Giveaway!!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Kaylene C. on winning the Landforms and Biomes Mega Pack! I have emailed you your prize! Thank you to everyone who entered! If you are still wanting any of the products, they will all be 50% off in my store for the next 24 hours! You can get them here! You can get the whole MEGA PACK for only $7.00!

I have been working hard on some new products and have debuted them on Facebook through out the week.  I was asked if I would be bundling them or offering them all as a giveaway. The answer to both of those questions is YES! So, if you would like a chance to win the products listed,  enter below!!! For more information about each product, click on the picture.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Flash Freebie

I am in the process of creating a Landforms and Biomes mini-unit! Part of the unit is this poster set, which I am giving away tonight at 9 p.m. CST.   You must go to my Facebook Fan Page and like or comment on the status announcing the Flash Freebie.  To make it easy, I have pinned it to the top of my page!

Click here to go to my Facebook Fan Page!

Best of luck!

Menu Planning

So, this post doesn't have to do with school directly.  However, being healthy and having a plan for your meals for the week can help you be a better teacher and advocate for your students.  I have recently decided to focus on being more prepared for the week by meal planning and grocery shopping ahead of time.  To help me stay on track, I have created a simple and colorful menu planner.

I was inspired by this menu planner from Organizing Homelife. I loved the simple design and the place for a recipe source, so I was sure to add those to my brightly colored version.  I tested out this menu planner yesterday, and it worked like a charm! It feels good to know that I have a plan for the week and that anyone could come to my house, follow the plan, and cook me dinner! (A girl can dream, right?)

I even have a few ideas about how you could use this in the classroom! This would be a great tool for students taking a cooking or home economics class to plan meals and make grocery lists.  This could also be a part of a math lesson where students calculate the cost of the meals they plan and stay within a grocery budget.  They could also figure out the cost per person per meal.

If you would like a copy of the menu planner, just 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 the menu from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

I am linked up this week at

How do you organize your meals? 

What are your favorite go to meals/snacks?

How would you use this menu planner in your classroom?

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)

Little Letters

As a follow-up to last week's post, Lucky Letters, where I gave you a St. Patrick's Day Freebie to help you write a letter to each of your students letting them know why they are special, I have created some Little Letters that you can use all year round to spread the love.

Keep a stack of these notes tucked away at your desk and use them whenever you think someone needs a little extra encouragement or recognition of a job well done!  I still remember a note that I got from a teacher back in elementary school.  She told me that she liked my quick wit and my sense of humor.  I know exactly where I was when she told me that.  Let's make that kind of impression on every kid!

You can get your FREE Little Letters 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 them from my Teachers Pay Teacher store.

I am linked up this week at

Have you ever received a note from a teacher that stuck with you?

Point of View

We are working on point of view in my classroom right now.  We started our lesson yesterday by making an anchor chart that outlined 1st and 3rd person point of view.  The students brainstormed clue words that would help them identify 1st and 3rd person point of view.  For example, for first person they figured out they would see words like I, me, and we.  For third person they brainstormed the words he, she, they and it.

Next, students took out The Tale of Despereaux, our current text for universal instruction.  Working in partners, they looked for clue words that proved whether they thought the text was written in first or third person. After some discussion, we moved onto making a craftivity to put into their notebooks.  Our wonderful reading specialist gave me the idea. (I am not sure where she got it from. If this is your idea, please let me know and I will give you credit!)

The students started by tracing their hand and cutting it out.  Then they glued the middle finger and the thumb down to the palm.  This is to try and create the illusion that the finger is pointing.  Get it? POINT of view?!?

STEPS

1. On the index finger,write the definition of point of view.  
2. Then fold the ring finger and the pinky finger in half to make flaps.
3. On the outside of the ring finger write the clue words: 1st Person: I, me, we.
4. On the inside write: *told by a character in the story.
5. On the outside of the pinky finger write the clue words: 3rd Person: He, She, It. 
6. On the inside of the pinky finger write: *told by a narrator. 

(Please excuse my oddly shaped hand and

 a picture with very bad lighting!!!)

The students had a blast making this for their notebooks! One of the best parts of the activity was that it was no prep for me! We even used up paper from the scrap drawer to trace our hands. 

Leave a comment with your ideas for teaching point of view!

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?