Meet Crystal from Kreative in Kinder

Greetings friends! I am Crystal from Kreative in Kinder. (And yes, this was my favorite dress last summer, haha!)

I hope that you have enjoyed getting to know the girls of Freebielicious.  Two summers ago, my blogging bestie (Tammy with Live Laugh Love Everyday in Kindergarten) and I were talking about how it would be so nice to have a collaborative blog filled with primary ideas and free resources. We racked our brains for about two months and Wha La! Freebielicious was born!  Within the process, we have come to know and love the other twenty-three authors. I tell you, they have hearts of GOLD. We never imagined how much our lives would change and what a blessing Freebielicious would be to us and hopefully you.  Our one and only goal has been to be a blessing.  Yes, I’m cheesy like that. J

So, this is my chance to tell you all about ME! Well, if you read my blog, you know about my hot mess life.  My husband and I started dating when we were seniors in High School.  We will celebrate our 12^thanniversary next Sunday. Eek! So excited! I love him so much my heart hurts when we aren't together (except at ITK in Vegas..no hubs allowed, haha!). Seriously, we are best friends.   

These are my three kids..ALL teenagers! This explains the drinking. Just kidding. Maybe. Haha! I am so blessed to be there mom.  My oldest is a sophomore this year and can I tell you that my heart is already aching at the idea that she will graduate in a few years. 

Don’t do the math people. My sweet children were not born from my womb, but born from my heart (though I totally have the baby weight, ehem). We adopted through foster care and have had our kids for nine years. They complete us. And they are crazy. And hormonal. Did I mention teenagers?! Haha!

This is our Christmas card this year. I think it’s a perfect reflection of us.  We are a very busy family and love adventure, travel (except hubs, he’s a weenie), and cultural activities.  We totally put the FUN in dysFUNctional!

Um, Here is our attempt to take Christmas card pictures. Apparently, it was too much to ask for EVERYONE took look at the camera AND smile ALL at the same time. Sheesh! Epic. Fail.

I have one sister. We are 14 months apart. We live one block from each other (and our parents, seven miles from us). Our kids are all the same age too. Blessed! If you have need motivation for a healthy lifestyle, check out her facebook page here. She is pretty awesome. 

 Here is my Wonderful, Amazing, Fantabulous TEAM. We have so much fun together. We just fit like a perfect puzzle. Hubs has tried to move our family several times but working with a team like this just doesn't happen often so I have parked my trailer with these gals. 

I teach kindergarten. It’s my one and only love. It’s not what I do, it’s who I am.  The littles are my people.  You can check out my classroom HERE.

What else? Favorites?  Color: Purple, Wine: Mascato, Music: Everything but country (YES, I realize this is rare as a Texan.), Food: Chocolate Chip Cookies (that counts, right?), Holiday: CHRISTMAS,  Movie: Steel Magnolias, Fears: Heights, Confession: I am a teensy bit sarcastic & completely honest, Love: JESUS!!

Currently, this is what I am doing every night. I have an unhealthy obsession with Hallmark Christmas movies. I am equally obsessed with hot chocolate and starring at my Christmas tree. Everything about Christmas melts my heart. 

If you want to know more about me (because you didn't learn enough today? Haha!) and what goes on in my classroom, you can check out my blog here. 

Before I go, I want to share a freebie with you. I always do Elf on a Shelf in my classroom. It is so much fun. Most teachers at my school do it and it really makes all of the December madness bearable. My elf comes to school on Monday. After a little inspiration from Freebielicious' very own Marsha, I have decided that our elf will teach us how to RACK (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness). You can read Marsha's post from last year HERE. My elf likes to get in some mischief too. Last year our kinder elves toilet papered our hallway. The kids got a big kick out of it. This year, we are still going to have a little mischief BUT we are also going to spread cheer and kindness around our school too. The greatest gift we can give our students is to understand the joy of giving to others. All you need to do is print and cut the cards. Complete the task and leave a "You've been RACKed" card when you are done. You can grab this freebie HERE. 

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know me. I know...Longest. Post. Ever. Did I mention that I talk too much and kinda love writing? I promise I am not this long winded *most* of the time. For real. Pinky swear. 

Love and virtual hugs!

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Meet Lidia from Kinder Alphabet

Hi there! I am Lidia from Kinder Alphabet. I have taught Pre-K, Kinder and 2nd grade. But, my favorite has always been Kindergarten. This is me, when I was in Kinder :)

I love to teach reading, themes and finding ways to incorporate activities into our learning centers. Teaching is such a busy job. So, I decided to create a classroom website many years ago, in an effort to keep myself organized. I had no idea how to build a website, but I figured out all that HTML mumbo jumbo. It was a good resource for parents and co-workers as well.

I also designed our School's website. This is the Kid Page by grade levels. 

I have been a little obsessed with web design since then. And now, I keep playing around with my own blog layout and even with clip art. This is my blog :)

My blog was on wordpress, but noticed that older posts are not showing up. It seems to be stuck on the homepage and I do not know how to fix that. Soooo, I will be back on blogger. It is so much more user friendly.

I love blogging, but I have had to limit my computer time because I have not been feeling well lately. The good news is that I get to spend more time with my little ones. 

This is Daisy. She's not so little anymore, but she's still my baby :) I wish that I had her beautiful voice. She's in choir, plays guitar, and has learned some amazing moves in martial arts. She has a huge heart and ran for Fall Fiesta Queen this summer to raise money for our church.

This is Angel. He's my lion king :) He loves baseball, soccer and hip hop. He's always on the go and loves the outdoors. Today's his birthday. Our schools had a 2 hour delay. Sooo, he decided to have a donut and hot coffee for his birthday breakfast! Lol. I do not like coffee, but he LOVES it!

And my little Isabella.  She's so precious. She loves to sing and dance. I have a video of her singing. I wish that I knew how to upload it to blogger. Maybe some other time :)

I hope that you enjoy today's freebie:)

Here's a sample. Just click on an image to download it.

And here's a clip art freebie too:)

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Hey Friends!

Hey Freebielicious Friends,

My name is Mrs. Coe and I am from the Little Miss Kindergarten blog. So they tell me it's my time to introduce myself! I have been teaching for 14 years all of which have been spent in Kindergarten by choice! I had an interesting journey on my way to becoming a Kindergarten teacher. When I enrolled in college the teaching program at my university was going through some changes and at that time you had to major in a subject area because Early Childhood Education was just an endorsement... After looking at all of my options, I decided to major in Science. I spent my college years preparing myself to work with...junior high kids!

Lucky for me I graduated on a Sunday and started work on a Monday as a Kindergarten teacher and that Monday night was right back in college to obtain my endorsement for Kindergarten! I still remember being so excited at a dream I thought would never be fulfilled... Honestly, I have never lost that excitement. I have been blessed in Kindergarten for all of these years and I could not be happier. In fact, I was so excited to be a teacher I would pretend that I could not hear them call me on the loud speaker because I wanted to hear them call my name again...just to make sure it was real! But seriously I will deny it if I am ever asked about it!  

 

 Because of my time in the Science department I naturally developed a love for Science and a passion for teaching Science to young children. What I once thought was a curse has actually been the biggest blessing in my life. I am the happiest when I am teaching Science to young children. So after starting a Kindergarten blog, I decided to create a Kindergarten Science blog just to give me a little place in the world to talk a little science. I hope you can join me there from time to time. And if Science is not your thing I bet you get hooked pretty quick.

If you need a little Science inspiration just click on this image and grab your copy!

This freebie will be a sure fire way to get your students Observing and Describing Properties of Objects just like a Scientist.

And when I am not blogging about Science I love talking all things Kindergarten.

This is where I share just about everything else! And right now I am sharing cookies! Come on over and grab your copy!

I look forward to another great year of fun and freebies here at Freebielicious!  



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Meet Tara West from Little Minds at Work

Hey there!  It's me, Tara West ie. "the new girl!"  I blog over at {Little Minds at Work}.  I was beyond excited and grateful to join this group of awesome bloggers!

I wanted to take a few minutes to share a little about myself and to share a couple of great freebies with you as well!

Anyway, you most likely know me best by the photo below!  It is my profile picture over at {Teachers Pay Teachers}.  

I was born, raised, and still live in small Sedalia, Missouri!  I am 26 years old and  having a late August birthday...I usually celebrate my birthday completely exhausted from the exiting back to school week! I married my husband, Jedidiah, on March 15, 2008! We have yet to be blessed with children, but we will patiently wait on God's perfect timing!



My husband and I in Las Vegas!

I am completely in love with my two beautiful nieces- Lolah and Vaida!  We make it our mission to go and visit them each and every day. They are full of life and always make me laugh and smile all at once!


Lolah


Vaida

I also admire and have so much respect for my mom!  I lost my dad to a heart condition when I was a Junior in high school.  My mom has been so strong and supportive of my sister and I.  Even though there are days I miss my dad like crazy I know he is  so proud of my sister and I. Speak of my sister, she aslo teaches Kindergarten with me- right down the hall.

my mom and I at my wedding.

I also LOVE the beach or anywhere warm! :)

Destin, Florida

Now a few random facts {the good and the bad habits too!}

-I LOVE music!  I am a walking Jukebox...start a song and I will sing away!  I know the 70's, 80's, 90's, rap, country, classic rock, jazz...oh yeah I got it covered! :)

-I also LOVE sunflower seeds.  I've been nicknamed the "squirrel" if that tells you anything!

-I smile WAY more than an average person...at least I think ;)

-When I was little my parents raised Boxer dogs.  My sister and I would name them all, play in the dog house with them, and use them as our kids when we would play house! It was always heart breaking to give them to their new owners.

-I have bad habit of drinking diet pop!  I currently only drink non caffeinated, but it's still bad! LOL Also, I wouldn't be fibbing telling you that when I limit myself to one a day..I drink it for breakfast! HA!

-I'm 5ft.  tall.

-I recently purchased my first non-Kmart purse.  I'm super pumped to have made this big move!  My husband was the one that actually encouraged me to buy it...a sign?? :)

-I am an extremely nervous person at times.  This has gotten better as I have aged, but it's still there!  When I was about 6 "Santa" came to my house Christmas Eve...I was so nervous and upset that I didn't go outside to the see the reindeer that I made my self sick!

- I also have a bad habit of switching cars...a lot! My dear husband just rolls with it, but he thinks I'm crazy.  I'm IN LOVE with my current SUV so it isn't going anywhere!

-I walk REALLY fast!  A lot of people don't understand how such a short person can walk so fast. I guess I just take small steps! My sister also thinks it's crazy that I walk the 5 mph setting on the treadmill.  I thought this was completely normal?

-I have a HUGE heart!  My heart breaks when I hear any kind of sad story.  My throat gets a big lump and I really just want to cry it out!

That's about all I can think of right now.....but I'm sure there are a few more ;)

My teaching partner and I- Read Across America day!

I love my family, my friends, my career, and the amazing relationships I've made through blogging!  Ever have a question, please feel free to email me at taradc87@hotmail.com

Below are a couple of awesome freebies that will be perfect for your busy December!



Below is a quick and easy Christmas beginning sound sort.  Students will sort pictures cards to the /S/anta board or the /E/ lf board.  Students can then record their answers on the corresponding recording sheet.

Click the picture below to grab these freebie!



The second freebie is my Christmas fluency review packet!  I send this home with my students over Christmas break because we benchmark test soon after we return from break.
This packet covers LNF, LSF, NWF, and PSF. Click the picture below to grab these freebie!



Be sure to also head over to my blog below and follow me for upcoming freebies & more!



Tara West

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