Make your Masterpiece = True Love

Ok... seriously, I have fallen in love with the product I made for the Make your Masterpiece challenge! I have wanted to do a colors pack for a while now and just couldn't decide what all I wanted in it or what clip art set I wanted to use.  When I bought an Ashley Hughes set (several weeks ago!) of color splatters, paintbrushes and palettes it just clicked! The result... a 96 page set of posters, songs, books, and activities for learning basic colors!

I teach Kindergarten and it's going to be perfect for some of our beginning of the year activities.

COLOR POSTERS

Set contains color posters and songs for blue, red, yellow, green, purple, orange, gray, white, black and brown.

COLOR SONGS

COLOR WRITE THE ROOM

Set contains two different write the room activities with two recording sheets.  Students can find the color and write the color word or find the color of an object and write the word. 

COLOR BOOKS

Set contains two cover options (color and black line) along with 5 different page options: blank splatter and blank word to color in, blank splatter with color word filled in, blank splatter and blank line, color splatter and blank line and picture with fill in the blank.  Individual color books are also included with a blank page.  Students can make a specific book for one color (i.e. Mrs. Shannon's Yellow Book; corn, flower, butter, blanket) 

COLOR WRITING PAGES

One set of writing pages also included for each color mentioned above. As well as a 1/2 page version that can be used for making a list of objects a certain color, or poems.

COLOR POCKET CHART

These pages can be cut apart to make a variety of sentences to work on sight words and punctuation. 

I hope you all enjoy this product and are able to get as much use as I think I will be able to! I am anxious to post more from the beginning of the year when my students are using this product! 

First year teachers... or anyone for that matter.

Today I'm teaming up with Teaching with Crayons and Curls and My Mommy Reads to bring you ways to ROCK your first year teaching! 

Wow. Thinking back on 6 years of teaching (minus a few months for two maternity leaves), I have learned some LOADS since my first year teaching. It's hard to think about what I would do differently when it's basically EVERYTHING. haha. However, I have compiled a list of some things that I would definitely recommend.. and maybe even some I need to listen to my own advice and do.

Three Things You Should Do

1. You SHOULD try new things! 

As I said, I've taught for 6 years... so I'm entering my 7th and I am taking this one to heart this year. I'm jumping in with two feet. New classes are always exciting, but I am SOOOOO excited about this year! Incorporating more dramatic play into writing and a new sensory table!

2. You SHOULD be organized!

Remember at the beginning when I mentioned that there were things I still needed to work on? THIS is the number one thing I need to work on. I was on a maternity leave this past spring for around 16 weeks. BLESS HER HEART. She was an organization freak fanatic and I wasn't. Some things were organized. I have binders for each unit, and each month with activities.  I have cabinets with LA supplies, math supplies, games, puzzles, art supplies... but just because that's what's in them doesn't mean that once you open it up it's organized inside. I knew that she was going to have a panic attack if she looked in some of those cabinets and planned to organize some of them (maybe...) before I left for maternity leave. Well, I went into labor 3 1/2 weeks early and she came two days later... organizing didn't happen, but also shouldn't have had to happen if I would have started from the beginning. Whether you're going on maternity leave or not... GET ORGANIZED at the beginning of the school year. You will be happier, the class will be happier... it will work out. 

3. You SHOULD write down funny (or sad) memories!

My mom (that veteran teacher I was talking about) has been in a kindergarten classroom for (I think) 26 years she is crazy! a saint! and I definitely look up to her.  She told me I should be writing down my funny things kids say, or do... and I haven't. I thought I knew best and would remember them (she told me I wouldn't.... she's right) I remember some, sure, but definitely not all. I'll be buying a notebook at this years back to school sales. :) 

Two Things You Shouldn't Do

1. You SHOULDN'T be too hard on yourself

You're going to make mistakes. Yes, as much as you don't want to... as much as you plan... as much as you pin things on Pinterest... and read all of these wonderful blogs full of advice... you WILL make mistakes. But the positive thing is you can learn from those mistakes and make your classroom better than it was.  You don't even have to wait until the following year to make the changes, do them the next day or the very next lesson. 

2. You SHOULDN'T think you know best

Does this mean you don't know anything after a four year (or more) education.... no. However, there are going to be veteran teachers in the building and probably at your grade level... LISTEN TO THEM! They have taught for many years, and while some of those mistakes mentioned above may need to be made on your own, some don't have to be. While you should be willing to try new things (keep reading!) you don't have to reinvent the wheel... if they tell you the square wheel won't work. Listen. 

HAVE FUN! 

No matter what... have fun. Your children in your class will learn, you will learn, you'll all have fun, you'll all be mad, you'll all (or maybe just you) cry. but at the end of the day they will be your first class. They'll be the ones you remember and you will have fond memories of each. and. every. one. Even the one that cried for the first nine weeks of school and counted one, two, three, five. He grew, and so will your students. You'll be better off after your first year, and so will they.  Even if it doesn't seem like it, they are learning all the time and they love you (almost as much as you love them... even the one that just ate a tissue).  Never again will you have the chance to teach for the first time, so laugh. love and enjoy it. You will be wonderful. 

100 Facebook Follower GIVEAWAY!

WOW WOW WOW! I reached 100 followers on Facebook just like 2 minutes ago! Thank you SO much for all of your support! I'm so excited to be starting this journey (and I'm LOVING the writing aspect of blogging... who knew?!)

For my giveaway you'll be entered in to win $10 of free products from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store! Enter the Rafflecopter below and you'll be entered to win!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! for your support!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dare to DREAM!

This week's challenge from the TPT Seller Challenge is a tough one... My husband has asked me a few  SEVERAL times, "Honey, if I made a million dollars and you didn't have to work any more, would you?" My answer is always the same, yes. Truth is, I love my job.  Is it always easy? No. Is it always fun? No. Is it always where I want to be from 7:30-4 (when I have two sweet boys at home)? Definitely not. But I do enjoy it, and really can't picture myself doing anything else. Possibly, stay at home mom, but I think it's good for my kiddos to go to daycare, and spend some time away from me. So I'm ok with being a working mom.  In thinking about what I want the Teachers Pay Teachers money to do for me, it doesn't have to eliminate me working... I like my job and the people I work with (my MOM!) So I had to think about other things that I wanted for my family.  In doing that I came up with this list... 

1. Family vacation EVERY year!  
I want to be able to show my children this wonderful country we live in.. New York, Washington, D.C., Florida Keys, Grand Canyon, Seattle, Hawaii, Mount Rushmore, Disney World... all of it! I want to give them some wonderful experiences that children in my class never get. I was able to do this with my family and have some very fond memories of our trips on the road. 

2. College funds for Jaxton and Hendrix.  
While these two sweet boys are only 2 and 4 months old and are vastly unaware of the possibilities of the word out there, I am thinking about them growing up too fast and that they will one day need a higher education (if that is what will make them happy). My mom, bless her heart, has already started a fund for my oldest, Jaxton. While I will be happy to apply that money to his education, I would like to help out myself and not just rely on my mom, and student loans.  I was blessed to be able to come out of school with only a few student loans (which just got paid off in April! woo hoo!) and I want the same for my two children. 

3. Pay off ALL debt.
This alone would ease the financial burden that I sometimes feel and would free us up to be able to do numbers 1 and 2 on this list.  I know that extra income would help with this goal and it would be wonderful to have the feeling of being debt free. I am so glad we have the house (with new windows coming soon!!), cars (which are mostly paid off), and educations that my husband and I have (his student loans still aren't paid for!) but it would be nice to not have to pay, and pay, and pay, and pay for them. 

4. Help family in any time of need.
My husband and I have been blessed with wonderful families that are willing to help us in any time of need.  Buying our house, my grandparents helped out. My husband needed a new car, his grandma was there with money , no questions asked. We needed new nursery furniture and carpet, my mom was there. New fence for the yard so my two year old can play without us having to herd him outside, my father-in-law helped out. Because of this, we have a wonderful life, but I would love to be able to give back should a time come when they need our help as well with nursing homes anything in the future. 

5. Pay it forward
This kind of goes along with 4... There have been many people willing to help us out when we needed it and I would love to give it back without anything in return.  I would love to make someones day by paying for their dinner, groceries or even just a coffee, unexpectedly.  

I have enjoyed, immensely, thinking about all of the possibilities I have with the supplemented income from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Thank you to the company for starting, Amanda Bryant from A Traveled Teacher for being supportive and polite when I have some OODLES of questions about the social networking world, and the ladies who put together this wonderful TPT Seller Challenge (Sparkling in Second Grade, Preppy, Zesty Teacherista, Teach, Create, Motivate, and Third in Hollywood).  Without this challenge who knows how much longer I would have been putting off wanting to start blogging, Facebook, Instagram and Teachers Pay Teachers all together for Shakin' it up with Mrs. Shannon.  I am in love with this journey and love the support I have received so far. 

Makeover Madness and FIRST post!

Soooo excited to start this blogging adventure!  The TPT Seller Challenge came at just the right time! I have been eager to start this journey and didn't know what to do, so this will give me a great opportunity.  Here is my Makeover Madness product. I created these 5 senses books a couple of years ago right at the beginning of my ventures on TPT and looking back.. WOW... not attractive. haha.

So I've revamped them (all 11 of them!) and bundled them up here for everyone to enjoy :) They're also available as individual books here.  I'm loving the new look and I've been wanting to bundle them forever, so I'm glad that's done as well.  Looking forward to Week #2 challenge!