A Freebie and Giveaway Reminder!

Happy Saturday!  It's going to be a bit happier in just a few seconds when I tell you about Janaye's Sweet and Simple Saturday Freebie!  Starting this Saturday (TODAY), she is going to share a sweet, simple freebie with you.   "It could be an activity page, game, graphic organizer, foldable, or craftivity. And the best part is the freebies will be for multiple grade levels and subjects! And the even BESTER (coined term) part is that they will all be FREEEE!"

So click on over to her Tales of Frogs and Cupcakes to cash in on her Sweet and Simple Saturday Freebie!

Also, don't forget to enter my FREE Firmoo Glasses Giveaway!  It ends in week, and I don't know where everyone is out there...but as of now, the pickin's are slim...meaning YOUR chance of winning is even better!!!  Click on over NOW!  :)

Happy Saturday Everyone!!!

Part 2 (and a FREEBIE) of My Summer Gift For Students!

For those of you who read my previous post, I explained the first part of my summertime "gift" for my students.  Along with the beach ball and activity booklet, I add a few other goodies to their paper grocery bags.  What are they, you ask?

Well, the first is the part that actually contains the rest of the goodies...an adorable cardstock box.  My students were absolutely OBSESSED with my Silhouette this year, and every time I brought it in to use, they always loved to watch it, ask questions, see how it worked, and of course, got little cut-outs of their own.  So, what better than to make them their own little "secret box" to keep for ever and always?!  :)

Inside the box were 3 more small gifts...

 

 

1. A black & white picture with me-- Of course I LOVE to take pictures (not normally of myself, though!), and my students know it.  All year long I'm snapping pictures, so what a better way to end the year than with a picture of each student and myself?!  The reason I did black and white this year, you ask?  Partially because of my OCD, and partially because it fit my "theme" of the boxes, where everything was black/white and one color...

 

2. A "hippo forever" award-- Our school has a HUGE award assembly the last week of school, where students are recognized for "legit" awards, such as "AB Honor Roll All Year", "Perfect Attendance All Year", etc. etc.  What a more fun way to celebrate the end of the year than with a mini award reminding the students that even though they're leaving my class, they'll still always have a place in my heart (and theirs) as a hippo forever (our class "mascot", if you're confused!).  :)

 

3. A small, top open card, containing an end of year letter for my parents--

I know it's small and blurry, but you can
see it all by downloading the freebie file!

To coincide with reminding my students that they'll be hippos forever, I also place this extremely loving letter in each end of year gift for the parents of my students.  WARNING: It always makes me cry the first time I reread it each year.  I did not come up with the wording, but it's something I've used since my very first year teaching, and I believe it truly expresses the heartfelt feelings of a caring teacher at the end of each school year.

You can have a free, generic version of this letter as a PDF file by clicking here.  There are 2 pages-- one blue for boys (with the wording containing "he", "him", etc.) and one red for girls (with the wording contain "she", "her", etc.). 

I always "address" each of mine with the parents' names up top and sign my name and the year at the bottom, but you can choose to do it how you'd like!  :)

 

So, that's it!  There's the last of my "End Of Year" gifts for each of my students.  Like it?  Hate it?  Have something better?  I'd love to hear what you guys do for your own students at the end of each year!  Leave me a comment...I'll be waiting to read 'em!  :) 

   



Aye aye aye...It's the MIDDLE of the year?!? {Read for a FREEBIE!!}

Okay...so it's blowing my mind that it's already the middle of the year.  I'm not even kidding when I say this year has literally gone by in warp speed!!!  It's so hard to believe that I've been SO terribly busy this year, I could probably count the number of bloggy posts I've written!

AND, it's hard to belive we're 5 month in and gearing up for "middle of the year" testing...goodness...where has this year gone?  (Do I sound like an old lady?)  :)

So I know many of you all out there are in states with Common Core.  I mean, let's face it, besides the great state of Texas, and a few others, Common Core is the rule of thumb (*jealous glances*...).  Here in Texas, though, our curriculum is still based on the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills).  Starting in 3rd grade, our kiddos are tested on those TEKS.

Since I teach 2nd grade, though, we have no official, fancy, dancy state testing.  Instead, we individually test our kiddos 3 times a year (beginning, middle, and end) with a reading inventory (TPRI) and a math test (AMI). 

During the TPRI, my dear sweet class gets to patiently and independently work and learn while I give the looong individualized reading inventory to each of my 20 students.  It's totally like this:

:)  Yes, I needed to add some RG in to put a smile on everyone's face (mainly my own!)  :)

ANYWAYS...back to the point of the story...
So this time, I created a little behavior "bingo" for my class.  Instead of "BINGO", though, I substituted the letters "QUIET"....(yes, I'm so creative...I know).

I let  my students come up with their own rewards for each letter.  We had a such a fun, creative time trying to come up with prizes that matched each letter.  I gave each of my students a notecard and they had about 10 minutes to think of words or phrases for each of the "QUIET".

Then, I compiled them, picked the ones that worked, and we began!



The pile of idea notecards! 

Since they have to be so super quiet and independent during the testing, after each successful test, we draw a square.  Just like regular BINGO, once a column is full, we earn that prize.  :)

So, what do you think?  It worked well for me, and actually, it worked SO well that I'm going to pull it back out during our state standardized testing days for the upper grades.  Even though we don't have to test, we still have to be so quiet and respectful!  It'll be a great incentive, and I pretty much love it so much that I want to share with YOU!  Want a free copy?  Simply click below before Friday, January 25 and enjoy.  :)

Glad to be back and blogging.  See you soon!

Teacher Appreciation Jackpot!!!

**UPDATE:  The Jackpot ended last night (Sunday) at midnight.  Don't worry, though!  I'm still having my sale on both my TpT and TN sites!  Swing on by to pick up some fun goodies at a GREAT price!  :)

Well the time has finally arrived! I know you're probably all SO excited (yes, I am too!!!) for the HUGE Teacher Appreciation Jackpot!

(If you haven't been reading, here's a quick recap: This Sunday, May 6, over 130 TpT Sellers (including myself) will be showing our appreciation for our fellow teachers in a BIG way!!! We've all agreed to give away one of our TeachersPayTeachers products for FREE on Sunday only! Each free gift will be valued at between $3 and $8, so the total jackpot amount is estimated to be over $500!Woo-Hoo!!! The three "categories" have been separated into: K - Grade 2 - April McNair on A Modern Teacher, Grades 3 - 6 - Laura Candler on Corkboard Connections, & Grades 7 - 12 - Adrianne Meldrum on The Tutor House)

So, are you ready to see my contribution?!? It is my Natural Disasters and Natural Hazards Pack! (normally $5!)

Click on over to TpT to download it for FREE until midnight Sunday! (And I'd love for you to leave me some feedback, too! It'd really be the cherry on top of this already FABULOUS day!)

Ready for some MORE great news?! My TpT Store will also be a part of the BIG Teacher Appreciation Sale going on from May 6-8! Take 20% off my store, then use the code "TAD12" to get an EXTRA 10% off on top of that!

Thanks for following my blog, and thanks for being an AWESOME and DEDICATED teacher! All of us sellers over at TpT appreciate your commitment to your students and your dedication as an educator! Hope you check out the list below of all the wonderful and generous teachers that also are participating in this event-- I know we'll all be getting some great resources over the next 24 hours! :)

Featured in the TpT FREE 10 Downloads Newsletter!

Wowwy, wow, wow!  This morning, I was featured in TpT's Weekly Newsletter as one of the 10 Free Downloads!  My Geometric Shape Sort has received so many hits, and I'm so thankful for all the wonderful new feedback that has been left!  :)

I've also included a pretty sweet deal, to entice some feedback and new followers (with a "Dollar Deal" freebie!)  So, if you're here from TpT, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you follow all the directions to get your free item!!!  I especially need your email address to be able to send you it!!! :)

If you follow my blog and DON'T yet have my Geometric Sort Freebie, be sure to head on over to TpT to download it!

Also, I wanted to quickly let you know about my sweet, bloggy friend Jessica and her 100 Follower Giveaway!  Visit her blog, A Turn To Learn, to see the 13 great items she's included in her giveaway!  (One of them is MY Mother's Day Coupon Book Craftivity!!)

(My donation to Jessica's HUGE Giveaway!)

**Update:  Don't forget to stop by Miss Nelson's blog, too!  Her big giveaways end today, April 22!  (I'm crossing my fingers for a win...there are SO many great things!)

(This certainly seems like the week for giveaways, huh?!)

Lastly, I just wanted to share that I'm so grateful to all my followers, both old and new, and I hope everyone's having a great Sunday!  Enjoy the last bit of your weekend! :)

A Friday FREEBIE!

Happy Friday Everybody!!!

I know we're all pretty tired, and we're all probably very glad for the weekend to be here! So here's my quick little Friday FREEBIE (the give you a quick "pick me up")!  It's a "Smartie Pants" encouragement craft for our older students about to take the State (STAAR) Test.

I snagged this idea from Lori's post over at Teaching With Love and Laughter (who got her idea from another blog!)  Isn't it great how we can all share ideas!  I LOVE it!

After a bit of tweaking, our team decided on a little bit larger design (same concept!) to give to our 4th grade "Book Buddies" on Monday before their big test on Tuesday!  On Thursday, we started making it, and we finished it this morning.  My kiddos wrote a sentence or two on the inside, then decorated it, cut it out, and mounted it!  Here are a few cutie-patootie designs:

This weekend, I'm going to buy some Smarties to tape onto our "Smartie Pants" before we give them to our 4th grade Book Buddies on Monday!  Very exciting and VERY cute!!! :)

I also wanted to quickly let you know about Ms. Nelson's GREAT giveaways!  Now that mine is over, stop on by her blog to check out her amazing things!  I'm hoping to win the Giveaway #3- the Vocabulary SpellingCity.com Membership!  (So you can enter all the rest, but leave that one for me! Haha!)

Hope everyone had a great week.  I can't believe our school only has 29 days left before Summer.  CRAZY!!!  I know I'm definitely going to enjoy my weekend, because once we get back on Monday, we're going to start moving at warp speed!

What's Better Than A Monday With NO Voice?!

So yes, you read it right...a Monday with NO voice! :(

My day began with a voice, but as the day progressed, the voice slowly went away!  I've been battling with this (on and off) for a few months now...not sick, no fever, but lots of chest congestion and my voice keeps going in and out.  Ugh!!!  Good thing I have my trusty teacher mic!  Anyone else out there use one?  It's my FAVORITE!  No raised voices for me! :)

BUT ANYWAYS....What's better than a Monday with no voice?!  How about new followers!  I was so happy to log on today and see my new followers!  Welcome welcome!  AND I'm so close to the big 5-0!  And you know what THAT MEANS?!?!? 

A GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

So, hype me up, tell your friends, and let's try to get to the big five-oh sometime this week!  I guarantee the GIVEAWAY will be WORTH IT! :)  I have so many ideas a-brewin'!

And to help us get there faster, here's a little bribe (they always work with our kiddos, right, so why shouldn't they work with adults?!?!)

If you refer me to your friends, and they join as a new follower, both YOU and YOUR FRIEND will earn a free "Dollar Deal" item from my TpT Store or my TN Store!  Simply leave a comment below with your referral (ex. "Jillian, I referred ___ who's a new follower!") or with your name (ex. "Jillian, I'm a new follower, referred by ___!").  Also tell me which item you'd like, and where to send it!  Easy as that!

If you're a new follower on your own, let me know too!  I'd hate for you to miss out on the FREEBIE! :)

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!  I'm off to rest my voice with some hot tea and bad TV!  :)  Perfect way to end the day.  Keep checking back to see how close we come, and stop back by tomorrow to see how fun Natural Disasters can be (no not the actual ones...even though we DID have that brush with a tornado last week!)

Great Designer and New Word Work

Hey Guys!
Two nights ago, I stumbled upon this amazing designer/creator, Jaimee, through SugarHillco.com. Jaimee creates SUPER cute doodles, clip art, digital scrapbooking supplies, and more!  AND, through today, she's running this fantastic special-- a "Mini-Access Pack".  For $20 you get to choose 15 of her products (most of which can be used for Commercial Use!).  It's an incredible deal, since I'm sure we all know that purchasing "cutesies" out of our own pockets can add up quickly! (To purchase this deal, you must visit SugarHillco.com. Jaimee does have her own website, JustJaimee.com, too, where she has a blog and lots of freebies!) 

I took part in this deal, and actually used some of my new goodies to help put together my new "Wonderful Word Work Pack".  I figured it was time I took a few of my scattered ideas from my classroom and put them all together nicely.  So, I used some charming new products from Jaimee, and I made adorable cards for my chants and cheers (they used to be on laminated, plain notecards!), student activity cards (used to be in a plain binder), and I jazzed up a few worksheets, too!  Take a look:

I can't wait to get them copied (and/or laminated) and in use on Monday! 

I also can't wait to share the love!  So, here's my FREEBIE for the first 5 followers who leave a comment:  Share one awesome Word Work/Spelling activity or trick you use in your own classroom.  I know we'd all love to hear!!!  In return, I will send you one page from my new "Wonderful Word Work Pack"!  On your comment, be sure to let me know if you would like a page of chants/cheers, a page of student activity cards, or one worksheet!  (and don't forget to leave your email, too, so I know where to send it! :) )

Can't wait to hear about your spelling fun!!!
 

Extra Paper Organization

Silly silly me.  Isn't it funny how the best ideas are always the simplest?  And these are also the ones when you kick yourself, saying, "Why didn't I think of that?!"

Well that's how I felt recently!  For almost 2 years now, I've been storing my worksheets, handouts, activities, etc. (basically any and all copies), in my hanging file folder rack behind my desk (and, unfortunantley, I must admit, in a few piles, too).  The year ALWAYS starts out SUPER organized, by subject, then by when I'm going to need it (since I like to have copies made in advance).  Over the year, though, it ends up looking like this:

I stuff papers in the files, and shove papers around them!  Extra copies that didn't get used generally get put right back in it, too, so if ever a student needs an extra (after making a mistake) or if ever I need an extra (for "redo"s), I'm left digging through this huge mess, which sometimes can be time consuming and frustrating! 

Well, long story short, I needed an extra copy of a sheet, and I could not find one anywhere!  I also could not find it saved on my computer, either!  So, I called across the hall to my lovely (and organized!) teammate to see if she had one, and she said, "Oh yea, I'll get a kid to grab one out of the "extra paper" bin and bring it to you!" 

Simple as that!  I quickly got a copy and was back in business.  Later that afternoon, I of course stopped by across the hall, to see what all this "extra paper bin" business was about!  (Even though I'm in her room nearly twice a day!!!)  But let me just tell you, it's the best idea EVER!  It's low to the ground, easily accessible to kiddos, and as long as things are stack on top each time, it's kind of in order!

So of course, instead of a sentence strip or desk plate, I had to make a cutesy label for my own!  Click on it below if you want to print yourself a free copy! 

Well needless to say, I totally felt silly for struggling with my "system" all the millions of times I needed an extra paper!  I would like to think, in general, that I'm pretty well organized, but I've learned so many tricks from teammates and from blogs that have come in handy! 

I'd love for you to leave me a comment about any other little organizational "tricks" you use!  I'm sure everyone else would like to read them, too! 

Tinkerin' to get organized (for today, at least!!)

When Everything Goes as Planned!

As a classroom teacher, it's widely understood that more often than not, your days don't quite go as planned.  From crazy lessons with interuptions, to bloody noses (or even...I dare to say it...vomit) in the middle of your room, teachers just learn to be flexible.

Even on days like today, our first day back from Spring Break, I made peace with the fact that the day would probably be a little kooky.  But let me just say, when things flow and go as planned, MAN it feels good!

Today was the beginning of teaching "Author's Purpose" in my classroom.  We just came off our Non-Fiction Unit, so I thought starting with the purpose "to inform" would be an easy link and great transition. 

Let me just say, my kids ROCKED it today!  I was so proud of them!  They caught on, they had a great "in depth" discussion, and they came up with many great examples on their own (really, no credit to me...it must have been the week long break, but they're brains were definitely firing on all 4 cylinders this morning!).

So I just thought I would post some pictures of our first "Investigating Intent" lesson for the week!  You can find it on my TpT store here, BUT for the first 2 readers who "Follow" me and leave me a comment below, I will send it to you FOR FREE! :) 

In the middle of the large class "poster" (chart paper) is the mini-poster "To Inform", which you can find it the "Investigating Intent" Pack.  Students also glued a black and white 1/2 sheet copy of the "To Inform" mini-poster in their Reading Notebooks.  Then, they created their own example posters (green) as a table.  We shared, then glued them on the big sheet to keep hanging for a while!  As the week progresses, we will add more purposes-- to explain, to entertain, to describe, and to persuade!

I hope you love my kiddos work as much as I do (even though I realized I'm somewhat partial)!  And remember to follow me to get your free "Investigating Intent" Pack!  Tell your friends, too!

Linky Party- Teaching First's WONDERFUL Idea!

Hey Guys!

Head on over to Rebecca's Teaching First blog for an AMAZING Mega Giveaway/Freebies Linky Party!  As of now, there are a little over 30 links to free items-- but I'm sure it will keep growing by the hour.  I have posted my own FREEBIE Kindness & Thank You Cards (see post below for how they came to be, and how to get your own CUSTOMIZED cards fore FREE!).  I can't wait to see what YOU post!

Rebecca is celebrating her 400 followers and congrats to her.  I can't wait to one day (hopefully!) be as successful of a blogger as she is!  My hat's off to her!

Have fun sharing!

Kindness Should Be Free!!!

So I don’t know about other schools or districts, but for our school, the few weeks before Spring Break are CRAZY!  We have Book Fair, Open House, AND grades are due (and for some lucky teachers, like myself, TELPAS training and STARR training)!  Oh, and there’s the fact that all children act a little kooky right before a break from school!

Well, here’s a little story about my wild chaotic weeks, and the goal it has made me create for myself!  The Thursday before the week before Spring Break (does that make sense?!), I was out sick.  There was some virus going around our campus that caused about 5 teachers to absolutely lose their voices!  So, I took a day off, thinking it would give me time to rest and recoop.  (Well, I didn’t end up getting my voice back 100% until this past Tuesday…about 2 weeks later!)  So on this Thursday when I wasn’t at school, the PTA posted sign-up sheets for our school Book Fair.  Teachers needed to pick 2 slots for their class for the next week (one on Monday or Tuesday for “Preview” & one on Wednesday or Thursday for “Purchasing”). 

Needless to say, when I got back on Friday morning, almost ALL the spots were taken, except one spot first thing on Tuesday morning.  And BOY-- I thought this was amazing fate! Many of my students this year come in and out throughout the day (going to different classes, like Speech, Resources, OT/PT, etc.), but I DO have all my kiddos in my room first thing in the morning for about 45 minutes!  How perfect this was all working out!

And then, I realized I should have known better before I celebrated this small blessing….because that Tuesday, I would be out AGAIN for lovely Jury Duty.  And, I would never want to leave my sub (no matter how talented or how well she knows my students) with the chore of Book Fair Preview! 

A fantastic and kind Kinder teacher had the same time slot scheduled for Monday, so I called her up (with my barely audible, raspy voice) and asked if we could switch slots.  She happily agreed, I switched our names on the sign-up sheet, and we both went on our merry way!

Well, later that afternoon, I saw that the Kinder teacher had swapped her name to yet another time slot.  Turns out, she had a prior “engagement” for her class that Tuesday morning.  Instead of telling me “no”, she was sweet enough to just give me her Monday time slot and make due with scheduling one of the “less desirable” time slots left.  How thoughtful was she!!!

Over the weekend (after these 2 days of scheduling woes), I realized that while I was nice to that wonderful Kinder teacher, I never REALLY gave her an appropriate thank you for what she did!  I couldn’t believe how I acted!  I swear, I really do try to be kind and gracious!   

So Monday morning, first thing, I jotted down a little 3 line note about how much I appreciated what she did, and how that small “favor” showed me just how kind and flexible she is!  I snuck it in her box and went on my way.

Later on in the morning, that Kinder teacher and I got to talking.  She went on about my note and how it made her morning (even though it was only a few lines written on a scratch pad!)  And I must say, it made me feel good, to make her feel good, for making me feel good (is that confusing?!).

Moral of the story:  Although I think I’m pretty nice and appreciative, I realized I can show my gratefulness to those around me more often and in other ways than just verbal compliments.

This leads me to my goal for the rest of the school year:  I’m going to try to write at least one kind note a week to an adult around me.  It can be my team mates, intervention teachers, ESL teachers, paras, volunteers, etc.! 

To help with my goal, I have created a few cutesy notes to print out and use at school.  Here are some examples:

I have posted these for FREE on TpT!  Please download them and join me in my goal!  And, I wanted to add an extra bonus for YOU!  Print them out and use one in the next few days!  Come back here, and leave me a comment with how you used it.  For doing this, I will get in contact with you and create you a CUSTOMIZED cutesy card FOR FREE!  Because, you never should have to pay for kindness! :)

Some examples (I just had to show, especially since I could take a picture of them on my brand new, beautiful birthday platter!)

Have fun spreading kindness!