The Liebster Award

Karen over at Little Second-Grade Somebodies, Brooke from Whooo's in Second Grade, Gina from Beach Sand and Lesson Plans, and Lindsey from Teaching Snip-Its nominated my blog for the Liebster Award.  I'm very flattered!! This award is given to up and coming bloggers with 200 or less followers.  That's me!!!  Thanks girls for your nominations! Be sure to check out their fabulous blogs.
 

Here are the rules:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

4. Choose 11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers to nominate and link them in your post.

5. You cannot “tag back” the other blog, but leave a comment on this post with the URL of your Liebster post so I can learn more about you & see who you nominate.

11 random things about me:

1) I've been skydiving once.  It was amazing!!! I had a perfect landing.  No joke!

2) I love ketchup!! I especially like to dip grilled cheese sandwiches in it.

3) I have 3 brothers.  I'm the only girl in my family.

4) I love summertime!! I feel a slight depression coming on every year when we have to change the clocks back. :(

5) Country music is my new obsession!! I'm addicted.

6) I always have music on!!!!

7) Italy is my favorite place in the world ... maybe because I'm Italian.  It's beautiful!

8) I'm still a Miss hoping one day to be a Mrs.  Sometimes I feel like the only single teacher left on the planet. Haha!

9) I ran my first 5k this month.

10) I'm still stuffed from my Thanksgiving dinner .... but I could go for a slice of pumpkin pie. Oddly enough, it was the only kind of pie missing from our feast.  Boooo!

11) I'm going to Japan in April for my cousin's wedding.  It will be Cherry Blossom time! 

Questions from Little Second-Grade Somebodies:

1. Is education the only career you've had? If not what else have you done?

    Education is and will be my only career.  Before I became a teacher, I was a server in restaurants. 

2. Have you or anyone in your family ever served in the military? If so, what branch?

    Yes!! Some of my family members have served in the military.  

3. What type of school district do you work in? (urban, suburban, rural)

    My school district is located in a suburban area.  It's in a town outside of Los Angeles.

4. Do you have a favorite celebrity? If so, who?

    I don't have a fav celebrity.  I'm a huge Lakers fan, so my fav athlete used to be Derek Fisher.  Sadly, he's no longer a Laker player. 

5. Are you a reader? What genre?

    Yes!!! I love reading when I find the time or when I don't fall asleep. :) I like a variety of genres.

6. What is your favorite movie?

    That's a tough one.  "Love Actually" or anything FUNNY!!

7. What is the highest degree you hold?

    I have a Masters in Education from U.C.S.B.

8. What do you consider the most memorable event in your life?

     Anytime with my family & friends, my trip to Italy, and traveling ... I'm hoping my most memorable events are yet to come. 

9. What is your favorite food?

     Mexican and Italian

10. Do you have pets?

      None of my own, but I dog sit a lot for my family members' dogs. :)

11. Do you intend to "Black Friday"?

      Surprisingly, I will be shopping on Black Friday this year with my mom (which is actually in a few hours).  Shopping is one of my least favorite things to do.

My questions for my nominated peeps:

1) What grade do you currently teach? Have you taught any other grades?

2) What is your favorite thing about teaching? Least favorite?

3) If your school was donated $25,000, what would you want your principal to purchase?

4) What is your favorite TV show?

5) If you could go back in time, what era would you choose to visit?

6) What is your school mascot?

7) How many kids are in your class?

8) What is your current obsession? 

9) What is your idea of relaxing after a crazy day of teaching?

10) Do you have a favorite holiday treat or drink?

11) Heels or flats?

My nominated peeps:

1) 2 Brainy Apples

2) iHeartLiteracy

3) Teaching and Tapas

4) More Time 2 Teach

5) Terry's Teaching Tidbits

6) Teaching Special Thinkers

7) Ribbons, Recipes, and Rhymes

8) First Grade Fun with Mrs. Dunn

9) Classy Classroom

10) Tales From a Very Busy Teacher

11) Beach Lovin' Teach

Thanks again Little Second-Grade Somebodies, Whooo's in Second Grade, Beach Sand and Lesson Plans, and Teaching Snip-Its!!!  I really appreciate it.

Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) SALE!!!!

Teachers Pay Teachers is having a Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) sale!!! Yay for online shopping!!!   Many TPT sellers will have their products on sale.  Be sure to enter the code above to get up to 28% off!! My entire store will be on sale.

I definitely will be purchasing a few items on my wish list.  I love TPT!!  I feel much better about buying quality products from other teachers instead of big businesses.  It's nice to support each other.

Happy shopping!!!

It's Beginning to Look A LOT like Christmas!!

I'm linking up with Tammy over at "123 Teach With Me" for a FUN Holiday Linky Party!! Click below to join in on the fun and to see many other FABULOUS holiday ideas.

I can't believe the holiday season is already here!  Starting next Monday, there will ONLY be 4 weeks of school until Winter Break!! Yikes! That means Winter Sing practice, holiday gifts, and CRAFTS, CRAFTS, and more CRAFTS!!!

One of my favorite gifts that my students make is "You LIGHT up my world" notes.  I originally got this idea from my sister-in-law.  A few years ago, my niece and nephew gave my mom a cute decorated mason jar that said "The Reasons I LOVE Me-maw" (aka grandma) on it.  Inside the jar were cute little notes telling my mom why they love her so much.  Such a great idea!!!

I decided to use this idea as a holiday gift for my students.  This product can be found on my TPT store.  It includes tags, cards, and letter stationary that students can make for the special people who "LIGHT" up their worlds.  Teachers can also fill them out about their students.

I also love this idea I found on Pinterest. The jar below has random acts of kindness that kids can do throughout the holiday season.  So great!!!

Lil Light O'Mine Blog

Happy Holidays!!! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and holiday season to come.

Student Resources & Teaching Tips Linky Party

Oh yay!! A linky party for teaching tips hosted by Miss Kindergarten!!

 Here are 3 simple teaching tips:
#1  Build relationships with your students.  If they feel respected & loved, they will work hard for you!!
#2  PLAY MUSIC IN YOUR CLASS!!! (It puts everyone in a good mood!!)
#3  Give your students LOTS of resources to make them successful.  Read below. :)

In case you haven't grabbed my Reference Sources freebie from my TPT store .... here it is!! This product includes 6 mini-posters and a sorting game for commonly used reference sources.  I post these mini-posters in my classroom.  My students refer to them all the time. 

The sorting game was challenging for my second and third graders the first few times they played it, but now they're really good at it.  It's helpful to put a sample of each of the reference sources (dictionary, thesaurus, etc.) next to the game.  Then, your students can look through the books and refer to the mini-posters to help them.

I also just posted kid friendly math reference sheets on my TPT store.  This product includes 4 reference sheets to help students with math problems pertaining to place value, money, geometry (shapes, triangles, and lines), word problems, and measurement.  I put these reference sheets in a 3-prong folder for my students.  This math folder is kept in their desk for the year.

 My students also have writing and reading folders with a variety of reference sheets to help them.  I like folders because they're a resource my students always have access to, but they can be put away.  I LOVE anchor charts, but I DON'T like clutter.  The neat freak in me can only stand to have a few up at a time.  Haha!

This final FREEBIE is a Reading Strategies Reference Sheet.  I put this in my students' reading folders.  I got this idea from a cute pin on Pinterest.  I adjusted the strategies and questions to match my reading curriculum. 

Enjoy,

Quote-ly Speaking

I'm crazy about quotes! I post them ALL over my classroom.  They are like warm little fuzzies!! 

It has been CRAZY at work ... crazier than usual that is.  I was feeling a little stressed today and had to remind myself to take a breath, to be thankful, and to focus on the things I LOVE about my job ... like my stinkin' cute students!

During this season of giving thanks and reflecting, I decided to start "Quotely Speaking." I will post some of my favorite classroom, teacher, and personal quotes once a week on my Facebook page.

Here is a freebie!! It's a typed up list of quotes that are posted in my classroom .  This list is included in my Back to School Night packet and placed in my students' classwork folders.  When my students  need reminders to try their best, to do the right thing, or to be positive, I often refer to a quote!! 

Here are some pics of my posted quotes.  

This one is obviously not a quote, but it looks cool & really helps my phone monitor. :)

 Enjoy, relax, breathe, & be thankful!!!

November Currently

Happy November my peeps!! Here's my first Farley's Currently.  I LOVE these!! 

As my followers know, I play music A LOT in my classroom.  Check out my Turn Up the Music blog I wrote last week.  My favorite song to play right now is Katie Perry's "Firework."  I play this song on Friday afternoons for "Friday Celebrations".  This is when my students and I add up table points for the week and have our weekly raffle.  We celebrate good choices and successes for the week!! "Firework" is inspirational and upbeat!! My students BELT this song out when it comes on.  So cute!

 

I'm also still in love with the song "Home" by Phillip Phillips .  I played this a lot at the beginning of the school year right after the Olympics.  This was the theme song for the USA girls gymnastics team.  I played this song during my Back to School Night Powerpoint Presentation for my parents as well.  Such a great song!

                                    

Turn it up my friends!! Enjoy!