Lately...

Busy, busy, busy!

I am in San Diego right now really enjoying their PERFECT weather! Oh. My. Gosh.

I've been so busy! Had a wedding Saturday night (boyfriend was the Best Man and I caught the bouquet! Actually, it hit me in the head..)

The next morning was my flight out here for the big technology conference! I'll write more about it soon with lots of pictures, but here's a great shot of boyfriend and I at the wedding!

So. Done.

That's me.

So done.


With summer schoooooool! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah yeah yeah!

So I have 4 days to pack 5 days worth of clothing, accessories, and toiletries into a carry-on.

Easier said than done right?

We have layovers both there and back, so I don't want the nightmare of lost luggage.

Also, I am finally treating myself to the massage I bought a Groupon for months ago! I'm going tomorrow!

Well, gotta go pick out some outfits!!

2012-2013 Calendars AND Sneak Peak of Birthday Bash Unit

Here's a little sneak-peak into my latest creations!!

First (and finished and on TpT):

My 2012-2013 calendar!!




The calendar starts in August and ends in June!

Go check it out at my TpT store at the link above!!

Also, I'm not done with it yet, but I've started on my Birthday Bash Math Unit!!! It's going to be so fun and cute!!!

Sneak peak pics:




Missing Numbers (recording sheet coming soon)

And the Birthday Bash Dash gameboard!!






Wooohooooo! So excited! Stay tuned to check it out once it's finished!!

SOLD!!

Woohoo!!!

I received an e-mail today saying that I sold my first product on TpT!

It MAY have only been for $1.00, and I MAY have only made 30 cents off of it, but I am SO HAPPY about it!

I could just do cartwheels around the room! I'm so glad that other teachers are enjoying my activities and feeling like they would help them enough to purchase them!

Hopefully, this will lead to many more!


I'm currently working on a birthday-themed unit! It will have lots of MATH activities! (Sorry, people, I'm a math teacher....) Mayyyyybe if I'm feeling particularly creative and my brain isn't totally scrambled from the work involved, I may create some reading activities... I've already got some ideas.... I'm thinking compound words...BIRTH-DAY!

I need to get BUSY! I leave for my very first big-girl job ...
 !!!!!!

We are going to San Diego, California to a HUGE technology conference! So, I'll be way behind on creating and blogging.

I am SO BLESSED! Our awesome principal is a technology FANATIC and found this great conference and is letting 7 of us go! Even new, just-finished-my-first-year teachers like me!!

I've gotta figure out what on EARTH I'm going to wear! I mean, I will be in Cali, So I've got to be cute!!



On a different, non-teaching-related note...

I'm so excited to go have a girls date with my best friend/cousin/twin Courtney after work today!!! It's been FAR too long! Love you bunches!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy a girl could ever ask for!

You're the best!

Above and Below FREEBIE and Rhyming Words

So, as I was working with one of my summer school kindergartners, I realized he had NO CLUE what above or below meant. WHAT?!  I spent quite a while working on this with my kindergartners with hand motions, games, etc.

Since I was SO BRILLIANT and took ALL of my FILES home, I needed to create a quick worksheet. I didn't have a lot of time to find one I liked online. I found some plain, boring ones. Yuck.

SOOOOOOOO.... here's what I made!  One for you, too!



Visit my TpT store HERE to download it!


I also realized some of my 2nd graders didn't really understand how to find RHYMING WORDS! What is going on?! I know that is a kindergarten skill!

I'm sure I'll be whipping up some sort of rhyming activity today as well! AH!

_________________________________________

RHYMING ACTIVITIES!








These will be on my TpT store soon!

I will have my kids color them and cut out each square individually. Then they'll scramble them up, match them up, and then glue them on a large sheet of manilla paper!

There's also this worksheet to go along with it!



Also will be added to my TpT store soon!

Have a lovely evening!

NEW BANNER!!!

Oh my gosh, I know I will have posted THREE TIMES today, but I really need to get busy with this whole blog business.

PLEASE help me pick out a new banner. Here's what I've got:


1.


2.


3.


4.


5.



Please tell me your favorite!

Thank youuuu!

NEW FREEBIE! Summer Word Search!

To download, go to my Tpt store and RATE ME :)

Enjoy!

Summer School

The day goes onnnnn and onnnnnn..... and onnnnnnn....


Yawn. Makes me sleepy.

It is SO WEIRD to spend a whole year with your kiddos whom you feel like you know inside-out and backwards, then a week later, you are teaching complete strangers.  I mean, they might as well be from a different planet. Who are these people?! They are not from my world/school!  It's just bizarre. I like these kids, but it's so weird when they don't know how the school works or how you work... you don't know how they work or how their school does things (if they have procedures or routines - some don't enforce things like that). It's sort of frustrating and just plain WEIRD!

It probably also has to do with the fact I am a first year teacher and I will always compare kids to my first class.





Well, that was a boring story.




On a higher note, the extra $$$ in the paycheck sure will be nice! I'm thinking... little vacation... I know I could really use to get away and relax for a bit, get a couple massages/facials (never had one!), have some lovely vino, sleep late... Who knows! I'm just that spontaneous!


Whatever I figure out, I'm EXCITED about it!

This is one of my latest TpT freebies! Download it and RATE ME please by going to  my TpT store

Also, this fun game!


You can download it by going HERE




Enjoy!

TeachersPayTeachers (TpT)

Just uploaded my first items on TeachersPayTeachers! Woohoo! Check it out!


I'm so excited! It's just a lot of stuff I had already created this past year, but it's getting me started on my projects for this summer!

Units!

Science!

Math games!



YIPPEE!!

Check out my store! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Blair-Temple



ALSO ------

This is from my old blog that had a weird layout that I couldn't figure out how to change.


You know your kindergartner is awesome when he sings KISS songs in class and can name all of its members and loves the Avengers.

I overheard a very adult conversation while working with a group during centers. While gluing little pieces of construction paper to create a Texas flag, two of my boys were discussing what they will be for Halloween. Mind you, Halloween is six months from now. One of my boys said "I'm thinking that for Halloween, I will be one of the Avengers. The movie will be coming out about that time, so I think I will be one of the Avengers. My brother will be (I don't know the name of the Avenger), so maybe I will be the HULK (with strong arm motion), or Iron Man, or...." Then the other boy chimes in very calmly "Um, Thor is also in the Avengers group, so you could be Thor." The first boy then replies "Oh, yes, I know, Thor is also an Avenger." Later in the day, he starts singing the Avengers song.

The same KISS student said this while in the hallway after lunch: "My parents laugh when I do this." And he raises one eyebrow quite seriously and comically.


So, a few weeks ago, my first graders were very unmotivated, unresponsive, and just downright out-of-it. I was trying to get them motivated and to care about learning and doing well in school. After the talk I said something like "You are good, smart kids and you're important!" Aaaaand it got me thinking about how I had just seen The Help. So I said "Repeat after me: I am kind. I am smart. I am important."

One of my more mature girls very dramatically pretend-wipes-her-eye and said "Agh! Miss Temple! That was just beautiful!" And another girl, laying her head on the table, very matter-of-factly states "That's from The Help. I saw that the other day."

Sorry, The Help, but I just totally stole your line. And it worked. Thanks!

I really need to start writing down all of my sweet, funny, happy, and memorable stories. There's just so much other stuff to be doing while they are being so cute and funny! How's a lady supposed to teach, listen to stories, keep their eyes and ears on each child, give extra help to the struggling students, and document behaviors and academics AND STILL find time to write down all the cute stuff?!

Maybe I'll figure that out after my first year of teaching. Maybe one day.

It's over!

Whew! I can hardly believe that my first year of teaching is over (a few days late)! Actually, I can believe it... I just can't believe it is finally here!!!

I learned soooo many things this year! For example:

1) Make friends with your office staff ASAP (principal, assistant principal, secretary, receptionist, etc.) It's SO GOOD to be on everyone's good side. You never know what you may need them for!

2) ASK QUESTIONS! You can NEVER ask too many questions!... Welllll, maybe you could, and you don't want to be annoying by asking questions you SHOULD know the answer to... But ASK if you don't know something! That leads me to number three...

3) Use your resources! Your team members! Other teachers! T.A.'s! Ask them stuff! They will give you ideas you may have never thought of. Resources. Are. Amazing.

4) Be thankful. OH MY GOSH, be thankful! If you are working in a low-income school with low-income-school-issues, be thankful for the way you were raised and that you can be a light in your students' lives. If you are working in a high-income school with plenty of supplies and family support, be thankful you have those resources!

5) Find a way to reduce stress. Whether it be talking, exercising, eating, drawing, singing, dancing, petting your dog, DO IT! If you have a stress-reliever, you will go NUTS! BANANAS! COO-COO! LOCO!

6) If you're not passionate about what you do, don't do it! Life isn't fulfilling unless you're doing what you are passionate about. You're not doing yourself or your students any favors.


AND so many more!

I've got so many changes, revisions, what-have-you to make for next year! I'm starting to work on that right now.

I'm also going to try to start up a side-biz on TeachersPayTeachers.com. Working on creating some cute stuff for people to use and enjoy... hope I can figure it out easily... :/






P.S. Whose idea was it to work summer school after my first year of teaching?!

Mine?!

Really?...


I MUST be crazy.




Bring it on, summer school! BRING. IT. ON.