Five for Friday Time - with Doodle Bugs Teaching

 

I was so disappointed that I missed out on last Friday's linky, but I have been super busy! I am excited to be here this week though! Here we go...

1. As a blogging newbie I am kinda learning the ropes from all the other amazing bloggers I follow. One thing I learned is that the end Google Reader is swiftly approaching. I signed up with bloglovin' so my many (hopefully) followers can stay up to date with what I post. If you would like to follow me, go to my sidebar and follow me on bloglovin'!

 

 

2. I have and always will be a list person. I make lists of ...well a lot of different things. I love the feeling of "checking things off" the list. When I started my blog and TpT store I made a list of goals to be reached before school starts back up in August. Here it is:

 

Here is where I am at:

• 47 followers at TpT!
• 21 followers on Pinterest!
• 25 products sold on TpT! (Yay - halfway there!)
• 13 followers on bloglovin' 20 followers on Google
• No Linky Party yet but I am working on that, I am however being featured on This Little Piggy Reads Clipart and Coffee Talk! (details below)
• With the exception of my vacation week, I have been posting regularly!
• I currently have 16 items in my TpT store and many clip art and digital paper items.

I'm doing pretty good I'd say! :) I love reading all the teacher blogs out there and connecting with other passionate educators! I am learning so much!

 

3. Speaking of clip art, I finished another pack last night! My newest product is a pack of 50 bunting banners. I must admit I am a little obsessed with them. I think they are so cute and perfectly add a bit of cuteness to anything! (the one I added to my list above is one of my faves) If you are in need of bunting banners for your creations click the picture below to get them at my TpT store!

 

 

 

4. I am SOOOO excited to talk about my first interview/feature hosted by Deniece at This Little Piggy Reads (www.thislittlepiggyreads.blogspot.com). I will be featured Monday, July 15th and with the feature will be my first GIVEAWAY! If you are interested in winning a pack of my clip art, follow me and Deniece. She's also featuring many new clip artists, most will have giveaways, too!

 

 





 

 

5. On my last 5 for Friday post I was leaving the next day to come back home, back to reality, from the beach. Well, my mom surprised the family with a quick 4th of July getaway! I'm headed back to the beach for the second time this summer! Ahhhh....I can't wait, sun, sand, and drink in my hand. :)

 

 

 



 

So there you go, last 5 for Friday until August! I read on Doodle Bugs Teaching that she will be taking July off! See you guys at the start of the new school year!

 

 

Stay inspired. :)

 

 

 

 



Book Talk Thursday with Reading Toward the Stars Linky Party

Saw this Linky Party while visiting Reading Toward the Stars' blog and had to chime in with one of my all-time favorite books to read to my students, that also has a special meaning to me. My book for book talk Thursday is The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.

I came across this picture book at one of my college book stores when taking my block classes before student teaching and graduating. It was one of many that I grabbed that day, as I was searching for a good book to use in my very first lesson to my very first group of First graders. (I was so excited.) Armed with three or four books (The Dot being one of them), I went back to my college apartment to plan my lesson for the kiddos. Although all the books I had chosen that day were all great their own way, The Dot shined above them all.

www.peterhreynolds.com

Here is a quick summary:
Vashti believes she cannot draw, but when her teacher gently tells her to “just make a mark, and see where it takes you” she draws a giant blob on a blank sheet of paper and signs her name. The next week, to Vashti's surprise, her art teacher has framed the dot and has it proudly hanging up. With the encouragement from her teacher, Vashti begins her journey of artistic freedom and self-discovery, becoming more confident than she had ever been.

I finished the book in tears because not only did I find the book I was to read to my very first group of students - EVER! I knew - in my heart - that was the type of teacher I wanted to become, the kind that INSPIRES.

The Dot speaks to the choice teachers make every day: to be a symbol of negativity in a child's life, or to be a symbol of hope, encouragement, and inspiration in a child's life. It also sends a positive message to children that if they are just to try, something extraordinary can come of it.

As a final note, if you look at my blog banner it has a quote inspired by the book - "Make your mark... and see where it takes you."I have carried this quote with me since the very first time I read it aloud to that first group of children 8 years ago, and I will continue to carry it with me.

If you are ever having a down day in the classroom read this book - it will lift you right up! 

Also remember, if you are feeling stuck and unsure - remember to just

Stay inspired. :)

Seeing In Zigzags and Little Triangles!

So I had no idea that when I started making clip art and decided to sell it on TpT that I would be having so much fun doing it. I am honesty learning so much, mostly by trial and error and some by researching or consulting the forum on TpT. I am proud to say that I have 15 (will be 16 after today) products in my TpT store now. These new items are Chevron themed. I am super crazy in love with chevron pattern, its so cute! So I created those last week and finished them up. I decided to take a hiatus from Chevron for a while. Check out my Chevron themed products at my TpT store or under my "Products" page. I hope you love them as much as I do, especially this guy...




 

Click to get it NOW!

This week I have been working on a huge pack of Bunting Banners! If you don't know what I am talking about here are a couple samples from my pack!

 

 

I am hoping to have these guys up by this afternoon, at the latest tomorrow. I must say I am a little bit obsessed with them! After this week I am definitely seeing in zigzags and little triangles! (but it's totally worth it)

 

Stay inspired. :)

 



Chevron Mega Pack is FINALLY Finished! And a bonus...

Whew, I must say when I started this project I didn't think it was going to be this large. I thought..."oh, I'll make a flipchart with a bunch of cutesy Chevron backgrounds (because I love Chevron so much) and that will be it." Huh... many backgrounds, voting templates, buttons, speech bubbles, and pulls later, here it is, my Chevron ActivInspire Mega Pack!



Click to get it at my TPT store!

Did I stop there, NOPE! In the works is a large pack of Chevron Digital Paper with bonus Chevron Frames (which i am very excited about). Needless to say after these two projects, I will be dreaming about little zig-zags! If you purchase this product from my store, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it. :)

Stay inspired. :)

 

Five for Friday Linky with Doodle Bugs Teaching

 

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for my first linky! I have been following many for awhile that take part in this linky so I am super excited to be linking up with my new blog! I am on vacation in Florida this week, but have used the time to get on the sellers forum at TPT, visit many blogs, and learn, learn, learn. I plan to join in weekly for this linky and have some great ideas for the upcoming weeks. So here we go... my first Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching. 

I found this quote and love it! Goes perfectly with my old garden theme from my first grade days. I plan on finding a place for it at my new school, maybe even give it a perminent home here on my blog, it does include one of my favorite teacher words, "inspire"...hmmmm.

 

Since I have been away from my desktop this week (only working from my IPad) I have been researching ways to use my IPad to creat clip art. After a few tries, I definitely need to practice and learn more about the tools, but I do like it.

Art Studio App

 

I am on vacation in Florida this week, looking around our condo I have found great inspiration for a beachy clip art pack! Will begin working on it as soon as I am back home at my comfy desktop.

 

Speaking of beachy, here was my view for the week, one of my favorite places.
Can I stay one more week?
 

 

I reached over 30 followers inmy TPT store! Woohoo!
 I love that what I create, others love or can use. :) 

 

 

 

So there it is, my first Five for Friday Linky! Back home... and back to reality tomorrow...sighhh...again..can I stay another week?

Stay inspired. :)

A GiveAway from Teacher Gems!

Teacher Gems is having a big giveaway to celebrate her 30th!  You have a chance to win a variety of items! How great is that!? Head on over to her blog! There are so many ways to enter.

FREEBIE FRIDAY!

So I am working on this pack for what I think will be a paid item on TPT, but I am not sure yet.  My first Freebie Friday givaway will be a sample voting background for ActivInspire. The Chevron themed pack I am making for my TPT store will have a lot of variety, so if you LOVE Chevron, keep checking my shop. I hope to have the large pack of Chevron backgrounds up after I get back from the BEACH! :) To get today's freebie click the image below to link to my TPT store. Hope you enjoy it!

I LOVE Creating!

So I am considering a couple of projects for my summer break. I really want to make a Chevron ActivInspire Background and ActiVote pack. It would include backgrounds like the one you see below. I also want to do a Write From the Beginning Writing Pack, definitely for 1st and maybe Kinder and 2nd, too. The pack would include Thinking Maps, Writing Paper, Foldable (with Thinking Maps inside), and a printable that could be made into a poster.

I am super excited about all my items on TPT. It is such a rewarding feeling to know that what I create could help other educators. I made a Reciprocal Teaching Chart last year and used it during small group instruction. I even blew it up to poster size with the poster maker at my school. Check out my Freebies Tab to get it through my TPT store.

Sample: Chevron Background for ActivInspire Flipcharts

Reciprocal Teaching Chart

Click to go to TPT store for download.

 

My First Grade Days - My Buzzy Garden

This post came from my previous teaching blog, The First Grade Buzz. A popular item on pinterest was my "Word Garden." Check it out!




When I chose the name for my blog, I decided on the title The First Grade Buzz because my classroom has a garden theme. My students are all the bugs "buzzing" in my garden. Their Reading group names are all different types of bugs. (Butterflies, Dragonflies, Fireflies, Bumblebees, and Grasshoppers)

I hope you enjoy these pics of where I spend a lot of my time! If you are interested in any more information about this theme, feel free to ask!

Learn and Grow Large Letters
Hanging flowers from Hobby Lobby
40¢ per pack on sale after Spring
A large tree is at the back of the classroom by our pond.

"Work That Glows"
Every garden needs a pond! I made this with 1/2 off greenery from
Hobby Lobby and a pond bulletin board kit.

Firefly Lights found at Michael's craft store for the "glow."

My Buzzy Groups!

The rest of my Buzzy Groups

They say they are never bored in centers!

Every garden needs a little sunlight, found this sun at the Dollar Store.

Table Groups are Bee cut outs with table numbers.
The bees look like they are flying around our garden.



Instead of a
Word Wall we have a
Word Garden.

I use floral fabric on the bulletin boards.

My Job chart and Behavior Chart

Love Seeing My Clip Art on TPT!

I love creating clip art, it's sort of a hobby of mine. I love making digital images and manipuling shapes. Thanks to a new program I found I finally can create some items I think are worthy of selling on TPT! Now, I am anxiously awaiting that first purchase. I will be one proud momma that's for sure! Below are the previews to some of my items. If you are interested link to my TPT store on my bannerin the top right!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due... and my first TPT item!

Welcome! Not new to blogging, but new to selling my instructional resources and clip art, my love for being an educator is deeply rooted. Previously "The First Grade Buzz" my new blog "Teacher Inspired" will be a place I post all the random, fabulous stuff I find and create. Hopefully by August, when I start my new job as Master Teacher, I will have a large range of followers and many items to share! Inspired by all the great teachers out there, found everywhere from within my own school, Pinterest, Blogger, and more, I had the idea to create a blog to post a wide range of teaching ideas. I want it to be a place where teachers can go to look for useful ideas that could stretch across grade levels, very fitting for my new job endeavors. So, I may be saying goodbye to the BUZZ of first grade but can’t wait to welcome new INSPIRATION.

I absolutely MUST thank Jennifer at Raspberry Road Design for designing my blog layout! It is so me and it matches my personality perfectly! It's like she was in my head! If you are looking for a great designer who doesn't cut corners, she's your girl! Loved her so much that she is designing made to match items for my Etsy store: Ink Inspired.
Her shop on Etsy can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/raspberryroaddesign

The other reason I am super excited about my new blogging endeavors today is last night, very late last night, I put my first free item up on my TPT store! Now to figure out how to put it on my products page on my blog today.... baby steps....

Anyways....here is the preview! Want it? Head over to my TPT store by following my link on the right sidebar.

 

I am so excited about posting more products, but here is my first FREEBIE! Hopefully soon I will provide a link on my static pages, after I learn a bit more! If you download I hope you enjoy my backgrounds! More to come....