One Little Word Linky {My Truth Monday- on Tuesday!}

I don't often delve into the "personal life" realm on my blog... gotta keep it teachy!

BUT... I did want to jump in on Sunny Days in Second Grade's My Truth Monday Linky Party {even though today is Tuesday!}.

My world has been turned upside down this month and I am so ready for 2014.  I took down my 2013 calendar about a week ago and put up a new one for 2014... that's how ready I am.  Though my world is still not back in a proper rotation, I am looking forward to 2014 and hoping things can settle back down... or just plain old even out.  I'd be happy with either one!

So... my one little word that I will be clinging to in the coming year is...

That's it folks.  Courage.  I need it!

Happy New Year to all of you, bloggy friends.  I promise I'll be back to blogging about normal things soon!

PS- Side note... click the pic below to find out about my "end of the year SALE-abration"!  It ends TONIGHT!

17 Days... and a Teacher's New Year's Resolutions... Oh, and a Sale!

Well, I haven't blogged in 17 days.  I can't believe it has been that long!

I have some "life" going on right now and just can't blog... but I wanted to pop on and say hello!  My TpT store will be on sale at 10% off starting tomorrow and ending on New Year's Eve.  My TN store is on sale TODAY until New Year's Eve!

Check out my TpT and Teacher's Notebook shops!

If you have any teacher's New Year's Resolutions... check out these products to help you stay on track!

Resolution #1- get ORGANIZED

Click the pic to check out fillable class grid "check lists".  I use mine every day to check things in and stay organized!

Resolution #2- collect more authentic, informative GRADES

Yeah, I know... who wants to collect MORE grades?!  These Snapshots make it so easy though!

Click the banner to check out "Snapshots!".  They are super quick, easy to grade and CCSS aligned to help guide and inform instruction... I give a grammar and comprehension Snapshot weekly and L-O-V-E them!  I have them available for 1st grade math and comprehension, 2nd grade math, comprehension, and grammar, and 3rd grade math, comprehension, and grammar too!

Resolution #3- do more WRITING

Click the picture to check out "The WRITE Stuff!" an easy to implement writing portfolio full of prompts for narrative, informative, and opinion writing!

Resolution #4- be more consistent with home-to-school COMMUNICATION

I do this in 2 ways... 1... super easy weekly newsletters!  Just click the picture to check them out.  They are fully customizable in Powerpoint.  It seriously takes me about 5 minutes at the end of the day each Friday to type up a newsletter for the next week.

Sometimes I copy comprehension bookmarks onto the back of the newsletters.  Then, families can read the newsletter then cut out a bookmark they can use during the week to help their child practice comprehension skills at home!  Click the pic below to check out 25 CCSS aligned reading bookmarks!

Last... Resolution #5... be more consistent and hold students accountable for HOMEWORK

We LOVE our "Homework Club" in my room.  My students work so hard to stay in the club.  I love that they are practicing skills at home and becoming self-motivated to work to achieve their goal of staying in the club.  Click the pic to learn more about it!

That's it!   I'm hoping to be able to be back in action in January!  Until then, send happy thoughts my way please!!!

Life Is Good {A Tote Bag Giveaway!}

So tonight a friend and colleague of mine and I went shopping for Christmas presents for one of our students.  We got the student some clothes, toys, and (of course!) something "Lions-y" since all three of us are HUGE fans.  While we were there, we ran into loads of other educators also shopping for students and families.  You could tell by the organized carts with stacks of necessities and the gobs of lists these good people were carrying around and checking off.  We even ran into my #1 blog stalker and her crew who were shopping for kiddos and families.  She had a cart full of food to make the holidays happy for the kids and families at her school.

It really made me think about how amazing teachers are.  I'm sure that you all are adopting kids for Christmas, donating money for kids at your school and around your area as well.  It made me smile, thinking about how much I love what I do.

So I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to thank YOU for all you are doing for kiddos as well by hosting a giveaway for the great folks at Life is Good.

They sent me this mug...

Do what you like, like what you do... ain't that the truth for us?  I love what it says on their website... "Spreading the Power of Optimism".  Sometimes it's hard in our jobs to stay optimistic!  We've got state and federal lawmakers without a CLUE telling us what to do in our classrooms, the millions of hats that we wear on a daily basis... worrying and thinking and planning and stressing... teaching really is a way of life more than a career!  But seeing so many teachers and educators out and about, shopping with their own money to bring holiday happiness to kids... now THAT'S optimism!  And that caring and kindness doesn't just stop and start during Christmas either... we are a different breed.

Life is Good would LOVE to send you this tote bag to help spread happiness and that message of positivity and optimism...

You can click the picture to learn more, check out the great gift ideas on their site (Christmas for your teacher friends is coming!), and see all of the things they have to offer!

Enter to win using the Rafflecopter widget below and I'll announce the winner next Wednesday!  Good luck... and keep spreading that optimism and holiday cheer!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Holidays Around the World *Super!* Giveaway!

Need a last minute plan for teaching Holidays Around the World?  Check out this giveaway with some fabulous TPT sellers! 

You could win these amazing products! 

The Teacher Cauldron's Unit

Caitlin Clabby's Unit

  

Jessica Tobin's Unit

Anna DiGilio's Unit

 

And Christina Bainbridge's {that would be me!} Bundle- PowerPoints and Flippy Books!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Post Rewind- Christmas Party Ideas Freebie! {And Important File UPDATE!}

Now that Thanksgiving is done and all of the left overs have been eaten, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals have been had... it's time to start planning for class Christmas parties!  If you're looking for some new ideas, check out the free classroom guide that we put together at my blog... it's full of ideas from other bloggers!

Click the tape to head to that old post and get some new ideas!

If you have any of my Christmas Around the World files... the Flippy Books all got a huge facelift about three weeks ago.  And yesterday the PowerPoints all got additional info added as well as new timings, so they play a bit slower.

Or click the pic to check them out!

You'll need to go to your purchases at TpT to re-download the updates!

TpT eBook, New FREEBIE!, and Linky!

It's Wednesday!  That means the week is half over... and it's almost the weekend!

Today the TpT Winter Holiday eBooks were released and they are AH-MAZING!

Here's the link to the 3rd-6th grade book.  Every page has a bit of holiday advice and a freebie... have fun browsing!  Click the pic to download!

A bit THANK YOU to Rachel Lynette for compiling and editing this book!

Next... a new FREEBIE!  This one is a pretty dang good one, I think.  I am so thankful for the support of my teacher friends and bloggy friends that I wanted to share something great with you all for free!  Hence... "Worth 1,000 Words" was born!  This file is definitely worth downloading... I hope you will and hope you'll leave some feedback too!  Click the pic to check it out!

And, finally... a new linky party!  Now that the excitement of the TpT sale is over, I'm hoping you'll come check out the pics and link up your own to show off your beautiful home holiday decorations!  Don't feel like you have to include as many pics as I did... but I'd love to see a few and so would everyone else!  Click the pic to head over!

3rd Grade Math Snapshots are DONE!!!! {And a Sale!}

Do you hear that choir of heavenly angels singing?  I do.  It's because I just finished a pack of 44 CCSS aligned Math Snapshots for quick assessment in 3rd grade!

Smoke has been coming out of my brain for the last few hours as I worked to get this up during the sale so anyone who wants it can save some dough!

Find it on TpT!

I'll be listing an ULTIMATE 3rd grade bundle tonight too that has the 3rd grade math and 2nd/3rd comprehension and grammar!  I'll be getting that up as soon as I publish this post!  My hubby is listening to Ron Swanson funnies in the background and I'm laughing so hard!  I need to get off the computer and watch too!  {update:  Here's the link to the 3rd grade ULTIMATE bundle!}

With that said... did you know that there's a HUGE sale at TpT?!  Everything in my shop is 20% off and TpT is giving an extra 10% if you use the code CYBER when you check out.  Thanks to Krista Lyn for this cute cute graphic!

Find me on TpT!

Deck the Halls with TpT Linky Party

Happy Sunday!  Are you as excited as I am about the TpT Cyber Monday {and Tuesday!} sale?  My cart is full and so is my wishlist.  I can't wait to get my shop on!  EVERYTHING in my shop will be 20% off Monday and Tuesday... and if you use the code CYBER when you check out, TpT will give an additional 10% off of that... so everything's 28% off!!!!!

A bunch of bloggy friends are joining me in a fun linky to show off some TpT goodies to the tune of some favorite Christmas carols.  So... I bring you... Deck the Halls with TpT!

So... bring on the playlist!

I'm going to play three songs for you.

The first one is the seasonal favorite... The 12 Days of Common Core!

Find them all on TpT!

These Snapshots for grammar, comprehension, and math provide many more than just 12 days' worth of Common Core assessing!  Check them out for 1st (comprehension and math), 2nd (comprehension, math, and grammar), and 3rd (comprehension and grammar) in my TpT store.  Be sure to follow me on TpT to get updates when more subjects and grades are added!  I'm working on more Snapshots as we speak for other grades and subjects!

The next song is "I'm Dreaming of a Holiday Product".

Find the bundle and the individual banners on TpT!

This beautiful song is made even sweeter when the holiday product can help you decorate your classroom in less than 60 seconds.  This holiday bunting bundle helps me make my classroom festive and takes NO time now that I have made the banners.  Just print and assemble!

Check out these three laying on my living room floor!  The bundle includes banners for Christmas (and Winter!), Halloween (and fall!), Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter (and spring!), and a fun "Rock the Test" encouragement banner for testing days!

I'm not going to lie.  The next song on the play-list is actually a REMIX.  Originally I was going to share my Character Traits: Match It!  Prove It! pack... for the song "It's Beginning to Look a lot like Reading"... but {as I was driving home from buying my first ever pair of leggings yesterday} I started thinking about my writing packs and how much they have helped me organize and pin-point my writing instruction.  And how much I used to struggle with writing.  We always DID writing.  But I didn't TEACH writing.  Now I TEACH it and LOVE it!

So... the last song on my playlist is a REMIX.  It's called "It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Writing".

Narrative, Opinion, and Portfolio on TpT!

These packs are all Common Core connected.  The Narrative and Opinion provide lists of mentor texts, a basic instruction plan, activities to get students involved with the "nuts and bolts" of the type of writing, and opportunities for students to practice developing their writing and then write a final piece using everything they've learned during the study.

The "Write Stuff" is a year-long portfolio for narrative, opinion, and informational writing.  This is PERFECT to use after you've introduced each type of writing so that students can practice each type monthly.  Rubrics, student data sheets, and ways to get students involved in thinking about their writing all help make this pack a great way for students to see themselves grow as writers during the year!

Thanks for reading and "listening" along to my playlist... check out these other great blogs by clicking the links below!

An Accomplishing Saturday!

Today has been busy!  I finished a "Snapshots" pack for quick assessment, morning work, homework... whatever you need for 1st grade math... I am pretty psyched about it!  It's $1 off until tomorrow too!!!

Check it out on TpT!

When that was done, I took a little shopping trip!  I love to shop at Lane Bryant and everything in the store is 50% off this weekend!

I got some great stuff... including an outfit that is totally not me... but looked so cute I HAD to buy it!  I'll share a pic the first time I wear it... it's some super high boots, a cute tunic, and leggings!  I've never owned a pair of leggings... ok, maybe when I was like 12... but it's a pretty cute combination!

Do you wear leggings?  Give me some other outfit suggestions with them... because I really liked how it all looked together!

Flocabulary Winner... and Something New {Maybe for You!}

I'm so excited to announce the winner of the Flocabulary subscription!  Congratulations to...LAURA!!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, this is some sort of Thanksgiving miracle because I actually know Laura!  She was my favorite favorite favorite sub who *YAY!!!* recently got hired to teach Kindergarten!  Sad for me, but so happy for her and even happier because she is the WINNER!

I have today off (whoo hoo!).  My turkey is brining, my house is about to get cleanified, and I just finished something new for my TpT store... Go Gingerbread Man!- a contraction game just like the Thanksgiving freebie I shared earlier this week.

You can win a copy!  Just leave a comment (sorry about the word verification but my favorite spammers are at it again!) with your e-mail and I will send this to FIVE winners tomorrow morning!  This is my 300th item and I'm pretty excited about that!

Check it out on TpT!

Today's the Last Day to Win FLOCABULARY!!!

Did you hear me screaming that from the rooftop?

If you haven't checked out Flocabulary, you're missing out!  It's an incredible resource with short and sweet videos, set to hip-hop music, connected to Common Core standards, with printable activities, that kids love... need I say more?

Flocabulary is giving a subscription away and all you have to do is sign up for a free trial then come back here and tell me you did using the Rafflecopter widget below!

Go go go!  I'll announce the winner tomorrow!

The website is http://www.flocabulary.com... sign up!  You will love it!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Odds and Ends {file update, don't forget to enter, and this week in 3rd grade with something for you!...}

This is a random blog post.  The Lions lost a game they TOTALLY should have won today... in fact, they didn't just lose... at times it seems like they had gift wrapped a victory and handed it to the Buccaneers!  So I'm feeling a little jilted and sad!

So... just a bunch of randomness is about to ensue...

1.)  File update:
My "Christmas Around the World Flippy Books" have gotten a major update.  New fonts, new graphics... I'm really excited about the new look!  If you have them, please re-download.  I hope you'll like the update!

2.)  Don't forget to enter:
You can win a free year's subscription to Flocabulary!  Click the picture below to head over to find out what you have to do to enter.  It's an AMAZING website... I hope you'll check it out!

3.)  This week in 3rd grade:
We're departmentalized (which I love) but I also love random days around the holidays when I keep my own kids and we can do fun classroom things together.  On Monday, we're switching like usual.  Tuesday is fun stuff... throwing water balloons at the principal as an AR incentive, making pumpkin pie in a bag, watching the animated "Charlotte's Web" since we finished the book a few weeks ago... then no school till next week!

My ELA plans for Monday include taking a unit spelling test, adding spelling words to our dictionaries, talking about our upcoming Christmas Around the World research project (click to go to freebie!!!), and re-teaching how to identify verbs in sentences.  We assessed on this on Friday and my kids TOTALLY got the "identify whether a sentence is past, present, or future"... but the part where they had to find the verb in the sentence... not so much.  We'll be doing this verb tense game for extra practice.  I am so thankful for YOU all so it's free on TpT!

I'd love to hear what you think!

Happy TG week... I'll be back on Wednesday to announce the Flocabulary winner!!!

Christmas Research... Creating a Brochure

We're working on a non-fiction unit in class right now and are going to have our students research holiday traditions and create a brochure.  There are spots for students to draw a diagram, add a map, write a caption, and note their sources.  I know they will LOVE making this!  I made up the brochure tonight and have posted it for free on TpT!

The week before Christmas, we'll be doing my Christmas Around the World activities, which the kiddos always enjoy.  I know they will love them even more because they'll have knowledge about other countries to contribute too!  I have TONS of Christmas Around the World freebies at my class website and in these old blog posts too!

Click the pic to check out the brochure!  {Blog FB fans... make sure you grabbed your Santa letter freebie too at the Fans page on my FB page!}

Also... don't forget to enter to win a free subscription to Flocabulary!