Apple Number Stories Freebie

WoooHoooo - 100 followers! I am seriously so excited. I never thought it would happen. There will be a giveaway coming very soon...but in the meantime, here is an apple number stories booklet that I plan on using with my class this week. You can download it for free on TPT!

Click on the picture to get your free copy!

Classroom Pictures and a new TPT item

Hi Everyone! I feel like it has been forever since I have had a chance to post on this blog. This school year is off to a great start and I feel so lucky to have such a sweet group of first graders! I posted pictures of my classroom on the blog that I set up for my parents and students. Click here to see pictures on my other blog.

I also posted a new item on TPT tonight. It is a sight word game pack for the "smart start" portion of our reading series, McMillan McGraw Hill "Treasures". Click here to see it and my other TPT products. For the next 48 hours, this product will be on sale for the low price of only $3!

A Writing Helper Freebie

Hi blog friends! I sure have been in back-to-school mode lately. I know that many of you have already started back to school, but I still have a little under 2 weeks until I "officially" go back - 12 days to be exact.

Today I have a little writing helper freebie for you. I made these because my students (especially in the beginnig of the year) tend to write sentences like this: ilikemycat. No Spaces!! Therefore, I introduce them to the "Space Man" or "Space Woman". We use them to help us place a space between our words when we write. (I model how to use it before they use their own.)

The "Space Man" helps us make perfect spaces between our words.

To make your own, click  here or on the picture below.

Then print, laminate, cut and glue onto a popsicle stick.



You can store the Space Men in a cute cup.




Snickers just loves getting his picture taken.



P.S. - I am so excited that I am getting close to 100 followers. Keep a lookout for a 100 follower giveaway when I reach it!

First Grade Fanatics

Check out this amazing back to school giveaway!

First Grade Fanatics: HUGE Back To School Giveaway!!!

They are also having a 14 Days of Summer Celebration, where they are giving away a new freebie everyday!

DIY Lamp

A little while ago I posted about some goodwill treasures that I bought - including a lamp that I wanted to revamp for my jungle-themed room. Well, I finally finished it. (And, it was super easy to do!)

Here is the BEFORE picture again:



And here is what it looks like AFTER:


Of course, my little shadow (aka Snickers) snuck into this picture. This sweet little cat follows me around the house all day checking out what I am doing. :) When we took this little stray into our house, we weren't really sure if we would be able to keep him - now we can't even imagine not having him! He is the sweetest little thing!

Anyways, if you'd like to do your own lamp-makeover, it is really simple. Here is what I did.
(Sorry - some of these pictures are not the best quality.)




Use a pencil to trace to length of fabric needed on the backside of the fabric.





Cut the fabric a few inches wider than the line that you traced.





Here he is - watching everything I do. :)

Spray this adhesive on the shade and press the fabric into place. This adhesive stays tacky for a little bit so you will have time to make the fabric fit just right. (You may notice that I painted the shade white to try to get rid of the pattern showing through when the lamp is turned on. If I was to do this again, I would just start with a white shade.)



Fold and hot glue the fabric to create a seam.



Fold and hot glue to over-hanging fabric.



I had to snip the fabric so that it would fold around the metal pieces.





Everything is now glued into place.




I added this peel and stick beaded trim. (I found it at Jo-Ann's on clearance.)



Lastly, I hot glued this brown satin ribbon on the top and bottom edge of the shade.



Happy Tuesday!

Teacher Tam's Educational Adventures

Check out this blog to see how you can get a free item from here TPT store, or maybe even win all of the items in her store!
Teacher Tam's Educational Adventures: Get a Freebie and Maybe Win My Whole Store!.

Working in my Classroom

I finally went back to school this week to start getting my classroom put together. Here is what it looked like before:

 And here is what I got done:

I got all of my library books and workbooks unboxed.

It will be a full house with 20 kiddos!

I sorted my library books into my new crates. I still need to add labels.

Organizing materials into bins.

I will be going back next week to get  more work done. There is still sooooo much to do! I can't wait to post picture of what it look like when it is finally complete!