It's been awhile...

Wow, two months since my last post.  School has been unreal this year, trying to get into my routine there and my routine at home now with two little ones.  It's really hard to be wife, mom, teacher, housekeeper, cook, errand runner, driver, etc....so many hats to wear all at once.  So overwhelming.

Now that we are two months into school, I am hoping to get back to my TpT store, little by little.  I am hoping to work on new products a little bit each night and get them into the store.  But then I'm usually tired and go to bed instead lol.  You get me, right?

So moms and teachers, how do you do it?  How do you do it all?  I feel so overwhelmed that I feel like I'm not doing any one thing well.  Like I'm being pulled in too many directions and can't focus on one thing.  It's hard, harder than I imagined.

Anyways, thanks for listening blogger friends.  Sometimes it helps just to talk, ya know?

Hope you all have a great week!

My last Friday of Summer

Hi friends, I am sad to say that it is my last Friday of summer.  How does time fly by in the summer but then slows down once school starts?!  So not fair!

Yesterday my team came over for a little planning session before school starts.  It was good to see everyone though we were annoyed we had to talk about school instead of just hanging out, haha.  In the week leading up to the meeting I did a lot of cleaning and organizing so now I have the whole weekend to do nothing!  Well, all the nothing that moms do.  I am hoping to catch up on my blog reading, blog a little bit, make a Costco run, do some birthday shopping for my mother-in-law, finish my book, and load my car up with all of my stuff to go back to school.  I'm also hoping to go in to school on Sunday for an hour or two just to do a few things so that I can hit the ground running on Monday.  All while soaking up as much time as possible with my girls! 

I'm hoping to start working on my next TpT product...have any ideas for me?  I'm thinking about making some Bingo games.  My students LOVE bingo and it is such a great game that can be adapted for many subjects and lessons.  Thoughts?

Enjoy your last few days of summer teacher friends!  Let's all hope I remember to set my alarm on Monday...

One Week Left :(

How is it that there is only one week of summer left?!  Last time I checked my calendar, it was July 4th!  Since my last post, my brain has been go-go-go with ideas for school.  I haven't been posting as much since I have been doing all those last minute things we teachers do before school starts, like cleaning my house (since we all know it won't get cleaned till Thanksgiving break, haha!), scour Pinterest for all sorts of ideas for the new school year, think about Back To School Night (what should I wear?!), etc.  I've also been doing some printing and creating a planner for myself.  Like many of you, I haven't been able to find a planner that I absolutely love that has everything I want, so this year I decided to try making my own and using the Staples Arc system to keep it all together.  We shall see how that goes.

I've also been trying to cram in as much time as possible with my girls and husband!  My parents actually took the girls this past weekend so that Ben and I could belatedly celebrate our 5th anniversary, which was back in July.  We were supposed to go to the beach but Ben wasn't able to get off work so we had a staycation and ended up doing a lot of stuff around the house.  I did a TON of cleaning so that I could spend my last week with my babies and not the vacuum.  I can't wait to see their smiling faces later today!

 

Sorry it's sideways but they're showing their Eric Carle love!

 

Shorties

I am hoping that once we get into our school routine I can get back to my TpT products and keep blogging.  I want to use this blog as a way to remember my moments in teaching, the funny things my students say, the OMG moments, everything.  So that on the days I wonder why in the world I chose this profession, I can look back and remember.  So fingers crossed that I can keep up with this!

Happy Back to School everyone!

Last Day for the Back to School Sale!

Today is the last day for the Back to School sale at Teacher's Pay Teachers!  Only 8 hours and 30 minutes left!  Don't forget to check out my store!

New Product, Just in Time for the TpT Sale!

Hi friends!  I'm so excited to have my newest product up and ready for the TpT Back to School Sale!  My store is 20% off for today and tomorrow only, so it's a great time to get some things you've been eying!  You can check out my store here!

My newest product is a favorite in my classroom!  I'm all about creating student writings that can then go in our class library for awhile.  The students love to read each other's writing and sometimes I even have to "ban" the books for awhile because they are fighting over them!  I love watching students see their peers read their writing...that little glow of pride they have on their face is priceless!
My newest product for sale has to do with writing and it is Monthly Writing Journals!  Duh duh duh duhhhhhh!!!  I like to put out two writing journals each month for students to use during Work on Writing time.  I add a page in the front of each journal with a class list and students cross off their name when they have finished their story.  I also write my story first as an example for the students.  Students have all month long to write their story and illustrate a picture.  At the end of the month I put the journals in our classroom library and the students read them all year long!  They love reading each other's work.

  There are two ways you can use these writing prompts to create the journals.  You can print out the prompts that are two to a page and glue each one on a notebook for students to use or you can print out the prompts that are one to a page and add writing pages for the students.  I like to print each prompt on a single page and add the writing pages so that I can use the paper with handwriting lines.  As the year goes on I transition from handwriting lines to regular writing lines.  I also like to add the paper with the picture box so students have a place for an illustration.

So if you have a few minutes, check out my newest product!  Hopefully you can use it in your classroom this year.  Don't forget, my Monthly Writing Journals are on sale today and tomorrow along with the rest of my TpT Store!

Five for Friday: July 31st Edition

Hi friends!  It's Friday and you know what that means...linky party with Doodle Bugs Teaching!  Here are my top five from this week...

1. I just got home from two back to back vacations!  Vacation #1 was in Tampa...long story short I was supposed to go to Texas with my inlaws to introduce my husband's family to our girls but before we left Ben's grandmother passed away.  So instead of Texas we all went to Tampa for her funeral and as sad as it was, it was also wonderful family time.  The day after I got back from Tampa I headed to the beach with the babies to hang out with my parents for a few days!  You can read about my vacations here on my family blog.  

2. My hair seems to finally be growing!  My hair was getting pretty long and my girls had started grabbing at things (mainly my hair) so at the end of June I got it cut.  I told the girl shoulder length, kind of like a long bob...she must've not heard the shoulder part because it was chin length.  I can finally pull it back into a pony tail meaning it's growing out!

3.  I have two weeks of summer vacation left but school is already starting to take over my brain.  I am already thinking about how I want to set up my room next year, what I need to make/buy, needing to go to Ikea, making my pins on my Pinterest boards become a reality, getting some more items up on my TpT store.  My brain is going full blast!  I am sure my fellow teachers know what I mean!  I am hoping to remember to buy a notebook at Target today so I can start writing all of this stuff down and hopefully free up some brain space.

4.  Teacher T-Shirts...have you seen these before?! A few teachers last year had some of her shirts and I really wanted a first grade one and I finally ordered one yesterday!  And I ended up getting not one but two!  Check them out...she has a ton of super cute shirts!

The black one says "I <3 My First Graders" and the blue one says "Kindergarten is SO last year...First Grade Rocks!"

5.  I'm excited to take part in the TpT Back to School sale that's happening August 3rd-4th!  This will be my first sale so if you've wishlisted anything, make sure to grab it then!  Everything is 20% off in my store.  I am working really hard on getting my newest product up by then!  I'm working on some writing journal prompts for whole class writing.  These prompts can be glued onto a notebook or be made into a notebook with paper.  I set out two a month for students to write in and when the month is over, I put the notebooks in our classroom library for the students to read the rest of the year.  They love them!  This year I'm cutesifying them in hopes that someone else would like them (and pay a few bucks for them haha!)

Cover under construction for my newest product.

Peek at some of my writing prompts!

That's it!  My Five for Friday!  Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out my store during the TpT Back to School Sale!

All About Me! book for Back To School

As I sit here looking at the date, I keep thinking, "Ugh, I'm going to be back to school in less than one month!"  and yet, I'm already thinking of what I need to get for my classroom, or things to print off, or products I want to upload to my TpT store.  Why is it that teachers can never turn their brains off, even in the summer?

I have been a little slower making and uploading products the past week or so.  My husband's grandmother passed away last week so we have been working through that and preparing to travel (she lived in Texas).  I also keep getting distracted by two cuties who happen to live with me ;)  Trying to soak up every second of summer with them!

I've also been working on a book for back to school time that has taken me awhile and I FINALLY finished it!  I have used similar books in the past but none ever had exactly what I wanted so I made my own.  This is a 15 page book that comes with a cover and a table of contents.  It's a great way to get students started off with non-fiction writing at the beginning of the school year and what better to have them write about than themselves?  I like to have my students complete a page each morning for their morning work while I take attendance, look through backpacks, make sure lunch boxes are where they need to be, etc.  It is perfect for occupying students while I deal with the beginning of the year chaos...you know what I mean?  (And all the teachers said AMEN!)

Since primary grades have varying degrees of writers, I created a few different versions of the All About Me! book.  My product includes a book with blank lines, a book with handwriting lines, a book with blank lines and sentence starters, and a book with handwriting lines and sentence starters.  So there's a book for everyone!  Click here to take a look!

Happy Monday everyone!  

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday friends!  I'm back to link up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday post!

1. Celebrating my daddy's birthday!  His birthday was Wednesday and we met my parents in Annapolis for dinner at the Bonefish Grill...so good!  I had never been there before and my friend had recommended to me the Bang Bang Shrimp as an appetizer.  That. was. DELICIOUS!  Definitely get it if you go.  Ben wasn't able to go because of work but my brother met me at our house and we rode to dinner in our new minivan!!!  Which brings me to #2...

2. Our new minivan!  Since finding out we were having twins, Ben and I knew that we would have to get a bigger vehicle eventually.  He has a 2 door Acura RSX (sporty looking car) and I have a 4 door Honda Civic...neither one is a good sized car for four people and a dog!  For awhile we were going back and forth between a small SUV, like a CR-V or a minivan and I finally decided on the minivan.  I've never wanted a minivan but have decided to embrace it and it's pretty nice!  This past weekend we found a 2013 Toyota Sienna that we liked, went to look at it, and bought it!  We said goodbye to my car, Ruby, and hello to the minivan!  Name is still pending...

3. I had my first TpT sale last Friday!  I was so excited to get the email!  (Never mind that I made 90 cents...a sale is a sale!)

4.  I don't really call this a favorite but it is a check off of my Summer To-Do list.  I took Riley to the vet yesterday for her yearly shots.  I had to get them in ASAP because we are anticipating a trip to see family in the near future and I need her up-to-date to be able to board her.  I was planning on taking her on a weekend so Ben could watch the girls but I needed to reschedule her appointment so I had to figure out how to take her and two babies into the vet's office.  So I tried out our TwinGo Carrier!  I've used it a few times before but the awesome thing about this carrier is that it can be worn as two front carriers, two back carriers, or you can snap them together and wear two babies at once!  I've used them as front carriers before but Thursday was the first time I used them as a double carrier.

5.  My last one does not qualify as a favorite but as an unfavorite.  I mentioned on Wednesday that Ben's grandma isn't doing well.  She lives in Texas and his dad was able to get there on Wednesday so all of her kids are with her.  We are in the process of making plans to travel to Texas soon to be with family.  So please keep her in your prayers, that she is at peace and as pain-free as possible.  And also for us as we plan to travel by plane with two babies for the first time.  Thank you!

Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend!

My First Sale!

Hello friends!  Friday night I got an email saying that I had my first sale on Teachers Pay Teachers! I was SO EXCITED!!!  (Never mind that it's only 90 cents...that's besides the point!)  Someone bought my Face Off! math game!  So, whoever you are, thanks for buying my game and I hope you like it!  And if you didn't, then you should really buy it...cause that's what friends are for...and we are friends, aren't we? ;)  Just kidding, you don't have to buy it if you don't want to.  Though I'll love you forever if you do!

What a great email to receive!

So anyways I'm trying to think of what product to do next and I was thinking something for language arts but I don't know what to do.  I am very much a math/science person so if anyone has an idea for language arts for me, feel free to share!

Hope you're having a great Tuesday!  It is Tuesday, right?  I seriously have no idea.  All I know is that I have a brunch today with my team and brunch is awesome.  Anywho, have a good day, whatever day it is!

Five for Friday: July 10th Edition

Hello everyone!  Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching's linky party, Five for Friday!

1. I have another product added to my TpT store!  This is a favorite with my first graders and is also great for enriching kindergarteners and reaching lower second graders.  Click here to check it out!

2.  My family celebrated my mom's birthday by ordering a half bushel of steamed crabs!  If you're from Maryland, then you know how amazing these are.  I love me some crabs!

3. My girls had their 4 month professional pictures done!  Look how cute they are!  I have to pick 25 images to keep out of 52...how am I ever going to decide?

4.  (I am hoping this works) Here's a video of my baby girl laughing and squealing!  This was the first time she has laughed so long and it is so darn precious!

5.  Today, the love of my life and I celebrate 5 years of marriage!  There's no one I'd rather do life with than this guy.  He's an amazing husband to me and awesome father to our little girls.  If you want to read some more and see some pictures of us from way back when, check out my family blog at The Alvarez Family

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend and enjoy it...summer is flying by too quickly!

Back from the Beach!

Hi friends!  Sorry for the absence but we took a family trip to the beach to celebrate the Fourth of July!  My parents have a condo there and it was so much fun to get together with my entire family for a few days.  I can tell you, it is WAY different going to the beach with babies than just by ourselves.  Babies need a lot of stuff!

Anywho, I am hoping to have some new things up in my TpT store over the next few days so make sure to check it out!

Have you seen the Desk Fairy??

No?  Haven't even heard of her??  Wow, I can't believe it!

That's what I say to my first graders when I pull out the Desk Fairy cards for the first time.  In our school, kindergarten doesn't have desks so their first experience with desks is in first grade.  And after a few weeks, their desks are a MESS!  So I bring out the Desk Fairy!  I tell the students that the Desk Fairy is like the Tooth Fairy...she comes in at night when they are home asleep and checks each and every desk.  If the desk is neat and clean, she leaves them a card to let them know she was there!  And it's not just any card, the card is good for a special prize!  My school does a ticket system so the Desk Fairy card is worth three tickets...that's SO MANY TICKETS in their little eyes!  So when they come in and find the card, they turn it in to me for tickets and I hide the cards when they aren't looking!

So I wanted to share my little fun with you all and hopefully you will enjoy the magic of the Desk Fairy with your students too!  It is so much fun to hear them come in in the morning and exclaim to their friends that the Desk Fairy picked their desk.  Click on the link below to check out my Desk Fairy cards for free!

Desk Fairy Cards

With that I am heading to the beach for some time with family.  I haven't decided yet if I will bring my laptop or not so you may not hear from me for a few days if I leave it behind.  See you next week!

Happy Fourth of July!

Measuring Fun!

Hi friends!  Like I promised yesterday, I was able to post my newest product, Measuring Fun!  My Measuring Fun packet has some great activities for measuring.  In this packet are several different ways students can use non-standard units to measure different objects. Activities include measuring with unifix cubes and paper clips, scavenger hunts, and graphing data. These activities are perfect for whole group, partners, or individual work. Simply give each student cubes or paperclips, a paper, and time to complete the activities!

Included:
2 outside scavenger hunts
2 inside scavenger hunts
2 body measurement activities
3 graphs
2 sheets of data questions

Check out my newest packet, Measuring Fun  and I hope you will enjoy it as much as my students do.  

Make sure you follow me on Bloglovin' and Teachers Pay Teachers for more items!  Thanks for stopping by!

Measurement Fun!

I don't know about your class but my students always love learning about measurement and time.  They think they are sooooo grown up when they can read a clock! (even when it's only on the hour and half hour, haha!)  They also always love measuring and making their own graphs.  I always teach them how to measure with paperclips and unifix cubes and they just love it.  In my curriculum, measurement is taught in quarter 4, which means we only have a few weeks to do it and I try to cram as much in as possible.  I wish we had it in quarter 2 or quarter 3 so we would have more time! (<--- see what I did there?!)

Anyways, one of our favorite things to do with measurement is go on measuring scavenger hunts, both inside and outside.  I am working on a TpT product that will include activity sheets for different types of scavenger hunts, body measurement, and some graphs to go along with it.  I'm hoping tonight or tomorrow I will get it posted.

Stay tuned!

My Shop is Open!

Hi friends!  Thanks for stopping by.  My exciting announcement is that my Teachers Pay Teachers store is officially open!  Over the weekend I was able to upload two FREE products and my first product for purchase!

My first freebie, the one that TpT requires you to upload, is my very favorite way to get organized for parent-teacher conferences.  It is a simple conference worksheet that has space for reading, writing, math, content (science, social studies, health), and other notes.  I fill this out for each student for conferences and have it in front of me when I meet with parents so that I remember to cover everything I want to discuss with them.

Conference Note Worksheet

The second freebie I posted is a behavior management tool I've used in the past for students who need a more visual reminder for their actions.  I created a punch card and there are three different versions.  Simply print on cardstock, cut, and punch a hole every time you catch the student following the rules!  I also like to write what they are working towards on the card so there is a line for that as well.

Behavior Management Punch Card

And my first product for purchase is my 2D Shape Memory Game!  My students LOVE this game and there are multiple ways to use it.  It can be played as Memory/Concentration or Go Fish style.  I usually introduce it in small groups and then move it as a center game.  Students can play in small groups, partners, or even individually!  The pack comes with 24 cards for 12 sets and the matches are the shape to the shape's description...perfect for CCSS 1.G.1!

2D Shape Memory/Concentration

Hopefully you liked a few of my products and make sure to check back for more!  Thanks for stopping by!

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Five for Friday!

I'm linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky party!  It's a party where you post five random things from this past week on your blog.  Don't forget to check out Doodlebugs Teaching for more posts!

1. I have loved spending my first week of summer with my two precious babies and my puppy!  We are going to have a lot of fun this summer....just look at those faces!

2. Speaking of my girls, they went to the doctor yesterday for their 4 month appointment and they did FABULOUS!  I'm always a little nervous taking them because there's a little part of me that is worried they will find something wrong and send us to the ER like they did with their first appointment at 4 days old (they had hypothermia but everything turned out just fine!).  Both girls are right around 11 lbs and 23 inches long!

3. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning has been our activity of choice this week...and I only got the downstairs done!  As all teachers know, our house got SEVERELY neglected the last two weeks of school and it is time to get it back in shape.  I am finding that it takes a lot longer to clean since I have to do it when they're napping and with two, it's hard to get them both to nap at the same time!

4.  I have been working on getting my Teachers Pay Teachers store up and running!  Again, it's been a slow process but I am hoping that I will be able to post my first freebie later today or over the weekend.  I'm excited to start posting some things and hopefully people will like them!

5. I've also been working on getting my new blog up and running...slow but steady wins the race, right?

Thanks for stopping by!  Please come back as I'll be starting to put more things up here.  Happy Friday!

~The Terrapin Teacher

Welcome!

Welcome to the Terrapin Teacher blog!  This blog is pretty new so forgive me as I work out the kinks.  Come back soon to see my updates.  Thanks for stopping by!