Wednesday, October 29, 2014

BOO! Halloween Writing Freebie for YOU!

What?  Halloween is in two days?  I had no idea!

...said no teacher, ever.  For real, my kiddos are SO excited for Halloween this year!  I definitely don't want to steal their joy, but it's not like I can just stop teaching and talk about their Halloween costumes all day!

But wait!  Out of desperation, I created a quick writing prompt to get their pencils moving about what they are the most excited about this week.  I thought I'd share this with you as a freebie in case you are feeling you feel like you're starting to look an awful lot like a spooky witch - without a costume! Even my little ones who usually give a few whines about story writing have loved activity! In this download, your kiddos will have the options to write about their costumes and their thoughts on Halloween.  I've also included a few blank pages that you could choose your own writing prompt or encourage stronger writers to create their own sentences.



You can grab your copy at my TPT store here!  

-Liz




Tuesday, October 28, 2014

I'm baaack!

Have you ever had a pair of shoes that looked totally adorable but just never quite fit right?  You may have thought about wearing them, but every time you put them on you knew they just didn't work. So you'd sadly put them back up on your closet shelf, not wanting to get rid of them just in case?

That's how I felt about the first blog I started a couple years ago.  I was swept up in the idea of connecting with other teachers and sharing lessons and craftivities and wanted to jump right in to my own claim to fame.  I knew I had some fun things to offer to the teaching blogging world, so with a few clicks and a somewhat cliche blog title, I was off and typing!

The thing is, blogging can be hard.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a writer at heart.  That was the easy part.  What I had no idea about was how to blog.  I'd spend hours pouring over the tiniest details, simply because I had no clue what I was doing and didn't know how to ask for help.  I would read my favorite blogs and admire the authors, only to feel inadequate that I didn't have five new products in my TPT store or an amazing hands-on lesson every single day of the week (which don't get me wrong, I appreciate those teachers who can do that! I just tend to go through phases of creating and phases of buying other teachers' genius TPT products).  I'd get frustrated when I'd pour my heart into a post and no one commented.  It began to feel like a chore more than a creative outlet.  So I stopped.

Fast-forward to now.  As the school year started, I started thinking more and more about blogging again.  I changed school districts and moved from first grade to Kindergarten, which has been wonderful and overwhelming at the same time.  I realized I had a neat perspective to share with other teachers:  what it's like to not be a brand-new teacher, but still kind of feel like a brand-new teacher.  I've been humbled to start over, but love having my previous four years of teaching to draw experience from daily.  I also love Kindergarten!  I want to share with others the adventures I have each day, for no other reason than teaching and Kindergarten bring me such joy.

With the encouragement from a sweet blogging friend I met in my former blogging life, I've decided to try again.  This time, I'm not going to try to be someone else in this blog; just me.  I read about other teachers and have grown to adore and admire their personalities - their unique personalities. I want to share my story, but not in anything that doesn't feel right to me. This time, I want the shoe to be a perfect fit.

Liz