Share a Coke: Desiree

I am so amazed that this year the Share a Coke Campaign includes my name!

So I'm saving it. Awesomely, my husband and Daughters name are also on this years list, so we've collected his as well, and are on the look out for hers. Hopefully we find it before the stock runs out...

Peek-A-Boo Museum

Another picture from a library: 

This peek-a-boo museum is pretty sweet.

 I don't know how often they switch out the contents, but this week each shelf featured a different letter from A-D.

The shelves had the letters and several easily identifiable objects which begin with that sound. 

This would be an awesome idea in a Kindergarten classroom!

Bathroom Signs: Max and Ruby

The preschool bathrooms at the local library have these cute handmade signs of two popular characters to help kids find the right bathroom, So cute. I can see preschools doing the same, what do you think?

Reading Logs: Kites

Our local library is logging the books students are reading in the summer reading program and putting them on these little kites on the window. Love how it looks on an otherwise plain window!

A great idea for Spring around her, it's so windy!

March Winds and April Showers
Bring forth the May Flowers!

There you go, ideas to post books read for three months.
March Kites:
April: Umbrellas
May: Flowers

Hmm.... this could be a product idea....
 heading over to TPT to see if it already exists.....

Library Time

We've been visiting local libraries for their games, books and children's events.

In Woodlawn Library I spotted this cute Sign around their children's area clock that I thought some of you could be inspired by.

Playground game: Mirror Me

I had an interview for an afterschool position at a downtown school, and in the parking lot I spotted this painted game I'd never seen before! I think it looks awesome. 

Here's how I assume you play it:

Mirror Me

Lead student stands on foot prints below the words, and up to 3 other students stand on opposite footprints. Lead student plays a version of Simon says!

Touches coloured circles with hands and feet and other students have to do the same in mirror image.

I wish we had this!

Playgrounds

When you're 3, the best part of summer is the playgrounds. We've visited several so far, and this is by far my daughters favourite. My only problem with it is the lack of shade to sit in anywhere near the structure. My daughter LOVES this climbing structure which to me looks  a bit like Deep Space Nine from Star Trek, lol.

Storage Unit

Now that we're back in NS, we are temporarily living with my mom, which means there is no room or need for all our stuff beyond clothes and our daughters toys.

As such, we rented a large storage unit to put all the stuff we brought home with us, as well as the stuff family was keeping for us in their spare room. Now all our stuff is in one space.

How long until we find a new place of our own and see our stuff again?

Moving Day

The last day of school came and went and we packed up our Uhaul with all our stuff. 

I really wanted to take a family picture in front of the sign to the town since we never got around to doing it in the two years we lived there, but sadly, the skies started to open and pour buckets precisely as it was time for us to go.

Nevertheless, we began our 8 day drive across the country.

Finally on Sunday July 5th we arrived home.

Now the hunt for a new job SOMEHOW related to education begins. Which in this province can be difficult, especially in the city.

Wish Me Luck!!

End of Year Countdown

When we knew we were moving at the end of the year, we told our daughter to help make her ready for the move. How were we to know how excited she would be?

So to help her process the move and be ready on time without asking us everyday "Do we go see Grandma today?", we made her this countdown. Every day she got to cut off the bottom ring. However, that didn't stop her from asking almost every day if she could cut the one at the top. She's one smart little cookie!

Cumulative Files

You know what? I didn't find these took as long this year as previous years.

What all are you responsible for including in the files?

I had to slide in their final report card, and Dolch sight word checklist.

On the side shown I had to print their grade for each subject, attendance and whether they passed to the next level. 

Inside I printed the school year, grade, school and teacher.

A few years ago this was much more complicated as they had a section for comments about behaviour for the next teacher, but that only exists for the Kindergarten teacher now.

Canadian Top Teaching Sites

Ok, so I have absolutely no idea how I got listed on this internet list, but I will definitely accept the fact that they listed this blog as the 12th best Canadian teaching site on the web.

I'm now going to contact them about switching my blog from representing Saskatchewan to being for Nova Scotia now.

If you'd like to have your Canadian teaching site listed as well, there is an "add your site" button at the top of the page.

Goodbyes

As some of you know, I left my position at the end of the year. It was NOT by choice....

Regardless, my coworkers presented me with this lovely card to wish me farewell and goodluck in the future.

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It's not too late to make some savings for back to school. I've extending my store sales by one day. Click to go straight to my store.

Random Acts of Kindness Link-up

Like Monica from iheartgrade3, I too have anonymously paid for the coffee of the next person in line, and the cashier at Tim Horton's looked at me like I was crazy as well!

Why am I telling you this? Let this image answer your question:

But since I can't tell you the same story, I'll tell you another!

My husband is the King of Acts of Kindness towards our friends and family. My favourite story is the time I was working across the country when we we just dating and he showed up at my moms house after a long day of work (his job is outdoors and labour intensive) to shovel her driveway after yet another snowstorm. She was so touched!

But that is not my story today, as it was not a Random Act Of Kindness to me/us or that we gave together to someone. 

Today I will tell you about the time our friends paid us back.

We were freshly engaged and we lived in a remote community, and not all of our fellow teachers had cars/trucks of their own as we had mostly flown to the community. However we did have a vehicle, and although we always made sure to have supplies for a minimum of two weeks in our apartment at all times to reduce trips to town for supplies, there was always SOMEONE who needed something they couldn't get in the Northern Store in town. So pretty much every weekend we ended up piling up in our truck with 2-3 people squeezed into the back seat for the trip to town.

We always had  a lot of fun shopping and hanging out with our friends, and since we basically went to town weekly, we were able to shop leisurely.

One thing you need to know about my husband, he will not accept money for doing a favour, especially one we benefitted from as well. After all, we got out of town and got to window shop.

Well, we used to time our trips to town so that  it would include a stop at a fast food joint or the local Boston Pizza for lunch. Our friends decided to beat us to the server to pay for our meal. So then we started timing our trips to avoid lunch (which made me sad because no fast food!) After several weeks/months of us refusing to take money for gas and returning it when we found it hiding in the glove box, our friends got crafty!

Once Rita and Andrew hid a DVD in our car and no one claimed it to be theirs. Eventually it came out that it was for gas.

But my absolute favourite time was the time we were still literally pulling up to the gas station in Thompson and John leapt out of the still moving vehicle to beat my husband into the store to pay for the gas! We laughed about that for a really long time.

If this doesn't count as a random act of Kindness, I can tell you about the Smile Project I initiated in the Sunday School classes I used to teach.

Water day/Fire Day

The last day of School in June we had our annual water day. The younger grades played water games in the back of the school with soap and bubbles in a few pools and tubs, and a homemade waterslide on a tarp. The highlight of the event for the kids is when staff go up on the roof and hurl water balloons at them.

However, the fun was cut short.

The sky was getting darker all day, and we were just waiting for the rain to start. We heard some thunder a bit away from us, but we continued to play.

However, I looked up from where I was chatting with two awesome coworkers and remarked "That cloud looks different". We went around the front of the school to see it was indeed smoke coming from the vast forest across the lake from us. Students in older grades who had been swimming in the lake reported seeing the lightening strike the tree.

That fire never stopped. We dismissed the students to go home early, and the next day was to be report card day.

If you followed Canadian news this summer, this was one of MANY fires which ravaged Northern Saskatchewan. The next day the smoke was still thick in the air.

Report Card day was also the day my family began our trek across the country to move back home to Nova Scotia, so we thankfully did not have to become one of the thousands of evacuated Northern Residents a few days later.

I'm grateful that the community is safe, and the evacuation order is lifted, however it is expected that many of the fires will not be over until the first snow falls.


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Don't forget to check out the TPT sale today and tomorrow. Click to go straight to my store.

Get ready for back to school!

So many of you are heading back to school right now or like most of my friends, in a month. I wish I were joining you, I'm definitely looking for something, I will never give up hope!

I'm sure your Social Media Feed is filling up with news of Teacherspayteachers annual Back to School sale Tomorrow and Tuesday.
You can get up to 28% off your entire purchase!

I have MANY products new and old that will help you as you gear up for the new year, and they're not all pay products. Keep reading for the best of my store.

1. Pink Shirt Day packet. Many schools in Canada have this anti-bullying day early in the year, and this packet has everything you need.

2. Superhero colour posters. I have a hero theme in my room so these fit right in!

3. Superhero writing paper. Perfect for many stages of writing.

4. Scissors Practice. How often do you have a student who just needs a bit of extra time to figure out how to cut straight lines?

5. Superhero Shapes posters. My kiddos loved these!

6. Sneaker Club. I had SOOO many kiddos who had trouble simply tying their shoes this year. This will help.

7. Letter Reversal Bundle. I had a few kiddos that just couldn't keep a few letters straight. This package was my way of helping them stabilize the letters. It worked for some, not for others.

8. Name all year Writing Packet FREEBIE! Each month or quarter have your students print/write their name in their VERY best. And at the end of the year you have a visual record of their progress.

These are just some of more my than 50 products. Also check out my Dolch bundles, they're great for bellwork or centre time.


Do you hear the bell ringing for back to school yet?