Out with the old...

...and IN WITH THE NEW! My new blog reveal is SO adorable and I love love love everything that Tenille did for my new layout! Make sure you all go to Designs By Tenille to check out her work. She's incredible! Thanks, Tenille!! :) Also, how cute is my custom pal, created by Polka Dots and Pals, included in the blog header?? Love love love!

Along with my new blog layout I am launching a brand new teacher Instagram account! Click the little Instagram logo on my blog header to follow my new account, @kindergartenalphabetsoup :)

Also, it's officially my summer! I finished everything at church with Vacation Bible School in mid June and today finished teaching our Early Childhood summer session Pet Shop! We had so much fun learning about different types of pets, and I even acquired a class pet in the mix.

Meet Rizzo the Hermit Crab (named after Anthony Rizzo on the Chicago Cubs)

That's all for today. Have a fab summer pals!!

xoxo,

Chalkboard Giveaway #3, #4, #5!!

Congratulations to Lanie White who was the winner of the 2nd Chalkboard Giveaway! I am going to be doing the last 3 giveaways simultaneously so make sure you enter all three! You'll have many chances to get your name in the running a few times so be sure to check all the options out. Good luck, pals!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

There you have it, folks! I can't wait to hear how you're all spreading some kindness the next few days.


xoxo,

Chalkboard GIVEAWAY #2!!!!

UPDATE! Here's Giveaway #2! Our winner from giveaway #1 is Holl Homestead! :) Congratulations! There are a few new ways you can put your name in the pot this time around. The 2nd giveaway will be live until Saturday at midnight! Good luck, everyone!

Well teacher pals, I am officially addicted to the Target Dollar Spot! My "Currently" post from last week stands strong this week again. I am an ALLSTAR Target Dollar Spot addict. But it paid off today. I know MANY of you are on the hunt for the "First Day Of" chalkboards, and I had some good luck today and found 5!!!! My big goal when I started this blog was to share ideas and collaborate with teachers to make our lives a little easier, and a little happier. Therefore, it's GIVEAWAY time! I bought all 5 of the boards, and I will give each one away to 5 lucky followers! There's a few things you can do on the giveaway to get your name in the pot more than once.

I am giving away one chalkboard at a time, so check back for the 2nd-5th giveaways if your name isn't chosen the first time. Good luck!!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,

Currently...in July!

I just realized that my Add Comment buttons are NOT working, check out my instagram if you have questions or comments until I get it all fixed :) You can find me @xo_teach Thanks guys!

Hi fabulous friends! Can you believe it's JULY?! I decided to link up with Oh Boy Fourth Grade and share with you all my July "Currently" :)

I am listening to LOTS of country radio this summer. Chicago's new Country station (95.5FM) is SO GOOD! Also, who doesn't love that dreamboat Sam Hunt?

I am LOVING the weather, especially after we had the wettest June in a while. It's so nice to have the windows open all the time!!

I am so excited for my little spontaneous trip to visit my bestie Brittany from Nifty in First Grade for the 4th! We're going to take her cutie cute son to his first 4th of July celebration. I can't WAIT!

Anyone have any good DSLR travel tips? I am so excited to finally have my camera to bring with us on our vacation to Disney Land but I am currently struggling to figure out how to carry it around! I already have only planned to bring it 2 out of the 4 days so I'm not lugging it around the whole time, but any tips would be appreciated!

I need to stop spending money, the struggle is real. I keep eating out (because it's so convenient!) and hitting up Target...sometimes twice a day...which brings me to my AllStar section, I am an AllStar Dollar Spot fanatic. I can't get enough, the products are SO CUTE! 

I am also using this post as a teaser for something really exciting that I am planning on doing very soon involving the Container Store and my classroom! :) 

Until then, be kind to one another! 

xoxo,

How to Catch a Leprechaun!

This week was full of sunshine and rainbows! We got to go outside to the park EVERY DAY (No more inside recess!!!) We are LOVING the warmer Spring weather up in Chicago. 

Not only did we learn about rainbows, thanks to St. Patrick's Day we also got to make Leprechaun Traps! It is such a great group activity to build communication, problem solving, and creativity! The kiddos made some great traps! 

I created a little sequencing recording sheet freebie to go along with this activity, which you can find on TeachersPayTeachers.

Happy teaching! Happy Spring Break to any of you joining me this week! :) 

xoxo,

The TRUTH about being a Kindergarten Teacher

Hi all! What a week I have had. I had the pleasure of attending the ILASCD Pre-K/Kindergarten Conference in Chicago. I love every single second of this conference!! (Even the super long lunch lines..) I always feel so refreshed and ready for new and exciting things to get rolling in my classroom. I think that my favorite part of the conference is the general feeling of "We're all in this together!" I was lucky enough to hear many wonderful Kindergarten teachers speak this weekend, some of my favorites were Shari Sloane, Kim Adsit, and DeeDee Wills. While they had many of wonderful ideas to share (which I am so excited to start to implement in my classroom) their general message was this, we are not alone in this thing called teaching Kindergarten.

Linking up with The Kindergarten Connection, click the picture to check out her blog! 

To a Kindergarten teacher it's no secret that we have our work cut out for us. However, to the world, they may not realize it. There are a lot of misconceptions about Kindergarten, but that is because it has changed SO much in such a small amount of time. I don't think many people realize what Kindergarten really looks like today! I love those shirts that say things like "I am a shoe tying, poster laminating, hug giving, book reading, tear drying, question asking, life changing Kindergarten Teacher." We wear many hats as Kindergarten teachers and the best part is we don't have to do it alone. I have the amazing gift of a co-teacher at my school who I can collaborate and create with. She and I bounce ideas and procedures back and forth, working together to help better our students' learning. Some of you may not have that luxury, but I want to remind you, there are MANY other Kinder-teachers out there that are tying shoes, while singing a transition song, and using the eyes in the back of their heads to see the student who is lined up and waiting patiently for you to say "Wow! Great job!" That is what I love about blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. There are so many outlets for us Kinder-teachers to collaborate, plan, learn, and grow with our fellow teachers around the globe!

So keep on, keeping on Kinder-teachers! We have the BEST job in the world, and we get the privilege to spend a year in the lives of these future presidents, artists, professors, and creators, who will most certainly change the world someday.

Keep Smiling!
xoxo,

Compassion International

Hi Pals!  Well, it's COLD up here in Chicago, therefore no school for today. What a perfect excuse for a little bloggin'! Today I wanted to share with you all my journey so far with Compassion International.

Compassion is a Christian organization that provides sponsors for children in different parts of the world who are in need of schooling and other resources. Through their sponsors, these children are able to attend a good school, learn about Jesus, and help to give themselves more opportunities to better their lives and the lives of their families. When students attend a Compassion center they receive good meals, Christian fellowship, and an education.

I was introduced to Compassion at an event that I chaperoned called Youth Quake. This country wide youth retreat gives Junior High students the opportunity to worship, discuss, and enjoy fellowship with other youth groups in the area. Compassion partners with Youth Encounter, and each year many of the coordinators of the program share their personal testimonies and stories about their involvement with Compassion.

I began sponsoring for a few reasons. One of those reasons is that I am a teacher. As a teacher I feel it is my calling to help bring up and build students to their fullest potential. Another reason I decided to sponsor is my belief that one of my callings is to help out the children of our world. Sometimes living in a suburb of Chicago I find myself totally ignorant to the trials of the world, or I even find myself turning away from learning more about how to help out of laziness. This is unacceptable. I believe that God calls us all to help our neighbors of all kinds, whether close to home or far away.

So long story short, I began sponsoring Josthin, a 5 year old boy from Nicaragua. Since sponsoring him he has sent me 2 letters (written with the help of his school tutor). Each time I receive a letter from him it's like Christmas morning! I am so happy to be so personally involved in his life and showing Christ's love to him. On the 1 year anniversary of my Compassion sponsorship of Josthin I decided to sponsor a little girl, Lucky. Lucky is a little girl from Africa who I fell in love with when looking at her little picture. Because I have recently sponsored her, I still haven't received any information about her, but I am looking forward to hearing from her soon!

The COOLEST part of Compassion is that they offer opportunities to go to your sponsored child's country and meet them. One day, I will do this. I am going to finish off this post with a picture of my two cuties. I would love to hear from you if you sponsor a child, or if you decide to sponsor a child after learning more about Compassion! You can find out more information by visiting www.compassion.com or finding them @compassion on Instagram!