Tell Me More! Linky Party and Giveaway Reminder!

Well I'm at the beach right now.  It has been a wonderful and relaxing few days and I can't wait for the rest of the week.  I'm such a beach junkie.  Well Amy over at Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons is having a linky party.  She wants us to share things about ourselves.  You can check out the linky party HERE.

1.       I have OCD in my classroom but my room in my apartment is a WRECK.  If only my OCD would pour over into my “everyday life.”  I’m sure my roommates would appreciate it!

2.       I am absolutely obsessed with nutella and peanut butter mixed together in a bowl.  Seriously.  You need to try it.

3.       Sometimes when I cook, I pretend I’m on my own cooking show.  Weird, I know.

4.       I LOVE paying my bills the old fashioned way (mail, not online).  There is just something so satisfying about putting a stamp on that sucker and being done with it.

5.       I make checklists… lots of them.  And sometimes I write things that I’ve already done so that I can go ahead and cross something off.

6.       I check my email and Pinterest on my phone before I get out of bed each morning.

7.       My boyfriend is a tall, lanky redhead whom I LOVE.  I’m gonna marry that boy some day.

8.       I have an obsession with fireworks.  I don’t want to shoot them off but I love watching them.  There is something so magical about them.

9.       I am BAD about starting a book and never finishing it.

10.   I love Big Brother and Survivor.  I’ve seen EVERY single episode of both.

11.   I am TERRIFIED of frogs… really, really terrified.

Don't forget about my giveaway!  It ends on August 1st so get your entries in :)

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney



Giveaway!!!!!!

Oh man I'm excited!  Not only do we go back to school in less than one month but I finally got my boyfriend's sister (she calls me her girlfriend-in-law :) ) to open her own TPT store.  She's amazing... and has been teaching for 16 or so years.  I have always seen all of this super cute stuff that she has had for her classroom over the years and she just HAD to open her store.  No need to keep all of that cuteness to herself! :)  So in honor of Andrea opening her TPT store and creating some SUPER awesome items, I have decided to do a giveway. 

Yep, fellow bloggers, my first blogger giveway!

Here's the link to Andrea's TPT Store!

Here's the link to my TPT store!

Make sure to follow my blog, leave a comment, and tell us which product you would want to receive (from each of our stores) if you won.  *Please leave your email with your comment!!!!*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

Grammar Woes

The #1 thing that I heard this summer during my Writing class was that they weren't sure how to teach grammar.  How much time do we spend on it?  How do I even go about teaching it?  The concern was that when we were in elementary school, we were given a grammar textbook and that's about it.  I remember doing pages and pages and pages and pages of correcting sentences.. all of which my teachers probably never even checked.  So what's the best way to do it?  For me, grammar minilessons come about when I'm modeling writing with my students or conferencing with them about their own writing.  I also wanted to create something that would be quick and efficient but would help me practice grammar with my students.  I came up with "Daily Fix-It Sentences." I have bound the forms (one for each week) and we will use them for morning work.  I have one sentence on each page that can easily be displayed and students can correct it.  The minilesson comes when you go over this with them.  I also included a review for each 9 weeks and an assessment for each 9 weeks.  I designed it around my writing curriculum that is also in my store! You can grab the "Daily Fix-it Sentences" HERE or HERE.  

 Here are some pictures of what's included....

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

Christmas in July

So we had our Christmas in July party!  Oh. My. Word. I'm about crafted out but strangely ready for more.  I only did one Christmas/Winter craft but I'm pretty sure the point was just to get together and have fun.  And that is exactly what we did!

My first project came from BeColorful Designs.  I LOVED what she did with the pumpkins and I certainly wanted to do this wonderful idea justice.  I needed something to sit outside my classroom door for the holidays.  I started with stove covers, spray painted them orange, and added faces.  I've still got to make the mounting for it.

And then I decided that I could put velcro on the back and change them out according to the holiday.  And that is where my snowman came about.  I used stove covers again and spray painted them white.  I still need to make him a hat and scarf but I think he is cute!

I wanted to create owls for my door in "earthy, natural" tones.  I got the pattern from Amy Hope.  It's free, people!  Check it out.

Her blog is: http://thehoundstoothteacher.blogspot.com

Here's what it ended up as.  I think they're too cute!

On my pinterest board I had a lovely "No Name" board for papers that do not have a name on them. I got the idea from Mrs. Brown's blog. I wanted to go with my zebra theme for my room and create my own spin on it.  I have an area of my room that is very slender and I wasn't sure what was going to go there.  I think this will be perfect!

My boyfriend's sister (she calls me her "girlfriend-in-law" haha) is a 3rd grade teacher and so she was busy making things for her classroom too. 

Like PomPoms out of tissue paper.

And then we painted some cacti for her western theme room.  Just a little cardboard, box cutters, and paint.  These were SO much fun to make!



Our next thing is two really big jungle trees for my own classroom.  We may leave that for when we get back from vacation. 

I also spent some time finishing up my Common Core Aligned Writing Curriculum.  It is writing minilessons, activities, graphic organizers, and forms for 160 days of writing instruction.  You can take a look at it HERE or HERE.

 

I also made a SMARTBoard version of the entire curriculum.  It has all of the necessary components but just on SMARTBoard slides to make it easy for modeling in your classroom.  It is HERE and HERE.

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

July Currently

I can't believe that it's July already but the turn of another month can only mean one thing...  a new Currently from Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

Head on over and link up!

I'm super excited about this weekend.  My boyfriend's mom and sister are having their "Christmas in July" craft party.  Basically, it's a time to get together, chat it up, eat snacks, and tackle that Pinterest board of crafts that I never have time for!  I can't wait!  Of course, I'll post pictures.  :)

Smiles and Snapshots,
Courtney