New Blogging Adventure + a Giveaway!

I'm so excited to share a big secret with all of you today. The darling Kelsey from "Wife, Teacher, Mommy" had this great idea to create a collaborative blog featuring all Utah teachers, and I'm honored to have been chosen as one of the authors for this new blog. I was able to meet up with about half the group last week and am so excited to be a part of such a talented group of teachers representing the "beehive state". FUN FACT: Utahans relate the beehive symbol to industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance. The beehive was chosen as the emblem for the provisional State of Deseret in 1848 and was maintained on the seal of the State of Utah when Utah became a state in 1896. Because Utah is often referred to as the Beehive State, "busy bees" seemed like a natural name for our blog... I couldn't be happier with how darling the blog is and how fun it has been to watch it all come together over the past few months. 

To celebrate the launch of our new blog, we are having a HUGE giveaway. But before you head over to the new blog to get the scoop, let me tell you about my giveaway too. Two lucky followers will win the product of your choice from my TPT store!!

Here's my little bio that is featured on the Busy Bees Blog :) So fun!

Use the rafflecopter below to enter, then head over to the new blog to enter the BIG giveaway. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click on the image above to visit our new blog!

Top 5 Ways to Use GoNoodle in the Classroom!

I am so excited to be participating in GoNoodle’s Back to School Blogger Blitz today. GoNoodle is definitely one of my favorite websites and it is always a big hit with my students too!

Today I'm going to share with you my Top 5 favorite reasons to use GoNoodle in the classroom:

1. Brain breaks: when the day gets long and we've been sitting too long, I like to get my kids up and moving. Zumba kids and ultimate champ training are some of my favorite "get up and get active" videos.

2. Calming / de-stressing: we've all had days where our kids seem to have ants in their pants and can't sit still to save their lives. Maximo yoga style videos and airtime are great calming activities to help the kids settle down and focus again.

3. Test prep / motivation: Flow is one of my absolute favorites for a lot of reasons.... it is the perfect combination of calm and motivation that my students often need.  There are two categories in flow: attitude and stress.  Within each of these categories, there are three videos to choose from.  My personal favorite is found in the attitude category, called "Victorious".  I love the message of this video. Seriously, go listen to what it says. Such a simple yet powerful message for students as they prepare for a test.

4. Indoor recess: one of the greatest features GoNoodle added last year was the "indoor recess mega mix" videos. These videos are like a pre-made playlist: a variety of fun GoNoodle videos with different lengths of time already set to accommodate different recess lengths (you can choose from as little as 7 minutes up to as many as 19 minutes! Woot woot!) These videos came in handy when it was snowy and the kids couldn't go out to recess. I especially appreciated that I didn't have to keep starting new videos every 2-3 minutes - the mega mix just keeps going!

5. Being silly: sometimes, you just need to take a break for no other reason than to laugh. When it's time for a good laugh, my students and I LOVE LOVE LOVE pop-see-ko. Seriously, how can you not be in a good mood when the kids are doing this?!

So tell me, what do YOU love about GoNoodle? Comment below with what you love about GoNoodle and a random winner will be chosen to win a free pencil pouch from GoNoodle! (Be sure to include an email address so I can contact you if you win!!) How cool is that?!

But wait - there's more!!If you're interested in picking up some GoNoodle swag for your classroom, you can save15% off your purchase in the GoNoodle shop! Use the code: BTSwithGoNoodle - this code is valid until September 11th.

** And the winner is....

Congrats Breanne!!

3 new products - just in time for the SALE!!

Hi friends! Hope you've been having a GREAT summer... I know I have, which explains my lack of blogging and creating.  Oh well! August has arrived, and like it or not, school is just around the corner (or it has already started for some of you... oy!)  So in case you haven't heard, TPT is having their HUGE Back to School sale right now! My store is on sale for 20% off, and if you use the code BTS15 at checkout, you will save an extra 10% off the already discounted prices, for a total of 28% savings! AMAZINGNESS, right?!

After taking a nice little break from creating and blogging, I am hoping to be better this year. I have recently added THREE new products to my store, and have a whole list of things that are in progress from the past school year that just need to be polished a bit, so hopefully I can continue to be productive and get more things finished :)  In the meantime, I'm just going to quickly highlight the new items I've uploaded to TPT... be sure to snag them now while they are on sale!

The first item is actually TWO items, and you can purchase them individually or as a bundle.  Last year when I switched to third grade, I made a set of objective posters for my classroom, and the first grade teachers in my building saw them and asked if I could make something similar for them.  I am happy to present to you my first grade MATH and LANGUAGE ARTS posters.  Take a closer look at the objectives by looking at the photos below:       

Click on the picture above to go to the bundle listing in my TPT shop

Sample of the math posters

Sample of the Language Arts posters

posters at a glance

Bonus student and teacher checklists make data tracking a breeze!

This next product is quite possibly my favorite creation ever!!  One of my teacher friends asked me to make a student planner for her last summer, and I ended up needing to use it myself after switching grades, so this planner has been tested in my classroom and it's awesome!!  The best part is, this planner is about 99.9% editable.  There's a few things (such as graphics) that are secured and can't be modified, but it comes in both PDF and PowerPoint format, so you can open it up and type until your heart's content! Take a peek inside:

Click on the picture above to see the complete listing in my TPT shop.

two different planner cover options - kidlettes or space!

my students had so much fun coloring their cover pages - notice the batman themed cover in the top corner! Love their creativity!

 The planner has a variety of pages for you to choose from, and you can use all or just some of them.  The pages include a monthly behavior tracking calendar; monthly "notes" calendar (I used this page for announcement and weekly reading minutes);  communication log - parents can write you a note, or you can write a note to them :); and finally, daily homework pages - this is great for upper-grades when daily homework becomes a more regular thing.  There's a few other goodies included in the download, and if you scroll to the bottom, you might just find a little freebie for you ;)

Click here for an exclusive freebie from the new student planner set! Happy Back to School, friends!

#TPTVegas15

I am back from #TPTVegas15, and wow! What a week! I had so much fun taking in the sights and sounds (and foods! LOL) of Vegas, and especially enjoyed two amazing days of TPT Awesomeness. I have had a hard time finding the motivation to blog, create, or do anything related to school or TPT, so this was just the motivation I needed to turn on my computer and get to work! I have lots of fun products in the works, so stay tuned for those in the coming weeks... but for now, enjoy some of my highlights from Vegas.  Also, if you aren't following me on Instagram and Twitter, please do! I shared many photos and quotes from the conference last week, and even tried out a new twitter app called "periscope" -- I am still a little camera shy with periscope, but I plan on using it more as I become more comfortable with it.  Anyway, enough of my rambling... here's my week in pictures! *disclaimer: these photos are in no particular order... enjoy :)

Tuesday Night - Michel Jackson: One -  AMAZING. Go See it. You will NOT be disappointed. Here's a preview video below... seriously, I could watch it all day.  The dancing is simply incredible.

Brunch with many amazing TPT'ers at Grand Luxe

I shared this photo on Instagram last week... to me, this is what the TPT community is all about. Anna from Simply Skilled in Second was SO EXCITED to meet the lovely Lory Evans... apparently she was too shy to say hi last year... I snapped this photo at just the right time. TPT has blessed us all so much, and we have made countless friends thanks to it!

a few of us getting ready to zipline across the Rio Hotel Towers - 51 stories high! (Umm, did I mention my fear of heights? Yeah... oops!)

Lory is taking in every minute of the zipline... meanwhile I was wondering where the handles were to hold on for dear life! LOL!! And no, this is not photoshopped... that's really us, ziplining across Vegas!

go noodle photo booth at the teacher/blogger meet-up - so fun (well, the photo booth part was fun, anyway)!

Lory, Brynn, and me in the TPT photo booth.

Some of my favorite foods from the week... See the milkshake at the bottom... I might have had THREE of them that night #sorrynotsorry - couldn't let that amazingness go to waste. If you're looking for a good place to eat, hit up B&B Burgers at the Venetian and get a Nutella milkshake... I'm not kidding, it's THAT good. The 3 pictures on the far right are from a new restaurant at the Venetian called Yardbird. The Belgium Waffle was from brunch at the Grand Luxe

I met so many wonderful people this week -- Top: Dee Dee Wills, Deanna Jump, Alyssha S.; Middle: Jen Jones (Hello Literacy); Laura; Krista; Bottom Row: Lory, Emily, me, Jenny, Heidi (Emily and Heidi are a team of sisters who blog at Second Story Window... love them!!)

TPT Paul, TPT Amy, Rachel Lynette, Jen Jones, Kayla Delzer (Top Dog Teaching)

Top left - Meredith Scott Lynn - anyone recognize her? Lory and I were both starstruck, but for totally different reasons!; Shelley Gray, Farley (Aka the queen of currently!); middle row: Jessica (Second Grade Nest); Stephanie (falling into first); Cierra (Adventures of room 129); Tamara (Mrs. Russell's room) and a lovely photo bomb from Breanda (Primary Inspired); Bottom: Blair Turner, Ashleigh (Ashleigh Education Journey); Amanda (Mrs. Richardson's Class)

And now, I'm home from Vegas and having withdrawls, so we had a little mini-meet-up yesterday while my car was being serviced. Lory played shuttle driver so I didn't have to sit at the car dealership all by myself all morning. Don't you love how she tells us to pull funny faces, then smiles? Yeah, me too :) HAHA! But, we had a great time chatting and can't wait for #TPTVegas16

thanks for the fun morning and yummy treats!

5 tips for a Relaxing Summer

Hi friends, WOW, I have sure been MIA from my blog lately... but if you follow me on facebook, you've already heard my exciting news... I will be working in a new position next year! BUT, I will get to that later... today I am blogging over at the Elementary Grapevine, where I'm sharing 5 tips for a Relaxing Summer... heaven knows we teachers need a break and need to relax, so I promise to fill you in on all the latest and greatest happenings soon... but for now, go check out my post over at the grapevine and enjoy your summer break... you've earned it! XOXO 

Click on the picture to read my tips