Fixed My Vegas Bag!

If you read my July Currently post, you will recall my bland, yet adorable bag that I ordered from Zazzle for my upcoming trip to Vegas. I asked for your suggestions on how to cuten it up, I listened, and I fixed it this afternoon while the twins were napping!

It began with my logo and was ok, but it was just....missing something!

So, I added some coordinating quatrefoil design fabric to the handles, a ruffle around the top, and a cute flower!

I also lined the inside and added pockets for my phone, (that's a MUST) a pen, and anything else I may need access to quickly!

I took about a cajillion photos as I was working because I was going to take you through the whole thing, but come on, we are an instant gratification world.  I know you just want to see the finished product!  And I'm not a sewing blogger. :)

Well, there you have it!  I'd sure love to hear your thoughts on it!

July Currently

July!  Why, oh why, are you already here??  Well.  I guess you can stick around because July is going to be a big month for me.
Speaking of it being July, it's time for "Currently" with Farley from Oh Boy Fourth Grade!

Add caption

I am currently getting ready to go to Vegas!  I have never been to Las Vegas, and I've never been to the TPT Conference, a blogger meet-up, etc.  So far in my TPT/blogger journey, it has just been me and my computer!  I am SO excited and feel so grateful to be able to get to go and meet up with like minds!  Thank you husband for being cool with me going!

I have several people on my rock star list that I hope to meet - Annie Moffatt, Amy Lemons, Cara Carroll, Deanna Jump, Nikki from Melonheadz, and hopefully lots of 4th grade bloggers!

I have been making preparations for my trip and reading several blogs from people who have gone to the conference previously to get an idea of what I should take with me.  Everyone has had fun suggestions of helpful things to bring, so I have been ordering lots of things online.  I have been so excited over the last week because of all of my goodies coming in the mail that I have ordered to take with me!  

I ordered some business cards from Vistaprint to take with me that have my contact info as well as QR codes people can scan to be taken to my social media sites, and there's even a code for a FREEBIE!

I ordered two cute buttons from Zazzle to take with me with my logo.

I got a bag from Zazzle as well, because I read there are lots of goodies I'll be gathering over the couple of days I'm there and to be prepared with a bag!

 

And I ordered a cute Tervis tumbler with my logo on it through their Tervis "customyzer."  If you haven't gotten a Tervis yet, I am telling you to get one for next year!  I never leave home without it - I have a few and they are in constant rotation when I go to school. (BTW - I have no affiliation with Tervis, just a happy customer).

So those are my Vegas goodies!!  I am so excited! BUT - my bag is lacking something.  I don't know what it is.  What can I do to it to cuten it up, y'all?  I love the logo, but it looks bland for some reason.

Leave me a suggestion or two please!

What is missing from this bland bag, y'all?

Make Your Masterpiece! Math Spiral Review

Last year, I began creating my OWN math spiral review each week for my grade level.  I wanted something that aligned with our standards in a rigorous way, and I wanted something quick and simple that I could use daily, as well assess somehow at the end of the week.  Thus, my spiral review was born!  I worked on it ALL year last year.  We had used spiral reviews previously and they were never really what we needed.  Our campus even purchased one last year for us - I looked at it and immediately found several instances where it wasn't actually aligned to our standards.
This summer, I have gone back to the reviews I created during the year and completed the ones I managed not to save somehow, and then over-hauled it to make it as user-friendly as possible.  I made some changes to it, completed it, and have it ready for YOU!

You can use this in a few ways with your students.  I used it as morning work.  So the kids came in and worked on it independently, and then during the first few minutes of my math block, we would quickly go over it.

It can also be used as homework, as small group work, or put in a daily math center. 

For each week of the year, there are two sheets.  The first one is a Monday through Thursday practice sheet with 4 questions for each day.  The second sheet is an assessment over the skills covered throughout the week.  The questions are similar the ones asked during the week.

 As you can see, the questions asked during the week match the types of questions asked on Friday.  This will give you good data on which skills students have mastered and which skills still need more work.  It can very easily be good information for you to use to drive your small group instruction.

If you are interested in this, I have a 3 week FREEBIE of this product that you are welcome to download and try out by clicking HERE!  If you like it, please purchase the full school year by clicking HERE!

 

Bloglovin

<a href=http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13924525/?claim=egpc7t6p3tx>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

I'd love for you to join me on my teaching adventures!  Follow my blog with Bloglovin to be notified when I post a new blog entry!

TPT Seller Challenge - Makeover Madness and Dare to Dream

I joined the party a little late, but I completed my week 1 seller challenge and my week 2 seller challenge, so here they both are!

Week 1 challenge is Makeover Madness.
My makeover was an easy choice.  I made this awesome subtraction practice unit when I first began on TPT, and it hardly EVER gets looked at, let alone bought! I have looked at it over and over and thought, I should really redo that….and then I don't.  I am a checklist person, and once that item is off of my checklist, I am pumped to get started on the next thing.  So, going back to something I already completed feels like working backwards!  Anyway, here is my MAKEOVER MADNESS!
I changed the frame, background, clip art, font, and even the title!

I put it on sale 20% off today and tomorrow if you'd like to get it for your classroom!  Just click on the picture!

Week 2 challenge is called Dare to Dream.
The challenge is to blog about my dreams and goals for my TPT business.

I have twin 4 year olds, and while I obviously have 14 years left to save for their educations, college is going to be CRAZY expensive by then.  I know while I was in school, my tuition went up every. single. semester.  Seriously - we need a law to stop that madness!!

I would also like to live beyond the old paycheck-to-paycheck routine.  While my district is well paid, and I appreciate what UEA does to ensure we get fair raises, I still wouldn't survive if I missed a check for even one month!  It would be nice not to have to worry about money and be able to focus that energy on more positive things!

I would love for my TPT store to afford me to be debt free!  Before my twins were born, my husband was finishing up school and when the twins were born, he began staying home to care for them, so we have been on ONE check for the last 5 years.  Y'all.  It is ROUGH.  I LOVE that my kids didn't have to go to daycare, but the credit card companies are now my number one fans because of the amount we have had to charge and the fact that we can basically only make minimum monthly payments.  BLECH!

And last, I'd LOVE to get to retire from teaching early.  While I do LOVE teaching, I love my family and the time I get to spend with them.  I want to be able to help out my kids when they start having families and I want to see the world with my husband!

Those are my dreams!  Thanks for reading this little ol blog of mine.  I hope you have time at some point to poke around and see what else is going on in my teaching adventure!

Thank you to these four fabulous women for hosting this seller challenge!!!  It is so much fun!

One Item That Means the World to Me

Hello!  I am linking up with Miss Monica at I Heart Grade 3 for her Weekly Summer Link-Up.  This week, the topic is, "One Item That Means the World to Me."

How, oh how, can anyone narrow it down to ONE item?? I interpret this as a tangible item.  What do I choose?  My college degree? Our home? My Bible?  My Macbook, which I couldn't do any of my TPT/bloggy stuff without?

I thought and thought on it, and I decided that the one item that means the world to me is my wedding ring.  When I thought about it, my ring is a symbol of the things that I hold most dearly to my heart - God, love and family.  My ring represents my love and commitment for my husband, our marriage made strong with the help of God, my family who celebrated us as we wed, and my family that was created because of our love.

This was fun!  I can't wait to see what the topic is for next week! Thank you Miss Monica!

Walk the Plank! Math Fact Fluency Game

I don't know about you all, but one thing I feel like my kids ALWAYS need more practice on is fact fluency.  In 2nd grade, students are expected to be able to fluently add and subtract within 20.  In order for kids to get in quality practice, it has to be engaging.  At the end of the year, I put together this little game called "Walk the Plank."
This game is usually played in pairs, but could be played with four players in teams of two.
Begin by giving each pair of students one "plank," two 10-sided dice (or cubes you have written on with numbers up to 10), and each child 20 playing pieces.  You can also give them a recording sheet if you wish.

Each player lines his or her playing pieces along the side of the plank, aligning one piece under each number.  Player 1 rolls the dice and adds the two numbers together.  Then, he or she removes Player 2's playing piece next to the number that matches that sum.  Then, the turn is over.

The pictures below show one turn for a player.  I only had enough 10-sided dice for the kids to have one, so they just rolled it twice.

Player 2 then rolls the dice and repeats the process.

Players continue taking turns, repeating this process over and over.  If a player gets the same sum they have already made, they just don't get to remove a piece on that turn.

My students LOVED this game.  We played it several days in a row, and the next week they had the choice of this game and a few other fact fluency games, and they overwhelming chose "Walk the Plank!"  

You can check it out here at my TPT store by clicking on the image below.