Five for Friday {June 14}

I think this is the earliest in the day I have ever posted my Five for Friday entry... woohoo! Normally I'm just getting it shoved in at 10pm that night. So nice having Summer break! Link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and join in! I love it cause it keeps me blogging even when there isn't really any school-related shenanigans going on... and it's fun to find out about more great blogs!

1. I got inspired to start working on some new units while I have tons of free time this summer - you know how it is once school starts, it's hard to find time to do anything! I just posted this new packet in my TPT store: Easy as ABC {Alphabet Activity Pack}! It has activities that are perfect for introducing letter concepts at the beginning of the year! It includes Trace, Write, Find, Cut activity sheets for every letter, 2 different sets of alphabet wall decor, ABC mini-books, flash cards, and more! Click on the preview picture below to check it out!

2. I mentioned in my last Five for Friday post that my cousin was coming into town from the Air Force, well she's here (today is the day she leaves again, actually)! Once or twice a year, me, my two cousins, aunt, and my mom go on a huge all-day shopping trip... it's a fun tradition for us all to spend time together! Here's some of the fun stuff I found.. I was so excited to find some cute dresses at Target!

3. And speaking of shopping, I ventured out to Ikea one day this week! I love this store! So happy they built one here. I got some stuff for my kitchen, but also stuff for my classroom too! I think you can tell which 3 items go with my classroom... they're the stuff that's the most colorful! Haha! I got some great storage containers in the children's section along with a pack of plastic plates for my kitchen center.. 6 plates for $1.99! I also got some more round trivets for cork board crafting purposes. :)

4. Last night I had a game night/hang out with a bunch of friends and I was in charge of the dessert! So I busted out a recipe I've had pinned on Pinterest for awhile now, but have never made... Monster Cookies! I think they are originally from Paula Deen, but I got the recipe from Cara Carroll over at Pearls, Handcuffs, & Happy Hour (she's so amazing she has not one, but TWO fantastical blogs). They were delicious! In the words of one of my friends after tasting one, "These are the way God intended cookies to be made." Woah! Talk about my best cooking compliment ever! Haha!

5. Tomorrow morning I am going to see Man of Steel... I am so excited! The previews look AMAZING. I hope the movie lives up to the hype! And hello, actor who plays Superman that I don't know your name... that is one good looking man! ;)

Happy Friday, everyone!!

Easy as ABC {Alphabet Activity Pack}!

Even though it's summertime, it's never too early to start thinking and preparing for the upcoming school year. We are getting a new reading series next year - Houghton Mifflin Journeys - that is going to bring a lot of new things to the table - a big change after knowing our last reading series like the back of my hand! One thing that doesn't change, though, is alphabet and letter activities. No matter what reading series comes along, you can use so many great resources to supplement and make it a lot more fun to teach and learn! I got to working on a new resource that I just posted on TPT: Easy as ABC {Alphabet Activity Pack}! I worked really hard to make resources that would be easy and functional for both student and teacher! In this activity pack, you will find a full color picture flash card set with all 26 letters; Trace, Write, Find, Cut activity pages for all 26 letters; and ABC Word Mini-Books for all 26 letters including color posters to go along with each one! Great for students to use as a reference while they are creating their books! And don't worry, I didn't forget about creating something for YOU, too -- included are 2 different alphabet wall decor sets for your classroom in both wood grain and turquoise chevron! Click on the preview picture below for a more detailed look:

The Trace, Write, Find, Cut activity sheets are great for your kids to use when introducing letters - it works on concepts such as letter identification, writing, and beginning sounds! With the mini-books, I created the posters to go with them so that your Pre-K and kinder kiddos can start doing some independent work even at the beginning of the year! There are so many uses for the activities included in this packet. To go see the alphabet pack in my store, click on the picture below!

 

 

If you kept reading this far, good job! The first person to comment on this post will get my new pack for FREE! Just leave your e-mail when you respond. :)

Five for Friday {June 7th}

Summer is in full swing! But it's Friday, which means I still have to post and participate in Doodle Bugs Teaching Five for Friday linky!

1. For my friend's birthday, I wanted to make her something cute and crafty, so I decided to make one of the fabric-covered cork boards that I've had pinned on Pinterest for awhile now. It was SUPER easy to make, and cheap too! I already had a few of the round hot plates from Ikea on hand, and I went to Hobby Lobby for the rest: chevron fabric, burlap flower, and a glue gun! Cost me a grand total of $9.00! I love how it turned out. I made one for my mom's birthday, too, and pinned a couple of gift cards inside small paper envelopes to hers.

2. On Wednesday night I had the privilege to see one of my favorite bands live -- Mumford and Sons! The only downside was that there were SO many people there - it was a huge outdoor venue...plus I was in the boonies! But they were amazing live! 

3. Now that school is out, I have more time to cook and try out new recipes. I've been glued to The Pioneer Woman's blog because, hello, her food is amazing. I tried out the breakfast quesadilla and it was, wait for it.... AMAZING. Go make it... now! Don't worry that it isn't even time for breakfast! ;)

4. Of course I haven't completely stopped thinking about school. I started creating a new alphabet activity pack to use for the beginning of next year! I'm going to post it on TPT soon! Just need to create a few more goodies to finish it off!

5. My cousin is coming into town from the Air Force today! I haven't seen her in over 6 months. She is like a sister to me, so I am super excited! We already have a ton of things planned for next week with our families. Can't wait!

June Currently!

Hi folks! The sizzling feeling I get when I touch the steering wheel in my car tells me that it is June in Arizona. And with June brings Farley's "Currently" linky! I've connected with so many great bloggers thanks to this monthly party. You should join in too!

{Listening}: One of the best bands I have ever had the privilege of seeing live is Gungor. If you haven't heard of them, go NOW. "Dry Bones" is one of my favorite songs...

{Loving}: My favorite book series of all time... Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've read the first book 3 times and am now going through the whole series (7 books so far) a second time around in hopes that I will finish them all by the time the 8th book comes out in late fall! Anyone else a fan of these books? They are SO good... they are a mix of romance, adventure, science fiction, historical fiction... etc! It has a bit of everything! And Jamie Fraser might be the perfect man. Heehee.

{Thinking}: It is so hot today in Arizona. 109 degrees. All you can do is pray and hope you won't disgustingly sweat through all your clothes. Sadly this won't even be the hottest temperature of the year!

{Wanting}: So I mentioned this in my last blog post, but at the last minute they informed us that the cleaning people would be cleaning our rooms for the summer the day after school got out. And, well, my classroom still looked like kids would be coming to school the next day. Usually I take the whole week after school gets out to go through everything, clean, and organize... but this time I had to shove everything in whatever basket, bin, container, and cabinet I could find so that they could clean my entire room. I wanted to cry! Now it's even more disheveled than usual, and good luck if I can find where everything is. I want to go in after they are done cleaning to get it all organized cause I don't think I can relax for the summer until it is!

{Needing}: Dishes and laundry have piled up, but they aren't exactly at the top of my list of summer vacation "to-do's"... :D

{3 Vacay Essentials}: Not that I am even going on a road trip this year, but if I was my three essentials would be flip flops, my ipod for tunes, and my camera to document everything. Wish I was going somewhere fun, but alas!

Head on over to Oh Boy 4th Grade and join in the "currently" fun!!