Vistaprint Groupon!

I just grabbed an amazing Groupon... $20 for $80 worth of amazing deals at Vistaprint!  In case you haven't heard of this amazing website, you can make anything from sticky notes to notebooks and huge signs, completely customized by you!  My BFF even made all of her wedding save the dates, menus and programs through them. Click {HERE} to check out the deal... there's only a few hours left!

Here is what I made last time:

 Address Labels

 Notepads with ALL my information on it... it's so great to not have to rewrite your phone number every time!

 Sign & return stamp

 Doublesided postcards for our "I know ALL my letters!" celebrations.  These came out extra cute!

 Sweet sign for outside our door

 Personal notepad

*In case you are not already a Groupon member, click {HERE} to sign up!

PS. I have NO affiliation with either Vistaprint or Groupon.  If they want to sponsor me I would love it, though!

Guest Bloggers Wanted

I am going on vacation for ten days coming up in August, and will not have internet access.  I would LOVE to find some guest bloggers to help me out!  Have a few extra minutes and an interesting topic (any teaching type topic will do)?  Want some publicity that will send new readers back to your blog?  Perfect!


It is super easy to guest blog.  Here's how it works:

1. Write a post in YOUR blogger, but do not publish it yet.  You can use pictures, links and all that jazz.
2. Click to the "Edit HTML" tab.  Copy and paste all of this, and email it to me at adventures.in.k.blog@gmail.com.
3. I will let you know what day and time your post is scheduled for, so that you can publicize it!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right?

{HERE} are a few examples of previous guest bloggers, in case you want to check it out.

Tell Me More!

I had to steal Hadar's idea for Mrs. Lemon's sweet linky party!

Here are The ABCs of me:

A- Age: 28.

B-Bed size: Queen! When we moved we got a wannabe tempurpedic pillowtop and I am IN LOVE!  It's like sleeping on a cloud.  I hate sleeping on anything else.

C-Chore you hate: I like doing a lot of chores, especially laundry!  I do hate vacuuming and talking care of the kitty litter, so I let Mr. Man do those :)

D-Dogs: I grew up with labs and adore them.  Sweetest dogs on the planet.  I want one SO badly but we don't have enough time to devote to a puppy right now :(

E-Essential to start your day: Orange juice and coffee, in that order.  I absolutely positively cannot start my day with anything else.

F-Favorite color: Pink, pink, pink.  I also love aqua.

G-Gold or silver: Silver or white gold.  Especially the white gold!

H-Height: I am pretty tall!  5'11

I-Instruments you play: I used to be decent on the piano but I have definitely lost the touch.  I am hoping to start taking lessons again soon.

J-Job title: Kindergarten teacher! I ADORE my job.  I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl and used to force my little sister and all of my dolls to be my class.  I would pull out my easel and go to town.  I even made seating charts :)

K-kids: I would love to have 2 or 3.  I am just not ready yet!  I love being able to be spontaneous and free.  Also, I want to do everything the old fashioned way, and I'm not married yet.

L-Live: Boston.  I fell in love with this city in college and think I will be here forever!  Technically we live in the suburbs now because we could get lots more house for the money.

M-Milk? I love all dairy products... especially ice cream!  If I were to wake up tomorrow lactose intolerant I might die.

N- Nicknames: Mar Bear. 

O-Overnight hospital stay: None!  So thankful to have been relatively healthy so far.

P-Pet peeves:  Bad table manners... especially chomping/smaking/chewing.  Eww!

Q-Quote from a movie: "You like apples?  Well I got her number.  How do you like them apples?"  Still head over heels for Matt Damon.  And Ben Affleck!

R-Right/lefty: Righty.

S- Siblings: I am the oldest of four... My sister is 4 years younger and my brothers are 13 and 17 years younger.  Crazy, right?

T-Time you wake up: 5:45.  It is SO BRUTAL.  I have a 35 minute commute that turns into 50 minutes or more if I leave after 6:30.  So sad!

U-Underwear: VS or Gap Body.  SO comfy.

V-Veggies you dislike: Zucchini, squash and brussel sprouts.  I am much more of a fruit girl!

W-What makes you run late: Being forgetful!  I usually have to run back in the house to get my phone, my ipod, my coat, my planbook or whatever else I forgot.

X-X-rays you've had: Just my teeth.

Y-Yummy food you make: I love to cook and I REALLY love to bake!  If I had to pick just a few I would say my lasagna, and all of my baked goods... especially chocolate chip cookies :)

Z-Zoo animal: I have always had a thing for elephants.  They are just so beautiful.

{{My favorite things!}}


Coffee!  COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT IT.  I love Starbucks as a special treat (I still can't figure out how they dare charge almost $5 for a grande macchiato!) and Dunkin' every. single. day.

 My baby!  He is our little Irish kitty, O'Brien.  He is a little snuggler, and has tons of personality.

Flowers!  My two very favorites are peonies and tulips.

 Reading!  I can't get enough lately... I will read almost anything.  Recent favorites are The Hunger Games and Marilyn Monroe's autobiography.

  Getting pedicures (and massages, and facials...).  I love love love to be pampered but I don't do it very often.

Travel!  If I were a millionaire I would spend my whole summers jet setting around the world.  Some places I am dying to go to are Italy and Greece, Fiji and (almost) anywhere in South America.  My two most amazing trips so far were a tour of Europe with my Grandma and backpacking around Costa Rica with my best friend.

I am NOT Ready!

For this...

 

I went to Target last week and walked into this...

 At that point I had not even been out of school for a month!  As of today it has been one month and five days.  And already I am surrounded by pencils and markers and notebooks.

What I am a fan of, however, is the dollar spot!  Here are some of the awesome deals that I scoped out.   I apologize in advance for the not so fabulous phone photos.

 Who doesn't love cute bins for $1?

 There were tons of workbooks like this for all kinds of topics.  They might be good for extra practice or fast finishers.

 LOVED these uber cute to do lists and sticky notes!

And last but not least, adorable name strip thingies (What are they actually called?!?).  Love the froggy especially.

Also,since TPT was down yesterday I have extended my sale until tomorrow night at midnight. Click {HERE} to check out all of my products at 20% off!

Happy shopping!

My New Obsession

First of all, I have to mention that everything in my TPT store is on sale TODAY ONLY!  Click {HERE} to check it out!

So this post may not technically 100% relate to teaching.  BUT I am obsessed and I just had, had, had to share.  Olioboard is a great {FREE} website that allows you to create mood boards... perfect for redecorating (or just plain decorating in my case... you can't "redecorate" something that was never decorated in the first case).  

I am super excited to have my very own craft//teacher stuff room in our house.  Except that right now it is completely empty, except for the piles of clutter junk precious teaching stuff that I might will definitely be doing by the end of the summer.  It's awful!  With working full time this summer I haven't had a second to get to it, but I am determined to!  I am also determined to have fun and make it look beautiful (plus, I enlisted my BFF to help, and she has great taste).

I used Olioboard to whip up this sweet little baby:

Isn't it cute?  The room is painted Sherwin Williams' Waterscape, a very light turquoise.  So pretty!  And {HERE} is where I got all my inspiration.  Love!  I would love to see if you can whip up any Olioboards of your own.  It would be great if you are changing over your classroom color scheme!

PS. For an awesome tutorial on Olioboards check out I Heart Organizing

*I have absolutely nothing to do with Olioboard and do not receive anything for talking about them on my blog... I just really, truly love this site!*

Christmas in July

Not just my seasonal items but ALL of the items in my store are on sale tomorrow for ONE DAY ONLY.  20% off, to be exact.  So hurry on over and check out my store {HERE} to see if there's anything you want to get your hands on at an amazing price.

I am linking up with Blog Hoppin'

"Borrowing" from the Library

I'm not talking about books!  I have been nannying two very sweet little ones this summer and have been spending a lot of time in the nice, air conditioned library.  We stopped by for craft time last week and I was super impressed!  Of course, the teacher in me had to sneakily take pictures of their amazing organization and directions.  I love this for older students (who can read the directions) or for a parent craft time (which we do in my classroom once a month).  It would eliminate so much confusion and so many "What am I supposed to do nows?"

 Owl paper bag craft and bat headband craft.  Love the step by step directions and the labels on all of the little containers (which are actually recycled berry baskets.  cute!).  I wish I would have remembered to take pictures of the final products!

The top two photos show a shooting star project that was super cute and easy.  The kids took two die cut stars and decorated one side of each with markers and stickers.  They glued three streamer strips onto one side of one of the stars, then glued the other star on top.  Voila... a shooting star!  

The bottom two pictures show this amazing paint paper stuff that they had.  All you do is dip your brush into water, touch it on the colorful squares and paint!  Perfect if you are looking for a super easy paint experience.

 These last pictures are not of a craft but of a super cute "Planetarium" that they had set up in the back.  It was a refrigerator box spray painted black inside and covered with silver contact paper outside.  They used glow in the dark stars to make constellations inside, and also had all of the planets.  How much would your kids LOVE this during a space unit?

Currently

I am not just fashionably late to this linky party... I am officially super duper late.  Oops!  Here we go...

Reads:

1.  It is a classic, I know, but Where the Wild Things Are has been one of my very favorite picture books since I was a little girl.  I read it during my demo lesson that got me my first teaching job (which is, six years later, my ONLY teaching job) so now it is not just a favorite book, it's a lucky book.  I love reading it aloud to my class every year because they LOVE the part where the Wild Things ROAR their terrible roars, ROLL their terrible eyes and GNASH their terrible teeth.  Love!

2.  I couldn't pick just one go to professional book.  Debbie Diller is a guru of all things teaching, as far as I'm concerned.  Here are my two favorites so far:

And here is what I am going to read on vacation this summer:

Link up to {Oh' Boy 4th Grade} for this super fun monthly party!

Ooh Pinterest, You're So Fine...

You're so fine you blow my mind hey Pinterest!

Okay, so I can't stop pinning.  I took a little leave of absence from blogland and pinning for a little over a week for my best friend's wedding festivities and a little vacation.  No computers.  No internet.  NOT EVEN ON OUR CELL PHONES!  I practically had the shakes!  

Anyway, when I got back to the land of internet and all things magical, I kind of went bonkers.  Here are a few of my favorite finds so far:

 

Source: simplykinder.com via Mary on Pinterest

Prepping PARENTS for Kindergarten... yes!  She has zillions of other amazing FREE printables too, including an awesome alphabet chant

Source: simplykinder.com via Mary on Pinterest

Super cute shape printable

Source: frogsandcupcakes.blogspot.com via Mary on Pinterest

DIY graph to use with REAL items... made with duct tape and a tablecloth!  What a great way to make graphing tangible for little ones

Source: theschoolsupplyaddict.com via Mary on Pinterest

Tons of photos of beautiful classrooms to inspire you

Source: clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com via Mary on Pinterest

DIY no sew apron for $1 plus some fabric scraps... YES!

Source: youtube.com via Mary on Pinterest

Another way to help teach the difference between b and d.  I love this guy!

And last but not least...

LOVE.THIS.MUCH.

And the Winners are...

The Winner of the Melissa & Doug magnetic calendar is Cathy who said "I follow you on Facebook!"

The winner of any item from my TPT store is Cindy, who said "I a new follower of your blog! :o)"

Congratulations, ladies!  I have emailed you.  Thank you so much to everyone who participated!  Keep your eyes peeled for more giveaways coming soon!

 

LAST CHANCE TO ENTER - GIVEAWAY!

Only two more hours left to enter my giveaway!

You could win this:

OR any item in my TPT Store!

Click {HERE} to enter.  It's super easy, I promise!

Awesome Prizes from Shutterfly!

Long Live Summer Photo Contest

Shutterfly is having a huge photo sweepstakes giveaway with instant win prizes AND an awesome grand prize... a trip for four to The Bahamas with a professional photo shoot!  All you need to do is upload your favorite photo and caption based on the theme of the week.  Get a gift from Shutterfly just for entering! You can enter at any point during the 5-week sweepstakes period. 

PHOTO THEMES

•       Week 1(7/9): Americana

•       Week 2 (7/16): Great Outdoors

•       Week 3 (7/23): Water Fun

•       Week 4 (7/30): Sports & Activities

•       Week 5 (8/6): Parties & Celebrations

PRIZES

•       Instant win prizes just for submitting a photo!

•       Weekly prizes (contestants can enter one time/week)

•       Weekly featured photos: up to 5 weekly entries will be selected from the gallery and featured on the Facebook fan page and awarded a $500 gift card on Shutterfly and a copy of the new Lonely Planet travel photography book.

•       Grand prize: trip for 4 to Bahamas, 4 nights, family photo shoot

•       Shutterfly Sweepstakes - Official Rules

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway {HERE}.  Only two more days to enter to win two awesome prizes!

*in the spirit of full disclosure, I will receive a promo code for a photobook for bloggign about this contest.  xoxo

Games

I don't know about you, but I am always having trouble thinking up new ways to reach my kinesthetic learners.  I feel like I do the same things with them over and over and over again.  I am pumped to have found a couple games lately that could liven up my routine and reach all my learners.

Twisterz

I LOVE this one!  There are a bunch of different versions including word builder an dstory starter.  The one I have played is Alphabet Matcher, and the kids I played it with LOVED it.  You load the picture and alphabet rings onto a special stick, then twist the pictures all around until they match the correct letter.  It is fun, interactive and can be done anywhere... at a table, on the rug, in the car, laying down, standing up.  I also love how they use real pictures instead of drawings.  This would be great for my ELL kids too!  Click {HERE} to check it out.

Super Stretchy ABC

This Dr. Seuss game combines phonics with Twister!  What's not to love?  You spin the super cool dial and follow the directi9ons.  For example it might tell you to put your hand on N, your foot on apple and your ear on lamp.  When a player can't follow the directions any more it is the next person's turn.  

Hullabaloo

This is a Cranium game that is a little less academic, but is great for following directions.  Kids have to listen to the little speaker thingy and do what it says.  For example, stand on a circle/animal/food/something red.  I have bought this for a couple of favorite kids in my life and they all love it.

I would love to hear if anyone knows of other great games that encourage movement!

*I have absolutely positively nothing to do with any of these game companies and gain nothing by talking about them on my blog... I just love the games.  BUT if they want to send me a free copy I would be totally into that too ;)

GIVEAWAY!!!

In honor of the start of summer, and a super late 300 followers celebration I am having a GIVEAWAY!

First Prize:

A Melissa and Doug Magnetic Calendar

 I was given this awesome calendar for Christmas and have been using it in my classroom.  The kids LOVED it when we turned out dramatic play area into a school!  It would also be great for a math or social studies calendar, or for your own kids.  See {HERE} for all of the product info.

Second Prize:

My fantabulous plants and seeds literacy and math unit, or ANY item from my TPT Store!  You choose :)

Click {HERE} to see all of my items. 

There are 2 Ways to Win.  Please leave one comment with your email address for each step. 

1. Follow my Blog {this is the only mandatory one!}
2.  Follow my brand spanking new Facebook page {HERE}

This giveaway ends this Friday, July 13th at 9pm.

Good luck!