Bright Ideas: Give a Little Inspiration

It's that time again... time for this month's Bright Idea Link Up!

I don't know about you, but when I am stressed, nervous, feeling down, or like I just don't measure up- reading an inspirational quote makes the weight of the world feel a little lighter.  Sometimes you just need a small reminder that you are not alone, that you just need to put one foot in front of the other and that you are amazing.

A few years back it hit me.... if they help me feel better then I'm sure they could help my students feel a little better!  This brings me to today's bright idea - posting "kid-friendly" quotes in the classroom.

It's really pretty easy, simply do a Google search for kid friendly inspirational quotes.  Type the quote using one of your computer programs (I like to use PowerPoint for posters), print and hang anywhere in your classroom.  I like to change them out throughout the year to give students new things to read.

A few month's ago I stumbled upon this amazing book:

It includes various quotes from Seuss' stories.  I will be posting many of these in my classroom this year.

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest for more great ideas!

For more bright ideas from other bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

End of My Summer Break and a New Product

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are still enjoying your summer!  I've got about 2 more weeks before I go back to school.  I am trying to soak up every minute of summer I have left.  I found a new hobby this summer - GARDENING!!  I am in LOVE!  Do you have a fun hobby?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments :)

Here are a few pics of my garden and some of my recent harvests.

     

     

In between gardening and spending time with my family, I have been working on new TpT products.  In fact, I just uploaded a new bundle to my store today.

This bundle includes my 2 most recent Math Facts: Cut & Paste Printables.  They both cover 2-digit addition.  One has no regrouping and the other is with regrouping.  My students love these cut & paste math fact practice pages and since my other math fact printables are some of my best sellers, I'd say that many other students enjoy them as well.

You can save $2 by purchasing the bundle, or you can purchase them seperately in my TpT store.  Click HERE to check them out.

I am currently holding a GIVEAWAY on my FB page where 2 lucky winners will receive a copy of the bundle.  I will be choosing a winner Saturday evening.  Hop over to my  FB page to enter!

Thanks for stopping by!

Nursery Rhyme Bundle Giveaway

I have been working hard on my newest line of products - Nursery Rhyme Units!!  I have finally finished all 10.  Each individual unit is listed in my store, or they can be purchased as a bundle saving you $9!!  By purchasing the bundle, it's like you are buying 8 and getting 2 FREE!! 

I'm writing this short post today to show you the different components of these units AND to let you know about my giveaway that I'm hosting on my Facebook Page!  2 lucky winners will win my Nursery Rhymes Bundle!

I have units for the following nursery rhymes:

• Baa Baa Black Sheep
• Hey Diddle Diddle
• Hickory Dickory Dock
• Humpty Dumpty
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Jack and Jill
• Little Miss Muffet
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Row Row Row Your Boat
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Check out the table of contents below to see exactly what is included in each unit.

These homework helpers give parents a chance to work with their child at home.

Students can watch the nursery rhymes come to life with 2 videos included in each unit.

Visit my TpT store to see the preview for each unit by clicking {HERE}

Visit my Facebook Page to enter this giveaway by clicking {HERE}

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  I'd love to hear what you think of these new units in the comments below!

Bright Ideas: Parent - Teacher Communication

Wow!  This past month just flew by!  I guess being on summer vacation will do that, but anyway...

I'm here today to share this month's bright idea!

As a teacher and parent, I understand the importance of constant communication between teacher and parent!  Today I wanted to share with you a great way to stay connected.

I have always been a little leery about handing over my personal cell phone number to parents.  I recently found a solution -a communication tool called Remind (formerly Remind 101).  In my opinion, every teacher should hear about this amazing tool!

This service allows you to connect instantly, safely, efficiently, and most of all FREELY!!  Yes you heard me correct, this is a FREE service!

I am suggesting this free service for one main reason, teachers never see students’(parents') phone numbers, and students (parents) never see theirs.

Click on the picture below to find out more about this great service.

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest for more great ideas!

For more bright ideas from other bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Two for Tuesday Deals and Link Up

Today I'm linking up with one of my best blogging buddies, Cyndie from Chalk One Up for the Teacher!  She is hosting her weekly 2 for Tuesday Link Up.

    

I am discounting these 2 products 50% off through Wednesday night!

Click the picture above to see these items in my TpT store!

My Sight Word Fluency Fun Growing Bundle already includes units for the months August - November.  The rest of the months will be added by the end of August!  Grab it now at a HUGE discount!!

After you check out my products, hop on over to Chalk One Up for the Teacher to find many more deals and if you have a blog/TpT store you can link up too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stars & Stripes Celebration {Final Day}

Hi there!  I hope you have been enjoying the past few days of deals.  Today is the 3rd and final day of my Stars & Stripes Celebration.

First of all, congrats to Donna Beauchamp Allsworth!  She was yesterday's winner of a $20 store credit to my TpT store.  Be sure to hop over to my Facebook Page and enter today's final giveaway for a $20 store credit!  Click {here} to enter.

To find today's daily deals, click {here}!  For my final day of deals, I've discounted 6 of my products to $1 and 6 others are discounted 50% off!!!!  These deals end at midnight.

My final FREEBIE:

Click on the picture to download

I hope you have enjoyed these past few days.  I appreciate each and every one of my followers!  Don't forget to enter my "BIG" giveaway from Day 1 of my celebration!  One lucky winner will win my Super Phonics Bundle worth $106 and a $20 store credit to my TpT store!!!  Today is the LAST day to enter.  Click {here} to enter.

Stars and Stripes Celebration Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of my celebration!!

Be sure to stop by my blog each day to see what's in store for you!  Each day's FREEBIE will be posted in a blog post.  The daily giveaway can be found on my Facebook Page.  The daily deals can be found in my TpT store under the custom category titled *Daily Deals (Stars & Stripes Celebration)
I am also having one big giveaway that will run for the full 3 days.  That giveaway can be found on my post from July 4th. {Click Here}

Congrats to Kathy Illingworth for winning yesterday's giveaway for a $20 store credit to my TpT store!!  I will be emailing you Monday!

Day 2:

** Visit my TpT store to find today's deals!  I have 5 products discounted to $1 and 5 products discounted 50% off for TODAY ONLY!  Click {here} to find those deals!

** Today's FREEBIE:

Click on the picture to download your copy!

** Each day I will be hosting a giveaway for a $20 store credit to my store.  Today's giveaway for a $20 credit to my tpt store can be found on my Facebook Page (click the giveaway tab on my page)

I hope you enjoyed today's celebration!  Be sure to come back tomorrow!

Stars & Stripes Celebration

Welcome!  Today begins my Stars & Stripes Celebration!

The next 3 days will be filled with deals, freebies and giveaways!!!

Be sure to stop by my blog each day to see what's in store for you!  Each day's FREEBIE will be posted in a blog post.  The daily giveaway can be found on my Facebook Page.  The daily deals can be found in my TpT store under the custom category titled *Daily Deals (Stars & Stripes Celebration)
I am also having one big giveaway that will run for the full 3 days.  That giveaway is included in this blog post further down :)  Enjoy!

Day 1:

** Visit my TpT store to find today's deals!  I have 5 products discounted to $1 and 5 products discounted 50% off for TODAY ONLY!  Click {here} to find those deals!

** Today's FREEBIE:

Click on the picture to download your copy!

** Each day I will be hosting a giveaway for a $20 store credit to my store.  Today's giveaway for a $20 credit to my tpt store can be found on my Facebook Page (click the giveaway tab on my page)

I hope you enjoyed today's celebration!  Be sure to come back tomorrow and the next day.  Before you leave, enter my main giveaway below!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bright Ideas: Magnet Organization

It's time for this month's Bright Ideas blog hop!  

Today I want to share with you a little magnet organization idea I came up with in my classroom.

I've got a white board in my room and have found that my magnets tend to collect in one corner of the board (or sometimes grow legs and walk away).  Not only do they take up space, but they are also a huge eye sore (in my opinion).

I came up with an easy and inexpensive fix.  I used a metal baking sheet, scrapbook paper and washi tape to create a "home" for my many magnets.

I simply covered the inside of the baking sheet with the paper and used the washi tape around the edges to hold the paper down and add a little flair.

Now my magnets have their own home!  I attached the baking sheet to the wall next to my board for easy access.  You can do this many ways.  I simply drilled a tiny hole in the baking sheet handle and hung it on a hook.  You could also use command strips or hot glue to attach it to the wall.

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook, Instagram or Bloglovin' for more great ideas!

For more bright ideas from other bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bright Ideas: End of Year Purging

Today I want to share a "Bright Idea" with you.

I don't know about you, but I sure do accumulate tons of "stuff" for my classroom and have a hard time letting go of things (I think this is the definition of hoarding)!  At the end of each school year I "try" to purge as much as I can.  I recently came across this great acronym to help me actually let go of more "stuff" and I'm here to share it with you!

The acronym is ROLL.

I hope you find this tip useful!

If you liked this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook, my blog, or Instagram!

For more bright ideas from other bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

End of Year and New FREEBIE

How many days of school do you have left?  We have 6 days!!! I don't know about you, but I feel like this year has gone by so very fast! These last few days have been chaotic and the next 6 will probably be the same, but it is simply a reminder that the end is near.  So if you are feeling the same as I am, just remember that it's almost over.

This post will be short and sweet, but I want to share a few things with you all.

First, thanks to all of you who entered my giveaway for The Reading Game!  The winner is:

Check out the cute Mother's Day gifts my students created in class for their moms last week:

The idea for these necklaces comes from the amazing teacher/blogger Lory Evans from Lory's Page.  Click here to read more about creating these necklaces!

Also, I wanted to let you all know that I've got a new Summer themed FREEBIE in my store!!  Click below to download your copy!  As always, feedback (good or bad) is absolutely appreciated :)

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!  I've got a few fun things coming up that include giveaways and bright ideas, so be sure to watch for new posts.  The easiest way to stay up to date with my blog posts is to follow my blog by email.  To do so, simply find the heading "Follow by Email" to the right of this post, enter your email address and click Submit.  ***Please Note: The ONLY time you will be emailed is when I publish a blog post, you will not get unsolicited emails from me :)  

The Reading Game Giveaway

I am here today to share with you an amazing resource I recently stumbled upon while at EdExpo. One of my lucky readers will be winning a copy of this great product, so be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of this post!

The Reading Game is an amazing resource for beginning readers!  This fun engaging product is an early vocabulary builder and learn to read game.  It focuses on teaching students to read by using 180 of the most common Dolch and High Frequency words.  On completing the series, the student has a reading vocabulary of 180 words and will have successfully read six story books all on their own!  Each of The Reading Game's six stories is told using just thirty new words.  These are broken down into six sets of five words.  The student learns to read each set of five words by playing a simple word matching game.  Frequent exposure through play hard-wires these words into long-term memory.  Rote learning is transformed into a fast-paced game with a winner every few seconds. (quoted from The Reading Game website)

This game was created by the author of the famous Wordly Wise series, Kenneth Hodkinson.  While visiting EdExpo, I had the privelage of meeting his daughter, Erika, who gave me a personal demonstration of how the game works.  I was absolutely intrigued and couldn't wait to use it in my classroom!

I have had the pleasure of using this game in my classroom for the past month and I am beyond impressed with the growth my struggling students have made by "playing" this game.  My students beg for more time to play The Reading Game!

This resource is super easy to use!  The format is the same at each level.  You can easily have parent helpers or tutors use this game with your students.  To see the game in action, be sure to visit The Reading Game's website and click on the heading "How it Works"  

In order to help educators with implementing this game and tracking student success, the makers of The Reading Game offer FREE assessments and recording sheets for the words taught in the game.  To download these, simply visit their website and click on the heading "For Educators."

If you think this resource is something you need for your classroom, enter my giveaway below!  One person will win a free copy of The Reading Game.   I will be choosing the winner on Monday, May 11, 2015.  Good Luck!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Reading Game can be purchased many different ways.  You can visit their website for a list of retailers by clicking {HERE}.  You can also purchase it using your Scholastic Reading Club bonus points, how cool is that?!  It can be found in the Bonus Catalog or on the website.  It is item # 045696.

Thanks for stopping by!!!  I'd love to hear any comments you have about this game or my blog :)