Five for Friday {late again!}

Well, better late than never! That's what happened last week. It was Monday before I sat down to write my five for Friday post so I threw in the towel! Here are 5 random things from my week. Don't forget to link up with DoodleBugs!

1. We are starting to wrap up the school year. I saw this cute idea oh Hope King's site, who saw it on Pinterest. So if it's your original idea, let me know! I hung ten balloons from the ceiling, each filled with a reward treat. Each day we pop the balloon in the morning so the kids know what they are working towards. Everyone with good behavior participates in the reward that afternoon before pack up! Day 10 was Bubbles! We read the book Pop! first so my kinder-pups would have an idea of how bubble work. Then we went to town!

2. Day 9 (Friday) Was bubble gum! We used Double Bubble, and then graphed who could and couldn't blow a bubble!

3.We've been learning the Sid Shuffle! We'll be performing it at our End of the Year Ceremony, and they've finally got it down by themselves! Check out my kinder-pups grooving:

4. We wrapped up our insect unit with this cute activity on how bugs see, from Deanna Jump! The kids loved helping me make the poster.

5. I am ALMOST done making editable calendars! Whoo hoo! This is going to be a huge time saver next year when I don't have to hand write everything! Check on TPT for them soon, both in color and black and white!

6. * BONUS! I felt funny posting this on TPT, even for free, since I have no idea where the original idea is from. I did however put together a small pack of balloon labels, reward notes, and blank notes if you want to use them. Please click to get them from my google docs:

8 school days and counting for me!!

Jumpin' on the Bundle Train

Going to go ahead and admit I'm a little late to this party! I had no idea people were bundling together products at a reduced price. After a few not-so-subtle hints from buyers, I've began bundling!

You can get ALL my little books with a $5 savings (like getting one for free!) here:

ALL my pocket chart stories with a $8 savings (like getting one for free!) here:

ALL my seasonal center packs with a $6 savings here:

ALL my short vowel wake up work with a $5 savings here:

And I'll be bundling my Kindergarten Common Core Math Wake Up Work as soon as I finish up the Geometry pack. If you're interested in the other individual strands, you can get them here:

The little pencil sharpener that could...

Friends, Happy Mother's Day! And happy belated Teacher Appreciation! I have a sad tale for you today, but don't worry, it ends like a fairy tale!!

This is the tragic story of a broke teacher and an endless string of pencil sharpeners. Year after year, said teacher spent her own money investing in a pencil sharpener that claimed to do it all. Sharpen your pencils! Keep your kids quiet! Spit out gold coins! You get the idea... Year after year, said pencil sharpener broke halfway through the year leaving the teacher sad and the pencils unsharpened. This year, same thing again. So when Troy over at Classroom Friendly Supplies said I could review his pencil sharpener, I was excited. I was very, very, hopeful it would fix all my pencil woes.

Just look at this little happy guy!

 I'm happy to tell you that after 6 months of heavy use, little guy is still truckin' along. It's not mechanical like most which means:
a) I got some ribbing from my co-workers "you're not really going to use that?'' Yes. Yes I am. (don't worry I've turned them into believers)
b) The kids can use it THEMSELVES!
 I don't have to stop teaching to do it for them, or spend hours after school sharpening pencils.

Here's how it works.

See those two black knobs on the left?

pinch them together

and pull the silver piece out

put your pencil in and then let go. The knobs will hold the pencil in place. Then you wind the crank until it stops on it's own. 

Squeeze the knobs again to take out the pencil and Voila! 

Just look at that beautiful point! It looks like that EVERY time!

You too can get a beautiful blue (or green, or red, or black) sharpener. Just click on the button below!

It's Here...

...The biggest Sale of the year!! In honor of teacher appreciation week, use code TAD13 to receive 28% off all items in my store!

Happy Shopping!!

Five for Friday {5-3-13}

It's Friday! Time to link up with DoodleBugs! Here's 5 random things from my week:

1. I mentioned last week how a bunch of our projects got funded on DonorsChoose. This week they started rolling in. Seatsacks. Big Book Storage. Leveled Readers. Books. Books on Cd. A Reading Bench. If you don't have a DonorsChoose account... you need one!

2. On Thursday we went to see the Windmill Theater production of Grug! Which is based off a beloved Australian storybook Character. Think Little Critter down under. They kids loved it! After the show the classes got to go on stage and see the sets up close!

3. On Friday the kids did a craft I made to go along with the play. I'm hesitant to put this on TPT, because I have no idea if there are copyrights on Grug. (There are no other Grug products up, despite some Australian sellers) So, if you saw this performance, or live in Australia and love Grug, leave a message with your email and I'll send it to you!

4. It rained. All. Week. Long. Somebody send us some sunshine!!

5. Now for some exciting news.... all of the Common Core Checklists I created with Jessica Purtell are now editable!!! You can type your name into the cover pages, and your students names onto the checklist pages. The best part is, you only have to type your kids names on the first sheet and they will automatically show up on the rest! If you've already bought, re-download for the editable version. If you haven't, check them out! (5th grade coming soon!!!) A HUGE thank to DeeDee Wills for helping me figure out Adobe Pro to make this possible!

Happy Weekend Friends!!