Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Too Much Coffee + No AC = ?

So…I got inspired late last night {I drank waay too much coffee to stay up late packing} and my AC was out {JOY} so I wasn’t really in the sleeping mode.  What did that turn into?  A new blog design!  I love figuring out new technology things and I would much rather go through the trial and error process to figure it out myself than I would have someone do it for me.  I like to say that I enjoy the learning process!! So I redesigned my blog and I LOVE it!  I have learned so much since I started blogging in February.  I’ve pondered offering to design blogs for others but I haven’t decided for sure yet.  I think I’m afraid that either no one will want me to {not the end of the world!} or that I will not be able to keep up with it on top of everything else!
So I’m going to do a little trial phase. The good thing for you {if you’re interested} is that I’m going to do this for free {for now}!  Here’s the first template:
PREVIEWInclues header, background, 3 links under header, 3 social media icons, blog button with grab code and sidebar headers
Here’s the deal.  I know I want my blog to be unique and I know many others feel the same way, so I’m only going to offer each template to one person.  So if you are interested, comment below with your email and blog link.  I will choose {with random number generator} one person to snag this blog template on Sunday {June 3rd}.  This deal includes installation which means you can either add me as a blog author for the installation or can give me your login information.  Either is fine with me!
If this is popular, I hope to create a few more free templates and who knows, maybe some for sale or custom requests!  I do know that teachers aren’t made of money though so they wouldn’t be crazy expensive!
Comment if you’re interested and I’ll be back Sunday with the lucky winner!
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Technology Tuesday: The Clever School Teacher

If you have perused the world of educational blogs at all I’m sure you have seen the blog Mrs. Wills Kindergarten!  It is a favorite of mine and always has been! Well, did you know that her and her husband  have created a new site? I didn’t either until I saw this post from Chalk Talk
This new site is such an incredible resource for teachers and I have perused it some so I thought I would share what I found and LOVE!
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It’s a little hard to read but the site gives you two different options: you can browse by category or you can search by book title, author or SKU.  My favorite is the category option! They are arranged in different ways, by comprehension, by genre studies, by word study, 6+1 Traits, Units of Study-Lucy Calkins, Katie Wood Ray, Craft Lessons, Non-Fiction Craft Lessons, Award Winning Books, and Common Core Standards by grade level.  There are “sets” created that you can purchase in most of the different categories.  It’s incredible!
There is also a wish list feature, they take POs from schools and you get free shipping (in the US) on orders over $25!
I mean, think about it…how many hours have you/could you spend trying to find the perfect book to teach a certain concept or idea.  And here they all are organized in many different ways!  What a wonderful resource for educators! 


You should head on over and check it out.  I am still perusing the different categories!
I’d love to hear what you find! Feel free to comment below!




Monday, May 28, 2012

Winner Winner! and a Little Bit of Random!

The winner of my Planning Pack is….Sandi C! 
Congratulations!! Hope you enjoy the pack!! Smile I’ll be emailing it to you shortly.

If you’re interested in the pack it’s on sale for $9.00 until midnight! Click the picture to check it out:

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Now on to the random: Y’all (yes I’m from Texas) I HATE packing. With every part of me. And seriously the moving process in general…no fun. BUT, I am so looking forward to the new adventures in my life! Those adventures might leave me little time to blog at first, but don’t you fear. I’ve got some great guest bloggers up my sleeve!! Centers, math, fluency, classroom management, you name it…they’ve got it!! So stay tuned…

Have a great week!!!
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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Happy Memorial Day & Math Monday

Happy {almost} Memorial Day everyone! I, for one, am so incredibly thankful for the service of our military men & women and their families.  They allow us to enjoy the freedoms that we do everyday!

Here’s a quick {a little early} Math Monday post for you Smile I had some requests for numbers through 100 of my Numbers Galore, which I was happy to do.  Instead of adding another file for Teachers Pay teachers I just updated the original Numbers Galore file with the 0-100 version! Still FREE as a bird! Smile Includes print and manuscript versions of all numbers.  These are a great quick review that incorporate a lot of different math concepts.  Here’s a little peek if you weren’t sure of what they were:
NG3NG1NG2
Get them here
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I'm linking up with:

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday
And just a reminder…my store is on sale! 10 % off.  ENDS TOMORROW!
Memorial Day Sale
Tomorrow I’m going to enjoy some time by the pool and I guess I should finish packing too. (HA)
Happy day!
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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Happy Memorial Day Sale!


Click on the picture to head to my Teachers Pay Teachers store for the sale!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Planning for Next Year?!

Happy Friday everyone!  I’ve been finishing up my latest project and I’m so excited about it!!  Stick with me, there’s a freebie at the end!
I know many of you are already planning for next year!  I’ve created a planning pack with lots of resources to help organize your planning.  Some of the PDF forms are even editable!!! It was a tricky situation figuring that out but I think I figured it out! I even printed my planner at FedEx office and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
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Get yours here!
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Here’s a peek at what’s included:
A planner with 2 page month spreads and 2 page weekly spreads, already dated and in one file for easy printing!
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Two page weekly planner spreads (lined and unlined)
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Week at a Glance and Year at a Glance
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Now here’s the fun stuff specifically created for teacher planning!  These are in separate files so you can pick and choose what you want to use.  I suggest printing and putting in a binder for easy storage and reference! :) This is a long range planner that can be used to plan out your units, weeks, grading periods, or even year! (in black and white and color-also available with an editable PDF)
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This is a weekly planner that can be used to plan out your weeks. I LOVE this planner and have used it so much!  (In black and white, lined and unlined-available unlined in an editable PDF)
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I also included step by step instructions for the editable files, and step by step instructions for printing the planner to FedEx Office. Smile
Now for the freebie!  Here’s a 2 page monthly spread that’s blank so you can use it for any month!  Enjoy! Click the picture to download!
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Annnd…I want to give you a chance to WIN this pack!  I’ll announce winners on Monday evening! Here’s your chances to enter:
1. Leave a comment with what piece of this pack is your favorite!
2. Leave a comment if you follow my TPT store.
Happy weekend! I hope to be back Sunday with a much anticipated Numbers Galore 50-100 freebie! Smile
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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Winner!

Yes I’m still here! Just busy!! Smile

Congratulations Kelly B from Busy in Kindergarten!! I’ll be sending you the sight word packet soon!

Check back tomorrow for a little freebie and some great new products that I’m soooo excited about! Smile

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Monday, May 21, 2012

Sight Word Practice & a Little Giveaway

Teaching sight words is key to success for young kiddos. I think we all know that!  There are TONS of fun ways to practice sight words but sometimes it’s nice to have different applications for the skill all in one place.  So I created a little something that hits some different applications for sight words in a fairly quick and simple way. 
Sight Word Practice
This pack includes two different tracing styles as shown below:
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Click on the picture below to go to the product listing!  Also, here’s a hint…if you download the preview you’ll get the practice pages for two sight words!
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Here’s your chance at a little giveaway! Leave a comment with your favorite way to practice sight words.  I’ll choose a winner on Wednesday around 5ish central time. Smile
I will be creating similar packs for the other Dolch lists too!
Happy Monday!
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Saturday, May 19, 2012

Guest Bloggers and Books Galore!

I’m still here!  The end of this week was a little bit crazy for me so I was MIA on here.  But I’m back..for the time being! In the next month I am moving from Houston to DFW and starting grad school.  There is a very strong possibility that my creation and posting will be limited to to say the least!  So, I thought this would be a great time to see if any of you wonderful bloggers out there would like to guest blog for me? I have a little giftie that I’ve put together for my guest bloggers. If you are interested, just shoot me an email (laceykyates@gmail.com) or comment below with your email and I’ll be in touch!

I’ve been planning to link up with Mrs. Stanford’s Class: Good Reads Linky and I’m finally getting to it!!

The Next Step in Guided Reading: Focused Assessments and Targeted Lessons for Helping Every Student Become a Better Reader

This is one I’ve already read.  This book has INCREDIBLE information for guided reading.  It is a MUST read if you teach guided reading in your classroom!
Making the Most of Small Groups: Differentiation for All

LOVE me some Debbie Diller!  Would love to get to this one this summer…but with  grad school I’m not sure it’s going to happen!

The CAFE Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literary Assessment and Instruction

I’ve already read Daily Five (and loved it!) but I’d love to read this one too!

Head on over to Mrs. Stanford’s blog to link up!

Happy weekend!

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