TOP 3 MOMENTS OF 2015!

WHAT A YEAR 2015 WAS!  So much happened this year that has made me so feel grateful to be part of this teaching community and so motivated to continue to be part of it.  So without further ado, here are my Top 3 Moments of 2015!

3. TpT Flock Meet-up in Binghamton, NY-May 2015



This is where it all began.  I had only a few items in my TPT shop when I attended this meet-up. It was the first meet-up I had heard about (besides Vegas) and it was only a short 6 hour drive away. Attending this meet-up was the BEST decision I made!  Not only did I meet THE Jen Jones of Hello Literacy, but so many other influential teacher-sellers like Melissa of First Grade Smiles, Jackie of The Template Teacher, Elsa of The Whole Wheat Class, and Nicole of Learning Lab.  I learned A TON and made so many connections and lasting friendships at this meet-up!  It also made my trip to Vegas less stressful because I knew I'd run into familiar faces!
You can read about the #TPTFlock Meet-up here.  If you are interested in attending the next meet-up in April 2016, click here.  Trust me, YOU WANT TO GO!

3. VEGAS! July 2015

I will let the photos speak for themselves.  But guys, this trip was MONUMENTAL.  I finally got to met Chad of Male Kindergarten Teacher  IRL (in real life) after months of texting.  We helped each other get to Vegas via a Donors Choose project.  I'm happy to say that our friendship is going strong and we have collaborated on many project since then!  He's the best!

Chad of Male Kindergarten Teacher
The Guys of Primary!
Left to Right: Chris of Famous in First, Yours truly, Mr. Greg of Kindergarten Smorgasboard, Chad of Male Kindergarten Teacher
My fellow Jersey Gals!
From left to right: Danielle of Study All Knight, Amie of Glitter Meets Glue Designs, and me!
I met Freckles Sinclair! He's my favorite champ from GoNoodle!
Selfie time! Vera of The Tutu Teacher  likes to photobomb!

There have never been more truer words. SDE knows how to make a rocking' Photo Booth!
Stacy of Simpson's Superstars! Keep reading to find out where we got our t-shirts printed with our brand logos!
The AMAZING Mary of Sharing Kindergarten! Her workshops were the bees knees!
Do you like my shirt? Keep reading to find out where I got it!
Panoramic shot of the Blog Hoppin' Meet-Up!  There were SO. MANY. PEOPLE!
Rachelle of What the Teacher Wants. She is SO gorgeous!
Laura of Luv My Kinders. She has been an amazing supporter since I started my teacher Instagram over 2 years ago. Love ya girl!
The ever talented and Mastermind of the TPT Flock Meet-up Sherri of Literary Sherri! It was so nice to see a familiar face in Vegas!
I ran into Melissa of First Grade Smiles. I met her at the Flock Meet-up as well!  L-O-V-E her!
The awesome Katie of Little Warriors! Her workshop was chock full of great ideas for centers! 
Erin of Erin's Ink, another awesome clip artist!
Caitlin of Kindergarten Smiles.  I seriously own tons of her resources from her TpT shop. 
Chrissy of Buzzing with Ms. B
Megan of I Teach. What's Your Superpower? When she knew who I was, I nearly fainted!
The BEST LADIES IN THE WORLD!  The Primary Pack! Such a fabulous group of talented and kind women.
From the top left: Kristin of Easy Teaching Tools, Ashley of One Sharp Bunch, Elyse of A is for Apples, Alexis of Laugh Eat Learn, Kelly of Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten, and Alisha of Missing Tooth Grins.
Can't forget these ladies!  I taught them an iPhone hack.  Click the volume button on your iPhone while in selfie mode to take the picture! :-) Meredith of Creativity to the Core and Elyse of Proud to be Primary!
They are also part of The Primary Pack

T-shirt is from TeacherShirts.com
It was truly epic, and I can't wait for July 2016!  This time, the TPT Conference will be held in Orlando!  At Disney World!  I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE!  AHHHHH!  I guess you can say that the trip will make my top 3 moments of 2016.  I. CAN'T. WAIT!

I was a little intimidated going to Vegas and meeting everyone; I can be shy in a big crowed room. BUT, thanks to A+ Images, I was able to get my brand logo printed on a t-shirt.  I wore it around on conference days and I was easily recognized!  A special shout out to A+ Images for providing an amazing service to us Teacher Bloggers.  I have worn my t-shirt many times and you would think after washing it so much, the colors would fade or peel.  NOT THIS SHIRT.  It is such a high-quality shirt that it looks the same as the first day I wore it.  Now that I've upgrade my brand logo, I'm going to need a new shirt!   You can find A+ Images, Inc. here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aplusimages
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/aplusimages/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/aplusimages
Online: http://www.aplusimages.comhttp://www.teachershirts.com

NOW FOR THE NUMBER 1 MOMENT OF 2015!

1. MY PHOTO BEING FEATURED ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS!

That's yours truly on to the top right hand side!

This moment happened while standing in the middle of Staples Copy & Print Center, printing my latest product for my kiddos.  I literally screamed!  To be featured on TPT is an honor. Thank you, TPT, for continuing to inspire teachers and students all over the globe.

I can't wait for 2016!  I have so much planned for this upcoming year. New products, blog posts, GIVEAWAYS, meet-ups, the list is long.

Thanks for sticking around and reading my post.  I would love to hear what your top moments of 2015 are!  Share them in the comments!

Happy New Year my friends!  I wish you all the best in health, love, prosperity, and whatever else your goals are.  It's been a great year.  Let's make 2016 ours!

Best wishes,
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Thanksgiving Fun and a FREEBIE!

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. It only took me 44 days of school before I got really, really sick.  Who likes being sick?  Using a sick day only means over planning for the sub, and I usually take an hour to write out every. single. detail ever of our daily classroom routine in my sub plans.  On the bright side, at least I got sick this week, and not next week during my second favorite holiday! THANKSGIVING!

Our math lessons lately having been focusing on number sense from 0-20 and figuring out what number is more than/greater and less than/fewer.  My kiddos seem to struggle with more and less, so I decided to make up a task card game to help them out.

I used it during small group instruction...




...and during whole group teaching!  I put the kids in groups of 4 teams (4 kids in each team) and they took turns after each task card was read and answered.  This was probably my favorite because the math vocabulary and teamwork was FLOWING like crazy! They just love a little friendly competition!  The winning team was rewarded a BIG FUZZY!  YAY!

The Build-a-Turkey Number Sense Activity was also a hit!  This was a great way for me to incorporate a quick mini-lesson in tally marks.  Tally marks are not introduced until first grade (it is not part of the new common core kindergarten math curriculum, shockingly), but it's such an important skill to have to wait until first grade to introduce!  I decided to put our turkeys in the sensory bin center because it was time for a new activity to rotated in there.  The next time I rotate the sensory bin activities, this is going right into the math center rotation.   


At the time we were focusing on numbers 0-10, and as soon as I get back to work tomorrow, I'll add numbers 11-20!




You can find these fun math activities in my Turkey Math Fun Pack in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Turkey-Math-Fun-Pack-2-in-1-Low-Prep-Activities-2199347

And because I L-O-V-E Thanksgiving so much, here is a forever freebie Color-by-Word Turkey!

Turkey Color By Word FREEBIE
Don't forget to follow my Teachers Pay Teachers store for new products, product updates, and more freebies!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, friends! Gobble 'til you wobble!

Best wishes & kisses,
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Udderly Smooth in the Classroom

Hey everyone!  I'm back again with ANOTHER awesome product I use EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

Raise your hand if any of these questions are true in your daily life as a teacher:

1. Do you wash your hands half a million times a day? 
2. Do you use hand sanitizer a million times a day?
3. Do your hands usually feel dry and thirsty for a cream or lotion after you wash them or use sanitizer?
4. Do you wish there was a cream or lotion that existed that actually kept your hands moisturized until you washed them again?

You are in luck because I know the PERFECT product that will keep your hands UDDERLY moisturized...Udderly Smooth Hand Creams and Lotions are here to save your hands!

In my kindergarten classroom, I have a special table next to my teacher aide's desk that is used for various ways: The VIP Table, one-on-one assessment desk, but it is mostly used as a "Sanitation Station"!  We have a bottle of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes for the tables, tissues, and a tub of Udderly Smooth cream.  Usually after we use the other products, our hands feel dry and in desperate need of hand cream, which is why I added the Udderly Smooth Body Cream to our "Sanitation Station".  The cream is free of any dyes and fragrance, so it is safe for all the little ones hands.

I also have used the cream as "Calming Cream", for the kids to use just a dab of and rub on their temples right before a test or if we have a kiddo who needs to relax a bit from being wound up. The Udderly Smooth stress reliever Cow is also helpful when we have a kiddo that needs to chillax for a moment. 



I also gifted a bottle of the Udderly Smooth Hand and Body Lotion to our school clerks in the main office, two in which have eczema and have been looking for a lotion that would help their sensitive skin. Boy do they love me now!  When I told them they could pick up at bottle at their local Walmart, they loved me even more!

Ms. Liz loves the hand and body lotion!


Would you like an awesome Udderly Smooth prize package AND a $50 gift card to Walmart?  Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below!  Trust me, you want all the Udderly Smooth you can get to prep for those cold winter months ahead.

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NYC GoNoodle Meetup!

Hey friends!  This post is photo heavy and FILLED with awesomeness!  Make sure you stick around until the end.  It'll be for a good reason, I promise!

You all know how I'm pretty much OBSESSED with GoNoodle (www.gonoodle.com) and how it pretty much saved my sanity in a classroom of 27+ kindergarteners.  What's that?  You DON'T KNOW WHAT GONOODLE IS?! Good gosh!  It's a free website filled with quick, fun, interactive "Brain Break" videos suitable for school children, EVEN 8TH GRADERS! (Click here to sign up)

Last Tuesday, GoNoodle hosted a teacher meet-up in NYC.  Myself and my fellow blogger buddy, Erica Bohrer, decided to check it out, hoping to meet some more people who love GoNoodle as much as we do!

We were greeted by this lovely sign upon entering:

Yes we are! :)

...grabbed an adult beverage...




...and gawked at the awesome SWAG we were going to score at the end of the night.


The GoNoodle photo booth was available as well!  I was very excited about this because I was not able to take a photo at the Blogger Meet-up in Vegas.  But first, I had to mingle with fabulous Teacher GoNoodlers!

Erica and I (you can call us Erica Squared for short) mingled, ate some delicious food, when I heard somebody ask, "Is Hot Dog coming?"

"DID SOMEBODY SAY HOT DOG?!"


YES!  The REAL Hot Dog!  She made a special guest appearance and we Pop See Kooed...


 ...took selfies...


...and Pop See Kooed in the GoNoodle photo booth!

Fun Fact: Hot Dog is a vegetarian. 

Erica joined in on the fun too!


Erica and I had a GoNoodle-riffic time!  

Erica Bohrer, Zap Von Doubler, and me, Ms. V!
*Hugs from Zap were free*
I know you are probably wishing you were there with us that night, so I have something to cure those "Fear of Missing Out" blues.  
How about a GIVEAWAY!?  
Or a FREEBIE?!  
How about BOTH?! 
WOO-WHO!

Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a GoNoodle Pencil Pouch AND a GoNoodle Champ t-shirt!

What's the freebie, you ask? Well, in my classroom, we have a designated wall that is JUST  to display our Champs certificates of the Champs we have maxed out.  I created a fun GoNoodle "Wall of Champs" Poster for you to display in YOUR classroom.  My kiddos went gaga over it and I'm sure yours will too!



Head on over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to download it!  Store name: Miss V's Kinder Kraziness.  I would really love it if you would send me pics or tag me in your pics on Instagram or Facebook of your class Wall of Champs!

Now hop on over to Erica Bohrer's blog to read about her meet-up experience, enter her GoNoodle Swag Giveaway, AND download her GoNoodle FREEBIE! It's a good one that you won't want to miss out on!

http://ericabohrer.blogspot.com


Thanks for reading!  A special thank you to Holly, Mollie, and Jeff from the GoNoodle team.  They  help make GoNoodle fun and life-changing to teachers and students alike. Next up: My GoNoodle inspired Data Wall!  Stay tuned! :-)

Best wishes & kisses,

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