4 Giveaways to check out and a Question

So as I am blog hopping (or sometimes I like to say "blog-stalking"), I found 4 neat giveaways these 4 wonderful bloggers are doing!

Elizabeth from Fun in 4B is giving away a free $25 Target gift card to celebrate her 100+ followers on her blog!  You need to check out her cute blog if you haven't already.  She has many nifty ideas!

Courtney from Swimming into Second is having a giveaway too!! She is having one in celebration of 600 followers! (wow, this is awesome!)  You have many chances to win different prizes: $20 to the TpT store, $10 to TpT store, and a free item from her TpT store.  Hop over to her adorable blog to see how you could win!!

Natalie from Teachery Tidbits is also having a giveaway! She is celebrating TWO milestones: Her birthday  and 100+ followers!  She is giving away a free $10 Target Gift card, 1 st. patty's day packet and 2 Dr. Seuss packets!  Definitely stop by her blog to give her a b-day shout out and see the many ways to win!

Kelley from Buggy for First Grade is having a giveaway too! Tonight is the last night!!!  She is celebrating her birthday as well!! ALSO, she is really trying to get 300 followers!! She is so close, I think just 3 away....Anyways check her blog/giveaway out.  She is giving away $25 to Amazon!

So as I was reading different blogs and checking out TpT, I realized I wanted to start making my own units to share with you guys!!  I just have a few silly questions about those awesome 50+ page units.  Do you create them on a word document or some publishing site?  Basically, what are the basics of making those?  (Remember, my teaching experience is based on student teaching and subbing! Still a newbie at this!)  I would love any kind of advice and tips about this.

Also, I know you can create your own clip art, but do most people just buy their clip art?  I see a lot of people using Scrappin Doodles and and KPM.  My next goal is to start my own TpT store because after following so many wonderful bloggers, you guys surely motivated me to do the same as well!

I hoping after I figure all this out, I will also start my first giveaway....maybe at 50 or 100 followers? Haha, I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Permission to pin

I've noticed a lot of people are adding the "permission to pin" button on their blogs.  I didn't know that you needed permission to pin on Pinterest!  I guess I didn't read the "fine print" when I first signed up (oops!)  I just wanted to let everyone know who visits my blog is welcomed to pin pictures from my blog as long as you properly link it back to my blog.  Laura Candlers has a great explanation and goes into detail about "pinning etiquette".  I've added the "Permission to Pin" button on the sidebar as a reminder!  If you haven't yet, click on the Pinterest button to check my boards out and be a follower!!

Crazy day, a contest, and a virtual expo!

So today was a crazy day for me!  I found out this week from my parents that we have to relocate back to Chicago!!  I was born there but grew up in Ohio.  This is crazy for me since now I have to make the big decision on where to stay/live/work.  However, I knew we were going to move back to Illinois but I didn't know it was going to be so soon!!  I started to freak out today when I saw loads of cardboard boxes at the front door.  The good news is that I did complete getting my Illinois state license AND today I got an email from the state of Indiana that they approved my teaching license for them too!! (My boyfriend of 4 years works in Indiana.)  This must be a sign since I told myself this weekend I was going to dedicate it to applying for teaching jobs and start packing up room!!  So with 3 state licenses under my belt, I hope to start my first full-time teaching career next fall.  **wishful thinking**

If you haven't already seen it on Pinterest, you should check out the awesome contest 12 blogs are doing together!! It's called Pinteresting Teacher Blogs Amazon Gift Card Contest.  The rules are easy and you could win a $200 gift card to Amazon!!!  Exciting, right? I am already generating a list of things I could do with that gift card!!  Just click {here} to see what to do!

ALSO check out the virtual expo, Everything's Primary, that is happening this Saturday!!! This will be my first ever expo I've been to and I love how it's all online! I debated whether or not if I should buy a ticket and join the expo since I am not a "real teacher" yet.  But I figured this would only help me be a better teacher even though I don't have a classroom.  The 4 featured teachers  are wonderful and you should definitely stop by their blogs whether or not if you decide to go to the virtual expo.

• Kimberly @ Funky First Grade Fun
• Dana @ 3rd Grade Gridiron
• Mor @ A Teacher's Treasure
• Mel @ Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations

First Skype Interview

I wasn't sure if I was going to add more of my personal life into my blog, but I thought it was important for me to include my journey of finding a teaching job in here!  I know there are a lot of people in the same boat as me.

As a recent graduate (I can't believe it will almost be a year!), I didn't realized how difficult it would be to find a full-time teaching job!!  The past summer/fall was a little discouraging but I am enjoying my time subbing and working as an after-school program assistant.  A perk is getting to meet new and wonderful teachers every week!  Honestly, I learned so much about myself, beliefs and values as a person, teacher, and Christian, in the last couple months than my whole college years!

Just a little over an hour ago, I just had my first Skype interview with a Principal from an American School in Taiwan!!  This is the last and final round before they decide on who they are going to hire for the new year.  If you didn't know, January and February are the time of the year where schools overseas hire teachers.  I've been praying and hoping this may be the path for me to start my teaching profession.  It was interesting to do the interview over Skype because you could see the other person but also yourself.  I kept checking every once awhile to see if my hair was ok or if I was looking funny while the interviewer was talking.  It was a weird and exciting experience, and I would totally do this again!  I am happy to report that I believe the interview was wonderful and it went extremely well (insert super smiley face)!

I am hoping for good news in the next few weeks!! If not, I'm glad I had the opportunity to practice and increase my interviewing skills (The market out there is tough!).  In addition, I've been fortunate to meet incredible people in the teaching world who have given me a lot of great tips as a new, inspiring teacher!!

ON A SIDE NOTE:
Today, during my after-school program, I taught 5 Korean students the meaning and reason why they didn't have school.  These 5 students just came from Korea in January, so they have no background of the U.S. history.  It was great to teach them about our important historical leaders.  I thought it was funny how the students were so intrigued on how each president died.  They wanted to know details, like if he was murdered or died of illness.  They even wanted to know which body part where a president got shot.  Little children are so funny sometimes!

I used Leslie's cute President's Day booklet from First Grade Fanatics.  It is a great little booklet that talks about multiple presidents.  She has a lot of cute ideas! Definitely check her blog out if you haven't already!

I'm off to finish watching my episode of The Bachelor on DVR and catching up on blogs I haven't visited in awhile!

So Thankful and Dental Science Egg Experiment

I'm feeling so thankful and blessed because in the past 2 weeks, my co-workers and I at the non-profit I work at were able to raise an estimate of $1,300 for our after-school program! Without the community support, we wouldn't be able to help these kids with the resources we already had.  So to celebrate, I'm taking the kids to the dollar theater tonight!!  We are going to watch Puss In Boots.  (I've never seen it, and I hope it's as good as the Shrek movies!)

February is Dental Health Month.  Last year, I did a neat science egg experiment to teach my students what drinks were good and bad for your teeth, and how to keep good dental hygiene.  The purpose of this science experiment is to show kids how certain drinks affect teeth and why brushing is important.  I called  this experiment: Stay Away Tooth Decay!

What you will need:
~ 4 hard boiled eggs
~ 4 clear plastic cups
~ Drinks: water, milk, grape juice (Welch's works best), and dark soda (Coke)
~ Toothbrushes and toothpaste (white paste works best)
~ Prediction worksheets

Tell your students and show that the white shells on the eggs are similar to the enamel on their teeth.  Ask them to identify the drinks you will be using and survey who likes to drink what.  Pour each liquid into a cup and place one egg in each cup.  Then have students predict which of the liquids are harmful to the teeth and to write their predictions on the worksheets.  They can draw what they think will happen to the eggs after being left in the liquids for a long time.  I did this on the counter by the sink and I had one table at a time come get a closer view of the cups as students filled out the worksheets.  

**I would first do this in the morning because it takes a few hours to really see a difference or wait overnight.**

**You can also try coffee, which does the same thing. But it makes me sad because I love drinking coffee!

At the end of the day, or the next day, discuss the student's predictions on what they think happened.  Which drink was "good" and "bad".  Take out the eggs (You will need paper towels!) and show the students what the egg looks like.  I wish I took pictures of the stained eggs because it's pretty gross!  Ask students if they have ideas on how to remove the stains.  Someone (hopefully) will say try brushing them.  Show the students how the stains go away as you brush the eggs with toothpaste.  Afterwards, have students write what happened to the eggs after being brushed and what they learned from the science experiment.  

**Update: you can click on either pictures for the TpT or TN digital download version.

Click HERE for the prediction worksheets and HERE for my lesson plan.

I hope you guys will like the science experiment!!  My kid's reactions to the stained eggs were hilarious!  Enjoy the 3-day President's Day Weekend!!! I know I will! :)

Wow, I was Tagged and received another award (2x)!!!

Wow! I feel very blessed and honored that many teachers are thinking of me!!  The blogging community is so welcoming and helpful.  I always get a smile when I read comments and blog surf for new tips and ideas!  This is 100x better than searching for sub jobs and full-time teaching jobs online.  I received the Liebster Award for newbie bloggers with 200 followers or under.  This blog award was given to me by 2 wonderful teachers, Natalie from Teachery Tidbits and Kaleigh from Kaleigh's Klassroom.  Both teachers/bloggers have great ideas, so hop on to both blogs and check them out!

Thank you both SO MUCH  for thinking of me!!!

And here are the rules for that award:

• Thank the award presenter and post a link back to their blog.
• Pur the award on my blog.
• Pick 5 blogs with less than 200 followers, let them know about the award, and encourage them to pass it on.

My Liebster Blog Award nominees are:

• Lisa @ Stories from Second
• Mr. hardy @ Hardy Happenings
• Laura @ Corkboard Connections
• Latricia @ Wild About Second Grade
• Michelle @ Teach 123

Check all 5 bloggers out!

ALSO, I'VE BEEN TAGGED!!!  Kayla from Primary Junction and Melissa from Teaching Fashionista, both tagged me in a "bloggy tag".

Here are the rules:

• Post the rules.
• Post 12 fun facts about yourself.
• Answer the questions the tagger set for you in her post, and then create 12 new questions for the ones you tag.
• Tag 12 people and link them in your post.
• Let them know that they have been tagged.

12 Fun Facts About Myself:

1.  I have a shoe obsession!  I love shopping for shoes and all kinds too. High Heels, flip flops, flats, boots, wedges, etc.  I wish I could make enough room in house to storage all of them too.

2.  I enjoy scrapbooking.

3.  I have a younger sister (who is studying abroad in Japan, lucky duck!)

4.  I love going to ice hockey games!! (Go Miami U. Redhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets!)

5.  I play the piano.  Also, I'm starting to learn how to play the ukulele (I'm not good at all!)

6.  I am a nightowl (It's almost midnight as I'm posting this!)

7.  I collect snow globes with my sister of places I traveled.

8.  My childhood dream profession was to be a ballerina.  (Now I teach ballet/tap to youngsters.)

9.  I was Homecoming Queen my senior of high school.

10.  My favorite season is summer because I love going to the pool/beach. I love the sun!

11.  Other than spending countless hours on blogger and Pinterest, I also love YouTube!  I used to make lots of videos with my bestie.  Check us out!

12.  When I was in 5th grade, I had the opportunity to sing with Celine Dion on her "My Heart Will Go On" Tour with the Columbus Children's Choir.  (I'm the one in the yellow shirt, front row)

First, I was tagged by Kayla from Primary Junction! Her questions:

1. What is your favorite subject and/or unit to teach?  I love to teach science and my favorite unit to teach is poetry!
2. Of all the places you have ever visited, which is your most favorite and why? This is a tough-y!  I loved visiting Switzerland because of the break taking views, the people, and the culture.
3. Name your favorite color! PINK!
4. What is something you wish you could teach/do differently with your class?  Sadly, I don't have my own class yet but I will answer it as a subbing question!  I WISH I could name all the students' names without hesitation by the end of the day.  (I've been challenged many times and it can get hard!)
5. What was your favorite grade as a student, and why? I loved 3rd grade, because I was in a multi-age classroom (3 and 4) and I remembered learning so much.  Also, I had my teacher for two years in a row! :)
6. What is one site, besides Pinterest or Blogger (Yes, I said that!) that you find interesting and visit often? HAHA, I love YouTube, stumble upon, and Facebook.
7. What is your favorite book that you read with your class? With my student teaching class, it was Scaredy Squirrel!
8. Name a special skill or talent you wish you had. I wish I could snap both fingers. I can only do my right hand.
9. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Mint Chocolate chip!
10. What is your favorite perfume? RIght now, I like Lola by Marc Jacobs.
11. What is a weakness that you have as a teacher? Classroom management.  This can be hard as a sub sometimes.
12. What is a strength that you have as a teacher? I am good with technology and I can integrate it into many of my lessons.

Next, I was tagged by Melissa from Teaching Fashionista! Her questions:

1. What's your favorite blog?  I love many blogs! However, I love how Charity from Classroom Freebies and Classroom Freebies Too made collaborative blogs of just blogger's freebies! Check the site out! 
2. Favorite subject to teach? Science!
3. Where are you from? I'm from Dublin, Ohio but I was born in Chicago!
4. Favorite author? Children's Book author will have to be Laura Numeroff.  Pleasure reading author is Nicholas Sparks.
5. Drink coffee or tea? I love both! Coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon/night.
6. Who is your favorite celebrity? I feel like I want to name so many, but right now I adore Zooey Deschanel.  She's so quirky and hilarious!
7. Do you have good handwriting? I believe I do. I've gotten many compliments over the years by friends, teachers, my student teaching students, and even interviewers!
8. Favorite place to shop? I have so many! Nordstrom, J Crew, Banana Republic, Antropologie, and Macys are my go-to stores!
9. What's the first thing you do when you get up in the morning? Brush my teeth! I dread the morning breath!
10. sneakers or heels? Heels!
11. What color car do you drive? Silver
12. Guilty Pleasure???? The Bachelor TV series and YouTube videos!

So now, here are 12 questions for my new blogging friends!

1. What is your favorite grade to teach?

2.  Why did you want to be a teacher?

3.  Favorite book to read to your students?

4.  Sweet or salty foods?

5.  Any advice to give to a new blogger like myself?

6.  Do you have any pets?

7.  Where is your dream vacation?

8.  Where did you go to college?

9.  Favorite subject to teach?

10.  What is your most memorable teaching moment?

11.  Favorite place to buy teaching things?

12.  Favorite holiday?

I'm tagging...

Kristina @ School Day Love

Sunny @ The Caffeinated Teacher

Jenaya @ The Lesson Plan Diva

Mary @ Pitner's Potpourri

Ms. M @ Ms.M's Blog

That's all I'm tagging because 12 people are a lot and I'm tired from typing this LOOOONG post!! Thanks so much for the people who stuck around and read the whole thing!!!  Time for BED!

BINGO Card Freebie

UPDATE:
One of my New Year's resolutions is to try and blog more! BUT I'm totally not doing a good job on this!! Hopefully this habit will change.  In the past couple days, I've been tagged (3 times) and received an award!  I adore how teachers are spreading the love and support through these awards! So I promise write a post about those tomorrow (crosses fingers).  ALSO, if you didn't noticed, I revamped my blog layout into this cutesy pink, green, and black color template.  In addition, I finally made a button! I found my awesome template from Dani's blog called Blog Designs. Definitely check her stuff out!


Who doesn't love playing BINGO?  I remember during my student teaching my first graders LOVED it when we could play BINGO during word work time.  I would give them the blank sheet and they would fill out the sheet with words from the word wall.  Today, I let my students from the after-school program I work at play.  The majority of them (75%) are from Korea.  Even though, they speak English well, many of them are behind on their reading comprehension and fluency.  They loved playing BINGO because of the simple rules.  I wish I took pictures because they are so adorable.

Get the freebie HERE!!

I have also used the blank BINGO cards for math facts.  Let the students fill out the sheet with the math fact answers numbers.  You can be more specific like, write down the multiplication math facts of 5 (so they will write 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. all over the BINGO card).  You can let them do any numbers from the 100s chart for addition or subtraction).  Once you call out a number for example 10, the students must write in a math fact of 10 (for example: 5+5, 5x2, 8+2, etc.).  I hope this make sense!! If you have any questions, let me know!!

Here's a picture of what I was trying to explain! Hope it makes somewhat sense. LOL

I haven't used BINGO yet while I subbed but this is another great resource to add into your sub folder/binder, just in case you need something extra to do!
What ideas do you guys have on using the game BINGO in the classroom?