My Christmas Mission...with a FREEBIE

So now that I have my life back, I am determined to start crafting up some good center work for my kiddos. 


Who would have thought that a cut and paste activity would bring so much enjoyment?!?! My students LOVE when I let them do a cut and paste center!!


Our school is piloting the NEW Common Core edition of Reading Street. We got started a little late, but I think we are right on schedule. Here is an activity for Rooster's Off to See the World - cut and paste style for my little peeps! 


Enjoy!!


Rooster Cut and Paste (/h/)

Where has the Time gone??!!!

So I had to take a Blogger Hiatus - and this is why:

Yeah, no biggie - just finishing my Master's Degree! This semester was the hardest, and I had no extra time for a lot of my after-school activities.


But, with this out of the way - I AM BACK!!

Happy Day Late Birthday to ME!!!

IT CAME TODAY!!!!! 

I have been waiting for this to arrive!! Our color unit is over, but you better believe that I am going to be reading this one TOMORROW!! I also got the audio cd to go with it, so I might even put it in my listening center next week!! I am sooo excited!!

A Giveaway Where Everyone Wins!!

Kreative in Kinder is hosting a super sweet giveaway - and the best part is, there is no random drawing! You win a **FREE** unit!! So click the link and check it out. Tell her I sent ya!!

Birthday Weekend!

I know this is my edu blog, but I wanted to show someone I am working hard on educating early - my beautiful niece Eliana. She had her 1st birthday party today at my Mom's house. Will and I woke up extra early this morning and trekked to Tuinca, MS (3 hours from my house) for a nice cupcake party. Today is actually my mom's birthday. Eliana's is the 14th and mine is the 20th, so it was a big bash for all of us, but of course, we centered all of our attention on little bit. Here are some picture from our afternoon:

I am such a proud Aunt!! I gave her the book The Biggest Apple Ever, and have ordered a few more from Scholastic that should be in soon. I am planning on keeping her stocked when it comes to books! 

Here's to a fabulous 6th week with my kiddos!!

All Aboard for Common Core!

So, I spent the day in a training session for the lovely Common Core. I still have a few questions, but I feel better about what I and my Kinder team are doing in the classroom. I am excited to talk to more teachers and see how they are incorporating Common Core at their school.

Speaking of Common Core, we are in our color unit, and did the cutest activity for the book Mouse Paint. I have to give a shout out to Kim Adsit, who gave us the idea at our 2 day Title Conference this summer. She is Ah-mazing! I thoroughly enjoyed her two sessions that I sat in on. The activity uses marshmallows and colored cake icing to show how primary colors mix to make the secondary colors! So freakin' cute! So, the students are not only getting to make colors, they are also getting a nice snack.

My kiddos are super sweet! My school is super awesome and I thank God each day on my five minute drive to work that He placed me exactly where I needed to be. And I am sure that He is going to get me through this process of learning Common Core.

ALLLLLLLL ABBBOOOAAARRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!

Where it all goes Down.. and a Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday Charlie!!!

Okay okay, now to the main reason I am posting today! Where it all goes down! I honestly don't have many pictures of the room, but the ones I have pretty much tell all.

This is my reading loft. All kindergarten classes come standard with one in my school. My kiddos love this! My best friend handmade my pillows for me. Each day my class visits the loft. They choose a pillow and a book and read. Well, look at pictures haha! I want them to be comfortable while they are reading, so if it means that they lay down, then I am down with that. 

This is my nook. You can see the cubbies behind my desk that are full of books and binders. You can also see part of my kidney table. The kidney table is actually where my assistant runs the daily math center. I also let students sit there for morning work and snack time.

This is my baby right here!! My whole group area! You see my nice calendar area. We use Everyday math. So if you are familiar with this, than you know that there are 8 daily routines that we have to do. All but 2 are on the board. You can also see part of my Word Wall, my number line, my Morning Message board (which actually turns around and holds my tablet with the weekly poem for Shared Reading), my tv, my projector area (surrounded by bananas), and the sacred Comfy White Chair. 

This, my friend, is where it all goes down!

Leave me some love, or Charlie some birthday wishes!!

Why Yes, I am a Teacher too!!

Blog Hoppin is hosting a Linky Party today called Meet the Teacher. I thought to myself - what the heck! I'll do it too! (ps - check out their blog!!)

Tell us a little something about you...

Well, let's see..... I am about to celebrate my 25th birthday in September. I grew up in small town USA, well, Mississippi. I went to a small private school in the MS Delta. I decided to go to Delta State University because I knew it was the best school for teachers. So, while all my fellow classmates where headed to Ole Miss and MS State, I was headed to the land of the Fighting Okra. I met my now husband, Will, there and married him in June 2009. We moved to Brandon right after. We got Charlie in September 2010. That's me in a nutshell :)

                 How long have you been teaching?

I have been teaching for almost two years. I graduated in December 2009. I took a job teaching 2nd grade in January 2010. I taught 2nd grade again at the same school the next school year. This past May I accepted a job in a different school district teaching Kindergarten.

You might not know...

I am in graduate school! I will graduate with my Master's in Education this December from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS.

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

I am so looking forward to watching the growth of my babies! I love being the teacher to begin the school and learning process! I have seen them learn so much in the 2 weeks we have been in school! I know that the rest of the year is going to be amazing!

What do you need to improve?

I need to improve my discipline system. My school focuses on positive behavior. We are a PBIS school if you know what that is. I have some kids who don't care if they are not rewarded. I need to figure out what I can do, positively, that will keep them under control.

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

My MacBook Pro that the district gave me, sticky notes, and my hot glue gun!!

Well, there you have it! Join the Linky Party! And leave me some love on this Monday evening!!

I Won!! :)

What a way to end my Friday!!

I checked my Blogger and sure enough, I had won the giveaway hosted by The Teacher Wife, First Grade Factory, and Mrs. Patton's Patch!!! If you do not already follow these sweethearts, you must do so!

I was able to choose 2 activities from each of their Teacher Notebook stores, so that is 6 new fun downloads for me!!

I am so grateful to blog and be able to have chances to win such cute and high-quality items!

Hoping that you have a happy ending to your Friday as well!!

Meet Leo

This is Leo. I named him Leo because I wanted him to appeal to both genders in my classroom. I bought Leo at Kohl's last year along with a new copy of the Grouchy Ladybug, since my copy was getting a little worn. I wanted to have a traveling "pet" this year with my Kinders, and found him hiding in the trunk of my car over the weekend. So, I decided to name him Leo and let him visit my little friends. I happened to have a ladybug notebook that I have never used before, so before my kiddos arrived this morning, I typed up a little intro note for the notebook so that my parents would know what was going on. Leo travels home with one student each night. The student is to illustrate one activity that they did with Leo and write a sentence explaining the drawing. My kids were so excited! Bryce got him tonight and told me before he left that if Leo was bad, he would write me a note. Precious! I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with and letting the students tell the class during carpet time about their adventures with Leo! Hopefully I will be able to post some of their entries for you to read!

I survived week One!

Thankfully the rest of my week went by pretty uneventful - all children got home correctly and I slept easy because of that. I have 19 sweet kiddos this year - 11 girls and 8 boys. I have 3 that cannot write their name, 1 that doesn't even know how to spell her name, and 1 that is reading on a 2nd grade level. It is going to be an interesting year!

I wanted to post a few pics of the finished room, but I haven't figured out how to find them on my new MacBook. Did I mention that my school district bought 900 MacBooks this summer for the teachers? 1.2 million dollars on computers! But - I get to bring it home everyday to play on! I am still trying to figure things out on here.

Last week we focused on the Kissing Hand and this week we will be reading Chrysanthemum. We start CCSS hard and heavy on week 3. I placed an order on Amazon today for 6 books for our units. Will is being super supportive of me buying what I need-thankfully!!

So, all in all, I did survive. I did catch a cold, of course, but that just gives me the excuse to talk Nyquil and pass out at 7:00. :)

Oh My Gosh - Can't Believe I Made It Home!

Let me state for the record - I have only been teaching for 2 years.

I had the bus mishap of the day. Yep. Every teacher's nightmare right here. 

Without my knowledge, a student was moved from one bus to another because I wrote the wrong address down for where to drop her off! She was supposed to be dropped off at her aunt's house (and I knew that!!) but I wrote down her house's address down!! AAGHHHHHHH!

Long story short, Mom came to the school ranting and raving (which I can understand!) but luckily my principal calmed her down and she left happy with me and the school. 

I, on the other hand, am still horrified!

Happy first day of school (and Kindergarten) to me.

First Day hunt for Chester!

I saw this cute cute scavenger hunt idea on littlegiraffes.com!! I am reading The Kissing Hand as my first week's shared reading, and I really wanted to do a scavenger hunt around the building. Soooooo.... I tweaked the poem and made it my own (including teacher names). Check it out HERE. Feel free to use my rhymes! Let me know if you have any other Kissing Hand activities!!

Lucy Calkins Help!

So this year I have to use Lucy Calkins Writing program for my writer's workshop. I am glad to have a specific program to follow, because for the past 2 years I have been pulling ideas out of my behind and lemme tell ya, not too fun! I was wondering if anyone out in Blogger World uses Lucy and has any suggestions/tips for me?? All would be appreciated!!

Update

Charlie was released from the vet on Tuesday. Well..... he hasn't gotten any better. I actually think he may have gotten worse. So, Will went and picked up his records from vet #1 and took Charlie to vet #2. We have actually used this new vet before. They were cheaper when it came time to neuter Charlie. So I am praying that Dr. Kirby can figure out what is wrong with my little man!

My room is almost done! My phone's camera was acting completely retarded yesterday so I wasn't able to get a new picture of my door but it is looking fabulous! I go to new teacher orientation on Monday and Tuesday, then Wednesday I report for duty at my school. Meet the teacher night is Thursday. Then Monday the 8th the little ones report to school! I can't believe that it is already back to school time!!

It is Thursday!!

What a day! So much has been going on in the Everitt house this week - between sick puppy and sick cars I don't think things can get sicker!! But on a happy note, both sick parties are doing better! Charlie was released from the vet with a diagnosis of gastritis and acid reflux and the Camry got a new starter this afternoon. 


My classroom is coming along quite steadily. Hopefully I will have it finished by Monday afternoon. 


I mailed my Christmas in July gift to DeeDee of Mrs. Wills Classroom on Monday. I was quite depressed that I was not able to create cute activities for her, but I did send her the audio version of the book so at least she has a new listening center! Looking forward to receiving mine in the mail!

Rhyming Freebie!!!

I am really trying hard to learn how to create cute freebies!! So - instead of listening to my online grad school class this afternoon (whoops!), I created this rhyming activity. Please let me know if you download this. I would love to know if this is something you can use in your classroom.

Rhyming Pictures

Mixed emotions

This is Charlie. He is a Lab/Australian Shepherd mix, and basically is mine and Will's child. He will be one year old on August 25th. 

I decided to blog about my dog today, since he has been on my mind all day long. At this very moment, he is in a cage at the Vet's office. He has been extremely sick for the past few days, so I took him to Dr. Diffy's office first thing this morning. He has a stomach blockage (she thinks) and will probably undergo stomach surgery sometime tomorrow. I think I have cried enough today to fill a 5 gallon bucket. Will even got teary eyed over dinner.  I will update tomorrow when I have more definite answers as to what is wrong with my love.

On a brighter note, my room is beginning to look more like a room! It is still a little mass chaos, but slowly it is evolving to a pretty good looking kindergarten room. Check out my door!

When it is finished, it should look almost like the cover of the book! I am pretty proud of myself for this one! I may not make cute units with cute clipart, but by gosh I can cover a door!

Postcard Exchange!

We need 19 states to compete the postcard exchange. Please view the list of states available. You DO NOT have to have a blog/wiki/ website to participate! If you are participating in another exchange please tell your teacher friends about us! We are needing teachers from the following states:

• Alaska
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Idaho
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

Please feel free to give our postcard exchange a shout out on your blog!



For more information on this exchange click HERE

Happy Thursday!

Mrs. Tabb is giving away a super cute unit on shoes! How fun! Check her out HERE.

Also - if you have never heard Kim Adsit talk to you about cute games - you have to check her out! http://www.adsit.net is her website and it has a link to her TpT store. I sat in on 2 of her sessions today and I fell in love! She is amazing!

Stay cool!

Pillow Fight!!

Well maybe not fight, but how stinkin' cute are these!!??!! My best friend just so happens to know how to sew, so she whipped these up for me tonight with my tiger print fabric that I picked up from WalMart that was 1/2 off! They will be a nice little addition to my Jungle themed reading loft!

Giveaway Time from Mrs. Dillard!

Mrs. Dillard is having a super awesome giveaway in honor of reaching 300 followers. Check out the cute bucket and clipboard that you could win HERE. 

Can you help my DonorsChoose project??

So I received an email today from DonorsChoose informing me that my project had been selected by Lakeshore Learning to match funds!


Now I just need some donations!


If you would like to check out my project, click HERE.

TIGER folder FREEBIE

Last year I had BEE folders that corresponded with my Backyard theme. I decided to do a jungle theme this year, so I had to change my folder name. I chose TIGER (Today I've Got Everything Ready). I am very pleased with my labels to put on the cover of the folder and wanted to share! Leave me feed back if you take it :)
TIGER cover
There will be more to come with my folders!

Christmas in July!!!

It is giveaway time!! Little Miss and Miss Kindergarten have teamed up to give away super fun stuff! There are several ways to enter. Click link to check it out! CLICK HERE!

Another great giveaway!

First Grade Escapades is giving away 2 sweet prizes - one being a calendar math chart and cd and the second is a number of the day prize. Click her name to go to her blog and check it out!!

Picture Book Exchange!!

What a great idea!! First Grade OWLS is sponsoring a picture book exchange just in time for the start of school. Click the link to check it out!!

Top 10 Things About ME :)

10. I played basketball for 6 years and almost went to college on an athletic scholarship.

9. I have a chocolate lab named Charlie who is the most precious dog in the world!

8. Will and I walked out of our wedding with Coldplay's Viva La Vida playing and our little ring boys dancing on the stage - it was priceless!

7. I student taught in first grade, taught 2 years in second grade, and now I am in Kindergarten. Looks like I am destined to be with the little ones!

6. I am an active Phi Mu Alumnae - president of my local alumnae chapter.

5. I love ZUMBA!! I go to class about 3-4 times a week.

4. My dad is a farmer, so I grew up learning how to drive tractors and combines. I wish I could bottle the smell of fresh cut fields! 

3. I went to Disneyland on my honeymoon! No cruises or foreign countries for me - I wanted roller coasters!

2. I am almost finished with grad school!! 

1. I could watch the movie Elf everyday - Buddy the Elf speaking - What's your favorite color??

Cute Bag Giveaway!

Want to win a super cute Thirty One organizer?? Head over to Mrs. Owens' blog for chances to enter!! Click HERE to check it out!

Sound Munchers!!!

My friend Nicole told me about sound munchers a while ago. She is a former Kinder teacher, and as I stated before, I am a newbie this year. I went to Dollar Tree this evening in search of the collapsible crates that were blogged about earlier today, but alas, my store did not have any. They did, however, have the mini garbage cans that were PERFECT for my muncher people!! Yay!! I purchased 4 and drew cute faces on them. I have a bag full of sticker letters in my storage room, so they will get spruced up when I unpack my stuff. Yay for Nicole and her advice and yay for only spending $4 on a great reusable center!!! 

Postcard Exchange

Mechele has started a new postcard exchange which I am super pumped about since my friend claimed Mississippi just minutes before I could on the other exchange. Check out her exchange HERE and see if your state is still available!!

Giveaway!

Ashleigh at Education Journey is having a great giveaway including Lakeshore giftcards and TPT jazz! Click the link below to check it out!


Education Journey

Birthday Freebies!

I love birthdays! I also love when ah-mazing teachers share their gift of creativity with me when it is not my birthday! Check out Peace, Love, and Learning's site for awesome freebies! 


And Happy 4th of July a little late! Just got back from Destin this afternoon and didn't blog the whole time I was there :(


too busy tanning :)

Beach Bliss!

I arrived in Destin yesterday afternoon, so today was my first full day at the beach - and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!

And to top of my wonderful day - I was the winner of Fairy Dust Teaching's giveaway!! How freakin' cool!!

As I stated earlier, this will be my first year teaching Kindergarten. My mother-in-law is a veteran Autistic teacher and has taught students of all age. Luckily, she is at the beach with me and has been giving me little tidbits of advice here and there.

Today has been a TERRIFIC day!!! :)

Giveaways!!

Plug-nPlan is giving away a super cute Owl center! Clink the link to go to her page and check it out!


Erica's Elementary Excitement is giving away a Lakeshore and Target giftcard with 4 easy ways to enter! Clink the link to check her super cute blog out!

Weekly Newsletter

My husband helped me design a nice template for my weekly newsletter. I had a backyard theme in my classroom (2nd grade) last year, hence the bug theme in the newsletter. Feel free to copy for your own classroom! 


Everitt Newsletter

Day 2

Well the morning started off quite eventful - Will overslept, his car wouldn't start, and I had no clean cereal bowls for my breakfast. Thank goodness I had  no plans for the day! Miss Kindergarten is having an awesome birthday giveaway. Check out her site for the goodies!

Day 1

I have a feeling that this could become very addicting! I have taught 2nd grade for 2 years, and although I love 2nd grade - in order to move schools I committed to teaching Kinders! I am a nervous wreck, but I know that this year will be an excellent adventure!