I'm Gonna......

So it's that time again. Time for New Years Resolutions. I'll be honest. I don't usually do these. Why? Because I probably won't keep them! :) But, just for fun I'm going to link up with Jen at The Teachers' Cauldron and try some out! :)

 

My PERSONAL Goals:

-Lose weight. Okay I say that EVERY year but I gotta do something about it. I need to drop about 25. Before boating season. Okay. I said it outloud. Maybe it will happen.
-Spend more time with my family. I feel like I have gotten much better with this but I go through phases where I am on this computer all.the.time. I have really tried to not get on the computer until after my daughter goes to bed. Well...then I don't speak to my husband all night. There has to be a good mix! I'm gonna find it!

 

My BLOGGING Goals:

-Be more consistent and blog more. I'm gonna try to write it in my planner and schedule posts for every other dayish. This goal kind-of clashes with spend more time with family. I have to get better at time management!

-Leave comments on other people's blogs. I read them. I do. I just don't comment a lot, but that is going to change! I know I love getting comments so I am sure others do too!

 

I hope you will link up with Jen. I'll be back tomorrow with a few new units I have created!

 



The Best of 2012...A Linky Party

I'm linking up with Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge for a fun linky party!

The BEST thing I learned about and tried this year...Teachers Pay Teachers! Oh.my.word. Can we say addiction?? It started being the BEST place to get great items for my classroom but now it is the BEST extra source of cash! Love. It. Nuff' said!

Here are my BEST posts (according to my stats):

The post on my classroom setup. I contribute the popularity of this post to Ashley from The School Supply Addict. If you haven't checked out her blog..you should! Man, don't I wish my classroom still looked like this! :)

Another favorite was the post on my Apple Door Hanger:

One of my BEST freebies were my Back to School forms:

My BEST product in Teachers Pay Teachers is my Vertical Behavior Chart. I have to say...one of the best things I have implemented in my classroom!

I couldn't possibly list all of the BEST blogging buddies out there. I LOVE everyone! It brings me such joy to blog and get so many great ideas! Thanks for a great year!!!!!!

We are wrapping things up!

Tomorrow is our last day! Woo Hoo!! My kiddos took home their parent gifts today. We made the calendars from my TPT store.

Here is the finished product (obviously I covered up his name and face):

We also make these sweatshirts to wear on the last day of school. Our school gathers together every year before we go home for Christmas and carol all together. Parents and all. Each grade has a song they stand up and sing as everyone joins in. Can you guess our song???

Aren't they adorable? We have had a great week! We have enjoyed each other and had a lot of fun!

Today

Today was hard for me. I was actually a little scared to go to school today. I didn't know what today would bring for me. I wondered what questions my kiddos would have for me today. I hoped none. I was VERY thankful not.one.student mentioned today the tragedy of last Friday. I'm praying that they know nothing about it. I did change a few things today. I wore my keys around my arm today. They are usually kept in my purse and I would have to first go get them out of my purse to lock the door in case of a lockdown. Not today. Today and always they will be on me. Today I checked my lockdown spaces to make sure they were clear enough for my students to fit. Today I thought long and hard about my sweet students and what I would have done in that situation.

For the first time in a few weeks, all of my students were at school today.We had a lot of fun today. We wore our pajamas and watched The Polar Express today.  We laughed today. We played today. Today was a good day. I hugged each child a little harder today. I am thankful that we had today. Thankful beyond words. My heart is so heavy today for the families of those sweet little children.

What was it like for you today?

Prayers

EEEK! Loving this new Christmas Craft!!!

Okay so I know everyone has seen this on pinterest:

I also found this on pinterest:

 

Well, I took those 2, put them together, and this is what we came up with. I LOVE these.

 

 

I love this one:

 

 

WHEW WEE! Let me tell you how great this activity was to observe their ability to order by length. Mercy me. I'll be honest I tried to do the criss cross look ...uh HOT MESS!!! So, we went back to straight! I'll be adding a star to the top of these and putting them in their scrapbooks.

 

We have 4 days next week and we are DONE. We have finished our Parent Gifts (pics to come soon):

 

 

We will also be doing some activities from my A Ho! Ho! Ho! Lot of Learning unit:

 

 

 

12 in 12 LinKy Party

I’m so excited to be linking up with Hadar and Kristin in their linky party 12 in 12!

 

Here are my favorites:

12. Favorite movie you watched:

Umm….seriously. I think I saw 1 movie this WHOLE YEAR and it was Magic Mike…not what I would call a good movie. That is pretty sad that it is the ONLY one I’ve seen all year.

11. Favorite TV series:

Okay. I love me some Modern Family and some Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, but if I had to pick just one I think it would be Duck Dynasty.

10. Favorite restaurant:

Cheddars – I loved it in Lexington when I went to UK there…now we have one near my hometown. Yum!

9. Favorite new thing you tried:

My literacy centers. Hands down the best thing I have ever done. I pretty much followed the same centers as Deedee Wills from Mrs. Will’s Kindergarten. My kids are hands on and engaged all.the.time. I love it!

8. Favorite gift you got:

I guess you could call it a gift. My hubby got me these for my craft room in our new house we are building. SUPER excited! Mine is in gray.

7. Favorite thing you pinned:

 

(No that’s not me but I LOVE this. I swear I have to read it over and over because I have to remind myself that I will make it through the 3 year olds and that she really does love me even though she is defiant every.single.day.)

6. Favorite blog post:

I think my favorite might have been the blog post where I showed the apple door hanger I made.

5. Best accomplishment:

Selling on TPT….HANDS DOWN! I am not making a supplemental income (not even close), but I have made enough to cover what another Rank would get me. I was this.close to go backing and getting national certification for my Rank 1. They talked about how much time it took and I am just not willing to give up that time away from my little one. The money I earn on TPT is equivalent to what I would get a month in my Rank pay. It’s a win-win situation. I love creating things for my classroom and am thrilled others want to use them too!

4. Favorite picture:

We recently had family pictures made. I LOVE this one!

3. Favorite memory:

My 3 year old blowing bubbles with her 97 year old Great-Great-Grandmother a month before she passed away. I’ll never forget it!

2. Goal for 2013:

It is more personal, but I really want to be a more patient mom.

1. One Little Word:

Blessed

Blog Hop Day 8

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...sorry, no maids a milking here! :) Thank goodness right? I've been very MIA lately. Busy, busy but I am back for the 12 Days of Kindergarten Blog Hop.

I am loving how my new literacy centers are going! The kiddos are having so much fun. Most of my kiddos are getting really good at sounding out CVC words so I made a little activity for them to do next week and YOU get it for free! :) (Just click on the picture below.)

This little activity is perfect for students to cut out, read, and sort into real or nonsense and then record their answers. The freebie includes 18 real and 18 nonsense words. The record form only has 9 spots for both so you can pick and choose which words you want to use! Enjoy!

If you are not already a follower of this blog, I would love for you to follow! Make sure you check out Crayons and Curls tomorrow. She's next on the blog hop train. If you missed any of the other days, they are listed below!

   

MIA and a Great Giveaway

I know - I've been MIA! I swear I feel like I am swamped. On top of school, rearranging my schedule, TPT units I'm working on, Christmas shopping (SO not done), and building a house I cannot stay on top it. I try to make an effort to not get on the computer until my little is asleep! By the time I sit down I'm so tired. I had over 400+ reads to catch up on my google reader. YIKES!

When I got on I was so excited to see this AWESOME giveaway on Tips for Teachers!!! You can win a Nook Color HD!!!! WHat???? Merry Christmas to yourself. I entered! Did you?

 

Also, for all of you Holly Bloggy Christmas participants! There is a great giveaway up today!!! Go on over and enter! :)