Back to School Bash with the Primary Pack!!!

Hey Friends! I don't know about you but back to school time has me exhausted!! I really hope this blog hop gives you all kinds of great ideas that keep you from being a little less exhausted during this exciting time of year!

Our hop is a 3…2…1… BACK TO SCHOOL BASH because each member of The Primary Pack will be giving you 3 teacher tips, 2 giveaways (one on each of our blogs and one BIG one on the Primary Pack), and 1 freebie!

To enter our BIG giveaway, you need to head over to THE PRIMARY PACK first! As you "hop" through each of our blogs, you will collect a letter from each of us… 28 total. Those letters spell out a secret code that you need to enter our BIG giveaway! You will use the secret code to enter the rafflecoptor on The Primary Pack at the end of the hop.

You need to collect the letters from us IN ORDER, so please make sure that you start from the beginning of our hop. Click on the button below to head over to THE PRIMARY PACK and start our BACK TO SCHOOL BASH!!

I LOVE THESE TRASH CANS! Seriously these are such a great tool to have at each table. It cuts down on the amount of students out of there seat as well as helps with recycling. In my opinion that is a win win for everyone!

I can't take full credit for this tip, my fellow Primary Pack friend Amy at Learning Lessons with Mrs. Labrasciano blogged about this system and it has changed my back to school hustle! This is called the  CISS system and I ordered it off Amazon. It's seriously like the color ink cartridge that never ends. I got it last summer and am just now running out of black! The refill bottles were only 15 dollars and the system itself was only $50! GAME CHANGER!!

Not only do I just love this beautiful bulletin board but it's so functional as well!! This is where I write all my objectives for the day. I bought the picture frames at the dollar store, inserted colored paper and added headings. I can easily write with an expo marker and erase. SO CONVENIENT!!

My favorite part of this blog hop is the grand prize!! I have a Cameo and I absolutely love it! I made several bulletin board headings with it this year and some vinyl too! All you need to do is collect all our letters at the bottom of our blog post IN ORDER (so make sure you start from The Primary Pack) and enter them into the giveaway!! 

In addition to that fabulous grand prize I have an additional giveaway for my Meet the Teacher Station Signs. These signs have made my Meet the Teacher night so much easier and I'm hoping to blog about it very soon!! Good Luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

These are VERY popular at my meet the teacher night. My parents LOVE that they have my information right on the fridge and I LOVE that it has a QR code to my Remind account! Click the picture to download your freebie!

Thanks for "hopping" by! Now it's time for you to get some fabulous ideas from KteacherTiff and don't forget to write down my letter!! Have a great year!!

Pet Linky: Meet my Pets!

Oh how exciting! I get to blog about my "other" children!!! My pets are definitely a big part of my life and I'm excited I get to share them with you!

Get ready for picture overload. 

This is Dallas (our dog) and Pazza (our first cat)

Meet CoCo who sleeps anywhere!

We have taken Dallas on several road trips! This was in Colorado!

Dog Beach!

Dallas with our first daughter Kylee!

Family picture that of course included the dog! 

So.Stinkin.Cute. 

Now the story behind the cuteness. My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I adopted our first cat, Pazza one random afternoon at the pet store. We literally paid twenty five dollars for cat supplies and got the kitten for free. Can you say BARGAIN?? That's how we felt as two poor college students. We named her Pazza because she had so many quirks that were NOT cat like. She would get in the shower...wait what? Crazy right? She also let us cradle her like a baby...she still does this! Well Pazza means crazy in Italian so BAM it was the perfect name for her!

About a year later I was scrolling through the animal shelter pictures like all normal people! Ha! I couldn't believe my eyes.... I spotted an adorable Siamese kitten and fell in love! Seriously, I drove an hour to pick her up and on the way home she got car sick. It was quite the experience. I'll leave the details out but just know she did not like getting in the shower like her sister!

And then came our dog! I do love my cats but this dog has stolen my heart! He is so gentle and loving with our girls and is such a sweet boy! He was actually a BIG surprise from my husband. When I graduated college my parents took us to New Orleans and when I returned his family was at our house. I walked in the door to a wrapped up, huge box shaped gift that was also whining! YAY!! It was love at first sight (insert heart eyed emoji here)!!!

I must admit that although I LOVE my pets I have never been able to have a class pet. Maybe after I parade through these other fabulous blog I will change my mind?

Speaking of other great blogs, don't forget to enter our Rafflecopter below!!!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Long Term Science Investigations

Hey Friends! I blogged on The Primary Pack today to share all about my newest science investigation! Click the picture below to read all about it!

Also today is TPT's site-wide sale!!! Be sure to use the promo code HEROES to snatch an additional 10% off my store that is already 20% off! Thank you all for being HEROES for all our children out there! You make a difference!!

Click to shop my store!
 

Sneezy the Snowman "Puffy" Craftivity

Hi Friends! I wanted to let you all know that I'm blogging over at The Primary Pack today to share how I turned this:

into this:

Grab your freebie below!

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!!!