T-Minus 2.5 Days... and a Giveaway!

I can't believe that I only have two and a half days left!  It's NUTS.  It didn't actually hit me until this weekend that it really is the end of the year.  I'm looking forward to the break to work on things for next year, read, exercise, and catch up on some TV!  This year has gone by incredibly fast and I am so excited for next!

So, that's what I've been doing... working on wrapping up my year.  That's why I've been MIA from this little blog for almost a week.  But my report cards are DONE and that's cause for a celebration!  I teach ELA to two classes, so I had all of the ELA standards to go through for 56 kids PLUS behavior/social skills type report cards for my 26 homeroom kids!  I'm glad to have that done.  It was really exciting to see the growth they've made as I put in final grades.  I'm going to miss those kiddies!

I've also been working on a writing resource that is going to really help me in my room next year.  I love love love using writing folders in which kids document their own successes and/or hopes for future writing assignments and I've just finished a MONSTER of a pack that is 180 pages of writing goodness connected to the Common Core!  There are resources for setting up writing portfolios, a narrative, informative, and opinion writing prompt for each month, 30 extra writing prompts not monthly themed, a few writing graphic organizers, student check-lists for each type of writing for upper and lower elementary, and resources for getting students to talk and think about their writing.

I'm super excited about this!

I'm going to giveaway a copy too!  Just leave a comment and tell me anything about writing instruction in your classroom.  I'll pick a winner later this week!

In the meantime, it's on sale at TpT for a few days... you can check it out below!

Find it on TpT and Teacher's Notebook

Helping in Oklahoma with Teacher's Notebook

Teacher's Notebook is helping out in Oklahoma.  Proceeds from this purchase, which is full of great items from lots of teacher sellers (including me!), will go to organizations in Moore, Oklahoma, to help with the tornado relief.

I have contributed my 2nd 100 Fry Phrase bundle.




These disasters and things are so terrible, but it always amazes me at how teachers ban together to help and pitch in whenever there is a need somewhere.  It makes me proud to belong to such a caring profession!

B-U-S-Y!

Busy with a capital B!  I am down to six and a half days of school left.  It's CRAZY!!!

I wanted to pop on and say hello... so HELLO!  I got an e-mail from my favorite blog stalker today and so... I'm here, blog stalker!  ;)

This post is just linking you up to all of my END OF THE YEAR tagged posts... so if you've missed any of them this year or last, here they are!  You can see awards (my fillable "End of the Year awards" are on sale right now!) and gifts for helpers and students too!

Hopefully I'll be back this weekend with a new product and a freebie from it to share!

Quick and Easy "Thank You" for Helpers

It's getting to be that time... time to thank the people who have helped out in your classroom this year!

Many teachers in my building have high school mentors who come over for about an hour each day to help in the classroom.  Mine this year has done everything from copy and laminate to work with kids and help with messes in the classroom.

Our mentors are graduating and tomorrow is their last day!  So, I bought donuts to take in and my kiddos made this super cute book for him...

I wrote a letter message on the first page and then did a little bit of extra cutting and gluing to make a "hand pocket" to stick a gift card in!

And each kid, of course, made a page.  They drew a picture in the hand and wrote a message.  I just HAD to share this one...

 

"I am so happy that you are graduating from high school.  You are a kindhearted man."  I love it!  One of my boys' letters included the line, "...You are a good kid".  I've been laughing about those all afternoon!  After those two notes, I'm surprised I didn't find a, "Good luck in college, sonny"!

If you're looking for a fun, quick, and easy "Thank You", you can get this one at my TpT store for FREE!

Click HERE or the pic below to head to my store to snag it!

This weekend's agenda is making my End of the Year awards.  If you're looking for a great pack with awards for literally everyone... check this one out!  They are bright and colorful... and fillable!  All you have to do is open them and you can type right on the PDF to add student names!  Easy peasy!

Or... if you want to do something different, I have end of the year candy bar wrappers with happy summer wishes in this "Sweet Treats" pack!  I gave these out at Valentine's Day and they were a super hit!  These are personalizable in Powerpoint.

Digital Backgrounds... Free-stravaganza!

I've been having fun making digital backgrounds and am just going to leave the ones in my store free!  They're pretty basic and, as I add a few more colors in these basic patterns, they will stay free too.

Once I get REALLY good at making them, I'll charge for new ones... but as long as they are as basic as these are, they'll be FREE!  I just ask for some feedback if you enjoy them!

You can check out my orange, green, blue, and pink sets at my TpT store.  Here's the link!

Digital Background Papers... What Do You Think?

I know these are really basic and I'm embarrassed for my favorite clipart artist to even see them, but I was playing on the computer over the weekend and sort of figured out how to make backgrounds!

I made a set of 10 that is free at my TpT store.  I'd love for you to grab them and let me know what you think!  And, if you use them for a product, let me know so I can see how it turned out!

Just click the pic below to download!

Find this freebie on TpT

Pinterest Fiends... Did You Know About This?

Ok, Pinterest Fiends... maybe you already knew this, but if you didn't... you can find out what has been pinned from your blog!

All you have to do is type into your browser's address bar:
http://pinterest.com/source/THE WEBSITE'S URL HERE/

So, mine is http://pinterest.com/source/bainbridgeclass.blogspot.com/.

It's fun to see what is being pinned... it gives me an idea of what everyone is preparing for and thinking about for their classrooms!

I pin lots of classroom things, so if you aren't following me, you should!  You can find my link over on the right.

I'd love for you to leave yours so I can follow you too!

Our Favorite (Free!) Word Work Activity

It just occurred to me today that I should share my students' favorite word work activity.  It's virtually free... you just need space and dry erase markers... and they L-O-V-E it!

My kiddos scramble to be the first to the window during Daily Five so they can write their spelling words!  It just takes a dry erase marker, which I keep hung next to the window in a magnetic basket.

Fun, free, and different... we're on our 26th spelling list of the year and they are STILL excited about writing their words on the window!

What are your kids' favorite ways to practice their spelling words?  I'd love to hear from you!

Winner, New Idea, and Quick and Easy Gift for Momma's Day!

Ok... first WINNER...

Hubby picked lucky #3 so I'll be sending Melissa my 1st grade CCSS ELA 100+ Days to Success pack!

It's on sale at TpT during this 2-day Teacher Appreciation sale!

A new idea...

I used my 3rd grade CCSS ELA pack for a review game today.  I had my kiddos in teams, pulled out the EGGspert, and did a quiz game where they could buzz in after they answered the questions.  It was super fun! 

And a quick and easy gift for Momma's Day!

This week is super busy at school.  Today we had "Bridge Day", so each grade-level moved up a grade for about two hours.  The K-2 building is a little bit of a walk away from my building, so we had to walk the 2nd graders over to our building and back so they could come to 3rd grade.

I do miss 2nd graders.  They are such a funny and unique blend of little person... but I was SO happy to see my third graders when we switched back after lunch!  My finely tuned machine was sorely missed when I hung out with the squirrely 2nds this morning!  Now that I've been with big bad 3rd graders for a year, I love 'em!

Anyway... this afternoon, we did our Mother's Day gift.  I have many kids who don't live with their moms, so we made an "Important Person" present.

This morning all of my kids got their picture taken with a cute little "prop on a stick"... a mustache or funny glasses, lips, a bow...

And then they wrote "I love you becasue..." and finished the sentence.

I typed everyone's responses into a document so there was an all-text background.

Then, I typed each child's individual response into a box on a page and printed.

Last, the kiddos glued their funky picture on their page.

And this was born:

My first principal had a similar gift that her daughter made in elementary school, so I can't take credit for this idea... I did add the fun twist of the "props"!  The pictures really show off my kids' personalities.  I'm hoping that moms and grandmas and aunts and dads will like their gift!

If you're still looking for a gift idea, that might help!

Last... I'm sure you know about the big sale at TpT today and tomorrow... TpT is giving an extra 10% off if you use the code TAD13 when you check out and most sellers are throwing a sale too.

If you want to check out some items that have great feedback, check out my linky party by clicking the picture below to head over!  If I mentioned feedback that you left, you can let me know and I'll send you a freebie from my store!

Fabulous Feedback Linky Party... Is it YOU?

We're gearing up for the HUGE "Teacher Appreciation Sale" going on at TpT tomorrow and Wednesday, May 7 and 8.

Everything in my store will be 20% off and TpT is giving an EXTRA 10% off of that if you use the code TAD13 when you check out!  Teacher's Notebook is having a similar sale until the 10th, so if you like shopping there, here's my link if you want to check out my products!

Anywho, to celebrate the sale and to celebrate all of the teachers who have helped make my TpT store a success, I'm hosting a "Fabulous Feedback" linky party where you have a chance to win a product from my shop!

All you have to do is read on, see if I selected your feedback as one of my most fabulous, and let me know if I did and you get your choice of an item from my shop for leaving me such amazing feedback!  I really do love hearing how my products are making a difference for your students, so thank you thank you thank you!

After you see if you've won from me, you can check out the other links in the linky to see if you've won there too!  And, if you didn't win, feel free to check out the products that earned such high praises and get them for 28% off during this sale!

So... without further ado...

I got this amazing feedback from Jenna Frederick about my Fry Phrases Fluency Games Bundle Pack...

Check out this Fry Phrase pack on TpT

I've worked really hard on my collection of Classroom or Hallway Hunts since I teach only ELA this year.  I wanted to make grammar fun and interactive for my students.  I've gotten some great feedback on these hunts.  Third Grade Bookworm tried out my Galactic Past and Present Tense Verbs pack and she said...

Check out this Galactic Past and Present Tense verb pack on TpT

The last product with feedback that has really made me smile is my Partner Reading Comprehension pack.  This is one of my best sellers and has over 200 positive reviews.  When I got this feedback from TeaPro... well, I was one happy girl...

Check out this best selling Partner Reading pack on TpT

So... that's it!  If you are Jenna Frederick, Third Grade Bookworm, or TeaPro, let me know!  You can get a freebie from my shop!

One last thing... My "Fillable End of the Year Awards" with something for everyone are on sale too!

And...  I just have to brag about my  newest products while they are on sale...

 100+ Days of 3rd Grade CCSS ELA review

 

100+ Days of 2nd Grade CCSS ELA review

100+ Days of 1st Grade CCSS ELA review

Fourth grade coming soon!

Ok!  That's it!

Check out the other teachers who linked up below.  Some of them will also be giving the most fabulous feedback a free item from their shop... maybe it's you!

First Grade Friends... I Haven't Forgotten You... You Can Win! And a Sale! And a Linky!

It's DONE!  It took me all day but it's finished

Fourth grade... you're next!  But probably not for a week or so.

I'll be giving away a copy of my 1st grade CCSS 100 Days of ELA Review to two lucky winners... just leave a comment.  Anything you want!  Hubby will pick a random number and I'll e-mail the winner a copy tomorrow!

Here it is on TpT if you want a sneak peek... or to add it to your wish list!  :)

 Check it out on TpT or Teacher's Notebook

I'm sure you've heard by now that Tuesday kicks off two days of huge savings at TpT!  I'll have everything in TpT and TN at 20% off and you get an EXTRA 10% off on TpT if you enter  the code TAD13 when you checkout!  Thanks Beth at Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah Designs for this cute button!

And... check out my blog tomorrow!  I'll be hosting a great linky party, spotlighting some awesome feedback I've gotten on TpT.  If you let me the feedback that I post about, you can win a freebie from my store!

Winner! Winner!

Hubby chose two numbers between 1 and 62 to win my 2nd grade CCSS 100+ Days of  ELA Review pack...

And the winners are...  #23 Shelby and #55 411.

I'll be sending you these packs shortly!

I got a really nice shout out from Teacher Gone Digital about my 3rd grade pack... check it out!

TGTF! Am I Right? Also... New 2nd Grade CCSS Item & You Can Win!

Thank GOODNESS tomorrow is Friday!  I can't wait for the weekend!  Hubby and I have date night every Friday and I am so looking forward to chilling at dinner with the hubs tomorrow!

This week has been crazy at school...  Tuesday we did a 3rd grade Wax Museum and it was AWESOME.  We had everyone from Barack Obama to Neil Armstrong to Wilma Rudolph... the kids worked SO hard and did such a great job!  I was so stinkin' proud of my students... I shed a few tears, gave lots of hugs, and was just amazed at how much my kiddos learned and how much I was able to assess through this project!

So, that has pretty much consumed our lives for about 2 weeks... researching, writing, creating, practicing... then yesterday I had a sub so today was a catch up day.  Tomorrow is our field day (please stay away, rain!) and so we had to take our spelling tests today too.

BUT... the good news is that I did get the 2nd grade CCSS 100+ Days of Review pack finished!  It's on sale for $1 off at TpT for the next few days, but you can win a copy!  Just leave me a comment, letting me know the highlight of your academic week.  Mine was the Wax Museum!  I'll have hubby select a few random numbers and will send two or so packs on Saturday to the winners!

In the meantime, I hope you'll check it out!

 Find it on TpT or Teacher's Notebook!

I'll be working on a 1st grade set starting this weekend and then movin' on up to 4th after that!

And now... bring on the weekend!