Sunday, September 16, 2012

A Tip for Today

Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone had a great week last week and has had a wonderful weekend as well!  I have a tip for you today.  You probably already know all about it, but I found it by accident working on my latest product!

When I create new products for TPT or TN, I use power point to make a collage of the pages included in the file.  In the past I've always saved each slide from my document's original power point file as a picture to insert into the collage.  Well I have found a better way...at least for me!

Create your document (I use power point) and save it as a PDF before you begin to create your preview picture!

First, open a blank power point presentation and insert any backgrounds or frames you'd like to use as well as the text you want to include, such as the title and your name.

Next, choose 'insert - picture from file', and choose your product's pdf file.  You should see a pop-up screen that says 'Select Page' and is showing the first page of your product.

Now you're ready to find the page you want to insert!  Scroll through until you find the picture you want to include and just click to insert it.  Easy-Peasy!  Resize it and put it in place!


Finally, insert the rest of your pages/pictures and arrange them to your liking!

To me, this is so much easier and less time consuming than saving each slide as a picture then going back to find them later.  Plus, it saves space on your computer if you're like me and forget to delete all of those slide pictures when you're finished with them!

Anyway...I hope this quick little tip is helpful to somebody out there!

My rounding unit, "Ready and Rounding" is now up and active on TPT and on TN if you're interested, and don't forget to download your rounding freebie from my last blog post!

Everybody have a great week ahead!  We're out on Friday, so I'm thinking it'll be a great week!!

Monday, September 10, 2012

I'm back!!

If anyone is still here, I'm back, and I have lots to share today!


First I have some big news....

Can this count as a Monday Made it?



Tomorrow we'll be 12 weeks, and as awesome and amazing as it is (at least to me), I guess it can't be a Monday Made It! haha...but I do have some things to share with you over the next month or so that have already made my year easier!  I'll save a couple for next month's linky!

Now hopefully I can make math a little easier for you this year!

We just finished up rounding to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred.  One of the things my kids have the most trouble with is knowing their options!  I usually see many answers at the beginning that affirm that...6 rounded to the nearest ten is 60...236 rounded to the nearest hundred is 600.  So that's always where I start, learning how to find your choices.  We review counting by tens and hundreds first.  Then we practice finding the two multiples that a number is between.  We make a color coded hundreds chart and then practice A LOT by writing our options down to find the correct answer.  That hundreds chart and other worksheets for a rounding unit are in my new "Ready and Rounding" unit that's {almost} for sale in my TPT store or TN shop.  But I have a freebie for you too!  Click on the picture to download the freebie and use these two worksheets to practice finding your options for rounding to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred!


If you like those worksheets remember to check out my "Ready and Rounding" unit {soon} and my "Rounding Robots" Scoot Game in my TPT store or my TN shop!



And I want to apologize again before I go...can you forgive me for my month long (and then some) absence??  Finding out we're having our first precious little one, school starting about 2 weeks later, and a few scary moments with a one night hospital stay in between (already...ugh...) have really kept me occupied!  I've already missed two days of work due to unplanned doctor visits...and I HATE missing work!!  Hopefully things will straighten themselves out soon and my body will start cooperating!  And hopefully I'm back for good...for at least a post or two a week!

So if you're still with me and you're still reading this 'forgive me, please' post, if you'd like to proofread my rounding unit leave me a quick comment!  The first person will get to keep the finished unit for free!  I'd love to post it within the next couple of days so make sure you can look over it soon!  Anyway, thanks again for sticking with me, and know that I'll try to be a better blogger during this school year! :)

Now go grab some more great freebies!

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Everyone enjoy the week ahead!  
I hope it got off to a great start today!