Monday Made-It!

I'm pretty sure I haven't done a Monday Made-It since, ohh, August?  For some reason, I just have more time in the summer and I can't quite figure out why... haha!  I just don't have the patience to create things during the year.  I'm not really a creative person, so it takes A LOT for me to make something on my own.  But, thanks to Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics, I'm getting better!

My Monday Made-It this week is for all you bloggers out there!  I am a planner, an organizer, a list-maker.  I am obsessed with calendars.  I like to have things written down.  So I created my very own blog planner!  I was inspired by The Eager Teacher to create this.  Not all of her pages worked quite right for me, so I tweaked it to fit my needs.  And, honestly, it's still not all the way right for me.  But eventually I will get it right!

Here is the cover (which is just so darn pretty to look at!):

I have the monthly calendar first:

I use my fun flair pens to make everything prettier!

Next, I have a weekly calendar:

There are boxes for each day of the week.

As well as sections for to-dos, projects and collaborations (linky parties, giveaways, etc).

The third section is for blogging ideas.

I use it to write down topics I want to blog about.  The checkboxes on the side are my favorite!

The last section is where I take notes about products that I want to create.  It's hard to keep them all in my head!

Once I finished the planner, I had it bound at Staples!

I'm not going to lie, I'm kinda obsessed with my planner.  I may be making more in the future!  I do know that some bloggers find a planner to be cumbersome and just extra work, which is completely understandable.  I don't use my planner all the time, but I do really like having it.  It definitely helps me feel more organized.

Happy Monday!

A New Year, A New Me!

Check out my new look!!

Isn't my new blog beautiful??

It is so me!

I was really nervous about changing my blog because I wanted one that was just right.  And I didn't know if I could find that!  Know the feeling?

Enter Christi.  Yes.  THAT Christi.  Of Ms. Fultz's Corner.



She also designs blogs!  And does a wonderful job to boot.

I told her I wanted polka dots and chevron (my favorites).  I wanted it to be bright and fun but sophisticated at the same time.  I thought for sure that I had confused the poor girl.  Nope!

She came out with this wonderful gem!  Lots of thanks to you, Christi!

Please, please grab my new button!

2012 Best and Brightest Linky Party!

One of my favorite parts of blogging is being able to look back and reflect on my year, both personally and in my classroom.  Christina over at Bunting, Books and Bainbridge {love her!} has created a linky party to share brag about blogging in 2012.  P.S. is it really almost 2013?!

One of the BEST things I did this year was continue to blog.  I know, that sounds weird.  I tend to start projects, but not follow through with them.  I started blogging in the end of 2011 and the best thing I did in 2012 was to keep up with it!  I have learned so much from other bloggers and feel so encouraged by this wonderful community.  Continuing to blog this year has also led to a TpT store, a TN store, a Facebook page, Twitter account and an Instagram account {smilinginsecondgrade}.  Love, loving social media this year!

The post I love the BEST is my Open House post.  Open House is just a few {hectic} days into our school year and I never feel as prepared as I want to be.  This year, through the help of some wonderful bloggers and Pinterest, I had the best Open House yet!  I was so proud to show it off!

My most popular post this year was Time-Out Tuesday and Some Dancing.  I shared a dance that my co-teacher came up with to teach the students how to subtract with and without regrouping.  It made it's way onto Pinterest and has been my most popular post ever since! 

The BEST news I shared

The BEST product I created this year were my Writing Journal Prompts.  As soon as I made them, I declared it my favorite product (really, check it out here)!  There are 12 calendars with writing prompts for every school day - over 300 writing prompts!  It has also become my best seller in my store.

The BEST freebie I created were my Word Wall Games.  There are four different games to help students become well-acquainted with the classroom Word Wall.  I like to play them at snack time!  Learn more about them here.

Some of the BRIGHTEST new bloggy friends I've made are 

Holly from Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade

Corinna from Surfin' Through Second

Nicole from Teaching With Style

Jen from The Teachers' Cauldron

Thanks ladies!

New Blogger on the Block and a Sale!

I love getting new followers for my blog, but I LOVE finding new blogs even more!  I just came across First Grade Frosting (isn't that the cutest name?!?):

I am teaming up with her for a giveaway when she reaches 50 followers.  She's soooo close!  Her goal is to reach that many by Thursday.  Think we can make it happen sooner??  Let's do this ladies!  Go visit her blog!

And I'm sure you all know about the Leap Year Sale going on over at TpT on Wednesday:

Everything in my store will be 20% off PLUS the 10% that TpT is offering!  Sweet deal.  Just be sure to use the Promo Code: L2P9Y.  I'm already adding to my wish list for Wednesday's sale!

Check out the other sales that are happening:

Thank You!!

I owe a huge amount of thank yous to a lot of bloggers.  Here goes:

Thank you to all of these women for the Liebster Award!

Go check out all of their wonderful blogs!  Go here to see who I awarded the Liebster Award to.

Next, thank you to to Erica for the Versatile Blogger Award!  Go here to see who I awarded it to.

Also a huge than you to Erica and Beth Ann for helping me with my blog button that wasn't working! 

 While they were in the process of helping me (I didn't even realize they were being so nice), I ended up getting a whole new blog from Stephabee Graphics.  I love my new design!  And it was 50% off! Score!  I've wanted a really cute one for awhile but didn't want to spend $$ on one until I was sure that I was serious about this whole blogging thing.  I tend to get distracted easily and could've forgotten about the whole thing.  Apparently I am serious!  But thank you ladies for your hard work!

Lastly, I want to thank all the teachers who volunteered to help me with my Flat Stanley project.  Not all of my kids know someone outside of our little town and it will be great for them to get mail from far away.  I'm so grateful!

What a wonderful world the blogging community has created :)

I like Smiling, Smiling's My Favorite!

I think that is my favorite movie quote.  It's either that, or "All reds."  If you know what movie that is from, major props to you.  I don't know why I think it's so funny, but it gets me every time.  Um, hello? Back to the blog post.  I get off topic all the time sometimes.  Why am I smiling, you ask?  So many reasons!

First, I was awarded the Liebster award AGAIN!  Wow - I'm so honored!  I got so caught up in holiday stuff, that I didn't even see my nomination.  A giant thanks to Julie over at Second Grade Style!

Check out my nominees here!

Next, I'm now a guest blogger on The Best Endings - I'm so excited!

It's a brand new blog that Erika from The Honey Bunch  started.  It's all about books!  I love, love, love to read and wish I had so much more time to do so!  I am so ready to write my first post, but she said only one person could post a day.  That means I'm getting up early tomorrow (and I can beat all you west coast people)!  Go check it out to get some ideas for good reads!

Lastly, I had someone comment on my TpT products and even request more!  I feel so honored.  So here's the deal.  A fellow TpT-er asked for additional labels for my Out of the Classroom Poster.  Learn more about my poster here.  She wanted to see labels such as: Lunch, Gym, P.E., Media Center, Courtyard, Playground, Cafeteria, Gym Lobby, Front Lobby, Front Field.  We don't have some of these areas at my school, so I'm curious what are some other labels you would like to see me make?  I'm hoping to get them done tomorrow!