Meet the Blogger Linky

Hey all!

One of my favorite things about blogging is meeting other teacher bloggers. I stumbled on this wonderful linky hosted by Stephanie from Falling into First that introduces bloggers. What a great way to meet new people! Here is a little more information about me...

I am Krystyn. I'm 30 year old teacher and blogger living in Washington State. This will be my 5th year teaching 2nd graders.

My sweetie and I. 

I met my boyfriend at school. He worked at the Boys and Girls Club that is located at my school.

Q: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I love to travel. I'll be heading to Iceland on Thursday. Here are a few pictures from last year's adventure: Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic.

 My family are huge soccer fans.

Q: If You Weren't a Teacher, What Would You Be?

When I was in high school I wanted to be a professional photographer. I love taking pictures and capturing specific moments. 

Q: Three Little Words That Describe You

Loyal. Creative. Family-oriented 

Q: Finish This Sentence, "________, Said No Teacher Ever!!

This pretty much describes my Friday night. 

Q: It's Your Birthday And You Can Invite Anyone To The Party. Who Are You Inviting?

Miranda Lambert and Blake Sheldon. They just look like they are having a ton of fun and I love their music.

Q: If Someone Wrote a Book About Your Life, What Would Be the Title?

Travels and Adventures

Q: You Get To Pick One Superpower. What Is It?

Teleportation for sure. I love to travel and go on adventures but sometimes I don't enjoy the time it takes to get there. 

Q: What's Your Favorite Quote?

I have a ton of favorite quotes but I only picked a few to include.

Q: If You Had to Sing One Song On American Idol, What Would It Be?

"Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi

I love that song! Every time it comes on I sing it at the top of my lungs. (My poor boyfriend.) 

Q: Are You a Morning Person or Night Owl?

I am a little bit of both but I would say mostly a Night Owl. I have been staying up pretty late recently. Which is all going to have to change once school starts.

Q: What's Your Favorite Resource You've Created?

I really like my Measurement Madness supplement unit. There are so many great hands-on activities in this unit. These are always my student's favorite math activities. 

Q: Share Something We Might Not Know About You!

I get really grouchy when I am hungry. I try to keep snacks close by to prevent completely biting anyone's head off. 

This e-card makes me laugh. 

Head over to Stephanie's blog to read about all of your favorite bloggers.

Crazy Year!

Hello followers!

This week has been a doozy. I caught all that crud that my students have been passing to each other last Sunday. Take a look at my coffee table.

Yuck! I couldn't stop sneezing. I have never been sick this soon in the school year. I even considered writing sub plans. It was that bad. I hate writing sub plans, especially on Day 10 of the school year.

As I was lying on the couch this week with flannel pajamas, a hoodie, 2 fleece blankets, and a mug of tea, my sweetie reminded me that I probably got sick because of all the things I am doing this year.  As many of you already know, this year I am in the process of getting my National Board Certification. I also realized that I am going to have to prioritize. I have decided that while I am getting my National Board Certification this year, I am going to have to put my blog on a bit of a hold. I still plan on posting but they are not going to be as frequent as they were in the past.

I would love for you to follow me on Instagram at @msrichardssmusings, Facebook at Ms Richards's Musings, and Twitter at @krystynrichards.

Before I go, take a look at our science activity that we did this week. We explored balance with these "trick crayfish" from our Foss Kit. This is my favorite activity from the kit.

We even walked around the school balancing the crayfish on their fingers. The kids LOVED it!

It is cloudy day in Washington today. Perfect day to watch movies on my couch and plan for next week.

Enjoy your weekend.

Open House, First Day Back, Five for Friday...oh my!

Phew! This week completely took it out of me. I forgot how tiring the first week back is. The sad part was we only had school 3 days this week. I am linky up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday.

One: I spend my Labor Day weekend driving across the state to go to my friend's wedding. It was beautiful. Take a peek at these adorable center pieces. All of them were different and had specific mementos about the couple's relationship.

Two: I finally was able to get my minions finished and up on my bulletin board. The parents and students that walked by my class LOVED the minions. One of my students from last year wanted to know where his name was. I had to gently explain that he was in a different class this year so he didn't have a minion. (Awww)

Three: On Tuesday we had our Open House. All the elementary schools have Open House on the same day in our district. I had about half of my parents and students show up. (Yeah!)

Four: I took pictures of my students with this cute little sign I made up to mark the first day of 2nd grade. I am not quite sure what I am going to do with them but I wanted to make sure I captured their first day.

Five: In spite of my exhaustion, I met up with my family to watch the USA vs Costa Rico soccer game. Even though we lost, we had a REALLY big tv to watch the game on.

I am off to try to plan my lessons for next week so I can try to go to sleep early tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend.

Classroom Reveal 2103

Phew! I can't believe how fast this week has gone. I am in full-on classroom readiness mode. Like everyone else, we have had all kinds of Professional Development this week. I am pretty much done with my classroom so I figured I would link up with Courtney from Swimming into Second and Jessica from Tales from a First Grade Teacher to show you my room.

If you follow me on Instagram @msrichardssmusings you have already seen most of these pictures.

Numbers, Bucket Fillers, coat hooks

From my kidney table

"Carpet" area. I hate this rug but it will have to work for now.

Classroom Library

Reading Genre Posters

Teacher area

Small Group

I still need to find a spot to put the objectives. Any suggestions?

It's a S-A-L-E!!!

Hey all!

I writing this quick post just to give you a friendly reminder of the humongous sale that is going on over at Teachers Pay Teachers today and tomorrow. I have spend the last hour and a half checking out all the wonderful discounted products. I can't wait to see what everyone brought.

I will post classroom pictures tomorrow. I promise. I have a couple more things to put away and then I am ready to go. Whoop whoop!

Don't forget to leave feedback on products you buy so you can get all the additional discounts. Happy shopping!

What's On Your TpT Wishlist?

Hey all!

It's that time of year again for Teachers Pay Teacher's Back to School Sale. I can't believe how fast summer went this year. Phew! My room is about 85% done. Whoop whoop!

I just found this linky today. I thought it would be perfect in preparation for the TpT Sale Sunday and Monday. All you have to do is link up with 2 products from your store and 1 product on YOUR wishlist.

1. My most wishlist-ed item is my Measure Madness. I love this unit because it has a variety of activities for the students to do that will get them up and moving. Including...racing marbles down a ramp made from toilet paper, paper towel, and wrapping paper rolls. How fun is that? It is one of my student's favorite activities.

Another activity where student measure how far their cars go.

Click the picture to go to my store.

2. The next product is my 2-D and 3-D Shape book. This book acts as a great way to introduce 2-D and 3-D shapes. Students will be able to draw each shape, as well as, identifying attributes of each shape. The book can be used for review through your shapes unit.

3. Now it's my turn. I swear my wishlist is pages and pages long. The one product that I can't wait to have is...

Interactive Vocabulary Notebook by Abby Mullins. Doesn't this look amazing? It looks perfect for helping my students with new words.

I will also have my store on sale on Sunday and Monday. Don't forget to get your wishlists ready.