One more thing

Since I'm posting immediately after the last write-up, I figure this isn't double-posting. Right? Hmm.
Just thought I'd throw it out there that I put my Plural Posters on TpT and TN for easy download. Of course, they`re still free.
Find them free at TPT here:

and free at TN here:

No more posts, I promise :)
- Amanda

Nothing educational here...

Wedding countdown is on! Only five more days :) Here are a couple photos of things that are happening:

The lovely wedding day shoes. Yep, they're tall. I have a pair of flats to switch into when I get that foot ache.

Jeff and I made this together for our seating arrangement. Instead of having numbered tables, we are labeling them by countries we have visited together - nine tables in all. I made luggage tags with guest's names to hang beside this so they know to which country they are travelling for the evening. Still some finishing touches to add, but I think it turned our pretty great.

That's all! Happy Monday.

- Amanda

Math Centers with a Circus Theme

They're up:

Fact Family cards with worksheet to record answers

Commutative Property Cards with True/False headings and three different sorting mats to be used with manipulatives:

Addition with regrouping cards and worksheet to record answers

Time to the half hour cards and one page of "challenge cards" {time to the quarter hour} with worksheet where students draw the hands of the clock to match the digital time shown

Addition to 10 concentration game

Find this set here

and here

I will be bundling this set with my Circus Theme Literacy Centers soon - among all the DIY projects on the go for our upcoming wedding :)

Again, I'm happy and surprised! Thank you thank you to Susie Q for awarding my humble blog with...

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favourite", and it is given to "new, up and coming bloggers." 
I love it! It's so easy to wonder, "How come I only have xx followers? Shouldn't I have more?" But I'm resolving to start thinking, "Wow! I have xx people reading my blog? I wonder who they are and how they found me..."  At any rate, I'm feeling the love and I'm just happy to have this place to share and swap ideas.
The rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

I've chosen to give this award to:

Linda at Around the Kampfire

Storie at Stories by Storie

Jamie at Bright Concepts 4 Teachers

Aimee at Pencils, Books & Dirty Looks

Cindy at Primary Reading Party

I hope all of you enjoy this as much as I do!

Quickly, a little freebie for all. I had one student who broke his arm on the playground and missed an entire quarter in this last school year. I had no idea he would miss that much school and didn't even know for the first two weeks that a broken arm was the reason. I phoned home everyday but never got an answer {oh, Kuwait} and the school nurse didn't inform me {oh, Kuwait}. When I finally spoke with his mother, she said her son had a doctor's note excusing him from the rest of the school year {oh, Kuwait!}. And then, I find out, she's a teacher at a government school! Oh. Kuwait. Apparently the last quarter wasn't as important as the first three haha. At any rate, with high hopes I had made this form to document important work and assessment he was missing. 

In the end, I gave up on this form and had four typed pages of missed work for the student. Click the picture to grab this free from my TN shop. I hope it can help!

- Amanda

Award and More Recipes

This will be a bit of a long post, but there are great things all around: I received a great award and the recipes I'm posting are A LOT lighter than the last one :P {That's for you, Barbara!}

Big thanks to Tori at Tori's Teacher Tips for thinking of me when giving out this award:

!!!!!

I love being a part of the blogging community and think it helped me tremendously throughout my first year of teaching and will for the next thirty years! Thank you, Tori!

The rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.  Of course! Huge thanks, seriously.

2. Include a link to their site. I heart Tori's blog. Have a look around.

3. Include the award image in your post. Got it.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself. See below.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award. So many fantastic bloggers.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site. 

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated. 

Random Facts:
1. My dearest friend, Jessie, has been my best friend since Kindergarten.
2. I have suddenly developed allergies {I don't know to what exactly but not to any foods - phew!} and for someone that L.O.V.E.S. summer, this is the worst.
3. I have been asked to run a workshop for Math and Literacy Centers for our teacher orientation in August. I'm nervous and excited to map out a plan for this.
4. Right now I'm wearing my new Merrell "Barefoots." They are the lightest footwear I've ever owned. Okay, so because it's like walking on bare feet and most of us usually don't, I have to "break them in." Which sounds weird, I know, but its important for my muscles. Jeff and I ended up getting the same pair {plain black} because we do so much wandering when we travel.

5. One of my favourite shows is HGTV's House Hunters International. We have a bit of a dream to one day own income property overseas.

6. I just ordered dozens of white roses for our wedding day, which is coming up SUPER fast {July 21} and I could not be more happy and excited about. I am also working on some white hydrangeas. Gotta keep it simple for an evening wedding :)
7. I find it annoying that my blog posts are filled with so many different fonts, when I specifically have only one chosen for my template. Not as techy as I wish I was!

I'm now giving the award to: 
1. Susie at Learning with Susie Q {Susie is one of my most supportive followers and she has great ideas to share!}
2. Erin at First with Franklin {She's having a giveaway right now in honour of 100 followers}
3. 1st Grade Hip Hip Hooray 
4. Jacque at Mommy & Me Creations
5. Brittany at Sweet Seconds
6. Casey at Second Grade Math Maniac
7. Heather at Second Grade Perks
8. Kimberlee at Teacher Time Savers
9. Nicole at Mrs. Rios Teaches Second Grade
10. Stephanie and Jamie at Prayers and Purple Elephants
11. Barbara at Grade ONEderful {She already has this award of course but she is such a great bloggy friend that I just need to show some appreciation! And she's Canadian!}
12. Alessia at Mrs. Albanese's Kindergarten Class {Another fellow Canadian!}
13. Jenny at Luckeyfrog's Lilypad
14. Amanda {great name! hah} at Reaching for the Top! Ms. Wilkie's Second Grade Class.
And last, but most certainly not least, my absolute favourite teacher in the entire world:
15. Jeff at A New Classroom! He started his blog just a bit ago and is creating a very detailed game-based system for teaching his grade eight class next year. Go check it out if you'd like a fresh perspective on teaching middle school.

Now on to the food.

So this long weekend friends of mine hosted a three-bride {myself and two other good friends} bachelorette party at Blue Mountain and it was SO great! We have a great group of friends that we met while teaching in Korea and I'm so thankful for such a helpful, supportive and loving bunch. I made snacks to hold us over between meals and they were all a big hit. *CLICK ANY OF THE PICTURES OR THE TITLES TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE RECIPE* I highly recommend everything I made: 

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Salsa from Mama Loves Food - make it as spicy {or not} and as chunky {or not} as you'd like. The key is in roasting the veggies. It was definitely like restaurant salsa.

Olive Tapenade with fresh French bread - This was SO EASY to make! Just put all ingredients (black olives, green olives, garlic - that's it} into a food processor and voila. Also Delicious and also from Mama Loves Food.

Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip {one of my favourites!} This recipe is from Chatelaine, one of my favourite "everything" magazines. If I still lived in Canada I'm fairly certain I'd have a subscription.

Goat Cheese and Bacon Balls - from another favourite recipe site, Buns in My Oven. Blended with cream cheese, the strong goat cheese flavour is nice and mild. If you let them sit too long after making, the basil starts to take over the flavour of the bacon, so I guess it's up to you when to eat!
If you need a quick and tasty bbq potluck, try one out. You won't be disappointed!
- Amanda