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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Show Us What You Bought

Let me break this down for you...

First year teacher + 28% off = excessive TpT spending!

I am not ashamed to admit that I went extremely overboard during this sale. Annnnd, I was only truly purchasing for up to November since I am already anticipating what I will buy during the Cyber Monday sale when the paychecks start rolling in. 

Things I told myself to sleep at night:
1. I had a gift certificate.
2. I used soooo many TpT credits for extra savings.
3. I did set a limit and did not break it. Victory! 
4. Everything can be re-used year after year.
5. It's for the children!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to show you all what I bought.
 Note: All glitter frames are courtesy of Glitter Meets Glue Designs.

http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2014/08/show-us-what-you-bought-linky.html

I was very strategic in my purchasing aiming for the most bang for my buck. I also wanted to cover every aspect of teaching from morning work to classroom management. I think I was pretty successful!

Here are the 22 things that I ended up with broken up into categories...

First up: The Printable Princess. If you are a kindergarten teacher you eat, sleep and breathe The Printable Princess! I totally splurged on her center activities and this portion packed the heftiest price tag. However, I have up until December completely covered with phenomenal hands on activities that the kids will love and as a first year teacher, that is more than I could ask for! 

Next, I purchased a few more colored ink centers that would last me year round. I loved the alphabet bundle because it had everything you could dream for and more for each letter of the alphabet. One of my absolute favorite centers to have in kindergarten is Write the Room because it keeps kids moving. I wanted a year long bundle so I couldn't have to search for different themed cards and this was by far the best deal of all. The cards are so colorful and the coordinating worksheets are so user-friendly. I know this will be a fan favorite! Finally, I purchased the holiday and seasonal literacy centers bundle. I could not turn down this bundle no matter how much my wallet tried to stop it. These centers are a one stop shop that has the entire year covered!

Seeing as I already ran out of colored ink mid way through printing my first pack, I knew black and white printables were the way to go. These printables will last me an entire year and have all my morning work, math and literacy centers covered. I am all about making life easier as a first year teacher and these ladies are making that possible!

I have been planning my first classroom for as long as I can remember. Now, through social media sites, organization and classroom decor has been kicked into high gear. These packs have me covered from everything I need to decorate my classroom as well as staying organized through binders, storage drawers, and posting the CCSS around the room. I cannot wait to see these in action in the classroom! It is going to be so bright and cheery!

Finally, what classroom would be complete without a little management and assessment action? I am officially obsessed with these Keys to Success. I know the kiddos are going to love collecting these tags and they will be great to communicate success with parents. Since my time is going to be so limited in half-day k, I need to make sure that those brains are always learning. These fast finisher sets will be a lifesaver! Finally, I want to check in and see how my kids are feeling with concept mastery. This road trip themed set provides the perfect visuals and is so kid friendly. I know it will be a hit in the classroom and help keep me informed as to who needs extra help.

It has literally taken me all my willpower to stay off the computer today because I know I could easily go buy 20 more things in a heartbeat. How many more days until the Cyber Monday sale because clearly I am counting down the seconds!

Friday, August 1, 2014

Currently: Five for August

It pains my teacher heart to say that August has finally arrived.

http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi02ZmQ3OGIzODQ5NmMzMmM2

My entire life I have always had two full months of summer vacation: July and August. We have always started after Labor Day. However, this year, my vacation didn't start until the end of the last week of June and I go back in less than two weeks. As excited as I am to meet my first set of my own kinder babies, just a little bit more vacation (to prep of course) would be lovely!

As much as I like to play the what day is it card...

http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi01YzhiOWFjMzZmYjYwMzBh

My blogging buddies here like to keep me informed. Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching always reminds me when another Friday rolls around, and Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade always gets me on the first of the month. Since these linky parties are my favorite thing, I will suck up my summer sadness and share all my back to school excitement with the Five for Friday and Currently parties combined.

http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2014/08/five-for-friday-linky-partyaugust-1.html

In case you missed the memo, I got a job teaching kindergarten! I could not be more excited! As all kinder teachers know, those babies steal your heart in a second!
My little 8 year old cousin is a teacher in the making. When she found out I had a job she could not wait to send me a list of things I need to do to prep. The "beafwear" and "elebetic" charts are my favorites.
This online teaching community has truly changed my life! When I posted this picture on Instagram asking for help, Rebecca Seeley replied in literally seconds and got right to work creating the most adorable labels that were even better than I could have dreamed of. If you need a TpT store to find some deals for the back to school sale, hit up her store by clicking HERE. You won't be sorry!
Speaking of the sale...did I mention that as a first year teacher, I might have a slight addiction to bundles? Once I checked into TpT bundles anonymous, I was able to cut my list in half from over $400 to the $200 range. Where did all the extra bundles go? Onto my wishlist and then some. When does the next TpT sale come around because I will be stocking up big time!

It is crazy to think that I will have been blogging for two years this month! So many things have happened in such a short period of time and I cannot wait to reflect on my journey when the time nears! But for now, I am off to find more items for the TpT sale and hopefully check some things off my to-do list. Lets hope I win some of those TpT gift certificate giveaways because this first year teacher is broke!
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