My Dollar Tree Finds

I finally made it out to the Dollar Tree (it's not far from where I live, but with summer and all, I get very laaaaazy). Anyways, I knew that I wanted to scope out what they had for back to school. And I always prepare myself to spend some money. It's for the kids, right? Right. So I went in and walked right past the baskets. I thought, there is no way I'll be buying so much that I'll be needing one of those. WRONG. I started out small, with the new tubs and containers. But then, I went down the teaching aisle and I honestly think there is something new there every time I go! So here is everything I bought and my plans for how I will use said items.

So I started with some small orange tubs. I already have some round blue ones (my classroom theme is orange, blue, and gray). I don't have a plan for these yet, but they will most likely be used to hold small items for centers.

Speaking of centers, I found these adorable school erasers! I thought they would be great to use with my back to school roll and cover packet.

 Then, I saw these small dry erase boards. I love that I can get 4 of them for $1! Great price!

Now, I'm not sure if these letters are magnetic or not, but it doesn't really matter. My plans are to use them in a sensory bin with rice. The students can find the letters and give the name or the sound of the letter. I can also put them in a small tub for students to spell sight words. If they are magnetic, I would put them in a word work center with my magnetic whiteboard so students can make words.

Another great item for a sensory bin is these foam numbers. Again, students can search for them in the rice bin and then put the puzzle together. I already have an alphabet foam puzzle (also from the Dollar Tree) that will serve a similar purpose.

I always love finding cute games. The first game is for number matching and the second is for matching shapes and colors, both of which I'll need next year in preschool.

This is a chair cover! I thought this was adorable and a great way to celebrate a student's birthday!

These pom poms will also serve a special purpose in a center.

I saw a couple of fun activities that I thought would be great for reinforcing color recognition skills as well as fine motor skills.

http://engagingtoddleractivities.wordpress.com/category/subject/math/counting/

http://ppppizzazz.blogspot.com/2013/03/pom-pom-color-fun-for-toddlers.html

http://theimaginationtree.com/2014/03/toddler-play-egg-carton-colour-sort.html

All of these are on my summer to-do list!

Did you find anything interesting at a dollar store near you? Please share in the comments below!

Michelle

TPT Seller Challenge #2: Dare to Dream!

I am very excited to link up again for the #TPTSellerChallenge! It is now Week 2: Dare to Dream. This week I am challenged to blog about my great hopes, desires, and dreams for my TPT/blog business.

So here they are: my hopes and dreams!

1. Ever since my husband and I moved away from Illinois, we are always looking for ways to visit home. TPT has provided us with extra money for plane tickets to go home. Not only that, but we have been able to take small mini-vacations on the weekends as well.

2. One of my goals is to stay at home with my future children. My TPT business will definitely help with this dream of mine. It will be nice to earn a little extra on the side, even though I won't be in the classroom teaching.

3. It is also a dream of ours to move into a house within the next few years, and growing my TPT business has a lot to do with that dream as well.

4. I also plan to improve my business. When I first started this journey, I felt like I wasn't making anything because I was buying the Premium Seller account on TPT, paying for blogging school, and purchasing clip art. Now, I want to spend a little bit of money to upgrade my blog. At first, it was very difficult to spend that money because it was going into the unknown. I didn't know if my store would take off, or what the results would be. Now that I have been a Premium Seller for over a year, I believe that the initial investment is so worth it. I only wish I would have done it sooner! Now I plan to buy more clip art and a new blog design to keep improving my business. The more I do these things, the more I can feel my creative juices flowing with new ideas!

What a great topic for the second week of the TPT Seller Challenge! Hopefully it will kickstart me into blogging more {after all, that was my New Year's Resolution! Ha!}.

Thank you again to these ladies for hosting such a great link up:

Michelle

TPT Seller Challenge #1: Makeover Madness!

I am so excited to participate in the #TPTSellerChallenge this summer! Updating my products was a big goal of mine this summer, and week #1 Makeover Madness came just in time! I was looking back at some of the first products that I made and I cringed. I can't believe that I put some of my products out there! There was missing information, there was incorrect information, and there were some not-so-pretty covers. Needless to say, I had a lot of work to do. I updated quite a few of my products, but will only highlight 3 here. They all go together anyway.

As you can see from the list, there were many things that needed to be changed and I am so glad that I updated it. I finally feel like these products represent me and my creative style. Here are a few more images from the inside of the packet: 

These three packets will be on sale through Sunday, June 21. They will be 50% off! Here is the link to these items! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Dabbling-In-Differentiation/Category/Geometry

Michelle

Mystery Pictures

I want to share with you one of my favorite activities that I have incorporated into my classroom. Mystery Pictures!! But not just any mystery pictures....addition and subtraction mystery pictures!! I had used the mystery pictures in the past where students color in the number that is given at the top. But when I was teaching end of the year kindergartners and first graders, I knew they needed a little bit more of a challenge. So I took it upon myself to create my own mystery pictures. I even made multiplication ones for those students in higher grades! My goal is to have mystery pictures, in every operation, for all major holidays, seasons, etc. That is one of my big summer projects.

Here are all of the ones I have created thus far. And the best part is....these are all on SALE through Friday, June 19!! Grab them while you can!

And my first of many subtraction packets:

Click on any of the pictures to take you to my TPT store!

And don't forget this FREEBIE which is a great example of what these products are like!

Michelle

Markdown Monday Linky Party!

Good Morning and Happy Monday! I'm excited to link up with Kelly and Kim's Kindergarten Kreations for their Markdown Monday Linky.

I have decided to markdown my newest product: Farm Animal Labels!

This product is originally $2, but until Friday, June 12, you can get it for $1.50!! This product includes 8 different animals to label within the farm theme. Be on the lookout for other cut-and-paste products coming your way this summer!

Don't forget to link up your own product at a discounted price!

Michelle

Favorite Things Linky!!

Wow. I cannot believe it has been two months since I have blogged. It is now safe to say that my New Year's resolution did NOT come true this year. I have been so busy with school ending and other things going on, that I never had time to just sit down and write. But now I do, because it's SUMMER VACATION!!! With that being said, I thought I would link up with the Teaching Trio for their monthly linky. You can write about three of your favorite anythings! So I thought I would write about three of my favorite pastimes. Here they are:

1. Reading - I always love a good book. I never have time during the school year to read, but I am planning on reading quite a few books over the summer. Currently, I am reading Saint John Paul the Great by Jason Evert. I will also soon start reading The Whole30 by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. Can't wait to try it! Also, for professional development, I would like to read Comprehension Connections by Tanny McGregor. I am so excited!

2. Playing games - This includes any and all games. Board games, online games, individual games, puzzles, you name it, I love it. A few of my favorites include Pandemic, Monopoly Deal, Bananagrams, and Carcassonne.

3. Watching Friends - Ever since Friends started streaming on Netflix, I have been unable to watch anything else. I will watch all of the seasons over and over again. Great show!

Now it's your turn! Link up with the Teaching Trio for their favorite things linky on the first Wednesday of each month!

Michelle

April Currently

Well, here it is, my favorite month! April! I love April for many reasons, including my birthday, Easter, springtime, and almost the end of the school year! With all of this excitement going on, I am a few days late in linking up my Currently post. But I wouldn't miss it, so here it is!

Listening: Yes, I am at home today working on many chores, including cleaning and organizing a few things.

Loving: Easter weekend is one of my favorites. We got out of school Thursday at noon and don't go back until Tuesday. Plus, we just had spring break a two weeks ago, so it's a nice refresher.

Thinking: If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have noticed that our caterpillars arrived last Friday. When I left yesterday, one of the caterpillars was already in its chrysalis! So next week, we will be reading fiction and nonfiction books about butterflies. I hope to write a separate blog post for the different activities that we do.

Wanting: Both my husband and I have our birthdays within a week of each other. So, with this year being our first year of marriage, I decided to make only one large cake that we could share. Trust me, with it only being the two of us, it's a LOT of cake! But I made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Only the best!

Needing: I recently started reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner. So far, it is a little strange and hard to get into. I just know that I need some time to sit down and read! Hopefully with the extended weekend, I will be able to find some time!

Eggs-plain your name: I knew when I created my blog/TPT name I wanted to include something with ducks, which are my favorite animal. I also knew that I wanted to create products that were for all subject areas and that could be differentiated for various levels. I was searching for different 'duck' words and I came across "dabbling." Dabbling is what ducks do when they put their bill into the water and try to get food. I thought this term was great because another definition of "dabbling" is to kind of play with something and try it out. With these two meanings of dabbling, I knew that it was the perfect word for my title. Add in a picture of a duck, and my name and logo were born!

Remember you can still link up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade! 

Have a great weekend!

Michelle