A sale AND a freebie? It must be back to school time!

I am still in awe that the summer is nearly gone!  But with that comes the awesomeness that is the TPT back to school sale!  You can catch my store (everything!) for 28% off if you use the code "BTS14" when you check out!

On top of that, who doesn't love a freebie?  I am collaborating once again with my friend Crystal White to bring you some fantastic animal print frames!  There are five frames total, with a white or transparent fill each!

You can use these for your classroom library, TPT products, you name it!  The sky is definitely the limit.

Grab those frames and more from my TPT Store!

8/3/14 Free Stuff Sunday!

This week I am featuring Christine from Christine Maxwell.  She has a number of amazing number sense and early learner products! 

Back to School time Already!? Let's share our Ideas!

It's that time of year again!  Time to open that fresh box of crayons, sharpen those pencils, and get down to business with a new school year!

One of my favorite first day activities involves...  Play Doh.  What!?
 


Yes.  You can purchase the small individual sized containers and place them out for each student when they come into class.  Encourage each student to play for the first ten minutes or so, while you get ALL that paperwork in order.  It's a great stress reliever and helps break the ice in a fun and inquisitive manner!

What tips do you have for the first day of school?  Let's link up!  Simply add your post link below to share in the back to school fun!

An InLinkz Link-up

7/27/14 Free Stuff Sunday!

This week I am featuring Melissa from More Time 2 Teach!  She says, "My name is Melissa and I've been teaching for 15 years now. I joined TPT about a year ago just to try it out... and I am now hooked! Not only am I a seller, but an avid buyer as well. I absolutely LOVE designing activities that engage students,aka FUN, that are creative, and that help make lives easier for teachers."

Back to School Glyph!

Glyphs are so much fun to make, especially in the early primary grades.  It's a great way to encourage active listening skills with your students!  Plus, who doesn't love an easy open house bulletin board?!


The materials!

Ready made printables with the whole group or individual in mind!

 Step by Step Teacher directions!

 Color and cut!

 Math Activities to tie it all together!

Free Stuff Sunday! 7/20/14

This week I am featuring Nicole and Eliceo!  They say, "I (Nicole) have over 10 years experience teaching K-2 English as a Second Language (ESL). My husband (Eliceo) and I team to provide quality bilingual products. I am from Minnesota and my husband is from Puebla, Mexico, but we currently live in the Yucatan with our 2 kids. Most of our products come in both English and Spanish at no extra charge for the 2 languages. "

New TpT Tutorial! Text Effects!!

I am so excited to show off my newest TpT tutorial!  It's all about adding text effects to your product covers!

Let me give you an example..

When I first started my TpT journey I was absolutely in the dark about how to create those fancy cover pages that so many others were using.  I made do with what I had but I have learned so much since then!

For example --

This is my original "Sound Out" cover page.  It gets the message across just fine, but it doesn't have that "WOW" factor. 

Add a few more pops of color and VOILA!  A brand new cover page with fancy text effects!

 In my tutorial I will show you how to:

• Fill your text with color
• Give your text an outline
• Add a Glow effect
• Add a Shadow effect
• Add a Reflection
• Add Transformations

You can find the tutorial embedded below or you can head straight to YouTube for it!

Free Stuff Sunday! 7/13/14

This week I am featuring PrepToon!  They say, "We are a husband-wife team passionate about making math more fun and engaging by showing math concepts in short animations. Our TpT store has all the 6th grade math content and we are building all the content for grades k-8!! And yes, WE LOVE TpT!"

Free Stuff Sunday! 7/6/2014

This week I am featuring Christina from Christina L!  She says, "I am a certified Spanish and ESOL K-12 educator with two Masters in Foreign Languages and Multicultural/Multilingual Education. I have taught elementary, high school and Adult Education. Currently I am home with a newborn baby!"

Free Stuff Sunday! 6/29/14

This week I am featuring Brittany from Brittany Washburn!  She says, "I am an elementary technology teacher and digital resource creator on TpT. I say I have 2 full time jobs because I am still building my TpT store and it has a long way to go! I created this freebie sampler to expose teachers to the idea of putting I Can Statements for the technology standards in their classrooms. With common core being so tech-heavy I think it helps when the students are exposed to the technology vocabulary on a daily basis."

Free Stuff Sunday! -- 6/22/14

This week I am featuring Janet!  This wonderful craftivity has so many possibilities!  Janet explains a bit about herself --- "I have been teaching 3rd grade for more than 25 years in the same elementary school I attended as a child. I currently teach a 3rd/4th grade combo class. I teach with my sister-in-law (3rd grade) and my sister (4th grade). I am on my school's leadership team and serve as the Arts Advantage Coordinator for my school site. I am GATE certified. All three of my children attended the school at which I teach.I have been a teacher/author on TPT for a little more than a year."

 

Talkin' about books

Hey friends!  I am excited to be linking up with Mrs. Jump to do a quick chat about books!  My favorite time of the evening is when I get to read a book to my 2.5 year old daughter.  She needs a chance to unwind and LOVES to look at the pictures in the story.

Her current favorite book is Too Hot to Hug by Steve Smallman.  It's a tale about a cute little dragon who is simply too hot to hug!  It's a story about acceptance and a sense of belonging.  I would certainly recommend it!

Free Stuff Sunday! -- 6/08/14

This week I am featuring Alisha from Missing Tooth Grins!  Alisha writes, "I'm about to finish up my fourth year teaching and this was my first year teaching first grade. It's definitely my favorite grade!"

 

Free Stuff Sunday! -- 6/01/14

This week I am featuring Emily at Emily Jacobs!  She writes, "My name is Emily and I am just about to finish my 2nd year teaching kindergarten at a title 1 school in South Florida. I love cats, coffee, running, and all things kinder! I am a little over a month into selling on TpT and I love it!!!"

BONUS! This freebie just in!  An end of the year memory book (for those of you still in school!) from Erin over at Mrs. Beers Language Arts.  Erin says, "I teach 6th grade reading/language arts, but am currently on extended maternity leave. I have been teaching for 15 years, and adore the upper elementary level. I love creating resources to use in my classroom that makes my students enthusiastic about the learning process!"

 

AND!  A summer time freebie from A Thinker's Toolbox (grades 3-5)!

Five for Friday!

 

Hello SUMMER!  This past week has been (technically) my last week of freedom.. so here's a glance at what I've been up to! (I dwindled it down to 3.. give a girl a break. :))

I love music.  I love a great beat, a sad story, you name it.  I have been addicted to "Human" by Christina Perry.  It's so true -- we're only human and we're allowed to make mistakes, we're allowed to pick ourselves up, and we're allowed to just.. well..  be human!

Here's the official video if you're interested.

 

Speaking of summer.  ICE CREAM.  Mmm.  I've been busy with the Clip Art business and created my own set of swirly goodness.

 

(On a totally different note!..) Every month I assess our family budget to see where things need to change.  Gas prices just hiked a TON because of a tornado down south, so I know our gas spending will be a bit higher than average.  Anyway, I found this great site for those struggling with debt: http://unbury.us/  (great url, huh?).  Essentially, you type in your debts and can choose from one of two ways to see your way out of debt (with a timeline included!)  It's a great tool to keep yourself motivated.

 

Top Ten Things I want to Do This Summer: Linky Party with Deanna Jump!

 

Gosh.  Summer is so close I can taste it, especially on this Memorial Day Weekend!  I am linking up with Deanna Jump for the top ten things I'd like to get done this summer break!

1) Potty training!  My little girl is nearing the magical two and a half years old mark.  We will be spending the entire summer together and I hope to achieve this milestone!

2) Clipart!  If you haven't noticed, I have been obsessing over my own clipart creations.  I am so excited to finally be able to share my love of art with everyone!

3) Spend time with my hubby and family.  The days have all started to blend together -- I cannot wait to sit back, take a deep breath, and relax!

4) Exercise!  I'm whipping out the old school red wagon so I can start toddler chasing -- I mean exercising -- over the summer.

5) Swimming!  Who doesn't love to swim?  I can't wait!

6) Organize my house.  My house of 7...8? years is in desperate need of an overhaul cleaning.  Let's raise our feather dusters in protest!

7) Read.  I haven't devoured a good book in at least 6 months and I think my brain is mad at me...

8) Get ready for August.  Before I know it, the school year will be upon us and I don't want to scramble this year!

9)  Cook more.  Who doesn't love some BBQ?  Drool..

10) Blog more!  I love keeping up with everyone.  It's a great release, for sure!