You Oughta Know: Read to Me FREE

I'm linking up with Jasmine, over at Buzzing with Mrs. McClain, for 

Here's something I think EVERY teacher should know about.

Have you heard of Read to Me?

(Click here or image to visit website)

I, randomly, came across this great website while browsing Pinterest one evening. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I clicked on the Pin, but boy was I pleased when I did. 

The Clark County Education Association Community Foundation in Las Vegas has built and maintains a FREE online youth reading program that can be accessed by ANYONE!

The website presents fun (and often popular) picture books in
a read-aloud format. 

Stories are read by Las Vegas community members (including it's mayor) and even some famous faces. 

You can easily browse the website for books and find lesson plans to
go along with each story!

Friends, this is a great website for literacy centers (Daily 5 Listen to Reading) and a wonderful resource to pass along to families!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Super Thankful (Primary Powers linky party)

I'm linking up with the Primary Powers gals for their 

Super Thankful Thread Linky party.

{Click on image to read more}

During this month of thankfulness, 

we're sharing what we're super thankful for. 

I am most grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves me and knows my heart, so much so that HE knows me better than I know myself. Without HIS love, I would be lost in this world and the pain that occurs from day to day would overcome my life. 

I love because HE loved me first! 

And what can I say about these two? Are they my daily motivation to soak up each and every day? Are they two of a kind, in more ways than one? Do they love me despite my faults and my errors? Do I love them beyond measure? Am I eternally appreciative that I was blessed with these wonderful beings? ABSOLUTELY YES!!! 

Let me tell you a small secret about myself! I have one of the BEST support systems!!! My family and friends are the kind of people that would give you the shirts off their backs and drop everything to be at your side if you needed them. I have been so fortunate to have loving parents, terrific grandparents, fabulous in-laws, amazing best friends, and wonderful friends. And here's the best part...they are "there" for me no matter WHERE I am. I could be across the nation and they're only a phone call away or in most cases, a text or FaceTime call. 

So as you can see, my life may not be perfect, but I'm thankful for the people I have in my life. I've been learning to value my relationships over my materials. And in this world, that's not always an easy lesson to learn. 

Five for Friday: November 7

This week has been slightly hectic so Five for Friday has turned into 5 for Saturday...oops!

Finally got my Veterans Day: History of Heroes finished, posted to TPT and the blog, and now I'm ready for next Tuesday.

(Click here to purchase) 

My animals (chocolate lovin' dog and runaway cat) must think of me as Elmyra from Animanics...I can't come up with any other reason they act the way they do. 

I participated in Jungle Learner's Stop, SWAP, and Roll product swap and giveaway. 

Tons of teacher bloggers swapped products, took them for a "test-drive", blogged about them, and now are giving them away to lucky winners. 

It's live now so go check it out. 

(Click here to read about my swap with More than Math by Mo)

We got our family pictures back.

Now to just find a Christmas card design that I like and doesn't break the bank. 

(so happy its the weekend and I don't have a single thing planned...AMEN)

Stop, SWAP, & Roll Product Swap & GIVEAWAY

Over the past few weeks, I've been chatting with Monique over at 

(Click on image to go to her blog)

We've been teamed up by Melissa, over at Jungle Learners, for her 

( Click on image to go to Jungle Learner's Product Swap post) 

There are so many teacher bloggers, from around the country, that have been teaming up to swap products and give you all the great details about what other teachers are doing in their classrooms. 

* * So go check out Jungle Learner's post to see more bloggers sharing! * *

It's an awesome opportunity to talk to other bloggers 

AND...

Monique and I got to pick a product out of each other's TPT stores to try out with our own students. 

She chose The Day the Crayons Quit - RTL & Comprehension Game 

from my store

(go check out her blog to get the inside scoop on how she put 

it to use in her classroom)

*** Hint, hint: I'm putting it on sale until the giveaway ends ***

and 

I chose her Sight Word Practice Puzzles: Pre-Primer Dolch Words 

(click on image to purchase) 

and then that lovely gal sent me her 

Sight Words Bundle: Read, Color, Circle, Create to go along with it! 

(Click on image to purchase)

She knew it would definitely come in handy and 

pairs VERY well with the sight word puzzles!

I, immediately, wanted to put these products to use.

Starting with the puzzles, Monique has offered them in 

3 different printing options:

Full Color - colorful clipart and patterned backgrounds

(I used this option)

Simple Color - printer friendly with colorful clipart, white backgrounds

Full Black & White - copy friendly

Also, she has divided up the Pre-Primer words into five lists of 10 words each.

The lists are split based on word frequency.

The 1st list contains the 10 most frequently used/seen Pre-Primer sight words (the, to, and,...) while the 5th list contains the Pre-Primer sights that are used/seen less frequently (all, on, that,...).

I used the 1st list and prepped the station so that students would have the list of all 10 words in order to insure they completed all 10 puzzles. 

Using the word card of the puzzle, students matched the word card to the word list and read the word. 

This step just helped to keep track of covering each word on the list and reinforcing sight word recognition ; )

Next, using the sight word card, students built the sight word by collecting letter (puzzle) pieces from the rug and assembling them in the correct order to match the word card. 

Once the puzzle was assembled, I asked students to spell the sight word then read the word aloud. 

One of the best things about the Full Color printing option is that the puzzles are self-correcting!

If assembled correctly, the background pattern/color should match. 

This came in handy when this sweet guy tried to use the "o" from for in place of the "o" from you.

Not a huge deal, but the different background color gave him a hint that something wasn't right. 

After assembling all the puzzles, we focused on one of the sight words for extra practice.

Using the printables from the Sight Word Bundle: Read, Color, Circle, Create, we practiced the word the

(Click here to purchase)

These two products are awesome by themselves but man do they really drive the learning home when paired together. 

So now that Monique has let me try out her wonderful sight word products, you should too!

Want a chance to put the SIGHT WORD PRACTICE PUZZLES: PRE-PRIMER to use in your classroom?

Enter our giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why is Veterans Day so far from all the other patriotic holidays?

Halloween = check

Day Light Savings = check

Election Day = check

Realizing that Thanksgiving is in 3 weeks!!! = Oh CRAP!

I don't know about ya'll, but November just slapped me in the face!

"Well hello again, remember me? Yep, I'm back...and you have 

20 days until Thanksgiving

48 days until Christmas

55 days until 2016

You may want to pick up the pace, sister"

Time to put on my boots and get to work!

Speaking of boots...

I see these dirty, smelly things on a daily basis

and that's quite alright with me because they represent someone 

and something 

VERY important to me. 

Veterans Day is next Tuesday (November 11th) and while most schools recognize this national holiday by taking the day off, I do know some schools do not. And that's sad to me. Not because I want a day to myself or catch up on my errands. But because Veterans Day is a day to honor all those men and women who serve our country day in and day out so we can enjoy the freedoms we have. 

Now, I'll be REAL HONEST here, people. 

For a loooonnngg time, I thought Veterans Day was a day to remember those military members who had scarified their lives for our country. Not until I met and married my military man (almost 10 years ago) did I learn the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. 

So I was informed of the difference, but took that information at face value and understood WHO Veterans Day was for 

and WHAT Veterans Day was about.

Not until I started teaching my students about Veterans Day did I start researching WHY we even have Veterans Day. 

And that led me to my Veterans Day: History of Heroes activities

{Click on image to purchase}

 I designed it with middle to upper elementary aged 

students (2nd-4th) in mind. 

Mostly because there are so many wonderfully, amazing Veterans Day crafts and activities/ideas, geared towards ECE grade levels, all over Pinterest and offered on TPT. I love them all and have used them for the past several years. 

And while those products are beyond superb, I know it's really important to me that older students continue to learn about historical events, national holidays, and show appreciation for those that protect them. 

With that as my focus, I took students' desire to create and paired 

it with non-fiction text and voila...

here is what came to be. 

A comprehensive reading passage provides details about the history of Veterans Day and an easy-to-assemble craft gives students the opportunity to check their reading comprehension while creating a token of their learning.

  Additionally, fun fact sheets about each branch of military service give interesting details about soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines, and guardians. 

And you can’t forget the reason for this day of gratitude…students are able to describe ways they could show appreciation to our military through illustration and writing, plus detail something they’ve learned about the 5 military branches, in a cute foldable book.

I'm even going to attempt this cute little book with my preschooler and 

modify it so he can give it to his daddy. 

Happy Veterans Day to all those who serve(d) our Nation!

THANK YOU!

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Sunday Savers ~ Introduction: Oct. 26th

Are you fan of saving money?

I am!

And that's just one of the many reasons I LOVE TPT!

So in the spirit of saving bundles of cash on my classroom resources, I wanted to start a little something that I thought would help you save money too. 

My grandmother loves the Sunday paper because of those 

coupon booklets that get shoved in the middle.

Loads of savings, she says. 

Sunday Savers, she calls them. 

And to keep the tradition going of saving cash on Sunday, 

I'm creating my own Sunday Savers.

As much a possible, I'm going to slash the prices of one (...or two) of my products for 24 hours. 

I don't know which products I'll choose, but check back on Sundays (I'll do my best to do every Sunday) and see what's on SALE or better yet...FREE!

This week....

I'm cutting the price of the 

Math M&M Monsters

(Click on image to purchase)

from $3.00 

to $1.00 !

*** This product will return to original price Monday 10/27/14 @ 3pm EST***

and 

grab this FREEBIE while you're at it!

(Click on either image to download)