Five for Friday {Summer Wrap Up}

Hi ho, Hi ho, it's off to work I go...

Put a big fat 'X' on it folks because this ECard 'marks the spot'! 

Summer. Is. Over

This Five for Friday is dedicated to my summer!

The hubs and I normally have our summer vacays planned Dec/Jan "ish". 

This year we didn't plan anything and ended up booking a quick getaway to Florida.

We flew (on of my favorite parts) and enjoyed several beach days!

I'm very grateful that my best friends live so close.

I spent several days throughout the summer just hanging out and spending some girl time with them.

This little guy woke up with me every day and spent countless hours playing this summer.

He's going to have to adjust to Mom's back to school schedule, sadly.

I've been unhappy with myself for awhile now  and thanks to some motivation and inspiration from some other teacher bloggers, I decided to get my rear in gear this summer.

I found out that I absolutely LOVE Zumba and lifting weights.

I'm proud of the progress I've made, even though I still have a ways to go!

I normally spend quite a few days up at the school during the summer.

This summer it was nice to only go up to work 3 or 4 times.

I spent time rearranging my room and can't wait to see how the organization below works out this year!

And lastly, here's a little something to remember when facing the new year and challenges it may bring!

Meet ME, The Teacher!

Howdy friends!

I'm a 27 year old wife, blogger, follower of Christ and lover of all sweet things.

This is my 4th year teaching 1st grade teacher in the state of Texas (hence above).

I absolutely adore my firsties and can't imagine teaching any other grade. 

I've been married to this awesome guy for 4 years.

We met in high school but didn't get married until I was in college.

We love traveling and wish we could do it more often.

We have one fur baby, Mac, who is spoiled beyond belief.

Fact: he gets fed chicken...yes, we cook him chicken...nightly.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

1. Zumba

2. G2 Gel Pens

3. Sweet Potatoes

4. OPI Nail Polish

5. Saved by the Bell

6. Kittens 

7. Dessert

8. Workout clothes

9. Yogurt

10. Cruises

If you weren't a teacher, what would you want to be?

I honestly can't see myself being anything else.

But if I had to choose, it would be a stay at home mommy and wife.

3 Little Words that Describe You

SUPER organized. Quiet. Committed. 

Finish this sentence...

"______ said no teacher ever!"

"I love living in Texas and having recess duty the first week of school..."

Q: It's your birthday and you could invite whoever you want to the party {dead or alive}. Who are you inviting?

My grannie.

I would love to hear ask me if I just got my hair done and lost any weight.

{Her famous questions.}

Q: If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

This is hard. I don't read unless my arm is twisted so coming up with a title is difficult!

 Fitness and a Faith Driven Heart

Q: You get to pick one superpower. What is it?

It may not be a super power but I wish I could take a trip to heaven to visit my grandma.

Q: What's your favorite quote or saying?

Growing up, each morning we would sit down with my mom before school and have our family time. This verse below was our family verse and I cherish every word in it. 

Q: If you had to sing one song on American Idol, what would it be?

I grew up in the 90's when Britney Spears was on her rise.

She rubbed off on me (music wise) a little so I'd have to belt out...

"Hit Me Baby One More Time".

Q: Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I would much rather wake up at 5 am than stay up late.

Let's face it...I'm pooped at the end of a work day!

Q: What's your favorite resource you've created in your TpT store?

I use anchor charts in my class like they are going out of style. 

I decided to make printable ones to help teach grammar skills and for a point of reference that never changes for my kiddos.

Share something we might not know about you.

Random:

I have to have my nails painted.

I bought an at home gel nail kit and do them all by myself!

I impress my self each time because they actually do look super professional.

Be sure to link up with Falling into First with your teacher blogger info. and head over to find more awesome teacher bloggers!

Monday Made It {Decorative Magnet Tutorial}

Today's Monday Made It is all about creating magnets!

These could be used for SO many things in your classroom.

Lunch count

Attendance

Homework

I plan on using mine for a commitment chart that corresponds with our district wide discipline program. 

Here is what you will need for this project:

Scrapbook paper

Clear glass marbles with a flat back

Glue (I used E6000)

Modpodge

Round magnets

Step 1:

Trace marbles on the back of your scrapbook paper.

Step 2:

Cut out traced circles.

Tip: make sure to cut them out smaller so they fit onto the back of the marble without overlapping its edge.

Step 3: 

Place drop of glue on flat part of marble.

Spread glue out. (I used my finger)

Step 4: 

Set cut out circle of scrapbook paper face down onto glue.

Turn marble over.

Press down to get out air bubbles and adhere paper.

Step 5:

Allow paper to set into glue. I let mine sit for about an hour.

TakeModpodge and brush over edges of scrapbook paper.

Let the Modpodge dry. Mine sat for about 3 hours.

Step 6:

Place glue on one side of magnet.

Spread with finger.

Press onto scrapbook paper on back of marble.

Let the glue set. 

Mine set over night.

Step 7:

Depending on what you want to do with the magnets, you may be done at this point.

I took a paint pen and wrote numbers on each.

At this point you are officially done!

Thanks for stopping by to see my magnet tutorial!

Check out more tutorials over at Monday Made It!

Monday Made It {Dice Storage}

Dice are surely small, can get lost easy, and are a pain to pick through to find just the right one.

When all thrown together my dice looked like this:

AHH!

Teacher nightmare...dice style.

So I went out and bought one of these:

I found mine at Walmart for under $5.

It's a tackle box from the fishing section.

I sorted out all of the dice from the insane pile.

The tackle box came with its own slots for making customizable size compartments inside.

In the end, my dice looked like this:

Totally organized and nightmare free.

How easy will it be to find just what I'm looking for!

Check out more Monday Made It ideas by clicking the link below!

The Sale is HERE!!!

If you haven't heard the news by now TpT has announced their HUGE sitewide back to school sale.

It runs from August 4-5.

You can save 28% using the code BTS14!.

My store is actually on sale the day before (Today) and the day after (Wednesday)!

Who doesn't love 2 extra days to shop a sale!?

Here are some of my best selling products along with a few for the beginning of the year!

 

We all know teaching rules and procedures is our first and foremost important thing that will set us up for year long success.

Becoming Peacemakers is a week long unit that makes teaching classroom rules fun!

 There are several printables, 2 crafts, poems, and a class book in this pack.

 

Every teacher needs a classroom management tool. 

This pack will help you keep track of individual student behavior.

 It includes a clip chart and a positive behavior ticket system your students will surely love!

{Come in two different themes}

If you don't use classroom jobs in your room, you should!

It helps things to run so much smoother and the kids love the responsibility of helping out.

This pack of jobs has over 30 for you to choose from.

 

I LOVE anchor charts and have turned 6 of my favorite grammar charts into printable ones for your classroom. This pack of anchor charts includes nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, and pronouns.

Head on over to my store now to start the sale a little early!!

Happy shopping :)

Raise the Parr Teacher Fundraiser and Sale

It's amazing to see how teachers in the blogging community can team up to help others who are in need.

 I've teamed up with several others for a fundraiser to benefit a dear teacher who passed suddenly this summer from cardiac arrhythmia.

As teachers supporting fellow teachers, we hope to bless her husband and their daughter with 100% of the proceeds of these products.

Together, we have donated several products and have bundled them into 5 different products on TpT.

Check out the 5 awesome bundles below valued at over $180!

You can get each bundle for only $10, a 70% savings!

K-5 Donated By:

The Techie Teacher  Keepin it Kool in Kinderland  Kristy Bear Designs
Mrs. Albanese's Class   A Cupcake for the Teacher   Tales from a Naturalista Teacha
Lindsey Paulson    Miss Kindergarten    The Sharpened Pencil

Kindergarten Smiles 

3-5 Donated by:

 Two Fulbright Hugs  Don't Let The Teacher Stay Up Late
I'm Loving Lit     Alicia Broughton     Mrs. O Knows   

One Extra Degree     Young Teacher Love

K-1 ELA Donated by:

The Inspired Apple    Keepin it Kool in Kinderland   Learning is for Superstars
 1st Grade Fireworks   Little Miss Kindergarten   Little Warriors
Kindergarten: Holding Hands and Sticking Together  Little Minds at Work
Lindsey Paulson  

   

1st Grade ELA donated by:

What the Teacher Wants    Made for 1st Grade    For The Love of 1st Grade

Teaching with Love and Laughter    Rambling About Reading
Teacher Idea Factory    1st Grade Fireworks

K-1 Math Donated By:

Learning Ahoy   Teaching In Progress   Chalk Talk 
Lindsey Paulson    Alicia Broughton    Hanging Out in First
KinderGlynn

FREEBIE Friday {Beginning of Year Assessments}

It's August!

The month when school resumes.

The month when summer is over.

If I've made you sad I have something to uplift your spirits!

Today I am sharing with you a collection of back to school simple daily assessments for the first week.

Don't you just dread those days when you have NO idea about what your students can and can't do.

Talk about frightening!

This packet contains all the assessments you need to figure out what your firsties can and can't do.

Included are the following:
*I Can...draw a picture of me.
*I Can...write my name.
*I Can...write my alphabet.
*I Can...match uppercase and lowercase letters.
*I Can...hear beginning sounds.
*I Can...write my numbers.
*I Can...can the objects.

My recommendation is to knock out one or two a day that first week, before you even begin to teach anything at all. 

Check out my TpT Store for even more freebies I didn't have the chance to share OR just click on the freebies tab at the top of my blog page!