Here's To New Adventures!!

Hello all! I know I haven't posted for sooo long but the last school year was sooo busy!! There was a new teacher on my team as well as a new International VIF teacher, that I spent a lot of time helping out this year. I enjoy helping other teachers as I feel it helps me reflect on my own teaching and ways I can improve or do things differently.
   There were a lot of changes this past year, but all in all, it was a great school year. After finding out we were moving to Florida, it was VERY hard for me to say goodbye to Carolina Forest. I made countless life long friends, taught six years with the best kiddos ever, made incredible professional growth and traveled the world. It is a school I will never forget and always hold dear to my heart.
   So here is to my new adventures!! We just recently moved to St. Augustine, FL and it is beautiful!!
We are settling in, unpacking, learning our way around, etc. To add to the excitement and chaos I am going to back to school to earn my Master's of Education in School Counseling. I am soooo excited and cannot wait for school to start (12 days to be exact)!!
I am missing all my school friends who went back to work today and hoping to find a job soon.
Wish me luck!! :)

To all the teachers going back, I hope you have a fabulous year!!

Happy New Year!

Well, here I am again. New Year and it's been a long time since my last post. Seems when school is in I am either too busy or too tired to post! I will try to be better about it this year (uh humm one of my New Year's Resolutions). ;)

I have been a little slack on my workout regime as most of us are around the holidays. I am thinking about starting another round of T25. I do many of the workouts now, along with my other Beachbody programs like Insanity Max 30. T25 is my all time fave. I am not sure if starting from Alpha may be too easy but I am hoping that just having the consistency of actual following the plan will help. After I complete that I am thinking of doing Hammer and Chisel

Another one of my Resolutions is to be better about my meal planning and clean eating. I already do a pretty good job about healthy eating but will tend to slack off on weekends. While I believe moderation is key sometimes I go overboard!! I am going to plan for weekend meals instead of just planning for the weekday and winging it on the weekend. I also am going to try some new recipes. Here is the link to my FAVORITE blog on healthy recipes. She makes weekly meal plans with lots of yummy ideas!!

I made Olive Garden's chicken Gnocchi  (pintrest) for dinner tonight and prepared the Crock pot bolognese for tomorrow. My other dinners for this week all came from her bog.I am trying to be (more) ready and organized for back to school. Looking forward to Monday!

More of getting ready for back to school........

Good Morning!! Its' the last weekend before school starts back for me and what am I doing??  No, not relaxing at the beach or pool. I am getting in a good workout (T25 Core Speed, one of my faves) and finishing up some TPT stuff. Teacher problems. Lovin' it!!
So if you have not checked out these new class job posters I made, you need to do it 9and share it with your teacher friends)!
Super cute!!!

Click on image.....

Getting ready for back to school time....

Hey there! I was on the search for a Class Job Chart to go in my classroom and could not find anything I liked. Sooooo, I decided to create one myself and then share it on TPT so others could enjoy (for a small fee of course, I AM a teacher. :)

Anyway, I made this super cute colorful chevron chart. I am going to make more with different backgrounds and one to match my new class colors this year which are grey, yellow and an accent of teal. If you would like other backgrounds let me know. Check it out by clicking on picture and tell me what you think!!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Today's struggle (and a little inspiration)

We all know that exercising on a regular basis can be hard. I often get asked what keeps me motivated. I'll be honest that I am NOT always motivated. The self talk you have in that brain of yours is what makes a difference (BIG difference). You can easily talk yourself out of a workout, a healthy food choice, etc. You HAVE to keep it positive. If you think to yourself I can do this, I AM going to do this and just take 1 little step in the right direction, it will get easier!! If I don't feel like exercising, I will put on my work out clothes, wait a few minutes, say to myself OK I am going to do this (POSITIVE TALK), If I am really tired (really who is not REALLY tired after teaching all day) I will commit myself to just START the workout, which is the hardest step. The rest is easy peezy (teacher talk) and you will have so much more energy when you are done! One step at a time! What are some things you do to stay motivated??

3rd Grade Thoughts: Math Rotations: Lesson Work

Love these math rotationideas!!

3rd Grade Thoughts: Math Rotations: Lesson Work

New Blog Name!!

Yay! I have got a new blog name! (Thanks to all those who helped me decide on the name!!)
Since I am moving to third grade this year I needed a new name. I also wanted to incorporate some of my other favorite things such as working out, eating healthy, and just living life to the fullest!! I am sooo excited about this new adventure and hope that you will follow the new blog if you enjoyed the old one. If you weren't following before well now is your chance! You won't want to miss out on this!! Happy Wednesday!!

Where does the summer go???

Well, summer is going by waaayyyy to fast, (as it always does)!! I found out some great news at the end of the school year.......I will be looping up with my class to 3rd Grade! Eeeek! I am super excited, ( a little nervous, testing grade) but I am up for the challenge! I have been studying the curriculum and can't wait to teach it! It all looks so fun, especially the science and social studies!! Soooo with that being said, I guess I will have to change my blog's name. :)
Any ideas? Also, I have been busy working on some of my products on TPT.
You can check out the updated Teacher Planner by clicking on the picture here...

Anyone have any experience or advice about looping ( I have an awesome class to take with me :) or teaching 3rd Grade? I would love your comments!

Measurement Fun

We had lots of fun in math today! We are learning about measuring with inches and centimeters. I happened to have a few bags of Blow Pops I got on Easter clearance from Target, so what's a teacher to do?? Practice making bubbles of course! The kids LOVED it! So I let them have their pops during the math lesson and then they had to measure the size or their partners bubble and write it down. They each did it 3 times except for the few who who were having trouble blowing bubbles.

                                       

(It turned out to be a bubble making lesson too!)

Finally done!

Hello all!
I hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as I am. However, we all know there is always "teacher work" as my son calls it! I have been working on this Teacher Planner/Binder for few weeks now on and off but am happy to say that I am done! I hope you will check it out and be able to use it in your classroom this year. It is a Lifetime Binder that I will update each year! I will be making more colors and designs soon. Please leave some feedback on some designs and colors you would like to see or you think others would like. Click on image below. Then go relax and read a book or something! ;)

Ok, Ok, I know I have been slacking on my sweet little blog. I have been so super busy this year and where has the time gone! Our 3rd 9 weeks report cards just went home last week, MEANING- only 7 weeks of school left!! Cray-zee!! I have been up to a lot this year, working hard on guided reading, Daily 5 and my math block. Math time has been a nightmare this year. Our school uses Envisions but we don't have any texts. Hmm? Makes it kind of difficult. First of all I do not care for the program. I don't think it takes enough time on each concept and the way it explains things are sometimes very confusing. Second, it does not meet all of the Common Core standards which makes pulling from other sources very time consuming.  My Second Grade Team and I have been desperately trying to put together something that works. We have found many great resources on TPT such as Interactive math notebooks and Common Core bundles. We just put it all together and it is slowly but surely coming along. We are kind of making our own curriculum. How about your school? What math do you use and how do you like it?

Crazy Busy!

Ok, I know we all can relate. I have been soo busy with the holidays that I have not posted in a looong time!! Well, I am finally on Christmas break (LOVE IT) and have a little free time!
I meant to post this pic before break just in case you needed any ideas for gifts but.....
please see above. :)
I made these gifts for my second grade team. They were super easy and not very expensive. I bought  frames from Michael's in a 4 pack for $19.99. I bought 2 packs with my 40% off coupon on each. I bought the initial letters there also for $2.99 each. I printed a background (chevron, swirly, etc.) on cardstock and hot glued the letter in the middle. I added ribbon to hang and turned out super cute! They LOVED them! Good idea for end of the year gifts also.
 Oh, and I made one for my son's teacher too.

Cyber Monday Sale!!

Hi friends! I don't know about you my Thanksgiving Break has gone waaaayyyy too fast! I always think of things that I want to get done and have all these great ideas to create for school that I never get around to doing? How about you? Do you get to all the things you have planned? So is the life of a teacher!
Well I am joining in with many other TPT sellers and having a sale on my store. Everything in my store is on sale for 20% off!!

You can find it here:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tiffany-Ellis
I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and are gearing up for the crazziness to come!! :)

Yes, I am still alive!! The craziness of the beginning of the school year has kept me busy as ever!!
We are slowly but surely getting into a routine. Daily 5 is going well and I may even get to Word Work this year before November! Usually it takes my class until about December but this years class is on the ball!! I am still working my math block and trying to figure out exactly how I am going to run it. If you have ideas, or would like to leave comments on how you do your math time, I would LOVE to hear from you!!

LOVE, LOVE my new class!!

Hi guys! I am super sorry I have been neglecting my sweet little blog the last month. Well, school has started and you KNOW how crazy that is!! I have an awesome group of kiddos this year and am loving it! It also helps that I only have 23 students down from last years 28!! It makes such a HUGE difference! Doesn't seem like that big of a difference but teacher friends you know what I am talking about!! I hope your new school is starting off as wonderful as mine. Leave me some love and let me know how it is going for your beginning of the year!!

Let the Craziness Begin!!

So tomorrow is the start of Teacher Workdays! Exciting but sad at the same time. I know I have been slacking on the blog updates but I promise I will do better!! When do you go back to work?? Our kiddos don't come until the 27th so we still have some time to prepare!

Here is another of my Value Bundles just in time for Back to School! This is the Chevron print.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chevron-Colorful-Value-Bundle-836220

 

Happy LAST day of summer!!!

Where did summer go??

I know all you teachers are feeling the same! We soooo look forward to our summer and then we wonder, what did I do this whole time?? Some of you may already be back! (sigh) It is a bittersweet time of year and I know you know what I mean! Sad our summer is gone but excited to start the new year!! This is my last week off so I am trying to get enjoy as best I can. I recently just put a bundle pack of my 3 best selling items on TPT. It is a bundle of my Behavior Chart, I'm Done! Poster and Lunch Choice Poster. It is in Polka Dot bright colors. All for only $6.50! What a deal! I know we spend so much of our own money at the start of the year (all year) so I thought I would put something together that is affordable for all! Enjoy!!
How has the end of your summer gone?

Click on picture to go to my store.

Busy,Busy!!

Sorry I have not been posting much, we have been sooo busy as the end of summer is nearing! :(
I am also getting ready for my husband's deployment to Afghanistan (another sad face).
On a happier note, we found some great deals while school shopping this tax free weekend! ( I also stocked up on some new make-up and brushes. If you have not tried the Urban Decay Naked Pallet, you are missing out!( Look it up on youtube, that is how I found out about it. LUV it!!) :)
Anyway, here is my latest product. I revamped my Book Bin Labels and now have them in the ohh soo popular chevron background. Click on the link below to see them in my store.....

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chevron-Book-Bin-Labels-806045

Happy Sunday!

Another Teacher quote freebie!!

August 1st, I can't believe it! Where has my summer gone??!! Well, I know we are ALL anxious to get our room together, organized and decorated (he he) :) Here is another quote that I made. Again, I found the quotes on Pintrest and just made them into my own. Click on picture to download.

Happy Thursday!!

Cutsie Teacher Quote Freebie

I'm baaack! I have been off with the lovely family on vacation but it is time that I get back to (some) work!  :) Anyway, I have not done much but here is a cute quote I found on Pintrest from
 itswrittenonthewalls.blogspot.com. I just copied the quote but made my own version. (I am not selling so hope that it is ok)
I have been finding cute teacher quotes, printing and framing for my classroom. Easy, cheap and oh sooo cute! Hope you like it. More to come soon. Click on it to get it.