Home Meet the Blogger Freebies Contact TeachersPayTeachers BlogLovin Instagram Pinterest Facebook Twitter Image Map

April 25, 2016

Markdown Monday!

For the first time ever I am linking up with Kelly and Kim from Kelly and Kim's Kindergarten Kreations for their Markdown Monday linky party!


Starting today and running through Sunday, April 30th,  I am putting my connect 4 with digraphs on sale! :)

It is a super fun game that keep the kids engaged while learning and reviewing.   What more can you ask for, right?   All you have to do is print out the connect 4 pages, laminate and voila--game is made!






Make sure you click on over to Kelly and Kim's blog to see what other sellers have discounted!  You could find some real gems at a cheap price!

Happy shopping!



April 14, 2016

#TBT Sparking Student Motivation

How about a little #throwbackthursday for this blog post???

My school has begun the much anticipated (and dreaded) litany of standardized assessments.  We all know how draining these tests can be on our precious babies......so I like to give my students a little extra push of motivation in the form of a treat.

Read my blog post by clicking here (originally posted on Feb. 28, 2015) to see just what special little treats I give my kiddos! :)

You can read the original post by clicking here, or just read below!:


Original post (Feb. 28, 2015)
I'm linking up with Head Over Heels Teaching for her every Saturday linky: Spark Student Motivation Saturdays


If you haven't ever had a chance to check out her linky.....you must!  Joanne always has some great bloggers link up with some pretty awesome tips to motivate your kiddos! :)

The motivation I am sharing today, is a way to give your students little extra push for those super fun high stakes tests! :)

As we all know, high stakes testing can be very stressful for all parties involved (students, parents AND teachers)!  Now......here in the state of Kansas it seems extra stressful because we have a jacked (for lack of a better word) up assessment system. 

Originally the Kansas State Board of Education had voted to assess students using the Smarter Balanced consortium assessments.....however that decision was reversed a little over a year ago.  In lieu of that reversal, the Kansas State Board of Education opted to contract with Kansas University's Center for Education and Evaluation (CETE) to develop common core assessments.  In case you want to read more about this, check out this article from the Topeka Capital- Journal.   The CETE assessments were rolled out last year.....with a MULTITUDE of issues.....in fact some school districts flat out refused to give the assessments!  Read more about that from this article from the Lawrence Journal World. 

Sooooooo......despite the stress.......despite the political craziness.......despite the technology flops......I choose to encourage my kiddos with tasty treat each day!

When my students come in the class, sitting on their desk is a small treat that matches a clever little tasty treat tag.  This small gesture isn't much.....but it makes the kids smile and gets them excited about days that are normally stressful!  Some of my kids save there little notes....just to look at them when they need a little extra push!  So cute! 


I have 15 different sayings that I use....which all use a different treat.  I try to switch it up each year....so I don't get repeats.  The saying I use are:

  • It's crunch time. Show what you know! (Crunch bar)
  • Best of luck on your test! (bag of lucky charms)
  • Shine like a star! (Starburst)
  • We are cheering you on to success!  (bag of Cheerios)
  • Go the Extra mile! (Extra gum)
  • Rock the test! (pop rocks)
  • Razzle-Dazzle us with what you have learned! (Razzles)
  • You were mint to pass this test! (peppermints)
  • Be a nerd and ace this test! (Nerds)
  • Blow the test up! (Blow Pops)
  • Get fired up for the test! (Fireballs)
  • You are on a roll, keep up the good work! (Tootsie Rolls, or Rolos)
  • Best of luck smarty pants! (Smarties)
  • Skor the best on the test! (Skor)
  • You are ofishally ready for the test! (Sweedish fish)
These tags are pretty easy to use---that's why I love them.  All I do is print out the tags, cut them up and place a little piece of candy on their desk!  Easy Peasy my  friends!

April 3, 2016

April Currently

Hi Friends!

I am linking up with Farley for her beginning of the month linky, Currently.


I am listening to Log Cabin Living on HGTV.  My husband and I are pretty much HGTV junkies.....

I am loving that today is Rudy's 7th birthday!  We plan on celebrating tomorrow at school!


On Tuesday we have a salad luncheon at school, so I am thinking about this delicious pasta salad I am going to make.  I found it on Pinterest last week.....made it....and loved it!  Do yourself a favor and check it out!


I am wanting my plants to sprout.  Last week my neighbors and I had a "sowing the seeds" party......it was pretty much a blast!  We decided that having parties where you plant seeds officially makes us all old.....#sowwhat. :)  Ummm.....did you know that it takes asparagus 730 days to reach maturity?!?!  I thought it was a typo....but no...so we will be enjoying asparagus 2 years from now. haha



I am needing the Kansas Legislature to get their act together.  If you haven't been following what has been going on in Kansas in regards to our government.....check out what Seth Meyers has to say about it. Ha!


Okay we have already established I am an old person because I have seed planting parties......lets just add another layer to that.  For my whatever I am super excited about the Tulip Festival in a nearby town next weekend!  It is going to be FUN! :)  I promise to post pics! :)