Favorite Pins Friday & Giveaway!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July! Fireworks were a little soggy in Cincinnati this year due to the excessive amount of rain. I chose to listen to the booms from inside on the couch with the dogs. But prior to the 4th of July festivities, I celebrated with family on the 3rd of July. Good old fashioned cook out and parade. You're never too old for a parade, right?

Speaking of celebrations!.... First, Tori's Teacher Tips is giving away $50 to the Erin Condren store! We all know how I feel about Erin and her lovely matching planners, clipboards, and cute markers! I can't say enough great things about my teacher planner! I can't wait to use it.... well, I can wait until August.  Check out Tori's Teacher Tip's blog for the amazing giveaway!

Second since Five for Friday is taking a short break,  I thought I'd link up with Cara from The First Grade Parade for Favorite Pins Friday! Here are a few of my favorites....

Great website for books if you and/or your students loved The Hunger Games. I love to say I pinned this just for the kiddos...but since I have the reading interest of a 7th grade girl. This book list is also my summer reading list. So far, I'm 2/3 of way through the Unwind series and I've finished Legend and I'm ready to start Prodigy. I've already finished the Ugly series and 2/3 of the Divergent series... I really love teen fiction! Nothing gets between me and my  Nook in the summer!

Next up, is I'm Loving Lit's theme tree. Our last year unit of the year was a huge reading workshop unit just based on comparing books with similar themes. Many of my students took off with this unit but there were still a few students who never quite grasped the concept of theme. I think this "tree" picture may help it click for some of them. I'm add it to my idea bank for next year!

I'm still on the hunt for nonfiction books. I feel as if my library is very, very out of balance between fiction and nonfiction books. I saw this pin for Out of This World and thought this would be a great literary addition to my library. I'm going to scope out Half Price and Amazon for this one! It's all nonfiction poems about space. My science teaching partner and I are always looking for ways to integrate our subjects and this book would be a great blend! I think sometimes students need to see that they are readers all day long - no matter what the subject area.

So, the summer not just about students! I took my first spinning class this week! I was a sweaty mess when I left and I never moved from base +2 but I did have a good time. And, I did not die or embarrass myself completely so I consider it a great success! I'm hoping to outfit myself in some awesome work out clothes to get me motivated to hit the gym more often... who wouldn't want to work out in this cute shirt??? You can find it here.

I need to start getting into a routine... I know it's July but back to school always comes back before I'm ready! I thought this was a great idea to help shop and pack lunches. I get so BORED when I pack my lunch the same every single day... this makes it seem a little easier to add some variety to my lunch box or car snacks for my upcoming vacation! No matter how short the road trip... you always need some car snacks!

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest - if you're not already! 

Can't wait to see everyone else's favorite pins! 

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!