Thankful + Black Friday

What a crazy year!  So many things have happened in my life this past year.  Some were joyous, others were tragic.  In spite of it all, I am beyond thankful for the people in my life and for the events that have taken place.

What an amazing God we have!

I love the holidays and all the traditions that come with it.  I'm excited that this year my mother and I will be kicking up our tradition of watching Christmas Vacation up a notch.  We will now be adding a fun little drinking game to the mix! :)  Excited for some spiked eggnog!! Tell me I'm not the only one who loves some eggnog! mmmm….

Ok, ok.  Aside from all the thankfulness, I am getting ready to do some damage on my bank account.  You know, with all the money us teachers make! 

I have a huge TPT wish list and I'm going through and adding more.  There's just too much good stuff out there! :)

I'm loving my new cover for my Polar Express packet. This packet has all kinds of goodies to keep your little ones busy, learning, and having fun with the classic, The Polar Express.  You can check it out HERE.

I am working feverishly on getting my Christmas-themed packet done! Hoping to have it up and going by Sunday.  All this yummy food and family/friends are keeping me preoccupied for now! :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you wonderful colleagues! 

Cooking a Turkey

Is anyone else blown away by how fast this year is going by?  I know I probably say that every.single.year. But it's true! I can not believe that Thanksgiving is already this week. 

Speaking of this week…anybody else have to work Monday and Tuesday?  I'm not sure what I really think of these super short weeks.  In one way I love them because it's only 2 days, which means I don't have to write lesson plans {well, technically I do, but ssshhh}. In another way I don't like short weeks because it's too short to really getting anything new started. Also, short weeks more-than-not always feel like they take forever to end!!!  

I have a field trip tomorrow so I'm hoping that it goes smooth and quick! :)  

Then, we have 100% chance of sever thunderstorms predicted for Tuesday, which I'm hoping means that I will have very few kiddos.  A quiet day would be nice! Ha!

Like I said already, this year is going by in the blink of an eye, which also means I have forgotten to do half the things I had planned for Thanksgiving.  One item on my 'to-do' list was to create a "How to Cook a Turkey" class book to send home with each kiddo for Thanksgiving.  Of course, I forgot.  Now there are two days left and one of those days I will be on a field trip.  

Well, I'm going to get them done I tell ya!  Tomorrow.  I'm going to make it happen. 

Click the picture to snag your freebie! 

Here's a sneak peek at what I'm currently working on!  The packet will be filled with math, word work, reading, and writing activities!  I have a special group of kiddos I'm creating it for, so it will be specific to the needs of my extremely academically diverse group of kindergartners! Hoping to have it up by Black Friday.  Fingers, toes, and eyes are crossed.

Love this time of year! 

Thanksgiving Books

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year!  I just love doing all things holiday-themed.  If I'm able to find a craftivity to do to coincide with a book we're ready...I do it.  Here are some of my favorite books. 

(photo credit: Cara from The First Grade Parade)

After seeing this reader's response writing and craft from Cara, I immediately bought the book The Littlest Pilgrim.  It is a cute story about a little pilgrim girl who is too little to do anything on the farm but in the end has the best job. The story provides great opportunity for character analysis. 

I just snagged an amazing shared reading freebie from Michelle based on this story.  The Littlest Pilgrim has become a Thanksgiving staple in my classroom.

(Click book to check it out)

I love scarecrows!  When I think of fall, I think of scarecrows, pumpkins, and turkeys! The Scarecrow Boy is a book I have been reading every Thanksgiving since my internship.  It's a cute story about a little scarecrow boy who wants to be like his Dad.  He struggles throughout the book but learns a sweet lesson at the end of the story.  It's just cute!

(Click picture to check it out)

Of course, I must do a little craftivity with it!  I like to do a directed project with my kinders.  We make "shape scarecrows."  I love it because it's an easy assessment on who knows their basic shapes.  Plus they're just cute!

(I apologize for making you have to tilt your head to look at it!)

I talked about this activity a little more HERE.

This year I'm really excited to read this book:

(Click image to check it out)

I'm sure I'll do some sort of reader's response with it.  Stay tuned.  I'll take pictures! :)

After reading some other blog posts, I have added many new books to my growing pile of adorable Thanksgiving-themed books to read!  

Check out some more at the Teacher's Cauldron!

November? Already??

I can not believe that it is already November!! Where is the time going?  Flying by, I tell ya!  Glad that the weather is cooperating and there's at least a slight chill in the air for FL.  Wish it wasn't going to reach 80 today though. bummer.

I am loving November so far! Gorgeous weather, Game Day in Tallahassee, and going to watch my Noles slaughter the Canes!  :)

Fall reminds me of the mountains.  Having grown up in Central and Northern Florida, mountains are magical to me and the beautiful colors of the changing leaves makes my eyes happy! Oh, how I wish to visit the mountains soon!

Okay.  Please tell me you hate writing lesson plans as much as I do?  I wish I could just walk in and teach!  I never look at my lesson plans.  EVER.  Once they're typed, they are placed in my binder never to be seen again.  Am I the only one who does this?  I promise it does not make me a bad teacher!

I.LOVE.PINTEREST.

My hubby does not understand why I ever go on to the site, why I ever "pin" anything, and does not see it's purpose.  I, on the other hand, think it's amazing.  My favorite thing to pin...food.  Food I'll probably never get around to trying to make.  Food I would like to have prepared for me.  To look exactly like it's picture.  Here's my latest love affair:

How delicious does that look?!  It's Snickerdoodle Apple Cobbler!!!  The link does not take you to the recipe, in fact I haven't found where this pic originated from, but I will let you know when I do find it.  See, another pin I haven't tried yet! :) 

Well, it's time for me to get my "game face on" and get ready for some football!!  Have a wonderful Saturday!