Dilemma!!!!

Hi Everyone!

I know......WHERE the heck have you been?!?!? 

Well lets just say LIFE has taken over my life!  I must admit, I've fallen off the blogging wagon.  As if it wasn't obvious.  But the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

I have a big dilemma that  I feel is holding me back.  When I originally started on this adventure, I was a Kindergarten teacher.  I loved making resources for my kiddos to use in the classroom.  Weeelllll, now I'm not a Kindergarten teacher.  I teach 5th grade special education. 

BIG difference!  So, at first I thought no big deal right?  I'll just open up another store to fill with the resources I make in special ed.  I'll keep this store because I have a blog and a following and a bazillion Pinterest links.

And of course, since I opened another store, I had to blog about it.  I mean, I just had to.

Well, now I have TWO blogs......without any blogging.  And I have TWO stores. 

I really just want to focus on ONE blog and ONE store.  Now here is the problem.

My Kindergarten Pod blog and store have a lot more followers than my new blog and store (ABC's & IEP's.)  So what in the world do I do?

Well, I haven't done anything because I don't know what the right thing to do is.  I still maintain both stores, but I tend to put new products in the Kindergarten Pod store because I'll reach more people.  I've also thought about re-doing all of my products and uploading them to the new store but I have over 100 products.  That would take FOREVER!!!

So help!  Do you have any suggestions for me?

March Already?!?!?!

I don't know about you but this year is F.L.Y.I.N.G. by!  I literally cannot believe it is March already.  The downside of it being March is the next two months are the hardest of my school year.

I made a new product to help keep the mornings active for your Kinder's.  I always felt like the hardest part of the day was when the students came into the classroom.  They would stagger in and needed lots of attention.  Morning Work was my saving grace.  I always found it hard to find skills for them to work on independently that were also meaningful.  I can't stand "busy work."  There is just no time to waste!

I started developing a line of Morning Work products and it seems as though I wasn't the only one with that problem.  They've been very successful products and I've had lots of great feedback from educator's all over.  Here is the latest addition:

There are TONS of practice skills in this product, with lots of activities to keep your kiddies engaged.  Some of the skills covered are:

    Math:   Number Bonds (0-10)                       ELA:  Word Family matching
                Simple Addition                                           Initial Consonants
                Simple Subtraction                                       Identifying 1, 2, and 3 syllable words
                Skip Counting by 5s and 10s                        Letter Sequencing
                Graphing                                                       Beginning Digraphs (ch, ph, sh, th, wh)
                Teen Numbers (10 + ?)                                 Short Vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

.......and much, much more!

I've even included 2 bonus pages - St. Patrick's Day-themed Color-by-Teen Numbers.  This product is available on my TpT Store.  Just click HERE or on any picture above to download.  Thanks for checking it out!

Five for Friday!

I'm hooking up with the amazing Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly Five for Friday!  Geeze, I've missed doing these!!!!

 

This is my first week back at blogging!  YIPEE!!!  I posted all about my medical issues that have kept me away but I am gone no longer.

 

I had some time to think about the direction I really want to go with my new products.  It is highly advised by everyone that once you've established a "name" you should never change it.  Here's the problem with that.  I teach Special Education now.  I would love for my name to reflect that.  I'm also making products for both Kindergarten AND higher grade levels.  Not sure yet what to do about that but I'll let you know.

 

I feel like I've been making products like a crazy lady.  You know when you sit for a long time thinking about something?  Then you finally have the opportunity to get it done.   It's like this.....

So every night when I finish work, I race home to start working....again.  You all know what that is like, I'm sure.  I'm hoping to eventually find that balance again but for now, no rest for the weary.

 

Here are some of those products I've been working on.  The first is my Sight Word Booklets.  I've made them for all 4 of the FRY lists.  Each product contains booklets for 100 words.  Students will have a word list, a fluency phrase for each word, a visual discrimination page and a spelling list page.

 (Download Preview HERE)

The product shown above is a BUNDLE product which also includes Emergent Reader books to go along with each booklet.  Students will gain exposure to the sight words in context.  Each page of the Reader includes the sight word in a simple sentence made up of other sight words or simple, decodable words.  

I have the original booklets available for each Hundred list.  The bundle is only available for the First Hundred now.  I'm working on the Second Hundred.  I will post when that is up and available.

Download preview HERE.

This product is a GREAT way for students to get that important practice with teen numbers.  They can be so tricky for the little ones and it is my belief that the more practice they get, the better their understanding will be.  

(Sample page)

 

My babies!!!!!  Looks like they had a rough night staying up late while mama worked :)

Definitely make sure to check out the other great blogs over at Doodle Bugs.  Thanks for stopping by!

Back in Action!!!

Whew, where to begin.  Hopefully, some of you noticed I've been away from the blogging world for a while.  I've had some pretty serious medical issues that completely derailed me.  I found out a year ago I had 2 brain aneurysms.  Talk about a shocker!  Long story short, four brain surgery's later and I'm starting to come up for air.

I've been working on getting some new products up on TpT before I jump back into blogging.  I feel like a novice again.  Everything changes so quickly, there are new people I don't even know out there blogging.  It's been a slow and steady climb to get myself back, and hopefully I haven't been gone too long.

I hope to start linking up again, and bringing you great ideas.  But here is where I need YOUR help.  Please message me below to let me know WHAT you want to see on here.......FREEBIES?  Great resources?  Math Lessons?  Just let me know and I'll do my best to make sure to feature those things. 

In the meantime, please check out the series of products I've recently uploaded.  I've been doing a lot of work with Sight Words because extra practice is always needed!  Here are a few of the products:

This product is a BUNDLED product including all of Fry's First Hundred Sight Word.  There are 10 booklets, each containing 10 sight words (in order.)  Each sight word has activities to help students master the word and the spelling.  Students will read a simple fluency phrase containing the sight word, visually discriminate the word from other words / spellings, and spell the word.  Each page in the booklet has a data-tracker chart so you can record the last date you assessed the student on those words.  In addition, there is a whole-class recording sheet so you know exactly which booklet each student is working on.  Once your student has mastered those 10 words, they move on to the next booklet.



Let me tell you, this has made grouping my students a BREEZZEE!  I just look at my whole-class recording sheet, and I know exactly which students need help with which words.  I design activities for those specific words (Play-Doh words, Stamping the words, etc.)  This product has increased my students mastery of sight words ten-fold!

In addition to the booklets, this product contains Emergent Reading booklets that correspond to each Sight Word booklet.  The readers are made up of other sight words and simple, decodable words that the students can easily read.  There is also a clipart image on each page to help the student with decoding.  I use these mainly with my GR groups to provide extra practice but this could easily be put in the Literacy Center or sent home as daily reading homework.




All of the pages in this product are 1/2 page and black-and-white.  Who has all that extra ink and paper lying around......not me!!!

if you have any questions about this product, please feel free to leave a comment below.  Thanks so much!  It's great to be back!!!!

BTS Blowout Sale!!!

Well, you've waited all summer and it's finally here!!!!!

TpT's Back-to-School BLOWOUT Sale!

This is your chance to save B.I.G.!  All of my products are 20% off plus TpT gives another 8% off. I'll do the math for you.....20% off + 8% off = HOLY MOLY SAVINGS!!!!!

Here are some great products to start the year off with.......

$9.00 . . . . $6.48!!!

The Ultimate Teacher's Binder is a must-have to stay organized this year.  This binder has over 230 pages of lesson plan templates, planning pages, 2014-15 calendar, reminder notes, intervention templates, etc........all 100% EDITABLE!  That's right!  Every page can be customized to fit your needs!

$10.00 . . . . $7.20!!!

This is an Interactive Journal to help kids master their sight words.  I have this product available for Pre-Primer (Dolch), and Primer (Dolch).  I also have Sight Word Mini-Books available for Dolch & Fry.

$18.00 . . . . $12.96!!!!

My Interactive Math Journal is quickly growing to be a fan favorite!  It has over 230 pages of Common Core-aligned activities to help your little ones develop number sense and those important foundational skills that will lead them to a successful academic year!

$14.50 . . . . $10.44!!!

The Kindergarten Morning Work BUNDLE is a combination of Part I and Part II, and is one of my best selling products!  These morning work activities will keep your little ones engaged in true learning during the morning hussle-and-bussle. These activities include both Language Arts & Math.

$15.00 . . . . $10.80!!!!

My Common Core Math Assessments address all Kindergarten standards in the Common Core.  There are over 100 assessments in this product, most just print-and-go!  I also included CC Posters for each standard.

Well I hope you have plenty to fill up your cart with.  HAPPY SHOPPING!

Movin' On Up!

Hi All!

Well, there's good news and good news!  First the good news......  Starting this fall I'll be teaching 5th Grade Special Ed. which I am SUPER excited about!  The other good news......I'll still be keeping my TpT Store, blog, Pinterest page, etc. up and running.

I do have a new blog, store, Facebook page, etc. called ABC's & IEP's if you'd like to check them out.  I don't have much going on there yet.  I had to set up everything first now I can get busy making all kinds of products.....picture ideas FLYING around my head daily!  Here are the links:

           Blog:  http://www.abcsandieps.blogspot.com
   Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/abcsandieps
   TpT Store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Abcs-And-Ieps


As you can imagine, it will take me quite some time to gain a following so it would be nice to see some friendly faces.  If you have a minute, check them out and let me know how you like them.  Thanks so much!

3M Follower Sale!!!!

Well howdy there!  I can NOT believe February is just about over. We've had the c.r.a.z.i.e.s.t. February here EVER!  We've had soooo many snow days or 2-hour delays I've lost count!  I hardly got to do any of my adorable Feb. projects because there simply was no time!  We had assessments due, DIBELS to give and tons of snow to shovel.

I had a pretty major leak in my classroom which displaced us for a week.  Can you say nightmare!

I don't know about you but I am sooooo ready for February to be over.  Bah-bye!

What a way to end it by having a HUGEMONGOUS sale over at TpT!  Yeppers.  TpT now has over 3 million members.  Ummmmm, hello!  When I get 3 million followers I'm giving all my stuff away for free!  Why not, right?

So, beginning Thursday and ending Friday my entire store will be 20% off!  You heard that right.....20.percent.off!  As in .20 baby!  And wait, there's more!  TpT will offer an additional 8% off so for you mathematicians out there, that is 28% off EVERYTHING!  Just enter product code TPT3 when checking out to receive your discount.

Stock up on those goodies now people!  Here are a few of my newest products:


Sight Word Mini-Books: Available for Dolch Pre-Primer/Primer and The Fry 100 list.

Sight Word Bracelets:  Dolch Pre-Primer/Primer list

Can't even tell you how much
my kiddies L.O.V.E. these!

Common Core Checklist:

This is a huge timesaver for me.  I can immediately
tell at a glance which skills I've covered & when,
and which skills need more teaching.  My administrator
loves this too.  Major brownie points!

Just click on any picture to preview the item in my TpT Store.  I'm off to go wishlist all the goodies!  Enjoy the sale!  Don't forget to enter the code TPT3 to receive your discount!