Meet the Elementary Entourage, Freebie, and a Giveaway!

Welcome to the Elementary Entourage - a group of 17 teachers who have joined together to share our love of learning!  I am so excited and extremely honored to be a member of this brand new collaborative blog. We have so much in store for our readers!  We are spending 2 1/2 weeks introducing ourselves, so stop by and meet each of us as we get ready to share our teaching ideas, tips, tools, products and of course...freebies - just for you! Please help us spread the word about our new blog so that other teachers can benefit from our collaboration. We love sharing with other teachers!

Just a little bit about me...

I live along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the beautiful mountains of northwestern North Carolina.  I'm about 25 minutes from Appalachian State University where I received my BS in Elementary Education and my MA in Educational Technology.  I've lived in the mountains of North Carolina my whole life.  We enjoy warm summers, but COLD winters.  On Halloween night we received 6 inches of snow (and it's not even winter yet)!  It's a beautiful and peaceful place to live.  In the fall, we have leaf lookers that come from hundreds of miles away just to see the brilliant colors of our leaves as they change!

This is my 14th year of teaching. I've taught kindergarten, 3rd grade, and 4th grade.  After one year of teaching 4th grade, I was hooked!  I love working with 4th graders, and teaching them all about our state of North Carolina.  We leave tomorrow morning for a field trip to our state capitol, Raleigh, where we will visit the Capitol and Legislative Buildings.  It's great timing!  I just spent 2 weeks teaching about our government, and we even VOTED (using sample ballots) from Tuesday's mid-term elections!

My home away from home...

I love creating new products for my classroom!  I spend most nights working on new units, activities, and useful products to use each day.  However, my love is in design!  I could do spend more time creating my product covers than I do creating the actual product!  I originally went to college to be a graphic design artist, but found my love of teaching out weighed my love of design, so a teacher it was! Luckily, I can still use my design skills as I make fun and engaging resources for my classroom, and hopefully yours, too! :)

I love all things technology, and I'm very passionate about incorporating technology into the classroom! In 2011, I became a SMART Exemplary Educator for SMART Technologies.

I saved the best for last - my family!!  I love my family and spending time with them!  I married my husband 15 years ago, and we have a 13 year old son (who thinks he's too big to have his picture made - gotta love those teenage years - gah!) and a 6 year old daughter.  They are the biggest blessings in our lives!  As a family we love to camp and ride 4-wheelers in West Virginia, and we spend our summers at Cherry Grove Beach in South Carolina!  Like most families, we are constantly on the go, and there's never a dull moment at our house!

Thanks for stopping by and reading all about me!  If this is your first time here be sure to check out the other members of our entourage by clicking on the links under our "Blog Archive" on the right of your screen.  Now, it's time to grab my freebie, Finding the Main Idea with Non-Fiction Text!  While you're there check out my store, and follow me to be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies, and product launches!

You can also visit me at my blog - For the Love of Teaching!  I literally fell in love with The Elementary Entourage's blog design by Parker over at PJ's Design Laboratory (isn't it beautiful???). I immediately contacted him about a new design for my personal blog.  So, big changes are coming soon for me! I'm so excited!!! :)  

Don't forget to enter our "Meet the Entourage" giveaway!  We're offering 3 amazing prize packs! Check them out below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway