Five for Friday with a Thanksgiving FLASH FREEBIE

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since I posted! Sorry for the absence. As usual, things have been very busy lately. I can't wait until Thanksgiving break so I can sit and catch my breath...at least for a day or two!

This weekend was really nice, so we actually headed down to the beach on Sunday after church. Keagan didn't understand that the water would still be cold, so he kept pulling me closer trying to get in. We did let him sit and throw sand for a while! 

I made a new Thanksgiving craft to go with my door theme:

Right now, the kids are still working on their writing (we're having a hard time focusing on one topic), but I hope to share them soon! This craft is FREE in my store until later tonight as a thank you to all of my wonderful friends and readers. I have guests coming for dinner, and I will be changing it to paid after they leave, so be sure to grab it. AND PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK!!!

Click on the image QUICK for your freebie!

I'm LOVING Erin's creations, especially with my 5th grade students! We are working on context clues right now, and I was thrilled to be able to use this freebie with them. Here's a sample of what's inside. It really is great for helping them realize the types of context clues, and there's another great activity that goes along with that.

She also has an awesome pack for Thanksgiving related activities that I may be purchasing to use next week. 

Last night, I was SO excited to finally meet two wonderful VA bloggers that I have become "virtual friends" with over the past year. Andrea (right) from Reading Toward the Stars has become a good friend of mine after I found her two summers ago when doing a "reading specialist" search on blogger. She lives across the state, and we've been trying to get together for over a year now. She and a co-worker (I can't remember her name, but she was SO sweet) came to Richmond for a conference yesterday, and we decided it was time! We also met up with Nikki (left) from Teaching in Progress. Nikki's a hoot, and we had a blast at Cheesecake Factory talking and hanging out! I think we could have stayed there all night if Andrea and her friend hadn't had a 3 hour ride back that night to get to school this morning. I just barely missed Courtney from Polka Dot Lesson Plans who made the SIX hour drive to Richmond, but she had to leave after the conference to see her sister. Next time, Courtney!

And finally, just a reminder that next Thursday is my monthly Teacher Fitness linky party! This month, we're going to share yummy "skinny" recipes that we can make during the holiday season. I know this is the toughest time to eat right, so I'm looking forward to some great options that won't bust my calorie goal for each day!

VA is for Bloggers - Southern Hospitality Freebie Hop

Have you ever heard the saying "Virginia is for Lovers"?

Btw, I also found a picture of a former student in front of one of the MANY VA is for Lovers signs around the state you can check out here. So fun!

Well, Virginia is also for Bloggers!

I'm so excited to be linking up with my fellow Virginia blogging buddies for a freebie hop! Nikki from Teaching in Progress was so sweet to organize this, and Karen from Mrs. Stamp's Kindergarten created this adorable button. There are over 20 stops, so after you visit mine, be sure to follow it along to the rest so you can collect as many goodies as possible to help you start out the school year!

For my freebie, I thought and thought about what I could create that would be appropriate for multiple grades but was a little different. Then I had an idea (of course, this idea came when I was trying very hard to sleep, and then I couldn't. Does this happen to anyone else? Drives me crazy...): What about a little booklet for students to share about their summer break? I may even create a linky for it if there's enough interest!

The reason I like this so much is that it can be as simple or as deep as you want to make it. Little kids can just write something that they loved for each color, but I could see older writers taking colors more figuratively. I hope you like it as much as I do. I can't wait to use it with my writers!

After you've clicked on the picture to download, keep on hoppin'! The next stop is...

So grab a glass of sweet tea and stop in for a visit for some sweet southern hospitality from Virginia. Y'all be sure to grab a freebie before you go!

Sunday Smorgasbord

It's Sunday (well, actually it's Saturday night because I'm scheduling this while the hubs and baby are already asleep), and this linky with Michelle was perfect for what I was already planning on doing!

Keagan and I survived a week without daddy, and it was a lot of fun! We are very glad to have daddy back, though. It's hard keeping an active little toddler busy by yourself for 5 days, especially when it's CRAZY HOT and we can't go outside until late in the day.

I'm super pumped about this Thursday because I'm going to the VA Blogger Get-Together! Thanks to Karen at Mrs. Stamp's Class for putting this together! If you live near DC, you should definitely come join us. Just email Karen so she knows how many to plan for.

We're also planning on doing a freebie blog hop very soon, so keep your eyes out for it. I still need to get on the ball and create my product for it, so what would you like to see? A craftivity? Center for a specific skill? New mystery? Or something related to a good beginning of the year book? Please leave your preference in the comments!

Also, while Steven was away and I was computer-less, I reached 300 followers on Bloglovin! Planning a giveaway to celebrate (and help my numbers catch up over there). If you would be interested in helping out, please fill out the form below. I'm planning on a more traditional giveaway this time (like 1-3 winners) and would LOVE your help!

And finally, here are some current giveaways that you DON'T want to miss!

Phew! Have a great Sunday!

My Summer Bucket List

I've been eyeing this linky for a while now, but I wasn't ready to think about it because summer seemed so far away. Now that SOLs are done and there are only 9 days of school left (well, 8 for me since I'm taking a personal day on Monday as we drive back from a wedding), I've got summer on the brain BIG time!

1. Read, read, read! I've already started this some since I've been helping give tests. Perfect way to keep from stressing as you see your kids rush through and not use all the strategies you've worked with them on all year. Anyway, I don't have enough time to read on my own during the year, which is even more true now that I have a little guy to chase around. Summer is my time to read as much as I can for me. I'm lucky to get through 2 or 3 books for me once school starts (although I've read more like 6 this year since I don't have papers to grade). These are the current books on my shelf, although I plan on adding more once I make a few trips to the library (and maybe some yard sales)!

I'll want to add some Elin Hilderbrand and Emily Giffin to the mix as well, but this is what I have for now. Just finished two Hilderbrand books that I LOVED! I also need some fun, easy reads to mix in. That's what the library's for, though, right?

2. Make more products for TPT. We'll see how much I actually get done. But I definitely want to make 2 or 3 more literacy center sets (summer packet may be completed before I leave for break). I want a summer, fall, and Halloween set, and then I'll start making year-round sets for different literacy skills that can be purchased. That's the plan. However, number 3 might get in the way

3. Spending time with these two men!

Since Steven is now a teacher, too, we get almost the entire summer together! Plus Keagan has gotten so playful, and I love spending as much time with him as possible. Hopefully we can make lots of trips to the beach, pool, park, etc! I may even use my personal blog more that gets pretty neglected as I share adorable pictures from the summer (once again, this is a plan...don't hold me to it!). If you want to keep up with my personal life, you can follow me at The Dalton Gang. I do at least post once a month and will try to get better!

4. Puerto Rico

Steven and I will be spending our anniversary week in Puerto Rico this year, and I've been anxiously awaiting the trip ever since we booked our flight in January. We're flying on Airtran's tab because they had to  bump us to a later flight last year. Then we are renting a condo just outside of San Juan for the entire week. I'll miss my little guy, but I'm sure we'll be plenty busy exploring and having a blast! I've never been out of the Continental US, so this is a big deal for me! It completes one of my 30 before 30 bucket list items, too! Maybe I'll go snorkeling while there and mark another off my list. I won't mention when I'm going, but I'll definitely post pictures when I get back!

5. Put together a VA blogger meet-up. If you have any great ideas on where we should go or when would be a good time, let me know! I'm free basically the entire month of July, so I'm thinking sometime during then. I've been wanting to do this for a while and can't wait to meet some of these girls!

Those of you who are already enjoying your summer, the rest of us are ALMOST there!