Five for Friday!

I always love writing the FIVE FOR FRIDAY post as I love being able to pick out some of the great moments from the week! It helps me to realize that even after having a rough week there are many, many great moments that I did have! 

My awesome teacher friends and I headed to Wichita (about an hour away) right after school on Tuesday! Our mission was to go to the Scholastic Warehouse Book Sale! OH MY! So glad that we did! Everything was 50% and then if you spent $100 (really $200) you would get $25 off! So I purchased $200 worth of books for my classroom library for only $75.00! Yahoo! I am moving to a 4th-5th loop next year so the new books were a necessity! 

We worked on Mothers/Grandmothers day projects all week! The students make a bouquet of flower using piper cleaners, colorful paper, tissue paper and ribbon! The students traced their hands to make the lilies  I LOVE, LOVE how the bouquet turned out! I saw this idea on Pinterest, of course! 

We also used Lesson Plans SOS Mother's Day Portrait product for the front of our cards! On the inside of our cards we wrote all about our moms using the graphic organizers found in this awesome product: Oh Momma  Since I was all adventurous we all so made the amazing Homemade Lemon Scrub that is featured in this product. I have sugar all of our my classroom, but it was worth it! I found the cutest little pedicure kits at Target (Dollar Spot!) to add to the scrub for the moms! Each kiddo went home with a writing piece, lemon sugar scrub, and a bouquet of flowers for their mom or grandma! 

We celebrated the Kentucky Derby last Friday using Abby Mullins AMAZING, WONDERFUL, AWESOME, SO MUCH FUN product! I took lots of pictures last Friday, but this one is my favorite! I looked up from my Guided Reading table and four of my boys were wearing their Kentucky Derby hats and  watching the derby from 1973!! "Go Number 2!" "Go Number 8!"  It was amazing all the learning that took place! We read non-fiction text, we learned about horses, we brushed up on our probability skills, and the list goes on and on! 

This has NOTHING to do with school, but I LOVE, LOVE sushi! There is no place in my tiny town that serves sushi! :(  Last Friday I got to go have sushi with my parents an hour away and then TODAY I get to go as well, this time on a date! So even if the date is a bust, I still get to have some sushi!  

Do you not just love this? My friend Crystal from The Library Fox is making these special graphics! Every time I see it, it just makes me smile! Especially the Thirty-One bag! Today I carried in THREE bags! If you have a chance check out Crystal's store! She has the most amazing Chevron Letters ever! 

Special thanks to Pink Cat studio for the adorable frames that I used throughout this blog post! JUST love them! They make me so happy! 


Well friends, I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Only 9 1/2 days of school left! 

Fabulous Feedback: A Linky Party

One of my favorite bloggers EVER, Christina Brainbridge is hosting a fun linky party to get us all in the mood for the awesome TPT sale on Tuesday and Wednesday!

As a TPT seller there is NOTHING better than really thoughtful feedback comment on a product that you have worked really hard on. I LOVE giving "Fabulous Feedback" to TPT sellers who just work their heart out on their products! Honestly, I am such a better teacher because of teaching blogs & TPT!

I posted my first product at the end of March! I was (and still am) so excited about it and the journey that this first step will take me on! Do you know that when you sell a product on TPT that your phone will CHA-CHING! YEP, it is the BEST SOUND EVER! The first time it happened  I didn't know what it was and then I looked at my phone and realized I HAD SOLD A PRODUCT! I clicked on my store and here is what I found...

I about fell off the couch! Rachelle (What The Teacher Wants)  is one of the kindest people EVER! I actually got to meet her a few months ago at a SDE conference!  I adore her, I adore her blog, and I adore every single one of her products!

So THANK YOU AGAIN Rachelle for your kindness! 

Hope you will check out my product here! Happy, Happy SHOPPING! 

TPT Teacher Appreciation Sale

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to EVERYONE! 

I am so blessed to have had amazing teachers in my life! 

It all started with Mrs. R in Kindergarten! I got a bunny for Easter that year and yep...I named HIM Mrs. R!  

In 5th grade it was Mrs. Ball! Oh how I adored her! She signed up to be the teacher in space on the Challenger  I will always remember the day the Challenger exploded. She wheeled in a TV  and we talked about what happened and we journaled our thoughts and feelings.

 In high school it was all about Mr. Craig Johnson! Dr. J IS the best Social Studies teacher ever! When I finally made it to Italy (10 years after I was in his WOrld History Class), I took my notes from his class with me! 

Yesterday I attended a retirement celebration for Dr. Marilyn Kimbrel. Lovingly known as Dr. K to everyone at McPherson College! Dr. K was my adviser during my Teacher Edu program almost 22 years ago!  I am the teacher I am today because of Dr. K's patient tutelage during those wonderful methods classes!

One of my favorite bloggers Jen Hatmaker has written an amazing THANK YOU to teachers everywhere! I hope you will check it out here! 

In honor of each and everyone of you Teachers Pay Teachers is having a HUGE sale on May 7 and May 8! The discounts are up to 28% off! I hope that you will load up your cart with some fun end of the year products, some products to start off the new school year, or just somethings YOU HAVE TO HAVE! 

Don't you just love this! My friend Beth at 
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs made it! 

I love the 15 Journal Writing Prompts product in my TPT store!  I am so proud of these journal prompts! Please check it out! After the discount the cost is just $1.60! You can't beat that! 

My kiddos love them as well! We have such great discussion about the quotes and I feel like I really get to know my students thoughts and ideas AND also dreams through the journal reflections! 

Enjoy the TPT shopping on Tuesday and Wednesday! I am moving to 4th grade in the fall so my cart is FULL TO THE BRIM with products! Can't wait! 

Happy Day Teachers! 

Five for Friday!

How can it already be FRIDAY? The days are just FLYING by! I feel like everything is measured in days now! 10 days until Wax Museum Presentations, 2 days until BOE meeting, 15 days until All Schools Day, etc! This year has just flown by! 

So here we go....

# 1 

Gotta love a small town! The main bank in town posted pictures of the 1st Place winners  from the KS State Destination Imagination teams! My two teams took first place in their challenges! SO MUCH FUN! 

#2 

It was my birthday this week! My kiddos were so sweet to bring in treats and flowers! We are studying myths and legends right now and one of my sweet boys asked, "Miss Z were you born when this legend was written?" .... "UM NO!!!!!!!" 

#3 

I am moving to a new school in the fall! Lots of mixed emotions! I love the school I am at, but at my new school I will get to loop with my kiddos! This was my first box I packed! Trying to get a little ahead of the game. 

#4 

I looked up from my guided reading table to find two kiddos on the library cart reading! OH MY GOODNESS! I about had a heart attack, afraid someone would get hurt and then I just started laughing! 

#5

I had the privilege of giving a Writing PD for teachers in grades K-2. The favorite activity that we did was this "Techno Scavenger Hunt." I created a  Powerpoint Slide that linked to tons of great writing resources! The teachers LOVED it! It was so easy to do as well! 

The best part of today is that I took a 1/2 day and had lunch with a dear friend! 

Hope everyone has a great day! Make sure you check out the MANY bloggers that will link up at Five for Friday! 

CARMEN

Guest Blogger Today: Home Court Advantage!

I am a guest blogger for Christina today! Come join me at her blog!

Five for Friday!

So many fun things from this week!  I am excited to share them on Doodle Bugs' Linky Party 

1. We are having a blast in Kansas with MARCH MADNESS! Three teams from Kansas started in the tournament and now we have a team in the FINAL FOUR! Wichita State University Shockers! On Monday we wrote letters to Coach Marshall and the team and mailed them off that afternoon! We are hoping they actually got them! I told my kiddos that I truly thought it was some of their best writing of the year! I created a little freebie with the jerseys! Hoping you might want to use it on MONDAY when the Shockers play for the championship! (fingers crossed!). You can download it here! 

Go Shockers! Go Shockers Go!

2.  I was trying to come up with a fun Easter table decoration that was not going to cost a lot of money! I found this on Pinterest and I LOVE how it turned out! I colored a cup of rice and placed it in a mason jar with a votive candle! I love how HAPPY it looks! I will use it all spring long! 

3. I love CHEVRON! LOVE. I found these gems at Wal-Mart this week! 

4. I am the tournament director for the Kansas Destination Imagination State Tournament, which is on April 13!  My classroom is a disaster! It is filled to the brim with all things DI! I can't wait for the tournament! I love DI! There is nothing better than celebrating problem solving  creativity, and teamwork! I can't wait to blog about the tournament...after I recover! 



5.  My biggest news is that I finally uploaded my first product for sale on TPT and it is a great pice at just $2.00! I am so excited about this product! I hope it is helpful to many people! You can check it out here! 

    

 Make sure you stop by and check out many more bloggers FIVE FOR FRIDAY! 

Happy Weekend Friends! 

 

Calling all Wichita State Fans! Go SHOCKS!

The great state of Kansas was pretty lucky to have THREE teams in March Madness! One team got knocked out right away! My beloved KU Jayhawks were knocked out on Friday night after an UGLY game! I might have cried a few tears! I know some of my students did!  Saturday night Wichita State University played and wow they were AMAZING! The last five minutes were a little nerve wracking, but they did it! WSU is going to the FINAL FOUR!  I am guessing schools across Kansas are going to be supporting the SHOCKERS this week! I created a simple little freebie using the AMAZING Ashley Hughes' clip art to help us all cheer on the SHOCKERS all week long! 

You can download the product for FREE here!  If you don't need this, but know a teacher at a Kansas school please forward it on to them! Thank You! 

Happy Week Friends!