June 2015

July Currently

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Oh boy, it's July! And it's time to link up with Farley!

Ah summer...lazy days, late nights, ME time! Ok, so maybe my days aren't so lazy having 2 very active girls to chase around all day, but I do like the more relaxed schedule and time to make memories. Here's my July Currently...

Listening: Yup, it's 8:45pm and my whole house is asleep! Whoop Whoop! Peace and quiet. I actually love this time in the evening. It's nice to have a moment to think about the days events, read (like for pleasure!), and get lost in my computer. The hubby has to get up way to early for work so it's lights out early for him.

Loving: I really do love spending the summer with my girls. We are so busy during the school year and sometimes I don't feel like I give them the kind of attention I'd like to because of it. Summer time is all about girl time and making memories.

Thinking: I have a few items on my TO DO list for home and for school that I'd really like to get done this summer. But....summer keeps getting in the way! Ha! Maybe I'll get the girls to help me. Maybe.

Wanting: All these posts about Vegas! I would so love to be there and meet all of you fantastic people. I'm making it a priority for next year. My little fairy godblogger will hold me to it. :)

Needing: Our 10th anniversary is at the end of the month. I must finish the gift for the mister asap!

All Star: I'm an AWESOME listener. People seem to come to me when they need to talk. It's always been this way. Maybe that's why I got the nickname "Mama Bear." Or maybe it's because I'm a Libra. Whatever it is, I'm really good at it.

Ok, now it's your turn!

Head over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade and link up with Farley!

Tell All Tuesday: Summer Flashback

Happy Tuesday! It's time to link up with My Day in K and Teach. Talk. Inspire. for their Tell All Tuesday linky!

This week's theme is all about summer memories. Pull out your photo albums and find your favorite summer flashback memory!

I come from a really big, really loud, Italian family. One of my favorite summer memories is attending the Italian American Club Picnic. Imagine a whole bunch of really loud, really social, really fun loving people together, having an absolute blast and celebrating summer.

Here is a photo of my sisters and I, dancing with my grandfather in 1985. (yikes! I just aged myself!)

What's one of your favorite summer memories?

Share in the comments below, or better yet, link up with

Jayme and Diana!

Here's how:

1. Grab the picture & banner and use them to link back to this post on your blog.

2. Write a post about the topic of the week.

This week is: Summer Flashback

3. Add your link below.

4. Advertise your post using any social media of your choice.

An InLinkz Link-up

About Me, Weekend Warriors

Weekend Warriors: 3-2-1 Teacher Bio

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Is June really almost over!?! Where did it go? Time is flying far too fast.

Since it's the end of the month, it's time for another link up with the Weekend Warriors!

We are a group of bloggers coming to you the last weekend of each month with a link up to share tips on a particular theme. Since it's summer time, we thought we would take this month to tell you a little bit about ourselves and learn a little about you!

We're doing it 3-2-1 style!

Here's how it works:

Let's get to know each other shall we?

1) Anybody who knows me, knows that I'm a total planner. This is really true of me in all parts of my life but especially the Teacher Me. I love my Erin Condren planner and I make sure it's completely filled out each week. I like to know what I'm doing and when I'm doing it. I like to have all my ducks in a row before I leave for the day and to be ready for the following week on Friday afternoons. I'm not a big fan of surprises and chaos can drive me a bit batty!

2) A supportive team is absolutely essential to me. I love to work with other teachers, bounce ideas off of each other, compare notes, and plan together. There's nothing worse than feeling like you're alone in this. My team is so important to me.

3) I have really high expectations, both for myself as well as my students. I strive to do my best every day. Sure, we all have bad days and I do cut myself some slack when that happens, but I will never compromise and be less than my best. I also have high expectations of my students. I don't use a clip chart or a marble jar or anything like that in my classroom (I've tried them. They're not for me.). We set our class agreements at the beginning of the year and this becomes the norm. The students know what is expected of them and there are no surprises. That's just how we roll.

These two sort of go hand in hand for me. I'm the oldest of three girls and I've always been expected to be responsible for myself as well as for others. This isn't something that my parents expected of me, but more what I've always expected of myself. Some of my closest friends call me "Mama Bear" because I'm always taking care of others. And if you're part of my flock, I've definitely got your back. I am incredibly loyal. I love my people and I will protect them to the ends of the earth. But watch out, if you hurt one of my people, Mama Bear will fight back! Ha!

So if you've read my blog like even once, you know that I'm a huge baseball fan. (See? It says it right over there in my profile --->) I grew up with the game. My grandfather was a semi-pro pitcher, my mom worked as an usher out at the ballpark, it's in my DNA. Last year, I got to check one baseball dream off of my bucket list when I went to Game 3 of the World Series.

Next up on that list is to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Now that my sister and her family have moved out that way, maybe I'll get the chance to check this one off, too!

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit more about me! You can check out what my Weekend Warriors girls had to share and link up with us, too! Make sure to link back to this post!

Use the images below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Giveaway, GoNoodle

Camp GoNoodle!

Have you heard the news?
The most amazing thing is happening THIS Monday, June 29th!

For those of us with children of our own, summer is anything but care-free. The daily battle begins within the first few days. It can be exhausting trying to keep our little ones entertained while attempting to cross things off that summer To Do list or just taking a moment to relax.

But the answer is here!

Camp GoNoodle

Camp GoNoodle is a free online program for kids to stay active and be creative this summer! If you already know and love GoNoodle for the classroom, you’ll love Camp GoNoodle -- a summer extension of the GoNoodle experience kids love at school.

If this is your first time hearing of GoNoodle -- Camp GoNoodle is a great introduction that you can do with your whole family!

How it works...

1) Head to camp! Each Monday starting June 29, a new set of five adventures will appear at campgonoodle.com.

2) Go on adventures! Each adventure uses GoNoodle.com’s active videos and games for inspiration, and challenges kids to use their imaginations, get moving, and be outside. Picture building your own DIY jetpack, creating an obstacle course race, or making sushi with things you already have at home.

3) Sing along! Each week includes two brand new camp songs to inspire creativity and movement.

4) Connect with fellow campers! Share your adventures using the #campgonoodle hashtag to join the camp community. Each week, Campers of the Week are recognized as all-stars and earn exclusive Camp GoNoodle prizes.

5) Earn badges! Complete each week of adventure by printing the weekly badge to hang up, loud and proud. There will be 4 weeks of camp...each having a different theme!

All you need for camp is...

Is your family ready for an adventure?

Registering is simple.

Head to campgonoodle.com beginning Monday, June 29th!

Teachers: If you already have a GoNoodle teacher/classroom account, but want to participate at home with your own family, you will need to sign up to receive Camp GoNoodle emails here: http://gndle.me/1IdCN2F

This is important because Camp emails are only being sent to parent accounts. We know lots of teachers use their school accounts at home -- completely fine, we just need to make sure we get them in the Camp email list!

Holly from Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Connections is kicking off Camp GoNoodle with a linky party!

Share your summer loves and spread the word about Camp GoNoodle!

Here are some of my favorites:

Now it's your turn to link up!

Fill in your favorites with the image below.

And share about the linky and Camp GoNoodle on social media!

And as a Blogger Bonus, GoNoodle will be doing a (random number generator) drawing on Saturday, July 4th to choose one lucky 'linker' to win some fantastic Camp GoNoodle swag!

Click below to grab the code to add the full linky to your post!

get the InLinkz code

Now link up with Holly below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Centers, My Products

Summer Share and Prepare: Color Me Happy

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Today, I'm linking up with Once Upon a Classroom for her Share & Prepare Summer Linky!

I'd like to share with you my newest unit

Color Me Happy: A Color Unit!

There are 7 different activities for color identifitcaiton and to build fluency with color words.

It's great for the beginning of the year!

1) I See Colors Mini-Book
2) Happy Color Words: Read & Color
3) Color Word Puzzles
4) Color Word Sentences
5) Color Word Playdough Mats
6) Color Sort
7) Color Spin & Graph

I've also included kid friendly directions for each activity to help build independence.

This unit is on SALE until Friday, 6/26 at 5pm PST.

Click here or on any of the pictures above to see it in my store!

About Me, Tell All Tuesday

Tell All Tuesday: Teacher Bucket List

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

It's time for Tell all Tuesday with Jayme and Diana!

Summer is the perfect time to sit back, relax, and enjoy some time to reflect on the previous school year. It also gives teachers time to daydream and think to the future. In honor of summer and the time time off we're giving ourselves from our teacher reality we want to know your dreams for your teaching career. For this Tell All Tuesday we'd love for you to share your "Teacher Bucket List." What hopes and dreams do you have for your teaching career? Do you want to go back to school to become a reading specialist? One day become principal of your school? Or something else in the realm of teaching? Dream big and don't hold back! Share your Teacher Bucket List with us today!

My Teacher Bucket List is simple...I want it all.

Ok, so not ALL...but really, my goal is to find a balance between being the best mom I can be and being the best teacher I can be. This is easier said than done. It requires a lot of hard work, organization, flexibility, compromise, and the ability to sometimes let yourself off the hook.

In many ways, I can be a perfectionist. I blame my type-A personality. But that's not to say that everything has to be perfect all of the time. I'm human, too. When I'm on my game as a teacher, my house is typically a total mess. The laundry's not done, the dog needs a bath, the kids are having PB&J for lunch for the third day in a row, ha! When I'm on my game as a mom, my lessons are a little less hands on and I lean on my team a little harder to help me through.

But in the end, my hopes and dreams for my career are to continue to grow as an educator, continue to learn from other amazing teachers (like all of you!), and to continue to collaborate with fantastic colleagues all while being the best mom and wife I can be.

Want to share your Teacher Bucket List?

Here's how:

1. Grab the pictures & banner and use it to link back to this post on your blog.

2. Write a post about the topic of the week.

This week is: Teacher Bucket List

3. Add your link below.

4. Advertise your post using any social media of your choice.

An InLinkz Link-up

Five for Friday

Friday, June 19, 2015

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching today to share my Five for Friday this week. I have to say, I really love the time I have to do "other" things during the summer. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, but it really does sort of take over my world during the school year. Summer is definitely the time to relax, recharge, and have a little fun! Here's what I've been up to this week:

Last Friday, we said, "See you later" to my sister and her family as they head across the country to their new home. It was a tough send off but we're excited to have a new place to visit.

To cheer ourselves up, we headed to the county fair last weekend. There was an amazing butterfly exhibit where you could interact with the butterflies. The girls and I spent over a half an hour in there and I posted this photo on Instagram. Imagine my surprise when Teachers Pay Teachers reposted it on Facebook as a part of their #TpTSummerSnapshot series. Totally made my day!

I'm excited to be a part of the #TPTSellerChallenge hosted by Sparkling in Second, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, Teach Create Motivate, and Third in Hollywood. This week's challenge was Makeover Madness. Since I am at the beginning of my journey on TPT, I gave my Baseball Label It Freebie a bright new cover! Check it out here.

By far, the best part of blogging is the relationships you make. And when virtual friends become real life friends, well it doesn't get much better than that! I got to have lunch with Molly from Lucky to Be in First this week. LOVE this girl!

My oldest daughter has been in a visual and performing arts day camp for the last two weeks. So, I've been spending my days with my youngest and we've been getting into all sorts of fun. It's a treat to have one on one time with your kids once in a while. It's rare that they get that sort of attention.

(Yes, that is my disaster of a house in the background. This is real life people!)

How was your week?

About Me, Tell All Tuesday

Tell All Tuesday: Summer Snapshot

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for:

With Teach. Talk. Inspire and My Day in K!

This week's topic is Summer Snapshot.

Think about a favorite summer memory, current or new, and post a picture or two about it. It could be a favorite summer trip, activity, or spot that you enjoy.

This is my happy place...

Every summer since I was little, my family heads to Lake Tahoe to spend some family time at the beach. My husband and I have continued this tradition with our little girls. We absolutely love our time at the lake every summer.

There are so many great trails and hidden gems around the lake.

(This pic is from a few years ago.)

This photo was taken near the top of the Heavenly Gondola. It was a bit hazy that day but still a gorgeous view.

Want to share your Summer Snapshot?

Here's how to join in on the fun:

1. Grab the picture and banner above and use it to link back to this post on your blog.

2. Write a post about the topic of the week.

This week is: Summer Snapshot!

3. Add your link below.

4. Advertise your post using any social media of your choice.

An InLinkz Link-up

Reading

Summer Reads

Saturday, June 13, 2015

I love to read. I always have. As a kid, I loved long road trips because it meant new books and lots of reading time. As a teacher and a mama, it's so hard to find time to read for pleasure anymore. Most of my reading these days are children's picture books and teacher blog posts! I've found though that I have much more time to read for fun and for me in the summer. So when my friend Molly told me about this fantastic link up, I got super excited!