TPT Seller Challenge Week 2: Dare to Dream

Hello again!  I'm joining in for the second week of the TPT Seller Challenge:  Dare to Dream.  Get ready...it's a long story with lots of pictures.  

  

                                   

This week's challenge has been just that...a challenge for me.  My dreams/goals have been changing during my TPT journey.  As our lives evolve and change, I guess our dreams have to also.  My Dare to Dream board includes what I dreamed at the beginning of my journey...and my current dreams and goals for the future.

                 

                             

This picture is the reason I became a TPT seller.  I wanted to build an "Empty Nest Dream Home." My husband is a small business owner.  With our combined income, we did not see how this was going to be possible.  Add to that college expenses for our two children...it seemed nearly impossible. I printed this picture and hung it by my desk to remind me of my goal.

We have not built our dream home yet...it may never happen.  My husband and I are constantly going back and forth with our decision.  It's a big step at this point in our life...one we're not sure we want to take.  My husband is all about living debt free and this would seriously compromise his goals. :)  On Pinterest, I added a board called "Love It or List It" (don't you love that show!?) where I've pinned ideas for either possibility.  Right now, for various reasons, we've decided to stay in our current home so I'm tackling some "Love It" projects.  The wonderful thing is that because of TPT, I have the freedom to do this without going into debt! 

                                       

These are my two sweet babies, Abby and Justin.  Not really babies anymore, but I will always think of them in this way-even when we are toasting Justin's 22nd birthday.  Ack!  Never pictured having wine/cocktails with my kids, but it's kind of nice establishing a relationship with my kids as adults. :)

                                                     

Abby completed her bachelor's degree and is working as a nurse.  She graduated with very little debt. I wasn't a TPT seller while she was in school, but I was still able to pay for most of her college expenses so she wouldn't be saddled with student loan debt.  Justin is still in school so TPT has enabled me to pay for most of his expenses.  He is responsible for some of his expenses-he wants to be "invested" in his education. :)

When Justin was in high school, he told me he wanted o try out for drum corps.  I had no idea what this involved at the time, but agreed to drive him to an audition camp weekend four hours from our home.  I told him I would pay for one summer of drum corps, but after his first "family day" performance with the Glassmen, I was hooked!  It has been an incredible experience for him and I'm glad I was able to fund his adventure.

Justin had the opportunity to travel to Japan with Carolina Crown.

Teaching is my second career.  My first "career" was as a stay at home mom.  When Justin, my youngest started first grade, I started thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up. ;)  I asked myself what I would choose to do if I had to work for free.  Becoming a teacher immediately came to mind.  It scared me though, because I had such admiration for my kids' teachers.  I prayed about it, talked with my pastor, and finally decided to take a leap of faith and go back to school for my Master of Arts in Teaching.  It was the best decision I've ever made.  I love teaching!

Sooooo, long story short ;), because I started teacher later in life my retirement fund will be a bit lacking.  Also, as I mentioned before, my husband is self-employed, so he is responsible for his retirement fund.  My goal is that my income from TPT will provide a comfortable retirement for us-if we ever decide to retire. ;)

Finally, my last dream/goal!  I'm not a huge philanthropist, but I like to live generously every day in little ways.  These little ways may include buying extras for my classroom and students with a happy heart, contributing to the two drum corps that had such an impact on my son's life, or buying resources to share with my teacher friends.  Having the extra resources to share my blessings is a wonderful thing!

Whew!! Who knew I had so much to say about my TPT dreams!  If you've made it this far, you deserve a prize...or at least a freebie!  I'm sharing this on google drive.  I'll keep the freebie active for a week.  Grab it if you'd like.

These fabulous bloggers are hosting the TPT Seller Challenge.  Visit their blogs to read more about how TPT Seller's have Dared to Dream!

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post!  I hope TPT can help you fulfill your dreams!

TPT Seller Challenge Week 1: Makeover Madness

I am so excited to be taking part in the TPT Seller Challenge.  This week's challenge is Makeover Madness. It's just the nudge I need to zsush some of my products.

When I started thinking about which product to makeover, I decided on my little Back to School Booklet.  If you're like me, you start thinking about back to school time before the current year is over.  I know...I have a problem. ; )

Here's what I started with:

It's a cute little booklet, but it needed more to make
the first day of school special.

I love to do cut and paste activities with my students, especially on the first day of school! ;)  It's the perfect opportunity to see who can/cannot follow directions, who may need OT support, and who may need a gentle nudge to stay on task.  

I also wanted a few things just for fun.  Besides explaining/modeling the rules and routines of the classroom, I like to get my students excited about school. Hopefully, these cute little pencil toppers and awards certificates will do just that!

 

So there you have it...my made-over Back to School mini unit.  If you'd like to grab it, it's in my tpt store at 50% off for 48 hours. Click here  or on the pic below.  Happy Back to School!

If you want to check out more Makeover Madness, check out these fabulous blogs.  I can't wait for next week's challenge!  How about you?

Friends.

I have a very exciting announcement to make! 

I have decided to team up with some of my very best first grade buddies to write for a collaborative blog! 

That means ONE blog with TONS of great ideas from several super awesome First Grade teachers!

One thing I L-O-V-E about this blog, is you will know exactly what to expect each day of the week.  For every day, there is a blogging theme.  Check them out! 

I'm SO excited to get started on this new adventure, and am thrilled to invite you along for the ride.  Let's celebrate with a little giveaway!  

You can win my new Healthy Eating Mini Unit...just in time for National Nutrition Month.

All you have to do to enter is follow us over at iTeachFirst then follow the instructions

**sorry...this giveaway has ended

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can't wait to get started sharing some great First Grade ideas with you! 

Clipart Credit: Melonheadz Illustrating, Creative Clips, Sonya DeHart Design

It's National Nutrition Month!

I must admit...I find it difficult to fit health curriculum into my day.  Finding ways to fit content area curriculum into my literacy block makes it a win-win.  After teaching my little Healthy Eating Mini-Unit, I'm glad I found a way to fit it in.

I was shocked that my sweet little first graders did not know the difference between a fruit, vegetable, grain, protein, and dairy food.  Yikes!  We get so wrapped up in making sure they are at the appropriate reading level, that they are at benchmark for DIBELS, know their sight words and math facts, that we forget about vocabulary.

We used the shared reading powerpoint to learn about healthy eating, then we made healthy choices to add to our plate at the end of our easy reader.  My littles always enjoy interactive notebook-type activities.

After seeing that my students need help identifying the food groups, I think I may be adding a food sort to this mini-unit.  Stay tuned! 

Follow Me on Instagram

I must admit...I'm not a great blogger.  I have great plans and ideas to blog...just no time.  That's why I love Instagram.  Join me there to follow my daily...and not so daily...life in first grade.

Happy Hump Day!  I am joining in for my first EVER, EVER linky party. I'm so excited!  I'm linking up with Jessica at Mrs. Stanford's Class for Hump Day Highlights.

We were back at school Monday, then out for a snow day yesterday.  Tomorrow is going to be super cold, around -4 when my firsties arrive at school.  Brrrr!

It may be freezing outside, but we're thinking flip-flop weather with our Flip-Flop Match Up Memory Game.  I'm just getting started with math stations and guided math so I made this little game to give my students extra practice with math facts and the commutative property of addition.  

My kids absolutely LOVE math stations!  I'm going to love them too...when I get the schedule to my liking, when I have all of my station materials made, laminated and filed, and when I feel comfortable with my small group plans.  It's a lot to get organized, but so very worth it!

I'm putting  this packet my whole TPT store on sale!  Grab it through Friday and get 20% off...in honor of my first-ever linky party. 

Now head over to Mrs. Stanford's Class to check out other Hump Day Highlights. 

Freebie Alert

Be sure to check out my Teachers Pay Teachers Store if you teach using the Reading Street curriculum.  I recently added word card freebies for every story for each unit.  The word cards include cards for Amazing Words, High Frequency Words, and Spelling Words.  To find the freebies, click on "Sort By:  Price"  There are about 30 sets of Word Card Freebies for you to download.

The word cards are great to use for your focus wall.  You can also print them smaller ( using a smaller scale) and use them for word work stations.

Look Who's In First Grade

I would love to hear how you use them in your classroom.  Let's work "smarter, not harder" by sharing ideas about how we use resources in our classrooms.