Kindness of Our Hearts Donation Drive- Please help!

 

Hello Friends! Thanks for stopping by!

Many times in life, something happens that reminds us not to take life for granted. On Friday June 7th, that reminder hit me very close to home.

 

 On Thursday around 3:30 in the afternoon, my good friend and 1st grade teammate, Kathy, was driving down a rural 2 lane road in her pickup truck. The road conditions were not very good, due to rain from Tropical Storm Andrea. She was towing her horse to take it for some routine care. On the opposite side of the road as she was approaching, there was a car waiting to make a left hand turn. Behind that car was an armored truck approaching. The armored truck went to apply his brakes and slid into her lane hitting the front of her truck.

The impact sent Kathy into a ditch, flipping her truck and horse trailer.

Sadly, the impact of the accident killed her beloved horse, Valentine, whom Kathy loved as she does her own children.

 

 

Kathy suffered many serious injuries from the accident as well, which includes 2 broken legs, a skull fracture, a brain bleed, a broken rib,  shattered joint in her knee, damaged vertebrae (L4), and broken arm/elbow. She had to be cut out of her truck because she was trapped from the impact. She is currently in ICU and has had a few surgeries already on her leg and elbow. Kathy has a LONG road ahead with lots of physical therapy. Here are some pictures of this tragic accident... she is lucky to be alive. If you wish to read the story behind this accident, please click on the link below:

http://flaglerlive.com/55112/horse-killed-wreck/





 

Kathy is a beautiful person inside and out. She is an amazing teacher with such a love for all of her students. Kathy is also an amazing friend. Anytime I need someone to listen, she has always been there for me and for anyone who needs them. Kathy is a fighter...she has had her share of heartache and difficulty over the past year. Her 2 year old grandson was diagnosed with leukemia back in August. She was a rock for her family as they endured this illness. I wish you could know her. She is just a wonderful person who needs our help!
 

Enter blogger friends...with overwhelming support from many of my blogger friends, I have put together a package of teacher products ranging from K-6. Thank you to the following bloggers for your help!

 

 I am in awe of the quick and overwhelming response that my fellow bloggers had to help this cause. For a $20 donation, you can get $250 worth of teaching products. All proceeds will go to Kathy as she fights to recover from this horrible tragedy. This package includes:

 

Please click on the Paypal donate button below. Your teaching package will be sent to the email on your paypal account within 24 hours. You will be sent a link to dropbox where you can click and automatically download your files.

 If you do not want your donation package sent to the designated email address on your paypal account, please send me an email at fsuteach81@yahoo.com with your paypal name and the email address that you want the package sent to.

 

If you do not receive your package within 24 hours of donation, please check your junk email folder. If it is not there, email me at fsuteach81@yahoo.com- subject: Kindness of Our Hearts Donation Drive
 

Words cannot express how much I appreciate your generosity during this difficult time for Kathy. I know that she will appreciate every bit of it too. The teaching community is truly just that...a community, and I am so proud to be a part of it!

 

 

Thank you so much for your help in bringing Kathy a little ray of sunshine during this time!

It's a Five for Friday! 6-14-13

Hello sweet friends! Happy Friday!

 

Now that I am on summer vacation, I wasn't sure if I was going to have enough to report to you for this week's Five for Friday. Well, I was wrong! I am off to a busy start this summer! Here's a recap of my week in pictures... I post all of these on Instagram. If you are on there, I would love for you to follow along. My username is learningissomethingtotreasure .

 

Now onward for this week's Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

 

 

1. Common Core Training

 

This week, I attended a 4 day common core institute. Each school in our county chose a representative from each grade level to go. I definitely learned a lot from it and I was glad that I had the opportunity to go! We learned about changes to our ELA and math curriculum using common core and how to write close reading lesson plans. It was a very productive 4 days; however, by day #4 I was ready to be back on summer vacation!!! :-)

 

 

This is an AIMS science experiment that we participated in on Day 3 of our workshop. We made hurricane houses!

 

 

 

 

 

2. Summertime Shopping

 

It never fails! Every summer I swear I won't go crazy on shopping, but with boredom and time on my hands, how can I pass up some great deals?!?! I ran over to Hobby Lobby and scored some great home décor deals at 80% off!!! I found a noteboard for my classroom, a cute item for my friend's baby nursery, and some polka dotted candles that goes perfectly with my classroom theme!!!

 

 

 

This morning, I went to Bath and Body Works semi-annual sale!!! I walked away with a bag full of hand soaps, shower gels, sanitizer, body lotion, shower stuff for the hubs...all for $30!!! Of course I had to make a quick stop at Yankee Candle, where there candles were also 50% off!! SCORE!!!

 

 

3. My newest addiction

 

Who here is addicted to Candy Crush?!?! I heard about it from so many people that I decided to hop on the wagon and try it out....and now I'm addicted. I have finally made to level 39, where I am currently STUCK! :-( It is fun though and I can see what the hype is all about. It is definitely keeping the boredom out of my summer days!

 

 

 

 

4. TPT Creating

 

Guess what folks?!?! I am back in the TPT creating mode of things!!! I am so excited!! I am working on my first product in months, my Rainbow Bright Chevron Classroom Décor Pack!! It includes alphabet and number posters, calendar headers, name tags, supply tags, birthday tags, and cubby tags!! I think it came out adorable! I can't wait to put the finishing touches on this!! I will let you know when it's up and ready!

 

 

5. Kindness of Our Hearts Donation Drive

 

This one leaves me with a heavy heart. Unfortunately last week, the day that our summer vacation started, my friend and 1st grade teammate Kathy, was involved in a terrible car accident. She suffered many serious injuries and still remains in ICU. Thanks to my amazing blogger friends, I have put together a donation drive through paypal with around 50 products to bundle (grades K-6). For a $20  donation, all contributors will receive this bundle valued at $250. All proceeds will go to my friend Kathy, as she has a very long road to recovery. I will have this posted tomorrow and I appreciate all donations contributed. My blog post tomorrow will have more details about the accident and injuries sustained. Kathy is a wonderful person, and I am hopeful that I can bring her a little ray of sunshine during this storm that she is enduring. Please check back tomorrow.

 

Until tomorrow,



End of the Year Gift & Awards Ideas with a little freebie for you!

Happy Summer!!!

I am officially on SUMMER VACATION!!!! Woooohooo!!! Now I can focus on blogging, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Candy Crush. That should keep me entertained this summer!!

Today I'm back to share my end of the year gift ideas with you! I'm linking this up with Ashley at Flying High in First Grade and Mel at Seusstastic!

I have seen so many cute ideas out there for end of the year gifts. It was so hard to just pick one, so thanks to my favorite store, The Dollar Tree (which I'm sure every teacher out there loves just as much as I do!), I decided to make a bucket full of summer fun & learning. After a BIG trip to the Dollar Tree, this is what I had in tow...

 

 

I think my favorite are the sparkly sand buckets!!! Glitter makes everything prettier!! Thank goodness the hubs didn't ask any questions about how much I spent!! I think he is totally used to it by now! ;-)

Included in my buckets are a set of dice, some dice games that I found as freebies on TPT from Denise at Sunny Days in Second and Courtney from Swimming Into Second (click HERE and HERE to see the specific games I used). I also put a swirly straw, drink, unfrozen ice pops, a piece of sidewalk chalk, pencil, eraser, and an envelope with my address so they can write me a letter over the summer. I also put a lollipop in there just because. :-)

Here is a freebie for you! These are the tags that I put on my buckets!! Feel free to use or save for next year. Click on the picture to download from TPT.

I also had my awards ceremony last Friday! Tear... yes I cried. I get so overwhelmed with all of the memories and emotions of the year. First we do a slideshow of pictures from the year. This is usually where I begin to tear up!

Next, we do the candy awards! Each student receives a yummy award!! My kids LOVE this!!!

 We had a wonderful end of the year together!! Have a great summer! Here's one last shot of us jumping for joy when the bell rang!!!

 

 

See ya soon my friends!!!

Currently June!!

Hello Peeps--

 

It's time for Currently June! Can I get a what, what?!?!? I have 2 more glorious days of school and then I am D-O-N-E!!! (well technically 3 if you count my 1 postplanning day on Wednesday). Then the alarm can go off, the flip flops can go on, and some much needed R & R can begin. The end of the year craziness explains my prolonged absence from blogging, but I plan on being back in full swing this summer.

Okey dokey, here's my Currently for June- linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade!

 

Holla for summer vacation!!! Have I said that already?!? I look forward to spending some much needed family time with my daughter and getting a lot of rest & relaxation!

My 3 vacation essentials:

 

1. My iPhone- This is a given wherever I go! Between Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, I don't know what I would do without it. If I'm not using it, my daughter is!

 

2. A bathing suit- I usually only vacation in places where there is water, so where there is water, there must be a bathing suit. I probably look like a beach whale in my bathing suit right about now being 5 months pregnant, but it's worth it!

 

3. Cute sundresses- Buying cute sundresses is a MUST when I go on vacation. A girl's gotta look cute when she goes out and about right?!?

 

How many more days until summer vacation for you? Are you off already?!?

My Summer Bucket List Linky Party!!

Happy Weekend Friends!!!,

As I sit here thinking of all of the must dos during my summer break, I figured what better way to organize my thoughts than to link up for the Summer Bucket List linky party hosted by some of my favorite peeps, Hadar at Miss Kindergarten, Teri from A Cupcake for the Teacher, and April from A Modern Teacher!

1. Create a baby nursery!

We are transforming my daughter's playroom into a nursery for baby #2. We have decided to paint the nursery a lavender color. I think I have narrowed down my bedding choices to 2 choices--

or

What do you think? I'm leaning toward the 2nd one, but not quite sure yet. :-) I would love to hear your opinion!

2. Organize, organize, organize...

Every year I vow that I will be more organized. I said that I would this year...well didn't quite happen the way that I hoped. I would like to make a master copies binder of all of the amazing ideas that I have found from fellow bloggers for easy access. I saw this idea on Pinterest...

I also love this idea for my craftivities (from none other than Hadar!!)

3. Teachers Pay Teachers!!

I plan to do a lot of creating over the summer. I have a big notebook of ideas written down. I just need to get motivated to get back into the swing of things. It has been quite a few months since I've created anything due to being exhausted day in and day out. I'm feeling the urge to get creating again! I am very excited to start doing just that!! Wish me luck!

4. Spending time with my little girl...

I am so excited to spend as much time as possible with this little face right here! She is so excited to spend summer with Mommy too. We have big plans to go to the beach, zoo, movies, and I am excited to sign her up for her first organized activity (besides school)...gymnastics!!! I am looking forward to spending lots of quality time with this little munchkin!

5. Lots of resting!!

Besides all of the summer fun that I plan on having with my daughter, I plan on spending much time in the cold air conditioning of my house as I grow bigger with pregnancy lol. I swelled up like a balloon last time I was pregnant and I'm hoping that it won't happen so bad again! I have been exhausted over the past few months so I am looking forward to destressing and feeling human again!

I hope you have many exciting plans for your summer bucket list!!! :-) Hang in there, summertime is near!!

Five for Friday...5-24-13

Haaapppy Friday Friends!!!

I know for some of you it is a very happy Friday because you celebrated the last day of school this week. I am still anxiously awaiting that celebration. I have 6 days left of school, but a fun filled week ahead with my students, so I'm looking forward to every moment, because my students deserve some fun after working hard this year.

I am linking up with Kacey from Doodlebugs Teaching for another Five for Friday!!!

Here's what I've been up to...

1. Drumroll please.......It's a......

GIRL!!!!

I finally went to get my ultrasound done! Everything appears to be normal and healthy and we are expecting our second girl. My daughter Summer is so excited to be a big sister!!! My husband and I can't seem to agree on ANYTHING when it comes to names. Does anyone have any unique suggestions???? We don't want a name that is very common. I would love to hear your ideas!

2. Now that I know what we are having, my friends have been spoiling me rotten. Here are some collages of baby clothes that my friends bought me. I just love, love, love frilly girly clothes!!!!

How am I ever going to get enough of this!?!??!

3. Prayers for Oklahoma

My heart literally broke when I heard about the tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma. It really hit home when I read the countless stories about teachers who were shielding their students from the tornado. May God bless all of the victims of this tragedy.

I'm sure you may have heard already, but there are several teachers banning together to help! Teachers Notebook has organized this amazing donation drive where you can donate anywhere from $20-100 and receive $2200 worth of teaching lessons from various sellers. I donated to this worthy cause, because it's the least that I could do to help!

Also, Ashley from The Teacher's Treasure Chest has also put together an amazing donation drive that you must check out!!!

She has come together with several bloggers to put together an amazing package of goodies for a donation of $25! I am amazed at the stories of generosity that I have heard come from both of these fundraisers. It makes me proud to be a teacher!

4. Field Day

Today was our annual field day!!! We had so much fun! Some of our fun included chicken flinging, tricycles, jumbo egg and spoon relay, scooters, a running relay, a water relay, and snow cones. This really made me realize how much I am going to miss yet another group of amazing kiddos! Here are some pictures of our day...

My daughter, who also attends pre-k at my school, got to participate. I think I was more excited for her than she was. She had a blast!! I am so glad that I can be around to witness these precious moments. Here are some pictures of her field day fun...

How time flies! I can't believe this precious little girl of mine is going to be 4 years old in a month!

5. Summertime is near!!!

As summertime approaches, I am hanging on by a thread lol!!! June 4th is our students' last day and my official last day is June 5th. Ahhhhh!!!! I love all of the sayings that I've been finding on facebook and pinterest. Here are a few of my favorites...

Ha! I don't think I've heard a single teacher say that, especially this year!!

Oh believe me, I know!!! I will miss my students, but I am in desperate need for some R & R!!

I am so excited, because thanks to Katie at Queen of the First Grade Jungle, I bought this shirt last night for the last day of school!!!!

I am SO ready to sport this shirt on the last day of school!!! Head over to Teaching Blog Addict to check them out!! :-)

Oh and can I tell you how much I am LOVING Instagram?!?!? If you are on there, stop on by to say hi! I would love to follow you. My username is: learningissomethingtotreasure

Well, that's about all folks!! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!! I'll be catching you soon!!