I'm back! (Freebie and random post..)

I feel like I'm in a whirlwind or in the middle of the ocean, without a boat....  I have felt more stressed this week, coming back from vacation, than I did during the school year!   I'm not sure what is going on.  Well, I have ideas-such as, during the school year, my kids have early bedtimes and I have more time at night to unwind and do some work.... during the summer, I don't get that.  My oldest doesn't nap and my youngest will not sleep unless it's in my bed, with me....  thankfully he falls asleep and does still nap, but it would be nice if it were in HIS room---so that I can have a little time too!  Other part is that I'm taking some grad classes (at home/computer ones) that I need to finish by a certain time-for personal reasons.  AND of course, I had some great ideas for back to school so I started (and finished) a Back to School unit!  (I'll talk more about that later) ;)

Anyway-enough about all that.  First, I'll be going through my FB posts and picking a few winners from last week's game.  I'll update the blog with those names, since there are rules on FB now about contests and if I don't follow them, then they could just up and delete my page!  (Not that I have a lot of followers---they probably wouldn't even notice, but JUST in case---the winners will be announced on my blog)

Another thing I wanted to put out there is how thankful I am of blogging and for my lil' Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Why?  Up until this year, my mind never shut off---it still doesn't, but now I have an outlet to let it go.  My brain keeps me up ALL the time.  I'm constantly thinking about how to do things and what kind of games to play.  I run through my days in my head and think about how I could do it differently.  Some people write it down.  I've tried that----but I STILL stay up thinking and remembering things just as clearly.  Now that I have this outlet, I feel like my thoughts are more focused.  I feel like I am helping others, while not sleeping or relaxing.  THAT makes me feel good.  I still can't believe how much my thinking and life has changed and how many people come here to read things each day/week.  The sweet emails and comments bring smiles to my face.  Especially knowing how difficult it is becoming in education recently.  (And, of course personal/family things go on too---for example, we've been home from Disney for 5 days now, and I'm already trying to figure out a way to get back there again NEXT summer!  I totally want to stay at the new Art of Animation Resort... we walked through it on our last day----we were staying next door at Pop Century---and it was SO incredibly awesome!!!  This year, we totally went fairly cheap with signing up for deals and all kinds of bargain things.. Maybe I'll post about those another time.....  But, I'm not sure that I can do it all again for next year..............  and figuring out how to persuade the hubby to go again too---that's a task in itself) ;)

Freebie alert!  If you read this to this point-thank you.  If you skimmed---that's okay too! :)  Click on the picture below to grab a copy of a cute little recording sheet for students to fill out during the first few days/week of school.  You could also have this completed at home for homework, or sent home before the first day of school to have them bring in on the first day to share! 

If you happen to reread this----download this again.  I fixed the typo (that you see in the picture...)  I took the period that was supposed to be a comma out.  (One thing I've found with my new adventure is that not all fonts that look nice and cute, have capital letters, punctuation, etc.  This one has been fixed by the person who made it, but I can't get it to work on my computer now....) :(

If you are interested in more-click on the picture below to read about my Back to School packet.  It is 115 pages of reading, writing, math and get-to-know-you activities.  Ideas have been swirling in my head for weeks and I have finally finished it.  I am planning on using the ideas/worksheets with my kiddos during our first 3 days of school (my kids come on a Wednesday).  I'm sure I'll be carrying over a few to the next week.

(Here's the table of contents)

Answer this question (and make sure you are a follower to be fair!) and I'll choose someone at random to get a copy of my Back to School Unit! 
(I'll close the contest on Saturday morning (EST)---whenever I can break away from my little ones to choose!!!!!) 
Question-----What is/was your biggest challenge for the first day/days of school?  Have you found a way to conquer it?