2015 in review

I can not believe that 2015 will soon come to an end! It has been an adventure. I have had 2 awesome student teachers, 2 amazing first grade classes, have had so many experiences that I will always remember as well as the opportunity to make new friends.

Here's 2015 in a nutshell. To see 2015 in a nutshell click on the pic below!!!
 #flipagram #Silento. 

Here's to an amazing 2016!

December Currently!

I love this Linky! I am once again, linking up with farley from Oh'Boy 4th Grade for her monthly Currently Linky!

Here is my December Currently:

Listening: I am listening to the Green Bay-Detroit football game!

Loving: I love that it has stopped raining. It has rained for the past couple of days and it has been dreary and miserable!

Thinking: I have soooo much to do before my presentation on Saturday at the Delaware Great Starts Conference! I am a little nervous because it is my first BIG conference to present at!

Wanting: I want a hot chocolate sooooo bad!

Needing: To go to sleep since I have to go to work in the morning. Thank goodness, it is a professional development day!

Real or Faux- I have a fake tree because my daughter and I are not normally here for Christmas. We leave at the beginning of Christmas Break and go to Florida!

So there was my December Currently! Click on the button below to see what some other amazing educators are Currently doing!

December Pinterest Pick 3

Hello, It is one of my favorite times of the month! I love linking up with The Inspired owl for the monthly Pinterest Pick 3 Linky!

This linky is where we get together and share three of our favorite ideas we find on Pinterest! This is such an awesome linky because we get so many fresh new ideas to use in our classrooms!

So here are my three picks for the month of December:

I love this idea! Various ways your kids can make Christmas trees in your classroom! These are great STEM activities!!!!!

How stinking cute are these!!! I love these simple fun snacks to make for my kiddos!!!

I can not get over how cute this is! Love this!!!

So there were my 3 picks for December! Please click below to go see the picks of some other awesome educators!! Happy Pinning! 

Awesome TShirts

I love t-shirts! I can not get enough of them! I feel they are just one of the best pieces of clothing ever created!!!!

Anyways, there is an amazing company who creates awesome t-shirts! They do custom designs and they have little companies off of them that create awesome t-shirts for teachers. 

This company is A+ Images and I am so glad that they are a company who work with bloggers. They had a special blogger program where they designed a t-shirt for free for bloggers.

Here is my t-shirt:






Isn't this shirt awesome! I created the logo for my blog and they made this awesome t-shirt. I have worn this and washed it several times and it has not faded. 

I highly recommend them for any custom t-shirt. So please visit 

I promise you won't be sorry!

Amazing Markers!

I was lucky enough to be able to test out these awesome chalk markers and write a review on my blog! Can I just say, I am in love!!! I just love these amazing chalk markers by Chalkola!

They are bright and easy to use! They are odorless! I just love how they look on a black surface. Here is my morning work sign!

I love how bright the colors are!

I also use these pens for the daily morning message!

These pens write great on all surfaces. My morning message is on white shower board. The morning work sign is on a black chalkboard surface and below are examples on chalkboard surfaces!

It is so bright and my kids love them!!!!

Here is my board welcoming parents to conferences. The lighting has caused some of the ink to look lighter then it is!

These are just some of the ways I have used these pens. Other ways include: making labels for my students water bottles, writing their names on their desks and writing good morning notes to them on their tables!

These markers are awesome! They are easily removed with water and a sponge. They do not stain and they do not smear! I highly recommend these markers for anybody who needs chalk pens! 

Oh and one more thing, they are not expensive!!! They can be found on amazon!!!

They are also on sale for Black Friday!!!! 

What teaching is all about!

As I sit here on this cold Veteran's Day, I am thinking about all the things and events that have occurred over my 20 years of teaching. I think of all of the events I have attended, all of the professional development and conferences that I have attended and all of the curriculums and new “ways” of teaching I have been taught and expected to use. But what I think of the most are the many students and families that I have been in contact with.

I love my job! I love everything about my job! I love the experiences both good and bad that I have had. I love all of the people I have come into contact with. But most of all I love my students. I love every single one that I have ever taught. When someone says to me what do you think teaching is all about, I say it is about relationships and it is about my students. I am not there for myself or to get a pat on the back. I am there to make sure my students learn how to be successful. I am there to make sure they all feel loved and worthy. That is what I feel teaching is all about.

The relationships I have formed with my students and their families are what make my career successful. The relationships I have made with my colleagues enrich my career. It it through these relationships that success and a love for learning grows.

Blogging creates many meaningful relationships. We are all fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to be teachers. We have keep in touch and through social media we have grown as educators. We have formed an everlasting relationship amongst the tribe of us that has enriched all of our careers. We have collaborated and provided each of us with tools and techniques to create a successful and enriched classroom. This is what teaching is all about!

So when I sit and think about what teaching is about, it is not about the awards or the recognitions I have received. It is not about me at all. Teaching is about relationships. Teaching is about my students. Teaching is about making others feel successful and worthy.

I love this video and feel that this is what sums up my post!

Have a great week!

The Value of Failing!

I just wanted to repost a blogpost I put on a special blog that i was fortunate enough to be a part of! The #WHsoc20 Blog is the group of educators who were fortunate enough to attend Teacher Appreciation at the White House last year!

Here is the post:

I know this title of my post has you thinking, what in the world is this teacher saying. Why is she saying that there is value in failing. My belief is that we all need to fail in order to succeed. We all need to take risks and try new things. If we are not successful then we try again. It is ok to fail. Why because in my classroom hangs this sign:

I truly believe that when we or our students fail it is not a bad thing. it is simply our First Attempt In Learning. We all must take that chance in order to be successful. How do we learn if we do not take risks? How do we succeed if we do not try? Nobody is successful 100 percent of the time! It is ok to Fail.

Failing teaches us procedures. Failing teaches us to think on our own. Failing teaches us that there is a time when everyone does not know how to do everything.

I have failed many times throughout my life. I have failed when I first tried to learn to hit a ball. I failed when I first tried to create a document on a computer. But if I did not have this belief that fail is my first attempt in learning then I would never have kept trying and play high school and college softball and I would not have a masters in Technology!

To Fail is to learn to think for yourself, to problem solve and become successful. One of my favorite quotes is from Robin Williams from Dead Poet Society and it is:

November Pinterest Pick 3

Well, it's that time of the month when I link up with Lisa from Pawsitively teaching for her monthly, Pinterest Pick 3, Linky! This is when you get some amazing ideas to do in your classroom from other educators! I love this linky!!!

So here are my.......

I love this as a sweet, fast and fun snack. Great to do with your owl units!

Love this thankful for craft!

Love these Bald eagles! What a great idea to teach Freedom, Liberty and American Symbols during the month of November!

Well, there are my three monthly picks for this awesome linky! Click the picture below to go see what some other awesome educators pinned this month!!!

November Currently!

I am linking up with Farley of Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her awesome monthly linky! 

Here is my November Currently!

Listening: I am currently listening to the announcers on Sunday Night Football. The Packers versus the Broncos. I am a Patriots fan so I sincerely hope Denver loses!!

Loving: That the season is Fall and that the leaves are finally turning the warm Fall colors! I love this time of year!

Thinking: I have soooooo much to do but I just want to sit and watch football tonight!

Wanting: I so desperately want a nice large nonfat hot chocolate with extra whipped cream but I am in my pj's and I am not going to go out to get one right now! :(

Needing: to sit down and get all of my parent teacher conferences scheduled and the letters of confirmation sent home! 

Yummy: OMG I absolutely love Cream Pie!!! It is so sweet and it melts in your mouth! If you have never had it, you have got to try it!!! It is easy to make: 1 container of heavy whipping cream, 1 cup of sugar, 1tsp of flour, and 1 tsp of vanilla. Mix all ingredients together, pour into pie crust and cook at 375 for 1 hour!

So there is my Currently for November! Click on the picture below to see what some other amazing educators are currently doing this fine November day!!!

A new color!

I am so excited to be partnering with Classroom Friendly Supplies and be able to share with you, the brand new color of the best pencil sharpener I have ever used! I absolutely love this sharpener! It is awesome!

What I love about this company, Classroom Friendly Supplies, is that they listen to teachers. We requested and they made this sharpener in a brand new color......... PURPLE!!!!!!!!! And let me tell you it is awesome! My girls love it!

So now, not only do we have an amazing pencil sharpener that is quiet and provides us with an awesome point but it is also decorative and hip!

Look at the points!!!!

They offer a special Teacher pack as well. This is a pack of three of these amazing sharpeners for only $53.97- That is only $17.99 per sharpener. The colors are gorgeous and this allows us a chance to afford to set up multiple sharpening areas in your room to avoid congestion!!!!

If you have never used one of these, you are missing out on an awesome sharpener. It takes very little off of the pencil, so your pencils last longer. The point is so sturdy, that it lasts for a long time. There are less congregations at the pencil sharpener because the point lasts so long!

Here is a video about this awesome sharpener:





This sharpener is a classic! The colors are vibrant! The new purple is bright, colorful and loved by the girls! Please check it out!!!

An Awesome Day With..........

Oh, my! Can I just say, I had the best two days, I think I have ever had! I had the awesome opportunity to spend two days with Debbie Clement!

First, a little background! I met Debbie through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! We began chatting and then I began to participate in her amazing Twitter chat #teacherfriends on Tuesdays from 9pm to 10pm. We became fast friends. Then we started talking about a possible visit and before you know it, she was here!!!!

Here we are in my classroom on the day she arrived!

So, she arrived on Monday, and did 3 assemblies with the three upper grades. Then she spent time at school with me until we went to dinner at Crabby Dicks! Some of my close teacher friends joined us! This was a fun and entertaining dinner! Then she came to my house for the night!

My daughter was so excited to have a real live author sleeping in her house! She was bouncing off the walls! 

Then on Tuesday, debbie came to school with me and she did the assemblies for grades 1, 2 and K. Amazing does not even describe this assembly! The kids were engaged, on task and mesmerized! they loved all the sings, dances and books! They really loved it when the teachers danced to Go Piggy!

Here are some pictures:

Loved this experience! Loved the books! Loved how happy she made my kids! I just love her!!!!!

Did I mention this day was amazing!!!!!!!!