Another Rafflecopter!

There are so many great giveaways going on right now! I have another one to share with you :)

Head over to visit Tanya Rae for a fabulous "Fall is Here" Giveaway. She has tons of great seasonal things for you to win! Good Luck!

Check out this great giveaway!

I hate to post back-to-back but I forgot to share this great giveaway with you.

Stop by "Teacher's Toolkit" and enter this fun rafflecopter. It only takes a few seconds and there are some great things up for grabs. :)

I need structure!

Hey everyone! Last night I was talking with my husband about TpT (or TcK, TkD, TmC... and all the other names he has given it because TpT is just too much for him to remember) and my blog came up in the discussion. He asked about it, what it is, and what I talk about. I started listing the things I have posted about and all of the ideas I have for future posts and he just stared at me... no response. He said I lost him as soon as my mouth started moving (typical). Now, I will say, never in a million years did I expect him to be able to follow what I was saying. He's an elementary Phys Ed teacher, a total meathead and the farthest thing from a "blogger" to exist. But it did dawn on me that maybe my ideas are all over that map and I need to contain myself with a little structure. Which, perfect for me, I LOVE structure. So, I put together a blog schedule of what I will be posting about. I have a set topic for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so you know exactly what to expect from me. So here it is:

 

This is how I have it worked out in my head. I love three things: eating, websites that make my life easier, and free stuff. I think we can all agree those are very loveable things. I left Tuesday and Thursdays open in case I have something random to share.

Munchy Mondays: My husband is also a personal trainer, so healthy eating is always on the agenda at our house (although we don't always stick to that plan). And packing lunch can get so boring. Here's the kicker I DO NOT like sandwiches. Gross. So I'm always looking for something new, healthy and easy to eat for my packed lunches. On Monday's I will share with you some of our favorite healthy recipes, perfect for school lunches.

Webby Wednesday: I recentely shared www.Pickyourplum.com with you (If you haven't checked that out, go now, and then come back. You won't regret it.) I realized from your responses that I may have a long list of fun websites you haven't heard of. So I'll be sharing those on Wednesdays.

Freebie Friday: It's just that. Links to free stuff from me, other TpT sellers or just the wonderful world wide web (does anyone actually call it that anymore?).

Now you know what day will be your favorite day to stop by. Hopefully you check out all of them though ;)

I'll start next week! Have a great weekend everyone!

Craft supplies at deep discounts?? Yes Please!

Have you heard of this amazing website Pickyourplum.com? If not, don't walk, run over there. It has to be one of my very favorite websites to get cute and cheap stuff from. Here's how it works: Everday they send out an e-mail at the same time (although sometimes mine arrive a little late), with a huge discount on an item. They have bulk of one specific item for that day, once it's gone, it's gone. They mostly post crafty stuff (colored twine, buttons, nude wood pieces for cute little signs, ribbon, you name it, it's been on there). But they also post jewelry, hats, cute little leggings, party supplies... I could go on and on. It's endless, and to me, it's like everyday is Christmas opening that e-mail. I just picked up some adorable little lockets to put my kids pictures in, they're old school vintage locket gone modern and cute. Love them. I thought some of you may be interested in today's offer. How perfect are these for Halloween parties?

{ Click on the picture to go straight there }

 

You can never go wrong with chevron in my book. And 24 for $2.50. Can't pass that up! Go check it out and sign up, it's easy. No spam and nothing more than one e-mail a day. You won't regret it when something adorable shows up in your inbox. :) After you do, let me know what you think. I'd love to hear that I've introduced you to a new love. <3

 

Have a great day everyone!

Keep that Halloween stuff coming!

In the spirit of cooler weather, and the excitement I get out of making my little monster's halloween costumes. I thought I would post my Halloween Freebie. A simple little costume game, with the fun and minus the dressing up part. We played a game similar to this at a training once and it had everyone cracking up. I simplified it a little to make it kid friendly and now I'm sharing it with you.

Simple instructions: Each student gets the name of a popular Halloween costume taped to their back. They must then figure out who they are by asking classmates only "yes" or "no" questions. They can only ask each student one question before they have to move on and ask someone else. The first student to guess the name on their back gets a little prize. (I have math versions of this game in my TpT store, great practice!) It's easy and can be played over and over. (For younger students, I walk around and help them read the names by whispering it in their ear so they are able to answer questions.) It was fun for adults and I know your students will love it.

On a blogging side note, it took me awhile to find a good website for converting PDF files to JPG or PNG image files. In that search I found this great website called Zamzar.com. It basically converts any type of file into any other type of file you want. Awesome! And better yet, it e-mails the file to you so you have it to go back to. This is how I post the cover to an item on my blog, then I just add a link to my store where you can download it. You're welcome. :)

Have a great monday! And WELCOME to all of my new followers!

Hurry up Halloween!

I'm trying to rush Halloween. I'm ready for it. It is one of my favorite holidays, possibly #1 favorite. But then again I say that before every holiday. I don't usually have time to post twice in a day, but I had to share two things.

First, my "Wine Witch". My favorite decoration. She's taller than my 2 year old and of course she doesn't go to school with me. Only in spirit. I got her at Marshall's two years ago and she was worth every single penny.

 

Next is my "Halloween Party Mega Pack". As teachers, I know we all try to incorporate learning into every activity, then mix in a little fun. But sometimes it's fun to just be fun. Even student's mind deserve a break every now and then. I created this Halloween Mega Pack to put some fun into our Halloween party this year, and to let the learning rest for a day (well maybe just half a day). It includes:

 

1.  A student activity booklet (ok, I couldn't resist including an alphabet match in there)

2. 2 Easy food crafts recipes/instructions

3. 2 Halloween poems

4. 2 crafts (templates included)

5. 2 Halloween games (Instructions)

 

It's a one stop shop to making your Halloween party a breeze. The best part is, make a few copies, hand them out to your classroom volunteers and they can handle the rest. The instructions are detailed and easy to follow for any classroom helper. Enjoy!

 

 

(On a side note I'm making my munchkin's costumes again this year. Last year they were pirates, complete with a pirate ship. Big shoes to fill this year!)

 

Have a great weekend everyone! I hope you're breaking out your decorations too!

 

Mrs. Nutter

 



The babysitter took a sick day...

When going back to work after having my kiddos I never really considered that my babysitter might need sick days too. When I successfully make it through the morning, everyone healthy, Dr.Pepper in hand, and out the door, I take a huge sigh of relief. But when I commute 45 minutes, and the babysitter calls off sick as I'm pulling into the school parking lot... I panic. So I drove right by my parking spot, through the bus loop and back onto the highway, 45 minutes home. The good news is, I'm a very optimistic person, so I made the best of a day at home. Or in my husbands words "You're probably glad you just get to sit at home and work on your TPC stuff". Ha! It's TpT... and I hardly get to do that with a 1 and 2 year old pounding on the keyboard. I did, however, manage to wrap up this little project.

 

Common Core Vocab Words for 1st Grade Math

It took forever, but I got it done. This time I chose to go a little less colorful. Sometimes I just like clean and easy to read things in my classroom. So here they are! Hopefully someone out there can get some good use out of them. In the next day or two I will be making a matching student card version that students can reference when doing homework, etc. Hope you're all enjoying your Thursday! And here's to hoping the babysitter is good to go for tomorrow!

Free Classroom Printables & Subway Art

A few days ago I promised a link to one of my favorite printable websites. The girls over at "eighteen25" completely rock the coolest subway art collection. Before you follow the link there are a few things you should know:

1. Use the "printing" tab on their page to get to instructions for great printing quality.
2. There are some hidden gems! I have to color coordinate everything. Literally. And these super smart girls offer you all the color combinations you need. When you click on the link (the picture below), you will see 16 subway printables. Then, if you click on the one you like, most of them will give you several color options.

I love you eighteen25. Although I don't usually deck my classroom out in holiday decorations (as much as I would love to), I do like to slip a few festive subway art pieces in frames, or on hanging clipboards.

I'm transitioning to Halloween now (which as you see in my classroom picture below, there isn't a whole lot to switch over). Pictures to come soon. For now, go grab some of your own cool decorations!

Click the picture go to www.eighteen25.blogspot.com

Admit Defeat...

Sometimes you just have to admit defeat, and Blogger has defeated me for today. For the life of me I cannot get my promised Halloween Activity Pack posted. First, "Curriculum Night" two nights this week, then an "operator error" on Blogger. Maybe I'm fried after this neverending week. On the upside, I do have a picture of my classroom. New to me this year, an almost blank canvas, and still in desperate need of some decorations, but here's to a good start! Oh, and good news, there are 65 homeless blue student chairs in here now. Chairs for sale!

 

Showing you how far behind I am on my classroom is motivation to get on the ball to show you an after picture. I'm missing a few tables too. That's my excuse, right?

 

Have a great weekend!



Hello Gorgeous!

I greet my daughter with "Hello Gorgeous" everytime I see her. While I am not putting my daughter and Common Core Standards on the same level of awesomeness, I am putting this website up there (almost). The words "Common Core" make every muscle I have tense just a little. I'm always looking for an easier and better way to link what my students do in the classroom directly to Common Core so I am absolutely sure I'm not dropping the ball anywhere. Then I found this pretty:

Go ahead, click on it. I think you're going to really like where it takes you. A website of Common Core Standards for every grade level. But it gets better. When you hover your cursor over a standard, it gives you an example problem. And it's still getting better.... If you click on the standard, it takes you to another website where you (or your students) can practice problems that fall under that standard. So I'll say it again... "Hellllooo Gorgeous". Maybe I'm over excited being this is my first year teaching 4th Grade Math, but maybe not, maybe this is as awesome as I think it is. You're welcome.

 

In light of my new found friend, Mr.IXL, I am creating math worksheets that are targeted to each standard, then worksheets that are mixed problems of all of the standards under each strand. Lots of work, but the pay off for my sanity this year will be well worth it. In the mean time, I'll be posting a cute little Halloween Student Activity Pack FREEBIE later today. :)

 

Have a great Wednesday!

CBS News at my school!

It's about to get real serious. Yikes!
CBS news will be at our school tomorrow and Wednesday. With school just starting I feel like my room is not nearly ready to be seen on a nationwide news program, but that's not up to me. So today is cram day to get it looking spiffy! Ahhhh! Hopefully they do a great special that highlights all of our awesome students and staff. We shall see! I'll be sure to post the air date and time when we are notified.

Have a fabulous week! I'll be posting a free printable in the next day or two so watch out! (Here comes Halloween!)

Oh AND a super great link I found to tons of FREE classroom poster printables (great quotes, rules, inspiration, etc! YAY!) All FREE, as in $0.00.... :)

Kick it off with a FREEBIE!

I'm getting started with a FREEBIE! And a real looker. As basic as this classroom poster/printable may seem, I honestly get endless compliments on it from visiting teachers.

Word Decoding Strategies Posters... TADA! (Just click on it to be taken directly to the FREE download)

There are 7 fun animals, all with a helpful names to remind students of the different strategies to decoding unknown words while reading. I'm all about eliminating the unnecessary question asking throughout the day, and this is just one more way to teach your students to be "problem solvers" on their own before they come to you for help. If you download it, and you like it, please leave some feedback!

Time to go LIVE!

Well... here goes nothing! I've been busting my butt this summer to put things together for my students for the new school year. I've been creating and being colorful in every way possible to bring soemthing new to the classroom for them and it's about time I start sharing those things with my fellow teachers.

Let's start with what motivates me... This one, "E" (the little red head) and the other, "J" (my little stud)

 They're 11 short months apart and, like any mother, the light of my life. BUT as much as I love them, and my studly husband (who is an Elementary Phys Ed teacher) I need a creative, whacky, fun and sometimes even exhausting outlet. So I teach! I've spent endless hours creating things for my classroom, only to find this super great website where teachers sell the things they have created (GENIUS!) teacherspayteacher.com. So I figured while I'm buying up all of their awesome stuff, I can sell some of my own to try to balance it out. While I'm balancing that cost, I'm also going to need to add in the cost of the two little monsters above to spend 6 weeks a piece in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Both were born extremely premature and to make a long story short.. we're talkin' a 6 figure bill. So here goes nothing! I hope you enjoy all of the colorful and practical tools I use in my own classroom. I also have tabs at the top that will link you to helpful classroom games (all FREE of course) as well as some other helpful teaching tools I have found along the way.