1 2 3 Count with Me!

Hola!  I am just popping by real quick to let you know that my ENTIRE store is on sale for 28% off today and tomorrow.

And here is my brand spanking new product (and most favorite ever!).  It is a comprehensive unit with fun, engaging and easily differentiated math centers for Kinders and Pre-K kids.

1, 2, 3 Count with Me! hits every.single Counting and Cardinality Common Core Standard for both Pre-K and Kindergarten multiple times.  Plus it is super easy to prep and includes student friendly directions to maximize independence (and minimize the random tap-tap-taps and "I don't know what to do"s).

 1, 2, 3 Count with Me!

All About Patterns

You can snag both of these units together HERE for a huge discount!

How to Add a Watermark to Photos

 I started thinking a lot about watermarks this summer after our wedding.  Our amazing wedding photographer insists that her logo goes on every.single.photo and I totally agree with that.

Think about it... you take a photo in your classroom and upload it to your blog.  Anyone in the world can grab that via a right click or a screenshot and say that it's theirs.  Even the most well meaning person could be using your photos in a manner that you do not agree with or give your permission for.

There are fancy and high tech ways to add watermarks for photos, and someday hopefully I will learn how to use Photoshop or some other fancy pants program.  In the meantime, here is my easy peasy lemon squeezy way of adding watermarks to my blog photos.  I hope it helps!

 Before you begin, you will need a watermark.  You can contact any blog designer.  They can usually do it for you pretty inexpensively.  I used the A.MA.ZING LaNesha Tabb, who also designed my whole blog and Facebook banners.  Cute, right?

You will also need a photo editing program.  I use Paint.net because, um, it's free and it works really well.

Valentine's Day Lucky Duck Freebie

I was looking for a super cute, non-edible valentine idea for my little babies.  Our school district has a very strict healthy food policy, so I am not allowed to give out candy.

I found the adorable idea of using rubber duckies instead of candy.  I LOVED playing in the bathtub when I was a kid, so I figured that my little ones would feel the same way.  I also wanted something that wouldn't break the bank.  The ducks ended up costing 52 cents per student... woo hoo!

This project was pretty easy... All it took was a few trashy TV shows and I cranked these little puppies duckies right out.

Here's how:

Materials

2" Rubber Ducks

Cardstock Paper

Hole Punch

3" Circular Punch (optional)

Ribbon

Directions

Download your freebie by clicking on the picture below:

If you need a class list and letter of explanation for your class, you can grab that for free {here}.  

Enjoy!

Currently February

My current goal is to stop letting life get in the way and start getting back in the blogging habit.  Step one: linking up with Farley for Currently.

Listening to whatever is on HGTV.  It's my go to background tv channel

Loving that my kitchen is not the giant dust pit that it has been for the last three weeks!

Are you ready to see some serious ugliness?!  Here are the before pictures:

I like to call it Little House on the Prairie meets Mad Men chic

So we demo-ed all of the cabinets and counters,

Removed this wall

And were left with this giant dust pit for three weeks

 I could literally see down into my basement through the floor, and every.single.thing we own was covered in a lovely layer of dust.

And here's how it looks now!

 Definitely not perfect, but I love seeing it actually start to look like a kitchen instead of a scary nightmare!

 I can still see down into the basement through the floor, though...

Thinking of random projects to do because we have had eleventy billion snow days.  Today I organized my tshirt and tank top drawers.  Yes, seriously.  That's how bored I am!

Now that there is a light at the end of the tunnel in our kitchen project, I am wanting to redecorate my entire house.  Well, technically decorate our house since we moved in all of our ratty old apartment furniture and have been saving up for real, grown up furniture.

Needing this snow to stop.  No, really.  I never thought I would say this but if we have one more snow day I'm going to lose my ever loving mind!  Out of the last 11 school days, 7 have been snow days.  I went for a weekend in Boston with Mr. Hubs last weekend and some of the snow banks were taller than him.  He is 6'3.  No joke, it's completely ridonkulous.

My Pageant title might be the same as the wanna be roller derby name that my college friends gave me once upon a time... Miss Mary Smack (get it?).  That is definitely the sassy, don't mess with me side of me that only comes out once in awhile.  The more realistic title would be Miss Scatterbrained.  I am the queen of losing my keys, student work, the marker I just had in my hand... whatever is not attached to my body, really.  Don't worry, I always find it again!

Come back tomorrow to check out what I am giving my little ones for Valentines Day, and to grab a couple freebies!