Two Great Places to Find Freebies on Mondays!

I am linking this post up with 2 different blogs today!  This is still my favorite little math trick of late...and I love the freebie I made for it.

By now, I've been out of school for 2 weeks, so just ignore that part! ;-)

Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies is a place where anyone with a freebie to share can link up each Monday.  This is a great way to find great ideas...for FREE!!!

Click the link below to check it out now...

For the first time ever, I'm also joining up with Love2Learn2Day for her Math Monday Blog Hop!

This is the next-to-last Monday of the school year for me in Room 40 on the 7th grade hall!  This is the part to ignore.

As always, I have mixed emotions about another year coming to an end...  {OK, you got me...I'm beyond happy that school is out!}

Today's edition of Math Game Monday is not really a game, but I thought it would a fun little activity to do as we're winding down the year.

My husband, Mr. Making It, who is a State Trooper, was so happy when he got home a few days ago because he couldn't wait to show me a math trick he learned that day.  It was actually from a construction worker, who I assumed my husband had pulled over!  I always tell my students how important it is to learn math because no matter what your job, you will need to be proficient at math.  I often use constructions workers as an example...so I can't wait to share this little trick with them, too!

OK, here's what you need:

Yep...that's all!  This is my personal, beat up measuring tape I've had for about 20 years!  I would advise doing this with your students or using one with kinder edges.  Mine has some bite to it...it pretty stiff.

Pull the tape out to 112 inches.

Then 'fold' the end back around and place the 0 mark right beside the 112 mark.  Notice I had to tape mine down in order to get a picture of it.  You can always hold the tape yourself and move around the room.

Next, ask a volunteer how old they are or will be this year if they haven't had a birthday yet.  That's my soon-to-be age in August up there, 42!

Notice that it is paired up with my birth year...1970!

In the 'loop' you'll find only 1 number.  Those born in 1956 will be 56 years old this year.

My students would fall into this range on the tape.

Those born in the 1900s will have a 2-digit birth year number.  However, notice that those born in the 2000s will have a 3-digit birth year number because of adding another century!

While this is certainly not Rocket Science, it's one of those fun, trivial things that most students find to be pretty awesome.  

Mathematically, it makes perfect sense, but I had never thought about a measuring tape in this way.

So, thank you Mr. Making It and Mr. Construction Worker for providing me with a little blogging inspiration this week!  You just never know where it's going to come from!

I've created a FREEBIE to use as an extension for this activity!  Click on the image to download from Google Docs.

Enjoy :)

Making It {and smiling},

Manic Monday Link-Up ~ 30 Free Frames/Labels

It's time to Link-Up with Charity from The Organized Classroom Blog at her Manic Monday on Classroom Freebies!





Click on the button above to go to the post on Classroom Freebies.



This week I'm sharing some labels I recently created.


This set of FREE frames/labels contains 30 Double-Layer items in all. 

I'm calling these bright pastels.

There are 6 pages with 4 frames/labels per page and 6 pages with 1 over-sized frame/label per page. 

All labels coordinate well together.




Here's an image of what's included:

Go to the Free Stuff! Page at my blog, scroll down to Graphics, and click on the image to do a download from Scribd.  You do not have to be a member to download this way.

Enjoy :)

Making It {and smiling},

Sunday Sampling with 2 Great Link-Ups

Just in case you need a little more appreciation for the week, Teaching Blog Addict is hosting a FREEBIE Link-Up!  Get this...you can join in, too, even if you're not a TBA Author!!!!!

Head over to check out my contribution, the 47 other contributions at the time of this post, and feel free to link-up one of your own freebies!












I'm linking up with Hadar from Miss Kindergarten, Teri from A Cupcake for the Teacher, and April from A Modern Teacher for a super fun Linky Party called My Summer Bucket List!

So here's My Summer Bucket List:

I will definitely be sleeping later than 4:30 AM!

I'm flying to New York City for the BlogHer Conference!

I'm going to tackle my Office...and WIN!!!

                                                                  Source: flickr.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I'm also going to defeat the Crafty Clutter!

                                                                 Source: creatingkeepsakesblog.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I'm going to Skydive with my 2 Science curriculum gals!

I'm going to have a blog re-design for my 1st Blogiversary...hopefully by...I don't want to spoil the surprise yet!

Most importantly, I'm going to spend lots of awesomely fun time with my family and my fur babies!

{My Husband and me}

{My 3 sons {The big ones} ~ Ben, Austin, and Dylan; with 2 of my nieces ~ Francesca and Alena; and 1 of my nephews, Caden}

{Another nephew and niece, Maddox and Mackenzie}

{Our GSD, Luger ~ now 6}

{Our Great Dane, Piper ~ now 2; Chihuahua, Spencer ~ now 7; Pekingese, Gidget ~ now 10}

Enjoy :)

Making It {and smiling},

7 Weekly Pins ~ Week 19 {Mother's Day Edition}

I hope you'll enjoy this weekly feature and check back here often to get some inspiration for yourself!

As always, I'd LOVE for you to follow me on Pinterest!  Click here to see all my Boards.

If you haven't checked out all my boards lately, I've added 

quite a few teaching-related boards!

My Own Pin

Source: classroomdiy.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Educational Pin

Source: easypreschoolcraft.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Crafty Pin

Source: lynxtrack.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Organizational Pin

Source: chezlarsson.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Delicious Pin

Source: fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Apparel Pin

Source: polyvore.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Random Pin

Source: lynxtrack.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Enjoy :)

Making It {and smiling},

A Late-Night Linky

Since taking the 5-Star Blogger Challenge from Charity at The Organized Classroom Blog, I've been much more cognizant of the types of posts I write.

Sometimes, though, you just need to have a little fun and do a little linking up!



Jena at Caught in the Middle is hosting a Teacher Appreciation Link-Up.  She's also giving away 3 gift cards as part of the fun 'cause she's awesome like that!  You still have time to link-up, too, but not long.  Head on over and check it out!

Well, after seeing and hearing what many teachers' week of appreciation was like, I'm feeling pretty bummed out!  Actually, really, really, REALLY bummed out, to be honest about it.

There was absolutely no mention of it at all on announcements which happen twice a day, every day...sometimes more.

We did get a $5 gift certificate to the local chicken joint, but the certificates didn't have our names written on them and were folded in a paper saying, "We make a fabulous team!", but there was no name or signature or even a rubber stamp name on it.  The paper was in an envelope that had been put through the printer to show our names...no hand-written niceness. I honestly think it was forgotten this year until the last minute since we just got the certificates yesterday. :(

Maybe next year...

But, you know what I decided?  I'm not going to dwell on that!  My students appreciate me everyday!  Not a day goes by that one of my girls fails to say, "I love you, Mrs. Lundy!"  My boys are always telling me about some awesome game they played or fish they caught.  They all want to start conversations about life in general and share their stories.  My students are huggers this year and they warm my heart!

That's all I need.

Enjoy :)

Making It {and smiling},

Fun Friday & A Freebie

Happy Friday!

Summer is quickly approaching for all of us.

I know some of my teacher and blogger pals have a while left yet, but as you read this, I'm happy to report that I only have 10 days left {plus a few post-planning days}!

Ahhh...I can just hear the alarm clock NOT going off. ;-)

Two quickies for Fun Friday this week!


I came across this cartoon and had to share it with you.  I {heart} it!

It reminds me how literal out students are sometimes.

Next, I have another FREE mini-poster!  I am having so much fun making these.

This one has a great little quote by William A. Ward that I placed on one of the frames I made.

Click on the image above to go to Google Docs and download yours!

Enjoy :)

Making It {and smiling},

Thrifty Thursday ~ Free Printable Labels/Frames

As Teacher Appreciation Week is winding down, I thought I'd offer you another FREEBIE!

Free = As thrifty as you can get ;-)

I made this last weekend with intentions of it being a priced item....but I decided to offer to you for free instead....just 'cause I'm sweet like that!

I've loaded these labels/frames on the Free Stuff Page of my blog using Scribd.  You don't need an account to download them!

You'll need to scroll down...almost of the bottom to see the Graphics heading.

Enjoy :)

Making It {and smiling},