SALE!

Oh how I love a good TPT sale!

Just in time for my return to work, TPT and a whole bunch of awesome sellers are throwing a great sale this Thursday and Friday!

Get up to 28% off!

My whole store will be 20% off and if you use code TPT3, you get an additional 10% off. 

Here is a look at what you might want to get your hands on :

March Word Work

Prepare for St-Patrick's Day with Shamrocks and Leprechauns!

In need of new centers? Maybe purchasing these Spring Literacy Centers will make the cold and the snow go away? Ha! If not, I'm sure they'll put a smile on your kiddos' faces :)

Spring Centers Math Edition

And it's never too early to plan ahead right? You can stock up on come literacy centers for April with my We heart the Earth Literacy Center Activities!

I'll be sure to stock up on some clipart and fun activities for my return! I'm thinking Easter craftivities!!

Enjoy the sale!
Shop HERE :)

Until next time,

purchases and my latest word work

It's Friday!

This means one more week has gone by and there are only 2 weeks left until I go back to work.

Eeek!

Double Eeek!!

I went shopping for some new supplies yesterday and my boyfriend was patient enough to follow me around Target and be my official cart filler.

I ended up not spending all that much which is pretty unheard of for any teacher in a Target. Ha!

This just means I'll have to go back soon because I don't feel like I got enough... but that's neither here nor there!

Here's a look at what I picked up:

-A pack of sticky letters. some jewel stickers and some Mr. Sketch markers. 

I will probably use the letters for bulletin board titles. The jewels are for my clip chart behavior system (visit A Cupcake for the Teacher to see how I plan on using these) and I wanted the Mr. Markers because I like them better than big Sharpies when it comes to writing on chart tablets or posters.

-A big back of stickers which I will most probably use as rewards. These were $1.50!

-A desk calendar. Can you believe I've never used one of these?? After seeing many colleagues and bloggers use them, I figured I might as well give it a try! I like that I will be able to see my month at a glance. I also love that I will spend a whole lotta time decorating it!

-A notebook. Isn't it pretty? I fell in love with this notebook and a teacher can never have too many so I just got it.

-Would you look at these gorgeous lanterns? Oh my word! They have stripes and polka dots!! I've been wanting some paper lanterns for a while and these are just perfect! I can not wait to hang these.

-I also got some little stools from IKEA which I scored for $5. If you follow me on Instagram (@misselementaryblog) then you've already seen them. (and if you're not following me then come find me! :) They were cheaper since they'd been used before but they are in perfect condition. Fine by me! I'm thinking these will be perfect for my reading corner.

I also purchased a Caramel Macchiato while at Target but I'm sure this doesn't count as teacher supplies... or does it? ;)

In other news, I've just upload my newest pack to TPT:

March Word Work

This pack is a set of 15 printables with a fun MARCH theme!

Use them for early finishers, centers, group work, sub planning, morning work.... they pretty much serve any purpose!

Pick up your copy HERE!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Until next time,

Busy busy days!

I had major plans of making today Lamino City Day.

You know, the day when you become a citizen of laminating city and go crazy and print, print, print and then laminate away followed by many hours of cutting your finished products.

I was fully prepared.

I went to Costco a few days ago to fill up my ink cartridges and had some left over laminating pouches. I woke up all excited today (please tell me I'm not the only one who gets beyond excited to laminate stuff?? Thanks.) only to print my first sheet and see this come out of the printer:

Uh?! Where's the rest of the ink?! And what's up with that blue smear?

So apparently my cartridges are not properly filled? Am I missing something here?

I now have to go back to Costco tomorrow to fix this whole situation.

Needless to say I was bummed :(

I'm going back to work in last than 3 weeks (say what?!) which means I have no time to waste!!

Anyways.

My printing and laminating of Hope King's Classroom Decor will just have to wait...

Since I couldn't go to Lamino City, I decided to work on something else. I will be meeting my kiddos next Friday for the first time, right before their Spring Break. Just to break the ice before I'm their real teacher the week after that! I'm going to spend an entire period with them and I was trying to come up with a fun little activity I could do with them. I finally decided to do a little mystery box type of thing. I used to do mystery boxes a lot when I taught English as a Second Language and it was always a lot of fun. Inside, I'll be putting an object that describes me (which has yet to be determined...) and students will have to guess what the object is.

Here's what my box looks like:

I used an old Christmas box and covered it with construction paper and tape. It's nothing too fancy but I still like the way it looks. It's not completely finished but I wanted to share :) I also want to prepare a little handout to go with it.... I think.... anyways we'll see!

I figured I could use the box in my teaching in the future so it was a win-win!

Hopefully we have a whole lotta fun with this activity and it will make all of our jitters go away! Because yes, major jitters over here about going back to work in the middle of the school year!

My teaching contracts have always started in August so I've never known what it was like to be the second teacher. But I'm really positive so that must count for something right? ;)

That's it for me today!

I've got a baby (who's looking more like a toddler these days....YIKES! Please stay little forever for a little while longer....) who needs to eat supper, The Bachelor to watch, lesson planning to do, a dinner to eat, hair to be washed.... holly molly! 

And because you've only seen pictures of Sophia as a newborn, I felt like it was time to share a more recent one :)

Oh yes! Before I forget, you can now follow me on Instagram (@misselementaryblog)! See you there!

Until next time,

A small DIY and recent purchases

Good evening everyone!

I thought I'd share some of my recent school purchases and a fun little DIY!

First, let's look at the DIY. Inspired by A Cupcake for the Teacher (because no, I did not come up with this idea), I decided to make my clothespins look pretty. I had a huge bag left over from when I used this classroom management system and they were just sitting in an ugly bag in my basement. I came across Teri's idea and decided to give it a go! I used some tape I had from a few years ago which therefore cost me nada. Now that's my kind of crafting!

I'm going to use these to hang student work and also glue some magnets on the back of some of them to use on my chalkboard.

Here are my new clothespins! They now look super cute (although they are still in that ugly bag ;)

I'm pretty happy about how these turned out and I can't wait to use them!

Next, I recently found a few goodies in the Dollar Spot at Target. Can I just take a moment to say how happy I am that we finally have Targets in Canada?! Amen.

I got two packs of erasers and some puffy heart stickers that I plan on using for my new reward system.  I also picked up a cute Valentine mailbox which I'm not sure what I will use for just yet. But I'm sure I'll find something! It was just too cute not to get. Plus, for a dollar, you can't go wrong.

Next, I got some classroom goodies for my new theme. I love me a fun classroom theme and I've done one every year. I'm cheesy like that. I've done frogs, birds, owls (twice) and now I'm moving on to Moose and Friends!

At the very top, those are tattoos! I might use them for my reward system or maybe as part of a gift... we'll see! I also purchased (not shown here) a bulletin board set and some borders to complete the theme.

Finally, I bought a bunch of stickers (but for some reason can only find these two sets... I guess the others are already packed in some boxes for my return in a few weeks...) and some library pockets. Last year, I used similar pockets to display my classroom jobs. I don't plan on doing the same with these... I'm not sure what they will be for!

How cute are those zoo stickers! 

This past week has been spent reading many first grade blogs in order to get my creative juices flowing. I must say that I've been particularly smitten with The Inspired Apple though. I've been going through all of her archives and I'm so beyond amazed at all of her ideas! I can not get enough of them! Please, please, please, if you haven't already, do yourself a favor and go through Abby's archives. You will thank me. And so will your kiddos!

That's all for me tonight!

Tomorrow is Friday! I hope you all a great evening and a great last day of the week.

Until next time,

Planning and February things

Valentine's Day is almost here, which means it's almost mid-February, which means time is flying by!

I can not believe my maternity leave is almost over and that I'm going back to work in less than a month. 

I am beyond excited to start a new journey! 

The First Grade Journey!

I've currently been in full on planning mode for my return.

I've been looking at some Teacher Planners on TPT to purchase for the four months I will be working until summer vacation. 

I usually buy one in August, from a colleague, but they are all sold out at this point so I figured I'd look through some TPT store to find one that I might like.

I found a few but haven't made my final choice yet.

Here are some of my favorites:

My Teacher Planner

By Darlin' Little Learners

I really love the fonts she used and the simplicity of it all, which seems like it would be a breeze to use!

A Teacher's Plan Book

By The Teacher Wife

This one is beyond complete and has a nice simple look to it. I love how everything is black and white inside which is the color I'm going to be printing it.

Teacher Planner and Organizer

By Tanya Rae Designs

The chalkboard look is what originally made me want this planner. The cover page is super cute! But it's what's inside that's so awesome. This planner is huge! However, I'm still debating if I need such a big planner for such a short period of time. I know I won't be printing the entire planner but still. 

My Teacher Planner

By Leanne Prince

The inside of this planner reminds me of an Erin Condren planner. It looks really cute and easy to use. I love the notes section.

I have to make a decision soon because I need to print this planner and start filling it out!

Have you ever purchased a planner on TPT?

Do you have any suggestions?

In other news, if you haven't already, you can take a little look at my most recent TPT product:

February Word Work

This set is great for morning work, group work, centers, sub days or early finishers.

They are really easy to use: simply print and go!

Also, if you are looking for a last minute idea for Valentine's Day on Friday, you can take a look at my Sweet Valentine Literacy Centers.

I hope you all have a great Valentine week!!

Until next time,