Memories From My First Year of Blogging

I love blogging. It is that simple.

I have been blogging since 2011 and have loved every single minute of it!

One of my very favorite moments was when I received a comment from one of my biggest inspirations....DeAnna Jump! It was amazing to me that a little blogger like me had received a complement from DeAnna!

Another wonderful moment was when Curls and a Smile reached 100 followers. I remember feeling that my blog was finally reaching readers and that my thoughts and resources were valuable to others. I hope that this is true to this day. It means the world tome to be able to share my thoughts, resources and work with you and I hope that it is just what you need.

 This was one of my very first freebies and is the perfect complement to one of my best selling products on TpT. My Mini human Body Book is so much fun and the kiddos love it!

Thank you so much for following Curls and a Smile and know that I will continue to work diligently to provide great resources and ideas for your classroom!

The Magical Product Swap #2

I am so happy to be participating in the second Magical Product Swap!!

 

 

I have been so lucky to be partnered with the fabulous Shanyn from

 

Do you not LOVE the name of her blog? I knew instantly that we could be friends!

Shanyn has so many adorable products... and I can't wait to share what I made for my kiddos using Shayna's Superhero Math and Literacy Activities.

What you will find in this amazing product:

10 Math and Literacy Stations

5 Literacy Activities

5 Math Activities

I teach ELA and Reading and all the skills that are included in this unit work out perfectly for my students! First up...ABC ORDER! My kids have been learning how to use the dictionary, glossary and thesaurus and this will be perfect for our word work station.

 

The Super Spelling Task cards allow students to misspelled words and is a great review for editing sentences (and can be applied to writing).

 

    

 

The Superb Sequencing station is so stinkin' cute! The students put the directions in order to create their own super hero mask! The kids are going to love this!

I can not wait to teach these sneaky silent spelling patterns! The students sort a variety of cards on these colorful mats that review some of the trickiest spelling patterns.

 

Last but not least is this fabulous station to practice writing strong sentences using the colorful word cards that review verbs.

 

I absolutely love these posts because there are so many AMAZING products that are created by teachers for teachers and I may otherwise not seen! A huge shout out to Jessica at

 Mrs. Standford's Class

 

for an amazing opportunity to share all our wonderful ideas!
 

Flash Sale!!

I've missed you all!! This year as been fast paced with lots and lots of changes so I am having a little trouble finding the balance but I will!!

 

 I can't wait to share some of the amazing things I have been doing with my kiddos this year!

 

As a token of my appreciation for all the support you show to me...

 

I am having a sale!!

 

All items are 20% off so go check it out!!

 

 



Teacher Week- Where I teach Wednesday

I'm back! Did you see my big debut?!?

In case you missed it, I wrote yesterday's post- Techy Tip Tuesday! 

I am so super excited and I hope that you will follow Blog Hoppin' as well! Today is Where I Teach Wednesday and I thought this would be a perfect time for me to give  you all an update on the state of my classroom. Last Sunday, my family and I made a few changes to my classroom.  So here are a few more photos of my classroom....it's still a work in process but looking much better!

Now, you are probably wondering why my walls are so bare...

Last year, I started thinking about how precious my wall space is and how I could better use it to support student learning. The more I thought about it the more I knew that if I choose what goes on the walls, the students are less likely to use it when working independently.  It was really that simple. I decided that I would fill my walls with my students rather than for them. There will be a few more things that will go up before the first day of school (alphabet, word wall, schedule and job chart) but the rest will be placed on the walls as I teach it. Just like with anchor charts, the students understand and interact with everything that "decorates" our room. 

I hope that you enjoy the pics and there will be more to come as it gets closer to Meet the Teacher on Friday! I can't wait to meet my new babies!!

Need a few AWESOME ideas for our classroom? 

Check it out at 

Teacher Week- Must Have Monday

This is my first day back and our staff development week is in full swing!

I am also excited to announce, that this week is also Teacher Week at Blog Hoppin'!

As I make the transition back into early mornings and informative meetings, my mind drifts to some must have items to that make coming back to school so much fun!

Here are a few of my MUST HAVES for the upcoming school year:

Starbucks.

It is a most definite must have and at the top of this teacher's list! 

The Quietest Pencil Sharpener

I can not wait for my kiddos to be able to use this fabulous pencil sharpener! It will definitely cut down on the noise and won't interrupt my small group lessons. Not to mention it sharpens pencils (even the not so great ones) beautifully.

Inkjoy Pens by Papermate

I L.O.V.E office supplies. 

These pens are my latest obsession and they are amazing and super affordable!

They will make grading papers a little more exciting!

My Scotch Thermal Laminator

I am so happy that my mom gave this to me! I have gotten so much use out of it and lat night it one of my classroom projects! Sometimes when I laminate using the school laminator, it tends to come apart. I was so worried that my color copies for my alphabet would be ruined until I ran the pieces through my Scotch Thermal Laminator. I was so excited! It sealed the open ends and my alphabet looks awesome! {Not to mention, I didn't have to print all those color copies again!}

     

    

 

Blogging...and other Technology

I have been blogging for a couple of years now and am so happy that I discovered this amazing way to gather and share ideas and collaborate with other teachers from all over the world. It has brought a fresh of breathe air into the lessons that I teach, sparked a creativity to develop new engaging lessons and to share as much as possible with all of you! 

Now it's your turn!

Share your fabulous must haves for the new school year! 

You Know It's Back to School Time....

I can't believe that summer is coming to an end and that I will be back to school on Monday.

I am so excited about the new school year but I am going to miss my summer....

Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle is having a linky and I thought I would join in! Here are a few ways that I know that a new school year is right around the corner.....

Throughout the summer, I collected TONS of great freebies and bought some AWESOME products from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Now it is time to magically transform my fabulous finds from digital files to decor for my classroom!  I have been to Office Depot to buy ink twice this week and I still have more to print. 

It all looks so cheerful and bright when printed in color!!

After using all the ink to print out my goodies I have to preserve them!  It's a very good thing that my school is generous and allows us to laminate to our hearts content. I can't imagine what type of bill I would rake up if I had to take it to a teacher supply store to get all my things laminated!!

Just the thought makes me tired! During the summer, I love to stay up late! I do some of my best work at 1 in the morning and what I love most about summer is that I can stay up late AND still get my 8 hours of sleep! Once the school year begins, my bedtime drastically changes from my usual 2 am to 9:30! Whoa!!

and last but not least...

This is a must! I will be making sure to add specific times into my schedule for reading and writing posts. Blogging has been such a wonderful way to share,  learning and grow as a teacher and I plan to continue on this fabulous journey! 

How do you know it's time to go back to school?

Join in on the fun by leaving me a comment (which I LOVE reading) or visit

to join the linky! 

Sneak a Peek....

Have I told you how much I love Teachers Pay Teachers?

Have I told you that I absolutely ADORE getting great products to use in my classroom created by real teachers that use what they have created?

This past weekend was the big sale and I STOCKED UP!!

I found some of the best ideas around and I wanted to share a couple with you! 

I teach ELA, Writing and Reading to my kiddos and these are going to be perfect!!

           

I also bought a few things to help with my implementation of Depth and Complexity with my students:

and who can forget the first day of school is right around the corner! These will be awesome the first couple of weeks of school:

I told you....I LOVE TPT! 

I have joined Blog Hoppin' in our latest and greatest linky party!!

I have a feeling that after I read the posts that are included in this

linky party, I will be filling my cart up again!! 

What did you snatch up during the sale? I am dying to know so make sure to link up and share!!