What Are You Thankful For?

I feel like I've been bitten by the blog bug!! [Finally, right?]  I couldn't wait to share! I was looking for a thanksgiving craft on Pinterest- one that didn't take too much prep, too much time, and was still super cute. AND I found one!! I took what I found and created a product to make it that much simpler for my young learners.

I stumbled across this here. And then I decided that I had to make it this year with my kiddos!!

I made two different templates: The thicker strips would be easier for your younger students whereas the thinner strips would be just fine for second grade and up.  After tracing the beginning of the sentence and filling in the blanks its time to cut!

Then you'll need to arrange the strips and staple them together at the top- you could also use glue if you leave drying time. [[I had to use several staples but you'll hide most of them with your leaf and vine]]

Once you staple them, then you'll need to gather the other ends and staple.  Finish up with the leaf and spiraling a piece for the vine.

You can find my templates for FREE here!

When You Can't Find it on TPT...

Have you ever searched Teachers Pay Teachers for something so specific and yet you find NOTHING? It doesn't happen often, but I have had this happen twice in my teaching career.  In fact, it's how I started selling on TPT- my first product was something that I couldn't find ANYWHERE so I decided to make it for myself and post it for others to use.

The second time I couldn't find something was when I was searching for a Blog Consent form.  As a new blogger, I knew that I needed to be able to post about my students and use pictures of them in my classroom with the work that we're doing.  Yet, when I was searching the internet for permission slips to send home- there was NOTHING.  So, true to form, I've made one!  For a limited time, you can click the picture to get the consent form for FREE!

Don't forget to leave feedback!

Red, White, and Blue with a side of cookies, too!

What a week it's been and it's only Wednesday (of a four day work week!!)! Yesterday, while most of the country was voting on our next president, our class was busy voting too!  We had a blast voting for our favorite type of cookie. I used three products that I found on TPT and one of them was FREE!

My students started their voting process on Monday by completing a voter's registration card- which I just couldn't help laminating after school to make it a little more enjoyable for them to come back to.

We also talked about vocabulary words associated with the election- we even talked about the candidates whom they had heard about at home.  On election day, we talked about how important it was to vote when you get old enough and did a little math to find out that my students won't be eligible to vote until 2032!! (That definitely made me feel old!)

Then it was FINALLY time to vote! I used this pack for the super cute (FREE) voting booth and had my students bring their IDs to vote :)

Of course they had to get the best part of voting: the famous 'I Voted' sticker

Once voting was over, we tallied up the votes and graphed them too!! [For the ballots, registration cards and much more, go here]]

What did you do for election day?

Thriving Thursday

I can't even believe I have almost made it through the first week of school! It's my first official year as Mrs. Kirkman and I'm about to accept the fact that I will probably get called Mrs. Curtain more than my actual name! ((Gotta love young learners)) With this new year and a new name have come many other changes: We have a new principal (I'm in my fourth year of teaching and on my fifth principal!), I am teaching with two new teachers, I am helping lead one of our school committees this year, and I'm in a new classroom with a new TA.  With all these new changes, I've decided to throw a sale on TPT! Feel free to check out my store and comment with any changes you've had this year and any of your back to school activities/must haves!

Meet Me Monday

Hey y'all!

For my first blog post, I wanted to do a Meet Me Monday about myself!

                           Me and my Mr. in CA!

A little about me:

I was born in Virginia but have grown up as a proud North Carolinian!
I graduated Magna Cum Laude from East Carolina University (Go Pirates!)
I taught first grade in Kinston, NC for two years.
I moved to Columbia, NC to live with my fiancé.
We got married October 10, 2015.
I teach Kindergarten now.
I admire Ron Clark and have met him twice thanks to being a NC Teaching Fellow. (Even ate dinner with him in a small group at Texas Roadhouse)
I enjoy spending time: *with my husband just laying around *with my two cocker spaniels (Charley & Samuel) * in the boat out on the river *with my feet in the sand

Check out my store, Pinterest, and Instagram!
And leave a comment at the bottom to tell me what future posts you'd like to see!