Randomness and Pinterest Penguin Fun

Today I have decided there is nothing better than Christmas clothes!  In my family, we all go shopping together, my mom and grand mom buy all of our clothes on our trip, and then they load us up at Christmas.  That means we get clothing we need instead of the random sweater that you have to return without a receipt.  During Christmas break I don't realize just what a blessing this is because I spend 90% of my time in pajamas and the other 10% of the time in jeans.  However, now that we are back at school, I have to say, dragging myself out of bed isn't quite as difficult when 1.) I don't have to iron and 2.) I have all of these bright, colorful new outfits.  The best part is new clothes make you feel a little less fat and a little more skinny.  Sure you gained 10 pounds over Christmas, but who notices when you have on a black and white Paisley shirt with pink pants?  So, using my Christmas clothes reasoning skills, I decided I could wait an extra week or two to start a diet.  That means tonight, we went to eat and then to DQ where I got extra fudge on my ice cream sundae.  Mom, thanks for my clothes and know my lack of dieting is your fault :)

In other news, I've had a hard time getting centers in this year.  Between Daily 5/CAFE, a new phonics program, 6-Trait writing, and standards, I've wanted to do them, but I've had a lot to learn.  All of the programs are great, but it just takes time, especially when you throw in standards.  Well, I feel like I'm finally getting a grasp on everything, so today I started pulling a few kids at a time to do a center activity.  We started with a syllable sort (Thanks Lisa Mattes) and then, we did a soldier person/place/thing sort.  Obviously, my kiddos have been deprived because they said, "Mrs. Wheeler, where did you get these?  They are awesome!  Can we do this again tomorrow?"  So, thank you Lisa and if anyone has any idea who created the soldier person/place/thing sort, let me know and I'll add them to this blog because my kiddos loved it!

Now, I hate to be a downer, but if you sell stuff on TPT and you are on collaborative boards, make sure you are aware of all the collaborative board rules.  I have several friends that have been booted off some of the boards recently for pinning too much, not pinning enough freebies, and not putting prices when they pin.  I know as teachers, we are used to forgiving and second chances, but that doesn't always apply outside of school walls.  If you guys are like me, you depend on your pins to get you blog hits, to give away freebies, and to hopefully help you with your TPT accounts.

Alright, last, but not least, I have a few new ideas for January or teaching in general.  Hope you guys can use them.  

First up, we are going to make snow.  Every Friday kids with good behavior get Fun Friday.  The last 30 minutes of the day is used to reward students that behaved all week.  Well, believe it or not, I think we just topped s'mores.  My understanding is it only takes two ingredients, so my hubby and I are going to Walmart tomorrow night to load up on cheap conditioner and baking soda.  If this works, I'm going to premix it the night before and let the kids mold snowmen out of it, snowballs, whatever they want.  Where we live snow is a rare sight, so I have a feeling this will be a hit.  I cannot wait!  If this looks interesting to you, go to Momma's Fun World to learn more.  

This one, I may have pinned a few weeks ago, but it's so cute, I had to pin it again.  I think it will be fun to teach my kids how to draw some pictures and then write about how they drew the penguin.  I love to paint and draw when I have time, so I want to pass that onto my kiddos in my classroom.  You can go to Nothing but Penguins to get a print out of this sheet.  

My last new favorite costs a little, but I promise you, it is worth every penny.  It is cute as can be and it will be great when you are working with your students on finding the missing addend.  Obviously, I've seen one too many snowmen because I have moved onto a penguin phase.  Who knew?  They are pretty adorable!!!!  You can go to Class of Kinders on TPT to get this packet.  This is a reasonably new seller, so give the girl a little support.

Alright, I hope you guys are off to a good week!  Last thing - I'm creating a game called YOU CHOOSE THE FREEBIE.  I need you guys to think about what printables you are needing and leave me a message below.  Are you needing addition, subtraction, nouns, etc.?  Let me know and someone will be surprised with a freebie that they requested tomorrow night.  It will be shared with everyone, but what's the point of blogging if you aren't giving back?  So, hit me up and let me know.  If this goes well, I will start doing this every Wednesday, so I can create it on Thursday in time for Freebie Friday!

See you on Thursday!