Talking Bears

Hey Friends! Just wanted to let you know you can head on over to The Primary Pack to learn all about my talking bears today!

 

All I Want for Black Friday Linky...Giveaway TOO!!!

Hey Friends!! I have truly neglected this little blog of mine. It's true! However, I have an entire 9 days off and I am spending my weekend linking up with my girls at The Primary Pack! Woohoo!!

I'm sure you agree that Black Friday is an amazing holiday. It is a holiday...at least in my world! AGHH shopping at midnight?!? YES! Well we are celebrating Black Friday in a fun way (and a little early). There is no word yet if there will be a Black Friday sale but regardless, we are sharing a few of our most wish-listed items in our carts and our stores. We are also a HUGE Black Friday Giveaway, check it out below, you don't want to miss it!

Here are my top 5 MUST HAVES:

1. Kindergarten Interactive Math Notebook (Counting & Cardinality) - I'm dying to start these notebooks in my classroom & Kristin is a fellow Hillsborough county teacher who does AWESOME work!!

2. Kindergarten Interactive Math Notebook (Geometry) - If I have one I must have them ALL!!

3. Building Number Sense - I'm seeing a math trend! I need to spice things up in my math instruction.

4. Creative Clips Winter VIP - Krista's Clipart is an obsession of mine! 

5. Decorating the Tree Clipart - Who am I kidding??? ALL clipart is my obsession and Mel is amazing :)

Here are a few things from my store Loving Teaching Inspiring that are my most wish-listed and best sellers:

1. Let's Investigate: Grapes to Raisins - This is a great long term investigation that your students can track the data themselves.

2. Chevron Teacher Toolbox Labels - What better way to organize all your supplies than with these adorable chevron toolbox labels?!?

3. Reader's Toolbox - These are a big hit in my classroom. They are the perfect way to encourage students to respond to their reading.

4. Alphabet Worksheets - A complete set of ABC worksheets with 5 different activities on each sheet!

5. Bubble Gum Comparing Numbers Pack - This packet includes several games and worksheets to help students compare numbers 0-10

Drumroll please.... Check out this HUGE giveaway package you can win by entering below! There is a resource from almost everyone in The Primary Pack, perfect for all primary grades!! Good luck, friends and happy shopping!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now It's Your Turn To Join The Fun! 

Just a few rules to follow and your on your way:

1. Download the images above!

2. Add your favorite sellers products in your TpT cart to the "My Black Friday Wishlist"

3. Add your own products to the "For Your Black Friday Wishlist"

4. Link up below to share your Black Friday Wishlists!

5. Don't forget to enter our fabulous giveaway above AND visit others linked up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Holiday Linky: Teaching students to GIVE!

Hello Friends! I'm so excited to be linking up with my wonderful friend Amy at Learning Lessons with Mrs. Labrasciano today!!!

A ton of fabulous teachers are sharing different ways to celebrate the holiday and I can't wait to read them all!!! Make sure you join in on the fun and link-up at the end of this post. We are also giving away a lot of money to Amazon. Enjoy!

Today I want to talk to you about GIVING. It is so often that our students are quick to talk about what they NEED when in reality it is just something they WANT. Even my two year old is guilty of this...clearly because its all about HER! 

I worked at a Title one school full of needy children and families for 4 years and even these students were able to participate in the giving aspects of the holidays. I teach this important lesson two ways during the holidays. The first way is by giving to our friends in class. It's very simple. Almost to simple. We do a book exchange!

I send home a holiday note asking the parents if they would be willing to participate in our Holiday Book Exchange first. Then I send home an additional note attached to the holiday Scholastic Book Order. In the note I mention that the price of the book should be less than 3 dollars and does not need to be purchased from scholastic. Make sure you send this out early enough to receive the book order in time for parents to wrap them and send them back. 

You can choose to split your class into boys and girls for the exchange or just ask for gender neutral books. You could also do a Secret Santa Exchange! I usually just request gender neutral books. We then sit in a big circle and hold our wrapped books. I read a version of T'was the Night Before Christmas that includes several "right and lefts" every time the students hear the word "right" they pass the book they are holding to the right. Same goes for when they hear "left"! This gets VERY entertaining with a bunch of 5 year olds. As I'm sure you can only imagine. Hopefully by the end of the story they understand left and right. Hopefully. 

Click on the picture above to download your free copy of the story!

The second lesson I do to teach my students about giving is a teddy bear drive! I actually learned about this charity when I was in high school and fell in love! 

The charity is called S.A.F.E. - Stuffed Animals For Emergencies, Inc.

They have several chapters all over the states. You can click here to find one close to you! Basically every kid gets to donate a new or used stuffed animal to children. It is the simplest charity and the students can really relate to how important a stuffed animal can be for a child. I even have the class write a letter introducing their stuffed animal to the new child! These are the cutest! I'll be sure to share this years letters once we get closer to December! I hope these ideas help you get your students in the spirit of GIVING!

Speaking of giving we are giving a lot today! Enter below for a chance to win an Amazon Gift Card as well as some great products from some GREAT teachers! I've included a winner choice from my store too! Good Luck!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Holidays!!!

Reader's Toolboxes

Hello my friends! I'm blogging for the first time over at The Primary Pack!!! 

I'm so excited to be a part of this fabulous group of bloggers on The Primary Pack. I will be blogging and sharing all about my classroom on the 25th of every month. This months post is about my Readers Toolboxes! Go check it out here!!

It's time to celebrate a MILESTONE

Hi friends!

I just wanted to drop by instead of finalizing my lesson plans to tell you about an amazing milestone giveaway!! Giveaway's are always more fun. Plus I'm a part of package number 3. These ladies are amazing & I am even able to work with them in our collaborative blog The Primary Pack!

Good Luck & Enjoy!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Sunday FUNDAY!

October Currently with a Treat included!!

Happy October Friends! I can't believe it is already October?!?! How does this happen? Anyways, that just means its time to link up for this month's currently with Farley! Be sure to head to her blog & join the fun!!

 

 

 

Clearly my currently has a theme...kids and the messes that come with kids! Have you seen this adorable sign on Etsy???

 

 

I need this. BAD.

 

Now onto the treat :) I've put my Comparing Numbers Bubblegum Center on sale for the weekend! Click the picture to snag it 50 percent off!!

 

 

Alright now to clean because we all know I'm not getting a maid anytime soon! Plus it's overlapping naptime...THE BEST!

 

Happy Saturday!!!

 

Introducing The Primary Pack & Colorful Freebies!!

I am so excited and blessed to have the opportunity to work behind the scenes with the fabulous bloggers of The Primary Pack!  We are collaborating to bring you a rainbow of ideas!  Make sure you follow along to grab a bunch of colorful freebies, as well as enter our giveaway with $300 worth of prizes!

Hi! I'm Kristen blogging from Loving Teaching Inspiring. I am a Florida teacher who loves iced coffee, Target, and making list for EVERYTHING. Honestly, I think I spend more time making my to-do list than actually completing them. All of my experience, internships included, are in Kindergarten and First Grade. This could be why I am deathly afraid of intermediate grades. ((Insert nail biting here)) I'm currently teaching Kindergarten and I have to admit it's my favorite. Two minute attention spans and all!

 

I have been married to my high school sweetheart for just over 4 years. He is a teacher as well and is teaching in the same classroom we met in! We now have two beautiful little girls, Kylee (2 1/2) and Kenzi (8 months). Our life should honestly be a reality show...never ending chaos at the Lankford residence! Or as Kylee would say "probably" needs a reality show!!!
 

Click the picture to check out my AMAZING photographer Nicole!

My long term goal is to work at The University of South Florida (where I graduated) and be a supervisor for interns. I love having interns in my classroom!!! It's such a great opportunity for both the cooperating teacher (me) as well as the interns. Learning never stops!
 

Go Bulls!!

To celebrate our new collaborative adventure, The Primary Pack is hosting a giveaway with tons of fabulous prizes!

Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway AND here's my "colorful" freebie!  Just click on the image!

 

 Hop along to meet our other bright bloggers and to grab a rainbow of freebies!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Five for Friday!

Hello friends! It's been quite a week...and its ending with a day off work taking care of my sick little girl. We will share more on that later!

  I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday. Make sure you click the link to add to the fun!!!

This weekend we went and looked at model homes in a beautiful neighborhood with trails and weekend farmer's markets! I would LOVE to move there but we have a lot of thinking to do. I took this adorable picture of my oldest because she was OBSESSED with the "big girl room". I can't wait to have "Santa" update her room! She is growing up so fast!!!

We also got our family pictures taken this weekend. I adore this photo and I'm not even sure how she captured this beautiful moment because this photo session was ROUGH! My oldest (Kylee) decided she didn't want to take pictures and literally threw a massive fit! Kenzi was a happy girl until mommy walked away and she screamed her little lungs out. We had to call the session a wrap and are going to try another mini-session in the backyard. Fingers crossed!!

As far as the classroom goes we are getting into the groove of collaborative work. We introduced our bear share technique and the kids are discussing beautifully! It's so simple. All you need is a bear manipulative (which we all have) and a group of students. The rules are very simple. Whoever has the bear does the talking and everyone else listens! We love to use this technique to share our sticky notes, writing and our ideas. 

For this activity we read the book "I have a Pet" by Shari Halpern- you can grab a copy here:

After reading the story we split into groups to answer "What pet do you want and why?" They used the bears to share ideas first and then got to work. After the posters were complete the students got to share with everyone else! Loved it!

I also had a proud moment when my intern used my Bubble Gum Comparing Numbers Packet to organize our math stations. She was perfectly organized and didn't miss a beat. The students had so much fun and their test scores were AMAZING! I'm excited that I can continue to work with her next semester for her final internship!! She is going to be an AMAZING teacher!!

You can grab a copy of the packet by clicking the picture below. Best Part?!?! It's on sale until Sunday Night!!!

And now...the most pathetic picture ever. This little girl has a 103.4 fever! We took her to the doctor today and they aren't sure what's going on. We are on an antibiotic for "just in case" purposes. Since it's the weekend we won't have our test results until Monday. Fingers are double crossed that its NOT strep throat...please please please!

The good news is that she wants to cuddle. I love having her cuddle with me! 

Have a great weekend everyone!! We will be working hard to keep our family AWAY from germs...impossible I know.