WHY IS ENGLISH SO HARD TO LEARN?

As I’m avoiding studying for my ESL exam in the morning, I was reading over a handout that I thought would be fun to share with you.  Take a minute and read over a few of the following sentences.

1.  The bandage was wound around the wound.

2.  The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

3.  A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

4.  They were too close to the door to close it.

5.  He could lead, if he would get the lead out.

Notice anything?  Sometimes, it just simply amazes me that any of us learned how to read at all! Now, think of all the processes that have to go through the head of a child that speaks one language, then enters school and has to learn another! Simply, amazing!

Thank you to everyone that took the time to comment on my little Give-Away post to share what topics that you’re most curious about right now.  I made sure to take notes and will be sharing how I address many of these topics in my classroom in the weeks to come.  I have an insatiable curiosity when it comes to all things instruction, so it’ll be fun to learn, share, and growth with so many amazing, new friends!

Our kids are so lucky to be in classrooms with teachers that are willing to go above and beyond so that sentences like the ones above, when read, will ring clear as a bell.  Learning about language and how to use it can be confusing.  Given ample opportunity and quality instruction, students of all ability levels will undoubtedly be able to shine!

Thanks, again for joining in all of the Give-Away fun! I’ll be announcing winners on Sunday afternoon! Best of luck to you! 

GIVE-AWAY #2!!

Hi there! The fun continues! I'm excited to announce that I'm participating in a book study hosted by Heather from Teaching My 3!  As part of this book study, I've been given an amazing opportunity to offer to my followers!

It is a Playful Learning Spaces eCourse! This  Give-away includes a 6 course, online, self-paced eCourse valued at  $125! It will guide you through the process for setting up playful learning spaces, organization, storage, and selecting materials for different ages and stages of child development.  It's perfect for the hands-on teacher in all of us.

Your access never expires and you can watch whenever you want, at your convenience! Isn't that great? 

For this give-away, I'm  going to give Rafflecopter a try! Cross your fingers and try it with me to enter to win this fantastic opportunity! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVE-AWAY TIME…TIMES 2!!

 

Hi, there friends! I am completely overwhelmed with excitement tonight! I’ve been waiting and watching and watching and waiting…and I just can’t keep the excitement in any longer! As I write this post, I am 4 little followers away from 200 and I’m loving it!

I am so grateful to each of you and want to take this opportunity to say “THANK YOU”!!

I wanted to do something where EVERYONE wins! Two ONEderful followers will receive a $20 Target gift card.  I will also be pricing every item in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store at just $2.00 for the next two days (June 29th and June 30th).  The sale will begin in the morning because I am hopeful that my 4 new friends will find their way over within the next two days!

A girl’s got to have goal’s right?

BUT….the bloggy goodness DOES NOT STOP THERE! Remember, I told you in a previous post that I wanted to do a play on the number 2?  Welllll…..instead of just one give away, I’m going to do 2!!  I don’t want to spoil the surprise so you’ll have to tune in tomorrow to see what the second one will be!

I promise, it’s a biggie!

You don’t have to do anything special to enter the give away.  If you would like to enter to win one of the gift cards, I would appreciate your following my blog and leaving a comment below telling me what aspect of reading or literacy you’re most interested in learning more about. I don’t know it all, but what I do know, I’m more than willing to share! And, I’m insatiably curious!

That’s it! Short, sweet and simple! ~Thank you! Tune in tomorrow….for give away #2!!

MEET DANI!

Interested in crafty, fun ideas to enhance your classroom and home?  Meet Dani! She’s one of my fantabulous (yes, that’s a word:-) coworkers that has decided to take the plunge and enter blogland! Did I mention how fantastic she is?  Fabulous?  Just darn wonderful?

I think you get the point! Head over and give her a ONEderful welcome! Tell her Tanya sent you!  She’ll be glad you stopped by…and you will be too!

SUMMER SHOPPING LINKY

Link up with Kristen at Ladybug Teacher Files to share your summer shopping goodies! You can see the classroom newbies that I found in my IKEA FINDS post from yesterday by clicking the word goodies above!  Happy shopping and don’t forget to head over and link up!

IKEA FINDS

Did you have a marvelous Monday?  I’ve spent most of mine with my nose buried in a book.  I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to dig into a certain ‘Grey’ series, BUT alas…until I take my ESL exam on Saturday, I must wait!

I’ve seen lots of posts and pics about trips to IKEA and recently took a little drive to our closest one.  Luckily,  its about 45 minutes away and provides a playroom for up to an hour for the little ones.  Are you thinking the same thing I did? A mini-vacay? Hahaha! Oh, yeah!

You know you’re a mom, when an hour of {quietly} shopping alone, sounds like a mini-vacation!

The first thing that I wanted to pick up was this cute bed canopy.  One of my previous team members had one and I just loved walking into her serene classroom.  It always made me feel so calm and relaxed.  I’m looking forward to a new set up this year and think these will make my library station much more attractive.

I liked these numbered organizers too.  I don’t normally buy things that I don’t already have a use in mind for, but I just couldn’t pass these up.  Any suggestions?

Isn’t he cute? I’m still trying to decide if this little guy is a head of broccoli or a tree, but either way..he came home with me!  I’m thinking of adding task cards and small pointers in his pockets for the library work station as well.  I may have to “beef” him up a little with a backdrop.  We’ll see…

I love this little table and chair set.  My nephew has one in his bedroom and its held up super well! Last year, I used the top of my computer table for a listening station table but may not be able to do that this year.  I put this one on the “maybe later” list (and stuck to my budget). Please feel free to give me a quick hand clap here.  Budget is such an ugly word.  I was very proud of myself for sticking to it….

Whoooooa, Nelly! I almost had to be drug off of this aisle! Do you see all of those wonderful, colorful, plastic bins?  Organization, heaven! For every shelf they make, they’ve got the bins that fit perfectly into them. Don’t you just hear them calling your name?! Only a teacher would find this aisle completely fascinating, so I had to roll through there pretty quickly in order to contain myself!

Do you have an IKEA or Container Store near you?  Comment below and tell us where you shop to get your classroom organized and ready to go for the new year!

As I was wrapping up this post…my nephew asked me if I would share his artwork with you!  He’s too sweet and very talented.  Being artsy runs in our family and it seems the gene is in full swing with the next generation.  He’s only 12, so it’ll be exciting to see what else he has in store! Enjoy!

 

Have a terrific Tuesday, bloggy buds!

Facebook Party fun

I may be a little late to the party, but I’m glad that I joined in!  Thanks for the invite!   This weekend has been a whirlwind of fun! 

I spent some time away from the keyboard celebrating my little sister as she prepares to be promoted to MSgt.  For my nonmilitary friends, that means she has moved from the ranks of junior NCO {non-commissioned officer} to SENIOR NCO.  Whoop, whoop!

After braving (two weekends in a row) what has to be one of the craziest strips of interstate between Austin and San Antonio, TX…I’m pooped!

Have a great week bloggy buds, I’ll catcha tomorrow to share some of my cute IKEA finds and to review what I’m learning as I prepare for my ESL certification next Saturday!

{EEEEEEK, nothing like a quick cram to prepare for a test!!!!!!!!!}  Teachers work best under pressure, right?  Any advice you have is most appreciatively welcome! Bye for now, bloggy buds!

 

polka dot, polka dot, polka dot…

……afro circus, afro circus!!! If you’re between the ages of 3-92 chances are you’ve heard that song this summer! If you’ve gone to see Madagascar 3, chances are you’re doing a little humming and singing right now?! Am I right?

Well, if you weren’t…I was! Hahaha! And have been ever since I saw the movie over a week ago! I just could not get that little diddy out of my head and if you haven’t noticed yet….once I get an idea stuck in my head…..I CANNOT REST UNTIL ITS OUT!

Soooooo, a couple of mouse clicks later, a cute set of clipart, and moving along singing my song…this little beauty was born!

It’s 75 pages of circus fun for the classroom! Alex, Melvin, and Marty were busy but I did manage to add in a couple clowns and a cute cat with a star on his hat {no red & white stripes here}!

Check it out and let me know what you think!  Are you doing a classroom theme this year?  Comment below and share what you’re thinking of using.  Have a great weekend!

It’s 3am and I’ve got to pick my mom up a little later today, so this night owl has got to get some shut eye! Bye for now, bloggy buddies!

‘TWAS THE DAY BEFORE…

…THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL and all through the classroom, first graders were stirring! There was packing to be done.  There was fun to be had! We had to stay busy so our day wouldn’t be bad, hahahhaaa!



I know the rhyme was terrible, but the fun my kids had creating these little projects was incredible!  Luckily, we have enough computers in our classroom to complete research with about half the class online, in pairs.  You can read my previous post {here} to check out the resource we used.



Each pair was allowed to search and read about a personality of their choice.  One student was the reader, the other was the writer.  After completing the online research, they returned to their desks to write two facts, their personality’s name, and to draw a simple setting that reflected what they learned about the person. 



You could have heard a pin drop in our room!  Kid’s were clicking and reading! Reading and writing. Writing, cutting, and drawing! They were super engaged.  After all of the projects were completed {and they took some time to complete……*wink, *wink:-)}, we set aside some time to share them. 

Did that happen? We would have liked for it too, but sadly…..it did not! That darn clock kept ticking and we had to pack up and go home for the day.

Like these simple foldables?  Here’s a few pictures to help you fold and cut to create them for your class of A+ Kiddos.


 


…and there you have it!  Thanks for sticking around! My little blog has really been growing over the last few days and my wheels are turning about how to celebrate reaching 200 followers! Wow!!! I’m thinking of a play on the number 2! Two times the fun can’t be bad, right?

Here’s a little freebie for ya to say thank you for following and sticking around to the end of this lengthy post! Whew!  The first page would serve as a good alternative to the foldable. There are 4 additional pages for use during the first few days of school. 
I hope you’ll find it useful.  Bye for now, bloggy buds!

TEACHER DISCOUNTS LINKY

Hi, there!  Are you enjoying your summer days?  It’s so interesting that even though we’re out, we’re still working and planning for MORE really good stuff!  To that end, my Birthday BFF (you’ll hear a lot about her) had the fab idea of creating a list of all the places we shop that offer teacher discounts!

I often ask two questions, when I’m shopping.   Do you offer a military discount and/or do you offer a discount for teachers?  Surprisingly, many places do offer such discounts! The catch is that you have to ask.

One of my favorite places to pick up books for the classroom is Barnes and Noble. 



If you complete a quick form, they will provide you with a card to keep in your wallet. Each time you shop for books for your classroom, present it for a discount of 20% off of the price of each book. *LOVE*  If you have children of your own, they also have a Kid’s Club card.

My daughter really loves whipping that little bad boy out when she buys a new book too!



Copy and paste the picture above to share with your followers in a post to participate in the linky.  Please, remember to create a backlink to the original post and join in the linky below.  I’m looking forward to finding some fun new places to shop {at discount prices}! I hope you will too!

Before you go, I had another great opportunity to guest blog yesterday!  If you missed it, please visit Valerie at All Students Can Shine {here} to check it out!

Happy summer days…..and shopping fun!

A BIG THANK YOU…

…to the wonderful folks that participated in our first TPT Seller Pin it to Win It contest!  I appreciate your playing along and repinning products that you’d like to see more of  from my little shop!

Seeing the repins was great, but these lucky ladies were the smart cookies that remembered the teeny, tiny little rule about commenting and leaving a means of contact! Comments are the best!

Ladies, please check your inbox in a few for the file that you pinned. In case you missed it, you can read the original post here.  I will be deleting this pin board today, but please feel free to follow me at TPT and on Pinterest for more ideas to come! 

In the spirit of this contest, I thought I’d share a giggle. 

 

{hehehhahheheheeee} Now, that’s funny! If you’re not laughing or at least cracked a smile….check your pulse.    Thanks, Dani!  Happy pinning everyone! 

Have a great weekend.

Are you a Comment-a-holic?

Hello, my name is Tanya Dwyer and I am a "comment~a~holic"!  I love seeing so many fab new ideas and commenting on them, BUT.........

(shhhhh, come in close.....listen)

....there are just a few things about leaving comments that have begun to make me twitch!

1.  The Robo-Verifier!  Lose it.  Turn it off!  Get rid of it! I already wear glasses and if  I see one more of those things, I think I'm going to need a stronger prescription! I had one too, you say?  Why yes, I did! Did...being the key word, because I just turned that sucker off and I whole-heartedly apologize for anyone no longer seeing 20/20 because of it, lol!  You might not have known you have one because its a default setting.

If you're not quite sure how to turn it off check out Jessica's post here.  Your readers will be glad you did.

2.  I didn't know this was a pet peeve of mine until today and I suppose it really isn't a biggie.  I really prefer the pop up box to leave comments.  When they're embedded and there's a lot of comments...it takes a lot of scrolling to add one.  Again, this one isn't a biggie and I just changed my settings too.

3.  Wholy-Moly....I love music just as much as the next guy.  In fact, I'm  usually listening to my own as I blog hop so clicking on a blog that's blaring a playlist sometimes startles me right out of my socks!

We each have our own little pet peeves and way of doing things that make us unique. Link up to share some of your not so favorite blogger habits.  I'm sure reading them will help us to better our blogs to keep readers coming back for more!

Happy hopping! 

NIFTY 50’S

Thank you for joining in and taking this ONEderful journey with me!  I’m really enjoying all the learning {as a blogger} through and with so many awe inspiring teachers.  On Monday, as I carefully stalked my own numbers…(We all do that, right?)…I was so happy to see my blog reach 150 followers and my Facebook page reach 50 followers! Yay!!!

I’ve never been so excited to count by 10’s, lol!  There’s something about seeing that ones place flip to another zero! It’s certainly heartwarming to have so many of you join in the fun. 

My newest little packet took on a life of its own and has grown from 48 pages to 68 pages of rainbow goodness! Check it out below! 

Thanks to my Birthday BFF and eagle-eyed, proofreading bud for your help!  Love ya!

  

I promise, this packet is now DONE….well, maybe! You just never know!

Oh-my-goodness! I wanted to share the WELCOME banner with you as a freebie, but it comes up looking all kinds of weird in Google Docs.  If someone has words of wisdom to help fix that little boo-boo, I’ll be glad to come back and add the link!

Thanks again!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

HAPPENIN’ HABITATS!

Before I get too far gone {into vacation}, I wanted to share with you how we finished out our year!

First…let me just say, that I have been completely obsessed with formatting my blog since I’ve been out, so its nice to take a “break” and share an idea or two with you!  Best wishes to my sweet friends that are still hanging in there counting down until summer vacation.

    

We usually end the year with a dive into the ocean, however, this year…we took it a little bit further.  Rather than limiting ourselves we used a great resource to complete little research projects on animal habitats and biographies.  Do you use Pebblego at your school?

It’s a great research tool for young learners that is simple to use, very engaging, and packed full of great facts.  The kids just love it!

They worked as partners to research (at least) 3 facts about an animal habit of their choice.  After taking note of their facts and observing what the habitat looked like and consisted of, each student completed a writing to tell what they learned. Their habitat and the animals that live there were represented by creating a simple diorama.

 

Wet lands, polar regions, rain forests, deserts & more….galore!

In the midst of wrapping it all up, there was also time set aside to share the year’s progress with parents. I just LOVE how much firsties grow within one little school year!

Click the pic to grab a little conference reminder for your files. 

Remember the obsessing I mentioned before?  Well, I wanted to figure out a way to share my little blog that I love so much with you. Thanks for the inspiration, Jessica!

Soooooo…before you go, click the Blogger Link Up tab above to link up your blog.  My blogroll was looking ridiculously long…so I edited it, but would still like to be able to share as many fab blogs as possible.  Please take advantage of this feature as another easy way to share your blogs for others to stalk and hopefully, follow as well.

Interested in guest blogging?  Click the guest blogger tab and fill out the form.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you….and one last thing….if you’re stalking and hadn’t followed yet….what are you waiting for? LOL! But, uhm, seriously….if you like what you see, please follow me. :-)

Thanks to Sandra for being fab follower #150…..{wheels are turning} and excitement is building about celebrating follower #200!  Have a great day, bloggy buds! 

PIN IT TO WIN IT!

                                       

Are you as addicted to Pinterest as I am? I always see great stuff for my classroom and wish that I had it. Have you ever seen one of the products from my TPT store and wish that you had it {fingers crossed}?  On your wish list, maybe??  Well, now you can. . .for FREE! I'm participating in the very first "Pin It To Win It" contest being held by a group of TPT sellers on Pinterest!

Head over to my Pinterest board titled "Pin It To Win It" and follow these steps:

On Friday, June 15th, I'll pick the winners!  The more the merrier! It’s just that easy! 

I’ve just added a new product to my store that I will be using to decorate my classroom next year. {Yes, I’ve been out a whole week and am already thinking of next year!}  I know, I know…take a break already! I can’t help it….and am sure this product will grow!

I love rainbows, but wanted a less traditional take on one…..so, my creative wheels got to turning and a glass of pink lemonade, a few peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and a slice of cheesecake later…..these 48 pages of striped rainbow cuteness were born!

In the spirit of this fun little contest…I will gladly share this little beauty with the first follower that leaves a loving comment and email address below to let me know what you think of it! Please be kind…because I’m so loving it right now! Hahaha!  But, don’t fret….if you’re not numero uno, its also on my “Pin it to Win it” board….and YOU may be the lucky ray of sunshine that wins it for F-R-E-E!

Kudos to Mel From the Pond for the contest graphic and Andrew from eatsleepandteach for being the brainchild behind this pinning fun!

Good luck and happy pinning, pals!

Hahahaha, say what???

Ok, so my last few posts have been pure FUN! This is my first week out of school and I told my brain to take a break! I promise to turn it back on {sometime} next week.  In the meantime, I’m joining in another fun linky with April from Wolfelicious.

I’m sure you guys have passed around a few of these hilarious ecards! Some that we surely can’t openly blog, lol (but are no less funny)!  This little beauty gave me a chuckle because my Pinterest boards have been blowing up all week, now that I’ve got down time!

Well, in honor of all things ‘summer’, let’s laugh out loud some a lot! We’ve worked hard all year and if you’re not out yet, you deserve a good {{{hahaha}}} to get you through these last few days!

Copy and paste this fun little sign to your next blog post and laugh it up! Thanks, April for setting us all up for a good laugh! I can’t wait to see what fun cards get linked up.  Par-tee on…..

MY FAVORITE THINGS

Let’s spend some time this summer getting to know one another.  Join this fun linky with Mary at Sharing Kindergarten to catch up and maybe find some new faves. 

My favorites:

1. My iPhone! How ever did I function before I got one?  It does EVERYTHING!

2.  All things pink and green! What can I say?  It’s the pretty girl in me!

 

3. 5 gum in cobalt flavor 

4.  Decorative duct tape:  quick and easy way to add a little fun and color

5. Shoes, shoes, shoes, and more shoes:  What girl doesn’t?

What are some of your favorite things?  Head over and link up!