A Few of My Favourite Things

Laura from Where the Magic Happens offered to host a new blog hop to get us ready for the holidays! Remember that super huge giveaway that happened in August? Well this one might beat it ALL! Check out the end of this post to see what amazing prizes have been donated for you to win. But, before we get to that...check out some of my favourite things!

My favourite restaurant has got to be Boston Pizza! Have you ever tried their Spicy Perogy Pizza????? It is by far my most favourite meal. I'm sure the rest of their menu is amazing but I've never tried anything else! They also have a great kids meal.

My favourite stores??? Hmmm...this is a tough one. I have so many! My favourite children's clothing store has got to be Bonnie Togs/Carters. The quality of their clothes is fantastic and my girls love their style. I'm sad that Anna is almost too big for their clothing.

My favourite clothing store is Laura. We have an outlet by my house! Who doesn't love spending $20 instead of $100!

My favourite online store is Amazon! No matter what I'm looking for they have it. Not to mention their shipping is super fast! Since Amazon is one of my favourite online stores I am offering up a $20 Amazon gift card as part of the amazing giveaway below!

 One of my favourite things about the holidays is spending time with my family. Each year my mom makes everyone gingerbread houses to decorate. It started off being all of my cousins and my sisters, but now it's usually just a close family affair. Even Adam (my husband) gets to decorate a gingerbread house.

 The family working hard on our gingerbread creations.

 Lizzy and my sister decorating their houses.

Anna is very focused on her house. Adam is still working on his 

gingerbread house decorating skills. 

Here are some of my favourite school items! 

Flair Pens

Angie Olson from Mrs Olson's Lucky Little Leaners got me hooked on these pens! I love the variety of colours, and how they write. I'm a bit of a pen snob...if I don't like the way it writes I won't use it. Click HERE to check out these amazing pens on Amazon.

Mr. Sketch Markers 

I remember these markers from when I was a kid! I still love them! Some of the new scents are pretty cool too! Click HERE to find them on Amazon!

I hope you enjoyed checking out some of my favourite things! Here is the best part...my featured items are 50% off. Click HERE to go to my store or search #myfavouritethings2014

Because we value our followers, and wanted to treat you to our favorite things Oprah style, we have put together the best giveaway of the season! My bloggy friends and I welcome you to the best, biggest, most cheerful event of the season:

7 winners for 7 prize packs!

Come and enter the giveaway and check out my bloggy friends' favourite things.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Unwrap a Gift!

Well I’m a little late linking up with The Primary Gal to bring you the Unwrap a Gift Linky Party. Let's just say that it has been one of those weeks!!!! I'll never get caught up. I apologize to those people who stopped by this morning and found a blank blog post. I hate dropping the ball on things. But here we go. 

Here is my gift to you!

Have you started using Open Ended Problems yet? If you want to learn more about Open Ended Problems click HERE check out my post on The Primary Pack.

My students have been working really hard on making numbers to 10. So I gave them a problem from the December kit. I loved watching them figure out the problem independently! They could even communicate the strategies they were using to help them solve the problem.

If you like what you see in the sample you can pick up the complete set! They are 50% off in my store this week!

Also, make sure you check out my Animal Themed, Problem Solving Strategies Posters.

Coming Soon!

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for the start of My Favourite Things Blog Post and a chance to win hundreds of dollars in prizes!

Don't forget to hop back over to the Primary Gal's blog to gets some more great gifts!

December Pick 3 Linky

As soon as Lisa from Pawsitively Teaching  and Marissa from Inspired Owl's Corner invited me to link up for their new monthly linky, I had so many ideas floating through my head. I love that this will be super useful. The rules are that you need to find three things on Pinterest that you could use during the month and since it's December 3rd...it was super easy! 3 December ideas!

I absolutely love teaching art and this activity from Color Like You Mean It looks amazing!!!  Click HERE or on the picture to go to the pin! This was done with a fifth grade class, but I think my Firsties will be able to handle it. 

I think instead of water paint though we will use pastels to colour and maybe we will use watercolour for the background. Wouldn't they make great cards to give to their parents!

Have you fallen in love with Whimsy Workshop Teaching yet? I love Susanna's clip art...but she's much more than clip art. Check out her adorable Polar Bear Tutorial.

Not only are these poplar bears ADORABLE but Susanna gives you the step by step instructions for teaching your students how to make them! Click HERE or on the picture to go to the pin!

 Each year the Grade One classes at my school will make an ornament for the students' trees or window. This year, we are going to make these adorable Christmas Trees from Ginger Snap Crafts.

I think they would be really sweet with a picture of them in the middle. For those students that don't celebrate Christmas they can make a tree without the buttons and star or a Popsicle stick snowflake to hang in their window. 

Take a look at some of the things that other bloggers plan to do this month!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for stopping by!

All I Want for Black Friday

Is anyone getting excited for Black Friday? Being from CanadaI have never experienced a Black Friday sale. But I've heard stories. :) My friends from The Primary Pack are hosting the "All I Want for Black Friday Wishlist" Linky Party and Giveaway!

There are so many things on my wishlist, but these are some that I have to have!

1. Light up the Holidays by Jennifer Reynolds of Stories and Songs in Second. Jennifer's writing prompts are fantastic. The paper is super cute too!
2. I Spy CVC Words Through the Year by A Teachable Teacher. Who doesn't love a bundle and I Spy? My students love i Spy books and Where's Waldo. I think they will flip for these activity. So much fun!
3. E.L.A 1st Grade Interactive Lanuage Notebook by Sassy Savvy Simple Teaching. I was part of book study with Dianna this summer and I fell in love with her products! My firsties will love this too!
4. iPad Rules for School by A New Box of Crayons. Once again this year I am the computer contact. We have been getting more and more iPads, posted rules are a great idea! I also love how this package can be edited!
5. Penguin Bundle by LittleRed. Not only is this store Canadian and I love their clip art but their units are amazing too. I can't wait to get my hands on their Tacky the Penguin story study. I usually start off the new year with Penguins so this will fit in perfectly!
6. Winter Buddies by Krista Wallden. I have a clip art addiction and I love Krista's adorable buddies!
7. Winter Backgrounds by Educlips. Look at these amazing backgrounds! I love them! So much fun!

Check out some of the most wishlisted items in my store, Emmy Mac Shop! My wishlisted items will be 20% from the 28th to the 30th! 

1. Problem Solving Strategies: Animal Themed  I absolutely love this product! I adore how it came up. This product is full of problem solving strategies. Each strategy has an animal, i.e. Building Beaver (Using a Model) or Funky Monkey (Act it Out). The animals make it easier for my students to remember the different strategies
2. Writing Friendly Letters with Learning Goals and Success Criteria  This product has everything you need for your letter writing unit: anchor chart ideas, arrows for self and peer assessment, check lists, templates, learning goals and success criteria and much more.
3. Writing Personal Recounts Are your students working on writing personal recounts or adding details to their writing? Then this product is for you. Everything you need is included: Learning goals, success criteria, check lists, arrows for peer and self assessment, the "5 W" posters, writing rainbow for goal setting and much, much more.
4. "Suit Up" Santa: A Sight Word Game Your students will love this game. Poor Santa is in his underwear. Students need to dress Santa by reading words. Your kiddos will have so much fun playing this game!
5. Trim the Tree: A Sight Word Game This is another holiday sight word game that your students are sure to love. Students decorate a Christmas tree by reading sight words. This game is sure to be a hit. It's great for students to play during word work.

Drumroll please.... Check out this HUGE giveaway package you can win by entering below! There is a resource from almost everyone in The Primary Pack, perfect for all primary grades!! Good luck, friends and happy shopping!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now It's Your Turn To Join The Fun! 

Just a few rules to follow and your on your way:

1. Download the images above!

2. Add your favorite sellers products in your TpT cart to the "My Black Friday Wishlist"

3. Add your own products to the "For Your Black Friday Wishlist"

4. Link up below to share your Black Friday Wishlists!

5. Don't forget to enter our fabulous giveaway above AND visit others linked up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

You Oughta Know: November Edition

I am so excited for Jasmine's "You Oughta Know" Blog Hop! This is absolutely one of my favourite Linkys. I'm so happy that I was invited to participate, even though my post is super late!!! Ahhhhhh!!!!

So my You Oughta Know is a little out of date, but I wanted to post it before I forgot about it, because this idea is beyond brilliant.

November 11th, was Remembrance Day. In Canada, we wear poppies to as a show of support to our veterans and those who lost their lives in service to our country. The students proudly wear their poppies but they always fall off. The poppies are attached by a straight pin, but they always slide off. We have tried getting them to stay on using tape on the end. In the past few year the students have been given sticker poppies which are great. 

A few weeks ago, one of my teaching partners' Firsties shared with her a poppy that she had made at Sparks. So I cannot take credit for this idea at all. But, I wanted to share it with you. 

To make these poppies you will need two pieces of felt. A circle tracer and a poppy tracers, a button, half of a pipe cleaner and a safety pin.

First, use a black marker to trace around the tracers. You will need a circle and a poppy. Cut two small slits in the centre of both pieces.

Then, string the pipe cleaner through the button and fold it in half.

Next, insert the pipe cleaner through the two pieces of felt. You can leave the pipe cleaner long or wrap around at the back. Attach a safety pin and you are done!

The best part is that the poppies won't fall off!!!

An InLinkz Link-up