0 THE HAPS + PICTURE BOOKS + BME FREEBIE

Alright folks.  It's time to get serious around here. I have been hiding under what seems like a HUGE rock as of late.  I decided to just let myself "be" for a bit.  We didn't get out of school until the 14th and my wheels stopped turning. In an effort to find my "footing" again, I allowed myself to catch up on some things and play a bit.  I spent quite a few days "nesting" and cleaning in my classroom.  Got my toes done.  Began a painful relationship with a trainer at my gym.  Started making actual dinners again.  Oh, and I did this . . .

The hubs was at a bachelor party and I jetted down to San Fran on a whim.
Caught a Giants game, an amazing dinner, and tons of fun with a dear friend.
Did I mention that it was 72 degrees in the city last weekend??!!

Then, I decided to switch my office with our guest room.  We have a Jack and Jill bathroom connecting our master with what used to be our other bedroom. It always made things a little uncomfortable when friends would stay the night. So, we made the switch.  It took me all day yesterday to pull the desk apart and turn this horrid mess . . .

Into this.  It isn't done yet . . . I want a floor lamp, shelving, and some more storage, but I did what I could with what I had.  Shopping is definitely in order soon!  

Now that you know all you ever wanted to know about my life . . . I'll change gears for you.  I wanted to join up with my buddy DeAnne over at First Grade and Fabulous today.  It seemed like the perfect party as I already pulled all of the books I want to read during that first week off of my selves.   

I read at least two books each day for the first few weeks, so I will narrow it down for ya.  Here are a few of my more obscure favorites.  

If you haven't noticed, I always seem to lean toward books that are silly and are guaranteed "giggle-getters."  Chalk this one up to my dippy personality and my nickname around campus . . . The Crazy Teacher.  

Finally today, I figured I would offer up a freebie for you for stickin' with me through all that up there.  I love to roll with beginning, middle, and end activities right off the bat with a new crew.  I have offered up my response sheets in the past, so here's something a little different.  We have copy counts at our school and my teammates and I are always looking for ways to save ourselves from hitting that 12K mark before the end of the year is up.  So, a few years ago, I came up with these . . . B/M/E Labels.  Simply fold a piece of trashy copy paper into thirds and provide a label set to each kid (a fraction of the copies).  Show your babes how to glue these at the bottom of each column and let them go to town with their retell (pictorial only or a combo of pictorial and written).

CLICK HERE to grab these.
Thank you Fonts for Teachers + Cara Carroll for the font support!

Alright, I am off to finish up putting away the last basket of items from the "move" and to attempt to finish GMW today.  Thanks for visiting . . . make it a great one my friends.