ETA Hand2Mind

You Can Count on Rekenreks

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Award




I've been nominated for a Liebster again!  Cool.  This time from Second is the Best.  Check out her site here:

My Photo

So here is how it works... to accept the nomination I must:
1. Link back to the blog that nominated me (see above!)
2. Nominate 5-11 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator
4. Share 11 random facts about yourself
5. Create 11 questions for your nominees
6. Contact your nominees and let them know you nominated them


I nominate the following blogs:
First Grade and Flip Flops

24/7 Teacher: Amy Harrod

Tales of Teaching in Heels

First Grade Follies

Koonce's Korner

11 questions from my nominator:
1. What is your favorite holiday?  
Christmas- then a very close 2nd is Halloween

2. What is your school year bedtime?
9 p.m. is when I want to go to sleep, but it ends up about 10

3. What is your favorite thing to teach/make resources for/plan lessons about in the classroom?
READING!!!

4. Where is the best place you've ever traveled or lived?
NM is my favorite place to live, but I had a great time exploring Scotland.  I also love the beaches of CA but never get there....it's been 10 or so years since we've gone.  Suppose we are due!

5. Favorite restaurant?
Thai Vegan, I'm a vegetarian and that place has an entire menu full of deliciousness that I can order!  Most of the time we have a select few items to choose from, not a whole menu.
I also love Flying Star and Chipotle, good stuff!

6. What is your best advice for starting the new school year off right with a new class?
Take the time to get to know your little people!  

7. What is your favorite place to shop for teaching/classroom goodies?
Online-TpT and Really Good Stuff

8. What is your favorite read aloud?
Ha, that's an impossible question!  Too many to list, but I love, love, love Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good Very Bad Day and any Skippy Jon Jones.  

9. What is your least favorite household chore?
Dishes and laundry, never ends!

10. Favorite adult beverage? 
I don't drink alcohol, but I sure love coffee!!!  My favorite Starbucks drink is a Caramel Machiatto with soy.  Yumm! 

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Sea-foam green Mini-van, yup, that's right! 


11 Random Facts:
1.  I love Disney!  We go to Disney World every 2yrs or so.  We LOVE the resorts too.
2.  I am totally into the movie scene.  We have soooo many movies that are made near our home.  I actually had to turn down an extras position for the currently filming, Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman movie, Transcendence.  I had something I was already doing and couldn't cancel.  My older daughter got called in too, she waited on set for 5 long 10hr days and never made it on film!!!!  She made a good time of it though.  What a great learning experience it was!  We also were allowed to go on a tour of the set.  That was super cool.  
3.  I have a puppy this summer and he is CRAZY!  Chews everything...especially paper.  I am very nervous about this school year.  I don't want to have to tell the class "My puppy ate your homework after I graded it!  Really!!!"  
4.  We like to travel a lot.  This past Christmas we went to the UK.  I got my first passport ever, very cool for me.
5.  I love Thirty-One stuff.  My dearest friend sells it.  I have her site attached to my blog, just look on the right side of this page.  She got called into the movie Transcendence too- but did get on film, lucky ducky!  
6.  I will be celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary with my hubby in a couple weeks.  Wow, time flies!  I've actually been dating/engaged/married to him for a total of 19 years.
7.  I love the colors green and turquoise.
8.  I love to go to the beach.  I grew up in MD and would go to Ocean City most summers.  I miss the beach now that we live in the high desert of NM.  No awesome beaches here.  :(
9.  I love The Wizard of Oz, favorite movie.  I have watched it 100's of times.  I lost count after awhile.  
10.  I love to dance.  I have been dancing since I was a kid, but I'm not super great or anything.  Just enjoy how it makes my heart happy!  My favorite style is jazz but I also like to do pointe...although I haven't for a year and a half.  I would love to get back into pre-pointe.  
11.  Summer is my favorite time of year because I can spend sooo much time with my 2 beautiful girls.  I am sad that our time is coming to an end soon.  I will totally go through daughter withdraw when school starts.

11 questions for my nominees:
1.  What is your favorite time of year?
2.  What do you like to do in your spare (ha!) time?
3.  How many years have you been an educator?
4.  What was your favorite teaching year and why?
5.  What is your favorite food or restaurant?
6.  How do you like to start your school year?
7.  What would you be doing if you weren't teaching?
8.  Where is your favorite place to visit?
9.  What is your favorite movie?
10.  How long have you been blogging and why did you start?
11.  What theme did you pick to use in your room this year and why?

Phew, well that took a long time!  Thanks for the nomination and have a great weekend.
Amy

Friday, July 19, 2013

Fun Store

I finally made it to the fun new store Teacher Heaven that opened this summer, here in ABQ.

Here's what I bought....


I tried really hard not to get a lot.  I think I did ok.  I really like the poster with damask and pearls.  Unsure what I will use it for yet (I know- than I shouldn't have gotten it) but I knew I could figure out something!

I got the dustpan at Target- cheaper there.

Amy

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

New Teacher Manual Freebie

There is always someone new at a school.  There is flow and movement to our teacher jobs.  With this in mind, I decided to make a new teacher manual for any new teachers that may come to first grade at our school.  First grade is such a detail oriented grade and has so much curriculum, that I felt it would be nice to have a manual to explain everything.  Then after reading the manual, there will probably be many questions, but at least the main ideas of the year would be there in "black and white" to read and reread as necessary.  It might help with outlining the year for the new teacher as well.  I decided that the ridiculously detailed pages I have busted my butt on will be for our school's new teachers only (as it is so incredibly detailed for our school) BUT the outline pages/separator pages, I am happy to share.
If you wish to download it, just click on the link below and it will take you to my TpT store where you may have it for free!  Yay, free.  I love free stuff, don't you!
Unsure why the pic got squashy when I uploaded the jpeg of the front cover, but don't worry, it's not squashy for the download.
Funny/sad side note:  I was so "out of the swing" for uploading things to TpT that I had to redo it 3 times as I found problems several times!  Ugh, well it's a good reminder I suppose.
Enjoy!

 

Monday, July 1, 2013

BlogLovin

I am moving over to BlogLovin' officially. See you there!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Amy

MMI #1

It is my first official Monday Made It.  I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolics, click the button below to join in on the craftyness.


Sooo, this is actually not necessarily a school thing, but it could be!  It could be a message board for you to attach cute reminder notes to yourself on.  I made this framed fabric bow or photo holder for my daughter.  I am making another one for my other daughter as well, but ran out of the right ribbon....so I am showing the different stages using the 2 different boards.

I used a hot glue gun to attack the fabric to the cardboard.
I measured 2 inch widths so I knew where to put the ribbon.
I used hot glue to attach the ribbon.
I placed the board into the frame and wallah!




Happy Crafting!
Amy

And the winner is...

My giveaway has been completed!  The winner is Doreen Van Cott Bednarski. 

Congratulations Doreen!  Please email me at chevalier.amy@gmail.com with your 3 choices of what you would like to have from my TpT store found HERE.

I will send you an email with a link to the 3 choices so you may download them for free.

Yay!!!  Giveaways are fun.

Have a happy Monday everyone!
Amy