Back to School with Walmart! SO MANY GOOD FINDS!

Walmart Finds you NEED!

Can you believe it is that time of year? Time for BACK TO SCHOOL! As a teacher, Back to School season is filled with classroom decorating, school supply shopping, and the search for that PERFECT first day of school outfit. Walmart has not only the BEST deals on school supplies, but also the perfect teacher outfits that won’t break the bank. To shop some of my favorite Walmart back to school items - shop the links below! I have already snagged the camel colored backpack and both dresses for this back to school season! Click here to access all the incredible back to school teacher go-tos  and click here to access all things back to school - supplies and more!

"Everything You Need to Ace..." - Books Your Kiddos Will LOVE.

This post has been sponsored by Workman Publishing, but all opinions are mine alone.

I know you guys have heard of these fabulous "Everything You Need to Ace...." books by Workman's Publishing that are available on Amazon. They have them for so many topics and are kid/teen friendly. They have them for Science, Math, Language Arts, American History, and now....
Computer Science and Coding.

What I love about these books are they are written in a fun and interactive way that will keep kids engaged and interested! It also headlines that the notes are "borrowed from the SMARTEST KID in Class" and "double checked by an award winning teacher". Ha! Don't we all wish we would have the notes from the smartest kid in class?  Now we have them.

Everything in the "Everything You Need to Ace..." series is straightforward and consistent. Vocabulary words are highlighted in yellow, definitions are in boxes, important items are written in blue, main ideas are underlined, and doodles and charts show the BIG ideas. I also love that the pages are easy to add  your own personal notes to because each page is full of lines. There are also "check your knowledge" sections that allow you to check for understanding... a formative assessment of sorts! 

If you want to keep your kiddos engaged and learning this summer in a fun and engaging way, I definitely suggest any of the "Everything You Need to Ace..." books, but especially their newest one about Computer Science and Coding. Computer Science and Coding is the way of the future and your kiddos will be so ahead of the game if they spend some time digging into this awesome book this summer!

Fun Cricut Projects to make from Home!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.

Let me tell yall about my newest obsession... My Cricut Air Explore 2! It's so fun! I held off on getting one for SO LONG because I thought it would be intimidating to use, but boy was I wrong! This little machine has been easy and fun and now that I'm stuck at home for a while, I can't wait to try out some new FUN projects! 

1. Infusible Ink Coasters

If you are like me - you've been using this time at home to clean and organize, so why not add some fun new decorations?! For this project you'll need something that would work for coasters and infusible ink! So FUN!

2. Match Up Your Socks!

We've ALL got Sock drawers full of socks... Am I right? Might as well use this time at home to create some funny socks for all of that couch sitting we are doing! I love the idea of repurposing and old sock and making it FUN! 

3. Decorate Your Home with SPRING Decor

In Alabama Spring has for sure SPRUNG! It is HOT here! Can't wait to make some fun spring decor using some card stock and ribbon I already have on hand! 

4. Send a Card to Someone! 

Everyone loves getting mail, so I am SO excited about this fun find! All you need is card-stock to make the cutest ice-cream card for a friend! 

5. Label EVERYTHING in Your House!

Anyone else organizing ALL THE THINGS in their house right now? The last step to organizing is Labeling! Super excited to label all the bins and baskets in my house and this tutorial is SO helpful!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine. This post also contains Affiliate links. If a purchase is made after clicking through one of my affiliate links I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. 

Upper Elementary Digital Resource Round-Up!

Hey friends! I hope everyone is staying healthy through this crazy! I have been working SO hard to create digital resources that you might find helpful during this time. My plan is to keep a running list of digital resources I have created here, so you can check them all out in one place. If you have ideas for a resource you need, let me know! I am happy to help in ANY way I can! Happy Distance Learning!

Item #1 - Digital Breakouts (using Google Forms):

These digital breakouts are PERFECT because all you need is a Google Form. These can be used with Google Classroom, or you can just send the Google Form link out to parents and they can solve it from their phones! I have created two different versions - a whole number one and a decimal one! Students solve 7-8 word problems and collect keywords as they answer correctly. At the end, they unscramble their keywords to answer a riddle. SO FUN! Check out this YouTube video for a better preview and explanation! 

Item #2 - Interactive Geometry Activities on Google Slides: 

I am SO excited about this resource! Students will complete ten different activities reviewing: angles, polygons, 3-d shapes, and Coordinate grids! The activities involve dragging and dropping, typing, etc. so it is very interactive! This was so much fun to create and I know your kiddos will enjoy completing it too! 

Item #3 - Digital Boggle Boards using Google Slides (and PDF):

I had several friends ask me for some Language Arts activities digital so I created some FUN Boggle Boards. These encourage critical thinking and are definitely going to keep students engaged. This resource has ten different boards: three 3x3 boards, five 4x4 boards, and two 5x5 boards. 

As I keep creating new items, I will add them here! If you have any suggestions for a creation, let me know! Stay safe and healthy, friends! 

Online Challenges for "at home" Learning!

With all of the "at home" learning that will be happening for the next several weeks, I thought I would share what I plan on doing with my students because maybe, just maybe, it can help you too! Read below for the answers to some questions about my school district and my plan, and then all the way at the end I will share what resource I plan on sharing with my kids. I will continue updating the resource as I make more. Of course, it's free to anyone that might find it helpful! = ) 

Is "at home" learning required at your school?

I teach in the state of Alabama and as of now, schools are completely shut down and digital learning/at home learning isn't required. In order to keep my kiddos thinking critically, my goal is to pump out some FUN challenges for them to do at home that doesn't require much technology or internet. 

How will you push these ideas and challenges out to your students?

Thankfully most of parents are connected to my classroom using REMIND HQ, an text messaging communication system. I also have a blog, similar to this one for my classroom. It is very basic and can be accessed on any cell phone that has data. My goal is to send these challenges out to my students via remind and our blog. Students can then complete the challenges and send them back to me via commenting on the blog or responding to the remind. I will also let them know that they can compile daily challenges into a pile and bring them back whenever we return to school.

Are you requiring students to complete your challenges?
What will they earn for completing them?

No - challenges are not required and just for fun! I told the kids that if we did have to move learning "at home" based, I would give away some fun prizes for students that complete the challenges! 

How often do you plan on releasing challenges?

I plan on releasing three or so a week! If I get the urge to release more, then I will! Ha! 

Alright - CLICK HERE - to grab this resource in my TPT store for FREE. Right now there is only one challenge available, but I will continue updating the product as I make more. = ) 

Challenge #1 is below, but can also be downloaded on TPT! Enjoy! 

**If you have any FUN challenges I could add to this pack, comment below and let me know! I will use any help I can take in creating FUN and engaging activities for our kiddos.