Happy Holidays!

Prayers

My heart goes out to all the families affected by what has happened yesterday.
There are simply no words...

Currently!

Hi!

I am dropping in for a quick December currently. I have neglected my blog so much the last few months! My school schedule is just so hectic and also, with the baby coming, a lot of my free time goes to preparing for the arrival of my little bundle :) So I am linking up with Farley for the last time this year:

1. I've mentionned it before but I love Vampire Diaries! Yes, I am aware that it is a show for teenagers but what can I say, I'm hooked! And please, how can you not swoon at the sight of Damon? (Ian Somerhalder) Seriously. 

2. I love my house when it is all decorated! And my classroom too! It always puts me in a good mood! I've hung a bunch of Christmas lights in my classroom which creates such a warm and inviting ambiance. The kids love it and so do I. I wish I could keep them all year round but I guess that would be a bit extreme.

3. Speaking of Christmas, I am way behind on my shopping. And by way behind what I really mean is I haven't started. At all! Should I be surprised? I am always last minute with my Christmas shopping. Apparently, I work better under pressure! I will try to start this weekend though so that I can be a little more relaxed while shopping and not running all over the place in the mall like a crazy person on the 23rd.

4. I haven't had a single cup of coffee since I found out I was pregnant. I thought I would miss it a lot but I haven't really been craving coffee... at first I tought it was because of my nausea but once it went away... my desire for coffee still wasn't there. So I've discovered the joys of hot chocolate for a nice sweet hot beverage. And mostly, I've discovered the joys of Starbucks' salted caramel hot chocolate. Wow. Heaven on earth. I don't drink it often though. Just like once every 3 weeks. And right now, I wish I had one sitting with me...but I don't...boohoo... :( 

5. I've started baby shopping but wow do we need a lot of stuff! We've got the crib, the crib set (so very cute by the way....!), the stroller (we went with Bumbleride, LOVE!) and a bunch of adorable clothes. We still need so much! I'm scared I'm going to forget to get something and realize it when Sophia/Sofia is here... but hopefully that's not gonna happen because my mom is in the background :)

6. My random act of kindness is something I've been telling myself I should do more and I figured that maybe by writing it down, it would get me to actually do it! I love my grandparents and I do see them often but I want to go and visit them more. They love having company. When my boyfriend and I go, we play games with them and they are over the moon. So I really want to go see them to make them happy and see them smile :)

Well that's it for me folks!

Until next time,

Christmas Writing and a Sale!

Hey everyone!


Before I being my post, I just wanted to share some exciting news! I had my ultrasound last week and I finally know if my baby is a Pheobe or a Pheobo! (Oh how this Friends joke never gets old to me :) So, drumroll please.... it will be a Pheobe!!! We're expecting a little baby girl! I'm so excited! I would've been excited either way but finally knowing makes it so much more real. I really feel like she's already a part of the family. At first we wanted to name her Emma... but we decided to go with an other name because we were hearing Emma a lot, and from some close friends, so we wanted to be a little bit different And also because we fell in love with this other name and it is just so pretty :) We have decided to name her Sophia! or Sofia.... we have yet to choose. I love it! It is so sweet and feminine.

On to teacher stuff!

Now that report cards and parent teacher conferences are over, we can start thinking about Christmas! I know I am! Christmas is in a month and I couldn't be more excited! I love love love Christmas time :) We are doing our Christmas tree this weekend and I plan on decorating my classroom next week. We will be making Teri's adorable elves which I am so excited about! I always go a little overboard on Christmas decorations in my classroom but I just find it brings such joy to our little room :) I have a few small trees and I always have one student bring in a bigger one from home. (There's always someone who has an extra tree they're not using) Then, I put Christmas lights all around the room. When they come in the room in the morning, I only have the Christmas lights on. It is very relaxing and also, in my opinion, magical! And then I complete with someone window decals and various decorations. I can't wait!

I have added a little product to my store too. A Christmas Writing Unit.

Santa's Writer's Workshop includes:

Writing templates for:

-If I Saw Santa Coming Down the Chimney
-The Perfect Gingerbread House
-If I Were an Elf
-My Favorite Christmas Treat
-What I Will do During my Christmas Break
-What I Love Most About Christmas
-If I Were Santa Claus
-A Blank Template (Choose your own title!)
-My Letter to Santa

-Christmas Word Search
-Christmas Words (Students must write down as many Christmas words as they can think of, in 3 minutes!)
-Christmas Sentences (Students use the Christmas words they've found to make Christmas sentences)
-Christmas Tree Decoration (Students must decorate a Christmas tree and then describe it)
-Christmas Writing (Using 3 Christmas words that have been given to them, students must write a Christmas sentence for a total of 3 sentences)

All activities include primary and secondary lines. The writing templates also include a version with longer writing space (but no drawing space) for older kids.

These activities can be used as group activities, for centers, to complete a Christmas unit or even for those kids who are always finished early!

Grab it from my TPT store :)  I hope you like it!!

Also, I am joining a bunch of sellers to offer you a HUGE sale for Cyber Monday... and Tuesday!

Thank you Michelle from the 3am Teacher for the cute graphic!

Head on over to my store Monday and Tuesday and enter your CMT12 code at checkout for a 28% discount!

Well that's it for my today!

For all you Americans out there, enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday!!

Until next time,

Winter Centers!

Hi friends!

A quick post to share with you my newest product: Winter Centers! I know Fall has barely just begun but the recent cold weather has put me in a little winter mood ;)

My new unit includes 13 different activities:

-Winter Synonyms (activity cards, recording sheet and instructions)
-Winter Antonyms (activity cards, recording sheet and instructions)
-Winter Scramble: Students must unscramble winter words (recording sheet, correction key and instructions)
-Winter ABCs: Students must place words in alphabetical order (activity cards, recording sheet and instructions)
-Winter Sorting: Students must place words into 3 different categories -adjectives-nouns-verbs (activity cards, recording sheet and instructions)
-A Snowball of Fun!: Students must make new words with the letters from snowball (recording sheet, letters to use as manipulative and instructions)
-Winter Rhymes (recording sheet and instructions)
-Winter Sentences: Students must unscramble sentences (recording sheet and instructions)
-Winter Sentences Part 2: Students must create sentences inspired by winter images (recording sheet and instructions)
-Winter Word Search
-3 Writing Activities: The Perfect Hot Chocolate, My Favorite Winter Activity and A Very Funky Snowman!

I am really excited about this new unit and I really hope you like it! All activities can be used as centers. 

Grab your copy by clicking here!

Is your first semester over? Mine ended last Friday so hello grading! The next week will be mucho busy as I will be grading, preparing report cards and preparing for teacher parent conferences. At least the next few weeks after that should be a bit more mellow :) 

Until next time,

Want to win a copy of my new Winter Centers? Leave me a comment telling me you follow my blog with your email address and I will choose one lucky winner tomorrow morning.
Congrats both girls! You were the only 2 to comment so I'm sending the pack to you both :)

November Currently!

Hello all!

It's that time of the month again... Currently! I'm a little late to the party.... but I like to believe that I am fashionably late :p

So here it is:

1. I love watching Brides of Beverly Hills. Their brides are so over the top, it's hilarious! And so rich it makes me want to cry :p Pure entertainment. Love it.

2. I went to Bath and Body Works this weekend and was so happy to see tha their Holiday candles are out! YAY!!! I love holiday smells! I loaded up on candles for my house. My personal favorites being Cinnamon Frosting and Sparkling Icicles. I love Christmas like there is no tomorrow and I am so happy November is here because it means I can start getting ready for it! The mall also had their Christmas lights out oustide.... ahhh it just makes me smile :)

3. On a similar topic, this also means Christmas shopping will begin very soon! I love going to the mall and seeing all the decorations and buying tons of presents. It really is the best time of the year! I used to work at the mall and Christmas was my favorite time to work. I miss it! Everyone was just so happy and full of joy! 

4. I really need to go blow dry my hair. I wash my hair on a daily basis because I can not stand to have hair that is not freshly washed. And also because my hair is really thin and so I find they look extremely ugly on day 2. However, this means I'm always washing and blow drying! I'm so fed up! I wish I had ultra thick hair that air dried beautifully. À la Lauren Conrad. Very jealous.

5. I'm almost at 5 months now (4months and almost 3 weeks) and I barely have a bump! I can't wait to have a real pregnant belly! 

6. I almost never play music in my classroom. However, when I get to my ESL part (my second half of the year) we sing a lot, in order to learn vocabulary. One of my favorite songs to sing is Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows. It is super old!! (Youtube it!) But the kids have so much fun singing it! We always have a blast with it!

Well that's it for me folks!

Until next time, 

A Delicious Halloween.... from all over the world! And a giveaway!

Hi everyone!

I am beyond exhausted! And not just because yesterday was every teacher's favorite day (hehe) but also because I teach an intensive grade 6 class and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. Basically, I teach my whole year in 6 months instead of 10. When we get to March break, their school year is over, curriculum-wise. For the last 4 months, I teach English as a Second Language to my kiddos. So math, language arts, science and all other subjects have to be taught before the end of March. That means, we gotta move quickly! I love the challenges it brings me and I really like the whole program, but it is no walk in the park! The students are working really hard and doing very well. I have such a cute group.... and only 22 of them! In grade 6...that's amazing! Especially with an intensive group, a smaller group is great! Report cards are coming up, I'm guessing for many of you as well, so I am trying to crunch in as much testing as possible (without it being too overwhelming for my students) and finalizing projects before next week. Then, I've got mucho grading to do.... I can do it! This year, I had my students portfolios of their progress, so this will be very helpful for my testing. I love portfolios!

Yesterday, we had a blast for Halloween! My students had to do a research on the country of their choice. They had to make a dessert from this country, find a costume to represent their country and do a presentation including their findings from their research. Oh my gosh! I ate desserts like there is no tomorrow! My belly (and my baby) are very much full of sugar! Obviously, as the teacher, I had to taste every single dessert! Students then tasted desserts as well and we had the other classes from our school come and enjoy our little buffet. 

Here are a few pics from this delicious event:

Irish Patato Donuts

Russian cake

Austrian chocolate cake

The students were so cute in their costumes. They worked so hard! Some of them actually handmade their costumes. Very impressive! I loved doing this project! So much fun! 

On an other note, I am participating in Miss V's Busy Bees' amazing giveaway! This one is HUGE! You have a chance to win any item from my store and many... many other prizes! Head on over to her blog to enter!

Woohoo! We made it through Halloween :)

Until next time,

A Halloween FREEBIE and free clipart!

Good afternoon everyone!

I have uploaded a little Halloween freebie for you to TPT. Click on the picture below to download.

It's a set of 5 can-have-are activities with witches, pumpkins, black cats, ghosts and haunted houses. They are fun and easy to add to any Halloween unit you are working on. Such as my Let's Get Spooky one! ;)

If you do grab a copy, I would love to hear what you think :)

Now who doesn't like some FREE clipart? Better yet, free clipart you can use for your products? Can I hear a woot woot!!!?? I found this great clipart website that offers tons of cute cliparts that are all free and that are ok for commercial use. LOVE! Check it out: My Cute Graphics. You'll find awesome graphics such as

and

Aren't they just adorable? I'm just so excited to have found this website, I really wanted to share it with you guys!

That's it for me!

Until next time,

I've been Boo-ed!!!

Good afternoon friends!

Halloween is in 2 weeks and I couldn't be more excited! I feel like a child! (OK so actually I could be more excited as Xmas is my ultimate holiday but I'm still quite excited!) I can't wait to see all the little cuties ring my doorbell and ask for candies. (or just point their pumpkin basket in my direction for the little ones... so cute!) I love to see all the different costumes and seeing loads of kids in the street. And also I can't wait to hit the 50% off candy sales on November 1st... yay! So speaking of Halloween, I have been boo-ed! What a fun linky Tori has created!

If you've been booed, copy and paste the above pic and these ''rules'' into your post.

1. Give a shout out to the blogger who booed you and link back to their site!

2. Share 3-5 October activities, books, products (yours or someone else), or freebie(s) that you love!

3. Share the Boo love with 5 bloggers - make sure you check this link to make sure you don't boo someone again:

http://toristeachertips.blogspot.com/2012/10/ive-been-booed-fun-october-linky.html 

And don't forget to tell them that they have been BOOED!

4. Link up [here] so that others can find you and read about your October ideas! And while you are there... check out other great blogs!

1. I have been booed by the wonderful Katie and Lisen over at Second Grade Smartypants! If you haven't checked them out, you really should! Plus, they are having a great giveaway at the moment :)

2. Here are some of my favorites, for October!

a) Robert Munsch's Boo!

I love all of his books and this one is so much fun to read to the kiddos on Halloween!

b) Hocus Pocus

Ok so maybe not really school related... but I LOVE this Halloween movie! I watch it every year around Halloween and it always makes me laugh. It's really old but to me... it never gets old! :)

c) Let's Get Spooky!

My little Halloween unit! A few fun activities to do with your kids, with a Halloween theme. Grab your copy in my TPT store!

d) My Frankenstein Craftivity

Teri over at A Cupcake for the Teacher made this adorable craftivity. I did it with my kids and they LOVED it! I have a grade 6 group and currently we are in French so I couldn't do the writing part. However, I needed a fun Halloween activity last week because half my group was participating in a cross-country and weren't at school and the others had to stay with me and work! Oh the sadness! So I had to find something that wasn't too workish and I tried this! They were in love with their Frankenstein! So I can just imagine how younger ones will like it! :)

3.  Here are the blogs I am Boo-ing!

- 3rd Grade's A Charm

- Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher

- Coffee, Kids and Compulsive Lists

- Dirty Hands and Lesson Plans

- Herding Kats in Kindergarten

Well there you have it!

I'm off to watch some Revenge and then work on a science project for my kiddos!

Until next time,

Winner and a giveaway!

Hi everyone!

This one will be a quick one!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway! I have a winner for you: Congrats to Viki!!!! Look for an email from me soon!

I also wanted to let you know about an other giveaway I am participating in. Second Grade Smartypants are having a 350 follower giveaway. You have a chance to win many prizes, including your choice of any product from my store! Head on over to their blog to enter!

I'll be back later this week with a little freebie! :)

Until next time,

200 Follower Giveaway!

Hi friends!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! And for my Canada friends, your 3 day weekend! :) yay!

The time has come for my 200 follower giveaway!!! Hooray!!! Thank you to all my followers! I love knowing that people are actually reading me and most of all... I love all of your comments!

Some really sweet bloggers have joined me to offer you some wonderful prizes!

So here is what you have a chance to win:

From Katie and Lisen over at Second Grade Smartypants

Writing Journal for the Year

From Sara over at Miss V's Busy Bees

Any product from her TPT store

From Lori over at Teaching With Love and Laughter

Her Does Your Story Answer These Questions? posters

From Lisa over at Growing Firsties

Her Personal Narrative Unit

And last.... but not least!

From me

Any 2 items from my TPT store

To participate, just use the Rafflecopter below. You will have until next Sunday, October 14th to enter.

I will choose one lucky winner. Good luck!!! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time,

Currently OCTOBER!

Hi everyone!

Yay! It's time for October currently! I am so excited that October is here: I love this month! And from what I've been reading, I am not the only one :) Fall is definitely the best season! So I'm linking up with Farley for my currently:

1. The new season of Revenge has started last Sunday and I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I shall wait no more as tonight is the night I get back into The Hamptons drama! And also later tonight.... The Big Bang Theory.... yay!

2. Temperatures are cooling down and I love it! I can take out all my cute new sweaters and boots! Fun! Fall clothing is so pretty and comfortable. And I love being able to wear a little jacket outside.

3. Grade 6 is fun but it comes with lots of correction! My kiddos have just finished a writing activity that I've got to correct... and some math stuff too! At least I've got some super cute Halloween stickers I'll get to use once I'm through with correcting :)

4. My next ultrasound is on November 15th and I can't wait! We will finally find out if we are having a baby girl or a baby boy. Or like Friends' Pheobe would say: Is it a Pheobe or a Pheobo? Ahhh I miss that show!

5. My house is decoration-less at the moment! I need to get working on my decorations! I love pumpkin carving but for now I'm just going to put them out with no carving and do it later or else they won't last until the big night! :)

6. My favorite Halloween book is Boo! by Robert Munsch. Love all of his books so much!

So there you have it!

Until next time,

Halloween is coming! And a little giveaway too!

And that means I am super happy! I LOVE Halloween! October is just such an amazing month!

Inspired by Teri over at A Cupcake for the Teacher, I've created my very own Halloween countdown! Ok so maybe it's not as cute as hers but I love it! It's such a fun idea! It was quite long to make but worth it! Here is how it turned out:

I've decided that I will draw a student's name each day to be the one to remove the magnet. And the lucky student will also get a special treat! I bought a big bag of delicious Maynard's candies! (which I will for sure probably be stealing from ;)

I also need to get my classroom ready for Halloween. I've got some shopping to do! Do you decorate for Halloween? I don't tend to decorate my house that much... only a few pumpkins here and there. But my classroom however! That's another story! And kids are so so so excited when Halloween comes around I just find it makes them happy to have a Halloween classrom :)

And speaking of Halloween, I have just finished my latest TPT product: Let's Get Spooky!

Let's Get Spooky! is a set of fun Halloween activities to do with your students, during the months of October. The activities can be used in centers or as whole group activities.

Includes:

-Spooky Words (making new words with the letters from Halloween)

-Spooky Scrambling (scrambled words)

-Spooky Sentences (scrambled sentences)

-Spooky Rhymes

-Spooky Nouns and Adjectives (students must place words in full moons, either the nouns moon or the adjectives moon)

-Spooky Alphabet (students must cut Halloween picture cards and place them in alphabetical order)

-3 writing activities: My Favorite Halloween Treat, A Very Spooky Store and My Halloween Costume

-Spooky Word Search

Grab yourself a copy HERE. If you do so, let me know what you think! :)

Want to win a copy? Leave a comment telling me you follow my blog.

 I will choose 2 lucky winners tomorrow during the day!
Congrats to Sara and Lisa R.! I will be emailing you shortly :)