For the School Supply Addicts {like me}

I've never participated in this linky...but I'm psyched to show off my school supply finds!

Here's my Sunday Smorgasbord! 

I had to run to Office Depot to grab...INK!  Oh yeah, you did too?

 Office Depot usually allows Teachers to get 2x the maximum allotted supplies.  But, they let me do 4x the supplies -- $2.40! I also got 20 folders and 6 composition notebooks for $5!

I hit the Clearance isle at Walgreens!

All of this under $9!

Supplies in my colors - who could pass them up?  Less than $5.

This Little Piggy has some great Monday Made It's...check back!

Mission Organize Me 2013

I have to admit Organization kind of makes my head spin.  I see ah-mazing pins of data binders, teacher organizers and color-coded plastic bins and I get a little light headed.

So, last year my goal was not to be the Clutter Queen (it's much cuter than Hoarder Chick or Pile Girl).  

I give myself a B- on last year's project.  I've learned that "IF" I have a system set up or "home" for supplies, it's much easier to stay organized.  

So, this year's goal...

Since, I finally have an organization tip - 

I'm going to link up with two amazing bloggers and their Optimum Organization Linky Party.

Topic # 1: RtI

A.K.A. Response to Intervention.  

I've been thinking about this since January May.  I have 3 classes that I see throughout the day and I keep track of Reading RtI for 67ish Kiddos at all times.  I also give fluency assessments every 3 weeks. 

Last year, I did an almost average job at RtI.  Sometime in January, I realized that I needed a schedule for RtI (that will be later in the post) and I better organization system for paperwork.   Our school does have a decent system for tracking data. 

I do small grouping at my teacher table and I have a ton of stuff in my bookshelf.

When SmileMakers contacted me and said I could pick (almost) anything to review, I knew I was headed straight for organization!  What did I find?

Look at this...it has 3 compartments, drawers and it even matched my classroom color scheme. SCORE.

This big, flat box arrived the day I returned from vacation...perfect timing!  I opened the box and decided I had to get off vacation time to put it together.  It only took me around 20 min. to put it together.

I've found a few pins that will give you more insight as to how I plan to use the Classroom Keepers Management Center.

I love, love, love the first pin. I can so do this! We have to turn in progress reports every 2 week and this will help me keep up with paperwork. Each class period, I see 2 groups of RtI students. Each student has a folder. It holds their guided reading book, a graphic organizer, comprehension questions, a vocabulary worksheet, sight word flashcards and a fluency passage. The Classroom Keepers Management Center will easily organize me! 
RtI Routine:  Day 1 - Sight Word Flashcards, Direct Instruction, Vocab Review, Quick Oral Pre-Read, I read each page, then we do a Choral Read Day 2 - Sight Word Flashcards, Partner Read,  Book Discussion, Graphic Organizer for Skill, 1st Fluency Timing Day 3 - Sight Word Flashcards, Whisper Phone Read, Comprehension Q's, Vocab Worksheet, Fluency Whisper Phone Read   Day 4 - Sight Word Flashcards/Checklist, Whisper Phone Read, Comprehension Q's, Vocab Worksheet, Final Fluency Timing **This year I plan to do a Mini-Test on Friday**
If you need classroom organization, borders, stickers, tooth necklaces (so cute), mini timers or pencils.  Go check out Smile Makers.  They do a flat shipping rate of $4.99, but if you spend $50 shipping is FREE!!
Join This Little Piggy as I get Organized for BTS!

Clipart and Coffee Talk with Teachers Clipart

It's Thursday and you know what that means...Clipart and Coffee Talk!  Today's Flavor - Caramel Macchiato!

Today I'm featuring an artist you might not be familiar with, but her work is AMAZING!  

I promise you'll love it as much as I do.

This is Oxana (I know, so exotic right?) from Teachers Clipart.

I'm drawn to her clipart because it is very unique.  I think it is perfect-o for Upper Elementary, Middle School and High School teachers who want a splash of cute in their mature clipart.

I'm from Cuba, but I live near Bogotá, Colombia. I love this country. 

 The people are really nice and it's beautiful.

My students, my kids, my friends, even my costumers. I have a friend/costumer (Carolyn Wilhelm) who told me about her son traveling to Machu Pichu in Peru. I got inspired and made my World Famous Sights Landmarks.

MMM.... I always love the last I make, until I make a new one. 

I'm really proud of my Simple Machines Set, because I haven't seen anything like that in other store.

Oxana wants to share a fabulous fame freebie!  

You know how much I love frames right? These are beautiful and in my favorite doodle style.  

Rainbow Patterned Frames - Borders Set #3

Teachers Clipart is having a great sale right now.  

If you're looking for some detailed Science or Social Studies Clipart - Run!

But, she's giving away a 

$10 Shopping Spree 

to her Store that you can use in August!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Little Piggy got paid today...Hobby Lobby here I come!

Cheating with easy hyperlinks!

A while back, I saw someone post a quick note in the TpT forums about http://easyhyperlinks.com/.  

I bookmarked it and went about my day.

A few weeks later, I couldn't remember the code to put my blog name at the end of a comment and I couldn't find the file I saved it to (tell me you've lost a file before).  So I looked on my bookmarks and there it was.  

It seriously took me 2 minutes to figure it out.

It saves me tons of time because it saves the websites I type in:)  I hope this saves you some time too!

This Little Piggy has a great freebie tomorrow, check back!

Box Tops, After 10 Years and My New Fonts

My Monday Made It is a more technology centered, so forgive me.

I did make a boxtop holder to match my Mermaid Theme. It's made out of an Instant Coffee Box I had in the cabinet.  I'll probably sit it on the ledge of my chalkboard (yes, I said it).  

I know everyone LOVES chalkboard, but when you have 

2 huge ones in your classroom, you are so over it. 

Next up, when I was away on va-cay, eating some AHHHHMazing food...

Yes, that's a Chocolate Croissant from The Fredericksburg Bakery (my heaven on earth).

I made some new fonts that were inspired by all the goodies I was eating...JEALOUS?

You can download these fonts at my new...Facebook Page under the Fan Freebie Tab:)

Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon and made a Little Piggy FB Page.

My favorite is..

Nope, I know you're thinking it's Iced Coffee.

It's not.

It's Peaches!

Yes, I've got  5  9  21 wonderful followers...come on people, don't you like me??  Haha

To finish things off, I'm going to do a quick link-up with Miss Kindergarten 

(love her blog, wish I would have found it when I actually taught Kinder or PK).

I've been teaching 10 years, so I'm listing one thing I learned each year!

Year 1: A little gum is okay.  We had new desks and my prinicipal said, NO Gum.  I was new, I didn't know any better...I became the Gum Nazi.  Yes, that is what they called me!  They is not the kids. 

Year 2: Having a good team makes all the difference!

Year 3: Classroom Management is SOOOO important. This was my first year at an Elementary Campus and I was not prepared AT ALL.  Who knew I was supposed to walk kids to lunch?

Year 4: Becomes friends with the Office Staff.  

Year 5: Fake it till you Make it!  This year, I moved from 5th to PK.  YUP, 2 weeks before school began I got the call.  I was pregnant and honestly was okay with it.  But...I knew NOTHING.  NOTHING, I tell you.  But, everyone around the building thought I made an easy transition.

Year 6: Little Kids need their names on things to know how to function.  Rugs, Cubbies, Folders, Tables, Chairs...pretty much everything.  Yup, you guessed it, my first year in Kinder.

Year 7: You need a Sub Folder and a Sub Plan.  

Year 8: Leave the teacher bag at work.  Bringing it home and not taking it out of the car doesn't get anything accomplished.

Year 9:  Blue & Green are very calming colors.  

Year 10: I'm about to start year 10 with a new team...I'm going to go with Be Nice to New People.  You might be surprised but I don't like change . Oh wait, you're not surprised? 

This Little Piggy wrote a way too long post!  

Clipart & Coffee Talk with Kelsea from Teacher Gems

Good Morning.  

My husband has declared me "coffee obsessed" this summer.  

Okay, maybe a little.

Join me for Clipart and Coffee Talk with 

Kelsea from Teacher Gems.

I quit teaching two years ago to stay home with my new little one and only recently found TpT.  I thought it would be a great way to be able to continue to use my teaching talents and was super excited to start creating! As I researched copyrights I was scared to use anything I found on the internet for fear of breaking any copyright laws so I just starting making my own.

This is hard!! I have two favorites.

My swirly border bundle

and My alphabet clipart {colorful explosion}

LOVE it, pure and simple!

I love it! It lets me know that all my hard work paid off and that others are enjoying my products as well. It rates up there with selling a product and getting getting positive feedback on an item. 

 I know you're all font-a-holics (like me), so today Kelsea has an awesome font freebie! 

 You can also enter the Teacher Gem Giveaway. It's Winner's Choice! 
 Take you pick...I love the Triangle Banners.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Little Piggy Reads is now on Facebook!  My newest fonts are the Fan Freebie.

Clipart and Coffee Talk with Teaches 3rd in Georgia

Alrighty bloggie friends, I'm back from my trip. 

It was relaxing and my goodness, I ate wayyyyy too much.

I'm back with a new Clipart & Coffee Talk.

So far, I've introduced you to six (or more) artists.  

I hope you realize that I am only featuring artists that I would (or already have bought) buy from.  

If you hang around the TpT Forums, 

you might recognize my featured artist today.

Teaches Third in Georgia

I am from the great state of Georgia. I love living here mainly because of the weather! I have a large family and the majority of them live right here in Georgia with me. I love the fact that I'm right in the middle of all the fun spots to visit and can make a day trip to the beach just about anytime! 

My first step into clipart creation began as a necessity. I was creating a unit on the American Revolution and could not find any kid-friendly clipart to use on my product. I started sketching on paper and watching YouTube videos to figure out how to turn them into digital clipart. Later on, I purchased an iPad and started creating digital clipart and haven't looked back! 

That is a hard one! I've drawn all sorts of clipart--realistic, crazy, scary, and just plain weird, but I think my all time favorites are my Kooky Easter Egg Characters. I have a strange sense of humor and something about Easter eggs that look like celebrities just cracks me up.

Now, Randi has some amazing freebies in her 

Saturday feature called, Snap-It-Up-Saturday!

Today she's giving everyone a taste of her artwork with some 

funky and colorful backgrounds, called Twisted Sister.

Randi is also doing an awesome Science Giveaway!

It's her Space Adventures Clipart.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Little Piggy hopes you remember to "Like" Randi's Facebook Page - she has a great free font for her Fans Only! 

Clipart & Coffee Talk with Teacher Inspired (Freebie and Giveaway)

With the help of technology and blog scheduling, 
I'm enjoying my coffee in...

The Texas Hill Country. 

Celebrating our 7th Anniversary!  I'm a lucky girl to have a husband who's madly in love with her.

Our featured artist today is Brittney from Teacher Inspired.  

I found her in the TpT Forums.  I must admit her birdie caught my eye...turns out we have a similar style.  We both had a garden themed classroom.  I also love her blog design - it's very me (shockingly, the piggies aren't really "me", but they are cute)!  

Lets get to know Brittney...

I am from a small town north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I have lived here all my life and grew up with a strong sense of family, related or not. Aside from the amazing people here, the food and get-togethers are the best part about living here. Seems like someone always has a pot of crawfish boiling, a gumbo brewing, or a jambalaya cooking - and plenty of laughs. If you're in my neck of the woods, let me know! I'll be sure to put a gumbo on for y'all.

I began making clip art this past year after our school got Activboards. As I began making flipcharts, I was often frustrated with the lack of "cute" graphics to add to my lessons, and was also worried about copyright. Talking with my coworkers, they expressed the same concerns. After reading - A LOT- and learning - A LOT - and staying up to the to the wee morning hours, I finally designed a few sets that I wanted to sell on TPT.

Funny you should ask, my blog "Teacher Inspired" got its name from the inspiration I get from other teachers.It's a double meaning - my products are "teacher inspired" and I am a teacher who's inspired by others and the world around me. Also, I will begin a new job in August in which I will have the opportunity to work with many teachers at different grade levels. This opportunity excites me greatly because I truly love helping other teachers. When I first started my journey as an educator, I longed to be like the artsy, cutesy teachers I met along the way. Determined, I read, learned, and observed and got better and better. I love graphic design and am a self taught graphic designer. I design clip art that could fit into many classroom themes (bees, owls, etc.) and cute art that could dress up flipcharts, blog posts, stationary, etc.

Who does not love bunting?  I love this $3.50 cent pack - it has all the bunting you'd ever need!

Brittney is helping you get ready for school with these awesome FREE WELCOME bunting banners! 

Click the pic to download.

Are you ready for Brittney's Mega Giveaway?  

One Lucky Winner will get 

 50 Bunting Banners Clipart Pack 

**AND** 

Chevron Digital Papers and Frames Mega Pack 

**And**

  Winner's Choice!

Whoa...Is it bad blogger behavior to enter a giveaway on my own blog?  I want it all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Little Piggy is probably sitting in the HOT TUB while you're reading this!