Counting down the days . . .

Well, hello there. Long time no blog. Actually, it's not that long since my usual blogging schedule is only about once a month!

So, what has been going on? Well, all kinds of end of year craziness. All over the blog, Facebook, Pinterest world, I keep getting bombarded with reminders that each day, teachers are entering summer vacation, buuuuttttttt, we are not quite there yet. A few more weeks to go still and I am scrambling to get things done.

Math, science, reading. We are trying to cram it in, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on if you're asking the teachers or the students!), there is so much stuff coming up. Oh, well. I guess that's the end of year teacher life.

If you are like me and seem to be (lacking extra prep time), and need a little help during these weeks, check out my end of year and summer resources. From Daily Language & Math reviews to Word Problems to printables and freebies, there are a ton of no-prep and low-prep options from which to choose:

And if you're finished the school year already (lucky you!), then you might be interested in some of the classroom decor packs I am sllloooowwwly creating. You can check out some of the latest below:

If you're interested in any of the above packs, just click the pics!

Whether you're on summer break or counting down the days, have a great rest of the week!

An oldie but a goodie . . . freebie that is!

Things look a little different around here. I decided to freshen up my blog look, despite the fact that I haven't blogged in forever!

But the new blog look is not why I'm here today . . . I'm here for a freebie! I'm linking up with Freebie Friday over at Teaching Blog Addict, so make sure to head over there for more great freebies! Today, it's an old freebie - but still one of my favourites - it's my Summer Vacation Printable Mini Pack!

I don't know about you, but the end of my school year looks crazy. We still have five weeks to go, but those weeks are packed full of assemblies, field trips, special events, and, oh yeah, a *wee* bit of downtime (and learning, too!). In between the busy moments, I always find we have little chunks of free time where the kids are still all kinds of crazy, but we don't have *quite* enough time to get anything substantial done. Enter this mini pack. It is NO PREP for teachers - you are already busy enough - and has a few fun & simple activities to get you and your students through the last few days of school.

You can click {HERE} or the picture above to check it out - hope you enjoy!

Happy Summer . . . Enjoy a Freebie!

Summer Vacation . . . I'm almost there!

So, how's your summer vacation? I ask that because it feels like everyone is on break already . . . except my district! It's close though, so close I can taste it!

Even though I 'm not on break, I'm still already thinking about September, so I've been planning and creating. Do teachers ever really take a break and relax?

I've got a few new decor packs ready . . .

Bright Shades of Polka Dot

Black & White Polka Dot D'Nealian

Bright Shades of Chevron

. . . and I've got a freebie to share!

Get a head start on organizing your classroom library with this free set of large A-Z leveled library labels. Print them out on card stock and laminate or print onto sticker printing paper and organize away.

The labels come two per page and are approximately four and a half inches in diameter. I'm hoping to make some smaller ones soon to accommodate different sized bins and buckets. Click {HERE} or the above picture to check out the freebie.

Speaking of classroom libraries, I think I could spend hours on Pinterest pinning away amazing classroom libraries. Here are some of the ones I'm loving lately . . .

Via Kinder-Craze

This amazing library from Maria over at Kinder-Craze is so bright and colourful . . . who wouldn't want to read there?

Via Krazee 4 Kindergarten

I love all the primary colors in this library - perfect for Kindergarten.

Via Keen on Kindergarten

I love the alphabet mat, I just have one question - how is it kept so clean?!

I'm sure I could go on forever. If you ever decide on a classroom decor scheme, DO NOT go back searching on Pinterest - you will change your mind a million times!

Summer Vacation Mini Pack: Manic Monday Freebie

How was your weekend? Mine has been great . . . especially because it has been gorgeous out & it's a long weekend! No better weekend than a long one!



I'm popping in quick tonight to share an updated freebie for Manic Monday. I know I've already blogged about it, but who doesn't love a freebie, especially a newly updated one!

I always find that the end of the year can be rather crazy (I don't need to tell you that!) and there always seems to be downtime in between assemblies, field trips and activities. I created this printable pack to help fill that downtime. With a few writing prompts and a couple fun things thrown in, this pack should help keep your students busy when you've got 5 minutes to fill. Click the picture or {HERE} if you'd like to download. Hope you enjoy!

Head on over to Classroom Freebies to check out the other freebies this week.

Five for Friday!

Well it is Friday again, wahoo! Perfect time for linking up with Five for Friday over at Doodle Bugs Teaching.

Well first of all, I just have to say that it is not yet summer break here, and I cannot believe other schools are already off! Here's my countdown:

It will be still be a long couple of weeks!

Via Art Projects for Kids

We made these Kandinsky inspired trees this week. Although the instructions say they are "fall" trees, I thought they were so bright and cute they would be perfect for this spring/summer weather we have been having. Plus they brighten up a bulletin board amazingly! The instructions can be found over at Art Projects for Kids, if you haven't visited that website, you must. There are a million art ideas with full instructions for various grade levels.

Are your students jumping off the wall as the end of the year approaches? I don't know what it is, but the students just can't seem to sit still lately. Because of this, engaging brain breaks are a must to keep on hand, so today I'm going to share another of my favourites, Five Little Monkeys!

The kiddos will love it!  

I have been working hard to update some of my older products and this week I finished up with my Oliver Jeffers Author Study:

 I won't bother showing what it looked like before, because that might be painful!

If you've read this far, you definitely deserve a freebie. Last night, I updated my Summer Vacation Mini Pack freebie. This freebie pack contains a few fun printables to keep students busy during these last few weeks (or days for some of us!).

Click the picture to check it out!

What did you do this week? Head on over to Doodle Bugs to link up!

Five for Friday Link-Up

I'm linking up for the first time with Five for Friday over at Doodle Bugs Teaching. I'm late to the game on everything, so why not this link-up too?

So, my five things are going to be totally random, and only a little bit teacher-y - I'm guess I'm already in a summertime mood!

Let's start off with something that has nothing to do with the classroom - smoothies!

Via Mom On Timeout

I recently pinned a bunch of smoothie recipes and it inspired me. I love smoothies and wanted a way to get more fruits and vegetables (because I'm sure I'm not getting enough). I haven't tried any of the fancy ones, I've stuck to the (almost) same recipe all week and I still LOVE it. The best part is that I tried to make it more green than the regular fruit smoothie I'm used to, by throwing in a bunch of spinach. The great thing about spinach in a smoothie is that you (or at least I) can't taste it.

 I love using Youtube for a quick brain break in the classroom and I just discovered Koo Koo Kanga Roo (I told you, I'm late to the game for everything). I'm sure I read a blogpost about these brain breaks months ago, but just started using them in the classroom. My favourite is Dinosaur Stomp! Let me know about some others I should check out.

Via Amazon

 Have you read this book? No, me neither - but I bought it. When I first saw it at a Scholastic book fair (probably at the beginning of the school year) I knew I had to get it. So of course, rather than buy it then and there, I went home, added it to my Amazon cart, waited a few months, then finally purchased it. I haven't started it yet, but I've added it to my ever-growing reading list.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I changed around my blog design. For now, I love it, but I'm sure I'll have to tweak it a bit. Oh well, the life of a picky person.

I was slightly productive this week, probably because I was dreaming of summer! I finished up my Daily Language Summer Take-Home Booklet for First Grade.

I've also got some Daily Math Summer Take-Home Booklets, which can be found {HERE}.

Each booklet contains 40 days of summer-themed questions that review the common core and keep students thinking over the summer.

Alright, this week down, only 8 more to go until summer (that sure seems like a lot)!