Pinterest, Blog, and Book Inspirations

I have had such amazing inspiration as the school year has started, so I wanted to share few.

My first inspiration came from Pinterest.  I saw this idea from Swamp Frog First Graders - Heidi (who I have put in my TBA inspired Top 10 Blogs):

Heidi found the idea on Mrs. Bond's Fantastic First Grade.  Many of the teachers I work with tell their students to "kiss your brains" when the students show great thinking.  Heidi uses her adorable Hershey kiss to store chocolate kisses to give to students who show especially unique thinking.  I don't have a stuffed kiss, but I wanted to make something for my teachers.  The Kiss Your Brain jar was born.  I used one of my favorite fonts "pineapple delight" to create a sign to go inside a canning jar, a little scrap of cloth, and add kisses.

 I was looking for a new behavior management system when I found Monster Fun Teaching Manners from Growing Kinders (another one of my Top Ten favorites).  I plan to implement the above the line plan with first graders next week. 

Lastly, I attended a great professional development this summer where I was introduced to 50 new picture books.  One of the books inspired me to coordinate with all the kindergarten through third grade teachers (small school - 6 teachers) to create an alphabet book.  I combined the title of the book with our theme (cultivating a community of excellence) and we will create a farming alphabet book, which will be posted outside of my classroom in hall.  I will post more when we finish the book.