Sunny Summer Days Linky and a Giveaway

I still can't believe that it's July already!!  I can't believe how fast June went!  After a week off, we've brought back our summer linky.

First, I am participating in a Giveaway with "Just a Primary Girl" for her 100 Follower Giveaway!  So exciting!!  I just love reading her blog and following her on Instagram!  Click HERE or on the picture below to enter her giveaway.  There are some fantastic prizes and amazing blogs to follow.

We are also participating in Jaime {Bright Concepts 4 Teachers} and Aimee's {Primarily-Speaking} 500 follower give away!! These lovely ladies have teamed up together for an awesome 4 day give away!  Each Rafflecopter will last one week long! Be sure to enter to win some fabulous products!

Here's what I've been up to this week.  During our trip to New York last week, we spent one night in Buffalo, NY.  We didn't realize how close we were going to be to Niagara Falls and ended up taking a spontaneous trip to see it.  We stayed on the New York side and it was beautiful!!

We are on vacation in the Outer Banks, North Carolina with our family.  We rented a house right on the beach with my in-laws - 7 kids and 8 adults.  So far we've enjoyed the beach and relaxed by the pool.  Waking up and falling asleep to the sounds of the waves coming in is heaven.  

I could get used to this!

My husband loves to play disc golf.  So, we stopped at a few courses on our way to New York and then on our way from New York to North Carolina.  I braved the first course and walked with him.  It was a ridiculous walk!  We were in the woods with not a lot of paths.  I'm not really much of a hiker so it was rough!

The second course he stopped at had a pet chicken that decided to camp out by my feet while I was working on my computer at the picnic tables.  I gotta admit - it freaked me out!  I grew up in a small farm town so I'm usually not freaked out by some animals, but it kept making noises and pecking at the ground.  Wasn't really sure what to expect!

As you can see, I was working on a place value matching game.  Getting ready for the beginning of the year!!  

The third course we went to I ended up going to a walk and found a beautiful area with a canoe dock.

Then I spent some time starting my newest project - Super Heroes Decor Pack.  Here's a sneak peek!  I'm still adding to this pack.  Is there anything specific that you like to use in your classroom decorations that would be good to add to it?

 Table Signs

Numbers

Holidays for Calendars

 Name Tags

(I also created some without lines.)

Days of the Weeks

Months

Bunting

So, what have you been up to the last week or so?  We would love for you to link up and share with us what you've been working on, what you've been doing, or where you've been on vacation.

In case you are new to Linky Parties, here are some helpful directions.  

There are a few ways to copy the image for the Linky Party.

1.  You can right click on the picture and choose "Copy Image".

2.  You can take a screen shot.  I'm not sure how you do this on a PC, but on a Mac, press "shift command 4".  Then trace the object you want to take a picture of.  It will save the image to your desktop.

Now you have the image to insert in your blog post and link back up to our blog.  

Please be sure to complete the link below so you can add the link to your blog for everyone to read.

Can't wait to see what everyone is up too!

*Carrie

Sunny Summer Days Linky

Summer seems like it's going by so fast!  I can't believe that it's almost July!  We took a week off from our Sunny Summer Days linky party last week since we were busy with our giveaway.  But, we are back this week!

So what have you been up to so far this summer?  Have you been on any fabulous vacations or created anything exciting for school or your TPT store?  If so, link up with us to share with everyone.  

Here are some things we've been up to.

The husband and I are trying to fix up things around our house so we can put it on the market.  We are ready to move to a bigger place.  We need more space, a basement, and 2 bathrooms!!  So we hired someone to paint - the whole house (all but one room).  It has been a lot of moving things from room to room and packing up things that we didn't hang back up.  

We also spent a lot of time fixing up the yard.  Here are some flowers I planted.

I've also been working creating some princess tags for a custom order in my Etsy Shop.

This week my parents are here visiting.  We are planning on doing some shopping at Woodfield Mall and IKEA, going to the movies, out to eat at our favorite place (Wilmot Stage Stop - my dad and I love the lobster there) and mom and I are going for pedicures.   

We are also preparing for our vacation next week.  We are going to Outer Banks in North Carolina for a week on the beach.  We rented a house with the in-laws.  We've been in the past and I love waking up in the morning and walking outside to the beach.  It's so relaxing!

One thing about me is I am a HUGE Dave Matthews fan!!  Let's just say that's usually what's playing in my car or on my iPod. We go every summer to see them play at Alpine Valley, but this year we will be on a family vacation in the Outer Banks, NC, during that concert.  So, we are leaving early and going to Darien Lakes, NY, to see them perform there.  The tickets arrived in the mail over the weekend and I am super excited!  Can't wait!!

(It's actually 8 days till Dave, but this was the Instagram pic I had of the tickets!)

In some of my free time, I've been creating some new units for next year.  We are going to be using the Dolch Word List for our sight words next year.  So I created a few different word wall packets.  I haven't decided on a theme yet, so I've been making a few different kinds to see which ones I like best. Here are some previews of the different themes.  Which ones do you like best?

Chevron Word Wall Unit

Cupcake Word Wall Unit

Polka Dot Word Wall Unit

Superhero Word Wall Packet

Chevron with Owls Word Wall Packet

I've also been working on a "Manners and Expectations" Posters Packet.  This packet includes a variety of "manners" and "expectations" posters that can be used in a variety of ways in your classroom.  These are great for posting a manner or the week or can be used in a variety of social emotional learning lessons.  There are also three headers you can use to post in your class - Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful.  These are the main expectations we use in our school.

We would love for you to link up and share what you've been doing this summer!!  

Please use the picture below to link back up to our blog and check out some of the other blogs that have linked up as well!!  We can't wait to hear what everyone has been up to!

In case you are new to Linky Parties, here are some helpful directions! There are a few ways to copy the image for the Linky Party.  

1. You can right click on the picture and choose "Copy Image," 

2. You can take a screen shot.  I'm not sure how you do this on a PC, but on a Mac press "shift command 4".  Then trace the object you want to take a picture of.  It will save the image to your desktop.  

Now you have the image to insert in your blog post and link back up to our blog.  

  *Carrie

Sunny Summer Days Linky Party

Since summer break is fast approaching or already here for some of you,  we've decided to host a fun summer weekly linky party!  We thought this would be a great way for everyone to share what they are working on for the upcoming school year and share the fun vacations and activities that everyone is doing!  

Since we aren't on summer break yet, here are some things I've been working on to prepare for summer break.

I created the end of the year gifts for my students. 

I created some cute "Mickey" gift bags with each student's initial.  I love using my Cricut!!  Inside each bag will be a bottle of bubbles, goldfish, and end of the year awards.  I created some cute tags for the goldfish and bubbles.   To download your free copy, click on the pictures below.

I've also been working on my parent volunteer gifts.  

I found some colored water bottles from the dollar store.  I filled each bottle with lifesavers, starbursts, and a gift card to Starbucks.  For your free copy of these tags, click on the picture above or HERE.

These last few weeks have been a struggle to keep our kiddos motivated, so I created some fun QR Code activities.  If we've had a good day, at the end of the day, the class gets to scan a QR code for a fun activity for the next day.  So far, our kiddos are loving it!  To download your free copy, click HERE or on the picture below.

We would LOVE for you to join our weekly linky party this summer!  Please share what fun summer activities you are doing or what things you are working on for the upcoming school year.  

  

Please follow our blog and click on at least 1 or 2 more blogs linked up.

In case you are new to Linky Parties, here are some helpful directions! There are a few ways to copy the image for the Linky Party.  

1. You can right click on the picture and choose "Copy Image," 

2. You can take a screen shot.  I'm not sure how you do this on a PC, but on a Mac press "shift command 4".  Then trace the object you want to take a picture of.  It will save the image to your desktop.  

Now you have the image to insert in your blog post and link back up to our blog.  

Since this is the first time I've added a linky, if you have any trouble linking up, please let me know so I can try to fix it!!  Thanks

*Carrie

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Budding Blog

We are linking up today with I {heart} Recess  for the May Budding Blog linky party.  

1.  Why did you start blogging?  

I have been following blogs since I started teaching 2nd grade last year.  It was such a great way for me to get ideas after switching grade levels.  Reading other teacher's blogs inspired me to start my own.  When Caitlin and I started team teaching this year, we both had the passion to create our own blog and here we are! 

2.  What is your favorite subject to teach and why?

My favorite subject to teach is Math!  I love being able to incorporate games and food to make it more engaging for my students.   I enjoy watching my students' faces light up when they solve a problem.  

3.  Describe your teaching style.

That's a hard one!  I strive to be as creative as possible in my teaching and allow my students to be creative as well.  I think that using a child's multiple intelligences is important!  I love to use technology whenever possible.  We have iPads and laptops that we incorporate into the classroom through whole class and small groups.  I like to use centers, small groups, and partners as much as I can.  Engaging my students as much as possible is so important!

4.  Give three interesting facts about you.

Well, let see . . . . what's interesting about me??  I'm not sure . . . 

*I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan, obsessed with Dave Matthews Band and love Magnolia Cupcakes!

*My favorite place to visit is New York City (where I discovered my love of Magnolia Cupcakes and where I want to live someday!)

*My husband and I both grew up in the same small town in Central Illinois and started dating in high school.  We have been happily married for 13 years (in July).  We do however disagree on baseball, as he is a diehard Cubs fan and I am a diehard Cardinals fan.  But, we both love to watch Illini basketball and traveled to Austin, Texas over spring break to watch them play in March Madness!!  

5.  Do you have a TPT store?  If yes, post the link :)

Caitlin and I both started our TPT stores earlier this year.  We have a lot of ideas and hope to get more items listed over the summer.  Please check out the link's below!

Carrie's Store

Caitlin's Store

Check back on June 3rd for our summer linky party.

We hope this will be a great way for everyone to share their summer fun and new ideas they are working on for the upcoming school year!

  

We have 10 more days till summer break.  How many do you have left??

*Carrie

Sunny Summer Days Linky

Since summer break is fast approaching,  we've decided to host a fun summer weekly linky party!  We thought this would be a great way for everyone to share what they are working on for the upcoming school year and share the fun vacations and activities that everyone is doing!  

What do you think?  Is this something you would link up to??  Our plan is to start the first week of June.  We will post more details next week!

As our year is ending, I've been preparing some end of the year gifts for our kiddos.  On our last day I usually give our students a jar of bubbles.  We spend some time outside blowing bubbles and they have a blast!  I made a cute little tag to add to the jar of bubbles.  I created a color version and a black and white version.  

Click on the pictures or HERE to download your free copy.

I've also decided to give my students a bag of goldfish (which they love).  I found some cute orange and white polka dot ziplock bags in the dollar spot at Target (one of my favorite places to shop for my class).  I plan to fill the baggies with goldfish and add these cute tags to show the kids they are "o-FISH-ally" in 3rd grade!  I created a color version and a black and white version.   I made tags for students entering 1st thru 6th grades. 

Click on the pictures or HERE to download your free copy.

Enjoy!

*Carrie