If you are one of the creative minds out there, I have a question for you. Are you neat and tidy or are you a bit lot messy? I came across this quote from Albert Einstein that made me feel a little better about myself:


So, if I have a ton of things on (and around) my desk, I have a lot of things going on in my mind! Right? 

One of my friends sent me this {awesome article} that made me feel much better about my creative and messy mind. 


Did you know that Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Mark Twain all had messy desks? Hey, you can put me in that group anytime!

Did you see my math mystery, The Case of the Halloween Hullabaloo in the hands-on picture? I have this mystery for {1st}, {2nd}, and {3rd} grades. If you would like include {math mysteries} in your math workshop, you can find them {here}! They are great fun and can be used in so many ways!

• Print them on 8 1/2 x 11 to make a full size book. I do this, then put the pages in page protectors and then in a notebook. The kids can use dry erase markers!
• Print them 2 pages to a page, to make a 1/2 size book.
• Print the copies 4 to a page.
• Open the pdf document on an iPad, computer, or other device and have the kids go to the correct page in the story.

The {The Clutter-Free Classroom} has some awesome organizational tips included in the {packet} I bought. I just wanted to let you see how I made it work for me in my classroom. You know, that is what you need to do with any resource you use in your classroom. . . make it work for you!

If you would like the chart I have the kids use to keep track of the activities they have completed, just click {here} to pick one up.

Thanks for stopping by! Talk to you later, tater!

I had the privilege of trying out an awesome product from {Smilemakers}. I received it over the summer. It took me awhile to get all my routines rolling, but I have it up and running in my room now. 

I have this awesome tool at my word work station. Each week, I switch out the strip of pictures for the kids to make the ladders. They love seeing the new pictures for the new week! Check out this video of one of my cuties making new words by changing letters!

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a lazy Sunday like I am! It rained all night and now it's been raining all day! I love it! I'm so glad it is when I'm home and don't have to go anywhere!

I have started using a different approach to math workshop (I'll have to tell you all about it in another post) and wanted some journal activities for my munchkins. When I first started trying to teach logic to my kids, I had to have help from THEM to figure the puzzles out! Well this year, I wanted to get my math kids thinking logically early on, but I couldn't seem to find any good 2nd-3rd grade friendly logic puzzles. So, what do you think I did? I made {my own} of course!