Currently May!

Yay to May! Even though it is cold & miserable here, this month will hopefully be awesomely epic. So to start May off the right way {clearly with a lot of rhyming}, it's time to link up with the gorgeous Farley over at Oh Boy 4th Grade.

Listening- we are living up to our winter Friday night tradition & are cuddled up on the couch, watching BH&G after having Chinese. Yummy!

Loving- I am having one of those weeks were I am breathing everything in & appreciating life. No matter what has been happening I am truly blessed & grateful for the amazing people in my life. 
The hubs turned the big 3-0 this week so we have been in Birthday Week central. He tried to turn May into birthday month but I don't have the energy for that! 30 presents for being 30 was enough trouble, plus all the birthday week presses. But I loved it!

Thinking- Life is short, suck it up, move on & enjoy the last drop of life & sunshine out of everyday.

Wanting- Autumn has really just kicked in & I miss Summer badly. I am not made for cold weather.

Needing- Reports are rearing their ugly head soon so I really have to get cracking with my assessments. My kiddos rule though, they have already learnt so much. One of my poppets knew one letter coming into school (yep) and now knows 29. The light is switching on!

Surprise- To two lovely ladies who have both helped me out school & blog wise this year. Thank you for making my life easier Lauren & Paula!

     

And check out Katie & Reuben at House of Humble for a great 'home/life' blog. I am obsessed with blog stalking them & their cuteness. Love it!
Thanks for stopping by! 


P.S. Was it noticeable that I can't stop saying & writing 'awesome'? :)

Swap, Share, Give: A blog linky from Down Under!

I am so excited to share this with you today! I have been super fortunate to be part of a Product Swap, Share & a Giveaway with some very talented Australian bloggers & TpT sellers, so we bring you.....

This has been organised by Lauren over at Love, Laughter & Learning in Prep, go there to see the other great peeps, products & links.

~ SWAP ~

I was paired up with the very talented Brooke from Teachable Moments to try out one of her amazing products. I choose her Find it & Clip it: Initial & Final Sounds Pack.

This was perfect for my Preps who recognise most letters & are exploring sounds. We worked on initial sounds only & this was a great product to be used in a focus group.

The kidlets LOVED pegging & had great discussions with others in the group to work out the sound. Also their stretching out and use of cued articulation to figure out the beginning sound made my heart soar. We have only been at school for 9 weeks & they are just superstars.

We worked on the cards for two sessions before we used the worksheet to record the sound/letter. They loved copying the letter & were concentrating so hard to get it right.

This little dude was so thrilled to work out that moon started with "m". The smile was huge!

I am planning to pick this up again after the holidays as a review and then focus more on final sounds. This is a great pack for Kindergarten & the clipart is perfect- colourful, clear & had the kidlets hooked. Thanks to Brooke for sharing this with me, we will definitely be using it again.

~ SHARE ~

This is one of my favourite attention getters. This poster is perfect when first introducing it to your class or as a reminder throughout the year. Click on the pic or go here to download it.

~ GIVE ~

Enter our Giveaway to win one copy of each of the products swapped! Simply follow each of our stores :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To check out the other posts visit Lauren over at Love, Laughter & Learning in Prep.

Sunshine Award

Oh my goodness it has been 3 weeks since I have written a post. How'd that happen?! Plus I started writing this post on Saturday & I am only finishing it now :( Bring on holidays, I say!

The lovely Lola from Preschool Wonders & Paula from Paula's Place have both nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger Award. This is a super sweet idea! 

The rules of the Sunshine Blogger Award are:

{1} Post 11 random facts about yourself.

{2}  Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.

{3} Nominate 11 bloggers you think bring sunshine to the world.

{4} Make up 11 questions for your nominations to answer.

As I am very slack and am also about to head out to a Prep Teddy Bear Mass tonight I will only answer Lola's questions as she nominated me first.

11 Random Facts

1. I painted my nails today while watching Thor, they are blue with sparkles.

2. I turned 29 two weeks ago & am already thinking that I am 30, less worry for next year :)

3. I love to collect vintage Pyrex dishes & tea towels.

4. I hate camping, my husband loves it.

5. I love teaching straight Prep {kinders}.

6. I have a Pinterest addiction.

7. I love boy bands because of all the dorky dance moves.

8. I love to travel and have been to Thailand, Japan, the UK, Irleand & a fair bit of Europe but am dying to go back.

9. I read for fun everyday.

10. I love to bake.

11. My perfect weekend would involve a beer with my hubby, listening to some live tunes, a wander around an art gallery & being able to walk along a beach.

Questions from Lola

{1}What's your favorite subject/theme to teach?  Maths!

{2}If you could travel anywhere where would you go? Spain or New York, both are  still on my wish list.

{3}What's your favorite snack? Crackers & Beetroot dip.

{4}What do you like to do in your free time? Wander around art galleries or spend a weekend with my friend's in Melbourne, hanging out at a bar & listening to live music.

{5}What person has been most influential to you? Work wise, my DP from my first school. She is amazing and I was really fortunate to learn so much from her. Life wise, my Mum, she has not had the easiest life but she has been an awesome Mum.

{6}Where is your favorite vacation spot? In Australia, Lorne. The beach is amazing there, it's where my husband proposed and it's our favourite place to go for a weekend away. If overseas, Paris is pretty spectacular.

{7}How long have you been teaching and what grades/subjects have you taught? This is my 8th year as a teacher. I have taught grade 4 down to Prep {Kindergarten} which I teach now. I think eventually I will move back up, hope fully getting to teach grade 6.

{8}What is the most frustrating thing to you about teaching? The lack of appreciation or understanding sometimes of exactly what we do and how much we care about our kids.

{9}What's the most rewarding thing to you about teaching? Seeing my amazing poppets learn something new & develop into fantastic people.

{10} If you won the lottery what would you do with the money? Pay off our house, buy a house in Italy or France, buy my house and a house near the river and take 6 months off work to travel around the US and South America. 

{11}If you had unlimited time what would you do more of? Sleep, chill with the hubs & be more organised.

11 Bloggers Who Put Sunshine Into My World
I in no way expect these bloggers to fill out questions {and because otherwise this post will never get finished I'm not going to write any} but here are some great blogs to check out:

1. Love, Laughter & Learning in Prep
2. Teachable Moments
3. Paula's Place
4. Miss Gavin Learns
5. Art Projects for Kids
6. The Army Wife Teacher
7. Sticky Notes & Glitter
8. The Rolly Chair

And non-teacher blogs that make my heart sing 

9. Enjoying the Small Things 
10. 100 Layer Cake
11. House of Humble

Happy almost Friday :)

5 for Friday {7th of Feb}

How'd it get to be the weekend already?! We have been so busy this week that I realised today that I had forgotten to take photos of  the amazing things we have been up to :( so this has become more of a mishmash of the last 2 weeks since our school year has begun.

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs to share my {almost photo free & completely random} 5 for Friday :)

~ One ~
My new classroom is one giant space which my teaching buddy and I share. I really need to take new pics but it's a pretty amazing classroom. We are loving it!

~Two~
We started Maths this week by creating our number bracelets to 10. We looked at ways we can make 10, quick ways to count it, colour patterns and "good" counting.

~Three~
The first few weeks have been routine, routine, routine! We have been using these social stories and visual reminders. Check them out in my store or click the pic's for a direct link.

As well as this freebie which you can find here

~Four~
It has been birthday central in my room this week. If I see another chocolate frog I may be sick. And because that statement is pretty gross here is a rainbow that was above our place on Monday night. Ain't it pretty?!

~Five~
I was very lucky to meet up with Stef, Paula & Alison in Kyneton two weeks ago. The town is super adorable & because this post is random here are some pics of the town {but not one of the 4 of us together because we forgot, lol}.

Happy weekend :)