Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July holiday!

As you celebrate, please remember to honor our troops  who are fighting to ensure our freedom.

Goin on a Blog Hunt!

When I found out that Google Reader was going away, I have to admit I was a little sad.  How was I going to read all my favorite blogs??  Bloglovin to the rescue!

As I become more familiar with Bloglovin', the more I like it!  It is simple and easy to use.  There is also a Bloglovin' app that I have added to both my iPhone and iPad, so I can read blogs on the go!  There are still some changes to be made to make it as easy to use as Google Reader, but hopefully those updates are coming soon!

To get you jump started on Bloglovin', I am joining Laura Candler from Corkboard Connections in a  blog hop!  I am always looking for new blogs to add to my reading list!

If you are new here, welcome to Smiling In Second Grade!  I have been a second grade teacher for 5 years and absolutely love it!  However, there are some huge changes coming soon.  Make sure you follow my blog to see what I have in store for my readers this summer!!

Here is my link to Bloglovin':

Check out this blog hop to make sure you don't miss a post from your favorite bloggers!

Hello July!

It's my favorite month of the year!  It's time to link up with Farley for her Currently.

Listening... to the Today Show.  I love early morning blogging and catching up on national and international news.  I don't ever watch television in the morning during the school year because I would never be ready on time!

Loving... summer!  The best season of the year in my opinion.

Thinking... about the firefighters in Arizona.  Such a devastating tragedy.  Thinking about their families as well.

Wanting... nice weather!  It's been rainy, cloudy and humid around here for the past week.  I'm ready for some sun so I can go to the beach!

Needing... to hit the gym.  I'm going as soon as this post is finished!  The best part about summer is all the extra time to workout.

Tips... read and discover.  When I first started blogging, I had NO clue what I was doing.  I would see the experts and think, how do they do that??  So I did my own research.  I read as many blogs as I could!  The cool thing about many bloggers is that they are super helpful and offer so many tutorials on their blog pages.  Click here to check out my collection of them!

P.S. ~ Want another chance to win a Calendar Notebook??

Click on the "Follow Me on Bloglovin" button and then leave me a comment with your blog name {so I can follow you back!} and your email!  I'll choose a winner by tomorrow morning!

Congrats to Carol from Super Sparkly in Second!  She is the winner of the Calendar Notebook!  Thank you to everyone for coming by and participating!

Monday Made-It

It's the second Monday of vacation for me and it is my second Monday Made-It.  I'm on a roll!  I'm linking up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics to share what I made this week!

I found this idea for homemade coasters on a fellow teacher's blog and I knew I just had to try it out!  I saw it on The Polished Teacher's Monday Made-It a few weeks ago.  Go check out her cute coasters and super cute blog!

Here are the materials that I started with.  Tiles from Lowe's (super cheap), washi tape, mod podge, felt and a cute quote.

I started by covering the tile in the washi tape.  This is my first time using washi tape (I know-gasp!) so it's not great.  I'm going to keep trying!

Then I mod podged my quote on.  This quote is from Technology Rocks, Seriously.  She has some super cute quotes, so be sure to check her out!  I mod-podged over the whole thing as well.

Then I glued a piece of felt on the back of the tile to keep it from scratching the table (apparently I can't cut straight!).

And ta-dah!  Finished product!

If you noticed, I had two tiles.  That was in case I messed up!  Since this project was super easy, I didn't mess it up at all.  I am on the hunt for black chevron tape to make a coaster to match my {almost-finished} home office.  This one will go on my desk at school since it matches my classroom colors this year.

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday!  Summer vacation is in full swing and I am as busy as ever!  It's so nice to have extra time to spend with family and friends.  I have also been a faithful blogger this week!

Her's a peek at my first full week of summer, thanks to Doodle Bugs Teaching!

1. Last summer I purchased a class set of notebooks at Target.  They were on clearance for less than 25 cents each.  Of course, I had to get them!  However I don't know what to do with them now.  The covers are pretty girly, so I would need to put something on them.  This is where I need your help.  What should I do with them??

2. My sister's wedding is coming up in 2 weeks - I'm so excited!  My mom and grandmother both need a dress so we went shopping together.  The only problem?  None of us like to shop for dresses!  My mom did end up purchasing one, but my grandmother came home empty-handed.  As you can see, I was being uber-helpful and pointing out the ugliest dresses I could find.

 3. Helllooo chevron!  I went to Hobby Lobby this week.  Big mistake.  I may have found one or two things that I liked... I purchased a large magnetic board that will hopefully go in my home office.  If it doesn't work, it's coming to school with me!  Also, I don't have a classroom theme, but I'm trying to stick to just a few colors this year.  Pink, green and blue it is.  Chevron theme.  A little black thrown in. Hey, it's better than the "every color under the rainbow" theme that I have used in the past!

4. The Calendar Notebook was born this week!  I am so excited to start using mine!  Read more about it here.

 5. I went out to dinner with a few friends from work this week.  We ate right on the water.  It was beautiful!  It makes me really appreciate living in RI.  That is, until the tide came in and filled up the parking lot.  Luckily the valet moved my friend's car right as the water hit her tires.  Yikes!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Throwback Thursday!

I'm joining Cara over at The First Grade Parade and throwin it back this Thursday!

I'm sharing a post from 364 days ago.  Literally, almost a year.  On June 28, 2013 I wrote about my Writing Journal Prompts.  I had just created them and was super excited about them.

Honestly?  I am still super excited about them!  They are a best seller in my store and it is still my favorite product that I have ever made (regardless of sales).  I decided to update them though.  So follow all the way to the bottom of this post to see the update!  And there might be a surprise in there for you...

June 28, 2013

Have you ever made a product that you are just super duper proud of?  I mean, I'm proud of everything I make.  But this one takes the cake!  I created morning journals for my students:

It includes writing prompts for every day of the school year - and then some!  There are over 300 writing prompts in here people!!

I also made monthly covers for the journals:

And included different pages of line paper:

These are one of my favorite things that I use in my classroom.  My students each receive their journal at the beginning of the month.  Each journal has a cover, a calendar and enough journal pages for the month.

They keep it in a folder in their desk.  After they come in and unpack every morning, they take out their journal and start writing about the prompt for that day.  Then they draw a picture to go with it.  We start with 2 sentences at the beginning of the year and gradually reach 5 sentences by the end of they year.  And I always say "at least" because they are welcome to write more than the required 2-5 sentences!!  I give them about 15 minutes each morning to work on their journals.

This is great for me as well.  While they are quietly writing, I am able to work on attendance, lunch count, etc without interruptions.  It also means I only have to gather morning work once a month, rather than every day.

The journals I created don't have dates on them, just days of the week.  This way, they can be used year after year!

Check them out:

{TpT}

Take a peek at my July Writing Prompts for free!

**UPDATE!**

Here are the brandy-new covers...

The journal prompt pages...

And there are a lot more choices for lined paper now as well!

If you already own them, go download your free update now!  If you are interested in them, you can click the picture to get your own copy.

Or could you win a free copy!  I want to know what you are most looking forward to this summer.  Leave me a comment with your answer {and your email address!}.  I'll choose a winner before I go to bed tonight. 

P.S. ~ Check out my Instagram for another chance to win!

Thank you to everyone for playing, I loved hearing all about your summer plans!!  I had my husband choose a random number and our winner is First Grade Circus!  Check your email!  

Introducing...The Calendar Notebook!

This post has been moved to my new blog, The Colorful Apple.  Click the button to check it out!