TPT sale 24 Hours ONLY!

The BIG day is finally here! But this HUGE sale only lasts 24 hours so don't delay!

For ONE DAY ONLY I am offering 20% off of my ENTIRE store!

And its not just me! Check out my sale first, and then check out the other over 30 sales happening today only - you're sure to find something you'll love. Click any button below to visit a participating sale!













I told you it was going to be big and worthy of the title, "Christmas In July!" Happy shopping and Merry Christmas (in July)!

Daily Editing Word Problems are done!!!

Ahhhh.....That was me..sighing in relief (or perhaps exhaustion)...because I FINALLY finished it.

38 weeks (190 school days) of

So you all can stop emailing me asking when it will be done and RUN yourself over to TPT to grab a copy! I think it is a bargain at $15 for over 190 pages! That is less than the Evan-Moor books (currently in TPT for $16.99) and you would have to buy 2 of those (one daily language and one word problems!)


If you don't recall me posting about these last school year,  here is what they look like.

I have 30 students so I make 8 copies of the days page, then cut then apart with the paper cutter. Each student has a strip on their desk when they walk in. They glue it into their notebook, put the code date at the top, use editing marks to correct then draw a picture and solve the math problem! Of course we start the year by doing it together but by the end of the year they are awesome editors and problem solvers!!!! And the editing DOES translate to their own writing. I LOVE when I see these marks show up unprompted!! The first half of the packet doesn't include spelling errors so students see the sight words spelled correctly for a few months. In the beginning of the year most first graders can't read that well so  I project it with my digital camera and share the pen, having students come up and find the punctuation errors and circle sight words. As you can see from the example, I include book characters (Frog and Toad), common teaching themes (penguins), and holidays (well-known and otherwise) to keep things interesting!  I hope you like them.

Random Number Generator and Screen Shots

Today I have another blogging how-to for you.  (I'm a poet and didn't know it.)

You are hosting a giveaway and need to pick the winner. You want to use a random number generator like you have seen on other sites. Here is the link to the random website.

I know what you are thinking...but how do I get it in my blog post?


You need to take a screen shot.

I have a MAC:
1. I make sure the cursor is out of the picture area.
2. Hold down Command(apple), shift, 4 at the same time. My cursor  turns into a bulls eye. I select (click and drag your mouse) around the area I want to take a picture of.
3. When I unclick the mouse the picture is taken and shows up on my desktop as Picture1.png
4. Now I can insert the png like I normally add a picture to my blog posts.

I don't use a PC but from what I understand (feel free to jump in PC people):
1. Take a screenshot (PrintScr)
2. Paste it into a graphics editor (I think Microsoft Paint comes with your PC)
3. Resize it and save.
4. Now you can insert like you normally add a picture to your blog post.

Did you learn something new?

Do you know your blog terminology?

Thank you so much for all the sweet compliments on my new blog design. I am excited to say we have our first client!

I have had some emails asking our blog design prices. I went ahead and made a quick page here until we create our own blog design site. Click the words BLOG DESIGN on the navigation bar (under the header.) I was also asked about what some of the terms mean so I thought I would add this. Maybe some of you newer bloggers don't know these? I feel kinda cool having a personal favicon (long a like favorite) that brands me like Facebook's f or Twitter's bird.

Does that help?

I Have NEWS!

I have a new blog design! What do you think? 

 Why did I decide to design my own?
1. I didn't LOVE the free template I had and for the amount of time I spend on here I should!
2. I started seeing my same header on other blogs and I wanted my blog to have an original look.
3. I wanted my blog to reflect me...Can you tell I love polka dots and have a thing for owls?

Here is the super cool part~ if you already have my button, it is magically now in the new design! 

Now for the news...

My husband and and I are taking the plunge and starting to offer blog design services!

Bill is a computer genius and I love digital designing so it makes for a perfect partnership. I will be adding a page about our blog design services soon but I was too excited not to share now with my blog buddies!

Since I am in such a good mood, let's play a little game. 

Who can answer these questions about the above picture?
1. What show was this character on? (I am showing my age here.)
2. What was his tag line?