Just Curious....Let's Take a Poll!

As I slowly get into back to school mode, I am trying to stick to a budget. Every year I tell myself I am not going to spend a ton of money on back to school stuff and then I do. This year I realllyyyy need a new chair for my desk. My chair used to move up and down and now it's broken because my chair is a million years old, so now I pretty much just sit on the floor. I have been looking at desk chairs and they are so expensive! I feel like this is an item that my school should buy me, but they don't. We don't get any money to spend for the school year either :(. 

So I'm curious...does your school give you any back to school money or money to spend throughout the year? Does your school replace any furniture or is that up to you to replace?

Shopkick! Because I Love Free Stuff!

I think I have shared about Shopkick before, but I just earned another free gift card and I want you to also! Shopkick is a fun app that allows you to earn points just by walking into stores. Points can also be earned by scanning specific products, and some stores even allow you to link your credit card and earn points for making purchases. The app is totally free and I have already earned $50 in gift cards. Download the app now and start earning points! Click the image below to learn more or to download.  (The image is linked to my referral ID)

Two for Tuesday!

I have been giving several of my TpT products "facelifts" recently, so I'm linking up with Chalk One Up for the Teacher to showcase two of those products at 50% off! I'm late getting this posted so the products will be half off until I remember to change it back tomorrow (7/29). 

First up is my "I Have, Who Has" Light and Sound. 

Next up is my "I Have, Who Has" Ecosystems and Food Chains. 

My goal for the summer was to make an "I have, who has" review game for each chapter that we cover in science and I only have one left to do!

Assess Me! Week One

I read tons of bloggers' Assess Me posts and wanted to join in! Thank you to The Tattooed Teacher for creating this linky! I love the fun, silly questions and have enjoyed reading everyone else's responses! 

1. I have a million thoughts that race through my head all day long, but I wouldn't say I actually talk to myself...I don't know maybe I do!

2. Nope not superstitious!

3. Ugh I hate the sound of cracking knuckles. It gives me goosebumps!

4. I'm always hungry!!

5. TV is on wayyyyy too much. 

6. Got my bottom wisdom teeth!

7. I went swimming....that counts as a shower right?

8. Love Disney!

9. No glasses....yet. 

10. Sadly, I still live in the same state I was born :( 

Monday Made It: 7/20

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics today for one of my favorite linkies.....Monday Made It!

Sadly, I have done very little school stuff this summer and have focused mostly on house and yard projects. My big project this summer has been updating my kitchen. It is not completely done, still waiting on a backsplash and some trim for the tops of cabinets, but I wanted to show you a picture of my new light above my new sink! My dad has been a huge help with these projects and I have learned so much. He usually just does stuff and doesn't let me help, but this time I made him tell me what to do and I completed it! So here it is!

BEFORE:

AFTER: 

Ignore the ugly area where the backsplash will go! I also tore out the soffiting above the cabinets which really opened everything up! I can't wait to share pictures of the finished project!

I did manage to finish one school project this week! My Light and Sound Task Cards are now up in my TpT store. They will be 50% off today only! 

What have you made recently?!

Rewind and Retell: A STEM Challenge

Today I am linking up with The Gypsy Teacher for her new linky called Rewind and Retell. This linky was created to share those ideas you tried during the school year but just didn't get around to blogging about yet! As I was going through pictures on my phone, I realized I have all sorts of events that I took pictures of and then never blogged aobut. 

Today I want to share with you a fun STEM Engineering Challenge my students participated in. I used the Sentence Strips challenge from a pack I purchased from Smart Chicks on TpT. 

I used a few of these challenge this past year, but not as many as I had wanted. I love that these challenges give students the opportunity for trial and error and to be creative! Students need to be able to think on their own and be able to problem solve. These STEM challenges are perfect for that! 

The Sentence Strips challenge was very simple. The only materials needed are a sentence strip and a textbook. The students have to figure out how to use just a sentence strip to hold a textbook up off of the ground. 

Here are some pictures of my students working on this challenge!

What are some of your favorite STEM challenges?

A New Obsession

I am such a sucker for subscription services. I just love getting surprises in the mail! I had read on a few other blogs about Ipsy so I had to try it myself! The Ipsy glam bag is a $10 a month subscription service that sends you a cute make-up bag and 5 beauty products each month. The best part is that the products are actually full sized, not just trial size versions. Check out what I got this month!

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How cute is that bag! I am already loving the chapstick and lip stick that was sent and can't wait to try out the Cool Way hairspray. The item on the very right is actually a really pretty golden brown eye shadow. I'm not sure that I will actually use the powder, but I was happy with the other products!

If you would like to try out Ipsy, I would love it if you used my referral link :) Just click on the image below. Let me know what you think of Ipsy!

The things that keep you going...

Teaching can be such a thankless job sometimes, so it sure does feel good when you are appreciated! One of my students wrote me the sweetest note at the end of the year that I just have to share with you all!

First Annual Egg Drop!

I can remember doing an Egg Drop when I was in 5th grade and have thought about doing it with my 4th graders for a few years but never followed through. This year I convinced my team members to join in on the fun with me! Our students were given the task of creating a contraption that would protect a raw egg when dropped from the roof of the school. The students made their contraptions at home, and I was very impressed with their creative ideas when they brought their contraptions into school. 

The sheet that I sent home with students was a TpT freebie from Monster Sciences. You can click on the picture to take you to the project sheet. 

Below our some pictures from the day of the drop! We made the kids crack open their eggs after they were dropped to make sure we didn't have any cheaters (hard-boiled egg) and we didn't! 

The kids had a blast with this activity, and we will definitely be doing it again next year!