100th Day Projects

I'm a few days late here on posting this, but I wanted to share some of my students' 100th day projects.  We celebrated our 100th day of kindergarten last week... on Valentine's Day.  That's right, folks... two of the craziest days wrapped up into one little school day!  We had lots of fun celebrating, but I must admit I was quite happy to see the clock strike 4:00.

This little girl made an entire binder/book full of 100 different items she found around the house.  Everything was neatly taped and arranged on paper and slid into page protectors.  The front of the binder even had a little biography about herself and list of the 100 different items!  It's really great!

I love this one!  It's so bright and cheery!

 Pinspiration?  This is so cute... and my kiddos are super excited to eat this one up!

Here's a quick shot of some of my other creations.  We had flower petals, cereal, stickers, candy, and more!  I was really impressed with their creativity.

Did your kids bring in projects to help celebrate the 100th day of school?  And, is it too early to start the countdown to summer?  Just wondering...... I can't believe how fast the first 104 have flown by!

Five for Friday

So, my very favorite non-teaching blog is The Small Things Blog.  It's truly amazing.  Fashion, make-up, home decor, and much more... all my favorite things wrapped up in one lil' blog.  You should really check it out if you aren't already a stalker follower of her blog.  Actually, it's quite likely you've run across her hair tutorials on Pinterest.  Ok, I'm digressing here.  My point was that every week she does a "High Five for Friday" post and I always enjoy reading it so I was super excited when I saw that Kacey over at Doodle Bugs Teaching has been hosting a "Five for Friday" linky party.

1. I am super impressed with the progress my kinders are making with their writing.  I recently moved my writing time to first thing in the morning (rather than after lunch).  They are writing the second they walk in the door before they even start unpacking.  I'm finding that they are so much more focused on their task.

2. We had a busy Thursday celebrating Valentine's Day and our 100th Day of School!  My sweet hubby surprised me at school with this beautiful bouquet of flowers.

3. My blog business cards arrived in the mail this week.  It's just easier to give someone a card than spell everything out for them.  Do other bloggers out there have business cards?

4. My principal and I have been working very hard on getting our data boards up and running.  (Keep in mind this is a first year school so it's one small step at a time.)  This is a picture from earlier in the week.  I'll post completed pictures once we get the data and headers up!  :)

5. It's a loooong weekend!  Happy President's Day!

Super Bowl Sale!

It's time to shop!  Head on over to my TPT store for some great deals today.  I'm offering 20% off every item in my store.... plus TPT is offering an additional 10% off using the promo code SUPER.

Thanks to Erin & Leslie for sharing this adorable banner!

Here are some products from my store that will help get you through the upcoming months...

My math journals are available for months August-May!

Happy shopping!

Classroom Makeover, CC Assessments, & DIY Project

Does anyone out there love a good makeover as much as I do?  It doesn't matter what you're making over.... a person, a room, a house-- I LOVE MAKEOVERS!  Did anyone else out there used to watch "A Makeover Story" on TLC?  Oh, that show seems like forever ago!  Anyways, back to the topic at hand... I'm in the midst of an extreme classroom makeover!!  If you saw my post of classroom pictures at the beginning of the year, then you understand why a makeover is needed.  I was hired the Friday before school started so, needless to say, there was minimal time to set up.  My room has been driving me crazy since day one.  The mismatched border all over my room is enough to push me over the edge!

Of course, the first step to any good makeover is Pinterest-- that is where I began.  I hit the jackpot of all links with this one.  After looking at TONS of other classroom pictures and knowing what colors I'm working with in my classroom {furniture, carpet, etc.} I decided to go with red, bright green, and bright blue/teal as a starting point.  I'm going to use polka dots to help tie it together.  I was inspired most by Deanna Jump's old beach/pirate classroom.  {P.S. That woman is AMAZING!}  Here are some items I've bought to get my makeover started:

I think I have a calendar illness.... this is my 4th calendar set in 5 years of teaching.  I guess I like changing it up!  Thank you to my super duper amazing husband who drove over an hour {each way} to buy this for me.  :)

I was going to just plan out my makeover and do everything over the holiday break, but I can't help myself so I'm working on it a little bit at a time before and after school.  The kids are very excited and have told me we'll have a "very cool" classroom when I'm done!  Silly kids, but I do agree with them!  hehehe

I promise, classroom pictures will be posted as soon as it's ready!  I'm so E.X.C.I.T.E.D.

Ok, on to Common Core Assessments.  I've been searching for some assessments to use on my kids as quick checks on their understanding for the different standards.  I was also looking for a way for my whole grade level team to be on the same page.  I came across Mrs. Vanmeter from Primary Possibilities during my search.  In her TPT store she offers a ton of assessment freebies and some for sale.  You should definitely check it out if you're looking for Common Core Assessments!

Finally, my DIY project {in addition to my classroom makeover}.  I went to Lowe's last night to get materials to make this pirate ship, but I got completely distracted by the aisle of PVC pipe.  My kiddos are having a heck of time with the whole concept of whispering so I'm going to try whisper phones.  I really liked this post from Chalk Talk so that's what I followed to buy my materials.

Cyber Monday Sale, New Units, & a Freebie!

I'm sure you've all heard by now... TPT is having a huge Cyber Monday sale {running Monday & Tuesday}.  I'll be offering 20% off every item in my shop for this sale.  In addition to this discount, TPT is offering a promo code {CMT12} for an additional 10% off your entire purchase!

With a few days off work for the holidays, I've had some time to create a few new things for my classroom.  Check them out in my TPT shop!

And now, on to that freebie.... gingerbread playdough recipe!  For one of my literacy stations {included in my new "Jingle All the Way" unit}, students will be stamping high frequency words in gingerbread playdough.  It smells wonderful!  Here's some pictures of how to make it.

Click the image to download this freebie!

M.I.A.

Oh. My. Goodness.  I have been the WORST blogger ever!  I can't believe I haven't blogged for over 2 months!  I'm so sorry I've been M.I.A.  I've been keeping so busy learning the ropes in Kindergarten.

Here's a little recap of my October adventures in the classroom:

Can you tell I used my new camera to take this picture... love it!

I left my old tree in NC when I moved and I just couldn't live without it so I made a new one!

Check out this link for directions to make a tree of your own: Mrs. Jump's Class

My hubby crafted this little beauty.  The colors make me happy.  :)

I promise to be a better blogger as the year goes on.  I hope everyone is having a great year!

I'm a Kindergarten Teacher now! :)

I feel bad that I've been so absent from my blog lately.  If you've been following my blog, then you know I left my job as a first grade teacher in June and moved back closer to home with my husband.  I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find a job since teaching jobs are so hard to come by up north, but I got lucky.  It all came about very quickly, but now I'm a kindergarten teacher here in Ohio!  I can't believe I have my friends and family so close AND I'm teaching.  It's my dream come true!

It's been a busy start to the school year.... and HOT {my classroom isn't air conditioned}.  We've been busy learning our classroom rules and routines and getting to know each other.  Since I'm in a new grade I've had an excuse to buy lots of amazing resources on TPT.

I love using Mr. Wiggle at the beginning of the year to help kids learn how to use my books in the classroom.  After reading "Mr. Wiggle's Book" a few times, we brainstormed everything we can do or not do to make sure we take care of our books.  Then, we made our very own Mr. Wiggle using a craftivity I found on TPT.

To help us all learn each other's names we've been doing "Who Took the Cookie from the Cookie Jar" each morning.  For this, and many other awesome beginning of the year ideas, I got Kim Adsit's Going to School unit.  I love this unit-- everything is so easy to just print out and laminate!

Another great purchase is Deanna Jump's Chit Chat Morning Messages.  It has been so super easy to just look at her messages, write them on my board, and use her images.  It has seriously saved me so much time!  This is just the first set in a series so I'm looking forward to more to come!

Finally, I got an alphabet book unit.  It has a booklet for each letter with pictures for the kids to color and repeatitive text.  We're not quite ready for it now, but I will be getting it ready for upcoming months.

Once things settle down a bit I'll be getting around to making my own kindergarten units, but for now I'm more than happy to put other's hard work to use in my classroom!  And now, I'll leave you with a little tour of my classroom.  {Keep in mind I had 3 days from hire to the first day.  It's very different from my previous classroom, but I'm liking it.}

Before:

After:



Since these pictures there have been a lot of changes... I got new tables {circular/flower shaped}, a carpet, easel, and more!  I'll add more pictures later.

If there are any fabulous kindergarten teachers out there with advice for a new K teacher, I'd love to hear it!  Happy school year!  :)