Free Writing Activity for New Years

So you are back from break and New Year's just happened.  You've taken down all of your Christmas decorations and your walls  and bulletin boards are empty!  I've got a solution for you!  I threw together this little freebie that will perk up those spaces!  For a little pre-activity, you'll need to discuss what New Year's Resolutions are and help your kiddos come up with a few things that they want to do better this year and a few things that they might try really hard NOT to do this year...ahem.....Anyway, they can then draw a picture of themselves on there and bam, you've got a bulletin board!  If you want to get fancy, you could attach some streamers, confetti and balloons around the edges of your bulletin board.... but I digress....So here is what the freebie looks like...

Once they do the writing and color it, it will be beeeautiful!!! .....and it's FREE!!!!! 
Here is the link   to the free writing activity to spruce up your room!!! 

I would love to see some pictures of this when your students finish!    Happy Teaching!! 
Sharon

Out With The Old....New Year's Encouragement

Out with the old, In with the New!  We have all heard that lots of times.  I always liked coming back to school after Christmas.  It felt fresh and new.  I was ready for a new beginning.  I was ready to "do this thing" and finish the year with a bang, so to speak.  After two days of coming back, I was sleepy....and wishing that it was December 22 again so that I would have more days home with my family...or June something so that school could be out already.  But, let's take a moment to think about our main reason for being at school in the first place...the kids.  They need us....some of them need us desperately!  I am in a new position as a Curriculum Coordinator so I am not in the classroom as the main teacher all day every day, so I don't feel the pressure that I used to feel.  Instead of pressure for my students to perform, I now feel pressure to help my teachers continue to make the huge differences that they make every day.  I see the exhaustion on their faces.  I see them trying to continue to go and go and go and inspire and encourage and lift up....  In other words, "I feel their pain!"  I walked in their (your) shoes for 23 years!  I get it.  You want to make a difference but...lets face it.  You are human.  You get discouraged.  You get tired.  The long days of winter in the classroom are real and I get it....because I have been there. I have come up with a few words that may help ease that stress just a bit.  I remember, and I hope this helps just a small bit.

1.  Focus:  You are there to focus on and love the kids.  Heaven knows what some of them go home to.  Love the kids above all else! If you need to take a minute to listen, encourage, hug, wipe tears or laugh with that one kid...do it..They will remember it and you will too!

2.  Remember:  They are kids.  They need to play.  They need to use glitter and glue.  They need to run fast and often.  They need to laugh.  They need to eat candy.  They need to get in the play dough.  They need to hug you and be hugged back like you really mean it...and you do mean it. I know you do!

3.  Relax:  All of these mid-year tests?  They are just a tests.  You know your kids and you now how far they've come since the beginning of school.  Close your door and teach your kids.  Teach.

4.  Rejuvenate:  Take care of yourself.  You know when the flight attendants say "Put the oxygen on yourself before your younger passengers"? Yeah.  That.  You must rest.  If you are tired and grumpy, you are no good to anyone in your classroom.  Go to bed early.  Sleep late on Saturday.  Eat a candy bar.  Buy the shoes.  Have a girls night out.  Do what ever it is that helps you re-energize.  The kids are counting on you to "put the oxygen on first."  Do it.

Before you know it, you'll be hugging all of those little bodies goodbye.  They will be ready to go home for the summer, and so will you.  But in the meantime, hang on.  Focus, remember, relax and rejuvenate.  Your students will probably not remember how many "book levels" they grew or how many points they grew on a test, but they will definitely remember how much you loved them!  Teach on friends, teach on and Welcome 2018 with the biggest smile you have! 

Going Out Like A Lion Sale!

I hope you are all having a great school year!  We are headed toward the home stretch so I thought I would throw a sale to celebrate the end of March.  Here in NC, it's going out like a Lion with rain and storm so I decided to throw a "Going Out Like A Lion" sale.  Go ahead and stock up on the things that you might need to finish the year strong!   Click HERE to shop now! 

Back To School 2016- Sale!

I hope you have had an excellent summer.....and it is almost time to get back into that classroom!  In case you haven't heard, the TPT Sale is going on NOW!  Now is the time to get all of,those units that you will need for BTS16!

Be sure to get that Second or Third Grade Morning work that you need for the entire year.  There are lots of Back To School things too!......a Back to School Memory Book, Rules and Procedures Book, and Reading and Math Centers!  Hurry on over because the sale ends at midnight tonight!  Click HERE to go to my store! Enter the code BestEver at checkout! I'm looking forward to a great year!!!
Sharon

End of the Year Sale!

Whew!  We've (almost) made it!  What a year!  It's amazing to see how much my students have grown this year.  They are definitely ready for 3rd grade!  I am already thinking ahead to BTS16!  I'm having a sale!  Visit my store between May 28-May 31 and get 20% off of your purchase!  Go ahead and get those Back To School Reading and Math Center Activities, get them copied and laminated and you can leisurely cut them out while you are relaxing this summer!  Boom.  You are ready to start school in August! Don't forget about Morning Work for 2nd and 3rd Grades, 2nd and 3rd Grade Math units, writing, printables, and on and on!  Celebrate!  Summer is Here!  Enjoy!
Sharon
Click HERE TO SHOP!

It's A Sale!

I've been missing in action for several weeks!  If you are in the classroom, you probably have too!  But, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  We have 26 more days of school.  It's crunch time!  We have DIBELS testing coming up plus end of the year state math assessments.  Busy, busy, busy!
So, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week and that means it's time for a Teachers Pay Teachers Sale!  The sale is going to be Tuesday and Wednesday, May 3-4.  Go on over there and load up your cart!  Mine is ready to go!  I am trying to think ahead to August and buy some things that I can use then and try to get ahead this summer.  I appreciate you so much for supporting me in my Teachers Pay Teachers store so my entire store is on sale and you can get up to 28% off of your purchases! 
So we are all stressed and nothing better to help with the stress than shopping!!!  Get on over there and don't forget to use the code CELEBRATE. 

Easter Games

Since Easter is in March this year, we have to kind of mix St. Patrick's Day AND Easter stuff.  I made a unit that has 6 math games that are easy to prepare and the kids will love them!  You need some plastic eggs, a copy of the games and a copy of the answer sheets and you are ready to reinforce those math skills that you have been teaching all year long!  The unit covers three digit addition and subtraction, counting money, odd and even, time to 5 minutes and counting base 10 blocks to 1000.  The entire unit looks like this:

I've included one of the games for you here for FREE!  Click HERE to get the free game!

If you want all six games, click HERE to go to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.   If you download the freebie, please leave some feedback! 

What do you all like to do  with your kids at Easter?  I'd love some new ideas!

Hopping to Easter!
Sharon