It's My Bloggy Birthday {Well it WAS}

Ok... I actually missed my bloggy birthday... it was a few days back... but holy cannoli .... Funky Fresh Firsties has turned 1.....  woot!  I was so nervous to start this venture last year....  worried that I would have nothing to write about or that people wouldn't be interested in what I had to say.  This blog has been one of the best things I have done during my professional career fo' sho'! :)  .... and they like me... they really like me.

I hope that you're having a great week so far... and tomorrow is FRIDAY!  Can I get an amen?  After tomorrow we only have 10 days of school until our fall break.  This girl (me, me!) is super excited about a week off. I am also pretty flippin' excited about Saturday.... be sure to check back here early Saturday morning for a cool announcement... and a chance to win some goodies!!!  Talk to y'all soon... I'm off to make cheeseburgers and get candy corn wasted!  {full disclosure, right?}

We interrupt this Sunday for Melonheadz

Short post today... but y'all know I love Educents, right?  Well today they joined forces with Melonheadz and I'm in trouble!  Click HERE to find out how to score this whole set at 1/2 off (or click the pictures)!  Man, I love a sale!

I hope that y'all have had a great weekend.  I have lots of posts coming up and I'm kinda of excited about some things I have in the works!  Oh, I also forgot to mention that I finally started a Facebook page (after some prodding from my bloggy buddies)... and you can find me HERE!!!  I try to find some cool freebies each week... and I'm always good for a laugh!  Talk to y'all soon!

Holy Moly... It's September, Batman!

I don't even know how this happened!?!  September?  I could've sworn it was just like April or something.  That being said... this chick LOVES fall.  It is my most favoritest season in the history of ever.The temperature here in south Georgia usually falls below 163, 624 degrees... there is football, the fair {funnel cakes....woot}, Halloween, pumpkins, pecans...  it's just a whole lot of fun wrapped up in these months. I am  linking up with Farley to get in on the Currently fun.  ....... and here goes:

 My boys had one of their first real sleepovers last night since we are off today.  They were so excited.  They stayed up until 10 playing Mine Craft {do your kids love this game, too?  i kinda don't get the fascination}, watching Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, eating ice cream, and having sporadic Nerf gun wars.  Yep, ladies... livin' the dream over here! :)

Next up... my toes.  You wouldn't think that your toes should make you this happy... but I give you exhibit A:

I go for a pedicure every 2 weeks...a tradition I started when I was first pregnant with M1 and couldn't reach my toes.  I decided this was a tradition to keep up.  Being the only girl in the house has its advantages! 

Thinking:  I'm stuck in love/hate limbo with back to school.  I love it... I truly do... the setting up of the classroom, the organizing, etc.  But the beginning of a school year is exhausting... this is only year 12 for me, but there has to be something I can do to alleviate some of the stress.... I'm open for ideas!  Friday was day 22 for us...  

Wanting a getaway... not some huge extravagant type thing....  just some away time over a weekend.  I'm going to start looking online for places within a few hours of here that we could escape go to!  

Needing: shampoo.... OK... I don't really need to drive to Savannah today for shampoo.  BUT I am excited about grabbing my friend and heading to Ulta.  I don't even wear a lot of make-up... but I love that place.  I'm going to enjoy this day off as much as possible... then I"m gonna drag myself back tonight to write lesson plans {grrrrr}

<3 :  Color Run with my girls at the end of this month in Atlanta!!!  I don't even run, but I am excited about the experience.... and really excited about going to IKEA.  There are 6 of us on our team....  our team name: Six in the City {insert happy face}

I had electrolysis for the first time last month and I go again this week.  I am so stinkin' excited about not having to shave under my arms... like EVER again.  Not that its a crazy hassle... but EVER again!!!  Last on my list is to pay it forward...  I could never have the life I do now without the kindness of others...  I'm excited about trying to pay some of that forward this month.  My focus is primarily going to be college students... 

I hope that y'all will have an AMAZING day off today...  also, have you entered for the Silhouette machine from my friend (IRL) the Extra Energetic Educator?  It ends in 2 days... so quick... head over and enter!!!  Click on the pic below to head her way!  Talk to y'all soon!  

An Apple a Day...

This week we studies TALL tales...  A whole lotta John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Annie Oakley, etc.  We had lots of writing opportunities, videos on You Tube, reading short stories... you get the point.  For my kiddos I think that eating apples Johnny Appleseed style and graphing our favorites was the highlight of the week for sure.

I gave each kidlet a few slices of red and a few slices of green and didn't give ANY directions other than "EAT!!!"... I walked around and snapped a few pictures and heard them saying "juicy" "sweet" "sour"... lots of great describing words and my teacher heart swelled with pride!  :)  When they were done I called each kiddo up one at a time and whispered, "Which one did you like the best?  Red or green?"  They were so excited to tell me their choice and they whispered quietly in my ear and I noted their response.  I have discovered I get better results if I ask them to whisper vote.  Firsties are easily swayed by their peers... and if one of the cool kids said red... well, let's just say the other 21 would probably follow suit.
We met on the carpet and tallied our results:

red-10

green-10 

A tie!?!!?!  Who knew?!?!?!  

Each kiddo tallied the results on their page, graphed the results, and answered questions to check their understanding.  Once we were done... we Clorox wiped our desks {ain't nobody got time for sticky apple desks!}... then headed back to the carpet to watch Disney's American Legends movie....  kidlet heaven!  

If you need Johnny Appleseed resources... check out my mini-pack on TpT.  The graphing activity is in there as well as math and grammar sheets.  One of my favorites is a writing activity asking the kiddos to write the "Best Apple Pie Recipe EVER"...  click below for the link!  

I hope that y'all had a great week with your kiddos... but more importantly... that you will enjoy the LONG weekend!  No Sunday blues for us!!!  Woot!  Talk to y'all soon!  

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Happy Saturday!!!  If you're reading this... you have survived the week... and that's exciting!  Yesterday we had a Wizard of Oz celebration at school with our firsties... all 6 classes... and it was a-mah-zing!  I can't wait to share our day with you (mostly in pictures), offer you a freebie, and a chance to win 4 units and some Starbucks money {be sure to read all the way to the bottom!!!}

Since the first full week of school we have been reading The Wizard of Oz aloud to our students... and doing lots of character analysis, writing, graphing, etc.  I used my Melonheadz Wizard of Oz pack and blew them up poster sized to use in the classroom and finally out in the hallway with our student work!

I used the same Melonheadz graphics to create tshirts for the first grade teachers using Avery transfer sheets.  Here we are (minus 1) out at recess duty!  Wait,  where are all the kids? :)  I also bought some sparkly red Toms this spring and have been saving them especially for this unit!  I printed invitations to send home to the parents asking them to come join us and we had 49 first grade parents come yesterday and that was really cool to see!  One parent even showed up with Oz goodies to share.  How cute is that poem that she stapled to fun size bags of Skittles!?!

For snacks: bugles (cyclones), animal crackers (lions, tigers, & bears... oh my), & rice krispy treats (w/ yellow sugar).  Drink choices: blue Hawaiian Punch (munchkin punch) or green Hawaiian Punch (Wicked Witch's Brew). Shout out to my friend Tara for helping with some last minute creative name generating!

Even our librarian wanted in on the action.  She dressed up and visited each classroom after the movie for pictures.  When she left my room... she stole my stuffed Toto and I had to go retrieve him at the end of the day!  The kids and the parents really loved our day...and I have to say... I had the best time putting it together in my room.  Our next unit read aloud is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!  Guess who is already scheming planning!?!?!
You guys already know that I have a few Wizard of Oz packs in my TpT store and obviously we just used those in my room the last few weeks.  If you keep scrolling to the end of this post... you will have the chance to win both of them... and MORE!  Want the party printables for FREE?  Thought you might say yes.  You can find them by clicking on the picture below!

I am joining forces today with one of my blogging besties {yes, it's a thing!} Katie from Teacher to the Core and we are posting together over at Primary Chalkboard.  We decided to do something fun(ny) and fabulous to introduce ourselves.  I have loved Katie for a long time... y'all wouldn't believe how sweet and diligently she prayed for me when I lost my sweet Frances.  We're talking page long prayers, y'all!!!  She is the real deal and I am lucky to call her my friend!  So...  check out our post and be sure to leave us some love!  We decided it would be really fun to do a giveaway to celebrate!  Check out the rafflecopter to win 4 FREE packs from us... plus a $10 Starbucks gift card.  She is doing the same giveaway on her blog so you have double the chances to win.  Here is what she is giving the winner!!!

 {click the pictures to view descriptions on TpT}

The rafflecopter will end on Monday at 6pm (Eastern time) so enter NOW for your chance to win.  I hope that y'all are having an amazing weekend so far and that it will go by SUPER slooooooooow!  Remember to check out our Primary Chalkboard post {there are freebies on our post there, too!} and good luck on the giveaway!  Talk to y'all soon!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to School... Hey, I Thought You Already Did That?!?!

I am so flippin' excited to be linking up with Christina over at Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge for her Best and Most linky party!  I wasn't actually voted the most or best of anything in high school... I was way too busy working to be doing anything else... work, work, and work some more!  Also... have you heard?  The Back to School sale is starting this weekend over at TpT!  Seems kinda funny to say since my kidlets' first day was August 1st! ;)

Teacher's pet: This is my FREE Donors Choose guide.  I truly believe that every teacher who is able to sign up should give Donors Choose a try.  It has changed my classroom so very much over the last few years.  I also donate to my own projects from time to time... and any money I donate on DC is tax deductible!

Most likely to help your students succeed:  I chose my African American pack.  It is versatile enough to be used all year long... not sure February.  There are reading passages, mini foldable books, comprehension questions, coloring pages, and more!

Best couple:  My 2 Wizard of Oz packs... they really go hand in hand.  The Lions, Tigers, and Bears pack is content heavy.... and the graphtivity is a pack that mixes math, writing, and art all together.  It also makes one FAB bulletin board display when the kidlets are done!

Don't forget to use the code BTS13 to receive up to 28% off during the sale!  I plan on clearing out my wishlist...  I ... can't.... wait!  I hope that y'all are having a great weekend so far... talk to y'all soon!

OMG... The Primary Chalkboard is LIVE

I am so very excited to announce the launch of a new collaborate effort with some of my bloggy besties.  Today is the launch of the Primary Chalkboard!!!  We are a collaborative blog focusing on first and second grade... and man on man... do we have some exciting things up our sleeves!

Are you looking for a quick print resource?  This eBook has 20 quick print sheets for the first few months to ease your transition back to school.  Seriously... open the eBook and all you have to do is click PRINT.  OH... and it's FREE {what... what!!!}

While you're there tomorrow... be sure to enter our giveaway.  We're giving away gift certificates to TpT and also to Erin Condren!  You'll also be able to find each one of the Chalkies and read each one of our BLISSFUL Back to School tips!

I hope that you are having a great Wednesday so far... but let's be real... how many more days until Friday?!?!  Oh... and I also started a FB page for Funky Fresh Firsties.  I've been blogging for a year and not sure why it took me so long to do it {promise I don't have commitment issues}... You can find me easily by clicking HERE!!!  One more thing... in other fabulous news... I have decided to do laser hair removal on my entire body!  Bwahaha... just joking!  Although I did start the process on my underarms!  I am so pumped that soon... very soon... I will never need to shave AGAIN!  Also... they put you in a cool, quiet room where there are no children... that was an added bonus and I didn't even have to pay extra for that!!!  Have you ever done anything like that for yourself?  OK... really... go check out the Primary Chalkboard and let me know what you think!!!  Talk to y'all soon!!!