Fun & Free for St. Patty's Day

There are a lot of reasons why I love celebrating St. Patrick's Day in my classroom. I love seeing the excitement in the eyes of students when they come in and the room is all disheveled because a naughty leprechaun visited.  Even better are the smiles and laughter when we drink 7-Up and Lime Sherbet Punch while playing St. Patrick's Day Spoon Time.  Lastly, it doesn't hurt that my favorite color is green and gives me an excuse to deck the room in shades of green!

My students really love when we have themed days and St. Patrick's Day is no exception! I love to make themed math centers and language arts activities for the day.  I know how busy you are, so I thought I would share a free addition activity that will help lighten your planning load.  Your students will have so much fun they will forget they are practicing math!

Free Shamrock Addition Roll & Cover Game

Over the years, I have created other resources to make your day fun! These are free as well! You can check them out by clicking below!

Free St. Patrick's Day Writing Prompts  - Use this freebie to get your students to do some creative writing about what they would do if they found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or what would they do if they caught a leprechaun? The papers make a great hallway display as well!

Lucky Letters Freebie - These cute little notes are for you to give to your students to offer encouragement and let them know you are so lucky to have them in class.  The notes feature either a boy or girl leprechaun and will be sure to lift spirits in your classroom!

Free St. Patrick's Day Bookmarks - These sweet little St. Patrick's Day owl bookmarks are dual purpose! Print, cut and hand them out to your students so they can mark their page and keep track of what books are next on their reading list.

What is your favorite activity to do in the classroom on St. Paddy's Day?  Leave a comment below! I'd love to hear your ideas!

Lucky to be a Teacher Giveaway

As educators, we know that we have one of the most amazing jobs on the planet.

• We get to inspire, love, and care about each and every child that walks through the doors of our schools. 
• We get to make every child feel like they are the most important person in our lives.  
• We  get to teach them the value of doing quality work and how good it feels to persevere through a difficult task.
• We get to comfort them when they are sick and celebrate in their successes.
• We get the distinct honor of helping our students grow as learners and as people.  
• We get to help them learn the life lessons that will make them successful adults. 

We prepare students for any imaginable path they may choose. These are just some of the reasons I feel lucky to be an educator.  Why do you feel lucky to be a teacher?

In honor of all lucky teachers everywhere, I have teamed up with 58 other bloggers to offer an amazing giveaway! You can enter the giveaways through the rafflecopters below.  The more pages you follow, the better your chances are to win! Many of the sellers are giving away the winner's choice of a product from their stores! The sellers will be contacting the winners after they have been chosen! Best of luck to you!

Be sure to leave a comment below and tell us all why you are lucky to be a teacher!

a PRE-K-KINDER giveaway

a FIRST - SECOND giveaway

a THIRD- FIFTH giveaway

a MIDDLE- HIGH giveaway

a SPED giveaway

Why are you lucky to be a teacher? Tell me in the comments below! 

Bookmark Freebie

I just finished The Book Whisperer.  Have you read it yet?  If not, you should! It really has given me some food for thought about why I do things the way I do them in my classroom.  One of the ideas that I got from reading the book was to have students keep a list of books they are interested in reading.

My students are just starting to seriously recommend books to each other and some have stacks of books on their desks waiting to be read.  In order to help them stay organized, provide them with a place for the list, and give them a little gift at the same time; I made them these St. Patrick's Day bookmarks.  Plus, they ask for bookmarks all the time!

I am hoping that we can keep the books we have circulating (and eliminate the clutter on their tables) without them forgetting which books they are interested in.   In addition, I am hopeful that this will help promote more sharing of books and recommendations.

If you would like to give this a try as well, you can click on the picture below to get your FREE St. Patrick's Day Bookmarks. (Be sure to be logged into your Google account.)  If you don't have a Google account, you can download them from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

I am linked up this week at

What is next on your reading list?

(I have started Readicide and Word Nerds.  Next up will also be 

Reading in the Wild - the sequel to The Book Whisperer)

Lucky Letters

When I first started teaching, I always made a point to write at least one special note throughout the year to each one of my students.  Somewhere between switching schools and CCSS and starting a family, I stopped doing that.  In a moment of reflection, I realized how important it is to let each student know that you are grateful for them and give them a reason why. I find this particularly useful to help me remember and recognize the great qualities of even my most challenging students.

So, this St. Patrick's Day, I am going to give each of my students a special handwritten note from me with a reason why I think they are so great.   I challenge you to do the same! Starting today, we have 17 days until we need to deliver our notes to our little leprechauns.  That is only 1-2 notes per day if you break it up!!! So who's with me?

To make it even easier for you, I created some cute cards for you to print, cut apart, and write on! I know that some do not have access to a color printer, so I have included the black lines for you!  You can download your free copy by clicking on the picture below. (Be sure to be logged into your Google account.) If you don't have a Google account, you can download it from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

I am linked up this week at

How do you let your students know they are special?

Pot of Gold

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? What about what you would do if you caught a leprechaun?  I haven't contemplated these things recently, but as a child my mind often ran wild with imaginings such as these.

In the spirit of keeping children's imaginations alive, I would like to give you some FREE St. Patrick's Day writing prompts.  The writing prompts address the above questions and I know your students will have a blast answering one or both of them. The prompts come on super cute paper that is ready for displaying on your bulletin board or out in the hallway.

To download your copy, click on the picture below.  (Be sure to be logged into your Google account.)  If you don't have a Google account, you can download it from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

I am linked up this week at

  

What do you do to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in your classroom?