TPT Seller Challenge Week 1: Makeover Madness!

I've joined up with a large group of teachers and TPT sellers to work on challenging ourselves and improving our craft during the summer months. 

Week One challenge is to make over a product already in my store.  I was THRILLED about this challenge, because I have had this very thing on my to-do list for months (maybe since last summer???) and have never taken the time to sit down and do it.  

I especially wanted to update my Winter Write the Room set.  It's been my biggest seller, and it has needed a fresh look for too long.  It was one of the first products I made, and it was in desperate need of some love!

I updated the fonts and clip art and started from scratch with a new cover.  I have learned so much since originally making this way back when, and it felt so good to change it up for the better!

Click the AFTER graphic or CLICK HERE to head over to check it out in my TPT store.  I know that winter is a long way off (thank goodness for that!), but I'll have it on sale through the end of the week in case you want to plan ahead for next school year.  Or, if you already have it, go back and download the revised version!

Head on over to Third in Hollywood to check out the other sellers in the linky!

Gingerbread Man Write the Room {Giveaway!}

Hi hi!!  I posted a new Write the Room activity to my TPT store last night....just in time to use it in December!  

I LOVE reading all the different variations of The Gingerbread Man with my class in December.  It's one of my favorite stories of the entire school year -- probably because my students always love it so much too!

This activity would be a perfect addition to your December literacy stations...or maybe for a word work or vocabulary center.

Head on over to my Facebook page for a chance to win!  I'll choose a winner this afternoon, so act quickly! :)

CLICK HERE TO HEAD OVER TO MY FACEBOOK PAGE

TPT Back to School SALE!!

It's almost time!!
Tomorrow and Tuesday, TPT will be holding it's back to school sale!

Many stores, including mine, will be 20% off...plus, if you enter the code BTS14, you'll get an additional 10% off.  This is one of my very favorite times to shop TPT.  I just love dreaming about the new year and stocking up on resources to use with my new crop of kindies!

I uploaded a new Write the Room product tonight as well.  The clip art for this one is absolutely some of my very favorite ever.  Seriously....just LOOK at that caterpillar!  Too cute for words!

Click the image to check it out!

I have a FULL wish list and can't wait to grab some new resources tomorrow!  Happy shopping!!

Christmas Break, snow days, and some new products...

Well.  My oh my.  The arctic blast has hit West Michigan.  The local meteorologists are calling it a "Polar Vortex".  No school today because the wind chills are near -20.  As in a negative.  And a twenty.  It's cold.  COLD!!  School has already been cancelled for tomorrow.  Our last day of school before Break was cancelled too, so tomorrow will be day 19.

Aaannnddd....my house has been cleaned from top to bottom more than once since December 19th.  Of course, today, we had a morning of crafts and glue and paper scraps and paint, so no one can tell that I have cleaned the house from top to bottom.  But my cleaning energy is all used up, so there will be no more cleaning!  At least not until tomorrow.  By tomorrow it will surely have driven me crazy enough that I will have to clean it.  If I'm going to be forced to stay inside my home for days and days on end, it can't be a pigsty.  That's all.

Anyway, I worked on some new TPT products over the weekend and am excited about using these new Write the Room activity packs with my students.  I'm working through some CVC short vowel sets, and finished A, E, and I.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to the others?  Or maybe I should lesson plan the rest of my week first???

I like these because the CVC words are perfect for most of my students' reading levels right now.  The graphics are by Ashley Hughes, and I like that some of the words she used aren't super common.  Like pep.  And rim.  My 6-year old was asking me what pep meant.  I love using Write the Rooms to introduce new vocabulary.

Click on any of the pictures to head over to check them out in my TPT store.

What is the weather like where you live?  And, if it's sunny and warm, can I come visit???? ;)

Spring Break is slipping away... {boo!}

The to-do list for my Spring Break was long.  And I got a lot done.  Not everything, but a lot.

BUT...the top of my to-do list was to spend oodles and oodles of time with my kids, to not wake up to an alarm clock, and to relax and enjoy!  SUCCESS!!  I did all of those things, and it was FAB!

Today, I was too lazy to do much :), but I did manage to complete a TPT product that I've had on my list for a while.  This write the room activity will be perfect for Spring, and the graphics from KPM Doodles are so cute!  I love the bright colors -- they have me dreaming of temps in the 60's and 70's (yes, we're still in the 40's and 50's). 

 I'll be plugging this in to my next round of literacy stations, and I know that my students will be glad to have our write the room station back.  We've been without it for several weeks since it took me so long to get a new one made!

Click here to check it out on TPT

I'll give this away to the first 2 people who leave me a comment.  Make sure to leave your e-mail address so that I can send it your way!  Hope you're having a great weekend!

Snow Day!

I got the best call this morning at a little after 6:00....school closed due to "inclement weather".  Music to a teacher's ears!  I love my kindies, but with the windchill down near -20 (!) today, I was happy to stay inside!  My hubby's district (which is where my son attends school too) was also closed, so we got an unexpected family day.  I loved every second!

One of the best things about having my hubby home on snow days???  He'll take the kids outside so that I can stay in and bake cookies!  Ha!  It was COLD outside, but that didn't stop my kids from wanting to play in the first real snow of the year.  They didn't last long, but they loved it!

I snuck some quick photos from the deck, then back inside I went!

Between laundry, cleaning, games, books, and a movie with the kids this afternoon, I finally had time today to get my Valentine's Day write the room activity posted to TPT.

I'm also allllllllmost finished with a fun 100th Day pack.  Hopefully I'll be able to post about that in the next couple of days!  Our 100th day isn't until the week of Valentine's Day, but I know lots of schools have it before that.  When is your 100th day?

I'd love to give away this new write the room activity!  Leave a comment and I'll choose one winner tomorrow (Wednesday) evening!

Winter literacy stations

I love literacy work station time in my classroom.  To see my students so engaged in meaningful activities, working together and being problem-solvers.....it warms my heart!  This year, I implemented Debbie Diller's style of literacy work stations and I was completely sold in the first few weeks.  I LOVE this approach!  My students work in groups of 3.  I have 24 students so that gives me 8 total groups.  Each group has a designated "team leader".  This person is in charge of the materials, as well as answering the questions of his or her team members.  If someone in a "team" has a question, they first ask the team leader.  If the leader doesn't know the answer, they come to ask me.  Because the groups are so small, I can arrange them in a way that minimizes distractions for everyone.  That is a big LOVE!!  Debbie Diller's vision includes the teacher pulling small groups while the rest of the students work.  I haven't implemented that this year -- instead, I make myself available to answer questions, and spend some quality time with each student as they bring their completed work to get checked by me.

You can check out the book for yourself by clicking here.

ANYWAY.....here are the stations that my students will be working through for the next two weeks.

"Mitten Rhymes"

See how this little guy has "boat" and "rope" as rhyming words?  We took care of that once I noticed it. :)

(This rhyme supply activity can be found in my Snowy Stations pack.)

"Sight Word Stamp and Write"

"Snowman Word Stretchers"

(Sounding out and writing CVC words - Snowy Stations)

"Word Build and Write"

(focus on this week's sight words)

"My Little Penguin"

(Sight words and color words - Snowy Stations)

"What Sound is at the End?"

(Ending sounds - Snowy Stations)

"Winter Write the Room"

(This activity can be found here.)

"Pencil, Marker, Glue - sight word practice"

We also began new math stations this week that I'll post about later.  You can grab my Snowy Stations pack for $5.00 until the end of the week!

Have you heard of Debbie Diller or do you use her approach for your literacy or math work stations?

Woodland Animals Write the Room

I received a request for a Write the Room activity that would align with the book The Mitten, by Jan Brett.  I LOVED that idea!  I love Jan Brett's books for my Kindies, so I'll definitely be using this activity in my literacy station rotation later this winter.  The Melonheadz graphics are so SUPER adorable, and the woodland animals in this Write the Room match those from The Mitten.  All 8 of those cute little creatures...mole, rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, bear, and mouse.

click here to get it from my TPT store!

I'm giving two of these away!!  Leave a comment telling me your favorite Jan Brett book.  I'll pick winners tomorrow (Friday) at 8:00 pm eastern time!  Make sure to leave your name and e-mail address!

Congrats Marcy and Karyn!  Check your e-mail!! :)

Write the Room love

Well.......I was hoping to get lots of planning done over Christmas Break.  I was going to spend time at school and get everything in my life organized! Ha!  As usual, I have found so many things to do that are WAY more fun than planning and organizing!  Friends, family, parties, and out-of-town getaways have filled my time instead....and I've loved every minute of it!

BUT....in case you ARE in planning and organizing mode, I wanted to share one of my students' most favorite activities, and something that my TPT store is quickly filling up with!  I am constantly creating new Write the Room activities because my students loooooove them!  Something about getting to use a clipboard to search the room on their own keeps them so engaged and excited about writing and working on new vocabulary.  Win-win for everyone!!

I have a couple of freebies that you might want to check out.  I think your students will love them as much as mine do!

Click here to grab the color word freebie and here for the number word freebie!

In an effort to spread the Write the Room love, the rest of my Write the Room activities will be 20% off until tomorrow at midnight so that you can check them out for yourself!  Head on over to my TPT store by clicking here!