Overload!!

I am feeling an extreme case of information overload!  Joining the TpT Seller's Challenge has been great for me.  I've gained the motivation to update my TpT store and products.  But I've learned there is so much more I could be doing to promote my store that I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed at this point.  One TpT friend said to come up with a "to do" list and to accomplish those goals one at a time. Good idea.  Here's my list:

TPT Seller's Challenge

Summer's here.  The days are long and lazy, and I can't seem to find the motivation to get things done when I don't have a schedule!  The TPT Seller's Challenge is just what I need to get myself in gear and get the work done on my store that I've been putting off all school year.

The first order of business in the challenge was to update one item in my store.  That was a LONG, and arduous task, but with the help of some other TPTers I was able to update many things in my store, with the hopes of having everything updated before summer is through.  Here are the results of my first makeover.

For week 2 I really needed to think about WHY I have a TPT store.  What are my goals?  What are my dreams?

Take Trips  I really want to travel.  I've always wanted to visit every state in the USA.  I would love to go to other countries.  I want to take a big trip to Disney World before my kids grow up.  I want to experience new things in different places.  I want to LIVE before I die.  Originally the plan was for my husband and I to wait until we retire to do all of these things, but life is too short to wait for retirement.  It is my hope and dream that the profits from my TPT store can supplement the trips I hope to take in the near future.

Debt Free  I would LOVE to be debt free, or at least have less debt.  Paying off my husband's student loans and my car would make a big difference in our finances.

College Savings  I was fortunate enough to have my college paid for by my parents.  I am concerned I will not be able to do that for my 2 children.  I do not want them to have the burden of paying off student loans like we are with my husband's loans.  It would be nice to have enough saved up to pay for their college education.

So that's it for week 2!  I'm going to continue updating my store and getting new products out there.  I am loving this challenge and am learning so much from other TPTers.  I can't wait to see what week 3 is all about!

Thanks to these gals for setting up the challenge:

Amber: http://www.peppyzestyteacherista.com/…/tpt-seller-challenge…
Ashley: http://www.teachcreatemotivate.com/…/dare-to-dream-tptselle…
Emily: http://www.thirdinhollywood.com/…/tpt-seller-challenge-week…
Jen: http://sparklinginsecondgrade.blogspot.com/…/tpt-seller-cha…

Johnny Appleseed

September is here, the school year has begun and fall is in the air.  It's time for apple picking.  It's also time for Johnny Appleseed's birthday!  Studying apples and learning about John Chapman is a fun way to incorporate so many Common Core Standards in one week!  On my quest to find resources I came across several noteworthy products I plan on using in my classroom this week.  All of these resources can be found on teacherspayteachers.com for free, or next to nothing.  It doesn't get any better than that!  Here's my list of must haves for this unit:

Apples in a Basket Addition and Subtraction Game
Applicious Apple Graph
Johnny Appleseed Thematic Unit
3-2-1 Reading Strategy
Johnny Appleseed Mini Math and Literacy Activity
ABC Order Cut and Paste
Informational Powerpoint
Another Johnny Appleseed Thematic Unit
The Story of Johnny Appleseed Printable Booklet
Johnny Appleseed and Apple Tree Hundreds Chart Hidden Picture Set

Want to Make Your Own Product?  Download this free Johnny Appleseed Clipart!

Your local library or school library has oodles of books on apples and Johnny Appleseed.  Do a book study!  Compare and contract 2 versions of Johnny Appleseed books using a Venn Diagram.  Have an apple tasting where students use their science inquiry skills to describe the taste, texture, smell, and look of different types of apples.  Learn about the apple tree life cycle and compare that to the life cycle of other trees and plants.  Practice measurement by making applesauce!  Find out what turns apples brown.  There are SO many different things you can do with apples this week.  Have fun!

FREE Common Core E-books for Back to School!!

Hurry over to TPT to get these free e-books loaded with resources and FREEBIES!

You can find the link to the ELA e-book HERE and the link for the Math e-book HERE!

Here's the description for these items:


Welcome Back Teachers!

TpT sellers have been busy this summer! Implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a priority for many teachers. To help you get started or add to your CCSS resources, we have created a collaborative eBook: “A Bundle of Tips and Common Core State Standards Resources from TpT Authors.”
This particular file is for teachers in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. Each page is packed with tips to help you incorporate the Common Core standards into your classrooms. Be sure to look for the link to a free item on each page.

Good luck and happy teaching in 2013-14!!

Check out these fabulous eBooks:
Common Core Math: Free Back-to-School eBook for Grades K-2
Common Core Math: Free Back-to-School eBook for Grades 3-5
Common Core English Language Arts: Free Back-to-School eBook for Grades 3-5
Common Core Science: Free Back-to-School eBook for Grades 6-12
Common Core Social Studies: Free Back-to-School eBook for Grades 6-12
Common Core Math: Free back-to-School eBook for Grades 6-12
Common Core English Language Arts: Free Back-to-School eBook for Grades 6-12

Ahoy There Matey! A Pirate Themed Classroom

Summer is here!  Time to sleep in, go to the pool, and spend time with the kiddos.  For me, it's also time to reflect on the past school year and spend some time thinking about what I want next year to look like.  Next year brings some exciting changes for me.  I will have a new second grade partner, who has some really great ideas.  The change has brought out the creativity in me and has renewed my enthusiasm for teaching. 

Since habitats is a huge part of our science curriculum, we decided to focus on the ocean theme as our decor for our room.  While my partner will be decorating her room in blues, greens, and aquamarines, I decided to go a different route and decorate my room in reds, blacks, and browns...the colors of PIRATES!

Considering my room is painted off white and bright blue, I may have my work cut out for me.  But, I'm sure I can make it work, even if I have to do some painting myself!  There are tons of freebies out there for your classroom.  I found a lot of resources on teacherspayteachers.com.  Since they were brightly colored games and centers, I printed them out at school and laminated them while I was there for training the past 2 weeks. 

So far I've created 2 things for my room.  One is a behavior chart, which you can get for free HERE, done in Microsoft Word so you can customize it the way you want.  Above is a picture of part of it.  It's the kind of chart where I will put my students names on clothespins and they will move their clothespin down for each offense. I'm hoping everyone will stay on purple most of the year!

Secondly I created this cute argyle wreath to hang on my door.  It was super easy and I was done in about 30 minutes.  I bought a wreath form, some yarn, ribbon, a flower, and some felt.  I wrapped the wreath form in yarn and hot glued it down.  Then I cut out and glued diamonds around the wreath. Next I took the white yarn and criss crossed it over the diamonds.  I glued on the flower.  I made cute little red felt flowers and glued those on too.  Those area easy to make and the tutorial can be found HERE. Finally I tied a ribbon around it and hung it on my door.

 



August 2:  I was up at 3 in the morning, so I got on Pinterest (bad idea if you want to get back to sleep!) and got a ton of ideas for my classroom.  I found this freebie from Autumn Proctor-Zaminski. These are totally cute chevron stars in all kinds of colors.  I decided to use the black stars to update my word wall.  I put the minutes of the clock on the red stars.  I'm going to tape those around my clock to help my kiddos tell time.  If you want a copy for yourself, you can get if for free at my tpt store by clicking HERE.

That's all I've done so far.  I'm going into my classroom today, even though I vowed I wouldn't for another 2 weeks:) With so many ideas and thoughts in my head I just can't stay away!

I plan on creating a bulletin board for outside my room, as well as more decor and bulletin boards in my classroom.  I'll keep you posted on my next projects!

Teacher Freebies

Teachers love to share their creative ideas, so why not take advantage of someone else's creativity?The internet is a great resource for finding ideas and printables for classrooms at little or no cost.  I've compiled a list of my favorite places I go to find teaching ideas and freebies.

1.  teachertipster.com

I LOVE this site! Here, a first grade teacher named Mr. Smith offers creative, interactive ways to teach your kiddos just about everything.  He is very entertaining, and I'm sure he's the teacher every student hopes to get.  Mr. Smith has several videos that I highly recommend you watch.  He also has free worksheets as well. And, of course, you can find him on facebook. Check him out!

2. teacherspayteachers.com

I love this site too.  You can find anything you need on here, much of which is free.  These are all teacher created materials that you can immediately download.  You can also set up your own virtual shop and sell anything you have created for your classroom.  This site is a great resource and I check it weekly for freebies.  If you want to check out what I have in my shop, click here.

3.  teachersnotebook.com

Same concept as teachers pay teachers, just a different website.  I also have a shop here.

4. http://www.classroomfreebiestoo.com

Every "Manic Monday" new educators post freebies available for download.  Check back weekly to see what's new!

5. pinterest.com

Where else can you find everything you ever dreamed of and more?  Pinterest has a wealth of creative ideas I guarantee you've never thought of.

**If you have a website you rely on for help in the classroom, please share in the comments section below!**

I'm having a sale!

Check out my TPT store this weekend, where everything is 10% off!  TeachersPayTeachers is the world's first open marketplace where teachers buy and sell original teaching materials. If I don't have what you are looking for, someone else will.  CHECK IT OUT!