Thank you!

Holy cow, you guys are AMAZING!! It was a good thing I could check my email more frequently because there was a steady flow all day starting with almost 10 waiting on me when I got up for you true night owls (or maybe those of you on the west coast where it was only 9, not midnight). Or maybe it's just that most of you are already on summer vacation and don't have to worry about getting to bed at a reasonable hour for work in the morning.

I will be working on getting those emails out, but it may take me a little while since I have NINETY-EIGHT emails to send out. Good grief! Oh, and I'm up to 360 followers - over halfway to 400 in just a day! Plus today is actually going to be Field Day #2, so I'll be a little wiped. Maybe I'll get some pictures though.

Anyway, I want to take a minute to thank those lovely ladies who donated items to my flash giveaway. Please stop by their blogs and shops to follow them if you don't already because this giveaway wouldn't have been nearly as awesome without them!

Jessica is a 4th grade teacher in Georgia.

TPT Store

Diane teaches 5th grade in Iowa.

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Sara just moved to Alabama and is looking for a job.

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Amy is a Title I reading teacher from Ohio.

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Nikki is a first grade teacher in Virginia. TPT Store Andrea is a reading specialist (like me!) on the other side of Virginia.

TPT Store Jessica is a 5th grade teacher in New Jersey.

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Sara is a kindergarten teacher in Minnesota.

TPT Store Amber is a 4th grade teacher in Massachusetts. TPT Store Mary teaches in Tennessee and works with 2nd and 3rd grade students. TPT Store

Donna is a 5th grade teacher and fellow Virginian!

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Laura teaches 4th grade in New York

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I also decided for my addition to the flash giveaway, I wanted to do something that was fun and new. My drawing conclusions mysteries have become some of my most popular products, and I finished this one yesterday specifically for you!  However, if you were one of the poor, unfortunate souls who missed my giveaway and didn't have a chance to comment yesterday, you can still purchase it by clicking on the links below. I have so much fun making these, and I plan on making even more!

TN or TPT

Skippyjon Jones and SomeBUNNY Loves Your Blog

Today I got to read to a class of 3rd graders as the guest reader for our reading month. It was a lot of fun to be on the other side of this and pick a book to read just for pure pleasure! I chose to read Skippyjon Jones so I could use my best Spanish accent!

 

Then I treated the class with some jellybeans (since El Bumblebeeto Bandito stole all the beans in the story). I love jellybeans, and they were very excited! By the way, did you know they now sell Fave Reds Starburst Jellybeans?

 

 I was SO excited! This girl loves strawberry jellybeans, and now I have tons of them!

Feeling a little down while desperately trying to make it to Spring Break? Christina from Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge is hosting this sweet little linky. Think of somebody's blog who you feel deserves a little love and pass it on. Then go link up with Christina.

I'm sending bloggy love out to Jackie and Danielle, the Sister Teachers!

These ladies get to teach together (2nd and 3rd grade) down in Florida. How cute is that? They are super sweet and create some of the cutest products. I've had the pleasure of reviewing some of their Magic Tree House packets, and they are so thorough. Please go check out their blog if you're not already a follower. I'm sure you will love them as much as I do!

I'm Thankful for YOU!!

I'm a little late getting around to this, but I thought it would be appropriate to post on Thanksgiving anyway. Don't worry, most of this was already written a few days ago.

Thanks to Stephanie from Teaching in Room 6 for hosting this linky party! I started blogging back in March of last year at The Dalton Gang when the girls from my small group all had blogs. I don't remember exactly what teacher blog I first discovered, but I quickly began blogging more and more about my teacher stuff (although there was a lot about Keagan as well). Over the summer, I felt like it was time for me to separate my personal life from my teaching life in the blogging world, so this blog was born in September.

I am thankful for SO many bloggers! Here are a few of my favorites:

I discovered Andrea over the summer when I found out I was going to be switching positions to become a reading specialist. I searched blogger for other reading specialists and hit the jackpot with Andrea. Not only do we share positions, but she's a fellow Virginian! We have so much in common, and I hope to get to meet her soon!

Caitlyn found me, and I'm so glad she did! She teaches fourth grade (my true love) in Virginia, so we have a lot of common experiences. She's got a lot of great ideas, and her products are beautiful!

Farley is my role model! She's hilarious, and I want to be her friend! I love participating in her monthly currently party, and it really helps to build my following.

In other news, I WON Third Grade Tidbit's giveaway! I started getting all these emails yesterday while we were driving to GA. So excited!

Okay, I'm off to spend time with the family. Happy Thanksgiving!

November Currently

Not going to make a long post at all today because Steven's taking a break from classwork so we can go hang out before he comes back to write a paper. But I wanted to go ahead and join Farley's currently!

I wish I could go ahead and post my literacy centers this weekend, but I have to wait until I get back to school. We have the old word, and the picture formatting is all messed up. So I have to get on my school computer and fix it before posting. It's going to be great though!

As for the music, I discovered this rap a few years ago and fell in love...

Then I found out it's actually from an entire CD all about math. Tons of fun! My kids loved it, and I would see them whispering the lyrics as they were trying to make their place value charts, etc.

Apparently they also have a language arts album, but I haven't listened to it.

If you teach math, I really recommend AT LEAST the place value rap. It's amazing, and the kids really will remember from then on!

Oh, and an FYI for my VA blogger friends - I decided to start a facebook page for us to join and find each other. I'm constantly running across other VA bloggers, but then I have trouble remembering who's who. Here's the CORRECT link (I hope):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/VA-Teacher-Bloggers/294987317271984
Please join and share with others!