Great day with a sad moment!

So let's get the sad out of the way first! I didn't get to the TPT Sale on time...I have a cart full of items that went up $20 because I didn't make it in time! Booo!!!!

I guess I will have to hold off on SOME of my purchases until the next sale. I think there will be another one soon if I remember correctly from last year!  Right? I hope so!

The good news, our family "trip" to the big city was great.  As I mentioned, we took our son to his first Toronto Blue Jay's game.  We had a blast!  It is the first time we have taken him in to the heart of the city.  Let me tell you, he was mesmerized! I mean, I wouldn't call us country folk, but we are from a small, tourist town, so the lights, noise, people, and tall, tall buildings are a sight to see. To be fair, I have not really grown out of the childlike feeling each time we go to the city, that he was experiencing.  Back in the day, I applied to university in the city but I ended up choosing Nipissing University, in North Bay, that had more of the small-town feel that I love. Had I gone to university in Toronto, I probably would have got over the feeling of excitement and wonderment eventually...right?

So...he got to experience his first subway ride, first time in the city, and his first ball game.  He did great and kept going strong (with a few moments of exhausted daze-outs) until almost midnight! He has been talking about the game all week and asking for updates on their other games. During the game, he asked MANY, MANY questions, but I am happy to report that I was able to answer almost all of them, and when I wasn't, I said, "Ask Daddy!" Note: The Jays have had many injuries, and only won one game out of the three, against the Baltimore Orioles.  The game was fun, nonetheless! 

For me, I have a love/hate relationship with baseball.  I had a great time at the game, but the next night, we went to watch my "husband" play ball and it ended with a three hour visit to the ER. Whenever there is an injury, his team knows it is him! This week, he was running and hyper-extended his leg.  It looks like it may be a small tear in his muscle but the next step is an MRI to confirm and fingers-crossed for a quick recovery and no surgery! It looks like this one may be the end of baseball for him, but we have also been through a broken hand, a concussion from a direct hit to the head with the ball, knee surgery, and many cuts, bruises and strains! I mean really, does anyone else's significant others "play" like they are still twenty?  Thank goodness this injury happened AFTER the Jay's game. It cut our family holiday short, so for now, it is back to household chores, Back to School prep., and a little R & R.

Also, the other day, this arrived...

Hayden is excited about this book exchange.  I just hope, at least some people keep it going, so that he receives a few books.  On our part, we need to send one book to a 3 month old boy.  Since he is so young, I think it is important to select the book carefully! I need your help! Please me ideas for our book selection. What are your favourites? What are some must haves?  I have so many ideas, I don't know how we will narrow it down, but I want to hear from you! Please leave your favourites in the comments!

Happy Friday,

Jackie (a.k.a. ...)

Currently!

I am linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for Currently August. 

I am sure it needs no explanation, and I am excited to start doing these with my own class to highlight the months.  What fun! Check it out (click on the picture below to link to Farley's TPT shop).

Now for my August Currently!

Listening...My newest joy comes from turning off all "technology" except the radio and reading a book...although I have to admit that half the time I am reading from my Kobo, so not really technology free. When this song comes on, my boy and I can't help but tap our foot or SING along...

Loving...My "husband"officially started his holidays on Saturday.  We aren't going away, but do have a few day trips planned and are excited to take our son to his first baseball game.  We will be going here...

We will be watching the Jays play the Orioles! Since he started T-Ball this year, he is pretty excited about baseball and is thrilled to be going to this game.  I hope it is a beautiful day and they play with the roof open.  The Rogers Centre (otherwise known as the Skydome till 2005) is such a great building and with all of the other sights in Downtown Toronto, I am sure it will be a busy, fun-filled day!

Thinking...with stores stalking up with all the Back 2 School items, and making purchases of my own, it is hard to avoid the ongoing To-Do List...although the shopping part is always fun...

This doesn't even include my Educents purchases!

Wanting... Money, Money, Mo-ney! There are so many great products out there, that I have had my eye on for the B2S Sale starting tomorrow. So, after returning from a family BBQ I will be spending the evening catching up on leaving feedback, to earn more credits towards my B2S Sales shopping.  I mean, knowing how much I spent last year, I may as well prepare myself!  

Needing... I have created a list of things I would like to do around the house, before heading back to school. I have a dresser I want to refinish for my neice, some bedroom purging and rearranging to do, and some clutter that needs to find a new home (a.k.a. the shelving units I bought) or...the problem is that I am quickly running out of time, and the day-to-day always seems to find a way of stalling these projects!

The Return in NEAR...I find I often skip the at-home projects for the school projects (I think they come more naturally to me) so if I don't get a move on soon, I will be right back into B2S mind-set.  I know many of you are nearing the end of your holidays or have already started back.  My kiddos don't return until Sept. 2nd, and at this point, I don't know when I will be allowed to return.  We don't have any PD Days or required hours to be there pre-kids, but in true teacher fashion, most of us will be there for the entire week before (and sometimes late into the night) if not longer.  We just have to wait on custodian approval to enter our rooms! For now, I am putting that out of my mind.  I have a week of Family Time Adventures to focus on!

Thanks for sticking with me.  Off to give some feedback! :) 

Jackie (a.k.a...)

Another day late and dollar short...but worth the read, nonetheless!

So Fridays are always crazy for me! Not sure why,really but they are busy, busy!!!!

So here is my Five for Friday...and Free Font Friday posts all packed together into a late Saturday evening post!

I am happy to get back to blogging, with no courses to take this summer. There are so many great educators out there, with fantastic resources to share.  The Teaching Tribune's current linky parties are no exception.  Yesterday was Free Font Friday...

Although I do not create my own fonts...yet (but would love to learn), I am going to share one of my favourite resources...

Last summer, I found Deniece's website and she has some great fonts to use FREE (commercial use as well).  If you read her page of FREE FONTS, she shares her favourite fonts.  Please head on over to This Little Piggy Reads and check it out...don't forget to leave her some love!

This is my first week of summer holidays, and I actually went to work on Monday to clean up my room. I am so happy to not have to move rooms this year (or grades) and to be able to file reports and finish off my room in one day's work.  Of course, I still have some work to do to finish the cleaning at home...

The best part of summer is spending it with my favourite person...my 5 1/2 year old son! He is such a loveable, funny, kind little man, who makes me proud every day...and tests me sometimes too!  This is the first year he has been allowed to explore the neighbourhood a little. I am often torn between building his independence and being protective of him. So far he has been so good...following our rules and always checking in if his play takes him to new location.  He is having so much fun!

Summer days!

There is another thing I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE doing in the summer...READING!  The Saturday that marked the start of holidays, I text my past teaching partner to see how she was enjoying her first day at the cottage and told her, "I was thrilled to be reading a book without pictures!" 

What are you reading this summer?

I am also excited to be creating products to share with all of you. I have made things for my class this year, but nothing is ready to share yet. My TPT store only has a few things for sale and I have offered freebies on this blog (check out the most recent freebies here). Hopefully I will have more to share with you next week, but in the meantime, you can find the following by reading through this post AND checking out my TPT store - everything is still ON SALE!

Products ON SALE now...and freebies too!

Well, that is it for my week! Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!  I will be working away on my A-Z Write the Room pack this week, to practice our weekly letters and sounds (something I began with my class this year).  Is there anything you would like to see for Back to School? I would love to hear from you!  Head on over to Doodle Bugs {first grade rocks} to check out everyone else's five!

Throwback Thursday

I am linking up with The Teaching Tribune and The Teacher's Desk 6 for Throwback Thursday.

I know, I know...when you disappear as long as I have, it may be difficult to find a post from the past, but since we all begin our summer holidays at different times and some of you may be gearing up to begin, I thought I would head on back to a post from last summer, where I was preparing to head back...even though I really have just begun my holidays.  Let's get real though, as educators, you are always thinking about what's next, even before you finish "what's goin' on now!"

In this post from Aug 22, 2013, I share some of my great purchases (that you may also want to check out) and share a freebie I created to welcome my new junior kindergartens and new-to-our-school senior kindergartens to my class (In Ontario, students can start kindergarten as young as 3 years old, if they have a fall birthday...let me tell you how little they are when they come that first day!!!!).

Enjoy...and grab the freebie if you didn't get it before!

Aug 22, 2013

This week, I have been did a lot of shopping. Thank you TPT for your B2S Sale! Below are pictures of my purchases. Not only did I purchase these, but I also bought multiple licenses of many of these, to share with my teaching partners. Hold on tight, here we go!

Shout Outs AND Reminders
from Katie at Teacher to the Core

More awards! Couldn't help myself: Thanks Mel
of Frog Spot!

A- Z Poetry! Thank You Karen, at Mrs. Jones's Kindergarten

Patterns Galore! Thank you Hope
of Second Grade Shenanigans!

Sight Word lists for Teachers from Mel at FrogSpot again! :)

Ontario Curriculum "I Can" Standards
by Brittany at Lovely Literacy and More

Organization Binders from Bridget at Little Lovely Learners

As you can see, I love myself some Differentiated Kindergarten and think Marsha is going to be a life-saver for this first year Kindie Teacher Newbie.
I got these to start me off. First a little Back to School Fun

and this...

and this...

Thank you Marsha! Check her out

(like you haven't already) at 

Differentiated Kindergarten 

And of course, don't forget the great Prezi Bundles (and freebie) from Carolyn at Holding Hands and Sticking Together, that I wrote about yesterday (you can find it here.) 

So, thanks for hanging in there with me! Here is a B2S Freebie for you! I hope you enjoy! You can print the pages you want as a .pdf, or you can download as a .ppxt to edit. Just click on the picture below to get started!

As you can see, I love Melonheadz as much as
I love a little DifferKinder!

I will come back in the next couple of days to demonstrate how I edit this file and print to mail as a postcard! Please, if you do take a copy and like it, leave me a comment and if you find other creative ways to use this, please share! 

Happy "postcarding,"

Finally Back...please forgive me, I have a freebie!

What a better way to rejoin the world of blogging, than to join up with other great Canadian bloggers for a CANADA BLOG HOP full of freebies!

It actually started yesterday,so make sure you head to Reading with Mrs. D and check it out. Lots of great stuff for free and additional items at great discounted prices. Even, if you are NOT Canadian, you may find some great products that you can use to teach about your friendly neighbours to the NORTH? Not to mention, if you keep reading, you will find a freebie below that is suitable for many.

Let me digress for a moment.  First of all, I would like to explain my absence.  I am going to explain in one short, sweet sentence, and I have a feeling that many of you will nod your head, and say something along the lines of, "Well, that explains it!"  Here it goes:  

I just completed my first year as a kindergarten teacher!

There you have it! Explanation enough? I thought so! That being said, through the ups and downs, illnesses and tears (yes from me) I actually loved it.  The progress that you see after 10 months with 4 and 5 year olds (some still 3 years old when they started), it is astounding! Oh, and the unconditional love is overwhelming! I am eager to see how my little JKs (Junior Kindergartens) have grown come September.  But not so eager that I won't enjoy the next 8 weeks...once I finish cleaning up my room for our hard-working custodial staff tomorrow...THEN let the holidays begin!!!!

Anyway, back to the BLOG HOP.  I was delighted to be invited to join this blog hop, as a proud Canadian girl...(cue Dean Brody).

I have lived in Ontario my entire life, still living in the same small town that I was born in, close to my parents, and my grandmother, and still in touch with many elementary school friends.  In fact, my son has been attending the same elementary school that I attended, and just graduated from kindergarten...he is a "grade 1er" now! 

I just began blogging last year, got sidetracked by kindergarten, and only have a couple of items in my teeny-tiny TPT store (but so many that are close to being ready), that I decided to set the goal to create something truly Canadian.  I decided on a Write the Room file, as it is always a favourite in my class.  The file is done and ready for use.  However, in reading the fine print of Scrappin' Doodles, I need a license to offer it free and upon purchasing that license, I need to wait 24-48 hours to receive my license number!

Don't get me wrong, I am not an impatient girl, but I am already late to this party, so I didn't want to wait.  Here is my solution, I am offering another product for free today...a BEACH THEME Write the Room (click on the image below to get your copy).

While you are there, please check out the rest of my store (literally 3 items to sell) and a couple of freebies.  It may be small, but everything is ON SALE for 50% OFF or MORE...including my brand-new, OH SO CANADIAN Write the Room for only $1.  

If you see anything you like, please leave me some love and let me know what else you would like too see...I have many other things in the works that just need finishing touches!

Thanks for catching up with me, now check out of the rest of these wonderful Canadian bloggers and Happy Canada Day!

Be Back Soon!

A Place For Canadian Educators to Share Products and ideas geared to us!

1.	readingwithmissd.blogspot.ca/2014/06/...	Reading With Mrs. D
2.	proudtobeprimary.blogspot.com/2014/06...	Proud to be Primary
3.	diamondmomstreasury.weebly.com/blog/c...	Diamond Mom's Treasury
4.	mrsebeattie.blogspot.com/2014/06/cele...	Mrs. Beattie's Classroom
5.	gradefourbuzz.blogspot.com/2014/06/ca...	Grade 4 Buzz
6.	emmymacsclass.blogspot.com/2014/06/ca...	Emmy Mac's Class
7.	thepurpleteacher.blogspot.com/2014/06...	The Purple Teacher
8.	theprimarypatch.blogspot.ca/2014/06/c...	The Primary Patch
9.	thewritestuffteaching.blogspot.com/20...	The Write Stuff Teaching
10.	thethirdgradezoo.blogspot.ca/2014/06/...	The Third Grade Zoo
11.	hoorayforbrowniepoints.blogspot.ca/20...	BrowniePoints
12.	www.rubyslippersblogdesigns.com/2014/...	Ruby Slippers Blog Designs
13.	teachingfsl.blogspot.com/2014/06/cana...	Teaching FSL
14.	teachingisagift.blogspot.ca/2014/06/i...	Teachingisagift
15.	thegroovyteacher.blogspot.ca/2014/06/...	The Groovy Teacher
16.	lovelyliteracyandmore.blogspot.ca/201...	Lovely Literacy and More
17.	aspecialkindofclass.blogspot.ca/2014/...	A Special Kind of Class
18.	msmaughansclass.blogspot.ca/2014/06/f...	Growing Kidlets

Long Time No See...and a little Currently (with a FREEBIE)!

It's been a long time since I have posted.  Beginning kindergarten has been a little exhausting...to say the least! By Friday, I find it hard to do anything, let alone get on the computer.  Not to mention my cold, sinus infection, migraine (probably from lack of discipline taking my sinus meds.) fiasco I have been in lately.  

But, my excuses are done and I am back! I hope someone was missing me! ;) 
I have joined up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for October's Currently!

Listening - to the hum of the computer! I can't tell you how much I enjoy silence! Seriously! I have been a teacher for 11 years now and every grade I taught, whether it be primary, juniors, or seniors can get very loud at times! Yet, at the end of the day, the silence bothered me. I thought I was just used to noise and so I would put on music while I planned and prepped at school. Oh how things have changed since I entered the world of three- (yes some are still 3-years-old) to five-year-olds. It is not that they are naughty, or crazy, or louder than the other kids, it is just different. Now, when the bell goes and all the kiddies are gone, I look around the room, take a deep breath and enjoy the subtle sounds of the computer humming and the clock ticking! No more after-school music for me! 

Loving - my sweet new kitty Bentley! Introducing the newest member of our little family - 4 month old kitten that we lovingly named Bentley (our other cat's name is Porsche). It all started when we were puppy sitting for my friend.  She had two female Shorkies that Hayden quickly fell in love with. Well, my poor boy went through some withdrawl when his puppy-friends had to go home. So much that I was almost convinced to take my friend's "family discount" and get the puppy. However, my rational husband convinced me that we were away from home too much and it wouldn't be fair.  Alas, we are "cat people" merely because you can leave a cat alone for longer than a dog. So, when I saw that a family friend was giving away a kitten, I jumped at the chance.  

Thinking - I need to get going with assessments... My school started right after the Labour Day weekend. I managed to assess 2 children. Actually, I did one and my teaching partner did the other...guess what I will be focusing on this week?

Wanting - My Own Personal Secretary... I am sure many of you can relate. My list is a mile long, and I figure if I just had a personal secretary to type out my newsletters, respond to e-mails, fight with the photocopier, etc. I would have hours more time in my day to accomplish the things that continually get pushed down to the bottom of my "To Do" list.  Then if I had a cook, and a maid, I would be all set! :) 

Needing - more hours in the day! This is explained above, but let me add that since I have started kindergarten I have been going to bed with my son at 8:30ish each night, making it even more difficult to tackle the "To Do" list!

Trick-or-Treat? Treat!!!! I prepared a poster for my classroom, to help teach my students the difference between "Tattling" and "Reporting."  I know what you are thinking, the kids are tattling, but it is quite the opposite.  We have had situations between kindergartens where there was physical fighting and the "victims" were running away but running right by teachers, not wanting to tell on the other boys. I have been trying to reinforce the importance of every child feeling safe at school. I know my students can't read the poster, but I can continue to refer to it! Hope this poster will be useful to you as well. 

Click on picture to get your own copy FREE! ;) 

I was shocked that this was occurring at this young age.  Some children kicking and punching kids with no sign of remorse, even after being caught!   Any thoughts on this? How would you deal with it?

It is raining and cold here, a perfect day to catch-up on house cleaning!

Happy Sunday Everyone!