The Hunt is On!

Happy Good Friday, friends!!

A birthday celebration!

I love learning about fellow bloggers and celebrating their many life 'milestones' via bloggy world.  Today is one of those days!  

Kathy from First Grade a la Carte is having a HUGE and I mean HUGE birthday celebration.  It started yesterday and continues through the week.  She is celebrating by throwing, not only a sale at her TPT store and sharing her own freebies, but she's also hosting a FLASH giveaway EACH DAY!!  Whoop whoop!

You MUST head over to her blog, follow her {she has a MOUNTAIN of amazing ideas}, and join in on her big birthday celebration.

Enter today to earn a chance to win my Flat Stanley unit {among several other amazing products}!! :)

My Flat Stanley unit was just completely revamped and a TON of activities were added.  It's the perfect reader's response packet for a super fun story!

Check it all out:

and don't forget to head to my TPT store today! Last day of my spring sale!! :)

Sprint Time!

Now that it's finally starting to feel a little bit more like spring, I decided it was time for a sale!!

button courtesy of Tara West

Click HERE to check out the goods! :)

Hoppin' around the room {FREEBIE}

Just stopping by quickly to share a freebie I just uploaded onto TPT.

I created this little cutie to use with my kinders next week as a writing center activity.  Before we left for spring break we were working on identifying words with short vowel sounds in them.  I also wanted to give my higher-leveled kiddos a more challenging task, so I included blends as well.

There are three short vowel sounds, they all end with the /p/ sound, and I included at least two blends with each word family.

I also created four sets of recording sheets.  I will differentiate in my classroom with these.  Some of my kiddos are struggling with the short /i/ and /a/ sound, so I will give them that recording sheet and they will walk around the room sounding out and sorting just those words.  I have several students who are in need of a challenge, so I will give them the recording sheet for all three sets of words. 

In my classroom, I do not require them to write every.single.word, however I do require them to write the words they know how to read.  If they can't read it to me, then they can not write the word.  For my lower babies, I pair them with a buddy and they only write and sort two word families.  If they are able to write two words for each type of word then they have completed their task.  That doesn't mean that they get to go to the fun writing center, however.  That means they get to write and read some more with me! :)

Just a little tid-bit in case you were wondering...not that you were! :)

Well ladies {and gents} I'm off to go to a jewelry party and spend money I don't have! hehe! Don't tell the hubby!

Enjoy your Saturday!

Grab more freebies below:

Meet Baby Easton {please read}

I'm going to join in on the Five for Friday fun, however, all my "fives" will be solely dedicated to this sweet and precious baby!
I will be back later this weekend with more fun goodies, but for now I'm going to let this angel fill your heart with joy and inspiration.

I would like you to meet baby Easton.  He is the son of a friend that I went to high school with.  This is her first baby.  He was born on March 10th and at only 12 days old, is a living miracle.  Baby Easton came into the world a few weeks early at 35 weeks, they had no concerns as Candice's {Easton's mommy} pregnancy was picture perfect and their son had been thriving throughout. Then, her labor came on instantly and was a long painful battle until he was welcomed into this world. They saw him only for a few seconds before he was whisked away by the medical team as something was wrong. The parents were informed that Easton was not breathing efficiently on his own and that a ventilator was needed to support his life. He was then immediately transported to a level III NICU hospital that could support him. The parents had not even had the chance to hold him yet. The mother was released in 24 hours so they could make the hour trip to be with their son. Once arriving at Shands Hospital, in Gainesville, Florida, they were hurried into a conference room to discuss what was going on with their son. They were informed that their son was having seizures due to blood that was in his brain that could have been caused from a traumatic birth but they were unsure at this point. They were then informed that he would be kept on many medications to help stop him from having seizures, and that he would be kept on the ventilator to support his airway and breathe for him for a few days. After a few days they would conduct a second MRI to compare and see if the blood would resorb on its own, if a shunt needed to placed, or if it was an active bleed. Days passed as they loved on their son with many tubes and leads connected to him allowing to not fully bond and be with him. The day came for the second MRI, when the results were in they were seated in the conference room again that was the bearer of bad news. As they waited for the team of neonatal neurologists and doctors to come in, many thoughts ran through their minds. The doctors came in and they asked if they wanted the news to be sugar coated or blunt. Being the strong people they are, they told them just to be straight forward and tell them. The new MRI showed that half of Easton’s brain had necrotic matter was slowly dying, and the other half had blood in it. They did not know what caused this or how it happened. They termed him clinically a vegetable because the side of his brain that was dying was the side that controls basic daily life functions such as breathing, swallowing, movement, etc. They informed them that if they choose to keep him alive that he would need machines to sustain his life forever. They were devastated and immediately broke down. After allowing some time for them to grieve they then began discussing what kind of life they wanted for their son. After several hours of long consideration they both decided that a life of tubes and machines was not a life for a child or them. That their son would not be able to enjoy the things in life that they wanted him to and, to keep him here chained to machines for his life was far too selfish on their behalf just because they wanted him here. They choose to unhook him from the machines on Friday March 15, 2013. They were informed by doctors that after they unhooked him that he would live for only a couple hours and then he would slowly stop breathing. The machines were unhooked at 7:00pm on March 15, 2013 while surrounded by family and friends. The nurses unhooked all the leads and tubes and gave him to his parents and told them to treat him like he was normal and love on him all they wanted. They quickly dressed him in outfits and took family pictures provided by the NICU free of charge. Then it was just a waiting game until he went to be an angel in heaven. Unbelievably Easton began to breathe on his own and became stronger. He surpassed the time frame the doctors gave for him and is still surpassing that time frame. The doctors met with the parents on Saturday March 16, 2013 early to then discuss the next plan of actions as they were in disbelief that Easton was sustaining himself. The parents then decided that they would sign a DNR but, they would care for their child giving him nourishment and love and monitoring him until his time comes. They bath him, change him, and dress him in the many outfits they had received at the baby shower only weeks before. He feeds through the only tube he has on his body, a feeding tube through his nose leading to his stomach as he does not have the function to swallow. His pulse and oxygen saturation are perfect and doctors cannot explain it.

Baby Easton is continuing to thrive.  He is no longer hooked up to a breathing machine, had his first bottle two days ago and is no longer hooked up to a feeding tube.  Yesterday, Baby Easton opened his eyes.  He now has an infection due to his eyes being closed for so long and is on eye drop medication.  The doctors continue to monitor him hourly and Easton continues to be a living miracle.

With this miracle comes large medical bills.  Easton's parents are currently unable to work as they are spending every moment with their precious son.  I am asking you to open your hearts and, if you are able, donate to help support this wonderful family and little miracle.

Keep them in your thoughts and prayers, as God's plan for this family is far greater than we can imagine.  

I will continue to update you with news as I receive updates.

Thank you for reading Easton's story!

Medical Fundraising Made Simple

Click the above link or HERE to be directed to the families "Give Forward" donation link.

End of the year...already?!

Anybody else already thinking about the end of the year?

Surprisingly it is coming up sooner than later and I am READY! :)  

Remember that beautiful picture of the beach I shared...well it has been nothing but cloudy skies and rain since then. :(  Majorly bummed that my days of sitting in the sun and doing nothing have changed.  Now I'm being forced to actually get things done! 

Well, I did get my End of the Year Silly Awards done!

I love giving these out every year.  The kiddos and the parents really love them.  When I taught first grade, I let the kiddos vote for the friend that deserved each award.  They nailed it every time too!  This year, since I'm back in KinderLand, I'm going to choose the awards for each kiddo.  

I love that these awards do not require me to purchase anything to go along with them {unless I really wanted to}, the kiddos are not rewarded with food {just not my thing}, and I made the awards so that there are both girl and boy versions.  Now the boys aren't embarrassed to receive an award that has a girl on it! :)  I also made the awards full-page and half-page size.

All you have to do is print, write, and laminate! Easy!!

Here's a peek at some of the awards:

Click HERE to check out more!

If you're on Spring Break, I hope you're enjoying your time!  

I'm off to get more checked off my 'to-do' list.  Come on sunshine!!!

It's about to happen!!

See that beautiful scenery?  Spring break begins in 18 hours and because I live in Florida I will be heading to the beach!  My feet are itching for the sand to be between my toes and the sun to be warming me up!

I must admit, I have been in Spring Break mode for, well, a week or two.  The kiddos are all kinds of CRAY-CRAY and my brain is...fried.

I am working on updating a whole new version of my end of the year silly awards pack and I will be working hard {when I'm not sun-bathing and/or just sleeping} to finish it up before the end of my spring break!

Have you started spring break yet?  

Any amazing plans?

My whole week is not completely planned out yet and I would love some fun ideas! :)   Remember though, I'm on a teacher's salary! 

Flat Stanley Update!

I finished my Flat Stanley unit update! Woohoo!!

I completely revamped my old mini unit, changing every single page!  I also added SEVERAL new pages and turned my 30 page unit to 53 pages!  I am still working on adding more but that will be an ongoing thing.  

I am so proud of the newly revised addition. If you've already purchased this unit, please go download the new version.  You can do so by going to your "My Purchases" link at TPT.  Then just press "download."

Here's a peak at some of the revisions:

Click HERE to check it out! :)

Happy Monday!

{P.S. are you as pumped about the Bachelor finale tonight as I am?!}

That time again!

PHEW! This week flew by and I'm so glad.  It might because I played hooky on Tuesday.  Much needed and well, much deserved! :)
It's Five for Friday time!!

This week {when I was there} we learned about the symbols of St. Patrick's Day and all about what it means to be lucky!

I am so in love with my bulletin board.  Yes, it's overwhelmingly loaded but it's so cute!  The kiddos did such a great job.  I need some help though....what should I put on the pot?  "Look how lucky we are"....I need help.  Suggestions, PLEASE!

I was going to have the kiddos use their handprints to make the rainbow but I started with some of the boys and well...they blew it! So we quickly went to sponge painting and they LOVED it and they did REALLY REALLY good! Don'tchathink?

Here's a close up of the adorable clovers they made.  This is an inspiration from Sarah Cooley's blog last year {I think}!  Last year, I let my first graders draw their own illustrations, cut around them, and then glue them onto their clover, HOWEVER not so much with the kinder babies.  I pre-made and cut out circles for them to draw four different things they are lucky to have.  They turned out so cute!  Some even wrote what they were lucky to have in addition to their illustration.  Extra "points" for them! :)

Here are the lucky coins.  I.AM.IN.LOVE.  

This adorable printable came from one of my newest blogging besties, Kelley {what a great name} from Teacher Idea Factory.  Her packet is so stinkin adorable and even though it was created more for first and second grade, there is plenty that is adaptable for the kinder kiddos!  

Click the pic to check out this adorable packet! It's only $3 people and worth so much more! 

We also made these cutie-patootie leprechauns!  I make these every year!  These were inspired from the creative genius, Cara Carroll!  What does she do that ISN'T 50 kinds of AH-MAZ-ING?! :)

*********

I must confess.  I just got back from a teacher-kind-of-happy-hour and it was SO much fun!!  I love when we all are able to get a chance to get together outside of school...and when there's a tasty beverage in hand, it's even better!

I'm off to attempt to finish up my Flat Stanley unit!  The new unit is going to be MUCH better than the last and a TON more added to it!  I'm not sure how long I'll make it tonight though.  I did have more than one tasty beverage.  Okay more than two.  I'm lying...three! :)

Make sure to link up with DoodleBugs! 

YUM-O

I know you're wondering, "what in the world is she doing posting in the middle of the day?"  "Shouldn't she be teaching?"  "It doesn't snow in Florida!!"

If you were thinking that...you're right.

I should be teaching right now.  I do live in FL and there is no snow.  It's not even cold {high of 72 today}!  Well, here's my story:

Remember the other day when I told you I was attempting to dye my hair ombre style on my own.  Well, I did.  I NAILED the fade! It faded perfectly!! Flawlessly really.  The color on the other hand! YIKES!! I was so excited about doing it that I didn't really think and use my brain.  You know...all those things we tell our kiddos to do.  I didn't.  My hair is brown.  Medium-ish brown.  And I thought that I would just go ahead and put bleach in it and it would turn out perfectly blonde. WRONG! DUH!  So it turned out somewhat blonde and all kinds of orange! No bueno! 

So, I'm dying it back brown.  Gonna let my hair come back to life after the over -coloring shock and then do it again.  This time...the right way...in a salon! :)

That is not the only reason I am home today.  I also took off work to spend some time with my hubby.  He has been working out of town non-stop for the past two months and I rarely get to see him now. He flew in last night at 10:45pm.  Then, unknowingly to me, he had to leave again this morning at 9:30am. BOO! So yes, I took off work to surprise him and spend the day with him and he's not even here! Ridiculous!

On the positive side I made these:

OH-MY-YUMMINESS! 

I first found this wonderful recipe on Pinterest.  Click HERE to head to the original blog with the delicious recipe.

The thing about these yummy cookies is that not only are they so healthy for you but your toddler could make them!  It's really a 2-ingredient cookie but I added some other things to make it extra yum-o!

I used everything in the picture as well as honey.  I decided to drizzle a little bit of honey over the ingredients before I mixed them altogether! Delicious!

They kind of taste like banana bread.

I will be making a TON of these.  They are **perfect** for my morning rush meal and packed with so much yumminess and energy to get me going when I'm lagging and keep me going through the day!

Win-Win!

Hope you're having a much more Terrific Tuesday!

March Currently + Freebie!

My favorite time of the month! :)

These currently linky parties really get me thinking and organizing my priorities for the month.  Plus, I LOVE getting to read what everyone else is up to!

Let me explain...

I **love** makeover type shows and Property Brothers is a fun one.  I love the transformations.  I also like to live vicurously through others! :)

Loving having an intern!! I mean, it's amazing and so is she!

Thinking...I am helping my mother start up a fun little side business and I have a lot of crafting to get started on...wreaths, monogramming, really learning how to use my Silhoutte! 

Wouldn't it be nice to snap my fingers and have my house cleaned! I rarely have motivation to clean.  Don't get me wrong my house is not "dirty" or gross but I just do NOT like dusting, vacuuming, and putting away laundry. I get more done in the 10 minutes before we have a guest over than I do all week long! :)  Am I the only one?

Needing...to back up all my work.  After losing all my goodies when my zip drive crashed, I back up like crazy and today is going to be "back up" day.  I HIGHLY suggest backing up EVERYTHING you don't want to lose.  

Like, Love, Hate.  

This one was tough.  You have to use words that begin with the first initial of your first name.  Mine would be "K" for Kelly {the best name EVER ;) } 

Like: I like my Kindle but it is the O-L-D one.  I would love to get the new Kindle Fire.  Especially, since warm weather and days by the pool/beach are just around the corner!

Love..well cookies.  Yes, I know cookies is not technically spelled with a K but I just couldn't think of ANYTHING that started with a 'k' that I loved. So I made mine "krunk" cookies! :)

Hate...ketchup. YUCK! I love tomatoes but am not a fan of ketchup.  Strange, I know!

******************

While you're here I wanted to share two things with you from this past week.

First up, this week we learned about some famous Americans and used Lyndsey's Black History packet {amazing} to target some of those famous people.  We spent one day learning about Louis Armstrong and then wrote about him.

How cool is our "bulletin board."  My classroom is in a primary building and all our doors face outside so we do not have a lot of room to hang our work.  We are allowed to use the hallways in our "main" building though and so we {my amazing intern and I} decided to create something to display our work.  I thought this was precious.  We also hung a sign above it that said "Jazzing our way through Famous Americans"

Here's a little freebie for you too!

Louis Armstrong by

I also had to share this illustration and writing.

For homework last week, we had the kiddos write about a time they were sick. Look at the detail in this illustration...the mucus! Ha! Makes me laugh.  If you look super closely you can see something that looks slightly inappropriate.  Did you notice it?!  Crude humor, I know.

Happy Saturday friends!