My Day, a Winner, and a Freebie

What a day it has been.  Let's start from the beginning......I woke up late.  My alarm is set for 5:00, but I didn't get up until 5:45.  I am assuming it was me who kept pressing snooze on the alarm, but I don't remember it.  :)

I was quickly getting ready for work when I realized that today was Team Jersey day and I couldn't forget my jersey because on Monday I had forgotten it was Red day and I wore blue and black instead of red.

I get to school and of course I needed to make copies of one page for our morning work which should only take about a minute, but instead took about 15 because every other copy made the copy machine jam!  Don't you hate when that happens.

Our day started and we did our Seuss themed chit-chat message.

I totally think I jinxed myself with yesterday's post going on and on about how great my kiddos were doing with Daily 5.  They must have known I said all these wonderful things because today they really struggled.  :(

As if that was not bad enough, around 10:00 this is what I saw out of one of my classroom windows.

It didn't take long for the kiddos to notice the snow and then of course we couldn't focus on anything except the fact that it was snowing!!!

At lunchtime, I was feeling a little defeated so I indulged in a Dove dark chocolate.  This is what I found inside.

It made me realize that I need to just be positive and focus on the good so I decided we were going to have a great afternoon whether my little friends liked it or not.  And guess what???  We did!  We read "Horton Hears a Who" by Dr. Seuss and discussed whether or not we would want Horton as our friend.  All of the kids decided they wanted a friend like Horton.  Then we brainstormed ideas about what made Horton such a good friend.  Can we be good friends like Horton?  We decided that yes we could!  The rest of the day at school was pretty uneventful thank goodness!

Yesterday I said I would pick a winner of my Silly Math Centers.  I went to a website did a random number generator, but then couldn't figure out how to put it on the post.  If you can email me with how in the world to do this, I would appreciate it!  :)

Anyways, it picked number 6 which was Melinda Chase!  Congrats Melinda.  I do not have your email address though so if you would like your prize please either email me or comment with that!  You can email me at mrspauleyskindergarten@gmail.com.  Thanks to everyone who commented and to all of my fabulous followers.  Since I am in a feel the love kind of mood, I am leaving you with a freebie.  :)
{Click on the image to get your free Horton Math Survey}

{If you like the fonts on my survey, visit my TpT store to get them for yourself!}

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Daily 5, New Products, and Giveaways!

I could have maybe titled this post:  "Random" because it is a little random, but you don't mind do you?? ;)

I have been transitioning from Literacy Stations to Daily 5 in my classroom.  As I said before, I think what I will end up is going to be a combination of the two.  I have to say though, I am LOVING Daily 5 right.  My students have been building stamina on read to self and read to someone.  They have been doing fantastic so today I decided to add on Working with Words.  I gave my students three word work options and told them that by the end of the week they had to complete all three.  {I may make this more than three, but I figured to start off three sounded like a good number :)}

Now, I know nothing is perfect, but I was heaven for the time that we did this today.  Some students were reading to self, some were reading to someone, and some were doing word work activities.  I was just monitoring since this is still new.  I am hoping by the end of the week I will be ready to pull groups again.  Look at how engaged they were:

I am just tickled by how well they are doing with this!  :)

I have created some new products on TpT that you may be interested in.  I have definitely caught the font bug and I started creating my own fonts.  I love it.....even if no one ever purchases a font I don't care because I love them.  I figure that's what it's all about anyways.  I don't create anything on TpT that I wouldn't normally create for my classroom anyways.  I make sure I love everything I create.  Here are some of my new fonts.  One is free and the rest are priced.  {Click on the images to head to the fonts.}

I realized last night that I did not have enough math centers for the week so I created some "Silly Math Centers".  This includes three math centers:  measurement, domino addition, and roll & color.

And now for some fabulous giveaways:  {Click on the images to head to the giveaways!}

First, Mrs. Leeby & Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten are celebrating their 200 & 300 followers with a fabulous giveaway!

The fabulous ladies over at Kindergarten Squared are hosting a giveaway for their short vowel word work bundle.

Teaching and Tapas is hosting a giveaway for 100 amazing products!  It is divided up by grade level.....awesome!!!

My sweet friend Khrys from Keepin' It Kool In Kinderland is having a "The Naughty Little Leprechaun" giveaway.

And last, but definitely not least is the fabulous giveaway from Growing Firsties, Smedley's Smorgasboard of Kindergarten, 3 A.M. teacher, and Teacher to the Core.

Good luck with all the fabulous giveaways!!!  I can't wait to see who wins.......of course, I would love for it to be me, but I will be happy if it is you!  I am headed to bed now.  We spent the weekend finished my daughter's ceiling in her room {we had to replace it so we were taping, mudding, sanding, and painting all weekend long}.  I finally have all the dust cleaned up after vacuuming about five thousand times.  Her things are back in her room and now this mom is EXHAUSTED!  My son is super excited to have his room back to normal as well.  We had to store all his sister's things in his room while we were doing all this.  He didn't care for that so much!  :)

And since you made it to the end of this post, I decided I would give away my new Silly Math Centers to one lucky follower.  All you need to do is make sure you follow my blog and comment below telling me your favorite Dr. Seuss book & activity that you do with your class.  Make sure you provide your email address.  I will choose a winner tomorrow evening around 8:00 central time.  Good Luck!!!  :)

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5 For Friday and Presidents {Finally}

It's Friday....whoooo hoooo!  It has been quite a week.  Extremely busy, a little stressful, and full of fun!  I have had quite a few kiddos out sick this week and think it may have finally caught up with me.  I woke up feeling not so hot and now I have a sore throat and headache.  Hoping I am in tip top shape tomorrow, but we will see.

I am linking up again with Doodle Bugs Teaching to post five random things about my week.

#1 - My cutie pie great-niece's birthday party.  She turned 2.  As we sang to her, she kept hiding her eyes.  It was the absolute cutest thing ever.  Here she is blowing out her candles.

#2 - I received my February Birchbox in the mail.  If you have never heard of Birchbox, it is a monthly subscription.  Each month you get different beauty supply samples sent to you based upon your profile you create.  If you are interested, please click {here} to learn more.  Anyways, I got a new nail polish in my box this month.  I love it.  I had to paint my nails right away!

#3 - My daughter got her hair chopped off this week.  Can't you tell how much she loves it by her super cheesy grin?  Can't get her to smile nice for the life of me!

#4 - During our math surveys this week I tried something new.  Each time a pair was done recording their partner's answer I made them do something silly like cover their eyes or cross their arms and look grumpy.  They had so much fun with it!  And it was a great signal to me about who was ready and who was still working.

 #5 - We learned a lot about Washington and Lincoln.  I am going to share with you some of the things we did.  I however am not going to share everything because (1) it would take too darn long and (2) my stupid computer and I are fighting about pictures.  For some reason, it isn't letting me get to all my new pictures.  Maybe tomorrow!

We made a T-Chart about what we knew about Washington {it wasn't much!} and then after we read some books we added some information to what we learned.

The next day we learned some more about our friend Mr. Washington and created this tree map.  This was a struggle for my littles.  I think it was because they were not that interested.

{Ok, side note......I was obviously writing fast and not completely paying attention to what I was doing because it should say "great life" instead of "great live".  How easily we get distracted!!!}

We then learned how to take what the map said and turn it into a sentence!  Whoo Hoo!!  This was also difficult, but we survived and they did pretty well.  {This paper is from A Cupcake for the Teacher.....we also made the adorable Washington faces to go along with it, but I can't get to that picture right now}

Then I found this fabulous directed drawing activity for FREE on TpT.  Click {here} to grab it for yourself.  We made our own George Washington's in our journals.

 Aren't they adorable????  I just loved each one of them!!

Ok, on Day 2 of learning about our first President we wrote three facts about Washington.

We learned a President's Day song.

We did a math survey on which President we would like to meet George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.  Here is an example.

I am so proud of how my students are doing with these.  It has taken quite a bit of practice, but they are finally starting to get the hang of it.  This survey is from Math Survey Sampler {Freebie} which you can find {here}.  I have many more surveys in my Math Surveys for the Year which you can find {here}.

I am now going to go to bed and read a book {or play with the ipad and maybe make a new font}.  Either way this lady is EXHAUSTED!!  Hoping a good night's rest will do this body good!  Have a great weekend everyone!

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Hall Pass Linky

I am linking up with Reagan over at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits today.  I love her idea for a linky:  a teacher's hall pass!  Don't we all feel like we need one every once in awhile!  I know I do!

Here is what I will be sharing! :)

{PRODUCT} My favorite product at the moment is my new font(s).  I have a font addiction and now it is worse because I am creating my own!!!  Click on either one of these images to get these two FREE fonts.  Just please review my TOU before using them.  :)

{AREA}  I do LOVE my smart board and I finally think I have figured out an arrangement that works so that my carpet can be directly in front of the smart board!  Yeah!  Only took me a year and a half to figure it out, but hey who's counting?

{SIGNAL}  I have many signals I use throughout the day.  I really like having a variety and I think my students do too.  One of my absolute favorites is I sing "Kiiiinnnnndergarten" and the students reply "Yeeees, Ms. Pauley".  {I know I am Mrs. Pauley, but for some reason Ms. just fits better with the song :)}  I will then tell the students to L&R {lock & rest}.  They lock their hands and rest them in their lap.  Love it!  And it works!

{SANITY}  Dove Dark Chocolate and my morning coffee {just NOT together.....I do not like the taste of coffee and chocolate together}.  Everyone knows I keep a stash of Dove Dark Chocolate promises hidden in my room so when staff members need some chocolate they pop into my room.  :)

I have been very busy this week teaching my little kinder friends about Washington and Lincoln.  Here is a little preview of my post tomorrow all about it.  Just a few pictures to wet your appetite!    Well I was going to show you some pictures, but for some reason my computer doesn't want to let me get to the pictures I just uploaded and I am too exhausted to fight with the computer right now.  So, I guess you will just have to check back tomorrow for the whole sha-bang!  {I am secretly hoping for a snow day which means we won't have one because I want one.  I never want a snow day because I want to get out early and have my summer, but I could use a day tomorrow!}

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Desire to Inspire & A Giveaway!

Hey there everyone!  I am linking up today with the sweet Brittany from Lovely Literacy & More for her Desire to Inspire Linky.  If you haven't checked out her fabulous blog, you need to do that by clicking {here}.

You pick three non-teaching blogs and three teaching blogs that inspire you.  I am an avid blog stalker and reader so I am going to love this linky!!!

Three non-teaching blogs that inspire me:

1.  From My Grey Desk Blog -

I love Lauren & her sister Kate (The Small Things Blog)
It is all about fashion, home decor, and many other things.  She has a great sense of humor too.  I just wish she would come and decorate my home as fabulous as hers is decorated!  :)

2.  The Chiffon Diary -

Nicole is so stinking cute and also gives great fashion ideas.  I wish I could pull off some of her looks.  I also wish I lived in warm weather like she does!  :)

3.  Putting Me Together -

Yep....you guessed it another fashion blog.  Audrey wanted to change up her wardrobe and created this blog for the rest of us to follow along.  She has great ideas on how to mix and match pieces you already have to create new looks.  She also give some great info on how to dress for your body.

This one is seriously hard because there are about a bazillion teacher blogs I follow. {Ok, I might be exaggerating just a tad bit with bazillion, but you get the picture....too hard to decide!}  I just picked three that I definitely do love, but there are many, many more that I love and get inspiration from on a daily basis.

1.  Keepin' It Kool In Kinderland -

My sweet friend Khrys is the brains behind this fabulous blog.  She has so many wonderful ideas and a fabulous TpT store too!  She is always sweet and helpful.  If you haven't checked out her blog yet, please go do it.  I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

2.  A Cupcake for the Teacher -

I stumbled upon this blog this summer because in my family I am known as the cupcake lady.  So, when I saw the name of this blog I thought it would be pretty sweet {hehe.....get it?  cupcake?  sweet?  I amuse myself so easily sometimes ;)}.  Anyways, it is awesome and I love all of her fabulous craftivities.  She has amazing ideas!

3.  Mrs. Jump's Class -

I just don't think this would be complete if I didn't mention Deanna Jump.  Her blog was the first one I found just a little over a year ago.  My first TpT purchase was her Arctic Animals unit and my teaching has never been the same {in a super awesome way}.  I am so looking forward to the Illinois Kindergarten conference next month where I will be attending most of her sessions!  :)  I have learned so much from her blog!

Also, I want to remind you that today is the last day to enter this fabulous giveaway!  Click on the image below to head to the giveaway....many fantastic prizes!!!

Have a great rest of the week.  I plan to be back tomorrow with some pictures of our week!  :)

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Math Surveys

Oh my goodness....this weekend just flew by!  And it was extra long!  Why does that always happen?  The longest weekends always seem to fly by in an instant.  It is probably because I had so much planned......birthday parties, finishing up TpT products, and of course many, many projects around the house.

One of those TpT products that I finished was my new Math Surveys for the Year!  I am so excited about this product.  I really like creating products that I can use throughout the year instead of just for one particular unit.  My students LOVE to do math surveys and I have been creating them to do at least one a week.  I still have quite a few students who are struggling with tally marks, graphing, and analyzing the data from a graph.  These math surveys hit all of those areas!  If you are interested in this pack, you can click on the image below to head to my TpT store.

For Monday only, this pack will be on sale for half off.  There are over 50 math surveys included in this pack so it is quite the bargain at half off.

I also created a math survey sampler freebie a while back.  If you are interested in that, click on the image below.

I hope your class loves these as much as mine does!!  Have a great week everyone.  I can't wait to share all the fun we will be having for President's Day this week.

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President's Day {Freebies}

I have had a fabulous start to my nice three day weekend.  I was able to go and visit my mother this morning at her church where we did pysanky.  If you are not familiar with pysanky, it is a way to decorate eggs using wax and dye.  I have been doing it for six years now.  I love it.  You pray as you are creating your egg.  Here are a couple pictures of some of my pysanky.

I usually pray for the person I am making the egg for as I create it.  If you ever have a class in your area, I strongly encourage you to try it out.  We do classes at my mom's church and my church each Lenten season.

On to my President's Day freebies.  :)  I created two writing webs as freebies for you!  I made a Washington and Lincoln web.  I will using these in my classroom this week.  I hope you are able to get some use out of them as well!  Click on the image below to head to your freebie!

I also created a President's Day emergent reader which is only $1.00 in my TpT store.  You can find it by clicking on the image below!

I hope you have a great rest of your weekend!  I am off to make cupcakes for tomorrow.  We are celebrating two of my niece's birthdays.  It's going to be a busy day!

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