We Heart Maryland Blog Hop!

Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog! I am so excited to be apart of my first blog hop! A big thank you goes to Cheryl from Techie Turtle Teacher for hosting this We Heart Maryland Blog Hop!

Let's start off on a good note with a freebie! This freebie is normally a paid product in my store but you are able to enjoy it during this blog hop for free! I am offering one of my favorite products, which is my Homework Club Rewards pack. 

I have used it since the first month of school and I really enjoy it. It's an easy way to reward students for doing homework and they love getting homework passes in return! I have had some students that have earned 6 homework passes so far this year! If you would like your own copy, please click here!

In addition to a freebie, you have an opportunity to be apart of a giveaway! I am giving away my newest product, which is Ginger Snap! 

I know that gingerbread theme tends to be popular near the holidays but I think you can still enjoy the theme throughout the year. This is a spin off of the game Go Fish and uses multiplication and division facts. Make sure enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have only lived in Maryland for seven years but I feel that there are plenty of things that I love about Maryland. If I only had to choose one thing, it would be that Maryland has a beautiful spring time! I grew up in New England and we experienced summer, fall, winter, and mud. Winter seemed to last forever and when it got warm, everything turned to mud. 

Here in Maryland, it is completely different! Winter doesn't last as long and the warmer weather comes sooner. Flowers spring up everywhere and the grass turns green quickly. When we first moved to Maryland, we lived in Baltimore City. There was a place near the harbor that I would walk to so I could sit and read a book. It had the most beautiful flowers there and became my favorite spot! It was a great way to enjoy my personal time and springtime together! Here are some pictures of it. 

One of the most common flowers that come out are the cherry blossoms. Most people know about the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. but there are a lot of cherry blossoms throughout Maryland. They are a pretty pink and really liven up a street. My husband's uncle always talks about how it's like pink snow on his street when they bloom and then blow in the breeze. It's a beautiful site and an enjoyable time of the year!

Maryland really is a great place to live and I have enjoyed strengthening my teaching career here. I have had many experiences here that I didn't think I would ever have due to being so close to major cities, beaches, mountains, etc. It's been a great place to call home!

Well that's it for me here, but don't stop now! Hop on over to Heather's blog! Click the next stop button!

CURRENTLY February Style

This is the first post of 2016. I don't know where this year has gone but it's moving fast! It is definitely easier to blog in the summer than during the school year. I haven't found the balance between work, home, and blogging yet but I hope I can get in a better groove from now on. 

A great way to get started is with Currently by Oh Boy...It's Farley!

Listening to Fixer Upper on HGTV. I love Fixer Upper! Chip and Joanna Gaines are a great pair and always make me laugh. I enjoy the time and love they put into the houses they create and how they value what their clients want. I also enjoy the love they show toward each other and how they include their children in the process of the design and build. I hope I can visit the Silos or Magnolia Market someday!

Loving all the snow days we had from the blizzard. Last week, we had a blizzard in Maryland and got over two feet of snow! It was nice to be snowed in, eat warm, yummy things, and spend time with my husband and son. As a result, we were out of school basically the whole week. The plus was that we already had a day off and a teacher work day scheduled that week. So we only used three snow days. It was a nice snow vacation!

Thinking about what products I want to create next. This is the third year that I have moved grades. I was in first grade for 7 years and then I moved up to fourth grade last year and then down to third grade this year. I have enjoyed the changes but it has been difficult getting used to the content that I am teaching. It's hard to know what products I need for my students to be successful. When creating products, do I focus on the other grades I have taught or create I as go this year?

Wanting more time to get things done. The weekends are precious time! I love being able to relax with my husband and son and not having to do much. Unfortunately, there is laundry and dishes to be done, lesson plans to be written, and not to mention wanting to enjoy some hobbies of mine. Just a little more time would be nice!

Needing more excitement in my classroom. Ever feel like you are in a teaching rut? I love teaching and I enjoy making learning exciting but sometimes the ideas just don't flow. I am super excited about attending the Get Your Teach On Conference in Orlando in March! Deanna Jump and Hope King are speaking and I can't wait to learn about new ways to engage my students! They have amazing and creative ways to teach and I hope I can bring that back to my students! 

Swooning over my little man. My son is two and growing up so fast! He is learning new things all the time and I love to watch him explore new ideas. The other day, he was able to quote all the months of the year and tell me what month his birthday is in! I was amazed and thankful for the great teachers at daycare who are teaching him all these new things! The best thing is all the love and kisses he gives me and often tells my husband and me that we are his best friends!

Hope this is the start of more regular blog posts!

TPT Love Back School Sale!

I am super excited about participating in my first Teachers Pay Teachers sale! I have been working hard this week to refresh my old products and post my new products in my store. Please check out my store on August 3-4 and receive up to 28% off!

Here is a quick overview of what you will find in my store!

I am really happy with my new teacher planners! They come in five different color schemes and contain pages for schedules, calendars, lesson plans, and more! There is also a chevron cover option for each planner. 

I updated my Penguin Tags and Posters to include penguin group posters for each of the six different species of penguins. I am continuing with my sophisticated penguin theme for my classroom this year and these are the penguins for the job!

I am also really eager to use my Homework Rewards Club pack in my classroom! I recently blogged about how to use it in the classroom and how it can increase the students' interest in homework. Check it out!

I hope you find my products helpful to your success in the classroom! Don't forget to go to my store tomorrow and Tuesday for the B2S sale!

A Spin On Homework

Homework...can sometimes seem like a four letter word to a student and a teacher. I cannot tell you how many times this year I was scrambling around trying to find or make homework for my students. Many of my students do not have the consistent support at home to assist them with their homework so a fraction of my class does not come to class with their homework. We do not grade homework but it is a factor on the behavior section of their report cards. Our school does Class Dojo so I give them points when they complete their homework and take away points when they don't complete it. Needless to say, homework is frustrating for all parties involved and feels like a waste of time...

I love coffee and drink it every day. There are some days that I stop and get coffee at Dunkin Donuts (yes, I am originally a New England girl so DD is in my blood). The best thing that Dunkin Donuts has come up with is their DD Perks Rewards Program!  

You earn rewards points every time you purchase something and once you get 200 points, you get a free beverage! Each month has different offers and sometimes a purchase can be worth more points. Can I tell you how excited I get about earning my free coffee?!?! I have two free coffees waiting for me to use on a rainy day! (btw, I was not paid to endorse this product, I just really like it!)

So I was drinking my iced coffee a couple of weeks ago and had an idea...what if I used this model with homework??? It was then that my Homework Rewards Club was born! 

Homework Rewards Club is designed to be a positive system that all your students can be apart of, all the time. It's hard to watch a student forget their homework once and then they are automatically out for the reward. With this club, every student has a chance to succeed. Here's how it works...

Each student will receive a Homework Rewards Punch Card, like this one

Every time a student completes their homework, they can get their card punched. In case you are worried about students cheating and punching their own cards, you can use a stamp or bingo marker before you punch it. (Isn't the crab cute?) If you want to save paper, you can laminate them and cross the numbers off with a dry erase marker. If a student did not bring in their homework, they do not get a punch on the card but they can try again tomorrow. Once the students have filled their card, they can get a homework pass or a prize of your choice. 

I created a variety of punch cards with 7, 14, and 21 punches as well as 10, 15, and 20 punches on them. You can increase the time it will take for students to earn their prizes based on how many numbers they have. I made them in color as well as black and white.

Then to continue with the excitement, I am going to create weekly and monthly challenges. This is an opportunity for students to get multiple punches for completing a certain task. Maybe reading logs were a problem last month so this month, for every 5 days of reading you get an extra punch. We do not give out homework over the weekend but as a weekly challenge, a student could complete an extra activity over the weekend and earn an extra punch. I plan to display my weekly and monthly challenges on my homework board, along with students who have completed the challenges. I posted about my homework board last week for my Monday Made It. 

I believe this will be a fun way to motivate students to complete homework and gives everyone a chance to participate. The other students I think it will help will be my self motivated students. I had some students last year that could finish homework in five minutes or if I gave them a weekly packet, they would finish it the first night. I hope the challenges will give them a chance to shine and to be challenged. 

The biggest goal I have for myself now it to plan out homework and make it meaningful. If I don't like making the homework, the students probably don't like doing it. 

I am really excited about starting the Homework Rewards Club in my classroom and I plan on giving updates and tips on how to improve it as the year goes on. If you are interested in using this club in your classroom, my Homework Rewards Club Pack is available in my TPT store!

First Monday Made It!

Today's post is another first for me. I am linking up for

I only have one thing that I made this week but that's ok...baby steps! 

Last week, I was shopping at Michael's, looking for inspiration and I found it! They had a section that was 70%, which I was completely excited about! I ended up buying a cork board that was originally 20 dollars and I got it for 8! 

I decided I was going to use the board for my Homework Rewards Club. What's that you say? Tune in to my blog tomorrow for more about it!

I went to Target and I got these cute star clothes pins that came in packs of three for one dollar. I glued thumbtacks to the back of the clothes pins so I can put them anywhere on my board. I used hot glue but it didn't stick well to the tack. Crazy glue or tacky glue would be better.

I used cut out letters to make my sign and put tacks on the back of the signs. I like the thought of moving them around whenever I need to. I used a silver sharpie to write on the clothes pins because I figured I wouldn't change what is written on them.  

This is what the board looks like with the Homework Rewards Club information on it. I will go into more detail tomorrow about what my Homework Rewards Clubs Pack includes and how to use it in your classroom!

I hope you enjoyed my Monday Made It and I hope it's the first of many for me!

My first Currently!

Happy July! I am so excited to link up with Oh Boy Fourth Grade

for the July Currently! I have watched many bloggers participate and I am glad that I am finally joining in! I had entered a contest several months ago with Oh Boy Fourth Grade and won the class version of Currently. I did it a couple of times in class and my students had a good time with it! Anyway, here is mine!

Listening to the new Lifehouse album Out of the Wasteland. I love Lifehouse! It was a band I enjoyed listening to in high school and college. I went to a concert with my sister in college and it was great! It's nice to hear something new because it's been a while since their last album. 

Loving Summer Break! I have been on summer break for 8 days and it feels great! I had a rough group of students this year and I definitely need some time off to regroup and get ready for next year. There are still PD sessions I am going to and working on my blog but I am looking forward to relaxing and spending time with my husband and son!

Thinking about ideas for products. I am loving this TPT Seller Challenge that I am involved in! It's the jump start that I needed to get serious. I have been jotting down ideas left and right and hopefully putting them on the computer soon. 

Wanting to go to the beach. We haven't gone yet but I hope we can soon, maybe for our anniversary. The beach is about 2 or so hours away so it definitely has to be a planned trip. I am not a big beach bum but I do like going at least once during the summer.

Needing motivation to work out more. I want to be smaller but my motivation just isn't there. I would like to get on a routine with working out and eating less sweet things. 

All Star to be bold. I want to be bold with my beliefs and what I know is right even if it's not the popular choice. I would also like to be more bold with people. I tend to be a people pleaser and do what others want. I want to voice my opinions and not be afraid.

Here's to a great July!

My First Five for Friday!

I decided to link up for my first Five for Friday! 

Monday and Tuesday marked my first two days of summer and where was I?!? At school, of course! My school is a STEM school and this year on our half days, we had STEM days. Every grade has experiments that we completed with the students. The students had a blast! So Monday and Tuesday, my colleagues and I planned four days worth of STEM days for every grade. We got a lot done and I am pretty excited about the experiments my students will get to complete!

We were able to bless a family in our church by helping them move in on Tuesday night. It's been a long couple of weeks for them so to finally be in their own place was great. They had moved out of their townhouse a couple of weeks ago and stayed with us for a long weekend. They have done some house hopping until they got into their new house this week. 

I love to quilt! It's really relaxing and enjoyable. I primarily make baby blankets for my friends and family that have babies. I have probably made about 13 over the last 7 years. I made two this week because my cousins are coming to town with two babies we haven't met yet. Here are the quilts:

 I love Saved By the Bell! It was a great show that I grew up with. I have had seasons 1-4 since college but was missing season five. I found it recently at BJ's for 7.99! So when I was quilting this week, I was able to finish the whole season! It's an interesting one because half way through the season, Kelly and Jessie leave and Tori comes into the picture. I am not a huge fan of Tori but there are some good episodes like the obstacle course one. Such a great show!

My little man is 20 months old! I love this stage because he is learning and saying new things all the time. This week, when I went to pick him up from daycare, he was sitting in the four year old room playing with play dough. He was so focused on it and was enjoying every minute. I almost couldn't get him to come home with me! So when we got home, I took out our play dough. It was great to watch him interact with it!