Getting Ready for Back-to-School

It is hard to believe that it is already August and school is just around the corner! This year, all of the elementary schools in my district are NOT having kids bring supplies. Each child is being asked to bring $20 and teachers are purchasing ALL of their supplies. Needless to say, I have been shopping deals and sales all summer and this is what my living room currently looks like:

(front of the pile)

(back of the pile)

Some teachers were not happy with this arrangement, but I am thrilled because this way I can prep everything ahead of time and ALL of my kids will have EVERYTHING they need on the first day of school. It also saves us a TON of precious class time organizing supplies those first few days!

Besides buying student supplies, it is also time for me to pick up (more than) a few things from Teachers Pay Teachers because it is Back-to-School sale time!!!

My TpT store is part of the sale, so be sure to check it out! Then come back here and tell us what you bought. I will be choosing one comment on Wednesday evening and that person will get a little Jamberry gift pack from me, so you can have pretty nails for the first day of school!

Finally Updated My TpT Store!

I need summer vacation more than once a year! During my time off the last week or so, I have finally made time to update my Teachers Pay Teachers store. What do you think?

In addition to making it LOOK nicer, I have also been busy working on adding new items! I have also updated a few of my older items, so make sure to go and take a peek!

Here are some FREEBIES I have added:

I use this to organize & record the resources I have that I will use to teach different topics/units. Even though I have all of these resources organized on my computer, I find it helpful to have a hard copy in my plan book!

This next one used to be a paid product, but I have changed it into a FREEBIE!

 

These cute desk tags make a cheerful addition to any classroom. And if you like these and want more options, or are looking for some without the cursive, check out my NEW desk tags!

I can't wait to get these on the desks in my room!!!

Please head over to my store and let me know what you think about the changes and/or new & updated products. One lucky commenter will get the product of their choice from my store for FREE!!! Drawing to be held on Monday, August 3rd. Be sure to check back and see if you won!

Win Free Jamberry Nail Wraps!

Would you like to win some free nail wraps??? Head on over to my Facebook page, TheInspiredSoulwithShannonMurdock, and tell me which of these ADORABLE Valentine's nail wraps is your favorite!!

Contest ends, Friday, January 16th at midnight, Pacific Standard Time!

Want to just go ahead and order some?? Head to my website:  http://shannonmurdock.jamberrynails.net/

TpT 2014 Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) Sale!

Stock up on all the items on your TpT wishlist Monday and Tuesday, December 1st and 2nd!!

And as a special bonus, for these 2 days only you can buy my entire store, The Inspired Soul:

Click on the picture to go to my TpT store!

Time to Say Thanks

Seeing that is almost Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of my fellow teachers for everything that they do for their students. Our job is often thankless, and we rarely get to see the long-term results of our efforts. However, we do it because we love our kids and we know we are making a difference in their lives!

So in honor of all you do, I am offering a Thanksgiving Give-Away!

You can enter your name to win in several ways:

1. Leave a comment here on my blog

2. Follow me on Bloglovin'

3. Head over and "Like" my Facebook page, The Inspired Soul with Shannon Murdock

4. Share the Give-Away post on my Facebook page

For every 25 comments here on my blog, "Likes" on my Facebook page, and shares of the Give-Away post I will draw a name to win $10 from my TpT store. The more you share, the more winners there will be! Drawing will take place on Sunday evening, November 30, around 8pm (Pacific Standard Time).

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

My First Five for Friday!

Since this is my first time linking up with Five for Friday, I am going to "cheat" a little and include things from the last couple of weeks!

My sweet daughter decided she wanted to make cupcakes on her own last night. Since she is now almost 12 years old, I figured it was time to let her try! It certainly started out with a "Bang!"

Thankfully, she wasn't hurt. It just scared the wits out of her!!!! However, she quickly recovered and made some beautiful cupcakes for us:

(I am an Oregon Duck, and Dad is a Washington Husky, can you tell???)

I just joined the ranks of Jamberry Independent Consultants, and am loving it. I have not had any official parties yet, but already have had enough sales to earn LOTS of free product. If you haven't tried them yet, you really should. I love that they are easy to apply, inexpensive, and don't chip!

Here are my first two "Jamicures"!

I would be happy to send you a sample, if you would like give them a try. Just click here.

If you would like to browse the over 300 different wraps that are available, visit my website here. And if you would like to keep up with special offers on Jamberry (or my TpT store), please visit my Facebook page, The Inspired Soul with Shannon Murdock, and click the "Like" button!

Costco pomegranates are here!!!! I've already been through 2 boxes. Need I say more? 

photo credit

I have Parent Teacher conferences next week and always like my Fourth Graders to do a self-reflection to talk about with their parents. The format I use is this one, by Second Grade Survivor, and just tailor it to my class needs.

We have Student-Led conferences, so I make a checklist of the things they are to share with their parents for the first 15 minutes. Then they come talk to me for the second 15 minutes and we go over report cards.

What do you do for conferences? I am always interested in hearing other ideas!!!

My last blog post chronicles our time investigating turbines. We had a blast!!! You can read about it here.

If you are in the Portland, Oregon area, contact the BPA to have someone come out to your school and do this great activity with your class!

Turbine Experiment

A couple of weeks ago, we were lucky enough to have the dad if one of my students come in and do an AWESOME activity with our class. He works at the Bonneville Power Administration, and they offer several different FREE classroom presentations for various grade levels.

To begin, we learned a little bit about the BPA and what they do. We found out that most of the electricity we use is generated by giant turbines at the dams. This lead to rur activity: build turbines and test to see which designs recorded the most power.

The kids worked in teams of 3 or 4 to design a turbine, all using the same materials: paper cups, index cards, masking tape, and a pencil.

It was interesting to watch their thought processes and listen to their conversations!

Some groups were a little more productive, and some more creative, but they were all VERY engaged! 

Once they had their turbine built, they brought it over to the table to test it on this contraption:

We kept track of their results on the board, and after testing they went back to their groups to see if they could make improvements to increase their turbine's output.

Most teams ended up building more than one turbine, and they all tested & modified their designs multiple times. It was an AWESOME experience and I didn't have to prepare materials ahead of time or clean up anything afterwards!!! 

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New Facebook Page

Whether you are a regular follower of my blog or a first time visitor, please consider heading over and liking my new Facebook page that combines my love of teaching (Teachers Pay Teachers) and my love of pretty nails (Jamberry Nails)!

TheInspiredSoulwithShannonMurdock

My New Addiciton: Jamberry

 Okay, I have to admit to a new addiction! Have you tried Jamberry Nail Wraps yet??? They are amazing! They are basically heat-activated vinyl stickers that you put on your nails instead of (or on top of) polish.

Why do I love them, you ask? For many reasons:
1. They are faster and easier to use than painting my nails
       (I can do my nails in about 20 minutes with no mess)
2. I can choose from over 300 colors, designs, and finishes
       (solids, florals, metallics, matte, tints, french tips, etc.)
3. It is considerably cheaper than going to the salon for a manicure
       (each $15 sheet will do 2 manicures and 2 pedicures for most people)
4. There is no drying time and no worries about smudges or chipping
       (when applied correctly, the wraps are even waterproof)
5. They easily last for up to 2 weeks on my fingers and up to 4 weeks on my toes
       (I am lucky if nail polish lasts 3 days on my fingernails)

http://shannonmurdock.jamberrynails.net/product/stitched-away

Stitched Away is a set I just ordered and can't wait to put on my nails! However, I am going to have to be patient because the set I put on a week ago is still going strong!!!

http://shannonmurdock.jamberrynails.net/product/silver-floral-on-magenta

http://shannonmurdock.jamberrynails.net/product/Sunday-brunch

I love my Jamberry Nails so much, I dived right in and became a Jamberry Consultant. I am still in my first month and decided to offer a great deal to anyone who would like to get started wearing Jamberry Nail Wraps (see the flyer below). Browse my website to choose your favorite wraps, then just email me at inspiredshan@gmail.com to take advantage of this great offer!!

Still not sure? Click here to get a FREE SAMPLE!

Ready to become a consultant and save 30% or more on every order? Sign up here.

Back-to-School Shopping

I am so excited to be participating in my first TpT Back-to-School sale!!! Not only do I have a long wish list that I can now pare down by purchasing some things on sale, I also have my own store with some great products!! My store is called The Inspired Soul and I would LOVE it if you came and took a look at the things I have for sale.

Here are a few of my favorite things that I am excited to be buying:

1. Organizing Writer's Notebooks! by Carr's Creative Corner

I love the pages and ideas in this. I think it will really help organize and streamline my students' notebooks!!

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone Reading Comprehension Activity Guide by Wise Guys

I am sooooo excited to be teaching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to my class this year!! It has been 5 or 6 years since I last taught it due to a reading adoption, but I have a little more freedom in what I teach this year, and when I found this resource I couldn't resist!

3. Greek Mythology: Interactive Notebook Unit - Myths, Foldables, and Projects by Creative Classroom Core

This is going to be the perfect unit to introduce my kiddoes to Greek mythology. We have NO resources at our school to teach this topic, and I was getting a little desperate until I found this! 

I also want to share a couple of new things I have available:

Attention Getter "Call and Response" cards

Do you find yourself using the same strategies over and over to get your students' attention? Need a way to mix it up a bit and keep your kiddoes on their toes? Then this set of 20 colorful "call and response" cards is for you! 

On each card, the top section is what the teacher says and the bottom section is how the students should respond. You can even choose to add movements to them to make them that much more powerful!

RAINBOW Revising and Editing

Using different colors while editing and revising is a good way for students to see what they have and have not worked on. It also allows teachers to more easily see what their students have done. 

I buy "skinny" crayola markers and put a set into a pencil pouch along with a half-page laminated copy of this document. Kids can grab a pouch when they are ready to revise and edit by themselves or with a partner. I have also included a full page version if you prefer for each student to have their own copy and/or to make into a large poster.

There are many versions of this idea out there, but this one is geared more towards the intermediate grades. It also includes BOTH editing and revising, which I found hard to find.

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

EDITED TO LINK UP WITH