Winners Chosen and Updated Easter FREEBIE!

What an exciting weekend it was here on the blog!!  A huge thank you goes out to everyone who visited and entered the giveaway!  I appreciate all of the wonderful, sweet comments!  Without further ado....

The winners are:

Congrats Ladies!  You will get an email from me tomorrow!  A special thank you to all of the wonderful ladies that donated products and helped me throw this thing together at the absolute last minute!  I will be sending your free gifts soon!

In other news...

One of my products will be featured in a Birthday Bash giveaway that is going on at Mrs. Russel's Room, 1st Grade Fantabulous and Sticky Notes & Glitter! Tomorrow's (Thursday) post will feature my Sight Word Bundle!  If you would like to win it and many more wonderful resources, hop over to one of their blogs to enter!  They are also having daily deals, freebies and more every day this week!

Click the button above to check it out!

One more thing before I go...

Did you see that I updated my Easter ABC Order Cut & Paste Freebie?  Click the picture below to grab your copy!  I will be creating an Easter Sentences Freebie soon so keep an eye out for it.  

If you like the graphics I used in this set, stop by this weekend because I will be showcasing the wonderful artist who creates these amazing graphics!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Huge Giveaway - New Blog Design

Welcome to my new and improved blog! What do you think?  I am in love with it!!

This redesign has been long overdue! I would like to thank Kassie from Designs by Kassie for working with me.  When I began this journey of redesigning, I had no clue what I wanted.  Kassie worked her magic to create something that is an exact match to my personality.  If you are looking to get a "new look" for your blog, or starting one from scratch, I HIGHLY reccomend Kassie!  You can visit her blog by clicking on her button below.  You will not regret it!  She makes the process not only smooth, quick, and efficient; but also very affordable!  Kassie Rocks!

I love sharing my teaching (and personal) life with you guys!  In order to show how much I appreciate each and every one of you, I think it is only right to host a giveaway and celebrate my new blog design!  Feel free to spread the word so that your friends have a chance to win some amazing resources!

In order for you to win resources that you can benefit from in your classroom, I have broken them into bundles according to grade levels.  There are 3 rafflecopters below, one for each bundle.  2 lucky winners will be chosen from the first giveaway and 1 person from each of the other giveaways. Good luck!

Giveaway #1

                               $50 to spend at More Than Math by Mo on TpT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #2 - K - 2nd grade

 The winner of this giveaway will win all 26 products shown below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #3 - 3rd-5th grade

The winner of this giveaway will win all 15 products shown below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I want to thank everyone who donated products to this "last minute" giveaway!  If you want more information about the bundles or specific products in them, feel free to email me.  Once again, Good luck!  I will choose and announce the winners Wednesday!  Thanks for visiting and I hope you like the new look.

New Blog Design Giveaway

Notice anything different?  Come back tomorrow to hear all about it and enter to win some amazing products!

Read Across America Linky-Favorite Reading Strategies (Day 3)

Happy Wednesday Thursday!  Today I am linking up again with Primary Chalkboard for their week long Read Across America Linky celebration!

Today's Yesterday's topic is Favorite Reading Strategies and tips.  There are so many pieces to teaching learners to become successful readers!  I would like to share one strategy that is currently working for my littles.  Although I know what I share will not be the entire formula for producing successful readers, but it is my hope that something I talk about can help you add to your bucket of tricks.

** Close Reading
With CCSS in place this type of reading has helped my students tremendously because they are forced to read the text "closely" and provide evidence of their answers to questions.  A few of my favorite products to use during close reading are:

 This first product is from Little Red's Schoolhouse.  I purchased their bundle of Daily Reading Non-fiction Reading passages, but they do sell each set separately.  These are great for close reads of non-fiction.  Students are able to practice comprehension strategies as well as vocabulary practice.

 This next one is by the wonderful Miss DeCarbo of Sugar and Spice.  The consistent format of these passages and activities make for a great way to really focus on reading instead of fighting with reading and understanding directions.  Another amazing part is that passages are grouped to include one fiction and one non-fiction for each topic.  She has a set for all seasons, plus the one to the right for beginners.  It helps to differentiate in my classroom!

The final product I want to share with you is one by the amazing Jodi Southerland of Fun in First.  Her comprehension notebooks are perfect for working on one text for short amounts of time each day for a week.  These are set up with a passage and 5 activities so that students are reading the same passage each day and working on a seperate activity/skill each day of the week.

Click on each picture to visit their TpT stores and find out more about these amazing products!

Another great strategy that I recently came across is the Rainbow Strategy for Reading Comprehension that Amanda from Teaching Maddeness explained over at the Owl-ways Be Inspired blog.  I see it working for my students already so click on the picture below to find out more!

  

I hope you read something that can help you out.  Sorry I'm a day late :)
-Monique

Read Across America Linky - Favorite Children's Authors

Happy Monday friends!  I'm off all week for the Mardi Gras holidays and hoping to blog every day!  I've got so much I want to share with you all, but never have time.

Today I am linking up with Primary Chalkboard for their Read Across America Week Linky!  Today's topic is Favorite Children's Author and Books...

I love to read!  I have been an avid reader ever since I put my hands on a "Babysitter's Club" book around the age of 9!!  Who remembers the wonderful Babysitter's Club Series?

After the first one I read, I was hooked!!  I am almost positive I read the entire series!  It was an enjoyable pass time for me and as a teacher I try my best to instill this passion in my students.  Here are just a few of my all time favorite authors and books that I read to my students year after year...

1. Dr. Seuss

Who doesn't love the fun word play of the amazing Dr. Seuss?  I sure do!  My students, for the most part, are always captivated and filled with laughter and giggles when I read his books.  A few of my favorite titles to share in my classroom are...

         

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America Day yesterday, I created a resource to use in my classroom for my students to get some extra practice with Reading and comprehension.  I uploaded it to my TpT store yesterday if you want to check it out.

 

Click on the picture above to read more about this product in my store.

2. H. A. Rey

Curious George books are another hit in my classroom!  I love using these books to introduce topics we study.  Students can easily relate to this little mischievous monkey which helps them engage in story discussions which in turn always helps their comprehension.

 

3. Brad Meltzer

I just recently found this author and his books and I'm in love already!  His series, entitled Ordinary People Change the World, are perfect for K-3 classrooms to teach about important people of the past.  His kid-friendly text help students to understand the importance of these people in a way that many other books don't do. (In my opinion)  It has always been hard for me to locate biographies/auto-biographies that are age appropriate for my students, so finding Brad's series was a splendid surprise!  He currently has books on Abe Lincoln and Amelia Earhart. His 3rd book is about the life of Rosa Parks and has not been released yet, but you can pre-order at Amazon.  Click {here} to visit the official website for this series if you want to learn more.

  

I could write many more pages of my favorite authors for the classroom, but for your sanity I will stop at 3.  I hope you enjoyed learning who some of my favorites are.  Make sure to hop over to Primary Chalkboard to read about other bloggers favorites or link up and share yours.  Click the picture below.

Check back every day this week as I plan to link up and share about the topic for the day during this week long Read Across America Linky.  

Have a fabulous day!

-Monique :)