Happy Friday Five!! Family and a Freebie

Well, I do not have 5 things to share today, but I do want to share something pretty special!! My brother, Cory, has been writing and playing music for about 25 years now, but now his son, my nephew, Levi, has acquired the same passion and is raising money for their album. I am not presenting this as any sort of fundraiser and I will not even ask you to donate; however, I will ask you to take a few minutes and listen to my nephew and his friend as they spread a powerful message through music!! I will not be sad if you did want to help them raise money for their album..haha

They have an incredible story, an amazing amount of talent and a love and understanding of God that most kids their age do not have!! I am so impressed!!! 

Meet, 1 Star Satellite!!

My nephew is the one on the right with the brown, curly hair...

I try my hardest to get a Friday Five out every week and include a feature of someone who has posted a resource on my collaborative blog. The board features resources using my graphics & any one creating resources or crafts with my graphics may joi in on the fun!! Just leave your Pinterest link below in one of the comments. You can check out the board by clicking the button below & if you already contribute to the board, please feel free to grab this button to display on your blog to spread the word..
This week's Friday feature is a fun math resource using my Canadian Coins clip art!!! Actually, if you look closely, I think she used several clip art sets in this resource!! What a gal..haha
Please welcome, V from

She has a little over 40 resources in her store and an academic background fairly close to my own!! I think we both love school!! hahaha Please click on the image below to check out her Money resource on TpT!!

I won't let you go this Friday without a Freebie...

I created a heart to go with my Autism set, but never ended up adding it. I thought that this week would be an appropriate time to spread some love. Enjoy these hearts and please read my TOU before using my graphic for personal/commercial use.

To grab a free heart, I thought it would be fun to spread the love. You can grab another (more stylish) free heart by clicking the Pay with a Tweet button...

 

Have a great weekend everyone!!! Thank you for visiting!!

PAY WITH A TWEET & More about me....

Hi everyone!! You are looking at the NEW DIGGS!! I apologize for the lack of image quality. I do not take great self-portraits and I always choose to take pictures with my phone...which has horrible image quality and resolution. I am going to start yoga classes this week and I am scared to the bone!! I figure that if I can look good, then maybe my lack of mobility won't seem so terrible...hahaha  Well, the reason for my self-image plaster is because I wanted to share some of the NEW comfy clothes I got!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Under Armor clothing brand!! I was looking for some new pants and shirts when I stumbled upon the capris (in the pic below). They looked great, had positive reviews & at $60.00 each, I figure I can feel like a bum while looking like I am well put together..hahaha.. I ordered one pair (on the first order) and I got them in the mail 2 days later (LOVE getting mail)!! I am only 6 ft  5ft tall, so I got the small/Petite and I LOVE them!! These are by far, the most comfortable yoga pants I have ever owned!! So I got back online and ordered two more!! hahaha.. I will just tell the hubs that they must have made a mistake...or maybe I was the millionth shopper and got 2 pairs for free....hahaha   Just kidding, he already knows. I even wore these out!! That is how comfy and good they look!!! 

I ordered everything online from Sports Authority and I was very happy with the quick service....on another... NOT so marvelous story....

BEWARE of a VENT.....

I worked really hard all last week getting our shirts made for our HVAC company. I came up with a fun, modern design and decided I would order from an online company I have done business with before-- and was happy with. I provided the designer with my files, a mock-up of each shirt - front and back, and specific instructions...

What I am even more excited about is that I created a women's design for our company and I am so happy to bring some cuteness to HVAC...hahaha I couldn't find a set of Pink HVAC tools or a Bedazzled tool belt... wouldn't THAT be something??!! hahaha

Along with the image files, a mock-up, and an email, I also included a Word doc with specific instructions about placement, color, and size for each shirt color. If you are not familiar with a mock-up, a mock-up is a preview of a graphic on a vector image of what it will be printed on. In this case, I made a mock-up of the T-shirt designs.

Here is a sample of what I sent her for the women's shirts....

Here is what I was sent after a 2-day wait for a preview that I had already provided the designer with...

I am not sure if purple is the new coral or turquoise.....if it is, I was completely unaware of this...

Here are some samples of the men's shirt designs I sent her...

 And here was the proof I received this morning...
REALLY???!!! She added a phone number to the front,darkened the grey and changed the size and positioning of the front of the shirt design!! I am going to go out on a limb here, but I am pretty sure I gave her very clear directions.... I made this process as easy as possible for her and she still sent me a proof that was not what I asked for. Maybe she thought she knew what I wanted better than I knew myself... you know, like when the auto-correct on your phone keypad thinks it knows what you REALLY want to say....

I was so annoyed and really tried to be nice in my response, so I laid on the sarcasm pretty thick!!  haha 

It took her almost all day to correct and sent back one proof!! They are not creating a design....they are just printing the design I sent them, so I am not sure why this process is taking so long!! I even went as far as to send her the Pantone color codes for each color above....WELL... there is my vent... hahaha I feel much better...truly...

I do have to say that the girl is really nice - just most likely - completely clueless.

Well, I always had my students give 2 STARS and one "WISH", so here is my next bit of good news goodness.... FIRST... a little background knowledge to break the ice and get you interested...

My son has been growing out his hair for a while now and it was out of control. I believe it was driving his crazy behavior...he was playing the part..so to speak. After several months, recovering from 2 failed haircut attempts for kids cuts, and home cuts (from me)... we finally found a good place close by. Here is the before and after of my son's haircut...he even got a cute little FO-Hawk!! hahaha  Eat your heart out girls.... He's all MINE!!!

I  think he looks great and the David Gerard Salon was EXCELLENT!!! 

Last, but not least...I have a little tech tip for you!! I know it has been a while...  I found this site a while back, but I did not have the time to really look through it until now.  The site is called, Pay with a Tweet, and it is a way to drive traffic to your sites by offering something that you would normally sell...for free in exchange for a Tweet about the product.  This site allows you to generate a button code for the product and tweet in a matter of minutes. The service is completely free and the process is very simple. The only thing they do not provide is file storage for the product you want to offer for free. You must provide the link to your file from your personal online file storage. Click the image below to visit the site or continue reading for detailed instructions to use this service.

Now let's give this a try and see if it works!! I have provided the file for you to pay with a Tweet to get these cute puzzle pieces that are listed in my stores for $3.50!! Pay with a Tweet and let me know how it goes!! If all goes well, I hope that this service will prove to be beneficial for those of you trying to gain more traffic to your sites. Enjoy the PAY with a TWEET!!!

Thank you for stopping by!!! 

April is Autism Awareness Month!! New Clip Art/Graphics & a FREEBIE to grab!!

I know I am a little late with this post; however, we are still in the month of April.
A little over a week ago I got an opportunity to connect with a fellow blogger after receiving a request to create a custom graphics set for Autism Awareness. Welcome Sarah, from Primarily Au-Some, who is such a sweetheart!! She teaches students with Autism and I am loving her blog. I took on the challenge and started working on a set of graphics right away!
I am not sure if many of you know this, but I have a Duel Masters Degree that includes K-12 Special Education. After working with gifted students, I was eager to get an opportunity to work with students who needed a little extra help to be successful. I did not work with students in grades 6-8th resource who spent most of their day in general education classes. I LOVED working with the kids, but what most people do not know is how demanding the Special Education Teaching position can be. I am very structured and I like to be prepared ahead of time. There is very little funding and almost no support for Special Education teachers in Arizona. The demands are incredibly stressful and the paperwork is never ending.  The Federal mandated laws require so much, but leave very little time or funding for the teachers and most students end up being helped by someone without a degree, which is terribly sad. Testing, paperwork, and meetings consumed most of my time..but the time I did get to spend with the kids, I will forever treasure in my heart!!  That area was not right for me in the current public education system; however, I do get to see some of my previous students every now and again, which is great!! In the little time I spent with those students, I hadn't realized how important I really was to them. They soaked up my lessons, were inspired to write and shared about their personal lives.  Students in 6-8th grade need just as much love, attention, and time to share as much as students in Kindergarten. The only difference is that middle school students will not often tell you they need someone to talk to like a 6 year old..haha. My time teaching Special Education was not all peaches. There was one boy who tested me EVERY SINGLE DAY!! He was angry, mean, disrespectful & the only reason he was in the program was because of his lack of self-control. He was very bright and never needed help in the typical ways that most would assume. He needed to be motivated above all else. There were times I went home completely broken and in tears over this students' behavior. I tried everything I could think of, but this kids was beyond strong-willed - he was evil. He would say things that were so hurtful and not even blink in remorse. After about two weeks, I spent an entire weekend trying to come up with a plan. My first priority was to try and figure out a way to communicate with this student. I needed him to let down his guard so I could get to know him. I went in the next week with a fresh plan and learned a great deal about this student just by taking the time to sit down and listen. The more I listened, the more he opened up. Most teachers would dare not take the time to let this boy speak more than he absolutely needed to in fear of what would come out of his mouth. I learned that he love basketball and that he was very good. I took the time to show up at one of his games and I was the only one there rooting him on. I don't think he had ever had a parent show up for anything. He was not poor and was not lacking material things, but he was lacking attention and love.  I have to say that it wasn't all wonderful after that, but we definitely bonded and I was able to inspire him in incredible ways!! I was able to stretch myself in my position and learned a great deal about myself in the process. I never had to walk out my front door in fear that he would be walking by after I got to know him better..haha.. He lived close by my house and the first time I spotted him, I was in tears after having just left my classroom  early for the day. I learned that my dedication as a teacher went beyond what I could ever explain or describe to anyone who has never taught before. I loved all of my students... even the one I thought was evil...hahaha!  My favorite students to work with (actually, they were all my favorites) were my two students with Autism!! Boy are they characters!! I love the way they think and I was completely intrigued by their ability to break things down to the very bare foundation in order to understand something. The questions were often draining, but I fell in love with those two boys!! They loved to make me laugh and would often come in to my classroom early with a joke they had come up with... usually the same joke in variations of funny...hahaha... All students motivate me and all students take up a little place in my heart! The politics and demands placed on Special Education teachers is beyond describable and I am in AWE of teachers, like Sarah, who continues to work in the field. Well, can you tell that I miss teaching?? Is it completely obvious?? Or have I just bored you to death?? hahaha I do miss teaching; however, I feel a little better knowing that I still have a bit of an impact in the classroom through my art and all of your abilities to create such amazing resources using my art!! Before I share my art with you, I have a great resource that I thought I would share.  I used this book to help younger students understand what Autism is and I LOVED how simplistic, yet thought-provoking, it is!! If you need a great interactive book to teach students about Autism, then I HIGHLY recommend, "The Autism Acceptance book" by Ellen Sabin!! Here are a couple of pics from the book I have... I really love how the author writes in such away to allow students to experience what a student with Autism experiences. It is a great resource to have on hand and you can pick it up from Amazon for about $15.00. You can click the link above to see this book on Amazon.  

Here is a Facebook page to follow and learn more about Autism...

And here is a great website I found called, Autism Speaks

Sarah from

 

Also created a cute reader about Autism using my graphics as a FREE download!! You can grab the freebie from her TpT store!!

Now that you have a little bit of resources, I would like to share my newest custom graphics set with you...

I created many color variations of each graphic to give you more choices. Most of the graphics can be used outside of the theme of Autism Awareness, so you can get more use from these throughout the year. I also left the puzzle pieces blank, so that you can add messages, words, or letters inside of the pieces that the students are holding. I hope these get your creative juices flowing!! This set includes close to 200 graphics in all!!

Due to the size of the file, I was not able to upload the entire set onto TpT as one set!! I was pretty bummed about it, but I was able to break it down into smaller sets. However, by breaking the bundle into smaller sets, I was forced to have to charge a bit more as a whole than if I offered the set a one bundle....SOOOO, I am going to offer this as an entire bundle from my blog, which will save you $6.00!!

EVEN BETTER - if you purchase this set from my blog this week, you get an additional $2.00 off!! Use the Discount code: 0D9J6F1O to apply the discount to your order. Click the Paypal button below to purchase this set and make sure to enter the code above to get an additional $2.00 off until Friday!!! The set is priced at $8.00, but you will get it for only $6.00 using the discount code above!!  UPDATE: the code is not showing up at checkout for some reason, so until I figure out what is wrong, I am disabling the discount code and dropping the price to $6.00 until Friday. You will not need to enter a code at checkout to receive the discount. I apologize for the confusion!!  Thank you everyone!!

If you would prefer to pay a little more (haha), you can click the images below to find them on TpT!!

Mini Puzzle Set...

Mini Ribbon Set...

Autism Awareness Set #1

 Autism Awareness Set #2 

 AND... I would NOT be The 3AM Teacher if I did not include a FREEBIE at 3am in the morning!! HA!! You can download this freebie from my TpT store. Just click the image below to get this set!! I also created a cute T-shirt design that you can purchase from my ZAZZLE store (which I have RARELY used). I only make a commission of 5% to keep costs as low as possible, but I thought this design was very cute!! You can get the design printed on pretty much anything you can think of!!

Autism Awareness V-Neck T Shirts by 3AMTeacherDesigns
Find more Autism T-Shirts at Zazzle

Come grab your FREEBIE!!!

As always... thank you so much for visiting and taking the time to read my posts!! Have a GREAT WEEK!!!

WE HAVE WINNERS!!!! Pass the Torch Gold, Silver & Bronze Winners!!!

Hey everyone!! I have had a very busy week, but I want to thank all of you who participated and entered in the Pass the Torch Giveaway!!! I hope you all got a great deal of knowledge and ideas from peaking into the classrooms of great teachers!!!!


I am so excited to announce the winners of this giveaway that I can't even work my words up to the announcement, so here it is....

Congratulations to...

GOLD: Teresa Wilson

$50.00 Amazon Gift Card & 50% off a day of shopping at my Etsy store!!

SILVER: Melody Stokesberry

$25.00 Amazon Gift Card

40% off a day of shopping at my Etsy shop

BRONZE: Lisa Schuermann

30% off a day of shopping at my Etsy shop

The winners will receive an email containing the gifts!! Watch your emails ladies!!!!

Thank you again for everyone who made this come together!!! Even though the giveaway part of this linky has now ended, there is still a great deal of information to be saved!!! Please make sure to mark your bookmarks or even use the this image on your blog somewhere to link to a blog post of your choice from this linky!!! I read some GREAT posts!!!! I am amazed by your talents and your dedication to students!! I have tons to share with all of you, but I will put it in another post for tomorrow!!

Have a very BLESSED Sunday!!!

Pass the Torch Linky & Giveaway!!!

Get Ready for Bloggy Olympics!!!

Join The 3AM Teacher, the Reading Olympians, and over 80 SUPREME education bloggers as we take you through a tour of the Reading Olympians Root Study Program!!

See the program IN ACTION in a variety of K-6th grade classrooms as you Pass the Torch!! Get ideas, discover the progression of the program, and enter the Raffle for a chance to win ONE of the three prizes listed below!!

First Place Winner : Gold Medal

  Prizes: Complete Reading Olympians Program
            $50.00 Amazon Gift Card
            50% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Second Place Winner: Silver Medal

   Prizes: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
              40% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Third Place Winner: Bronze Medal

    Prizes: 30% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Have FUN & Let the Games Begin!!!

Please start here...Click on the flaming torch above to visit your first classroom!! Everyone worked so incredibly hard and I can't thank everyone enough for participating! I hope you enjoy peaking into another teacher's classroom!!

Teachers without a blog:
Mrs Paulson put together a VERY nice PDF with her experience with the program. Please take the time to check her out as well. Thank you so much!!

Click on the torch at the bottom of each blog post to see the next one on the list.
Kindergarten:
Grade 1 & 2

Grade 3 & 4



Grade 5 & 6


    a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Five: Funny, Find, Frazzle, Feature & Freebie

Guess what time of the week it is??? That's right, it's Friday FIVE!!! Woo Hoo!! Sit back, put on your reading glasses if you need them, and soak up some 3AM sunshine...hahaha

This week's Friday funny is a little pic of my pup, Charlie!! I never go anywhere in the house without some sort of journal or sketchbook and a few weeks ago (while working up ideas for my Under the Sea set), Charlie decided to steal some attention by laying right on my book.... but that did not detour me from working up a sketch...or two...or three... hahaha... I decided to include him in the sketch - using him for inspiration!! This is what I came up with. I even had time to snap a photo in the process - PRICELESS!!!  

I call this piece, "Pucker Up, Charlie!!"

This is when it is fun to be an artist!! hahaha

This week, I have something VERY special to share with you that I happen to come across!! While teaching Kindergarten, my favorite book to have the kids and I read and act out was...

so when I got a little message from a teacher in LA who wanted to share a video he made with his class with me about this very book, I could not resist watching... well, let me introduce you to...

Mr. Avina!!!

Arturo Avina has been teaching kindergarten for LA Unified for 10 years. He directed his first kindergarten play during his first year of teaching and instantly developed a love for the performing arts. For years, he has incorporated music, dance, and theater into his lessons. His use of popular music in his students' performances has garnered the attention of The Huffington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, and Perez Hilton. He is quoted by the Huffington Post as saying "Sometimes a good pop song is better at telling a story than a typical nursery rhyme...and it's a lot more fun to teach when you teach what you love." His goal is to develop a YouTube Channel showcasing his students' body of work and he hopes that educators will be inspired to incorporate the arts into their lessons as well.

Here is a video he created with his students that is absolutely incredible!!!

You can see more of Arturo's videos @ http://www.youtube.com/artavina !!! This would be a great film to show students in your classrooms!! Enjoy!!

For this week's Frazzle, I am OFFICIALLY announcing the winner of my Thursday Clip Art Hoarding Challenge. One thing I did realize while taking the screenshot of the actual number of png files I have was that the number only accounted for ONE FOLDER FILE on this external hard drive!!! hahaha!! I didn't even realize this until after I had already posted the min and max number to guess from, so I couldn't change it... I tried to run the search for the entire drive, but I was getting too impatient..hahahaha... I just thought I would be the first to admit how much in denial I truly was....hahaha...

Okay.... Is the suspense just KILLING you??? In my "Everything Design" file, I have......
DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

Yes, you are NOT seeing the wrong number there.... in ONE file on this drive, I have 13, 223 PNG images.... only PNG!! That does not count for the jpeg's or my PSD files!!! I don't even know how many I actually have altogether on the entire drive... maybe I will save that challenge for next week!! hahaha

AND the WINNER...... only 102 files off from the actual number.... is....

CONGRATULATIONS Elisabeth!!! You are getting my new Spring Garden set with over 190 graphics... 4 FREE!!! Thank you everyone for having fun and participating. I AM curious as to how many files I actually do have on the entire drive now...hahaha If 13, 223 images is only for ONE file on the drive, then it might be in my best interest NOT to know how many there are altogether...bwahahaha!!!

Each (well almost every week), I like to feature a special pin from my collaborative board, "Education Resources using The 3AM Teacher Graphics" just to thank all of you who regularly post to the board. I LOVE seeing your creativity and I hope that you do get traffic from the board. With all of your efforts, the board continues to grow, so keep those pins coming and please keep spreading the word. If you contribute to the board, please grab the button code in my sidebar and add it to your blog. If you are not yet on the board, but use my graphics and would like to become a contributor to the board.... just leave your Pinterest link in a comment below!!! I would LOVE to see this board grow in numbers!!

Please take a little time to sneak a peek at this week's feature, Pam DAlessandro and her Crunchin' Numbers Resource that I LOVE!!! I don't get to see my "Ay Chihuahua" set used very often... it definitely takes someone with a little creativity to pull off a Common Core-aligned resource with Chihuahua's and flying taco characters!! bwahahaha!!! Gotta LOVE it!! hahaha She also used one of my FREE backgrounds, which actually matches quite perfectly..haha...

Right now this treasure is on sale for only $2.50!!! Can't beat that!!! Plus... your kids will surely love the graphics...hahaha Pam also has such a cute blog and I hope that you check her out!!! Thank you for using my graphics Pam!!! Your lesson cracked me up and made me want to eat a taco while doing math...bwahahaha!!!

The graphics used in the resource above are from my....

 

And now for your fun Friday Freebie!! Please make sure you are following the blog so you never miss out!!!
Please make sure to read my Terms of Use before using any of my free or paid graphics - Thank you so much for all of your support and lovely feedback!!!

You can also grab these on my FREE Backgrounds Photobucket Album!! Enjoy!!

Thank you so much for visiting, for following my blog, and for supporting my work!! You are a huge blessing in my life!! Have a GREAT weekend and make sure to check back tomorrow because Pass the Torch Linky is GOING LIVE!!!