I won my first award!!

Wowzers!  I can't believe this!  I've been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award. :)

Many, many thanks to Andi over at Pencils, Glue, & Tying Shoes for thinking of me!

I've seen lots of posts lately about different types of blogging awards, but I never would have dreamed that I would receive one! :)

Now, on to the rules of the award:
{1} Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
Thanks again, Andi!  Make sure to visit her blog!!!
{2} Share 7 things about yourself.
1 - I love to read.  I always read a ton of books during the summer, but when school starts I feel like I just don't have the time.  I'm hoping to make this year different.  My parents recently gave me a copy of Betty White's If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) for my birthday.   Love Betty White!  So, I'm hoping to get some reading in during my "free time".  Haha! 
2 - I just started a cake decorating class last week.  We learned some of the basics and decorated some cookies.  This week we have to bake, ice, and decorate a small cake!  I'm a little nervous.
3 -  I'm slowly, but surely trying to get back into the habit of eating healthy.  It sure is hard, though!  Especially when the hubs brings home two dozen donuts he bought to support a fundraiser.
4 - I am LOVING my Smartboard.  We've been in school for 5 weeks and have had so much fun using it.  Every time I say, "Go to the carpet and face the Smartboard." they all give a little cheer.  Too cute. 
5 - I'm a neat freak.  I love having everything organized and neatly in its place. :)  
6 - I am super excited for fall.  Seriously, I am loving the temps that are now in the 80's.  After two months of 100+, it's a sweet relief.  Can't wait for cool weather, jackets, and Halloween!
7 - I love teen movies from the 80's!  Haha!  The hubs and I just watched Revenge of the Nerds for the first time.  Some of my favorites include Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and Can't Buy Me Love.

{3} Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.
(1) Mrs. McHaffie at Beg Borrow Steal
(2) Laura Komos at Delightful Daily 5 Cafe
(3) Becky at Dots-n-Spots
(4) Kristen at First Grade Brigade
(5) Gracie at First Grade's a Hoot
(6) Mrs. Hawk at Hawk's Nest
(7) Amy Rider at Literacy and Laughter
(8) Mrs. Lewis at Mrs. Lewis' Learning Library
(9) Mrs. Schmelzer at Mrs. Schmelzer's First Grade Class
(10) Ms. Preppy at Ms. Preppy
(11) Amanda Plum at Plumdoodles
(12) Debbie Candau at Sailing Through First
(13) csturch at Sturch's Second Grade Stars
(14) Anne at The Candy Apple
(15) Ms. Hill at There’s a "1st" For Everything!
Check 'em out! :)

I finally did it...

I went out to my local B&N (That's what the hubs and I call it.  You may know it as Barnes & Noble.) and bought this...

My good friend hooked me up with a gift card for my birthday, so I figured it was as good a time as any to go ahead and purchase The Cafe Book.  

I read The Daily Five last summer and am trying to get it going this year.  So far, we've been building stamina for Read to Self.  We're at 17 minutes!  I'm a little nervous about implementing the rest, but I've been gaining confidence by reading all the great blogs out there!

Happy weekend, everyone! :)

The Bubble Blonde's Halloween Bash!

The Bubbly Blonde is having an awesome giveaway!

It's a "Halloween Bash" to be exact!

Head on over there and enter for your chance to win!

Here's a peek at what she's offering:

Target, Dollar Tree, & Thrifting!

My husband spent the day in Atlanta gearing up for the Georgia game, so naturally my Mom and I did some shopping in hopes of scoring a few a deals.  And we did...

{ONE}

I found these in the Target Dollar Spot.  They are silicone and most likely used for getting hot things out of the oven.  But, I have something a little more fun in mind.

We can use them to compare numbers using greater than and less than!  The kids are going to love these!

Last week we made "math munchers" a.k.a. "pac-men" to practice eating those bigger numbers.

{TWO}

These are at the Dollar Tree!  The pictures are too cute.

{THREE}

I found this treasure while browsing at my most fave thrift store.  It is a floor puzzle of the world and was $4.25 and brand new!  It even came with a CD that has a matching game.

I also got a few books to add to my library.  And I found the game Cranium for $2!  Yes, $2!  And it was brand new, too!

Happy Long Weekend! :)

Dollar Tree Goodies!

I went on a shopping spree to Dollar Tree this afternoon.  :)

Here are my finds:

{Number One: Super cute stickers!}

{Number Two: Mini bull horns!}

Two for the price of one.  I may need these when the kids suddenly forget how to clean up quietly. ;)   I plan on thinking of something cute to print off to cover up the "Congrats Grad"!  Any ideas? (They also had these in green and red.)

{Number Three: Addition activity sheets!}

And it actually has more than just addition!  There are pages for counting sets, connect the dots, ordering numbers, hundred chart activities, skip counting, and word problems.

{Number Four: LOTS of sticky notes and little clipboard cutouts}

I'm thinking about using the little clipboards to write commentary on to hang by student work in the classroom and hallway.  I'll laminate so I can use them over again.

{Number Five: MAGNETS!!!}

Sight Words, Alphabet, Colors and Shapes, Long and Short Vowels, and Compound Words.

I can't wait to use these at stations with cookie sheets!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend!  

Wishing a you a wonderful week with students!

:)

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Click HERE to link up with Jamie at This Kind of Love!

{ONE}

I'm loving my awesome hub.  I miss him since school has started back.  Now I feel super busy all.the.time.

{TWO}

I'm loving these precious pups!

{THREE}

I'm loving that my sweet little first graders are a LOT sweeter than the ones I had last year. ;)  The school year is off to a great start and I'm praying it just keeps getting better.

{FOUR}

I'm loving my Smartboard.  Seriously, it is awesome.  This is my first year to have one.  I love it.  The kids love it.  Did I mention we love it? :)

{FIVE}

I'm loving Wilfred.  :D  The show can be a bit, ya know, crude.  But it's oh so funny.

  

~Happy Wednesday!~

First Two Days & Writing/Supply Station

I have survived the first two days of school!  :)

So far, so good.  I think I am going to have a *much* better class this year.

(I don't wanna jinx it though.)

I have a lot of sweet, quiet girls.

And a few rowdy boys. *Sigh*  Who doesn't, right?

Anyway, we're still working hard to follow directions and rules.  They're learning the routines and procedures.  Of course some of my little friends think they can just come up to me at any time and start talking.  Or just start shouting to me from wherever they are. 

So, on to the goods.  I found this organizer at a thrift store for $12.

I've decided to use it as a sort of writing/supply station.  The small bins across the stop are going to house a stapler, paper clips, pencil top erasers, and band-aids.  (The band-aids are kind of random, but I get tired of having to stop what I'm doing to get someone a band-aid.  So , I figure if I train them right they will be able to handle getting and applying their own band-aids.)  I took the medium sized blue and purple bins out.  (I'm using them to hold headphones and "mice" at the computer station.)  I put my "extra crayons" box in their place.  You can read about that HERE.    The medium sized orange bin will hold dry erase markers and erasers.  The large green and red bins will hold glue sticks and scissors.  Here are the labels in case you can use them!

Click HERE to download!

Tomorrow is already Wednesday! Woohoo! :)