Currently: Five for August

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

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...

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.

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!

Kindergarten Here I Come!

I have been anxiously awaiting the day when I could write this blog post since starting my blog nearly 2 years ago. That special day is finally here! I received my official job letter in the mail and I am so very happy to say that I will be a kindergarten teacher this fall!

Never would I have ever imagined that as a college graduate, in one of the worst economic times, that I would have a public school teaching job and even more, actually have to turn down other job offers! There is nothing more I can say than I am truly blessed! I know that teaching is where I am meant to be and I am so happy to be able to fulfill that childhood dream of mine!

I have so much to do to get prepared in so little time! (Hence the reason I have been quite M.I.A. on my blog lately.) I have been making a long list of all the things I have to prep and I have no idea when I will be able to see what my classroom looks like. 

Leave me a comment below with something I must include in my preparation checklist so I don't leave anything out! Also, if you are a kindergarten teacher, leave me a comment with a link to your blog so I can get inspired!

Now I am off to continue my trend of stalking Pinterest and buying from TpT like a mad woman!

Currently July

It's kind of crazy to believe it is July already! Summer just started not even a week ago and here we are in July. When you go to school until the last week of June you kind of feel like your got the short end of the stick.

Nevertheless, I am linking up with Farley once again. This time around I am fashionably late, aka time has no meaning to a teacher on summer vacation.

Listening: My nightly summer TV routine always features Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Have to keep that mind sharp! Don't want the summer slide am I right?

Loving: There is nothing like summer vacation after a long 180 days in the classroom! I am soaking up every minute of sunshine and relaxation!

Thinking: I am hosting this font themed linky party...

I may have downloaded nearly 1,000 fonts after searching through the link up. If you want to find some new fonts or link up, click the picture to join!

Wanting: I posted this picture on Instagram this morning...

That was the total price of all the items on my wish list as of 1pm. The total may have gone up another hundred dollars in a matter of hours. I might have a problem!

Needing: I really think I want to try some Jamberry wraps. I painted my nails and they were chipped literally in a matter of minutes. I would love to start off the new school year with some fancy non-chipping nails! What are your favorite designs?

4th plans: The fireworks and BBQ have been cancelled due to the impending storm. Better safe than sorry! At least they will be rescheduled!

Happy 4th everyone! Hope you enjoy time surrounded by family and friends!

Totally Transformed: Pez Dispensers

This week I am back again with another Monday Made It edition of "Totally Transformed". Last week's project of transforming the Dollar Spot bags was a huge hit! If you missed it, click the picture below to check it out! 

   

On the menu this week: transforming Pez dispensers into CVC sliders. I have been a collector of Pez dispensers since I was a child. I knew there had to be a fun way to transform these childhood favorites into a teaching tool.

Student teaching in kindergarten, a HUGE focus of the year was with CVC words. We used "Stretchy the Snake" a lot in the classroom! However, envelopes and pencil boxes can only hold the attention of a 5 year old for so long. By adding in simple character faces on a Pez dispenser, children will be instantly engaged! For example, if you have a child who loves Star Wars? No problem! Grab a Darth Vader Pez dispenser and you are golden!

Let's see the breakdown...

This project was as simple as adding two pieces of tape and writing three letters on each side. By adding the piece of tape, you have a teaching tool that can be used over and over again! However, if you don't plan on reusing these, you can skip that step and write directly on the Pez dispenser. This was seriously one of the easiest projects I have ever done! Gotta love 5 minute DIY's!

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While you are here, I also "made" a linky party called "Font-astic Favorites". It's perfect for all you font obsessed teachers out there! If you have a chance, I would love for you to link up! Click the picture below to join in on the fun!

See you next week when I tackle another everyday object and turn it into a teaching treasure!

Font-astic Favorites Tag

Have you caught the font fever???

Everyone seems to be font obsessed lately! Font lists are all over Pinterest and people are even devoting an entire binder to their font collection. In order to help spread the font wealth, I thought we could play a fun little font tag. 

Simply use the names of your favorite fonts to answer your favorite thing for each category. You can play it any way you wish. You can answer the questions as seriously as you want, or be as funny as possible. The choice is all yours as it is all for fun! 

Just use the template below, fill it in, and upload it to your blog. Then come back and link your blog post up. Once you are done, tag 3 friends to play along! Hopefully in the process you will find some new blogging friends and download a few more fonts! Just be sure you check the TOU for each font you download! 

Let's get this party started! 

Here are my Font-astic Favorites! 

Grab your template to get started! Just right click and save-as! I edited mine in PPT just like I do with Farley's Currently slides.

Background by Sonya Dehart

Flower Frame by Glitter Meets Glue Designs

Doodle Frame and Divider by Mad Clips Factory

Font by Kimberly Geswein

An InLinkz Link-up