currently...

I know it's illegal and something like the worst blog etiquette in the world to post twice in a day, but I'm on a roll.  And really wanted to participate in the 'currently' linky.  So here's mine! 

I think I followed all the rules?!  Head on over to 'Oh Boy 4th Grade' and do one yourself if you haven't already!! Can't wait to read everyone else's tomorrow!  

Okay - I really am done for the night!  Happy Monday [in 45 minutes]!!

The post that should've come three months ago...

SO - I had every intention of posting a million things by now.

And when that didn't happen...I had every intention of posting the Halloween treat idea for my students on here.

And when that was a bust (aka - planned on making pumpkin spice play-doh treat bags and the recipe turned out to be a DISASTER, discouraging me from every trying to make homemade play-doh again...) I had every intention of uploading some of my classroom activities.

And then life got in the way.  And work.  And life.  And a million other things.  BLAHHH.

And even though it's not a good excuse...I'm SO excited to be back on the blogging scene!! I had barely scratched the surface and then took wayyy too long of a hiatus.  Regardless, I'm here now!  I will share a fun little Christmas gift idea [for students] and for those of you who have two more dreaded days of school before winter break, I hope this helps!! :)

SO - my final product was a combination of Cara's creativity [here] and a super Pinterest find [here].  I decided to give the old play-doh thing a second go...and thank the Lord it WORKED!

I won't go into detail about the recipe, because the [above] blog does a fantastic job!  I'll just show you some pictures below to help if you're interested.

look at those little guys!! ;)  i had to text a picture of them to my mom and sis-in-law - they look so happy and ready for some new homes!!!

After they are all cut and cooled, you're ready to bag!  Cut the ziploc part off of a sandwich size bag:

Put two in side-by-side, as you see above.  Then, fold the bag in half, so that the gingerbread men are one behind the other (but the bag is separating them so they don't get stuck!).

Then,  fold the top over and staple.

Here's the finished product!

Sidenote:  If you looked at Cara's link above, you'll see how amazing hers look with ribbon.  In the middle of rolling and cutting, I had to send the hubster out for cardstock so I could make the tags.  He did not like me at that moment.  I wasn't about to call him to ask him to get ribbon, too [besides, a man picking out ribbon to match my tags? No, no, no.].  Staples worked just fine....this time. ;)

The back of the tag has a few ideas for educational uses:

Here they all are packed and ready for delivery to the little ones tomorrow!

SO excited.  They were so easy, smell delicious, and were cheap-o!!  

A little bit time-consuming, but so, so, so worth it!!

If you're interested in a copy of the tag for yourself, click below!

GINGERBREAD PLAY-DOH TAG

Let me know if you have any questions!  Hope you all have a 'happy everything' this holiday season.  Hope to be back soon with some more posts!! :)

What's in my bag?!

This is the first time I'm linking up!  It's a big day in my world!

Usually this could be a dangerous thing (looking into the deep, dark depths of my work bag) - but I promised myself that I'd stop lugging half of my classroom home and back after last school year and so far have been good about it. (But let's be honest - it's only the fourth week of school!!) SO - to have a little fun with Abby's  (The Inspired Apple) great idea, here's a peek into my bag! :)

There she is!  I fell in love with this Vera pattern last fall and mentioned it for Christmas gift ideas.  EVERYONE bought me accessories that matched...it's a *little* ridiculous.  Everyone at work cracks up when I walk through the door with this bag, my matching laptop bag , and lunch box (among a gazillion other cosmetic bags!!).  

Okay so maybe not ALL of my Vera accessories match - Lemon Parfait is my latest obsession. ;)  THEN there's my external hard drive - my life line.  It has EVERYTHING on it and I honestly don't know what I'd do without it.  I stopped carrying flash drives a few years ago when I filled them up like nobody's business.  My hubby talked me into getting this and I've never looked back!

I also always have my Camelbak, always, always, always.  I have an orange one , too! LOVE them!!  Plus, I'm doomed, coming from a big, ethnic family that is constantly obsessed with food.  Therefore, I always have a snack with me - they are usually a little healthier (I promise)...had to change my ways after I got old and wasn't a skinny mini size 2 anymore!! Ha!!

I also always have my clipfolio (a fabulous Target find!) and my binder because heaven forbid I need to organize something while I'm at home and I not have it with me?!?!  And you'll notice in the next picture that I'm OBSESSED with sticky notes...obsessed.  As in - when I did my student teaching a few years ago, my cooperating teacher had all the parents send in post-its and they gave me an ENORMOUS bag filled to the brim with them.  You'd think they would last me years...nope!  Almost gone! 

THEN there's my manuals for late night planning and filled/covered with stickies, of course!  (PS - Although I know there's many opinions out there, I  love, love, love the Fundations program! LOVE.)  Oh!  Each manual has a Sharpie pen attached to the spirals - SERIOUSLY don't know how I lived without them!!!

Finally, there's the boring side-pocket and bottom-of-the-bag goodies that never seem to disappear!  Although, this was MUCH worse, but I had jury duty over the summer  (yuck) so that gave me PLEN-TY of time to clean it out! :)  But, I'm still trying to figure out how and why I ever managed to get a glue gun stick in there?!

So there you have it!  Thanks for such a fun idea, Abby! :)  

Digital Graphics

For those of you that are obsessed with finding the perfect clipart like me (okay - most of the time I'm a little TOO obsessed...) I wanted to share this fun little shop.  I don't remember how or when I stumbled on it, but I recently bought some of Beth's cute backgrounds and have now been using them on EVERYTHING!  They add the perfect little punch when needed. :)

These three flyers are for different events at my church, not my classroom, but look how much her backgrounds add to them!!

  

{Don't mind the missing info or blocked out words - had to make sure I protect my privacy ;) }

SO moral of the story is - go check out Beth's SUPER work!!!  She has more backgrounds, clipart graphics, borders and frames - lots and lots of great stuff!!  You can find her here:  Great Graphics

That's all for today! :) 

Simple Machines...FINALLY!

Hi teacher friends!!  I must say, I had every intention of uploading my Simple Machines unit within the first week of starting this blog.  I was so excited about it being finished and then... 94893 other things happened that have kept me from having a second to do this!! (Although, I shouldn't complain because one of those 'things' was a 4-day, last-minute getaway with my hubby!)

SO, if you click on the image below, it will take you to the unit.  It is an 8-day unit, with approximately 30 minute lessons for each day.  I had to create it like this at my last school because of how we ran our SS/Sci block.  

I rambled for {probably} far too long within the unit trying to give detailed descriptions of each activity.  I am not sure how, but I did not even THINK to take pictures when I was teaching it!! (I know, what kind of a teacher am I?!?)  I really shouldn't have an excuse, either, because I had to teach the unit FIVE times in a row (once to each first grade class in my building)...UGH...so if everything is clear as mud I am so, so sorry.  

PLEASE email me if you have any questions and I will send you more info or clarify any questions you might have.  Regardless, I'm excited to post my first unit!!  And I also plan on posting a lot more in the near future... I mean it this time!!

Click away! :)