We have some winners!

{Winner #1 - Ms. Patterson} will receive a personalized desk set and 2 packs of the initial

notecards (your choice in initials)

{Winner #2 - Amy Trowbridge} will receive 2 packs of the initial notecards (your choice in 

initials)

{Winner #3 - Kelly B (aka Kindergarten Queen)} will receive 1 pack of initial notecards 

(your choice in initial)

Congratulations ladies - please reply to me within 48 hours. A BIG thank you to all the participants and to all of my blog followers! ~Miss E

*HOT* coupons! Print them NOW!

Holy smokies - think fast! Click {here} to print this coupon page from Office Max. The offers are valid during their 3 day sale, July 28th through July 30th! What are you waiting for? Go shop till ya drop! ~Miss E

Kindergarten - Honduras style!

As school draws near, I've been thinking of all the fun and wonderful things I've experienced this summer. Some of you may know (from an earlier "meet the teacher" post) that I have a heart for missions. In June, I traveled back to Honduras for a mission trip with a group of folks from my church. I absolutely LOVE the country and people of Honduras. It was so amazing to re visit a village where I had been once before and recognize some of the kiddos - and them recognize ME after 3 years. Believe me, tears were shed from multiple in our group! While the trip always leaves me humbled, what I love most about it...is that I get to share it with my Dad. 

Here is my Dad with a kiddo in a neighborhood called Nueva Oriental. Honduras is a very poor/third world country with a corrupt government. There is a need for almost anything there and particularly, in this little neighborhood. While we were in Honduras, we served and delivered food, built houses (tiny, 1-room wooden homes, where the doors are cut with chain saws), baptized people, and most importantly....shared the love of Jesus. Hondurans truly are so thankful for anything you do and give them because, believe me, they have very little. I began collecting school supplies and whatnot towards the end of school. I was touched by the teacher's response when I handed her a bag full of new and USED supplies and she happily accepted! Broken crayons, half empty glue bottles, and markers that had been handled by all 18 of my students...which is where I will begin my post...

Here is the kindergarten classroom in Nueva. No "school" per say, no electricity, no bathroom, no bus or car lane, no technology, little supplies, and a concrete floor. Many children do not even attend school because to attend, you must have a uniform and majority of the families cannot afford them. The Honduran school year runs from February to November and almost 58% of the children that attend, drop out by the time they reach 5th grade. There is a sense of helplessness among parents who desire a good education for their children but cannot provide them with the uniform they need to attend. It is extremely sad. I was so intrigued by this little building and the fact that learning took place using NONE of the things, we as Americans, take for granted on a daily basis. This certainly makes me appreciate my 102 year old school building and the desk that I claimed in an earlier post "came over on the ark." I wanted to share with you another kindergarten classroom in a different part of  the country (about an hour away)...no uniforms here...but a CLASS full, no assistant, and little supplies.

Still...SO different than what we are used to and take for granted. Do you see their sweet little classroom library in the back? 

Check out their playground! You know that in America...we would deem this a "law suit waiting to happen." But in Honduras, it is a child's dream! I leave you with this blogger friends...

It isn't what we have in our pockets or classrooms that make us thankful, it is what we have in our hearts. And I, for one, am thankful for ALL of my blessings - a small, 102 year old classroom and all! ;-) I am far more blessed than I deserve. Tell me...what are YOU thankful for? Wishing you a wonderful new school year...~Miss E

I stinking love Target!

I'm so excited about being a guest blogger on Target Treasures! I hope Hadar is enjoying her time in Israel. I pretty much wiped out the dollar section the other day at Target...see that post {here}. So, I thought I would try to blog about something else. Check out this shower curtain liner I picked up for $1.34! 

That's about as good as a dollar deal - right? Target has their Room Essentials Shower Curtain liner for $2.34 and with this Target printable coupon {here}, you can score this deal for cheap. I recommend picking up the solid white liner rather than the clear one. I think it would be easier for students to see. (Please note: make sure you print the $1 Room Essentials Shower Items coupon) Then, I got to thinking, what can I do with this? Here are some good ideas:

From Little Giraffes, she suggests you:

Cut a shower curtain in half and draw out the keyboard from the computer, just the numbers and letters. Have the students (spell) tap out (with the fly swatter) their names at the beginning of the year and word wall words later in the year.  This is an easy center also because it can be folded up and put away so easily. And, use the other half of the shower curtain and divide it into 24 rectangles. Write a star word in each rectangle. They tap on the words they know or throw beanbags and read the words.


On another hand, I am a little bit of a clean freak! ;-) Ok - a lot a bit! But...what teacher isn't? We MUST bring our stuff home and sanitize it each year, other wise - could you imagine? Yuck! While, I'm so not a fan of washing the millions of items I have to wash...it's necessary. I decided to put most of my things in the dishwasher, versus soaking in bleach and going through all that trouble. Brilliant - right? Not so much! Half of the items slipped through the cracks and about melted during the drying process. ha While I was shopping @ Target, I stumbled across lingerie bags in the $1 section. (they came 2 per pack - score!) Here is what I did:

I put my items in the lingerie bags and stuck them in the dishwasher. They washed and did NOT fall through the cracks. Success! You could also stick your math foam blocks in these and toss them in the washing machine, too. Yipee! Do not dry them though! ;-) Have YOU found any good Target Treasures lately? Please share! ~Miss E

P.S. There is still time to enter my {giveaway} - what are you waiting for?

Highlighting Heaven!

Hey friends! Look what I picked up at Walgreen's yesterday...highlighters galore! Did anyone see these in the sale paper? They were 9 cents each! I may or may not have bought 20 something. ;-) Hello cheap!

Anyways, I got home and began putting together a little game to go with them. Being the nice bloggy woman that I am, (ha!) I had to share. Go ahead and download your FREE copy and leave me a comment with your thoughts. I'm not crazy about the "I" in the font, but I loved the font too much to change it. Maybe you can add the horizontal lines across the letter after you print your cards? Just a thought. Also, the cards are laid out to print using Avery 5163 shipping labels. After you print, peel and stick the label to an index card, and laminate! Voila - no cutting! Students simply draw the card, identify the letter and sound to a partner, then find it on their paper and highlight.  Easy enough - right? Enjoy! ~Miss E

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Christmas in July {giveaway}. 

Click the image to download the cards!

Click the image to download the worksheet!

Christmas in July {giveaway}

Hey friends! I've been MORE than thrilled with the response I have had with my blog lately, and the fact that I've gained almost 90 new followers since my last giveaway (2 weeks ago). Going right along with Christmas in July, I thought I would host another giveaway (in hopes that I'll make it to 200+ followers)! I will be picking 3 lucky winners and helping them get a head start on their holiday shopping. Aside from the ten thousand many other things I do, I own a home-based business. I specialize in invitations, printing, personalization, and monogramming! Therefore, I'll be gifting some of my stock.  Check it out!

These items will make great stocking stuffers or gifts for your teacher friends! The desk set comes with a clear, acrylic holder and 300 loose sheets of paper. The initial notecards come with 10 fold over cards and 10 envelopes. All items will be wrapped in cello and tied with a bow - ready to gift!

{Winner #1} will receive a personalized desk set and 2 packs of the initial notecards 

(your choice in initials)

{Winner #2} will receive 2 packs of the initial notecards (your choice in initials)

AND

{Winner #3} will receive 1 pack of initial notecards (your choice in initial)

To enter, you have a few options...

1. Become a follower of my blog (1 entry)

2. Blog about my giveaway and post a link to your site (1 entry)

3. Share with me your favorite Christmas gift/stocking stuffer idea (1 entry)

4. Grab my button and post it on your blog (1 entry)

3 winners will be randomly selected by THIS Friday, July 29th (10 p.m.). So...hurry up and enter. Who knows.....maybe if I reach a crazy amount of followers, I'll sweeten the deal! ;-) Merry Christmas in July. ~Miss E

(Please note: All items are available for individual purchase and I will ship orders. Email me if you are interested in pricing and more information!)

If you liked it, then you shoulda put a pin on it...

Seriously - like I need another addiction!? Ahhh, I cannot keep up with the ones I have now. Facebooking, couponing, blogging, and now pinning!? Somewhere in the midst of the land of productivity - I'll get my classroom ready. *wink, wink* 

I'm not sure why someone did not think of this idea before hand...but to have the ability to organize all of the great concepts you gather on the Internet is brilliant! I am adding to my boards daily, and am thrilled with all of the ideas I've collected. If you are not a member, you must become one. However, you must be invited. Simply shoot me an email and I'll send you an invite (erinee21@aol.com). Check out what I've made so far...

I started out with this.....and ended up with THIS...

A sweet birthday gift for a fellow teacher friend. Now - to make one for myself! Also, I loved this idea and just HAD to pin it. I may have to go and find a few more quarter machines. ;-) It is just another great way to keep dice quiet and from flying all over your classroom. If you missed my first post on quiet dice, check that out [here].

Do you have any of these laying around? Just stick a dice in them and...

VOILA! Students shake the little container and the dice stays put (and remotely quiet) inside. Score!

If are you pinning things, let me know - I'd love to follow you. Just thought I would share some of my latest creations. What have you pinned lately? ~Miss E

Move back Martha!

Thanks to [The Inspired Apple], I was anxious to make this DIY project! ;-) Check it out...so easy. Martha Stewart needs to watch out!

It will match my zebra rugs and "explorer/safari" theme perfectly. Squeal! Thanks Abby! ~Miss E

From Noah's time...

Ok seriously....I love my stinking school. We just turned 102 years old last year, so you can imagine some of the interesting things we have there! ;-) Which brings me to my teacher desk...I'm pretty sure it came over on the ark! (Noah's that is) I just had to make it cutesy and because my room is rather small, it is imperative that I utilize every.inch.of.space! So - here we have my lunch count/attendance. In the morning, students move their magnetic "lunch creature" from the good morning side to the packed or cafeteria side. Students who are left on the good morning side are your absentees, students who are on your cafeteria side are your lunch count (fortunately for us, we do not have to indicate a choice 1 or choice 2), and students on the packed side are who brought their lunch from home. Easy enough? I always stress to students that this is part of their morning routine and I would hate for anyone to forget to move their creature and be counted absent! *wink* Works like a charm! Anyways, I've included my labels below. Just print them off, cut out, glue on cutesy card stock?!, and adhere to your desk or filing cabinet. Any other great idea on how to do this differently or spice it up for next year?!? ~Miss E

Click the image to download

It burned a hole in my pocket...

I wonnnnn - my first giveaway! A $15 Target gift card. I'm not gonna lie, it was burning a hole in my pocket. ha ha I had to hurry out and spend it! Here is what I bought:

My Target FINALLY had the letter and number stamps AND mini pocket charts. Yay! Paired with Fran's awesome printables {here} - I've got myself some new work stations. And, I may or may not have spent more than I won...but who cares? It was too good to pass up! *wink, wink* I had gotten some dip trays at the Dollar Tree earlier in the summer and I created these...

I used some of Fran's work mats and adapted them to make a "Sorting by Color" tray. Won't the foam blocks work great? Squeal!

Here are a few other trays I put together. Holy cow - I just LOVE the Dollar Tree and dollar section @ Target. 

I laminated the "I have ___" cards and bound them using a book ring. I plan on having students use vis a vis markers to fill them out after they have sorted their money. Hello NEW math work station (and for a dollar - whoo hoo). Below, students will sort by size using the 3 part dip tray.

Thanks Mrs. Lazenby for my new goodies. Happy dollar shopping! ~Miss E

-Math Journals-

So.....with all this "math talk" floating around in the blog world and the fact that I've attended two math conferences this summer, I'm feeling rather mathematical! It has had me thinking about next year's journals and what I'm going to do differently. I thought I would share with you what I've done in the past.  I just love the marble composition books and always stock up on them. (Walmart has them right now for .40!) Print off a cute little label and you've got yourself a journal. 

Inside, I had a parent draw lines and students recorded the number, number word, tally marks, and drew an illustration. See the finished product below! (please note: we did 0-30 over the course of a school year)

I may step it up a bit and add definitions and other items in my journals this year - try to incorporate more writing. I'll use some of the pages from my students' math workbooks. We just adopted a new math series! Can I get a Hallelujah? I would hope it would look a little something like this...

You can have the composition books cut in half at office supply stores or hardware stores. 

These are samples taken from a 1st grade journal. I figured if I started implementing things like this in my class, my kinders would be on top of their game when they moved on into 1st.  What are your thoughts or suggestions?  I'd love to hear them. ~Miss E

Tons O' giveaways!

Hello bloggers! There are MAD giveaways going on...have you entered?

Ladybug's Teacher Files has reached 1000+ followers. Wow! To enter her fantastic giveaway and have your blog made over, click {here}. Four lucky winners will be drawn.

Hop on over to Fab-u-lous in First and enter her fun summer headband giveaway!

Mrs. Duggins' is celebrating her 50 follower mark and is gifting an adorable basket full of goodies. I am sooo hoping I win! Head over {here} to enter. 

First grade fanatics are at 400 followers. They will be picking 4 lucky winners to choose something FREE from their TpT store. Awesome!

And lastly...Teaching in Flip Flops has reached 50+ followers and is giving away a "scent-sational" prize. Be sure to enter.

I'm a little late posting these and several end tonight/tomorrow. Hurry up and enter. Best of luck! ~Miss E

Christmas crafts!

Ho, Ho, Ho....Merry Christmas! In the spirit of the season, I thought I would share some ornament ideas I've made in the past with my kinders. Each year, I purchase gift bags and do Santa hand prints on the front. As we make an ornament, we place them in the bag and before school dismisses for the holidays, I add tissue!  My students take this home and present it to parents as their Christmas gift. It's always a HUGE hit. 

Here are some of the ornaments we place inside.  They vary from year to year depending on snow days and what kits I can find on clearance at craft stores. 

There is no rhyme or reason to my applesauce & cinnamon ornament or my shredded wheat & Elmer's glue ornament recipes. I just keep adding and mixing until I get to the consistency I want.  Please note: both ornaments take days to dry so I recommend doing these at the beginning of December.  Also, I would wear rubber gloves and have your kinders, too!  Happy crafting. ~Miss E