Five for Friday & a Giveaway!

Okay, so I feel terrible to neglecting my little blog here. I've been busy reading and playing creating more number posters.

Number Posters 

These are the number posters that I keep changing. Once I finished the original set I thought to myself, "Wouldn't this be cuter if this was gray and that was a different font??" So the modifications began. I tried so many color combinations and fonts. So, here's the second set of number posters. I don't know what color combinations to try next. Any suggestions? If you'd like a set of number posters please leave a comment with your email address &I'll choose a lucky visitor Sunday evening.

Summer Reading for Professional Development

I'm always looking for ways to improve my reading instruction. I'm much stronger when it comes to math and building number sense. I LOVE LOVE LOVE teaching math! It's so much fun! Don't get me wrong, I've been able to get my students excited about reading and different book series. However, teaching reading comprehension has been quite challenging. So, I picked out some books to read this summer, hoping they could give me some sort of insight into what's missing from my instruction. Here's what I picked up. I've heard so much about The Daily Five that I was curious to see if there is something inside th

Currently obsessed with Instagram

I've been stalking following my favorite bloggers on Instagram and finding new friends as well! This means I've been discovering new photo editing apps! Yeay! My current favorites are A Beautiful Mess (thank you Two Friend in First for sharing) and PIP Camera. 

Ahhh! Hot!!

It's ridiculously hot out here! So, I doubt I'll be going outside much. Except for today because my sweet nieces are here! Sprinklers and ice cream treats! Oh boy! ^_^. Check out this ridiculous forecast.

Giveaways & Freebies!

I've been entering all of these fantabulous giveaways all week! You did hear that Ashley Hughes is still having a ginormous giveway, right? If not, head on over there. Quick! There's still time! She also offers a daily freebie on TPT. I love love her clipart.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my five!

Time's running out (Bloglovin Giveaway)!

Hello friends!

You have probably heard by now that Google Reader is going away on July 1st. Wahhh!! Well, Google Reader may be going away, but I don't want YOU to go away, so I hope that you will consider following my blog through Bloglovin!  I know that change is hard...so I thought I might sweeten it up for you a little bit!

I'm doing a giveaway for all of you fabulous followers that take the leap and switch over to bloglovin.  You may have already switched over!  In that case, this will be an easy entry!

If you have not yet switched or are not following my blog through bloglovin, then there are a few easy steps to follow.  You can go to our sidebar (that's the column on the right over there that shows our followers) and you can click the button that says Follow this Blog with bloglovin.  Or, you can go into the Rafflecopter below and click the link in the first entry, and that will take you to my blog on bloglovin.

You will need to set up an account with bloglovin so that you can follow me.  Please be sure to leave your bloglovin username in the Rafflecopter entry.  Then, go to this post on bloglovin and "like" it.

If you want to go ahead and move all of the blogs you follow from Google over, you can go to this link and it will take you through the super easy steps.  BUT, please go to my bloglovin link and make sure that you are following Super Sparkly in Second through bloglovin.  To be sure, make sure that the blue button at the top of my bloglovin page has been clicked (it should be gray with the word following- if it's blue, please click it to follow!)

I will be picking 2 WINNERS and each winner will get their choice of 2 ITEMS FROM MY TpT STORE! ^_^

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My 1st Five for Friday & Statigram

Hooray! It's officially summer (as if I wasn't already acting like it was). I am SUPER excited to have some free time because I am extremely so busy during the school year.

1. Magazines

Hey, that means...no.... really?? I can ACTUALLY sit and read a magazine?! Every year I consider canceling my subscription, but can't quite bring myself to do so because I really enjoy thumbing through my magazines.

2. Statigram

I just discovered Statigram! A way to display Instagram photos on your blog or facebook. Yipee! I love being able to display my photos right on my page. The process was very easy.
You simply sign in with Instagram. Select the tab that says <Promote>. Find the site you'd like to share on. I chose <On your blog or website>. These were the settings I chose, but of course you have other choices for displaying your photos. Check mine out over on the right.

3. Planner Inspiration 

There are some fabulous planners out there. However, when it comes to my lesson plans I've discovered that I absolutely LOVE typing mine out (it looks so nice and neat). Of course, when I add or change them I MUST reprint them, but it's totally worth having an organized plan book. So I was snooping around etsy and found some good ideas. Then, while trolling around Instagram I found Cheryl's (Primary Grafitti) creation! It is fantabulous! So now I have a better idea of what I'd like to create. Wish me luck!

4. Bloglovin

Several people said Bloglovin wasn't so scary and they were right! I signed in with my gmail account and VOILA the feed from my favorite blogs appeared. I even downloaded the app on my phone! Today I added my blog and the button to my site. Where's the easy button?

5. Common Core PD Yipee

I had the opportunity to attend two days of Common Core PD. It was extremely valuable as a teacher with limited understanding or exposure to the Common Core standards. We'll be implementing them this upcoming school year. I'm nervous, but ready for the challenge. I know that through training and research my comfort will build. I am always willing to take the initiative and seek out resources whenever I have questions.

Happy Friday!

Cupcake Make a Word

So, my adorable niece will be a first grader next year!!! Wow, time flies so fast. It makes me sad, but fortunately for me she still likes to be babied. Anyway, I want to make sure she continues reading & reviewing what she's learned in kindergarten (jeez, such a teacher). So, I created a game to practice reading CVC words: Cupcake Make a Word! Any ideas for a more interesting name??

I can't wait to try it out next week. I hope you can find some use for it as well. 
Download here: Cupcake Make a Word
Update: I've made some changes to the game and added a page to write down the words that were created. Like my page on Facebook for the Fan Freebie. 

Posters, Place Value & Ten Frames! Oh my!

This is what I am currently working on. I've been searching for vertical ten frames and simply couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Over the course of the year my PLC read Number Talks: Helping Children Build Mental Math and Computation Strategies. We practiced number talks in our class and shared strategies for successful implementation. 

A way to help students recognize place value and to subitize is to present the ten frames vertically. So, this is what I've come up. I've still got some work to do. What do you think? 

Books Galore!

Let me tell you... I just LOVE books! They are just fantabulous (even more so when they're on sale). I live near a Scholastic Warehouse, which hosts two amazing sales at once. First, there's the Build-A-Box sale. They allow you to fill a small box for $24.99. I filled mine with tons of Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones chapter books. The second part of the sale is a discount of 50% - 80% off all other books in the warehouse. I was super excited to find some books written by my current obsession: Mo Willems!

If you're on the hunt for new books at a discounted rate I would suggest you check to see if their is a warehouse near you.
http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/events/warehouse/

So, I ended up with 52 BRAND NEW books for... wait for it....50 bucks! 

Blog LAUNCH!

Today I am launching my teacher blog! I'm looking forward to sharing experiences, best practices and creations. I look forward to connecting with other teachers and joining the blogging community. This year, my team will begin implementing the Common Core standards. So, I look forward to sharing my experiences.

I'm kicking off summer vacation with a smile and TPT SALE (10% off)!

Check out my store here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Super-Sparkly-In-Second
Here's one of the Common Core Bundles I created!

Find me on instagram: http://www.instagram.com/supersparklyin2nd

Follow my blog for FREEBIE notifications! :)