I'm Back! And I have a FREEBIE!

Hi friends,
To say that I have been a little absent is an understatement.  Life took a drastic turn and my life was turned upside-down.  I learned a lot about myself and I have come out the other side much stronger.  I am eager to get my blog going again.  I loved networking with other teachers and I have a ton of stuff I want to share with you in the coming months.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and were able to spend some uninterrupted time with those you hold dear.  For those of us that teach primary, we know that there is huge growth in our students between January and March.  After Christmas is a great time to change up routines a bit.  With that in mind I am offering a FLASH FREEBIE for the month of January.  If you head over to my TPT store you can get Daily Language Skills {January} completely for FREE.

It is a product that is geared to grades 1 and 2.  I typically paired it with my Daily Math Skills units and photocopied it front and back for my daily morning work.  You could also use it for your word work activities.  I have provided a good variety of skills and parents like seeing what we are working on.  I hope you can use it and that it helps ease your return to school.

Teacher Week: 5 Fun Facts About Me!

I thought it would be fun to link up with Blog Hoppin' and share some fun facts about me!

Fact #1:  I always wanted to be left handed.  I used to try and make myself write with my left hand because I thought it would be fun to be different.  It didn't work - big surprise!  Ironically I now have a left handed daughter!  As a sub fact - my daughter was conceived through IVF.  So a shout-out to all those miracle babies out there!

Fact #2:  I love everything coconut!  I love Body Shop coconut body butter, coconut lip balm, coconut ice cream,  coconut drinks (aka: Pina Coladas).  You name it - if it's coconut I love it!

Fact #3:  I hate walking up stairs with no backs in them!  It's not even logical and I am not sure why it bothers me so much but I will avoid them like the plague.  Weird!

Fact #4:  If I wasn't a teacher I would love to be a forensic pathologist.  One of my favourite shows is "Forensic Files" and almost every book I read has this type of "undertone."  I just find it fascinating.

Fact #5:  I love to sing but I never know the words and I can't sing a tune. at. all.  But it never stops me - and my family will attest to that...lol!  There is a Beyonce in me just dying to come out!

So there you have it - a little bit about me!  It's fun getting to know each other a little bit better:)

Bye for now,

Natalie

Bloglovin'

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Mini Glue Pots

Missing glue stick lids drives me nuts!  I find it so frustrating when one of my little friends announces that a brand new glue stick is going in the garbage because it spent the whole night without a lid!  Ugh!  So when I saw all the teachers posting glue pots on Instagram I knew I had found the answer to my prayers!  They were super easy to make and really affordable.  Nice!  I hit the dollar store and Walmart and got everything I needed.  I love that they are small enough that I have enough for everyone in the class.  I cut the sponges with a bread knife so the edges were nice and clean.  I poured a little bit of glue in the bottom of the container first,  then I put the piece of sponge in the bottom and poured white glue over the top.  Within minutes I could see the sponge starting to swell as it absorbed the glue.   Presto!  20 mini pots ready to go!

Have a great night!
Natalie

TPT BOOST SALE!!!

Were you as excited as I was when TPT announced that they were having a one-day surprise "BOOST" day sale?!  It's a fantastic idea because once school starts we all realize that want need to buy a few more things.

Everything in my store is 20% off and then you get another 8% off from TPT if you use the code:  MORE15.  It's a great deal!

This is a great time to buy bigger items like bundles.  You already save on the bundle and then you get an extra 28% off. 

One of the products that made a huge difference in my classroom last year was my "Daily Language Skills" and "Daily Math Skills" monthly units.  I used them for morning work every.single.day!

I copied them back to back and used them for morning work.  It took the kids about 20 minutes to complete both pages.  I marked them every day and then on Friday the booklets went home to be corrected with their parents.  Both units cover essential math and literacy skills that our kiddos need to be successful learners.  Every month the skills got progressively more difficult.  I was so pleased with the progress I saw by the end of the year.  The BEST thing about buying the bundles is that you don't have to think about it again for the rest of the year!  I have laid everything out for you so all you have to do is photocopy the pages.

I would highly recommend both these products!  You can buy each month separately if you would prefer to try them out first.

REMEMBER to use the code:  MORE15 at check out to get the bonus discount!

Now go and get your shop on!

Have a great day!
Natalie

PS:  I am so excited!  I have 103 followers on Instagram!!

New NO PREP Math Units!

One thing that I totally love about the summer is the opportunity to make some new products that I might not have the time to make during the school year:)  Before we left for Hawaii I finished up two new math units.  I decided to get away from centre activities and make them NO PREP units.  All you have to do is photocopy the booklets and GO!!  NICE!  

The first one up is Place Value Pizzazz!

This unit is jam packed with 30 place value NO PREP PRINTABLES!
I have also included 3 place value craftivities for your little artists!

This unit will help your students to master:
*standard form (eg: 37)
*word form (e.g.: thirty seven)
*written form (e.g.: 3 tens 7 ones)
*expanded form (eg: 30 + 7)
*picture form (Base 10 blocks)
*place value (value of underlined digit)

To help make planning easy for you I have divided the activities into 3 weeks and I have included a tracking sheet (great for daily feedback) for each week.  If you would prefer not to use the tracking sheet you can change the order of the activities to suit your own needs.

I have also included posters for you to display during the unit for easy student reference.

Here's a peek:

The second unit is It's About Time!

This unit is jam packed with 26 telling time NO PREP PRINTABLES!

I have also included a clock craftivity.

This unit will help your students to:

*review telling and writing time to the hour

*review telling and writing time to the half-hour

*MASTER telling and writing time to quarter-after the hour

*MASTER telling and writing time to quarter-to the hour

Just soooo many goodies packed into these units!

I love that I already have the posters printed and laminated and all the booklets are in page protectors and ready to be photocopied.  It will make life so much easier having these units ready to go!

I will be back tomorrow to share with you a bit about how I use the tracking page in my math units.

I couldn't imagine not using them!

Bye for now,

Natalie

I'm Back

Hi everyone!
I'm back!  Not that it is a big deal because I don't have a huge blog following.  I want to commit to blogging but I have struggled with finding my blogging "voice."  I have realized in recent years that despite being loud and having what appears to be a very outgoing personality - I struggle, and I mean really struggle, with social anxiety.  I know it stems from a core of personal insecurities but it sucks because it means that I avoid situations that would probably be a lot of fun!  For the past 2 years I have sworn that I am going to Vegas for the TPT conference and then both years I chickened out.  Blogging has also caused me anxiety.  How do I put myself out there to share myself and my classroom?  I get wonderful feedback in my TPT store but I continue to "hide."  In an attempt to get comfortable in my own skin I have made a goal to try and step out of my comfort zone a bit.  I have not been on any form of social networking so I have just joined the "Instagram" world and I love it!!!  Since it is summer vacation I have only been posting personal photos but that's okay and I figure I will just naturally ease into sharing more educational posts.  I have made it a goal to blog once a week - no excuses!  I am getting ready to start my 23rd year of teaching and I still love my job!  I am excited about sharing my passions with you!  The truth is - I am a complete goofball!  I love to be silly and I am full of energy so get ready for the ride!
Bye for now,
Natalie

Some Updates and a SALE!

The one thing I love about the summer is that I have time to go back and update some older products.  I love having the chance to give them a little face-lift:)  I've only had time to update three units but I wanted to let you know so you can go back and download them again.

I also wanted to let you know that after receiving some requests I have a bundled a few of my units.  I would love any requests if there are other units you would like to see bundled. 

And finally I wanted to let you know that I'm having a sale!  So everything will be 20% off in my store on Sunday and Monday.  Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support - I truly appreciate it:)

Bye for now,
Natalie

Growth and Changes in Animals

I have wanted to make more science units for ages now but I just didn't have time - I love summer!  So this baby ended up being huge and I finally stopped at 209 pages!   So may I present my latest creation... Growth and Changes in Animals!

This is probably my favourite science unit because the kids literally eat it up - they love animals!!  I found two amazing sellers on TpT that are selling animal photo graphs for commercial use and I bought up a bunch of their photo bundles.  You really need to check out their stores - awesome!
(1)  Pictures From A Window
(2)  Strawberry Shake

 The incredible x-ray photographs are from Exceptional Kinders.

I even included 6 different life cycle craftivities - I mean everyone loves a good craftivity!

I seriously tried to cover everything I could in this unit and it will take you about a month to complete.  Lots of activities = lots of data for report cards (insert smile).

This baby will be on sale until Thursday, July 24 at midnight so grab it quick!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
Natalie

Let's Get That Library Organized!

The job of getting your classroom library organized can be daunting at best!  I mean where do you even start?!  Since I have an "extensive" clip art stockpile collection I literally started making labels for every single theme or topic I could think of:)  The end result was that I ended up with 222 different labels!  I also made made cards for 4 different leveling systems.  I was just having so much fun!  I have made 10 different files - with different colour combinations of course!  Oh, and I forgot to tell you that I also made label sheets for every theme so that you can print them on Avery #5160 labels and then stick them on the books.  It makes organization a dream!

Just click on any of the pictures above and it will take you over to my store:)

And because it is never too late to get organized I am putting all these files on sale for 20% off for tonight and tomorrow!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Natalie