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Feb 15, 2015

Teachers with Toddlers at Home

Teacher mode is never turned off. This year for birthdays and Christmas (both girls birthdays are close to Christmas), I wanted to make sure that most of their gifts were learning toys. I also love toys that help with their imaginations and pretending.

At 2 and 4, they spend a lot of time playing baby dolls, reading books, cooking, and coloring! This year was a big Melissa and Doug year! I loved all of the products that I found and suggested to others! In case you don't already know, Melissa and Doug create products that are VERY high quality! Receiving all of these learning items in the mail made me want to teach preschool or Kindergarten. How awesome would it be to have high quality puzzles, games, and learning resources like these in a classroom?

Here are some of my favorites that the girls received this year and I think they are such high quality and worthwhile that I'm sharing. Watch for Melissa and Doug sales on Amazon! That's how I ordered them on Black Friday! Some of the toys listed below are not Melissa and Doug. I would also suggest looking up Learning Resources on Amazon and The Learning Journey.




Pretending Toys









Learning Toys







On My Wishlist for Learning at Home:







I have also created a few things for teaching at home! (Of course!)


I had so much fun making the dinosaur cards!




Feb 10, 2015

Check for Understanding




I love posing questions to my students like this one and having them share their thinking. We did two today during math time. They love it and I love it! 

It is a good transitioning strategy too. Today I told my students to take out one sticky note, then I posed the question. They were to answer the question, then on their way down the carpet for our lesson, they were to post their answer. 

I can quickly look through and see who is understanding things and who isn't. We did the first one to start the lesson today, to activate some knowledge and for me to quickly see if they were understanding our current skills. Then I did the other one after our lesson to see how well they were understanding how to find the missing number. 

















Feb 9, 2015

Thankful for All of You {TPT Milestone}



As I started this amazing adventure with TPT near the end of 2012, I never dreamed that I would be hitting one of the milestones that I had read about other sellers reaching. In January 2014, I hit the first milestone and I was overjoyed and so thankful. One year later, I have reached the second milestone and I can't even begin to explain how fortunate and thankful I am.

This journey has been amazing and I have to tell you that I have learned so much from all of my followers on Facebook, my blog, Instagram, and those that buy my products. I read every single piece of feedback and every single comment. I have learned many things that have actually made me a better teacher. I have become more precise and professional in many ways.

Although I create things to use in my own classroom, then share them with others on TPT, I also purchase MANY things from other TPT sellers and teachers around the country! I can hardly stand to look back at my teaching before I started utilizing TPT! The resources that I have collected from all of the amazing sellers around the country are amazing and have TRULY changed me as an educator! 

My family and I THANK each and every one of you that read my blog, follow my Facebook page, follow me on Instagram and follow me on TPT. All of your support is noticed every single day. This "second job" of mine is truly a passion. I am completely in love with creating products and sometimes I wonder if it's addicting!


To celebrate this milestone, TPT has mentioned my STUCKEY IN SECOND store in their weekly newsletter/blog post. Also, I have marked a product to FREE for the entire week. This is a limited time freebie, so scoop it up while you can! I love using QR codes in the classroom, but this can be used even if you don't have devices with QR code readers in your classroom. You can simply use it as an AROUND THE ROOM activity!!!

Again, this is free the week of February 8th, 2015. If you are visiting my blog post after that date, thank you! This item will still be available, but not for free after that limited time. Please check out my store for plenty of other freebies!






This honestly has been a difficult post to write because I don't know how to truly explain how thankful and grateful my family and I are. Not only have I hit another milestone in sales, I have actually hit a milestone in my life and career. I have developed a passion for creating materials, I've discovered my own creativity, and I've truly accomplished something that I had no idea I could ever do. If you asked me about all of this ten years ago, when I started teaching second grade, I would have had no idea what a blog even was!

THANK YOU!




Feb 8, 2015

My Favorite Classroom Products

I just thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite classroom products!! Click on the pictures to go to the products link on my favorite website...Amazon of course. :) Just a fun and quick post, enjoy!