Winner Winner!!

It's Monday again! While most of you are off to school today, I'm headed back to the doctors this afternoon for round two of my laser surgery treatments. I'm really hoping they work and I'll be able to walk again, even if it is with crutches for another few months!

So what's the countdown for ya? I know you're counting down to the last day of school! If I wasn't out on disability I'd be counting too!! In my district, the kiddos go until June 12th and teachers go until June 17th. We have some snow days to make up! I know some of you are creeping up on single-digits for how many school days you have left!

I'm so excited, I just had to share my news! I'm sure you're aware of the many, many giveaways that were going on during Teacher Appreciation Week. Well, I entered as many as I saw, knowing that hundreds of other teachers were entering too and that odds were against me winning anything. Which is okay, since I really never win anything anyway. However, I was so very pleasantly surprised when I got not one but TWO emails letting me know that I had won two product giveaways! I couldn't believe it, and I'm still smiling! Here's what I won and where it came from!

The first product I won came from the fabulous Teacher Tam, who creates materials for several different grade levels. She was having a giveaway on her Facebook page where she offered a chance to win any single product from her store. She has so many amazing products it was hard to choose! I decided to go for something that my kinders could use in the beginning of the year next year, since I know I'll be back to school by then. In her store I found this totally awesome packet of cut and glue sentences for beginning readers. They are PERFECT for my little guys in the beginning months of school as they are learning to recognize and read various high frequency words. I want to start interactive journals with them next year, and I know that these sentences will be a perfect for for their Daily 5 Work on Writing time! I was SO EXCITED to get an email letting me know that I actually WON this activity! YAY!!! If you want to check it out for yourself, just click on the image above to head over to Teacher Tam's TPT store and get one of your own!

The second AMAZING product I won is this super adorable set of graduation kids and cats clipart from the oh-so-talented Whimsy Workshop Teaching! Isn't this clipart just adorable? This was another Facebook page contest where Whimsy Workshop Teaching posted this very cute set of clipart and said that if you commented on the post you had a chance to win. So I left a comment and what do you know, I WON! I was so excited to get this email today! This set is now posted in her Teachers Pay Teachers store, so head on over and grab one for yourself!

Please follow the links provided to visit each of these talented ladies' blogs, Facebook pages, and TPT stores! You won't regret it!

P.S. - I'm still working on finishing up leaving feedback on the TPT purchases I have made that still need it. When I finally finish, I'm going to have a contest to see if anyone can guess how many TPT credits I ended up with! I'm also steadily working through my freebie downloads that need feedback, although I am starting to feel like it is going to be a never-ending process! That's okay though, I know that the creators and designers worked very hard on the freebies they put out there and that they'll enjoy reading the feedback! I've stayed on track with responding to at least 10 a day, sometimes more when I have the time. I can't wait until I can share with you that I have FINALLY left feedback to all of the freebies I have downloaded from TPT! That may just be cause for a celebration!!

Spending Sunday

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I lost my mom in 2013, but I still love her with all of my heart!

It's Sunday, a day oft known for being a way to relax and recharge for the upcoming week. Although others dread Sunday, because it means that Monday is one short sleep away... Since being out of work due to the car wreck, I have had a lot of time to spend working on various projects that I didn't have time for during the school year. Today I am spending Sunday working on a few of those projects.

First, I've been working on getting my computer files more organized. I started with my clipart, since I have SO MUCH of it! Are you a member of Krista Wallden's Monthly or Season Graphics Clubs? You should really check them out, they are AWESOME! I have been a member of her graphics clubs for over a year now, and never once have I been disappointed! Here's a shot of how I kept my graphics club files.

I started organizing before I thought to snap a screen shot, so there are a few months missing. Anyway, I had them all stored like this, which made it hard for me to remember what clipart I actually had. For whatever reason it never bothered me before, but all of a sudden I decided this way wouldn't work anymore and I needed to change it. So, I went into each Month and Season Graphics Club I own and determined the best spot for those sets of clip art. In the Monthly Clubs, you get either 4-5 weeks worth of clipart. In the Season Clubs, you get 10 weeks of clipart. Needless to say I had A LOT of sets that needed to find a new home! I began creating folders based on topic or theme of clipart so that I could easily drag new sets into these folders.

I like this system WAY MORE than what I had previously. Now I can find graphics based on their theme instead of having to search through each Month and Season Club to remind myself of what I have. I still have a lot of work to do in narrowing down the themes, and sometimes I'm not sure if sets fit best where I put them. I imagine this will be an ongoing process, but that's okay. The more organized I can be, the better!!! How do you handle organizing your clipart files? I would love to know your styles and strategies! Do you keep a list, like typed or handwritten, of all the clipart you own so that you can have an easy reference? Do you have folders labeled with different themes or styles and you search each folder for what you need?

This is a file I'm not completely satisfied with, my 'People' clipart. I'm not really liking how it's organized, and I feel like there should be a better way to make it more organized and less cluttered looking. I would love to hear any suggestions you might have on how to improve this!

Oh, and if you're interesting in becoming a member of one of Krista's Graphics Clubs, click on the image below for her May Monthly Graphics Club or her Summer VIP Graphics Club. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!!

May has already started with an adorable set for Week 1 and Week 2 coming very soon! You can also search her store for her June, July, and August 2015 Monthly Graphics Cubs. Yeah, I already have them all and am eagerly waiting to see what incredible sets I'll be getting each week!

You can also snatch up her Summer 2015 VIP Membership. You'll get 10 weeks of clipart sets PLUS an amazingly incredible Newsletter full of Tips & Tricks to help you best utilize the sets you get each week. You can also search her store for her Spring 2015 VIP Membership, but hurry because it's almost over!

Oh, and another REALLY ADORABLE club she has going on right now is her Nursery Rhyme Club!

So far there are two weeks worth of Nursery Rhyme Clipart, and they are absolutely adorable! You won't be disappointed!

So tell me, how are you spending your Sunday? Relaxing and recharging, or catching up on work you need for the upcoming school week? I know that some of you are down to the teen numbers for days of school left! That's awesome!!  In my district, we have another 4 Mondays of students and 5 Mondays of working. I know you are ready for the summer break!!

TPT Crazy!

It's Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday! In my district tomorrow is a professional day so there is no school for students. Since I'm still injured, there's no school for me either, but my team will be learning all sorts of new things! How does your school handle professional days? Do you have them during the school year or only before and after the school year starts? I'm always curious about how other districts handle professional development. It's neat to learn about the differences!

So yesterday was the last day of the TPT Teacher Appreciation Sale! Did you buy any goodies? Were you able to show restraint or did you go all out? I pretty much went all out! I bought SO MUCH clip art! I shopped on three separate occasions throughout the two day sale, and my cart was full each time! I bought over twenty new sets of clip art! I can't wait to get started creating. All I have right now is time, so now is the perfect time to put my creative mind to work! Did you buy any clip art during this sale?

Did you know Krista Wallden offered this awesome Teacher Goodie Bag surprise? If you have come and 'Liked' my Facebook page then you have already read about how awesome I think this is! If you're not following my Facebook page you can click the Facebook tab at the top of the page or visit www.facebook.com/kinderdragons. It was available until last night. Each day of the entire Teacher Appreciation Week, Krista adds a new set of clip art. I have gotten three of the sets so far, and I am IN LOVE! I hope you were able to take advantage of this awesome opportunity! If not, make sure to sign up for her Summer VIP Membership Club or one of her upcoming Monthly VIP Graphics Clubs. Trust me, you won't regret it!!!

I would love to hear about what you bought during the TPT sale! Please leave me a comment, and I might have to go add what you bought to my Wish List! Can't wait to hear from you!

Last Day to Save!

It's Wednesday! Today is the very last day of the TPT Teacher Appreciation Sale! My entire store is 20% OFF, and with the TPT code 'ThankYou', you can get an additional 8% off  the products in my store!

Have you already been shopping? I have! Sure I've spent a fair chunk of change, but not buyer's remorse here! Here's a few of the things I have gotten so far during this sale! See something you like? Just click on the image to head right to that seller's TPT store and snatch up their awesome creation!

I am a HUGE fan of Krista Wallden, and I happily join every VIP/Graphics Club she puts out! I have never once been disappointed with the awesome clip art sets I get each week of the membership. If you have never participated in one of her clip art clubs, you really should give it a try! This one is on sale during the Teacher Appreciation Week sale, but then goes back up to regular price. Get it while you can!!

Another of my favorite clip art designers is Ashley Hughes. I love her creations, she uses such a great attention to detail! This bundle has been on my Wish List for a while now! I was so excited to get to snatch this up during the sale, 5 complete sets with 140 graphics to help my kinders better understand the concept of digraphs. Love it!

Since my digraph clip art is seriously lacking, I also picked up this awesome bundle from Whimsy Workshop Teaching. I really enjoy the graphics she creates and I love how cute they are! I can't wait to start creating some digraph resources for my kiddos!

I am just starting to delve into the world of using interactive journals in my classroom. These graphics from Mel over at Graphics From the Pond are such an incredibly important resource to have when I start creating journal activities! They are going to make it so much easier, and I love all of the many choices she includes in this set!

If you know me, then you know how much of a Font Addict I am! I can't seem to ever get enough fonts to add to my Font Book! I love using them in my classroom decorations, parent correspondence, and the activities and resources I create! I purchased this amazing bundle of 147 fonts plus the commercial use license! I'm so super excited to add these to my collection!

Another great purchase from GFTP is this amazing set of 'tear' puzzle pieces! This bundle is stuffed full of amazing puzzle pieces, perfect for creating activities my kinders can work on during their Daily 5 and Daily 4 rotations. I'm very grateful to have found this set!

Finally, I scooped up this sweet little creation from GFTP. I have so many different counting bear manipulatives in my classroom. Getting to use these images to create resources to go along with those counting bears means I'll have lots of awesome resources for my kinders to work on during their Daily 4 math rotations!

I would LOVE to hear about what you have gotten during the TPT sale! Please share with me in the comments, because I might have to go back and buy some more stuff!!