I'm so excited to link up with Primary Powers for her One Word Resolution Linky! I have finally chosen my word for the year, and it is...
Choosing a word for the year has been near and dear to my heart for a few years now. Two years ago I chose "Fly", and I strongly feel that word helped me to have the courage to begin my blog and creating and sharing on TpT. It has been on my mind for about two weeks that I needed to figure out my word for this year. I had to remind myself that the word chooses me, I don't choose it, and it just hadn't come to me yet. I think I wasn't ready to let go of my 2014 word- Believe. Believe was the perfect word for this year. I finally had the courage to believe that everything would be OK if I put in a transfer to my dream school. Shortly after January, I did just that, and ended up transferring schools. For 2015 I chose mindful because I need be reminded to stay present and focused. Life gets so full and overwhelming, and sometimes I take on more than I should. I need to remain mindful and realistic about what I can comfortably accomplish and what I need to let go of. 

My New Year's One Word Launch Goals and Party Pack follows this one word concept for use in your classroom. I have included directions for helping your students find their one word for the year, your choice of worksheets or a one-word journal, bookmarks, treat bag toppers, letters, banners, and balloons for a one word launch bulletin board. Click on the picture below if you would like to see it. It is on sale for the rest of the week!
If you've stuck around this long, you deserve a freebie! As you can see from above I throw my kiddos a party after we return from Winter Break do help cure the post-holiday blues. You can click on the picture below to see my Freebie New Year's Mini Party Pack below. There are some fun printables that will hopefully help beat the back to school blues! 

What will your word be for 2015? You still have time to decide!
Be sure to check back here on January 1st, 2015 for a fun giveaway! 
I know we all always say it- "I can't believe the year is over"- but seriously, 2014 flew by! One of the best things about my year has been the connections I've made through blogging and Instagram. I have made amazing friendships with people I consider my colleagues-they are always my go-to for all things teacher or other related! Thank you for having a part in making my 2014 amazing! Instead of being burnt out after (almost!) 20 years of teaching, I am more energized and excited about teaching than ever before! To celebrate, I'm joining a group of teachers to celebrate by throwing a 20% off sale at our TpT stores! 

Click on the picture below to see my store.
Have a great week!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! It's hard to believe it came and went so quickly this year! 

I wanted to pop in and share that I've updated two files. The first one is my idioms file below. I've changed the title to make it a little more user friendly any time of the year, (it was previously titled Ringing in the New Year) but it is still perfect to use when you return from Winter Break, or any time the year! I have added a journal for students to record literal and nonliteral meanings and pictures, larger posters, and different choices for printables. A complete set in black and white is included as well! This will be on sale for a few more weeks too! Click on the picture below to see it. 

The second file I have updated is my O.W.L. {One Word Launch} New Year's Goals and Party Pack. My students are always a little blue after they return from two weeks off. This pack is perfect for starting the new year off positively. I throw them a little New Year's party (some goodies for that are included in this file) and we work on goal setting. Instead of having students come up with resolutions which are so quickly and easily broken and forgotten, I have them think of one word they would like to help guide them through their new year. It could be a quality they would like to see in themselves or something they would like to work towards. The word I chose last year was "Believe". That word was my guiding focus for last year, and it helped me in so many ways! Believing in myself helped bring me to my new school, which I absolutely love. I want my students to experience the power of their one word, and as a class we will be completing the activities in this file when we return from break. Also included in this file are goal setting sheets or a journal printable, treat bag toppers, bookmarks, bulletin board letters, and pennants to make banners are included also. Click on the picture below to check it out and re-download if you already own it! 
Have a great Friday and weekend!
Hello! I'm just popping in here to share some thank you notes I've revised a little from last year. I plan to get these out to my students and their families...soon! I wanted to share with you in case you are needing some- you can just print, write a personalized note on the back (my kids LOVE that!) and go! There are a few different styles in the pack, so be sure to click on the picture below to see all four of them. 
Now I'm off to go brave the mall! I have a ton of shopping left to do, and now that school is over for two weeks, I can focus on shopping! Who else is with me on that? 
Have a wonderful Sunday! :)
I'm excited to share an amazing experience my class had thanks to the brilliant Lisa from Pawsitively Teaching! She organized a HUGE Gingerbread Man Exchange with about 80 classrooms across the country! This was the first exchange of this kind I have ever been involved with.
Thanks to Lisa, I was able to find this amazing U.S. fabric! (and I'm pretty sure it will be staying up all year, I love it that much!) 
We created our gingerbread people and a class letter explaining our school and town. Each gingerbread boy/girl was lovingly decorated by my students. After the students created them, I sent the gingerbread people and letters to their new homes. I was thrilled the post office had gingerbread house stamps!
We soon began getting gingerbread men from all over the country- Texas, Florida, Oregon, Colorado, to name a few states! The kiddos were excited to get a gingerbread man in the mail each day! We learned about the daily life of kids in other states, and we secretly wished we lived where it snowed! Here are some of the letters below.
And here is our map with all of our gingerbread men on it! Next year I am going to make a larger space so the letters and gingerbread men will fit. 
This was so much fun to participate in, and I'm so excited that Lisa will be hosting a Valentine's exchange as well! Be sure to check out her blog for the details! 
If you were involved with this exchange, be sure to link up below! 







I'm excited to be a part of this fun Birthday BOGO Party from Stories and Songs in Second and Laugh Eat Learn! Both of these ladies are having birthdays this month, and to celebrate, a group of bloggers are offering BOGO free from TpT! 
For every item you buy from our stores, you get one free! Just email with your user name and the item you bought, and the item you would like sent to you (of equal or lesser value), and it will be emailed to you! Click on the picture below to see other TpT sellers who are participating in this great deal! 
And there are even MORE holiday TpT sales going on! This one ends tomorrow runs through tomorrow.  Click on the picture below to see tons of items 50% off!
Here are my items that are on sale 50% off! I have several others that are on sale as well! 


And today is day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas Sales! All of the items pictured are on sale for $2!
Click on each picture to see my $2 deals.

Have a great Sunday! The weekend sure does fly by, doesn't it? :)
Happy Saturday! I'm joining a group of TpT sellers for a HUGE 12 Days of Christmas Sale! There are tons of items that will be priced from $1 to $12 for the next 12 days! Today is day 1. Click on the picture below to see all of the $1 deals for today! Happy Shopping!
Click on the pictures below to see my $1 deals for today! 
Have a great weekend!
Hello Friends!
I'm excited to link up with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics for her monthly Monday Made It linky! I wanted to share my elf freebies, in case you've missed them and could use them in your classroom! These projects are what I've been busy working on the past few weeks.
Tomorrow I will be introducing the cutie below to my class. (I'm still deciding on whether or not he will stay in the Kleenex box I hoarded from last year!) 
My class this year has been the best behaved in all my years of teaching. Lately, though, they have been a bit crazy! I decided to have a little visitor join our elf to help with that. Included in this freebie are two different letters (depending on your class's needs) explaining that each group will get a sticker chart, and at the end of the day, the stickers will be counted and the group with the most stickers (or points if you choose to use group points on the board) will get to keep the deer at their table group. The kiddos are allowed to touch this deer, unlike the elf. And when we leave for break, the deer will leave along with the elf to get ready for Christmas Eve. Also included are sticker charts and passes. Each day I will award the winning group with a different pass or class money as an extra incentive to behave. Click on the picture below to download the freebie! 
For the past few years around Christmastime, I have started "You've Been Elfed" at my school. I start off the fun by "elfing" my class. I have someone leave a bucket of treats, usually candy, at my door with a note and several posters. The directions say to hang the poster in your window and send the bucket with more treats to another classroom. The kids love it, and it adds some fun to the day. This year, our class elf, Jingle, "Elfed" us! 

In my freebie, I have included directions, posters, and a sheet for teachers to write their name after they've been "elfed". I suggest sending out an email and asking teachers ahead of time if they are interested in participating because there have been some years at my old school where teachers have kept the entire bucket and not passed it on. If they are prepared, the fun keeps going and you don't run into any problems like that. I also print several of the posters so teachers don't have to worry about printing them. I have included color copies, and more printer friendly versions too. Our elf Jingle "elfed" my class on Friday! They were so excited! 
Click on the picture below to see the freebie file. 

The You've Been Elfed freebie is part of my Classroom Elf Pack below. You can click on any of the pictures to see them. Scrapbook pages, class coupons, posters, bookmarks, banners, and much more is included in this file, and it's even on sale! I'm joining with Kelly and Kim for their Markdown Monday Linky Party! Click on the picture below to see more deals on their blog!


A friend shared how she used the scrapbook pages. She added a binder ring to the pages. I love how they turned out! Click on the picture below to check out the pack!
I hope these add some holiday fun to your days before break!

Be sure to enter our HUGE "Our Favorite Things" Giveaway! So many great prizes and sale deals! Lots of gift cards and prizes from your favorite stores! Click on the picture below to check it out! Good luck!

Have a great week! :)
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