Thankful for an Award Nomination!

I was nominated for a Liebster award! I received this award a few months ago, but I hope it's okay that I accept it again! The rules given to me are different than I had before, so I thought it would be fun to participate again. It's always fun to meet new bloggers!

The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It is to show new bloggers that they are appreciated and to help spread the word about new blogs.

 



Thanks so much to Kristen from Kinderpillars for nominating me for this award! It was a nice surprise!

The Rules:

~ You must post 11 random things about yourself.

~ Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

~ Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

~ Choose 11 blogs you love with less than 200 followers and link them in your post.

~ No tag back is needed, but please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Leibster post so I can learn more about you!

 

11 Random Things About Myself:



1. I am a Christian and can't imagine going through this life without my faith in God!

2. I am very happily married to my husband Tony. He's perfect for me!

3. I have two grown children, Clayton & Jessica. Also, my husband has 2 grown daughters.

4. I am blessed to have grandchildren! It's fun being a Nana!

5. I am 50 years old!

6. This is my 9th year as a certified teacher and I love teaching!

7. I have lived in 7 states, Japan, and England. I currently live in Missouri.

8. I love cats! My cat's name is Molly.

9. I enjoy playing the piano, reading, watching movies, and blogging.

10. I love Pinterest!

11. My favorite TV shows are Parenthood, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice.

 

Here are questions asked by Kristen:

1. What grade do you currently teach?

I teach Kindergarten!

2. Where did you grow up?

Cabot, Arkansas ~ I lived there the longest while growing up.

3. What is your favorite color?

Burgundy

4. What is your dream vacation?

Traveling around the USA with my husband!

5. What is your favorite school break?

Summer break is the best!

6. Who is someone you look up to?

I look up to my mom. She has always been an inspiration to me. No matter what comes her way, she always stays strong and relies on God to help her.

7. What did you do before you started teaching?

I was a secretary, handled accounts payable/receivable, payroll, legal secretary, family day care provider, and Head Start teacher.

8. What do you like to do in your "spare" time?

I love spending time with my family, camping, hiking, reading, and of course blogging!

9. Where is your favorite place to shop?

Hmmm, this is hard to answer! I like a few places like Christopher & Banks, JCP, Target, and Hobby Lobby.

10. Do you drink coffee?

Yes! I usually drink a cup or 2 in the mornings. Occasionally I'll drink it with a yummy dessert too.

11. Are you a morning person or night owl?

I'm definitely a morning person. It seems the older I get, my bedtime gets earlier. I usually go to bed by 9:00!

 

Questions for my nominees:

 

1. What grade do you currently teach?

2. If you could teach a different grade/subject, what would it be?

3. How many years have you been teaching?

4. Give your teaching philosophy in one or two sentences.

5. Name one of your favorite children's books.

6. How many students are in your class?

7. Have you started a new "program" in your school this year? Please explain.

8. What is your favorite candy?

9. Do you use Pinterest and have you created anything inspired by Pinterest? Example-recipe, craft, school decoration, posters, etc...

10. Do you have a pet? What is it?

11. What do you like to do in your "spare" time?

 

Here are some blogs I am nominating for the Leibster Award:

http://cathedralkindergarten.blogspot.com/ - Charlotte’s Clips and Kindergarten Kids

 

http://co-kindering.blogspot.com/ - Co-Kindering

 

http://kindergartenbliss.blogspot.com/ - Kindergarten Bliss

 

http://gracehopperlearning.blogspot.com/ - Grasshopper Learning

http://smartkindercookies.blogspot.com/ - Smart Kinder Cookies

http://misschambleeskinderfriends.blogspot.com/ - Miss Chamblee’s Kinder Friends

http://theteachersbackpack.blogspot.com/ - The Teacher’s Backpack

 

http://cobbkindersprouts.blogspot.com/ - Mrs. Cobb’s Kinder Sprouts

 

http://krazee4kindergarten.blogspot.com/ - Krazee 4 Kindergarten

http://kindergartenkidlets.blogspot.com/ - Mrs. Mindy’s Kindergarten Kidlets

http://kindergartenlovesme.blogspot.com/ - Kindergarten Love

 

I'm looking forward to learning more about these bloggers! Thanks again to Kristen from Kinderpillars for nominating my little blog! :)

 

~ Lisa

Stone Soup and Turkeys!

Hello! It's hard to believe how fast this month is going by! I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and has a nice break from school! I am enjoying the time off and spending time with family. I am so thankful for the blessings in my life! Of course, this time of year most of us reflect on things we are thankful for, but wouldn't it be nice to count our blessings everyday?  Psalms 92:1 says, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord..." The last day before our break, I asked my students to tell me and the class something they were thankful for. Their answers were so cute! I almost cried when some said they were thankful for "ME"! :)

Here are a few activities my kindergarten kiddos enjoyed last week:

• Stone Soup - Our kindergarten classes got together for our annual Stone Soup day on Monday. We read aloud the book Stone Soup, watched a video, and made a graph of all the vegetables used for ingredients to make the soup. The soup cooked all day and everyone had the opportunity to taste it during our snack time in the late afternoon. It tasted so good!
• Here's a link to a summary of the book: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stone-soup-marcia-brown/1100222926 The children really enjoyed the story and all the activities. Here are a few photos.

           

 

Marlana, from http://lilcountrykindergarten.blogspot.com/ is one of my co-workers. She is so creative! She made our "Stone Soup Evaluation" sheets and an emergent reader for our kiddos!

• Turkeys - I read lots of books about the first Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Native Americans, and of course turkeys! The kiddos really enjoyed making turkeys out of their hand prints! I encouraged them to add details to their pictures and they were so creative! I'm not sure who the author is for the poem attached to their artwork, but I thought it was cute! It's probably a familiar poem to many of you too.

 



I would love to hear about your lessons/activities you had with your students! It's been fun being a part of the blogging world and I am thankful for the opportunity. Of course, I still have lots to learn and maybe someday will create products like so many of my friends on TPT! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, products, activities, and ideas with me!

~ Lisa

Wordless Wednesday!

 



Limeades For Learning!

It's that time of year again for Sonic's Limeades For Learning promotion! Sonic has funded LOTS of projects on Donor's Choose.org in the past few years and they are starting another promotion September 24th! If you haven't used Donor's Choose, I recommend it! I have been blessed with 16 fully funded projects in the last 2 years. My students have benefited greatly by receiving books, learning centers, an easel, book cart, art shelf, audio books (with CDs), personal CD players, Leap Frog Tag Readers, and a lot more! Here's a link to my projects:

http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/teachers/view/436259/teacher/844903

http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/teachers/view/436259/teacher/867101

Please vote daily for my projects on: http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/
It's FREE and easy to vote. Let me know if you have a project, and I'll vote for you! Also, there will be stickers with codes on the packaging of food or drinks you buy from Sonic. Save the codes and you may apply them to teachers' projects. Please help spread the word to your family, friends, and of course fellow bloggers! :)

Thanks!

~ Lisa

Heather's Heart Wonderful Contest!

Hi everyone! Heather's Heart is having a fantastic contest! Her blog is wonderful and I have learned lots of great ideas from her. Just go to her blog and check it out for yourself! It's easy to enter her contest too! Help spread the word! :) ~ Lisa

Cute Customized Stamp!

I am so happy to have a new customized stamp from PJ Greetings Company! Here is a link to their webpage:  http://www.pjgreetings.com/default.htm
A few weeks ago I won a contest from Ms. Nelson's blog! I used it for the first time today on some of my kiddos' papers. They loved it too! :) If you are looking for a new stamp or a gift for somebody, I recommend their company. They also have lots of other products. Thanks again Miss Nelson! If you haven't checked out her blog, I recommend it! :) It came in a cute pink bag:

Here's a close up picture. There are lots of ink colors available. I chose navy.

Let me know what you think! I love comments! :) ~ Lisa

Patriot's Day, Grandparent's Day, and Constitution Day!

My kiddos are adjusting really well to kindergarten! Of course, there have been days when I've had to review the class rules over and over again! But, for the most part they are trying to get used to our routine and procedures. Last week for Patriot Day, our Primary classrooms gathered around our flag pole to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Our principal spoke about 9-11 on their level, our music teacher sang the National Anthem with us, and later in the day all the kindergarten classes made flags. Our lessons focused on Patriotism and heroes. Since "my" was their sight word, they wrote "my" flag and attached it to their flags.

 

 

We celebrated Grandparent's Day on Wednesday. Our honor choir sang a beautiful "Grandparents" song. Afterwards, all the kindergarten kiddos (3 classes) sang the 100 Song from Heidi Songs, Humpty Dumpty and A Beautiful Day by Jack Hartmann. They were so cute and sang so well! I'm sure everyone enjoyed their performance. We had 3 rotations: cafeteria for snacks, lobby for photos, and our classrooms. Of course, we knew there would be students who didn't have a grandparent or relative, so we asked staff members to be their "special" friend. We have the best staff who were so willing to help us! Here is one of the books I read aloud to my kiddos, What Grandmas Do Best/What Grandpas Do Best by Laura Numeroff. They loved it!

 

 

For Constitution Day, I read a picture book titled, The U.S. Constitution by Norman Pearl and explained the importance of this famous document on their own level. Also, all the kindergarten classes watched a video about Constitution Day. I wish I had more time to spend on this lesson. I saw a book in blogland titled, We the Kids by David Catrow, that I would like to have for next year.

 

 

 

Please let me know your activities or lessons you used for these special days. I love learning new ideas and maybe next year I can improve on these lessons! I appreciate all the fantastic teachers in Blogger Land! :)

 

~ Lisa



 

 



 

 

 







Yay! I Won!

I found out that I am the winner of a contest from Run! Miss Nelson's Got the Camera! She had a contest to celebrate having 1000 followers. I am so excited to win a custom stamp from http://www.pjgreetings.com/default.htm. I also won $10 of free products from Miss Nelson's TPT store! This is a fantastic prize and I appreciate it so much! Here is a link to her blog. I highly recommend it. It's wonderful! THANKS SO MUCH Miss Nelson! ~ Lisa

A Giveaway for Square Cat!

In a previous post, I wrote about reading a book titled, Square Cat, during a lesson on squares. My kiddos love the book! It's about a cat named, Eula, who is square but wants to be round. It is also a great book for teaching diversity. The author and illustrator, Elizabeth Schoonmaker, posted artwork by one of my students on her blog (http://www.eulathesquarecat.com/) and also sent an autographed book to our class! She also donated another autographed book so I could offer it as a giveaway on my little ole blog!!! If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. I know your students will love it as much as mine do! You can follow Elizabeth on twitter: Follow @Eulasquarecat. If you don't win the contest, you might want to purchase it on Amazon or in stores. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway Thanks for entering the giveaway! I'll post the winner on September 11th! ~ Lisa

Please Vote for my Project on oo.com!

I need your help please! I have a new project on Donor's Choose for a classroom rug and books about shapes. Please take a few minutes and vote for it on oo.com. You may vote daily and also "like" it on Facebook. I appreciate it! If you have a project, let me know and I'll vote for you. Here's the link:

http://www.oo.com/safkids/detail/projectid/844903

Directions: Sign in. Then you'll see "Classroom To Be Funded Next" in yellow. To the right of this click on "See all projects". Under "Search for Projects", type Mrs. E. Be sure the "Non-Funded Projects" is showing. Use the magnifying glass to search. It will say Mrs. E. Willis J. Ezard Elem, Conway, MO. I know I probably put way too many steps for you, but I promise it's so easy! Also, now is the time to get a project(s) on Donors Choose because Sonic's Limeades for Learning promotion is starting sometime in September. Let me know if you have any questions! :)

After you vote for my project, please pass the word to your friends and family. All the votes will help! Thanks so much!

~ Lisa

Zero Hero's 1st Visit and Braxton

We just finished our 12th day of school! The kiddos have tomorrow off while we have professional development. They were so cute when I told them they have a 4-day weekend because of Labor Day. They all sounded like us teachers! Several told me they were going to sleep late! The first few days really exhausted most of them, but they are starting to get used to being in school all day and I am so proud of how much they are learning.

I mentioned in my last post about Zero Hero. His first visit was Tuesday and all the kiddos were so excited to meet him. He will continue to visit us every 10th day we are in school. He brings gifts shaped like zeros. The students ask him "Big" questions to try to find out what each gift represents from Zero Planet. They also count by 10s to 100 and count up to the day they've been in school. During our calendar times, the kiddos always want to know how many more days before he visits again, so this gives them more practice of counting up the days. Here's a photo of his visit on Tuesday.

Today was our first lesson from our school counselor. She gives a lesson to the kiddos every other week in our classroom. We are happy to have a school service dog named Braxton. Our counselor brings Braxton with her for most of her lessons. Everyone was so thrilled to see her and be able to pet and love on her. Braxton has made such a positive difference in our school (and the Jr. High/High School). She helps in the following ways: reading buddy, teaching responsibility,  giving encouragement, love, hugs, and friendship. You can only imagine how wonderful it is having a dog at school! The teachers love her too and sometimes feel stress just drain away after petting Braxton! Of course, the school does have guidelines and rules in place and there have been no problems. This is Braxton's 3rd year with us. Here's a picture of her with a tropical lei around her neck to go along with our PBIS theme: Beach/Ocean. She was a good sport and kept it on for a short time! :)

I know this post is getting long, but I have one more exciting thing that happened! The author and illustrator, Elizabeth Schoonmaker posted a picture and link about my students' artwork. She also left a sweet comment on my blog. I showed my students her blog and comment and they were so happy! She is also sending our class an autographed book! I will be offering a contest very soon so you will have a chance to win a copy of  Square Cat courtesy of Elizabeth. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. Your kiddos will love Eula the Square Cat!

Don't forget to be watching for the contest. I should receive the book this weekend and will start the contest soon! Have a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

~ Lisa

Fun With Shapes!

Today was our 9th day in school! Tomorrow we have a special visitor, Zero Hero! He comes each day we've been in school that ends in zero until Day 100. I told my kiddos about him today and they were so excited to see him tomorrow! Let me know if your school uses Zero Hero!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is completely exhausted after starting school! But, I am gradually getting back into the swing of waking up early, teaching all day, and getting used to the hard floors at school! Also, I have a great group of kiddos who are starting to learn our routines a little better. :) Most of them have been pretty eager to learn and seem excited to be in kindergarten.

For math, I started teaching 2D shapes. Like many of you, our district is using the Common Core State Standards. So, we only teach 5 2D shapes (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, hexagons) and 4 3D shapes (cubes, cones, cyclinders, spheres). After the lesson on circles, my kiddos made cute ladybugs. It gave me a chance to see who needed extra help with using scissors. I quickly found out that some of them needed to be reminded to listen and follow directions! But, I tried to have patience knowing that they are so young and just starting school. I still keep reminding myself of this!!!

After the lesson on squares, I read the book, "Square Cat" by Elizabeth Schoonmaker. It's about a cat named Eula who is square and wants to be round. It's really a cute book and my kiddos loved it. Afterward, they cut orange squares and glued them on to green paper. I asked them to draw ears, a face, legs, and a tail. They turned out adorable! I displayed them in our hallway. The creativity of some of my students really amazed me!

I hope everyone is having a great start to their school year! I'll try to write posts more often and have enjoyed following all of my blogging friends! Thanks for sharing your ideas, activities, and photos! Also I love all the products people are posting to TPT and Teacher's Notebook and of course the FREEBIES! :) I haven't been as creative as so many of you! Maybe someday? I'm still pretty new to the world of blogging but I love it!

Lil' Country Kindergarten's TPT Sale!

My friend and co-worker, Marlana, from Lil' Country Kindergarten is participating in the Back to School TPT sale. She creates wonderful products and even without a sale, her prices are very reasonable! Check out her blog & store to help you be more prepared for the beginning of the school year. The sales ends on Monday, Aug. 13th but you will love her items and prices even if you miss this sale! Let me know if you already follow her blog and store or if you just found her! I am so blessed to have her as a friend and co-worker! She's the reason I started this blog! :) ~ Lisa

Almost Ready for the First Day!

Our school's PBIS theme is Ocean/Beach. I love this theme! The hallways and classrooms are so inviting and cute. I have been working hard trying to finish my room. Because of a lack of shelving, I am required to pack up everything and stack boxes anywhere except the floor so the custodians can clean. It always takes me a long time to prepare my room. I'm sure a lot of you know what that's like! But, I always enjoy decorating and visiting with my co-workers. Here are a few photos so far.

This is where I'll display students' work in the hallway.

I've never tried using clothespins before but love this idea! I hope this method will be a time saver! :)

This table will be used for the writing area. I really don't want to cover this ocean bulletin board because it's so pretty! I love this "under the sea" paper. It will be my focus wall. I still have lots to do in a short period of time. My co-workers keep reminding me that "It always gets done!" Is anyone else stressing like I am? We have our first "teacher" day on Monday, Aug. 13th, Open House is the 14th, and the first day of school is the 15th! I'm excited to meet my new kiddos! I wish everyone a great start to your school year! I'll post more pictures when I finish the room. I still need to clean my foam mats & get the cubbies labeled, etc... I will get it done though! :) ~ Lisa

Fellow Blogger Has a Contest!

Louanne from My Kindergarten Kids is celebrating having 200 followers with a fantastic contest! It's a chance to win a $25 gift card to Walmart OR Target! Check out her wonderful blog and follow the easy steps to enter her giveaway. :) Congratulations Louanne! ~ Lisa

Nominated Twice for Liebster Award!

Wow! I am thrilled to get another nomination for the Liebster Award thanks to Louanne from My Kindergarten Kids! Since I just received this award, I won't post more blogs. However, thanks so much Louanne! Here's a link to her blog. It's amazing! :) ~ Lisa

More Altered Composition Notebooks

I didn't stop crafting after I made the container for pointers & notebooks for my co-workers. I decided to keep working and altered another notebook this afternoon. I had to stop because I don't have anymore books! It's a good thing I don't live far away from Walmart! :) A couple of the notebooks look a little like ones I already posted about. I used the same kind of scrapbook paper, but different accents. One book has the same kind of paper that I used to make a memo board (see older post).

This is the back side.

Crafting has been fun and I love getting ideas from Pinterest and other blogs! Share some things you have created this summer! It doesn't have to be school related! :) ~ Lisa

A Few Weeks Left!

Wow! Summer is almost over! Our school starts in less than a month. I've enjoyed my break, but I am looking forward to the new year. It's another HOT day, so I started crafting again. Since our school's PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) theme is Ocean/Beach, I am going to use a "tropical beach" decor in my classroom. In former posts, I shared photos of altered composition books, clipboards, etc... Today, I recycled an oatmeal container for storing my pointers. Of course, what primary teacher doesn't use pointers? My kiddos love using them too during the Daily 5 and guided reading groups. Here's a picture (without the pointers). I have shorter pointers too, so I'll have to make another container. Let me know if you have any suggestions on what to use. I thought about using a coffee can or a shorter oatmeal container.

I used "ocean" scrapbook paper & glue. The top of the container has a small lip so the paper fit nicely under it. Then I used Mod Podge. I thought it might help to make it sturdy. Next I applied cute fish stickers. I put the lid of the container on the bottom for more support. I hope it holds up well! I also decorated another composition notebook for my friend & co-worker, Marlana from: (http://lilcountrykindergarten.blogspot.com/). I have one for my other friend, Robin from: (http://creativekindergartenkids.blogspot.com/) too! :) We got together a few weeks ago and finished our pacing guide for the year. It was great to visit with one another. We're planning on meeting again before school starts to work on lesson plans. I am so blessed to work with them! ~ Lisa

What a Surprise!

Michelle from http://mrsgskindergarteninheels.blogspot.com/ gave me a Liebster award! It really surprised me and made my day! Thanks so much Michelle! :)

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favorite", and is given to a "new, up and coming blogger." Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.
2. Post the award to your blog.
3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.
4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

I am giving the award to:

This was hard picking out only 5 new blogs! Check them out! :) You'll be glad you did! ~ Lisa