Cyber Monday Sale!

Hi everyone! I am joining a HUGE group of teachers that are having a Cyber Monday Sale! I posted a couple of new things yesterday to my TpT and Teachers Notebook shops that I thought you might enjoy!

Here is a sneak peak at what you can find:

My updated Gingerbread Poetry Activities...

 A Thanksgiving Writing Activity....

and a little something to use this week :)

Let me know what you think and please feel free to leave feedback! I love to read your comments and am always willing to add a little extra when needed!

Don't forget to use promo code CMS28 at TeachersPayTeachers.com to recieive an additional 10% off!

Happy shopping!

I am now on Teachers Notebook...with a little help :)

I finally did it!

I have opened my Teachers Notebook shop and I am so excited!

Right now there is only one item in the shop but I plan to add more soon!

Thanks to all my sweet bloggy friends that helped me out...you guys rock!!

I need a little help from my friends....

Can you give me a hand?

 

I am hoping that one of my wonderful blogging friends could help me out...I am setting up my Teacher Notebook Store and am wondering what is the best way to make images of the pages of my products. I know how to create a screen shot but I am sure there has to be an easier way to go about it. Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion!

As a thank you, I plan to have a new product and a sale at Teachers Notebook!

And the winner is....

Thank you so much to all of you that participated! Your support made a tough day much, much better! As a thank you, I will be placing my Turkey Time Rhymes Activity on a flash sale for $2.00 until tomorrow
at 3 pm!! Please leave a comment and rate this product if you choose to buy it. Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance!!

The winner is comment number 4....Sandra Maddox!! Congratulations!

I will be emailing you in the next 24 hours!!

Giveway Ends Tonight!!!

It almost Thanksgiving and with just a few more days til the big day, I am having a giveaway!

Make sure to click on the sweet little turkey to join in!! Good Luck!!!

Turkey Time Rhymes is back....Giveaway time!!!

One of my favorite activities that I do with my kiddos during the fall is Turkey Time Rhymes!

It is a collection of 6 Thanksgiving poems that we use as our shared reading each day for the week before Thanksgiving Break. We read each poem and discuss each one. The students become the illustrators and create a picture that matches the text of each poem and then create a table of contents for their book. It makes for a wonderful and fun way to review many of the skills that we have discussed throughout the school year and the kiddos LOVE to take them home and read them to their families during their break!

It is available at my TpT Store for only $4.00!

I haven't done a giveaway in a little while so.....

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

All you have to do is go check it out and leave a comment about what you think!

For an extra chance to win, I would greatly appreciate it if you would share about this giveaway through your blog, facebook, twitter, etc.

Thanks so much and good luck!!

A winner will be chosen on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 9pm!!

Helloooooo out therrrreeeee!

Oh my word! Things have been super,super, super busy at school and I am missing all my bloggy friends! I am loving second grade but it has been an  interesting nine weeks! I wanted to take a minute to share a little Halloween goody that I created and hope that you will enjoy!

I also want to thank First Grade Owls

and

The Teeny Tiny Teacher

for awarding me the Versatile Blogger Award!

I L.O.V.E your blogs and am so honored that you thought of me!!

It's get a little late tonight but check back tomorrow to see who I will share this special award with amongst my bloggy friends (because I totally love, love, love so many of your blogs) and some fun facts about yours truly!

Last, but not least, this little blog has not only been honored by other amazing bloggers but I was also nominated for the Circle of Moms Top Blog Award. Please take just a minute to cast and vote and support Curls and a Smile!

Wow oh WOW I am Wiped...but you are going to love this freebie!

I am absolutely love, love, love teaching second grade! The students are so much more independent and the days seem to go so much more smoothly. We have wonderful classroom discussions and they are really applying what they are learning in my ELAR class. It is FAB.U.LOUS!!!


Next week will be our Fall Open House. My teammate and I were thinking of a fun way to have the students share the second grade experiences so far this year. We created this super cute brochure for them to complete for their parents. I can't wait to make the connection to informational text!! Woohoo!!


I have created a first and second grade brochure for you all! If you need another grade, please feel free to let me know and I will be happy to create it for you.

First Grade Open House Brochure  

Second Grade Open House Brochure

 

Pin It

Oh! I also have not forgotten about the clipboard labels....stay tuned (I promise to post soon those as soon as they are done!)

Education Nation on MSNBC

I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone to tune in to MSNBC and the Education Nation Town Hall meeting that they are having today in New York City, New York!

Check it out :

 

Here is a new site where you can discuss and share your thoughts as well. It is sponsored by Donorschoose.org, Scholastic and the Bill Gates Foundation....I just signed up!



We can advocate for our students.
It starts by getting others to hear our message.

My Cup Runneth Over!

There are so many wonderful bloggers and I am so very grateful to all of you for your support.

I am so humbled and want to send my most sincere thanks to the following bloggers for inspiring me to continue to work diligently on my blog for all of you:

                 

                    

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

These are AMAZING blogs and to be nominated by them is such an honor! Please check out their blogs, become followers and show them some bloggie love!

I wear my button with great pride!!

Labor Day Weekend and a VERY Special Request

I am so excited that this is a long weekend!!

I really needed the extra day and the 4 day week ahead.

It has been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks!

I wanted to take a moment to ask a very special favor from all my wonderful blogging friends. With the Labor Day weekend, a very serious disease is brought to our attention. As you know, the Muscular Dystrophy Association has a marathon that is shown each year on this weekend.

A few years ago, I had the honor of meeting one of the sweetest young men I know. Austin was in my daughter's kindergarten class and I was so excited to know that he would be in my first grade. Austin was a wonderful student with a great sense of humor. I adored his stories and his zest for learning about subjects outside of the four walls of my classroom. Austin and I became great friends and he opened my eyes to the everyday struggles of a child with Muscular Dystrophy.

It has broken my heart to see what this disease can do to such a young and vibrant little boy. He has made the simple everyday activities so difficult for him in just a couple of short years but it has never broken his spirit. I am so blessed and honored to have been his teacher and to be able to learn from Austin's amaing strength everyday.

So, because my daughter, my family, my school and my community love Austin so dearly....I need your help. Austin has set a goal to raise $6,600 for 90 minutes of research.

If we all give just one dollar, just one dollar, we can come together to raise over $700.

Another great way to help is to share this post through your blog, facebook and twitter. Help me bring attention to the chance to help find a cure for kids like Austin.

Here is a video of Austin from last year,  when he was chosen as a MDA Ambassador. Are they not the most amazing family?

Just click

to link directly to Austin's fundraising page!

A most sincere thank you to those of you that have taken the time to share this post and donate. It means more than you could ever know.

A little something that I think that you will LOVE!

Happy Sunday!! I am so glad to have the had a very successful first week of school!! I would love to have just one more day to stretch the weekend out but I am ready for another great week with my new second graders!

I wanted to share something that makes organizing all the folders and spirals that can be found in my ELAR classroom. Using the adorable graphics from Thistle Girl Designs, I created labels for each of the folders and spirals that my second graders use during our ELAR block.

These are the folders that we use:

Work Folder

Writing Folder

and we use the following spirals:

Treasure Book (personal journal)

Writer's Notebook

Reader's Response

Now, I went around and around thinking about how to organize their supplies and decided that I would use a numbering system. This way they know their numbers, it corresponds with my gradebook, and I know when I have everyone's supplies (or if someone's is missing).

So I made generic name labels to use with my kiddos that I can but on anything I pass out.

When I created the files, I used the Avery label number in the file name and I hope that all the labels print out beautifully for you. Please feel free to let me know if anything needs to be tweaked :)

looking for a few more ideas?
I shared this on:

One Extra Degree

Three for Thursday at Blog Hoppin'

Happy Thursday!! The first week of school is going well and I am LOVING second grade!!

For this post, I get to mention some of my favorite addictions things...FONTS, BLOGS and RESOURCES!!

I love fonts. Adore them. Can't live with out them....ok, maybe I could but things just wouldn't be as cute!!

Here is a link to some of my favorite fonts:

I also have a sqwrol with lots of fabulous font websites:



One of my favorite blogs (which is hard to say because there are so many wonderful blogs that I follow and I am sure have yet to discover)  is Lesson Plans SoS. I was lucky enough to win a $25 gift card to their shop and WOW are their products are A.MAZ.ING.

And last, resources! What would a teacher do without all the great resources that are out there created by other teachers! I love blogging and think it is one of the best kept secrets ever! I tell all the teachers that I come across to check out the blogging world to find a whole new group of sensational teachers to collaborate with and to share ideas....and definitely borrow a few.

Another great resource that I have come to love this summmer is Pinterest. If you haven't checked this out....oh.my.word... you are going to love it! It is like a visual file cabinet of all the great ideas that you find on the internet. Come and check mine out and become a follower. I am pinning all the time and love to share new ideas through this website.

Enjoy!!!

 

Teacher Talk Tuesday- Advice to New Teachers

Tonight, I am giving advice. The funny thing is that I am having some of those new teacher feelings! I taught first grade for 11 years and am now teaching second grade (which I am LOVING!!). The last few days have been a whirlwind and I am definitely on a learning curve!

 My advice to new teachers would be:

Study your lessons and know what you are teaching BEFORE you teach the lesson. There is a lot of studying that needs to happen so that you feel prepared.

Ask questions....lots and lots of questions.

Find a friend on campus that will make you laugh, wants to hear about your day and can give sound advice.

Beg, borrow and steal (fabulous ideas)!

Be willing to learn from the wonderful and experienced teachers around you. The best teachers always learn something new everyday.

Breathe.

To all the new teachers, welcome to one of the most amazing professions that exists. Teaching is a calling. Listen to your heart and remember that everyday is an opportunity to touch the life of a child. You DO make a difference.

Are you Blog Hoppin'?
Check it out for more fabulous words of wisdom!

Meet the Teacher: Ms. Morgart

Welcome!

I'm Ms. Morgart and this is my little blog, Curls and a Smile! Today was the first day of school and although I am exhausted, I just had to participate in Teacher Week 2011 at Blog Hoppin'!

Here's a little about me...

Today began my 12th of teaching! I taught first grade for 11 years and this year started my new adventure in second grade. My class is so sweet and I am amazed at how mature they become over one summer!! When I was going over procedures (such as how to put your backpack away) they didn't ven skip a beat! They were pros! This first day has to be the easiest that I have had in a long time....I think I am going to love second grade!

Something that you might not know about me....

I am a proud penguin! When I was in college, I pledged Kappa Delta Chi (a service soroity) that allowed me to provide community service to the Bryan/ College Station area , gave me opportunities to develop as a leader and where I created lifelong friends. As an alumnae, I hope to become more involved with the soroity on a national level and continue to find new ways to serve my community.

What I have Learned From Teaching...

Teaching students has taught me patience, compassion and faith in each one of the children that I am blessed to have in my class. One of the most amazing feelings in the world is watching a young child develop the ability to master skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. Watching a child read for the first time is inspiring and reminds me of why I became a teacher.

A few other things I have learned...

Always be prepared (great tool in classroom management)

Always be willing to grow and learn as a teacher. The day you feel you know it all, it is time to retire.

Practice what you preach.

Don't be afraid to tell your students that you love them.

You may the only adult that they hear that from each day.

Enjoy what you do. Your joy will radiate through everything you do in your classroom.

I am so tired but extremly happy to have had a successful first day and I am looking forward to a wonderful year full of amazing memories, new ideas and great new bloggie friends!

A new adventure with Me and My Gang!

I am so excited to announce that I will have the complete honor of being an author for a new and fabulous blog! This is a wonderful group of teachers that are working on great ideas to share with our readers!

Mrs. McCumbee of

and

Mrs. Schroeder of

are the wonderful teachers behind this new blog and are also looking for additional teachers to author creative and unique ideas for Me and My Gang. If you are a k-3 teacher and are interested in participating check out their blogs and join in on the awesome blogging!!

Come by and check it out!!

Color Chart Clip Board

Earlier this summer, my wonderful former teammate Alyce, create a super cute clip board version of my behavior color chart. It is a great way to have a portable version of a color chart that can be shared with your partner teacher, teammates or specials teachers. Here is a set-by-step of how it was created:

1. You will need a clipboard, scrap booking paper (in the colors that you need for your color chart), Modge Podge, sponge brush, and a title/picture to name your chart. Pictures from google images.

2. First glue your scrap booking paper the way that you would like for it to look on the clipboard and allow that to dry so that the paper doesn't move when you are covering the entire project. Glue from underneath the paper...don't try to cover the whole clipboard at one time (the paper tends to shift and bubble).

3. Add the title/picture label on top of your scrap booking paper. Let dry.

4. Once everything is thoroughly dry, it is time to cover the entire project with Modge Podge. Use even strokes. from left to right, until the whole clipboard is covered. Feel free to use the Modge Podge as needed because if your sponge is not wet enough, it tends to pull and give the clipboard a "streaky" look.

5. Allow it to dry completely.

6. Now you are ready to make your clips! These numbers were purchased at Hobby Lobby and are used for calendars. All you need to do is peel and stick!

                 

Here is the final product:



This one is a little different than the original post. The stripes really give it a a nice touch!!

I am currently working on some cute titles for you....so tell me, what are your themes?

Linky Party Fun!

Are you decorating up a storm in your room? Have you created a new space or implemented super cute ideas from other bloggers? Does your room look FABULOUS!! Join my linky party and show us all the hard work that you have done to transform a plain old room to an amazing place to learn!!

Make sure to grab my button and tell others about the linky!!

Click here to join in the linky party!

Before and After Classroom Linky Party

Hi everyone! I will be back on contract and getting ready for my new class on Monday but before then I want to see all your classroom makeovers and fabulous ideas for making your room an inviting learning enviroment!

As I work on my room, I will post pictures and share how I oranize and decorate my room. Here are a few pictures from my first grade classroom last year.

This was my calendar and carpet area ....

This is a picture of part of my reading station...I took this pic as I was packing up so the pillows and books had already been put away. The pictures that are on the wall are from a children's literature calendar. They worked out PERFECTLY!

As I start to get my room ready, I will post pics of my new monster themed classroom...but for now, it is your turn!!

Link up, grab my button and tell others!

Need some inspiration? Check out the TBA Ultimate Linky Party!

A little help from her friends....

Brenda, over at Primary Inspired, has a wonderful project that she is trying to get funded through 

 Let's help Brenda and her sweet little kiddos get a FABULOUS easel to use during instruction!

Here is how you can help....Brenda is offering everything in her TpT Store for a $6 donation to her project (just leave a comment on her blog when you make a donation and don't forget to leave an email address). 

Her products are amazing! Here is a sneak peak at what you can receive:

You get great products and most importantly you are helping out a fellow teacher and her class. What could be better than that!