SnoThankful!

Snothankful in Georgia!! We are so very thankful for the awesome leadership in the Coweta County School System. Our school system is located south west of Atlanta! We are snothankful that we have been home safe and sound with our families since yesterday.

Monday, weather reports predicted snowfall with possible accumulation on Tuesday! Our county leaders announced for staff to report to school, but no kids. Our fabulous school system LEADERS then sent us home yesterday before noon.

Snow fell and fell and fell!! While it was super beautiful and easy to enjoy for those of us in our homes, for the rest of the area it was anything but great!!! It was a NIGHTMARE!!

There have been reports of students/teachers stranded in schools, buses having to return to school because of road conditions, and parents who have walked several miles to just make sure their baby was safe at the school!

We have also seen reports of so many of our friends and loved ones stranded in that mess in Atlanta, Georgia!! We have been on pins and needles praying for every one's safe arrival home!

We are snothankful for all of the awesome acts of kindness by first responders and people in the Atlanta area who just tried to help in anyway that they could!

We are snothankful for all of those families that have been finally reunited!!

Sending prayers to all of those who are still stranded and trying to get to their destination!!

Have a great week!
We have 1 more snow day tomorrow in order for road conditions to improve. Hoping to go to school on Friday! Keep your fingers crossed!

100th Day Photo Booth...Waaay Fun!

So---stinkin'---AH-DOH-RAH-BLE! Our kiddos were just CRAZY cute. We asked our families to send their cuties to school dressed like they were 100 years old.  Many of them did, but we did have a few 5 and 6 year olds show up! We didn't want them to be left out!  So here's how we ran our PHOTO BOOTH for optimum success!

Option 1:  If your kiddos DO NOT dress up, we had a whole table full of Photo Booth props that we created, printed, and hot glued to sticks.  We spread these out on a table and they could choose what they wanted.

You can snag these super cute props in our 100th Day Pack!

Option 2:  Page's awesome assistant, Natalie, is like a walking vintage store owner.  That woman has EVERYthing you can imagine stored in her attic, cabinets, under the beds...you name it.  She never turns down an awesome yard sale or thrift store find.  I am telling you...she's a walking treasure chest.  She had tons of vintage hats, ties, aprons, necklaces, and more.  We put ALL of that on another table and let the kiddos go wild.  This is so much fun...IF you have access to all these goodies!

Option 3:  But let's be honest, most of us don't have a "Natalie" around (at least I didn't before I met her!) so we don't have all those goodies just lying around.  If you have a hat here, maybe a necklace or 2 that your grandma will loan you there, and a couple of other snazzy pieces in your drawers, you can MIX Option 1 and Option 2!

One final note on the set-up!  We have a spare room at school so this was our base camp!  We had 3 tables...1 for paper photo booth props, 1 for "menswear", and the last one for "women's wear".  We had an awesome piece of glittery silver lamé (flashback to my high school prom dress from the late 80's...gold lamé, baby!) fabric that we hung from the wall.  We wrote "It's Time To Party!" and "I Am a 100 Day Smarty!" on black paper and hung it on the fabric.  (We snagged this SUPER idea from First Grade Frenzy!)

We bought a cheap picture from Goodwill and I popped out the glass and print.  Then we let the kiddos hold the gold frame to pose.  Waaaay cute!  We also took 3-4 kiddos down at a time to have some Photo Booth FUN!  I think it made it more special giving them lots of choices and time to have FUN and try different things out.

Whatever the resources you have, we think this was a REALLY FUN way to celebrate such a HUGE milestone for our K kiddos....and we think yours will LOVE it too!  Happy 100th Day!

Smooth Sailing-100 Day Success

(Singing to the tune of Happy Birthday)
Happy 100 Days to us!! Happy 100 Days to us!!

Well that's what we thought anyway when we celebrated all day yesterday! Too bad it seems the rest of the county celebrated the day before!! Ooops!

Surely no one even noticed, right??

Well 100th day or not, it was AWESOME! We think it was the smoothest running, most productive 100th day we have had in well....

18 years!!!

Seriously!! What did we do differently??

Each kiddo had a 100 Day station card with 10 stations!

Each station was worth 10 points so when they finished, all there work added up to 100 points!!

We made a flipchart with pictures from previous years to show students instructions for many of the stations.
The kiddos worked with a partner and went at their own pace.

We had manipulatives/materials out all over the room with designated areas for certain 100 Day projects.

We had lots of extra activities that kiddos could do if they finished early!

If you need this station card, just click and grab!

For each station with an **, there is a work page in our 100th  Day Galore pack. However, each of those activities can also be done without the pack by simply using classroom writing paper or manipulatives.

Hope you have a great week!!! Happy 100th Day!!

Dream BIG!

WOW!  It's amazing how big our little's hearts can be.  We have spent the last several days learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and what he stood for.  It's been very touching watching our babies realize that people can be cruel and heartless, where others can stand up for what is good and right.

I honestly think some of them can not even grasp how others could have EVER felt that segregation was right.  I think they maybe got their hearts broken a little bit over the thought they may never have been able to have some of their bestest friends if it weren't for people like Dr. King.  It's been quite touching to watch.

We wrapped up our study of Dr. King by writing about their own dreams.  What kind of world did they want to live in?  What change did they want to see that would make a difference?

As you might expect...some of them quite deep and meaningful, others "out of the mouths of babes"!

Serious ones...

"I dream that people would not fight and they would learn to love each other."
"I dream that people would not steal stuff.  There would be no robbers."
"I dream that people won't litter.  They need to make our Earth beautiful."

"Out of the mouths of babes" ones...

"I dream that little babies would quit hitting people all the time."  (This cutie just brought a new addition home from the hospital a while back, and she is NOT loving the baby arms swatting and flailing!)

We have to give a shout out to Kooky Kindergarten for this ADORABLE craft.  There are simple directions to follow, they ALL turn out adorable and unique, and they make for a great hall display!

The "I Have a Dream" page is from our Martin Luther King, Jr. : Peace, Love, and Dreams pack!

We hope you found some meaningful ways to teach your littles about this very important American hero too.  Please share your creative ideas with us.  We love to change things up from year to year!

Peace, Love, and DREAM big!

99th Day of School

Hi Friends! We hope everyone had an awesome, restful day celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Woohoo!! Tomorrow is the 99th Day of School!!! We are getting so excited about the 100th Day of School!

Cristy is always so awesome at having her kiddos bring in 100 objects. Then they describe their items in writing and out loud and count them out again on the 100th day.

Well, I am never so good at that! My kiddos bring in 100 objects. Then they just sit in a bucket waiting to be shared. It takes all week for my kiddos to get a turn, if I even get to all of them.

So this year I had my kiddos create something with 100 things at home and take a digital picture. Now on the 100th day they can give their friends clues about their project with 100 objects and they won't have to recount or write about their collection. We have so many activities planned that we had to give something up!!

Check out this super awesome 100 day project!! We are super impressed! This is Alex's project and his Dad said we could share his picture on our blog!!

Awesome JOB, Alex!! We ARE the Arbor Springs GATORS!!

We can't wait to see what everyone else emails!!
Hope you have or had an awesome 100th day!

1/2 price TODAY Only!- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Peace, Love, and Dreams: For Young Kiddos

Happy Friday Friends!!! Hope everyone has an awesome Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday!!

We have been super busy with our kiddos at school and our kiddos at home! It seems every time we turn around it is another busy part of the year! When does time ever slow down???

So, we just finished up with what we think is a super unit to help our kiddos learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In this unit we included a read aloud, emergent readers, lift the flap books, a notes taking page, a board game, and several writing opportunities for students to connect what they learn to their own lives.

If you are in need of something, check it out. Today Only! You can get our Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unit for 1/2 price!!  Just $2!

Enjoy your long weekend!!!! Let us know what you think! Thanks a bunch!!

Interactive Sight Word Flap Book, Reader, and More! Part 1

We have just finished posting a FREEBIE that we hope you will love as much as we do!

This first pack is for the sight word COME!  Our littles are having SUCH a hard time remembering this word for some reason.  And I swear, this word is in EVERY stinkin' book that we use to test them on fluency and comprehension.  And if they don't know it....boom!!!  It doesn't matter how well they do on everything else...this one word kills them.

So we were really thinking of ways we can spend more time on a sight word to really help it STICK.  But you know our littles...it's got to keep their attention, be engaging, and FUN!

So we came up with 3 activities that really give the kiddos time to explore the new word and to manipulative it in a TON of ways.  We think these activities are fun and they keep the kiddos focused.

Here's the first activity we included... Sight Word Flap Books

Click either image to grab the pack for FREE in our TpT store!

Each flap book is copied front to back.  Students cut along the dashed lines and they are able to lift the flaps for some sight word FUN!  You can see by the examples exactly what the kiddos will be doing.  Each flap book works on several standards such as handwriting, word identification, reading, tracking left to right, writing, and more.

We are thinking that we will create individual packs for each sight word.  Then if your kiddos are having a hard time with any particular word, you can get the pack that works on that word.

If these work well for folks, we will bundle ALL of the sets and sell the set at a BIG discount.

Please tell us what you think of this pack. Can you see it working for your kiddos?  Is there a standard/skill you would like to see included?  We would LOVE any feedback you can give us!

We hope you enjoy the freebie!  We'll post about the other 2 parts over the next couple of days!

Happy New Year!

After our 2 "cold" days off, we FINALLY headed back to school.  THANK GOODNESS!  I love a break and all, but I was slap going crazy!  You can only be cooped up in a house for so long before you LOSE it!  Plus, I am pretty sure my "uniform" needed a break!  My poor jammies are just about threadbare from my 2 week stint! ;)

So to kick off the new year, I needed a new craft or writing goodie to get me motivated.  We found the BEST writing paper from Lori over at Teaching with Love!  It divided up goals into home, school, and community.  This helped the kiddos think about how they can improve their lives in 3 important places.  I love how thoughtful it made them.    Check out these adorable pieces!

Translation:  "Clean up in my home." - "I will try to keep stuff organized."  (Has then kiddo been spying on me!!!  It's like she's reading my mind!) - and finally "Sell stuff in my neighborhood!"

Translation:  "I want to try to be good." - "I want to try to get all greens."  (that's Class Dojo points she's talking about) - and "I want to try to not argue with friends."

Then our kiddos made some super cute SELFIES to hang with their writing in the hall.  We like to "let them loose" and see what they come up with.  The cutie on the left used markers and cut paper.  The cutie on the right used our "bingo dabbers" and made flowers on her hat and a "necklace" of sorts.  She even added her own party horn!  

The hall display turned out really cute, but I totally forgot to take a picture of it!  I'll try and remember Monday and add it on here!  UPDATE:  Here it is in all it's glory!  (PS - My I-Phone 3 stinks!  I SO NEED to upgrade so I can take better pics. on the fly!)

So if you still want to set some goals with your kiddos, check out Lori's FREE New Year's Writing!

Happy New Year!!!

100 Years Old...for REAL!

So it's almost time for our 100th day!  We have about 2 weeks before it gets here.  We always dress up for our 100th day of school as do the kiddos.  This is probably one of my most favorite things because we work them all day (fun, but meaningful) and the whole dressing up thing makes all that work seem like a BIG OLD play day!

I thought I would take a minute to rewind and flashback to last year's 100th day and a cute kid photo of my REAL LIFE kiddo and what this old gal looked like on the 100th day!

That's Mappin with me.  I'm in my Momo's dress!

My own 100 year old cutie!  I must say...he's aging so well! ;)

And here is my REAL Momo!  We just celebrated her 100th birthday!

So here's hoping you all have an awesome 100th day!

  "Live Long and Prosper"!

We'll check back in with some FUN 100th day photos and activities after our 100th day!

"Robbed, I Tell You!" and a FREEBIE!

Seriously?  I woke up.  Tiptoed into my bathroom ready to peek out the window and see the glorious white fluff and squeal with unashamed delight...only to find ---NADA!  Grass...people.  That was all that was staring back at me!  So---stinkin'---sad!

But alas, I pulled up my big girl panties (which seemed to have shrunk over the Christmas break????) and remembered to be thankful for my 2 "COLD" days off...as Katie put it! ;)

Maybe my joyous snow will come later.  I REFUSE to give up!!!  (PS - Did I mention it DID snow in Indiana???? Argggh!)

At least it gave me some more jammie time and work time too.

We have had a TON of requests for us to finish making our monthly themed NUT ALLERGY signs.  We had 3 SEVERELY allergic kiddos last year.  I mean like "dive across the room, putting all bodily harm aside, swat the dangerous nut outta their reach" kinda allergies.  SCARY!

We made the monthly signs a bit humorous to catch the attention of parents and guests coming in our room.  It looks like it must have helped you guys too!

So here they are...August through May.  We also updated the first few months because---well---we just didn't think they were all that cute anymore! ;)

Click on either image to head to our store to grab them!

We hope you enjoy!

PS - The winner of the PICK YOUR PRODUCT quickie giveaway is LEEANN HALL!  Email us Leeann or leave a comment with your email and let us know which product you would like!

SNOW DAYS and a "Pick Your Product" Giveaway!

Okay...so it's Georgia, right?  We don't get snow.  Like---never.  Ever!  Well---not very often anyway.  My sister moved to Indiana and I swear she gets the BEST snow every year.  White, soft, fluffy snow!  Beautiful. And it usually only stays a couple of days and life is back to normal.   Now...that's the perfect snow!

My sisters kinda snowballs!  BAM!  That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!  I am soooooo jealous!!!

Well---Northern friends who tire of the snow...please do not beat me!  We---actually---have---a---REAL---possibility---for---SNNNNOOOOWWWW!  And I'm little kid kinda excited!

Now I don't know how much snow we are talking here, but it was enough of a threat that our school system cancelled school for the NEXT 2 DAYS!!!  People...we are talking that our system normally "waits until 36 seconds before I have to leave my house to make it to work on time before they normally cancel" kinda thing!

So we (the kiddos and myself...hubs is still resistant!) are so STINKIN' excited that we may actually get some of the fluffy stuff!

In any case, that means 2 more days off before returning to school.  More snuggle time, family time, reading time, more Candy Crush time (telling on myself with my addiction...curse you level 165 and your 99 blue candy order!), and dare I say it...more time to finish up some products and work on tidying up the store.

So to celebrate the days off...how about we have a little GIVEAWAY!  

Leave a comment below and we'll choose a random winner.  The prize...ANY product from our store for $10 or less!  

Happy "crossing my fingers we get some snow" day!!! :)

100th Day Galore: Photo Booth, Games, and More! 50% off TODAY only!

Where the heck did the time go?  I promise we meant to blog over our break...but dang it...I blame it on my jammies!  It's been so nice to step away for a bit, snuggle with my peeps, spend time with family and friends, and just soak in the amazing gift of Christ's birth.

But...back we are...finally!

We have been working on our latest pack to help celebrate the 100th Day in a FUN yet meaningful way! With so many standards to teach---there really is no time for FUN without purpose!!!

So...we created a 100th Day pack filled with FUN photo booth props, tons of games, writing activities, and more that are ALL standards based!  No wasted time here, but still a very GOOD time to be had by all!

It's 50% off for TODAY only and you can snag it for just $2.50!  Now---that's a steal!

Click on any image to head to our TPT store!

We promise to get back on the BLOGGIN' bandwagon and check in more often.

We hope you each had a very blessed Christmas, and we wish many good things for you in 2014!

Happy New Year!