Pin it to WIN it!

You guessed it - it's that time again ... TeacherspayTeachers' GIANT Cyber Monday (plus Tuesday) sale is right around the corner.

From Sunday, November 25th until Tuesday, November 27th, ALL my products will be on sale for 20% off.  On Monday and Tuesday, when you enter the code CMT12 at the checkout, you will receive another 10% off your order.

Pretty sweet, right?  Well, I want to sweeten it a little more for you.  On the evening of Sunday, November 25th, I will be giving away 2 - $25.00 gift certificates to TPT.  To enter, simply "pin" something from my TeacherspayTeachers store (by clicking on this link or the images in this post) to one of your boards on Pinterest.  Please leave a comment below with the link to your pin.  You can enter as many times as you want, but please pin a different product for each entry.  I will be drawing two names (using the random number generator) from the comments left below.  Happy Pinning!!!

Jen

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Catching Cooties, Birds, and Pins

Are you intrigued by my title?  I've got a few odds and ends to blog about tonight (my rule-breaking 2nd post of the day), and it's the most interesting title I could think of (I tried to be original and get a goat into the title, Kim, but I just couldn't figure out a way to get it in).  ;)

So, catching "pins" is all about Pinterest.  Have you read Laura Candler's post, "Do You Have Permission to Pin?".  If you're as addicted to Pinterest as I am, it's a MUST READ.  As you can see by the button on my sidebar, you have permission to pin images from my blog.  Please be sure you are pinning from the exact blog post (click on the title of the post) so that your pin links to the correct post (can't tell you how much time I've spent searching through blogs for ideas I've found pinned). You can check out my boards and pins by following me on Pinterest.

Moving on ... catching birds was part of our family fun yesterday.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and my youngest decided she wanted to make some bird feeders.  It sounded like a great plan so we got right on it.  I wanted to use bagels, but we didn't have any, so I found some old CDs and we used those instead (birds like shiny things, right?).  We slathered the CDs in peanut butter and then pressed them into birdseed.  Add a colourful ribbon, and you're all set.  Not long after we hung them we had a few little chickadees checking them out.  So much fun for the girls (and me).

Lastly, I've been catching some more cooties ... ummmm ... not the kind in the hair ;).  I need some fun activities for my early finishers as we're completing the last stages of publishing our book.  I want to keep the students engaged in learning, but in an entertaining way - I don't want them to feel punished for finishing early.  I've decided to set up a few stations around the room with various sets of my cootie catchers.  I just finished my Punctuation Cootie Catchers today and uploaded them to my TPT store.  Click on the picture to take a peek.And, like my others, if you are one of the first 5 to leave a comment on this post with your email address, I'd LOVE to send you a copy just for being the fabulous followers you are!
Happy Sunday!!!

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A Pinteresting Sunday

I had the pleasure of planning and enjoying a fun family day on Sunday ... well that is, at least until my daughter's supper time soccer game.  Oh well, I'll take what I can get.  I've been pinning so many fantastic holiday ideas, I couldn't wait to try some of them out.

We awoke to find our elf, Eddie, causing some mischief in the fridge.  At first the girls were a little worried they couldn't find him anywhere, but when my oldest went to get the milk for breakfast, she erupted into giggles.  Priceless!  I can't believe there are entire websites devoted to the Elf on the Shelf, but I'm having a blast looking through all the pictures.

For lunch I made my girls a "Silly Food Saturday" with a reindeer theme.  My sister makes these fabulous "Fun Food Fridays" and posts pictures on her blog every week.  My daughters follow these lunches with envy, so every once in a while, I give in and make a "Silly Food Saturday".  They appreciate it so much, it totally makes me feel guilty I don't do it more often.



Then it was on to our craft.  I pinned some similar to this a while ago (in case you haven't noticed, I have a slight snowman obsession).  I thought they looked totally do-able for my grade 5/6 class, but I always try these kinds of crafts out on my own girls first.  If they experience success, I know every member of my class will.  Plus, it gives me the opportunity to trouble shoot any potential problems.  Well, I'm happy to announce these went off without a hitch!  The hardest thing was convincing my girls to be patient while the paint dried, but thankfully, even the paint dried quickly.  I picked up these flower pots from the dollar store (3 for a dollar), and an embellishment kit (I think it was for making cards).  Some of the snowman are sporting some fancy pipecleaner and pompom earmuffs.  The toques were made out of old sweaters my little one has outgrown (I cut a bit off the bottom of each arm).  I have plenty of paint on hand.  We used Q-tips to make the eyes and mouth - something I totally recommend - even my three year-old did a fantastic job!  I LOVE these little guys - and I'm so proud of my little girls - these little snowmen were totally completed without my help (well, except for a little glue-gunning).  My three year-old did the one of the left, mine are the next two, my eight year-old did the fourth one, and my five year-old did the last one.  So much fun!  I can't wait to do this craft with my class on the last day of school.

We finished off our day with some cookies and hot chocolate.  I made these Rolo Cookies that I pinned from the Six Sisters' Stuff blog.  Oh my word - they were AMAZING!!!  (I say "were" because they're all gone now - must make more).  They were incredibly simple to make - the hardest part was keeping my girls from eating all the rolos before I got them into the cookies.


What a fantastic day!  I'm already searching through my pinterest boards for new "pinspiration" for next Sunday!

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On the Fifth Day of Christmas ...

I'm SO excited to be hosting Day 5 of TBA's 25 Days of Christmas Gifts!!!  Here we go ... sing along ...

On the fifth day of Christmas, Runde's Room gave to me
     five (x ten) Christmas treats,
     four borrowed ideas,
     three pinterest boards,
     two Christmas freebies,
     and a Baileys recipe.

5.  Five (x 10) Christmas Treats:

Rachel Lynette, from Minds in Bloom, has put together a fantastic (free) Holiday ebook with over 50 Holiday tips and freebies from TeacherspayTeachers authors.  If you haven't downloaded your copy yet, be sure you do - and please share these ideas with other teachers in your building.  There's something for EVERYBODY!  Click HERE to download your copy from TeacherspayTeachers, or HERE to download from google docs (click on file and download).  ENJOY!


4.  Four Borrowed Ideas:


I've borrowed four fabulous holiday ideas from Meet The Dubiens.  Jill (who just happens to be my sister) has put together so many fabulous holiday ideas to keep you busy through the month of December - from fun food Fridays to hand made Christmas gifts.  Click on the pictures below to bring you to each post.  And if you do stop by, be sure to wish her a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!

Adorable thumbprint Christmas ornaments (SO cute I think I'll be making a set for our tree).

Snowman cupcakes - how cute are these???  I LOVE anything with snowmen, so these are definitely on my to-do list.

And how cute would these little milk bottles be paired with the snowman cupcakes???

And perhaps my absolute favourite - her Ultimate DIY Holiday Gift Guide.  My nephew LOVES his lego table, and she has made an adorable Tea Party table for my niece.





3.  Three Pinterest Boards:


I've got a little pinspiration for you.  Here are my 3 holiday pinterest boards.  Click on the pictures to see my boards.

Holidays in the Classroom

Christmas Crafts

Christmas Baking











2.  Two Christmas Freebies:


Here are two of my Christmas Freebies.  If you haven't downloaded them yet, just click on the pictures to get your own copies.  ENJOY!

Christmas Cootie Catchers - so much fun!

Christmas Word Problems - Winter and holiday themed word problems to display over the projector or under your document camera.








1.  And a Baileys Recipe:

My perfect after dinner coffee in the winter (and perhaps Sunday morning coffee) has a shot of Baileys in it.  I've been wanting to make my own for a while, and yesterday I did it.  I couldn't test it out though, as I had to run my daughter to a Saturday night soccer game.  But yes, my Sunday morning coffee today was ... special!!!  I altered this recipe from a few recipes I had seen online.  Yummy!!!

I wish you all a VERY happy Sunday!!!  I've got a fun family day planned - finish decorating the Christmas tree, bake some cookies with my girls, and a snowman craft later this afternoon.  Good times!!!

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A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 7

Well, it's my last craft day for the week, and I have to admit - I'm going to miss it.  But I do need my evenings back to get everything ready before school starts next Tuesday.  And it will be nice to get my dining room back - my crafts and school supplies have taken over!  I'm taking a trip out to my school tomorrow to drop everything off.  I also plan to get some "before" pictures of my class at that time.

So, let's get to it.  I love the tissue paper pompoms that are hanging from the ceilings in the classrooms I've seen.  I pinned this from Keen on Kindergarten.  Her room is soooooo cute!  It's one of those rooms that makes me wish I taught kindergarten ... for a moment or two, at least.

I found instructions on how to make them from good ole Martha Stewart.  Click here to see them.  The article said to use 8 sheets of tissue paper, but I read in the comments that you should use more to make them fuller.  I used 15 sheets of 20 x 26 tissue paper for each one.  I wanted to make 5, but it turned out I only had enough paper for 3.  I hung them from the ribbon I had left over from my crayon wreath.  Another quick, cheap, and easy craft.  They'll look great hanging from the wooden beam that runs across my classroom.  So great I'll probably have to run out for more tissue paper ... I guess I'm not done with the crafting, after all.  Actually, they look pretty great hanging from my pergola on the deck - I must remember to make these for my next summer backyard party.

My latest "dress-down Friday" T-shirts arrived today from Cafe Press.  I love them!  I use the "Let's Eat Grandma" as part of a comma lesson every year.  The students LOVE this!  "You wish you could hit like a girl" will be my new coaching shirt - I coach the girls' volleyball team.  And "The dog ate my lesson plan" is just plain old funny!

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A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 6

So I'm a day late in posting this.  I got sidetracked back-to-school shopping with my kidlets yesterday.  I didn't even get a chance to work on my latest craft until last night.

This was my pinspiration.  It was posted on a forum from Two Peas in a Bucket.  I've seen the crayon monograms floating around the blog world, and I thought this was a neat take on it.  I've already made the crayon wreath and the melted crayon art, so this was a nice change.

This craft was very inexpensive to make.  I got 10 pks of pencils from Staples for 25 cents each.  I used about 25 pencils for this craft.  I bought the picture frame (shadow box frame) from the Dollar Store.  I glued some scrapbook paper to the back of the frame.  Then I printed out a template of the letter R on the computer.  I used this template to measure where I needed to cut the pencils.  I cut the pencils with a scroll saw (see - I told you before - I like using power tools).  When everything was cut, I glue gunned the pencils on.  I did almost fry my pencil sharpener (which would have made this an expensive craft), but it started working again after I gave it a rest.  I think this will look great on the top of my filing cabinet.

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A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 5

Thank-you to everyone who has left comments this week - your comments totally brighten my day!
OK - day 5 ... here goes ...

Here is my pinspiration for today's craft.  Isn't it absolutely beautiful?!?  There's just something so timeless about it ... LOVE IT!  This is from Cheeky Magpie - and complete detailed instructions are given on the site.  They're written much better than I would've written them, so I won't even try.

Today's craft required absolutely no special materials - and cost me nothing to make!  YAY!  It did however, take some time to complete ... namely cutting all the pages, and then waiting for everything to dry.  I actually left it out to dry overnight, then finished it this morning.  The only things I did differently from the instructions given on Cheeky Magpie were that I used diluted red food colouring for the pages, and I used a glue gun for any gluing.  It actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would.  I was getting worried when I was cutting the pages, because my exacto knife wasn't that sharp, and it was starting to look a little rough.  It turned out pretty well in the end, though.  I'm going to put it on my side table in my reading nook in the classroom.  I know it doesn't fit my turquoise theme, but a turquoise apple would just be ...wrong.

I have another confession today ... (these crafts are good cleansing for the soul).  When I was looking through my bookshelves for a book that wouldn't break my heart to cut up, I found an old copy of Who Has Seen The Wind.  (I'm sorry if anyone is a fan out there, but I just couldn't get through this one.)  When I opened it up to cut off the cover, I noticed that it still had my highschool stamp and name sticker.  I must have committed the crime that drives me so crazy in my classroom now.  I "stole" the book.  So, to my grade 9 English teacher, I'm sorry I kept the book.  I don't know why I kept the book.  But I'm glad I kept the book ... I like it MUCH BETTER now!  ;)

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A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 4

I'm having so much fun this week!  My nights are a little busier, and my wallet is a little lighter, but it's totally worth it!

This was my pinspiration for today's craft.  This picture came from A Girl and A Glue Gun - a great blog full of crafty ideas.  I've seen a lot of decorated clipboards out there, but I really liked these.


This was a really cheap and easy to make craft.  I already had the scrapbook paper and mod podge, so I only needed the clipboards - which I found at the Dollar Store.  The most difficult thing about these clipboards was getting the paper to fit around the clip at the top.  I made a template with a blank piece of paper, then used that template to trace all the other tops.  I finished the boards with three coats of mod podge ... I might add a few more coats ... I've been known to knock my coffee over on my desk on more than one occasion.  I do have a tip - I used wood clamps to hold the clip open to apply the mod podge and let it dry.  It worked like a charm!

My youngest thought it would be funny to "pop" up from behind the chair just as I was taking the picture.  Too funny!

I made 4 boards for myself.  One for Language Arts (I use a clipboard when I'm conferencing with my students, completing running records, keeping track of DRA testing, etc.).  One for Phys Ed - I always bring a clipboard to the gym with me (makes for quick and easy assessment and observation), and I need one for coaching (volleyball season is just around the corner).  One for homework (I keep a board to keep track of completed homework, and assignments coming in).  And one extra - for whatever I want.  Voila!  LOVE them!  I wanted to keep the turquoise theme going, but I wanted them to be bright and colourful, too.  Mission accomplished!

Time for a confession - I'm one of those teachers with the "piles" on the desk.  OK - who am I kidding ... piles on the desk, on the counter, on the bookshelf ... you get the picture.  As a result, my clipboards sometimes get buried somewhere in the piles.  Enter great idea ... I glue gunned magnets to the back of the boards (took a few more than I thought it would, but I had lots left over from my magnetic pebbles).  The wall beside my desk is metal, so I can just stick these little babies up on the wall, and keep them away from the growing piles.

And the best part ... this morning when my girls woke up excited to see what craft I had finished last night, I surprised them with clipboards of their very own.  Which makes me THE BEST MOMMY EVER!!!


Happy Thursday!

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A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 3

I've been wanting to make these crate stools for 6 weeks - that's when I first pinned this one from What the Teacher Wants.  She has fabulous (and entertaining) how-to instructions for making these crates.

I put off making them for a bit because I didn't think I'd have anywhere to put them in the classroom.  My classroom is very small and I don't even have a guided reading table.  (I do however, have the lunch room just outside my classroom which is full of tables and chairs I take advantage of ALL the time!).  And then I had a brainstorm ... or at least excuse to make them.  My students LOVE my classroom library, but I know they don't LOVE sitting on the floor while looking through the book choices.  I thought I could make the crate stools and keep them in front of the bookshelves.  And I can definitely use the extra storage - I can see them full of recycled newspapers, old magazines, sports equipment ...

I got the crates from Staples, and the fabric and foam from Walmart - I already had everything else, including piles of wood in my basement.  I've had the supplies for over a week ... but it's taken a week of nagging
asking nagging my husband to cut the wood.  (Ironic thing is, I can do all this myself - I'm actually quite proficient with power tools.  What kept me from it is the possibility of bugs hiding behind or under the wood stacked in the corner of the basement ... blecchhh!)

Anyhow, long story short ... they're done and they're FABULOUS!  The colours fit my new theme PERFECTLY ... Yay!

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A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 2

I must admit, I'm having fun with this.  And I love showing my girls my new creation when they wake up in the morning.

OK - on to day 2.  I had pinned these FANTASTIC letters made by Jaime at What's The Buzz in 1st?  You can see all of them at her Etsy store by clicking here.  They are sooooo cute it makes me wish I had a ladybug theme in my classroom (but I'm not sure my grade 6 boys would go for that).

And then, two days later, my sister came out to the cottage with THIS - a birthday present her kids had made for Popa.  I knew fate was telling me I JUST HAD to make these letters ... so off to Walmart I went for some 8" letters, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and mod podge.





I wanted to keep my letters in the same colour scheme I am planning for my classroom, so I was happy (happy dance happy) when I found scrapbook paper in the perfect colour range.  (I actually bought a HUGE package of scrapbook paper so I can bring it into the classroom - the last time I needed special paper I couldn't find any in the ENTIRE school).  I glued the scrapbook paper onto the letters with mod podge and then used a glue gun to attach the small ribbon around the edges (this step was a HUGE pain - literally - I burnt my fingers three times) - but I LOVE the effect ... and I would do it again.  I put two more coats of mod podge on the top when I was done.  Voila!  I can't wait to set these on top of our classroom library!  I took the picture with my letters on my bulletin board paper - I'm so happy with how well they turned out!

What are your pinterest inspirations?

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A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 1

Well, the countdown is officially on.  Two more weeks until I'm back to school.  I think I'm ready curriculum wise ... I've got my first week plans, I have a good idea of my long-range plans, I have my class list for groupings and seating plans ... check, check, check.

What I'm not completely ready with is my classroom decor.  Completely inspired by all your beautiful classroom pictures I've seen posted lately, I decided that this was one area I could definitely work on.  I've got a good start - I know my colours, my bulletin board paper, borders, and letters have all been delivered, I received my first Vista print order ... but I still needed that extra something to "raise the bar".

While I was fishing with the family yesterday, I had a brainstorm - I'd do a post each day this week on a pinterest-inspired craft I had completed.  It's win-win ... it will force me to complete some of those ridiculously cute crafts I've pinned, and it will give me something to blog about this week.  (I'm running out of ideas ... my camera and I have to get back to school).  So, after we returned home from our fun fishing trip (my middle daughter is the only one who caught a fish ... make that two fish), I took a quick trip to Walmart for some more supplies.


Day 1

I had pinned this melted crayon art that I had seen floating around the blog world.  This print is from Etsy, but I got the idea and the instructions from The Techy Teacher.



I bought a 16 x 20 canvas and a box of 96 crayons (I took out the white, black, grey, and all the browns).  Glue gun your crayons to the top of the canvas.  I left all the crayon names facing out (I LOVE some of the crayon names ... seriously, they just make me happy).  Then, I set to work with the hair dryer.  I kept the dryer on low, and aimed it at the middle of each crayon (so the melted wax wouldn't splatter as much).  I have to admit, it did take a while to get the effect I was looking for ... probably about an hour - but I AM LOVING the end result!  This will look great sitting on the top of one of my bookshelves in the classroom.  Voila!

Are there any pinterest-inspired crafts you've just got to try?  I'd love it if you left a comment (and even a link!).

Supplies for this craft (affiliate links):

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Pinterest Inspired Pebbles

OK - so I'm still plugging away at my plethora of pebbles.  Today we had a full-blown craft day dedicated to our beach treasures.  To be completely honest, I think I was more excited than my kids - I had seen this fabulous rock alphabet on Pinterest, and wanted to recreate it with my own pebbles.  This one was done by In The Moment - and I love it!

Today I got to make my own version.  After I finished painting the letters on the rocks (my oldest daughter told me it looked like a professional painted them!!!!), I painstakingly painted those tiny little polka dots around the rock with a tooth pick.  It took a bit of work, but it made a big difference, so it was worth it.  Thank goodness there was a Dora marathon on TV today that kept my three-year old entertained in between painting her pebbles - otherwise I would've never been able to finish my craft.  When the rocks were all painted (I just used regular acrylic paint) I gave them a spritz of spray laquer, and glue gunned magnets to the back of all the pebbles (I'll leave a link below to the magnets I used for this).  I arranged them all on a cookie sheet, added a bow, and Voila!!!  I'm soooooo proud of it!  I think it would make a GREAT teacher gift ... and my middle daughter has already asked me to make one for her new kindergarten teacher.  But this one is ALL mine ... I've never been very good at sharing ...



(affiliate link)

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Calendar Days ...

I am sooooo excited!  I grouped two of my newest obsessions together last night - and I'm so very pleased with the results.  Pinterest is one of my newest obsessions (like everyone else in the blogging world).  A while back I pinned these FANTASTIC inspirational posters I found by TeachFactory.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them at the time, but I knew I'd have to do something.  This poster is one of my favourites:

You can see all of her posters on Flickr here.  I also follow TeachFactory on facebook - take a peek here.

So last night, I was ordering some MORE FREE products from my very newest obsession, Vistaprint, and I had a GREAT idea.  I downloaded 12 of my favourite posters from TeachFactory's poster collection (it is allowed - I checked), and used them to create a calendar from Vistaprint.  GENIUS!  (If I do say so myself.)  I am absolutely in love with this calendar ... so much so I already know I'll have to get another one next year.

I can't wait to hang this by my desk in my classroom.  At the beginning of each month I can show the new picture over the ELMO, and we can discuss what the message means to each one of us.  I think the inspirational quotes will make GREAT writing prompts, too.  YAY!

I can't wait for this calendar to be shipped to me - I've ordered a whole bunch of absolutely FREE goodies from Vistaprint that I'll share with you when I get them ... 20 days from now.  Let the waiting game begin ...

Happy Thursday!

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