Classroom Shopping Finds

Just got home from shopping. I seriously CAN NOT shop without picking up a few things for my class. Hopefully this will change one day. Take a look at my awesome TJ Maxx find. They had so many different colors of contact paper/self liner. I fell in love with Jennifer's table last spring and decided to cover my cabinets  Look at the beautiful choices.

Tons of black and gray combinations $5.99

Tons of browns $5.99

TONS of choices. Go check out your TJ Maxx store!

Is it bad that now I want to switch to black and white? hehe!

I also found some cute tablecloths at Big Lots. 

I love the yellow to match my room but the orange will be great for our FALL PARTY!

I'll be back tomorrow for a very fun linky party! I plan on hosting it each month with a PRIZE!

Giveaway Game

Yay it's Friday. I'm on day 3 of giveaways. Today's giveaway is to the first three people who comment.  I have a bloggy challenge to complete from The Gypsy Teacher


Pay It Forward The first three people that comment on this post will get a gift from me within the next month. All you have to do is follow the rules below.

1. Within a month, I will create something unique to share with the first 3 people that comment on this specific post.
2. ...but, in order for your present to arrive, you must play along. Spread the love on YOUR own blog promising to send a little something special to the first three that comment on your post.
3. You get 72 hours (that's 3 days) to re-post this SAME post, or I'll have to move on to the next person.
4. PLEASE, only comment if you are willing to pay it forward.

So, if you are interested, comment away! Please include the following in your comment:

Name
Blog address
E-mail address
Something about you to let me get to know you better! Could be your fav color, your fav season, favorite food, how many pets you have, how many kids you have, what you do for a living, anything! PS. You can leave more than one thing ;)
I love this challenge, and am so excited about it! So, I'd love for you to comment and Pay It Forward!! Don't forget to enter the giveaways below
Name Art Giveaway Custom Camera Strap and TPT gift certificate

Giveaway #2

Day 2 of Giveaways

How fun are these personalized name tags? I just love them. I want to use them as station labels. I think they would be precious as my center signs. My friend is seriously talented. Today Doodlebee Designs is giving away a classroom set of these darling name art tags. One winner will win a set of their own custom name tags by Doodlebee Designs. You can do your classroom colors or a variety. I get so many compliments from our name art! :)

Enter below by following the steps on the rafflecopter. Don't forget to check out Doodlebee Designs here.

Don't forget to enter this giveaway from yesterday

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Awesome GIVEAWAY

I was so surprised today when I received a sweet comment from Krista saying my classroom had been chosen for the Schoolgirl Style Classroom Contest. It's always fun entering contest and giveaways. I can't wait to see the other classrooms. My bulletin board is also in 2nd place right here.

Right now I am gearing up for my 800 follower giveaway days. I'll be having tons of goodies the next couple of days. The first giveaway is something I just adore. I don't know if you know this or not but I'm obsessed with anything relating to capturing memories.  I received my first DSLR camera for Christmas and haven't put it down. One of the first accessories I needed was a cute camera strap cover. I love them so much that I even switch mine out depending on my mood. :) Check out these awesome straps from Token of Love.

This giveaway will be for one custom camera strap cover and a $10 gift certificate to TPT.  Please follow the steps on the rafflecopter to enter. Don't forget to keep checking back for more awesome giveaways.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy FALL Y"ALL

This is what this teacher likes to do on a Friday night. I made a new Halloween wreath.  I just love the deco mesh found at Michael's and Hobby Lobby. I always use my 40% off coupon and my teacher discount. I had the witch but added some polka dots! 

I would love to give one away but I need to check on shipping costs. I have been spending tons of money on shipping items :) for my giveaways.

Off to go shopping at TPT. My tpt store will be on SALE today and tomorrow! Most sellers have 20% off today. 

Fall is in the AIR plus WINNERS

I am loving this fall weather. Today I decided the fall decor must go up. These witch legs are super easy to make. In the past, I would use a wooden dowel wrapped with a thick slinky and stuffed with newspaper. Now, I have found the easiest way is to use a foam pool noodle. I purchased two foam noodles and cut them in half.  You will also need to gather four sticks so the legs will be able to stick inside a pot of dirt. The tights are from Wal-Mart and I scored these awesome shoes at Goodwill. 

Total cost : $25

2 pool noodles cut in half (Wal-mart)

2 pairs of striped tights (Wal-mart)

2 pairs of black shoes (Goodwill)

4 sticks

In case you didn't know there are over 20 ways to use these fun noodles. Click here to see these awesome ideas from Design Dazzle.

Samson's Classroom Winner and Pictures!

Congrats to Lisa R. You are the lucky winner of the Samson's account. If you weren't so lucky then check out the AWESOME deal. You will pay $10 for a year subscription. The code is RMN (as in Run Miss Nelson). You are saving $70 by using this promo code.

Loving Samson's Classroom!!!

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days. We watched some short videos on the constitution and  sang the Schoolhouse Rock Constitution Preamble. I even found out that my personality matches that of George Washington. Which founding father is your personality mostly like? You can try it out for yourself right  here.

Get ready for an AWESOME 800 follower giveaway. It's in the WORKS! Thanks for reading and being such wonderful followers.

FYI- My bulletin board is in 2nd place. Thank you very much for the "likes" and "pins" Click here to vote. If you'd like to enter your own bulletin board click here.

Tell me SOMETHING good

My Something Good from school:

My students are really building their stamina. I can't believe we are at 21 minutes of reading to self and writing to self. 

I have switched over to an online gradebook. I LOVE it! No more crunching numbers and averages at the last minute. It tells me the class average and has tons of awesome features. 

My bulletin board is in a contest and is 6th place. Please like it and or pin it if you will!

I received the most beautiful flowers from my room mom and her student to display at OPEN HOUSE.

My Something Good from home:

I have a new baby niece on the way. December 16th can't come soon enough.

I've lost 7 lbs. I am on a new diet which works for me. If you're interested in joining my  check in group (private group on fb)  please let me know. I love this accountability. We will be able to share healthy tips, recipes, and pass along some encouragement. 

Now it's your turn to link up your Something Good!

Open House Freebie and GIVEAWAY

Our Open House is tonight. It seems as though we just started!!! We’ve had just enough time to complete some writing prompts, make a couple class books and get crafty. Open House can be a little hectic and chaotic unless you have a plan. This year I’m continuing my tradition of a little scavenger hunt around our classroom. I even lead the families to other important areas of our school. (Library, gym, art, music, and the lunchroom)

 One little task that I love having the parents complete is viewing the Welcome Back PowerPoint. I also email the powerpoint and link it our website for parents who were unable to attend. This Welcome Back PowerPoint makes it easier to relay my classroom expectations and procedures to the families. It presents parents with classroom expectations, grading policies, home connection, homework, special events, etc. I’m putting it on sale for $2 until Sunday if you’re in the market for a cute powerpoint.

I also love having little treats for the students and parents. Who doesn't love little gifts?

This year I’m really focusing on the student’s attitude and willingness to learn. I’ve been telling my students “You can’t be a smart cookie, with a crummy attitude.” I attached a chocolate chip cookie to this label. It’s a free download along with the apple poem.

free cookie label

free poem label

While at Open House, I make sure all parents are signed up for Remind 101. If you still haven’t checked out this awesome tool, I highly suggest it.The last station is an estimation jar. The families make an educated guess together.  The following day we count the items and I send home a prize to the family that was the closest. 

HELP!!!! GIVEAWAY

I need a little help from my friends.... I just entered my writing bulletin board here into a contest. Please check it out and like/ pin it by clicking on this link. I will repay the favor and share a cute open house FREEBIE tomorrow. Keep reading below for an another awesome giveaway.

 I am so happy to be able to do a giveaway for a year subscription to Samson's Classroom ($80 value).  It's our new favorite site. My students can't get enough and neither can I. And ......if you aren't the lucky winner then you will be so EXCITED because Samson's Classroom has agreed to provide $70 off.The promo code RMN (as in "Run Miss Nelson") will give you $70 off a classroom plan. That's only $10 for a  full access account . I would totally pay even the $80 because it's that good.

click on the above image to check out the video that explains this wonderful site.

• We love all of the portions but my favorite portion for my 2nd graders is the reading passages.  The reading passages are divided up into different levels.  Students are asked to read a passage and answer comprehension questions about their reading.  If a student answers incorrectly, the program is great about highlighting the area of the passage where the answer can be found.  I like this because it forces students to go back and reread to find the correct answer.  I love that they are actually looking back in the passage to make sure their answers are correct because they want to earn "hammer swings"!  If they miss a question they earn less hammer swings. Hammer Swings are just a fun incentive at the end.  

You should try it out for a free demo lesson.

Click here!
To see the overview click here
You can't beat $10.  To enter follow the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Great Technology FIND

Hope everyone is getting into routines.  We are at 20 minutes of read to self and 15 minutes of work on writing. 

 I love online subscriptions as well as free sites, the only problem is all of the different usernames and passwords. I try to only introduce the really great ones. I do not want to overwhelm the kids or the parents so I waited to introduce this new site and boy I shouldn't have waited so long.

 Here are some we use.
Ticket to Read
Spelling City (premium)
TumbleBooks
Scootpad


Xtramath.org
IXL math
Successmaker
Coolmath games.

Today I'm going to tell you about a new one to me. It's called Samson's Classroom. I was lucky enough to win a year subscription but don't worry I've seen great deals all over. I will ask and see if Samson's Classroom could do another deal for my awesome readers or maybe even a giveaway.

Samson's Classroom

The kids absolutely LOVE it. It has three parts. 

We played it on the smartboard and they were highly engaged the entire time. I like how you can use their words or you can add your own spelling words.  I love how there are 3 different games for the spelling words. When a child enters the wrong answer, the program is formatted to give the child extra support. 

My favorite portion is the reading passages.  It would work great towards the end of first grade. My second graders are loving this portion. The reading passages are divided up into different levels.  Students are asked to read a passage and answer comprehension questions about their reading.  If a student answers incorrectly, the program is great about highlighting the area of the passage where the answer can be found.  I like this because it forces students to go back and reread to find the correct answer.  I love that they are actually looking back in the passage to make sure their answers are correct because they want to earn "hammer swings"!  If they miss a question they earn less hammer swings. Hammer Swings are just a fun incentive at the end.  

You should try it out for a free demo lesson.

Click here!


come link up

Bulletin Boards and WINNERS

I'm linking up with TBA for their Open House Week and Blog Hopping for their Birthday Display Link up. Today is Bulletin Boards. I snapped some pictures around school to share with you and added some from last year. I'm also entering a contest at the blog Bulletin Board Ideas

Come link up!

My Birthday Board- Orginal idea from Erica Bohrer!

The students love looking at the pictures.