Winner Wednesday: Interactive Science Notebook

 

It is time for the third round of Winner Wednesday. This linky will take place the first Wednesday of every month. I will pick a popular product from my store and explain it in detail, with pictures. The best part of it all, is that YOU will have a chance to win that product for FREE. All you will have to do is enter your name to be entered into the Rafflecopter.  I was so honored that so many people participated last month. There were some amazing products that TpTers were giving away and I am so excited to see who links-up today.

For this month I decided that it would be a perfect time to choose my Interactive Science Notebook Journal for this month's product of choice. I LOVE this product because it is NO PREP and includes pretty much every topic that is covered in kindergarten and first grade science.

There are two options for every single worksheet. You can either have a full page worksheet or print the pages 2 per page so that each worksheet will fit perfectly into a spiral or composition notebook. Another bonus of the latter is that it saves on paper!

 

Every year I start science class with a lesson on the importance of having a science notebook and what an important job it is for each student to take care of their very own notebook for the entire school year. We complete the cover page and the contract page the very first week of school. I always make a BIG deal about the contract page so that most of the students will take great care of their notebook. Kindergarteners and first graders love the idea of being in charge of something and will take this job very seriously. 

There are two versions of the table of contents for students. I always start with the picture on the left at the beginning of the year with my kindergarteners and move to the one on the right as the year goes on. With my first graders, I just started with the picture on the right. I have students write the title of the page they are working on, along with the page number, every single time they add a new worksheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are over thirty different kinds of topic that your students will be able to complete throughout the school year. They are all interactive and hands-on, and encourage students to have fun while learning about the various science topics. Here are some pictures of some of my favorite worksheets.  

If you cannot wait until midnight to see if you are the lucky winner, click {here} to purchase the product now. Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin so you will be the first to know when Winner Wednesday has gone live each month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to be a part of Winner Wednesday?

This linky party will take place on the first Wednesday of every month. I would love for you to join in on the fun and have a chance to win some awesome products for FREE! 

 

Here is how to link-up:

1. Save the 'Winner Wednesday' images to your computer.

2. Create a blog post about one product from your store. Try to include authentic pictures, not just pictures from your TpT store, if possible.

3. Add cover page of product to the "Winner Wednesday' product image.

4. Set up Rafflecopter to run for the entire day of Wednesday {Please only require name for entry}.

5. Link up by clicking the 'add your link' button {or you can email me your permalink prior to the link-up going live}.

6. Don't forget to check out the other Winner Wednesday products that have been shared and leave comments on any that you particularly like! 

An InLinkz Link-up

TpT Seller Challenge : Makeover Madness

If you have any form of social media, I am sure that you have seen this fantastic TpT Seller Challenge that started yesterday. Each week there will be a different focus and this week is Makeover Madness, which is exactly what I have been doing for the past several months! This just motivates me even more to hurry up and get all of my products updated so I can start making new things.

 

I started my store back in 2011. I made several products and never touched TpT again until about four months ago. Like with most things I do, I jumped in head first and have been going 150% ever since making the decision to commit to this. Because I had not touched any of my products for the last four years, they were in DIRE need of a facelift (some complete reconstructive surgery).

 

When trying to figure out where to start with my updating, I decided to start with my best sellers and slowly work my way down the list. I am sharing one of my top ten selling items: Pumpkin Unit. I am kind of in love with the updated version.

 

As you can see, my original version of this product was in pretty bad shape. I did not even have a cover page (whoops!) If you go through my store, you can see all of my old products do not have cover pages, which is why updating has been my main focus the past four months. I did not have a lot of content in this version, just a few activities and a couple of math and literacy centers.

 

The new version has SO much stuff and actually looks good. Ha! I updated the clipart and font and added a background print to tie it all together. The new product has pumpkin posters (with real life photos and clipart), one week of pumpkin lesson plans for science and math, daily hands-on, interactive activities, 5 pumpkin literacy centers, and 5 pumpkin math centers. That is a lot of pumpkin material that you and your students are bound to LOVE. You can see the product in my store by clicking {here}.

 

If you are not a part of this awesome TpT Challenge, then you should click on one of these lovely ladies' blogs and find out more information so you can join this awesome opportunity to help you kick start the back to school craziness.

Winner Wednesday: Popcorn Words Bundle: Dolch Primer

It is time for the second round of Winner Wednesday. This linky will take place the first Wednesday of every month. I will pick a popular product from my store and explain it in detail, with pictures. The best part of it all, is that YOU will have a chance to win that product for FREE. All you will have to do is enter your name to be entered into the Rafflecopter.  I was so honored that so many people participated last month. There were some amazing products that TpTers were giving away and I am so excited to see who links-up today.

I decided to choose my Popcorn Words Bundle: Primer Words for the giveaway this month. They are called Popcorn Words because these are words that often "pop up" when reading or writing. I loved using Popcorn Words to teach sight words because it made learning so much fun and aesthetically it made my classroom look inviting and cheerful. They are built in decorations that the students can use throughout the school year.

There are a TON of activities included in this bundle. It is huge and will provide you with bulletin board/sight word wall materials, literacy centers, assessments, and posters.

POPCORN WORD WALL AND DISPLAY

When I first introduce a group of words, I place these large popcorn words at the front of the room (or where you have calendar time) for the entire week. I either have them in a pocket chart or on the white board. We talk about them and do quick and easy activities every single day. On Friday, I take the words and add them to the large popcorn bag poster. Every week we repeat this. The popcorn continues to grow as the students learn more sight words. By the end of the year, the popcorn bag is busting at its seams and it looks so stinkin cute! I love having these large popcorn words on the wall because students can easily refer to them whenever they would like.

WORD OF THE DAY

I had this set up by the classroom door. Every time we left our room, students would have to say a sight word to exit. Sometimes I just put a sight word on the poster and students would say that. Other times I held a stack of words and showed them to students as they walked out, flipping to the next word with each kid. Students also liked to take on this responsibility and play teacher. That was great because it allowed me to focus on the student behavior in the hallway or grab any last minute things I needed for wherever we were heading to.

LITERACY CENTERS
All of the centers can be laminated and placed in their own tub with the specified tools. I will do a quick review of some of my favorite centers included in this product.  If you would rather kids sit at their desks and do these activities independently, you can simply print and have them use crayons or pencils instead.

PRACTICE MATS
This was my product for the previous Winner Wednesday. Click {here} to get more information about these mats.

ROLL, READ, AND RAINBOW

Students will roll the dice and depending on what they roll, they will read a word under that number, then rainbow write that word. They can continue this until time is out or they have done every single word.

GRAPH A WORD

Students will chose a sight word and count how many there are in the box. They will then color the graph accordingly.

PLAY DOH MATS

Using Play Doh, students will roll out the play doh to fit into each letter. The goal will be to have students spelling out the sight words.

SMALL POPCORN WORDS

These are great for centers and there is so much that you can do with them. Sometimes I would have students match the popcorn graphic with the popcorn bag graphic. They can also play memory using both sets. Other times I would just include one of the sets and students could rainbow write the words or build the sight words with magnetic letters.  The possibilities are endless.

In addition to the centers described above, these are also included in this product: 1) Build a Word, 2) ABC Order, 3) I Have, Who Has, 4) Dominoes, and 5) Word Sorting Mats. There is also a student assessment recording sheet for you to continuously check your students’ knowledge of the given sight words.

If you do not want to wait for the giveaway to be over and you want to purchase this product now, click {here}. Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin so you will be the first to know when Winner Wednesday has gone live each month.

You can also purchase these Popcorn Bundles that will be 20% off for today (the Mega Bundle is 50% off because it was just added to my store):

An editable Popcorn Words Bundle is in the works. Follow my store for updates.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to be a part of Winner Wednesday?

This linky party will take place on the first Wednesday of every month. I would love for you to join in on the fun and have a chance to win some awesome products for FREE! 

 

Here is how to link-up:

1. Save the 'Winner Wednesday' images to your computer.

2. Create a blog post about one product from your store. Try to include authentic pictures, not just pictures from your TpT store, if possible.

3. Add cover page of product to the "Winner Wednesday' product image.

4. Set up Rafflecopter to run for the entire day of Wednesday {Please only require name for entry}.

5. Link up by clicking the 'add your link' button {or you can email me your permalink prior to the link-up going live}.

6. Don't forget to check out the other Winner Wednesday products that have been shared and leave comments on any that you particularly like! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Currently: June

Before I get started with my Currently for the month of June I wanted to spread that word about this fundraiser Farley put together to help out the sweet town of Wimberly that has been forever changed by the crazy floods that have swept through Texas over the past few weeks. She is aiming to raise $500 for the foundation Wimberly Adoption Group and Rescue (WAG)  that will house the lost pets until they can be reunited with their owners. Click {here} to read more about this organization and how you can help. 

I am so excited to be linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade once again for this fantastic linky party. 

LISTENING:

We are building a patio in the backyard and the weather is finally allowing that to actually happen. It has been delayed for a month because of our rainy weather. The guys laid the concrete today and are hammering away to get the texture on the concrete.

LOVING:

My husband started his MBA program at Texas Christian University while we were pregnant with Molly and he officially finished his last class this week. We have not done this parenting gig without him being in school so I cannot wait to find a new normal for us. My honey-to-do list is crazy long so I have no doubt that he will be incredibly excited to be finished with school. Ha! I do feel like he should get a special medal when he walks this December for completing his MBA, working full time, and having two kids all within a 2 ½ year time frame. He is kind of a stud and his girls appreciate him greatly.

THINKING:

My to-do list is growing exponentially and I am sitting here filling out my Currently. I missed last month because of craziness and I refused to miss this great linky party again. It is so much fun seeing what all my sweet blogger buddies are up to. As soon as I am done I will get back to work. I will then have to figure out how to just do ONLY those things on my to-do list. I keep getting side tracked and adding things to my list.  

WANTING:

I could really do with a large glass of wine..or bottle. I really debated putting this one on needing, but I thought that might read a little desperate so it is under wanting.  I started my second round of Whole 30 last Monday so I still have a while before I can partake in such festivities. I felt SO good after doing my first round in April that I wanted to do it again before Vegas. The hubby and I are going away for the weekend at the end of June and it was very important that I be able to eat and drink whatever I please for that so it was a quick turnaround. I pretty much enjoyed wine and beer for three days and then hopped back on the Whole 30 train. I feel amazing and love it, BUT I miss my wine. I swear I am a much better mom (and person in general) when I have it. I need Jesus and wine, apparently.

NEEDING:

Vegas cannot get here soon enough.  I cannot wait to meet all these amazing bloggers and TpTers, have some girl time, and network away. As much as I LOVE being a work at home mom, it will be so nice to wear a different hat for a few days. 

SUMMER LOVIN
I am beyond excited to spend a good chunk of our summer days in PJs at home. I love lazy days at the house. There is not a lot of other things that can beat that. The hubby and I are heading out for a long weekend just the two of us in a couple of weeks. It will be my first time away from Charlotte for more than a few hours, but it is important to escape from time to time. We plan to eat, drink, sleep, and do a whole lot of nothing. It will be fabulous. I am also looking forward to Vegas this summer for the TpT conference. It will be here before we know it!

Weekly Summer Link-Up: Why I Blog

I am linking up with Monica at I Heart Grade 3 for the second week of her Weekly Summer Link-Up. These are great because it gets us blogging, they are quick and easy to do, and it is fun reading about everyone's posts each week. She had an AMAZING turnout last week and I cannot wait to see who links up this week. 

This week the topic is "Why I Started Blogging." Like my Teachers Pay Teachers Store, I started my blog about four or five years ago and did not do anything with it until about four months ago. When I originally started it, I wanted to share ideas and tips on my classroom, however, now I am no longer in the classroom. I envision my blog being a way for me to share fun ideas that I did when I taught, things I do at home with my kiddos, and random tidbits about life and things I am passionate about. 

One thing that I absolutely love about blogging is connecting with other teachers, bloggers, and TpTers. There are so many amazingly talented women and men out there and it is just an honor to be working and learning right beside them. Linky parties and blog hops are awesome and a great way to get to know people too. I definitely recommend getting involved in a few. I have met some great blogger friends by doing that. It is very comforting to know that even though we are all competitors, we can work together and provide one another with support, advice, and encouragement. 

Since I have not been doing this for very long, I feel that everything is fairly new to me and I struggle with figuring out how to be a wife and work at home mom, juggle updating my store, creating  products, social media, and blogging. I have lots of ideas, but just struggle with finding the time. Like I mentioned last week, I plan to move to Word Press at some point in the near(ish) future and when I do that I will have a game plan for exactly what my blog will contain and look like. 

That is it for this week! I look forward to linking back up next week for "An Accomplishment I'm Proud Of."  Please don't forget that this Wednesday I am hosting "Winner Wednesday" on my blog. Click {here} to see my post from last month for more information. I hope everyone has a fantastic week.