Not So Easy!

Hey Friends,

If you were blogging at all last summer you probably remember when a blogger posted something about a great sale or product it caught on like wildfire. I think that was one of my favorite parts of blogging last summer. Before blogging we relied on text chains and that has been a lot of fun too. Either way, this has been a hot topic this year and many of us really make a big deal out of back to school shopping. Let's face it...it's fun. Let's be real...for some of us these are just about the ONLY back to school supplies that we get in a year. I will let you figure out which category I fit in...

I will be the first to admit...I am a bit extreme when it comes to back to school shopping. I am sure not going to be the teacher standing in the kinder room without the needed school supplies...no thanks. Every profession has a tool and school supplies are ours and without the proper supplies, it is just miserable. For many of us, we pay for these supplies out of our own pocket. So in all reality I am saying part of our paycheck goes towards buying school supplies. I am not complaining at all just stating the plain and simple facts. So I guess you can imagine how upset I was to read this.

Let me back up a few years. Back in the day when teachers could not get 25 of the sale item, I would go to the store and purchase my limit, go get a drink and go back. I would do that Staples routine over and over and over again until I had what I needed. Finally one day I asked to talk to a manager. I just simply asked if it was necessary for a kindergarten teacher (yep, I pulled that one) to go in and out and in and out all day long to get CRAYONS for a kindergarten class. Lucky for me he told me to get what I needed and we called it even. I was so relieved that I no longer had to put on wigs, baseball caps or change clothes to buy glue. And I no longer had to carry caravans of kids or friends or relatives to buy my kinder crayons. So you can imagine the utter thrill of last summer getting 25 of the extreme deals for teachers. I swear it was like a jackpot.

 Help me out friends. Am I reading this right? Does this mean that I will get 5 at the extreme price and 20 more for regular or extreme price and Staples will hold on to that for three months and then send me a reward check? Seriously, is someone kidding me or am I not understanding? I have to ask why in the world a consumer would even fall for this? Is someone trying to take the extreme joy out of back to school shopping? Who in their right mind would do that? Not funny at all.

2011 TEACHER POLICY:
25 packages of loose leaf binder paper = $2.50
2012 TEACHER POLICY:

limit of 5 = 50 cents

regular price - $1.99 X 20 packages = $39.80

$39.80 + .50 = $40.30

If this makes you want to cry kinder tears then you have to read this post from Teach123.

I wanted to be sure this was all true and correct so I called Staples. The service representative told me I was reading it right. I have a follow up call scheduled for tomorrow so we will see if the policy can be modified. Until then...

My Reading List!

I am linking up with the fabulous Clutter Free Classroom for their Summer Reading List Linky Party! I have not officially ended this school year yet but reading the book The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark has been on my mind since last summer. I missed out on the opportunity to read it last year, so this year this is the book right at the top of the list. Usually I have a prioritized book list ready to go for summer but this year is different. I am so fortunate that my Math Specialist in my district has given me several books this year to read. I was able to pick and choose chapters but I was never able to read the entire books due to the lack of time. So this summer I will be reading and summarizing those books and I will share some of that this summer here.

I am super excited that one of those books is Number Talks by Sherry Parrish. I really can't wait to dig into this book this summer. I have waited a year and I know I am going to really enjoy this one.

I Remember!

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you those men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country!

Click on the image above for some free patriotic printables!

Gift Giving Fun!

Gift giving can be so much fun and especially when it is quick, easy and meaningful. I was able to find some cute teacher bags at my local Dollar Tree and I was also able to pick up the frame. So all in all, I printed the freebie that is posted below, printed it, inserted it into a frame, added a bow and prepared the bag. So simple and easy! Now all I have left to do is get to gift giving!

Top Teachers!

I am linking up with Kindergarten Lifestyle for a great Memorial Day Sale. And the good news is that my sale has already started! Now is such a great time to grab all of those goodies that you have been thinking about!

Parent Gift Freebie!

Here is a quick and easy parent gift that you can have ready in a snap. Just save the file and print when needed and add to a frame to give to those parents who have supported you as a way of saying thanks. The top box was left open so you could add personalization using your editing tools. The font used is Chinacat.

Memorial Day Sale!

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day friends! And when you are ready to start thinking about the classroom again, I am having a sale at my TpT store and Teachers Notebook store as well!

Here I Come! Again...

Yep, it's me again always talking about hands. It seems it is a popular topic today. You didn't think I would forget my prek and first grade friends did you? Never! Now the download includes them all. I think this download just might be it. Hey, big hands, little hands and all other hands should fit. And if for some reason they don't we might just have to move to legal paper!

I swear, I swear this is the last one. If you click on the image above you will find a poem for prek, kinder and first. WHEW, all friends included. I like it that way. All friends taken care of in one little place.

Big Hand Version!

Hey Friends,

If you are like me and it seems your kids have grown quite a bit since the beginning of the year, then this might just be the printable for you. We discovered that we needed a "big hand" version of the same poem because...uh, our hands grew from kinder hands to big, huge FIRST GRADE hands! Om~gosh, I almost couldn't fool the kids! So, if you are needing just a little more space for hand prints then this download is for you...and me. Just click on the image above for the download.

Kindergarten Memories!

Well, it looks like the last day of school is right around the corner and it is hard to believe that it has gone by so quickly. It is such a busy time of year with lots of things going on that it is actually hard to think about summer. Many Kindergarten classes work on memory books during the last week of school. I have used one of those from one of those Kindergarten magazines as a last week activity too. But to be honest, I never really liked it that much at all and kind of dreaded it when I got it out each year. I liked some parts of it but didn't like other parts and I just dreaded this activity but at the same time, I wanted a Kindergarten memory book that each child could take home. When I started thinking about that activity this year, I decided to create my own. I created a Kindergarten Memory Book that can be used the last two weeks of school with tons of things to write about inside. I thought I could pick and choose what my particular class was interested in and together we could make our own memory book about the things that were important to us. I figured if we started early enough we could work on it a little each day for the last two weeks of school. I know that when I go to school tomorrow and share this idea with my class they will figure out something really neat to include in the book. Once they figure out that I make a lot of the activities that we use in class they start requesting things... I have posted My Kindergarten Memory Book to my TpT store if you are interested. The poem that you see posted on my blog is from My Kindergarten Memory Book. If you need a quick end of the year parent gift just decorate that page, add hand prints, sign and date it and run it through the laminator!

Patriotic Unit Posted!

It feels like nothing short of a celebration around here! I have posted my new unit Let's Celebrate! A Patriotic Parade! on my TpT store. If you would like to join in the celebrations with us, just click HERE! 

SOURCE



SOURCE

FREEBIE!

Hello Kinder Friends,

I was making this little poem for my soon to be First Graders and I wanted to share it with you. We are going to color the frame, watercolor the background and then put on our painted hand prints! I can't wait to get them dry and ready for the laminator and ready to be sent home with the kids. With so many things to wrap up before the year officially ends, I thought this would be a good project that the kids can work on independently since we have done so many similar projects this year. I hope you can use it too! If you would like a copy just click on the image and it will take you to the download.

More Patriotic Free Fun!

Hello Kinder Friends,
Click on the image above to grab your freebie!

If you need a tutorial about saving YouTube Videos just click on the image below.

Free Stuff!



Hey friends,

My last post talked about the giveaway at Have Fun Teaching. I am sure you ran right over to their site and entered the giveaway, right? If you didn't go right away... you should. I have already received my email with the downloads for all of the Alphabet Songs. It was super easy. Just blog about it and send them a link and they send you the download. It was so easy. I have already downloaded these to a portable device so that I could try these out at school. Just one simple download and that was it. It really is a giveaway where everybody wins. Who doesn't love that?

Alphabet Songs FREE!

Hello Kinder Friends,

I am so excited to share this with you. Over the last year of blogging I have come across some amazing videos on YouTube. I have been super excited to use these in my classroom BUT my district restricts anything from YouTube. As one of my summer projects, I was going to learn how to save these videos and figure out a way to use them in my classroom. I got an email from Mrs. Stanford today and I went to her blog. I found this information on her blog. It's like finding Kindergarten gold, I swear. When I first discovered these Alphabet Songs, I was hooked and knew I wanted all of these for my classroom.

Ok friends, this is the most exciting part... Have Fun Teaching is having a giveaway. It's a great giveaway. It's a giveaway where everyone wins...especially this kids because you win. If you blog about these fantastic Alphabet Songs, you will be able to get these amazing resources for your classroom for...ready for this?

FREE
Did I just say that? Yep, I sure did.

For all the fantastic details just click here!

OM~gosh, I have to run so I can start having ALPHABET FUN!

Patriotic Freebie!

How did America become the land of the free?

In Sweet Land of Liberty, Ellis the Elephant sets off on a quest to find out.Through an amazing afternoon at the library, Ellis travels through time and discovers the pivotal moments that have shaped our nation’s unique history, including, the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving, the Boston Tea Party, George Washington crossing the Delaware, pioneers settling the great frontier, the first man on the moon
and many more of the astounding events and people whose dreams, courage, and hard work have made America great.

With its vivid illustrations and charming rhymes, Sweet Land of Liberty is a must read for children and parents alike who want to explore our nation’s great history—and discover why America is a free and exceptional nation.

I know, I know I have gone out of control with books lately but you know how hard it can be to find books for specific reasons. I found Sweet Land of Liberty and just had  to grab my copy because it touches on so many things that we have learned about and discussed in Kindergarten. Although when it "touches on" these particular areas, it is brief. I was ok with that because it can be such a springboard for many discussions.

This book would be a great resource to use to cover many Social Studies topics. It covers objectives:

Explain the reasons for national patriotic holidays such as Presidents' Day, Veterans Day, and Independence Day.

 Identify customs associated with national patriotic holidays such as parades and fireworks on Independence Day.

Identify contributions of historical figures, including  George Washington.Identify the flag of the United States.

Recite the pledge to the flag of the United States.
 This book had me feeling a little patriotic and I have to admit I love anything patriotic. I made a few resources for my class to use around Memorial Day. I wanted to share a few of them with you. Click on the images below to get your free copy and celebrate the red, white and blue with us too!

Library Mouse!

Sam the library mouse and his friend Sarah are off on a new adventure. This time they leave the library behind and go to a museum so Sam can make sketches in his explorer’s journal. Sarah isn’t so sure that explorers have the time or the interest to write in journals. But Sam shows her that a journal can contain anything, from a ticket stub to drawings of cool things like dinosaurs and ancient Egyptian mummies. As they explore the museum, they see all kinds of art and unexpectedly make friends with another artist.

Barnes and Noble

Celebrated writer and illustrator Daniel Kirk brings to life the joys of reading, writing, and sharing in this all-new Library Mouse adventure. Sam the library mouse loves to write, and the children love his little books, which he leaves on the library shelves for them to find. But no one at the library has ever met him. When Tom can’t find a partner for a book-making assignment and finds Sam’s secret hole behind the children’s reference section, will the pair be able to work together, or will Sam’s secret identity be spoiled forever?
Barnes and Noble

One night in the library, Sam meets fellow mouse Sarah. Sam learns that Sarah is quite the explorer. She loves to scurry to the tops of shelves and explore the darkest corners of the building. Sam never climbs far up—he’s too afraid! He prefers to research subjects—such as exploration—and write about them. Sarah doesn’t know much about writing or research, but could reading and research help her learn more about the places she wishes to visit? Together this duo shows that, with teamwork, anything is possible.

Barnes and Noble

I wish I had a picture that could show how excited we all were to go to the school BOOK FAIR. After the preview and waiting to go we all had books already in mind to buy. We knew we had to be strategic and we knew we had to be quick. We learned that the books on the preview are hot items and sometimes they do not send enough of them. We were ready to go and on a mission. To be honest, a mouse and cat mission. I hope we did not scare our sweet librarian with our mission. I told the kids we were NOT leaving without securing a copy of the new Library Mouse book! And I was heading right for the Pete the Cat book for anyone who did not have a copy... You know books are a big deal and good books make us squeal. I was able to secure a pretty good pile and hide it in the office. WHEW! I was so excited to see Library Mouse is now loving a little bit of research. RESEARCH, now we are talking my language and when you add the word EXPLORE to the description, I might just get a little crazy. And just like Sam and Sarah, my class did show me that with teamwork anything is possible...even a cat and mouse mission.