Shout Out Saturday {The Moffat Girls}

Happy Summer Saturday to you all!  It is almost officially SUMMER & I am so excited!  Today, I want to introduce to you a new amazing, cutie-patootie blog called The Moffat Girls!  

Meet Annie.  She is a Teacher turned Stay-at-Home Mom to two sweet girls!  

She created an awesome FREE reading program to help her 3 and a half-year old learn to read!  I strongly agree with Annie that the success of children's reading skills depends both on phonics and sight words.  So, she created printable units to teach both.  Each unit introduces 5 new sight words and 2 new word families.   Click on the picture below to learn more.

Take a look at how Annie is using her printables to help her daughter learn to read!  

Word Family Garden 

 Sight Word Caterpillar

Color by Number Sight Words

I plan on working really hard this summer helping Noah learn his letters and sounds, so I can start this program in the fall!  I'm so excited!  Check out Annie's blog, The Moffat Girls, for much more inspiration!  

What I Love Wednesday & A Winner!!

Happy Wednesday, Cuties!  I know all of you are winding down the school year, which can be the most stressful time of the year!  In what other profession do you have to completely take apart your "place of business" {classroom}, pack up everything, move furniture, and fill out 1,000,000 papers on your former "clients"{kiddos} at the end of every year?  Ummmm, got any yet?...nope, there are none!  That has always baffled me!  


Anyway, moving on!  I thought I would share a few things I am loving right now that may help you relax and unwind after these stressful last days of school.

Sonic Sweet Tea...pure refreshment

***As an added bonus, go during Happy Hour {2:00-4:00 pm} and get all drinks for half price!

My favorite guilty pleasure...Krispy Kreme Doughnuts...the hot light is on! :)

I got hooked on Johnson's Melt Away Stress lotion in lavender when I was pregnant & it still helps me relax after a shower...try your favorite lotion!

Now that most of my fave TV shows are on summer hiatus (One Tree Hill, Dancing with the Stars, & 90210) , I am LOVING the new series, sTORIbook Weddings from Tori and Dean!  So much fun to watch!  

Also, I am so late in announcing our winner of the Elise Claire Giveaway...so sorry!  So, let's get to it, shall we?

Congratulations, Kelly!  We will be in touch soon to let you know how to claim your prize!

I wish you all the best of luck as you close out the school year and get ready to have an AWESOME SUMMER!!! :)

Tattle Tuesday {New Found Blog}

So, I'm kind of telling on myself, but I took the day off today to get some things finished up for my end of the year program on Friday, get some things started/finished for class on Saturday (in finishing up my Ed.S.) and cleaning up around the house for family coming in for the holiday weekend! AHH...I know I'm a baby for taking a day off, BUT I've accomplished a lot and managed to find some blog time along the way! YAY! GO ME!  

Anyway, I was searching through The Teaching Blog Addicts page and found their amazing favorite blogs listed by.....wait for it......oh yes- GRADE LEVEL! You can find it by clicking this link. 

Well, as I was looking through their blogs last night I found the most helpful blog! My worst chore of the week is doing lesson plans. I don't know why- it could be because administration is very picky about ours, but I just have a hard time doing them. Take a look at A Teacher's Plan. Mrs. M has tons of custom and pre-made lesson plan temples to choose from and they are SUPER cute! She uses just the right fonts that catch my eye! I love the idea of making a template that all I have to do is fill it in quickly over the week and wallah! I've got my eye on her template called Content Chloe- it's got just what I need for social studies, science and character counts!! PERFECT! Thank you Mrs. M!

Management Mondays or shall I say Stress Management

You can’t outrun it. You can’t hide from it. You can’t even negotiate with it! So how do you reduce end-of-the-school-year stress? As corny as this may sound, I think the first step is to admit that the end of the school year will appear whether you’re ready for it or not. Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to freak out more over a date than I do a to-do list! You can find my to-do list on Thursday's post.

Some things that are currently left on my to-do list are parent volunteer gifts and I just wanted to give you some ideas of what I have found out there--

Over at What the Teacher Wants- 

This cute little tag goes with measuring cups! Is that not DARLING? 

On the back-

This one goes with Bath and Body Works lotion, soap or hand sanitizer! CUTE!

You can go over to her site and download these for....wait for it----FREE! Yes....FREE! A big thank you to her (because as we all know times are tough this time of year!) 

Check out Erica's FREE card over at TpT-- click here

From --this post-- I informed you of the Thirty-One party that I hosted. The guest special was for every $31 you spend you get a mini zipper for $2.31! That is a super deal- they are normally $10! So, there were a lot of friends that did not want theirs so I racked up! I bought 6! I will give those to my parent volunteers with gift cards to WalMart inside (who doesn't go to WalMart?) 

Here is a picture of the mini zipper pouch filled with crayons. 

The next items on my list are to print. I'm having my end of the year program on Friday, so I've got some certificates and such to print. I always rely on my friends over at FedEx Office to print all my super duties like this! I could use up 2 ink cartridges in just one night! OUCH! It's super easy to use- you can either upload your items to a flash drive and take it in and they will print it for you or you can upload it via online and pick it up on your way home! 

*TIP* If you bring your own paper--it's way cheaper! 

How do you keep afloat at the end of the school year? What works for you? 

I'm thinking of you all!

Fab Find Fridays {New Blog & A Giveaway}

We wanted to tell you about a brand new blog that is super cute, Kreative in Kinder!  The blog is written by Mrs. Radke, and she is being so sweet as she begins her blogging journey!  She will eventually sell units on TpT, but for now, she wants to give away her creative work!  

The first unit she is giving away is her Ocean/Summer Unit, a 35-page unit perfect for this time of year!  Click HERE to see a preview of the unit.  


To enter her first giveaway, all you have to do is...
(1) become her follower
(2) comment on anything on her blog
(3) let her know what she can create or display on her blog for you


So, head on over there and enter to win this awesome unit!  We look forward to so much inspiration from Kreative Kinder!  We wish the best of luck to Mrs. Radke!  Happy Friday, ya'll!

End of the Year {Theme Thursday}

I don't know about you, but I just cannot believe that we only have 1 more week left of school! WHOA! Where does the time go? Well, it is starting to get a bit overwhelming, and it is beginning to look like the 3M store blew up on my desk due to all the notes just laying around. So, just like many of you- I have made myself a little end of the year checklist. I love checklists, because I absolutely LOVE checking those things off. So here it is friends---I know it will not help many of you to download it, but it may help you get an idea of how to organize your own. 


Click the picture to download

I begin each year talking about Oceans and I like to end each year going into more depth with Oceans. Since my whole "theme" is Oceans it just works out best that way....plus that's all we are thinking about right now is summer time and the beach anyway! I had to head on over to Deanna Jumps blog and purchase her new Ocean Unit and it is SUPER DUPER cute! I can't wait to get started on it Tuesday (Monday is our last field trip)! Kind of sad. 

Click the picture for the link to purchase that awesome unit friends--

Happy Thursday All---now off to watch the Season Finale of Grey's Anatomy---surly Meridith does not really get fired!! 

Giveaway {Elise Claire Designs}

Hello, friends...it's giveaway time!  Today, you can enter to win a $20 gift certificate from Elise Claire Designs!

 Julia, the owner of this adorable shop, is actually our own Darling Dolphin, Jennifer's Sister-in-Law, so we can assure you of her talent in embroidery!  Julia makes & embroiders bow holders, bibs, burp cloths, onesies, party hats, and more!  Take a peek inside her shop!

{HERE'S HOW TO ENTER}:

(1) Head on over to Elise Claire Designs, come back here, and leave us a comment telling us your favorite item in the shop.


(2) Become a facebook fan of Elise Claire Designs.  Come back here & leave a comment letting us know that you did!


(3) Become a follower and facebook fan of Frogs, Bees, & Under the Seas, or tell us that you already are!


***The more times you comment, the more chances you have to win!

The giveaway will be open until Saturday, May 21 at 5:00 pm (EST).  The winner will be announced first thing Monday morning.  Open to US residents only. 

Good luck, friends!  :)

Tattle Tuesday

Kindergarten kids are so funny!  Last week, I had a little girl fall on the playground and hurt her ankle.  After crying hysterically for a bit and limping around, she calmed down and decided she needed to see the nurse.  I chose a friend to go with her, and sent them to the nurse from the playground.  I was walking around the playground when I noticed the door open and this little girl walking (limp free) towards me.  I looked at her and asked, "what did the nurse say?" She replied, "I didn't see the nurse." Me-"Why, was she not there?" Little girl- "She was there; I forgot what ankle I hurt when I got down there!"  Needless to say, I laughed and she played! 

End of the Year Luau

This is a continuation from Darling Dolphin, Jennifer's post from Saturday!  I had an end-of-the-year luau (Survivor) for my kindergartners during the last few years that I was teaching.  I LOVED doing that theme at the end of the year because everyone's mind was on the beach and vacation, so it just seemed to fit.  

We decided to make this hallway display during my last year teaching.  On the plam trees, we added all the kids' cap & gown pictures (that we took ourselves) and then the hut made a perfect picture spot for parents' to take pics during our party!

I realized, in the middle of the night, that I should design a printable collection with a luau theme, so last night, I finished it my KINDER LUAU collection.   I still used some graduation hats, but I incorporated the island colors of hibiscus pink, marigold yellow, and sunset orange (are you envisioning Hawaii yet?)  :)  


So, here is what it looks like...

The price is $4.50, but you can still enter the code GRAD30 and receive 30% off for a new total of $3.15.  

*** UPDATE::  Check out this adorable invitation the Darling Dolphin, Jennifer, made to match all of our Luau printables...

It's available in the shop now, so go check it out HERE!!!

Shout Outs {End of the School Year}

It always seems that school flies by when we get back from Christmas break. So here we are with 9 days of school left and looking for all those cute ideas for the end of the school year. 

Check out this cute autograph book that I found over at Diary of a First Grade Teacher . TOO CUTE! 

Click on the image to download your copy! 

I wanted to share some of the awards that I give my firsties at our end of the year recognition program. 

Graphics Courtesy of DJ Inkers and Thistle Girl

Here is a picture of one of the girls who won the hula award, but in order to get it---they must show us their best dance moves. You can also see the little buckets I give to the students at the end of the year in the background. This pictures are from last year and I was not really thinking "blogging" when taking these last year. My apologizes. 

Thanks to Frog Princess Daphne, she gave me the fabulous idea of doing a luau theme at the end of the year and it has always stuck with me because I'm beach theme and having a luau at the end of the year just seems to fit well! Here is what is inside the kids sand buckets that I give them along with their awards at their recognition (only after they have earned it by singing their cute songs and dancing) I also include a copy of the end of the year DVD that we watch. SO CUTE!

At the end of the program and awards ceremony, I show the end of the year video that I have created to the classroom and their families and then we get to eat hot dogs and just enjoy spending the last few minutes with each other. This is usually our last day of school and it is nice to be able to spend that time together. Last year I had these super cute dolphin cookies made for my sweeties and I'm planning on doing it again this year. 

Thanks to Kakes by Kristen 

Enjoy the last few days friends....they are going to FLY by!