Wow!  I can't believe it's been a month and a half since the last time I posted.  Ok, maybe I can.  It has been crazy around here.  I wish I could share with you all the craziness that has been the beginning of my school year, but you probably wouldn't believe me.  Yep - that crazy.  Here's hoping that that week number 5 = normal (well for Kindergarten anyway).

I wanted to quickly share with you a game that I made last year to celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  (I was super excited that it was one of the free 10 downloads in the newsletter last year!)




The game comes with three different sets of game cards.  One set has lower case letters only, one set has capital letters only, and the third set has both capital and lowercase letters.  To play, put letter cards in a pocket chart and place Johnny Appleseed behind one card.  Students name a letter (or sound) and look behind it to see if Johnny is hiding there.  Such a fun game!  Students love it!

You can get your copy {here} from Google Drive or {here} from Teachers Pay Teachers.

If you want more of a challenge, I also made a Dolch primer level version of the game.  You can a copy of this version {here} from Google Drive or {here} from Teachers Pay Teachers.




I hope that you can use one {or both} of these games in your classroom.  Have a wonderful first day of Autumn!

I have yet another shopping obsession to add to my list.  Before, I had Target, Lakeshore Learning, Michaels, Joanns, and Hobby Lobby on my list.  I am afraid that this obsession may be even worse.



Yes, I know I might be late to the Amazon shopping party.  It's not to say that my household has never bought anything from Amazon.  It's just that I have never bought anything from Amazon.  My husband has bought tons of stuff - car chargers, items for our son, car things that I don't fully understand the need for.  At the end of last school year, a parent gave me a very generous gift certificate to Amazon.  That meant that I needed to decide what I wanted/needed to spend my money on.


I use these badge holders and clips for the name tags that students wear when they go to specials or when there is a substitute.  Yes, there are 50 badge holders and 100 clips, but when one breaks, I will have one handy {or 70 in the case of the clips - lol}.


I have been reading about Jan Richardson's The Next Step in Guided Reading all over blog land this summer.  I read so much great information that I knew I had to have it for myself.  {It will be my light reading on my long weekend getaway next week.}  I also ordered an almost class set of large white, gray, and pink crayons.  I always have to scrounge around through my old crayons to find these colors, so I treated myself my class to crayons that are new and match the size of their other crayons.

Congratulations to Rae!  She has won the $25 gift certificate and 2 items from my store!  Thanks to everyone who entered!  {Rae you should be receiving a couple of emails shortly.}


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for another fun Monday Made It!  I have two items to share with you today.  The first one is my planning binder that I finally finished.  The second is a fun game.



Here is what my new binder looks like!  I did not end up using any of the binder covers that I made a few weeks ago.  I made a new one that I like so much better.


I put my school district's one page calendar in the left pocket so that I could find important dates quickly.  On the right side, I have my planning sections.  I made a section for each trimester's common core standards, a section for planning pages, and a calendar pages.  My district has a website where we actually write out our lesson plans.  From there, we are able to print off standards by trimester.  This will help my bestie and me plan our long range plans, as well as our bi-weekly planning.

What a wonderful, lazy Sunday.  I have to say that I really needed this.  No - I'm not working yet, but to have a relaxing day at home was just what the doctor ordered.  It was nice to sleep in and lounge around the couch all day.  Then, I realized that I really wanted to get this post out.  This was a post that I took pictures for way back when, but it never materialized.  Well, today is the day.

I have 5 tables in my classroom where each students has an assigned spot.  We do not sit in these spots all day.  They are also used as tables for my centers, and the students can use any table during free choice time.  At the end of each table is a desk that holds essentials for that table.

The first picture I am sharing with you is what is on the tables for the first and second trimesters.  I have two small black containers that I bought at Target last year.  One hold two sets of multicultural crayons and the other holds pink erasers and glue sticks.  There is also a colored caddy that holds all of the pencils, scissors, and bottled glue for the table.  I purchased these at Lakeshore.  Each table has a different colored caddy to represent the table name.  The last item that sits on the table is the crayon caddy from Lakeshore.  These hold the large crayons that we use during the first and second trimesters.  {This picture was taken at the end of the second trimester so the crayons are looking a little sad.  haha}

The third picture I am sharing with you is what the desk at the end of the table holds.  On the left side is our poetry journals.  We add a new poem or nursery rhyme each week.  On the bottom right side is our writing journals.  I plan on changing these up a little this coming year.  On top of the writing journals are the students' take home folders.  Our school purchases these folders for each student.  I absolutely love these folders!


The top of the desk holds two buckets.  The first bucket holds baggies with whiteboards, markers, and erasers.  It also holds our containers of yellow and red counters.  The small bucket inside is where the students keep their name tags that they wear to specials or when there is a substitute.  I bought these buckets at Target two years ago.  However, I am going to have to change these up a bit this coming year.  Many have accidentally fallen on the floor and broken.  I hope that my plan for this year works just as well.


The second bucket holds decodable books that students can get if they finish their work.


I hope that you have enjoyed looking at how I have my classroom tables set up!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $25 gift certificate for Teachers Pay Teachers and 2 items from my store!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday!  We are currently driving to Utah for my aunt-in-law's surprise 70th birthday party. I have never used blogger on my phone, so I thought I would try it out between playing Candy Crush and doing a logic puzzle. {I love trying to figure out logic puzzles!}

I just wanted to remind you to enter my 200 Bloglovin Followers giveaway for a $25 dollar gift certificate to Teachers Pay Teachers and 2 items from my store.

Tomorrow, I plan on sharing how I set up my classroom tables.  Happy Saturday!

Yesterday, I dropped my son off at ESY, did a little shopping, and came home to have a little treat.
 

I was so excited when I walked into Target and found these yummy powdered sugar treats!  Yes, I know there are other companies that make the "same" thing, but they are not really the same. Trust me.  I have tried many out since Hostess went away.  So glad they are back!

Anyway, on with my story.  I was enjoying my treats and thought I would jump on my computer to check out a little Bloglovin'.  I looked at the number of followers on my blog and what did I see?  My little blog crossed that 200 followers mark!  I was so excited!  So what does one do when her blog reaches 200 followers?  Have a giveaway, of course!


I am giving away a $25 gift certificate to Teachers Pay Teachers as well as 2 products from my store.  If you would like a chance to win this great prize, fill out the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey!