I'm guest blogging over on the Primary Peach today.  Click HERE to read my post and find some INSPIRATION for your ORGANIZATION this school year!  

Set the Stage to Engage with the Olympics!

Many of us are back at school already, and the Rio games offer us a unique opportunity to ENGAGE our students with some Olympic-themed fun!  I'm sharing a few of my fav ideas with you today in order to help you and your students BE INSPIRED as you GO FOR THE GOLD this school year!

Like any silly family, we love fun and games, so we've even gotten into the spirit at home.  And thankfully, the people I live with are really good sports! 

A few photos of our Olympic-mania...our medal ceremony followed a strenuous evening competition of straw javelin, cotton ball shot put, Gatorade lid discuss, and Nerf target shooting. Good times and only 2 disqualifications--LOL! 

 

 

Once dinner and our family events were done, I got busy updating my Olympic/7 Wonders of the Ancient World TPT resource while tuned in to the Opening Ceremonies! Interested in seeing more of this resource...just click the images above.

There are also a couple of Olympic-themed FREEBIES in my TpT store.  These pics are hyperlinked and will take you straight to them for download.

 

Lastly, I found few Pinterest pins that looked like they would also be fun to incorporate into the classroom as we set the stage to engage for the rest of our school year.

My friend, Susan, loves making these pipe cleaner athletes with her little ones.  They are easily adapted for the summer or winter games!

Or how about this for an adorable photo opp?

Coloring seems to be all the latest rage, so the Imagination Box offers this Rio-inspired gem...

Hope your weekend is amazing!  Want to spend it tuned in to the Olympic games while you write lesson plans or enjoy your last few lazy days of summer?  Click HERE to see the schedule!

Best Year Ever!

The classroom is almost done, the first day is a little more than a week away, and it's time for us to have the BEST YEAR EVER!!!

I hope you are getting excited about all of the awesome things to come in the year ahead!  

As a way to help you get ready for the year to come, TPT is throwing its annual Back to School SALE!  As a result, you get to take advantage of some pretty awesome savings...including 28% off of everything in my teacher store when you enter the promo code BESTYEAR.

Click the pic below to head over and start shopping and saving! 

One more bit of good news, head over to my FB page to enter a giveaway for $10 gift card to TPT!  Want to enter? 

Click HERE or click the image above to head over to FB and tell me what you're looking forward to most in the year to come... 

Lastly, how about a couple of Back to School FREEBIES just for fun...click below to grab them...

  

Wishing you all the BEST in the YEAR ahead!  Time to go fill up my own cart...I have a feeling that new clip art and organization resources will be some of my favorite purchases!

Very Pinteresting...

Hip, hip, hooray...it's almost Friday!

Some of you have probably already headed back to school.  How's it going?  I hope so far, so good!  

My sweet friend from Clip Art Stand by Tina Anne went back on Monday.  Although I am so grateful for 2 more weeks at home, I must say that I have felt little tinges of teacher envy as she's texted and sent pics telling me all about her Open House and her adorable classroom!  

In fact, I went and did a little shopping this evening for some new pencil boxes and classroom hooks...baby steps towards the beginning of another year.

While I have a few more days at home, I wanted to tell you that I have been busy updating my Pinterest boards.  Let's be honest, some of my own pins look a little tired and need a fresh touch, so I'm busy working on them, I promise. An example of one of my updated pins is below...

BEFORE

AFTER

But I'm also repinning and reorganizing!  My favorite board is one I wanted to tell you about...IDEAS FOR SCHOOL THAT ARE SUPER COOL!  

I have pinned so many awesome ideas from other teachers there that I can't wait to try in my own room this year!  Be sure to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST if you aren't already!

Here are just a couple of my favorites that other teachers have shared:

 

How about this cute idea for pairing up students for partner work from the Teacher Next Door...

or this cute idea for a felt cupcake birthday chair cover made by Teaching with Crayons and Curls...

or maybe this great idea for giant googly eyes by Carrie Freeman!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope to see you over on Pinterest!

  

Summer News...

Hi, sweet friends!  Have you seen this hilarious meme...I have to say it's kind of how I'm feeling about my summer...

How about you? LOL

Our summer has been super fun and super busy...probably a lot like yours.  We've just gotten back home from our family beach trip.  There's literally nothing like having my toes in the sand to help me unplug and unwind!  How about you?  I love my sweet family and am always so thankful for uninterrupted time spent with them!

I hope summer break has also given you a chance to rest and recharge for another year ahead! 

Here at home the closets are purged, the fridge has been cleaned out, the playroom has been organized...(MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT!)

And now I am busy checking off my TPT "TO DO" list before my school and classroom prep begins again.  I am so excited to tell you that I have finally finished my New Testament Bible packs, which are an accompaniment to the Old Testament packs I posted in the spring.  They are available in 3 versions--NIV, ESV, and KJV.  I can't wait to use them with my own little ones, and I hope they are beneficial to you as well!  Simply click the images below to view each resource.  There are also schoolwide/churchwide licenses available in my TPT store as well.  

Each pack comes complete with Bible fast facts about each book of the Bible, coloring pages, Scripture memory practice and assessment pages, as well as options for use with classroom bulletin boards and creative writing.  Here are just a few sample pics of what may be found in each pack...

Can't wait to hear how these are benefiting you at home, school, or church.  I just got this sweet feedback from Katherine M. today, "So excited about! Fantastic resource! Thank you!"  

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!!!

Independence Day Sale!

Happy Independence Day! Enjoy 20% off savings in my TpT store from July 1st-4th! Just click on the image above to visit my store, shop, and save! Have a very happy 4th of July!

Countdown to Summer--Classroom Awards

It's that time of year that students and teachers anxiously await all year!  

The end of the school year is always so bittersweet for me...the "mommy" in me can't wait for more time at home with the Bryant kiddoes, but the "teacher" in me is going to miss my students soooo much!  I even teared up during Social Studies this morning...while I was giving class notes about the desert.  Goodness, those sweet children looked at me like I was crazy!  LOL

As the year winds down, I thought I would share a few ways that we celebrate and make the most out of our remaining days together.  Click below to see the classroom certificates that we award to each of the children the last week of school.  Every student gets one--we look for ways to celebrate kindness, academic achievement, organization, attendance, and more.

Stay tuned for even more ideas as summer approaches!