Monday, October 28, 2013

My Truth Monday

Happy Monday!
 
I'm linking up with Denise over at
Sunny Days in Second
for her new

Each Monday there's a new topic and we share some truths about that topic! What a great way to get to know each other in this "virtual" world of blogging!

So here we go!
Today's topic is some light-hearted fun and it's about CREEPY THINGS!
What things creep you out?!?
 
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Sunday, October 27, 2013

I'm Ready to Conference!

Try not to faint!
 This is, indeed, my second blog post in a row this weekend!
 
Here's some Smelling Salts to bring ya' back to life!
 
Whew! Glad you're back!
 
I whipped up a freebie last night and I wanted to share it with you all!
It's an "I'm Ready To Conference" freebie and I made 8 different versions of it!

 
 
Here's what ya do with it.
 
In my school, we do Writer's Workshop which has been a lot to take on and I'm still adjusting. Anyways, no matter what you use for teaching writing, you can use this freebie!
 
Here's the situation: Students are writing, writing, writing and then BAM! 15 of your 20 students are ALL ready to CONFERENCE with you at once! Suddenly you went from circulating the room to being bombarded by 15 little writers eagerly shoving their stories of kitty cats and puppies in your face expecting you to check their writing immediately and to love it!
 
Tell me I'm not the only one this has happened to!!... Please?!?
 
Well, I have decided to put a stop to this bombardment of writers all up in my personal bubble!
 
I put each child's name on a clothespin and printed one of the I'm Ready To Conference papers. I laminated the paper and posted it near my kidney table where I pull small group and usually conference with students. I keep the clothespins on a ribbon under the chart. As a child works through the writing process at their own pace, they track themselves on my Writing Process Clipchart.
 
As they go through the process, they will first meet with a peer editor. They work together to edit and revise. Once the child has made all of the edits and revisions they think are necessary, then they are ready to conference with me! This is where my Ready to Conference tracker comes in handy. Instead of racing up to me, or raising their hand and playing around at their desk, they get up, grab the clothespin off the ribbon and place it on the I'm Ready to Conference paper. I use the version with the numbers so they know exactly where the next spot is. You could always just teach them to stick it at the top and then down from there though if you don't like the numbers on the chart.
 
So if they are the first child ready to conference with me, they stick their clothespin on the 1 circle. The next child would stick theirs on the 2 and so on. Now, when I'm done walking around the room and mini-conferencing with everyone while they are writing, I can head to my kidney table, pull off the first clothespin and call that child over to see me. Once I'm done with that child, I can move on to the #2 spot and keep going. The great thing is that I can continue with the same tracking paper the next day until I have met with everyone. I teach them that they are not allowed to put their clothespin in the first spot until ALL clothespins have been taken off the chart. They are always to go to the next open spot after the last clothespin. They have done well with it so far.
 
This has saved my sanity because now, once they place their clothespin in the right spot, they go back to their seat and start working on their next story so that they continuously write and there is NO. WASTED. TIME.
 
Plus, the kids love being able to see the tracker and know how many more kiddos are in front of them until it's their turn. They no longer have to ask me because they can check for themselves!
 
I swear, it has helped so much!
 
If this sounds like something you'd like to try, please click the pic below to download! I would love to hear your thoughts on how you do writing! I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing time! :)
 
Happy downloading!
 
 

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Saturday, October 26, 2013

Need something from VistaPrint?? Enter now!

I'm so embarrassed by how much I've been neglecting my poor blog. I can only hope that you all understand! I have really been struggling to stay on top of my workload at school this year! Please accept my apologies! I hope to remedy this soon...I miss creating and blogging!
 
I do have something to offer today however!
 
I have a code for VistaPrint worth $20.00! I have had it forever and haven't been able to use it so I decided to give it away to someone who CAN use it!
 
Just enter below! But hurry, giveaway ends Monday!
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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Oh So Flashy!

Happy Sunday friends!
 
 
There's reason to celebrate today because TpT is throwing a surprise flash sale in celebration of reaching 100,000 FB likes! How great!
 
Due to their great flash sale, some of us Chalkies from The Primary Chalkboard have decided to make it a little more flashier!
 
We have decided to pick ONE item in our store and mark it down by 50%! You're going to use the code FB100K for the 10% from TpT and with our already marked down sale prices, that will be 50% off on ONE of our items. Most of us have our other products marked down at least 10% also!
 
I have decided to mark down my favorite phonics game for this awesome, flash sale!
Check it out on TpT AND head over to Primary Chalkboard to see all of the other fabulous Chalkie units up for grabs at this highly reduced rate!
 
Happy shopping!

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Saturday, October 5, 2013

Dedicated to...

Happy World Teachers' Day!
 
Today is a day when all teachers should be appreciated and told THANK YOU! What we do on a daily basis is far more than a 40 hour work week. We sacrifice our family time, time with our friends, alone time, our weekends, our own money, sleep, and so much more! I don't know of any other job out there that requires all of that to be successful!
 
 
So to all of my fellow teachers, I want to say thank you!
 
 
And I wanted to write this post as a dedication to one of the best teachers I know! A teacher, that in my eyes, is a Teacher of the Year EVERY year.
 
........
 
Tamara Russell from Mrs. Russell's Room!
 
Tamara is one of the most hard-working, dedicated teachers I have EVER known. She is more inspiring than anyone can imagine!
 
She is an endless giver who will bend over backwards to take care of others before taking care of herself. She spends hours upon hours every single day working to provide the best learning opportunities for her students. When she walks into her classroom, it isn't just a classroom. It's home for her and those 18 precious students are HERS. They aren't just students, they are her kids. She nurtures them, mentors them, encourages them and supports them. She pours herself into professional development and keeping up with the constant changes in this crazy world of education that we all teach in. She is always willing to help someone who asks for it, even if it means sacrificing her personal time that she could be using for something else. She is amazingly creative and can come up with ideas faster than a blink of your eye!

I could go on and on but I'll just say this instead.
 
Tamara embodies precisely what a teacher is and should be.
 
And I'm here to say that Tamara, you totally rock girl! And I love ya!
 
Here's a recap of some of our BEST times from last year!

 
 
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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

MONSTERous Giveaway + Freebie Link Up!

Big things are happening over at The Primary Chalkboard starting RIGHT NOW!
 
There's a MONSTERous Giveaway going on including 4 bundles of prizes!
 
1. A First Grade Product Bundle
2. A Second Grade Product Bundle
3. Fire Safety Bundle
4. Mega Prize Bundle (pencil sharpener, clipart pack, deluxe teacher tote/teacher chair pocket/bunting flags)
 
This giveaway is EASILY over $250 worth of goodies! The Tote/Chair Pocket/Bunting Flags alone are valued at $150! That plus much more could be yours!!!!
 
In addition to the giveaway, we're featuring new October themed freebies daily all the way through October 8th to accompany the giveaway! Plus you can link up your own October freebie OR go check out all of the others that people will be linking up!
 
What are you waiting for?!?!?
 
Go Now!!!
 

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