Personalized Stamps

I am beyond excited about the personalized stamps that I created on Vistaprint.com.  I can not wait to use them on my student's papers!  I really hope they love them too. 

All this started last year when I was on Pinterest and came across two pins that made me think, "Hmmm... I could do that!"  Isn't that how it always starts?  Lol...Thankfully this time I was oh so right!  The first pin that I pinned was a tutorial by Kindercraze on how to create stamps on Vistaprint.

 

Click the picture above to pin the video tutorial.  It'll make you wonder why you didn't already know how to create these stamps!  It really is that easy.  I also pinned this pin by 2 Crazy Texas Teachers.

 

 



 

Click the picture above to pin the post by 2 Crazy Texas Teachers.  So even though a year had past, I REALLY wanted to create my own stamps.  So, when I saw an amazing Groupon $17 for $70 on Vistaprint I had to buy it.  The stamps are not cheap, but with this Groupon I was able to make the three stamps.  I did have to pay shipping, because the Groupon does not cover shipping cost.  You need to keep your eye out for that Groupon. They run that same special every so often.

 



I'll have to let you know what my students think once I get to use them on their papers.  My goal is to use the stamps on graded papers, station assignments, homework, and other things like that. 

B2S Sale & Get to Know You Activity

Have you heard that TpT is having a site wide sale on August 3rd and 4th?  I'm so excited to stock up on some back to school needs.  This is a great chance to save up to 28% on your purchases, so don't forget to fill up your shopping cart! Use the code BTS15 at checkout to get the full discount.

 

Are you looking for a couple of interactive activities to use to get to know your students?  I created a Getting to Know You Would You Rather Four Corners activity.  If you have never used four corners in your classroom, you should try it.  I blogged all about using four corners in the classroom on a guest blog post over at TheHappyTeacher.  You can check it out by clicking here.  Here's a short Flipagram of the PowerPoint I created for this activity.

 

                                        

    

Also, included with this product are the four corner signs, 6 Find Someone Who printables, and directions for the PowerPoint and Find Someone Who.  Here are a few of the Find Someone Who printables.  Click on the pictures to get a better look.

I hope you'll check it out in my TpT store Primary Essentials.  That's all I got!  See you around the blogging world!

Currently

I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy 4th Grade for the August Currently.  I can not believe it is already August.  YIKES! 

 

I was searching for something new to watch on Netflix, when my sister reminded me that I wanted to watch Blacklist.  I was hesitant, but didn't really have anything else to watch.  Oh.My.Word.  I'm hooked!  I'm almost done with season 1 and just realized that season 2 is not on Netflix.  Say What?!!?  I checked Hulu and they only have season two episodes 18-22.  I must find season 2 and watch it before B2S.

 

I am loving my personalized stamps!  Last summer I pinned a pin on Pinterest about creating your own stamps at Vistaprint.  Well, I gave it a try and it worked!  I LOVE them!  I plan to blog about them sometime next week, but here's a sneak peak.

 

 

I blogged last week about my job change.  I not only changed from primary to intermediate, but I changed school districts!  I have so much left to do in my classroom.  I have been lucky because I have been able to get into my room the past week and a half, and the air conditioner is on as well!  I've only really worked about 2-3 hour each day, because my girls have been tagging along.  You know how it is when you move into a different room.  You have to organize what's there before you can unpack.

 

My goal is to only work in my room 2 days next week and then enjoy about a week until New Employee Orientation.  I really, really want some time to read a "fun" book before school starts!  I know once school starts it will be all about learning a new grade level and trying to keep my head above water.

 

I really need someone to come spray paint some things for me.  I spend quite a bit of time spray painting a book shelf last week and although it turned out fine some other things I spray painted did NOT!  I really need some HELP in this area.

 

 

 

For a B2S RAK, I was planning to either bake some homemade treats for my team or put together a small goodie bag.  It will all come down to how much time and money I have left by then!

 

I can't believe I'm actually posting my currently on the first of them month!  I think that is the first time ever!  Woot, Woot!

 

That's all I got!  I'll see you around the blogging world!



 

 

 





New Blog Design & Job Change

How do you like my new blog design?  I LOVE  it oh so much! It was actually redesigned way back in April.  I know.  Shame on me...I haven't blogged in FOREVER!  I promise to do my best to blog more going forward. 
Back to my new blog design...So, Gabby from Gabby's Classrooms designed my blog. 


Isn't it Ah-Mazing?!??!  I can't sing her praises enough.  She is so easy to work with and she's very affordable.  I searched high and low before deciding on a designer.  If you're in the market for a new blog design, you should definitely check her out!  Thank you Gabby!

Now on to my job change news. Not just a job change, but also changing districts.  So, I've been working in a district other than where I live for ten years.   I really enjoyed my time there and made so many wonderful friends.  You might be thinking, "Then why change?"

 

 

These two are my reasons.  As they get older I really need to be closer to home. (Note:  I have a son, but he is 19 and spends very little time with us.)  And there you have it.  Sometimes a mama has to do what's best for her kids.  So for the BIG NEWS...

 

 

So, I have been trying to get a job in the small town where I live for about 3 years.  When I finally landed an interview it was for 4th grade ELA. 4th grade! This grade level is way out of my comfort zone.  I've pretty much only taught and worked with Primary grade levels.  Even while teaching intervention for K-5 reading and math the past two years, it was kinda like teaching primary.  We taught intervention below grade level, so teaching my 4th and 5th graders was like teaching 2nd or 3rd grade.  Hey even my blog is Primary Essentials.  After I accepted the job I was like...

 

 

And I may have even cried.  The tears were more about my friends and the students I would be leaving.  I built some great relationships with some students and will miss them dearly.  I am however excited about my new journey.  I have a lot to learn about dealing with big kids and teaching the 4th grade ELA TEKS (our standards in Texas).

 

I'll still be creating products and blogging about primary things as well as some 4th grade stuff.  It's going to be an interesting school year.  I've been working in my classroom a few hours each day for about a week and a half.  I can't wait to show you my decorations.

 

Well, that's all I've got!  See you around the blogging world!



If You Give a Teacher a Gift Card...

Who doesn't like gift cards?  I know I sure do!  Especially the FREE kind! lol...  I'm a contributor on the collaborative blog iTeach Second Grade.  We are hosting a Teacher Appreciation giveaway this week.  You could win one of four gift cards totaling $25 each.  If you win all four gift cards, that's a total of $100 in gift cards!!  The gifts are for Amazon, Starbucks, Target, and TeacherPayTeachers.

If I had a gift card to Amazon it would be so hard to not go over $25 and to narrow my purchase down!  Here are a couple of things over there that I would love to have!

Classroom Discussions Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn K-6
I would really love to read this book.  I'm always looking for ways to get my students involved in their learning. 

Belkin Rockstar Multi Headphone Splitter
I really want a few of these to use with my 6 HP Slate tablets.  This way students can play games with a partner(s) and still hear the sound, but not distract others around them.

If I had a gift card to Target I would get:

Papermate Liquid Flair Pens:

I absolutely love these pens!  I'm a flair pen addict, and once I discovered they made a liquid version I had to have a pack right away!  They are amazing!

Mr. Sketch Scented Markers:

I love these markers!  I don't know how I would ever be able to make anchor charts with a set!

If I had a gift card to Starbucks, I would get my favorite drinks!  I'm not a coffee drink so I usually get either a Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino or a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino.

 

And last but not least, if I had a gift card to TeachersPayTeachers, I would get:

Interactive Notebook -Place Value Foldables and Pockets (ones-thousands):  I really want to give interactive notebooking a try.  I think this would really help my intervention students with connecting to the skills. 

Learning Our Addition Strategies:  I think learning addition strategies is just as hard a memorizing addition facts for intervention students. 

So, that's what I would buy with IF I won the gift cards.  What would you get?  Let me a comment below.  Check out the giveaway over at iTeach Second Grade.

Well, that's all I got!  I'll see you around the blogging world!  I hope you win!

TPT Blogger Product Swap

I am so happy to be participating in my first TPT product swap.  It was exciting to preview a product from another TPT seller.  I got the pleasure to preview a product from The Third Wheel.

She was so gracious to allow me to pick any product in her store to preview.  I chose her Multiplication Gottcha. 

 

 



I work with intervention students in grades K-5 for reading and math.  My 4th and 5th graders are still struggling with automaticity of their multiplication facts.  That was my main reason for choosing this product.  My goal is always to motivate them to study and practice their facts each day.  Winning a game usually gets them in motion!

 

This game contain 234 cards.  Yep, you read that right!  234 cards!  Some of the cards have multiplication number sentences on them and other have a product on them.  The structure of this game is like Uno, which makes it very easy for the students to play. 

 

Oh.My.Goodness y'all my students were so very excited to play this game.  I did have two students that had never played Uno before, so the first round went a little slow so that I could walk them through each step and to give them time to get the jist of the game. 

 





Ignore the mess in the room!  In our district intervention comes to the students to reduce travel time, so I work with all my groups in empty rooms around the building as close to their grade level as possible.  This room is the PTA room and these are my fourth graders.  Some were more eager than other to take this picture. 

 

 

 

We played many round over the course of a couple of days.  They enjoyed the game and have already asked if we will ever play again.  I have promised to pull this out again very soon!  Since these are intervention students and we have been working on strategies to help them get the correct answer when they do not know the product to a multiplication problem, I gave them scratch paper to use during the game.  I did require my students to say the number sentence with the correct product as they played their cards. For the cards that only had the product, I required them to give me a number sentence that equals that product. 

 

As we were playing this game, I thought these cards could also be used to play multiplication war.  My students love to play war.  This game would work well in a station.  It could also be used during indoor recess which seems to be popular right now since some days are really cold depending on where you live. 

 

You can also find Addition Gotcha and Division Gotcha in her store as well!  She shared them with me and they are amazing as well!  She has discounted them all through Sunday (2/8/15) to $2.00!  That is an awesome deal!  Hop on over to her TPT store The Third Wheel and check them out.  While you are there you might as well become a follower so you will get notifications when she adds more awesome things to her store.

 

 

 

That's all I got!  See you around the blogging world!

 

 

 

An InLinkz Link-up