never go out of style, because they are definitely go-to nails when I can't think of anything else.

Have you done leopard nails?... I want to see!

I'm a Business Woman Now...

I just uploaded my first worksheet to Teachers pay Teachers!! I thought it would be appropriate to upload a worksheet about money as I am hoping that I will earn money from the site.  Just kidding, I just made that connection right now. 

If you are trying to teach your students about coin money, download my free worksheet.  It's a simple worksheet that I used as part of a homework packet when my kindergarteners starting learning about coins.   The site requires that the first uploaded document is free, so I didn't want to just give away something fancy ;)

Manicure Monday: Chevron and Turquoise

I am done with classes... I have my Masters and certification... and I have been seriously neglecting this blog!  I think its because I haven't been procrastinating on anything... because, again, I AM ALL DONE!! YAY!

Which leads me to this post's topic!  Since I have had more time on my hands, I decided to work on my hands... ha ha ha!  I have stopped going to the salon (partly to save money... mostly because Tammy, my nail lady, left me) and I have discovered a hidden talent/ fun hobby!  Now, wish me luck on keeping up with Manicure Monday!

For my first Manicure Monday, I have chevron and turquoise... and of course, some sparkle!  I have been wanting to do chevron nails for forever, but I was too nervous to ask Tammy because if the lines weren't perfect I'd have a 3-4 week long panic attack.  When I started doing my own nails, I attempted chevron with scotch tape and the zig zag scissors, but it was HORRIBLE!  Then I found these awesome stickers on Etsy from Make it Stick (I bought some bow stickers from them too).  For the chevron ones, you peel the decals off and they are stuck to a clear sheet so all three rows can all be applied at once.    When I got them positioned in the right spot I used an Exacto knife to peel part of them off the clear backing.  I did this because I did not cut the strips before hand so they hung over onto my finger and could not fully stick to the sides. I think the clear backing would be able to be removed without the help of the Exacto knife if the decals were pre-cut and were fully stuck on the nail.  Then I used the Exacto knife to cut the excess off the sides and the top of my nail.  Any little pieces left hanging over the top were easy to file away.  I used one of my rounded dotting tools to press the decals down without ruining the nail polish.

chevron decals I used, bow decals I mentioned, and the polishes I used

I used OPI's Skull and Glossbones under the white chevron decals, Color Club's Blue-Ming (from the blossoming collection I scored at TJMaxx for $9) for 3 nails, and Color Club's Platinum Record for the sparkly nail (I put a coat of silver under this).  I always top with Seche Vite because it makes it super shiny and while it dries it has a sort of slippery texture that keeps me from messing up my nails.  I usually top my manicures with one or two coats of UV cured clear gel polish the next day, but that's for another post. 

Are there any manicures you've really been wanting to try?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...

Hey friends... my absence has made you love me more... right?! Aww... shucks, I love you too! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my mini audience ; )  I have so much to tell you about! So here's a list of the things I will be writing about so soon!

1. Fruits of the month
2. DIY Christmas gifts
3. Nail art
4. The end of student teaching
5. Student gifts
6. My new job
7. Teacher gifts
8. Lesson plans/ worksheets
9. New year's eve menu/ food
10. My new camera

Here's a little photo preview!

I have been a busy lady... but don't worry, I am coming back!  What do you want to hear about first!?