Let it Snow!

Yesterday the first snowflakes of the season fell!  They were big and fluffy and absolutely beautiful.  It didn't last long or stick but it got the kids {and me} excited.  Even though I knew it wasn't going to accumulate, it made me hopeful for a snow day.  Oh how I just love a snow day.  It's the only time that I actually enjoy being awakened by the phone ringing at 5:30 in the morning.  Ahhh, knowing I can turn off the alarm and roll back over and drift off to sleep is just so nice.  Some people do not like snow days {bah, humbug!}.  But I really don't mind having a few make up days added at the end of the year.  We go the same amount of days regardless of whether or not we get a few unexpected days off sprinkled in here and there.  I would go to school until June if I got a month off during the cold winter months.  I hate being cold and just want to stay snuggled up on the couch all winter long.  {But I love snow...go figure!}

Because I am crazy, whenever they call for snow I have a ritual I do to guarantee a snow day.  I tell all of my students to do it too.  You know, because it's more likely to work if there are lots of people doing it.  {That's what I tell myself.}  I wear my pajamas inside out and backwards, flush a cup of ice down the toilet, and put a spoon under my pillow.  And it works!  Promise.  But I'm scared to death that one day my ritual is going to stop delivering results and I might need a new game plan.  Do you have a tried and true way to get a snow day?!  I need to have a few more tricks up my sleeve so please share!

Here's a little snowy patterns freebie I made to use with my kindergartners this week.  I try not to use too much color ink at school for fear that it might run out and we may never get another color cartridge again.  So it's black and white.  But I'll print it on pretty cardstock.  Cut apart the cards and put the pattern name cards in a pile.  Students draw a card and use the snowflakes to create that pattern.  I'm sure there are many other ways to use it too.  Please share if you come up with something different!  Grab it here.

Holiday Cheer Giveaway

Thanks for sticking with me, despite my confession.  I have a special place in my heart for those of you who undecorate late or even keep your tree up all year like me.  I really like the special closet or revolving wall idea.  Pottery Barn Ikea {who am I kidding?} Target, are you listening?  A nice decorative screen or something would be ever so fabulous to have so we don't ever have to take down our Christmas trees.  It would sell.  I promise.

In other news, I have teamed up with some of my blogging BFFs to do a fun giveaway for you!  Kristin from A Teeny Tiny Teacher is giving away a $10 Target gift card!  Jennifer from Rowdy in First Grade, Rebecca from Teaching First, and I are each giving away a fun winter unit!  Head over to Rebecca's blog to get all of the details and enter.

Holly Bloggy Giveaway #6

Oh my, how time flies!  We planned 9 giveaways leading up to Christmas.  This week is #6.  That means Christmas is dangerously close!  I'm so excited, but I just realized I haven't bought a single present.  Not one.  I should probably get on that.  Anyway, moving along...

You guys are going to be so excited for this one!  Melanie from Schoolgirl Style has offered up her absolutely adorable Holiday Gingerbread Party!  It includes: a pennant banner, food labels, gift tags, cupcake toppers, a parent letter, an invitation, and 9 different center ideas with crafts and activities for an adorable gingerbread party.

How cute?!  I know all of my Holly Bloggy friends are going to want to win this one!  Here's how you can enter (this giveaway is for Holly Bloggy Christmas participants only):

-Follow Schoolgirl Style on Facebook and let me know in the comments.
-Sign up for her newsletter/follow her website and let me know in the comments.
-Just for fun...do you do any fun gingerbread activities with your students or your own children?  Share your ideas!

This giveaway starts now and will end at midnight on Friday, December 2nd.  I will announce the winner on Saturday.  Good luck to everyone!

Deck the Halls {a confession}

I have a confession to make.

I never took my Christmas tree down last year.  It's been up almost a full year.  Sometimes I turn on the lights.  Even in July.  Do not judge.  It makes me happy and it's always nice to have some extra lighting.  Plus it made me feel like I was living in a Pottery Barn holiday catalog every single day.  And you just can't beat that feeling.  And it made me hopeful for snow days even in the heat of May.  Hey, it could happen.  You know what they say: Christmas ain't over til the crazy lady undecorates.  Wait.  Do they say that?  Well, they do now.

You see, last year I got a fabulously huge Christmas tree.  It's absolutely gorg.  It took me about two weeks to get it up and decorated to my liking.  And I liked it so much that I couldn't just take down all of my hard work a few weeks later.  That's the worst part about Christmas.  I love all of the decorations but they have to come down so quickly.  So I intended to leave it up until the end of January.  The end of January came and went and I planned to turn it in to a Valentine's tree.  Well...the hearts never made it on my tree so I decided I would give a spring tree a shot with butterflies and flowers.  Spring sprung and before I knew it I was out of school for the summer and my tree was still up.  At that point, I saw no reason to take it down only to put it up again in a few months.  Right??

Throughout all of this, every single family member and friend thought I was an ABSOLUTE NUT.  But guess what?  Here I am, relaxing on the couch looking at my beautiful tree while all of my friends and family rush around, climbing up attics and dragging decorations out of basements and garages because it's suddenly socially acceptable to deck the halls.  Chances are, I'm the smartest one in my crew.  Sure, the tree may have been a bit out of place in July but really, the way time flies these days, the season came 'round again before I knew it.  And now I don't have ANY holiday decorating to do.  I am beyond brilliant.  Beyond! Brilliant!  So THERE!  I'm totally onto something.  I imagine I'll be starting a trend here pretty soon. 

Whew.  Feels so good getting that off my chest.  Maybe that helps some of you understand exactly why I was planning a Christmas gift exchange in October...

I want to know...when do you put up your decorations?  When do you take them down?  Have you ever left yours up all year-or known anyone who has?  And will you still be my friend even though I just shared some of my crazy with you?

Here's a little Christmas tree teen numbers freebie for those of you who will continue to be my friend, even though I'm slightly to moderately crazy.

PS: Don't forget that I'm running a sale over at my TpT store!  20% off everything, including some of my new holiday products!  Use the code CMS28 on Monday for an additional 10% off! 

Black Friday Sale!

I hope you all had a wonderfully yummy Thanksgiving!  I don't know about you, but I'm always searching for good deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  I used to enjoy going out and braving the crowds, but now I like to stay home where it's warm and crazy-free.  If you're surfing the web looking for fabulous deals over the weekend, stop by and check out my Black Friday-Cyber Monday Sale!  Everything is 20% off now until midnight on Monday!

You will also want to check out Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade and Rebecca from Teaching First to see what kind of great deals they're offering on Black Friday!

Happy Shopping!

Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!  I'm excited to link up with What the Teacher Wants and talk about all of the things I'm thankful for.  Anytime I talk about being thankful, Alanis Morissette's song "Thank U" gets stuck in my head... {thank u India, thank u terror, thank u disillusionment}  You can thank me for getting that stuck in your head later.  Anyway, here are all of the wonderful things for which I am thankful:

What are you thankful for in your classroom?

Well, my little friends, of course!  They crack me up on a daily basis and I am forever thankful for that.  I'm also thankful for my Smartboard.  Oh, it is just so wonderful.  It makes my life easier and my teaching so much funner.  The kids totally dig it too.

What person are you most thankful for?

It's too hard to just pick one!  I'm very thankful for my family.  We're all quirky, fun, and loving.  My entire family is absolutely hilarious and I love to laugh more than anything else on the face of the Earth, so I'm ever so thankful for my funny family.

What three blogs are you most thankful for?

Oh, I love so many blogs out there!  I'm rather thankful for Jennifer over at Rowdy in First Grade.  She's definitely one of my blogging BFFs.  We swap stories and problem solve together and it's just magnificent.  One of us needs to relocate ASAP so we can combine forces and kick some educational booty.



I also love me some Rebecca over at Teaching First!  It's been so fun getting to know her through giveaways we've done together!  There's a chance Rebecca, Jennifer, and I would have too much fun if we ever got together in real life.



My third is actually two: my Kentucky blogging buddies!  Sarah over at Kindergarten Korner has been an AMAZING partner in Holly Bloggy Christmas!  I'm so thankful for all of her help with that.  And it's just plain awesome to have another blogger in my district.




It has also been really fun to get to know Diana from Cole's Little Pups.  She's a sweetheart and I can't wait to meet up with her for lunch next weekend!  I'm going to have to work on getting her a blog button!

What guilty pleasure are you most thankful for?

Two words: Chelsea Lately.  She cracks me up and I would love to work on her show.  The working environment seems almost toxic with all of the practical jokes and dry humor and sarcasm.  Sounds like paradise to me.  I'll do almost anything for a laugh.  And I would love to be surrounded by people who have a good sense of humor.  Serious is the leading cause of wrinkles. 

What are you most thankful for?

I am most thankful for laughter.  If I couldn't laugh, I don't think I would make it.  You guys know I love Bill Cosby.  He says: "Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers.  And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it."  That is so true.  I have a very dry and warped sense of humor and I can find something to laugh about in almost any situation.  I just love to laugh.  It makes me happy.  It makes other people happy.  And happy is good.

Well friends, I'm off to have dinner with the fam.  On Thanksgiving Eve, I will leave you with this wonderful gem of advice I received from a Lifetime movie the other day: "Count your blessings and keep on steppin'!"



This & That...

WARNING: Randomness ahead.

Oh, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!  Two days and then I get to sleep until I'm not tired instead of hearing that awful beeping noise at an ungodly hour.  I'm also super excited about being able to do some crafty, fun things with my kiddos.  There's just not time for that usually.  So we're breaking out the scissors and glue and markers {!!!} and making turkeys and pilgrims and they're not going to know how to react to the unmathyness of it all.  It's just going to be grand!

I need your help, party people.  Back in August, I broke out in hives and went to the doctor and he was all, What did you have to eat today and did you eat it the other times you broke out too?  And I was like, A chocolate pop tart.  And yes.  He then said three words that rocked my world, "No more chocolate."  Naturally, I did not listen because I didn't believe him.  What does he know; he's just a doctor?!  One Reese Cup later, I broke out yet again.  So now I'm off chocolate.  Go ahead and take a second to feel sorry for me.  It's truly devastating.  Especially around the holidays.  My favorite is peanut butter balls.  I'm mourning their loss.  It's going to be rough, but I'm trying to find a way to get through it.  I made some potato candy the other day to try to satisfy my need for peanut butter chocolatey goodness.  Please tell me you've heard of it.  I took it to school and people looked at me like I had three heads.  It's good, but it's not the same as a chocolatey peanut butter ball.  Any of you have some ideas for an amazingly delish dessert sans chocolate?

Last week Diana from Cole's Little Pups got to come with representatives from her district to visit my school.  Bless her heart, she spent all morning in my room and she even helped me with my little kindergartners.  It was so much fun to meet a fellow blogger!  We both had so much fun at school and we're pretty sure we would have even more fun outside of school, so we're trying to organize a get together.  If you are in the KY/TN/IN area, please comment or email me at mspreppyblog@gmail.com if you would be interested in a meet up!  We are about 2 hours from Nashville and Louisville.  We would love to hear from you.  {And don't forget to stop by Diana's blog...she just posted some cute gingerbread ten frame freebies and a new Christmas unit!}

I also just got an email from my principal saying we are interviewing for the kindergarten assistant position on my team.  He said to bring questions.  Any suggestions?!  They've got to be good ones so we can make sure we get someone amazing!  How do you even do that in 30 minutes?! 

Sorry this has been random.  I'm avoiding laundry and dishes and cleaning and grading.  Since I'm in procrastination mode, I feel like I need to help any of you who might be in a similar position.  Sooo...let's play a game!  This or That: Thanksgiving Style... I'm going to post a question: this or that?  The first person to comment will answer my question and pose one of their own.  Then the next person will answer that question and ask their own, etc.  Let's try to keep it Thanksgiving themed, but the world isn't going to end if it gets off topic...  Here we go:

Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes?