Note to self....

Never, NEVER move at the end of July!! I am swamped and overwhelmed trying to get my house done and my classroom done. This is why I haven't posted lately. Pictures of my room are coming soon so stay tuned.

T shirt tutorial

So sorry it has taken me this long to post these directions!  I've been exploring Arkansas with my husband whose on his vaca this week!
Now, lets get started!
1) Lay your t shirt flat and cut the sleeves off just inside the seams.

2) Next use a yard stick or other straight edge to draw a line across the top of the t shirt right under the collar ribbing as pictured or you can use a rotary cutter to just cut along beside the yard stick.

3) The tshirt should now look like the photo below.

4) Now you roll the raw edges of the armhole area under 1/4 inch and then again another 1/4 inch to the inside of the shirt and stitch the edges of each armhole as I did in the pictures below.  I used black thread so it could be seen better in the picture.  You would want to use the color thread that matches your shirt.

5) Almost done!! Now you are going to stitch the straight edge across the top of the shirt in the front and again in the back.  You fold under the raw edge about an inch to the inside (more if your ribbon is wider).  I like to use 3/4 inch or 1 inch wide ribbon.  Again I used black thread in the picture to be more visible.

6) Lastly, put a safety pin in the end of the ribbon.

 Feed it through the open end of the front top seam, out the other end of the front and then into the back open end seam on the same end you just exited in the front and out the opposite back side which is the same side you began.  You will tie the 2 loose ends of  ribbon in a bow on this side.  I use 2-3 yards of  ribbon and then trim it down after I put it on for the first time to make sure my bow is the size I want.

And that's it!!  Your finished!  The top of the shirt should look like the above picture. 
Here we are in our I Teach K shirts!  This is also great for school team shirts during those hot August football games!

Check back next week for my post about my chalkboard fabric projects!!!!!

I Teach K

It was awesome! I loved the sessions! I got lots of great ideas and inspiration from Kim Adsit and Shari Sloane. I loved the exhibits! I bought lots of good books and awesome Kate & Co sets. I loved the blogger meet up! I won a gift certificate for TPT. I loved meeting other kindergarten teachers from across the country. So funny
I went all the way to Vegas to meet a teacher from 30 minutes down the road and even funnier her nephew will be in K at my school next year, small world right!

We wore our T shirts which were a hit! I will be posting directions with pictures later this week after i get my daughter off to dance camp and my husband well (kidney stone, not fun) so you can make your own.

I am working on a super cute project with chalkboard fabric that I will post as soon as I finish it. 2 weeks left til I get busy in my classroom!

2 more days!!

My suitcase is out, my handouts are organized, my teacher bag is packed with some supplies and Katie Wood Ray's In Pictures and In Words (I plan on starting it on the plane), and I am so excited and ready for VEGAS!!!!!!!!' I will post pics and details all through the week! I know it's going to be awesome!

Oh and I got some great finds at the Dollar Tree and Targets dollar spot today! A small pocket chart for my math center, some cool pens for my write the room center, and some stamp pads for my literacy stations. Love, love, love dollar items!!

Busy summer!

Well, my son is now officially a college student!! So far this summer I have cried at the realization he will soon be leaving home, started packing up our house as it sold a week after the last day of school, started shopping for my new house, took my National Board assessment ( and now waiting til November to hear), and ordered my book for Mrs. Willis' book study.
Yeah, I know, CRAZY, right???
When I get to relax I am reading and getting excited about VEGAS!!!!!!

Well, it's here!  The end of another year.  This one is especially emotional for me as my son is graduating in 2 days!!!  I will spare you the tears and uncontrollable sobs since I did that already at his Baccalaureate on Sunday.  The slide show with baby pictures gets me every time!! 

And to make it even more emotional I have a special place in my heart for this group of Kindergartners, too.  They are a truly special group of kids. (sniff, sniff)

As this year comes to an end (3 more days), I am getting things ready for next year.  I have my notebook (kindergarten bible) ready to go so I can begin my lesson plans quickly and easily in August.

 I have my goals listed, my shopping list written out, and my "make it" list written out all in my journal.  Along with my reading list for the summer, which includes:  Developing Number Concepts by Kathy Richardson and Literacy Stations by Diller.  I am also looking for a good resource on guided reading (need to step it up) if anyone has some suggestions.

 I found this awesome chalkboard cloth the other day and I can't wait to see what I can create with it. (told ya, I like to sew)  I already have a few ideas in mind.  I will post pics when I'm done! 

But, what I am most excited about ....is heading to Vegas in July for the I Teach K conference.  I am fortunate enough to be going with Tammy Clark of Mrs. Clark's Kindergarten blog and the 3 other K teachers here in our building!!!  I have my handouts printed and in my notebook (yeah, I know "old school" but I have to highlight and write notes out, it's my processing method) ready to go!  My husband thinks it's hilarious that Vegas will be swamped with all these K teachers.  He has a mental picture of the people who work the Vegas Strip running for their lives at the thought of it!!

It's going to be a great summer even when I watch my son walk onto that college campus to begin the next stage of his life.  I wonder if there is some rewind button I can hit at that moment to take me back about 13 - 14 years????  Happy summer to all!

FROGS!!

We have been having lots of fun with frogs this week!  I found these frogs at the dollar store this past weekend and decided to use them for a jumping contest.

After we practiced a few times, we measured our jumps with unifix cubes in ten trains ( to encourage them to count in groups of ten & then count on) and recorded our jumps on our data sheet.  Then the students shared their data and wrote about it on their sheet. 

We did discover that these frogs do not hop on carpet!  But put them on a smooth surface and they work great!!