When I Grow Up! {Giveaway}

When I was little the only thing I ever wanted to be was a teacher.  I'm sure many of you can relate.  You might have "taught" your dolls and stuffed animals… perhaps your younger siblings too.  I'm know my sister appreciated it (I'm being totally sarcastic). 

I knew about the teaching profession because my mom was a teacher… and my aunt… and my uncle… I understood what it would take to become a teacher, and the hard work involved after I got my first job.  Was I prepared?  To a certain extent, Yes!  Was it still a challenge, especially that first year?  Of course!  

This year my school implemented College Mondays.  Every Monday we wear our college spirit shirts - allowing students the opportunity to see all the different schools that are out there.  The point is for the kids to see different options, and to let them dream about their futures.  I wanted to take that idea and go further with my students.  I wanted to give them opportunities to dream about their future professions, but give them a realistic view of how it takes hard work to reach those professions.  

I have asked my different student parents to come in and talk about their jobs.  Over the years the students have learned about what it takes to be a fireman, work in an office setting, work at NASA, be a nurse, an EMT, a lab tech, etc.  I always ask the same questions to the parents - What do you do everyday?  How long did your training take?  What skills did you need to have?  Where did you go to school to learn your career? Why do you think this is a good career?  The kids get a good grasp of the hard work, but also why it's a fulfilling profession.  

So I upgraded the binder paper my students usually use and created this journal for students to fill in as they learn about different careers.  

 This journal contains 11 different careers.

 It also contains a student cover.

 Students will research the information (I do it together in class), and record their information into the journal.  A blank journal sheet is included for additional careers.  

I want kids to dream about their futures - just like we did.  I hope this Student Created Career Journal helps you in your classroom too!

Want to win it?  Just leave a comment below with your email address and I will send it to a lucky winner on December 26th.

Have a great day!     

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Gift Card Giveaway and Writing Workshop

A bunch of bloggers have joined up to say THANK YOU.  Thank you for following us.  Thank you for your support, encouragement, and friendship.  We have learned so much from you.  

So we wanted to say thank you with a Gift Card Giveaway.  

Simply fill in the rafflecopter below and you have a chance to win one of 3 prizes. 

(You can fill in the rafflecopter on any of our blogs, it's all the same one.) 

3 lucky winners will win a $25 gift card to TPT.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now onto the OTHER important thing I want to share today.  I'm linking up with Jivey to share about my students learning to love to write.  Not everything we write is going to be fun - I tell them that.  I also tell them that it's something they have to do to get better.  There are 3 main things that are constant in my classroom during writing time.  I know I've mentioned them before, but I think it ties into motivating students since they are fun.

My VOICES board is a constant reminder of everything we have covered throughout the year.  All the reminders, all the things to remember.  At the beginning of the year we fill it out together - they are writing the same information in their binders as we go over it.  I think this brings in the kids that aren't extra motivated since we do fun activities to demonstrate the different areas - like those french fry cups for synonyms, or their heart maps, or their Author's Purpose Pies.

Rainbow Edit keeps my students accountable for checking their work.  Each paragraph should be a rainbow of colors when they are done checking.  I've been looking at this anchor chart for months - since last year - and I just realized that I wrote "word" in the cloud instead of "work".  Guess what I will be doing today at school?  Changing it of course!  I have a set of charts and student papers in my store if you are interested.

Every week there is something that the students have to write for me.  It's usually one big project that they work on all week, then the normal story summary, response, etc...  but when they are all done, they get options.  They love options!!  These Whole Class Writing Journals are still a big hit in my classroom.  I have 2 big baskets full of all 40 of my notebooks (Starter Set has 15, Set 2 has 25).  They choose one and share their experiences.  Something that I have added to them is adding a class list inside the front cover.  When they write in them they then highlight their name so it's easy for me to see who has tackled which prompt.  For silent reading, there are always a couple of kids that ask to read them.  I love that they are learning about their classmates.  

Hope you all have a great day!  Make sure to enter the rafflecopter and good luck!

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Half a Million Thank You's

Thank you... Thank you... Thank you... Thank you...

Thank you so much for visiting this little blog over half a million times.

To say thank you I have some thank you gifts to share.  

First up, my TPT store is on sale for today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday) for 20% off.  The entire store... including my new products.

Then, I wanted to say thank you for supporting me with a fun little Pirate Pack to help celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day this coming Thursday.  It's only uploaded over on Facebook as my new FB Fan Freebie.  

Next, I wanted to give someone 5 products from my store - any products at all.  This rafflecopter will be going all week (ends Friday) so tell your friends.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last, I wanted to give someone a $10 gift certificate to TPT.  The rafflecopter below is ready for this prize.  I hope it can help someone.   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for everything.  I have learned so much from you over the past year.

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Pinterest Scavenger Hunt Contest

We know that you're thinking about all of the items on your TpT wishlist as you are switching into back-to-school mode. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a $50 TpT gift certificate to use? Well, it's your lucky day! These upper elementary bloggers are going to help foot the bill!

Here is what you need to do to enter for a chance to win the $50 TpT gift certificate:

• Click the picture above or {here} to take you to our collaborative board.
• Follow the board.
• Find the pin description that contains the special code.
• Enter the code in the Rafflecopter.
• Easy-peasy!!
• Contest ends Sunday, July 28th at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a great day!

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500 Follower Giveaway {Day 7}

It's the last day?!?  What a week it has been.

What did I accomplish the past couple of days?  Here are some pictures I've shared on Instagram.

I laminated a ton of stuff...

and then I made up my student necklaces to start the year.  I've also printed a bunch to get everything ready to put together my student notebooks.  

Yesterday was absolutely NUTS over on Facebook.  On Friday night I got everything ready to go for joining in on the 2nd grade Blog Hop (Yes, I know I don't teach 2nd grade anymore, but I love 2nd grade), and there were around 520 people joining me over there... at this point in time it's nearing 1,200.  Completely absolutely crazy with the notification emails of Facebook and Pinterest and Bloglovin.  

I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT!!!  Guess we'll see where today takes us.  :)  

So - today is the last day for Rafflecopter (at least for a bit).  I hope you have enjoyed this week of fun! My freebie is still over on Facebook if you want to pick up the Popsicle Place Value to Thousand.  It corresponds with the my Place Value set to Hundred Millions (in case you want something with smaller values).

My store is also still on sale throughout today if there is something you have been eyeing.  I appreciate all your support and encouragement!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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500 Follower Giveaway {Day 6}

I have no more words... this week I feel like I've talked my head off.  At the moment though please hop on over to Facebook - there are Blog Hops going on to pick up a ton of freebies.  

I'll be back later to share the winners of Day 5 and the Pin it to Win it game.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Technology Notebooks, Clip Chart & 500 Follower Giveaway {Day5}

Another day!  I've been keeping busy with 2 big projects.  :)

First up I finished my Student Notebook set.  Wanna see? 

I am so happy with how it came out.  I'm ready to print it off for my kids this weekend.  I'll post a more detailed layout when I'm actually assembling the binders... I left them at school to store over the summer.  Basically though, I use plastic sheet protectors and slide in 2 sheets (front/back) so the kids can use them on a daily/weekly basis with their dry erase marker.  It keeps me from having to make a ton of copies every week.  Of course some pages like the test scores and book challenge they have to be able to write on. 

Then I just finished up this:

 Love the technology clip art from Ashley Hughes.  This behavior set contains a clip chart in 2 sizes.  One size is the typical full sheet one that uses clothespins, the other one is half size that would be perfect for a pocket chart.  I personally use a pocket chart and dicuts for my behavior board, so I made up some headphone class numbers 1 - 36 that correspond.  

Both things are over at TPT.  If you just want the cover, at the moment it's the FB Fan Freebie.  It will be going away though by the end of  tonight as there is a special FB blog hop that will be happening this weekend (and I'm participating)! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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500 Follower Giveaway {Day 4} and Subject Pendant Banner

Good Morning!  The week of giveaways continue...

Before we get to that, wanted to share a couple of pictures from yesterday.  

My son's CST results came back.  I'm so proud of him!  

I also was up until the wee hours of the morning going through the different pendant banners on TPT, looking for the perfect addition to my classroom.  There were so many choices on there, but I was looking for specific subjects to hang above my different bulletin boards.  I just couldn't find exactly what I needed, so I bit the bullet and made it myself - all 8 banners...  I'm so happy with how they came out.  They are uploaded to TPT if you are interested in checking them out.  

I printed them off and started laminating.  They aren't all put together (I ran out of ribbon), but here's what I was able to accomplish.  

Would you like a copy of it?  Just leave a comment with your  below, I'll do a random comment thing, and will announce the winner with the giveaway tomorrow morning.   

Now onto our celebration!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

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Day 2 Winner and Upcoming Facebook Blog Hop

Congratulations to Cherie M. for winning yesterday's shopping spree in An Apple for the Teach's and my TPT stores.  

In other news - it's time to mark your calendars.  I'm joining Tori's Teacher Tips and other bloggers for a Facebook Blog Hop.  It starts this coming Saturday!  All you do is start at Tori's FB page, and then navigate through the different FB pages, picking up your freebies as you go.  This blog hop is geared toward 2nd grade teachers, but some of the materials might also apply to other grade levels.

If you want to head to the link above on her FB page, you can see the other bloggers participating.

Have a great day!  

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500 Follower Giveaway {Day 3} and Popsicle Place Value

Good Morning Everyone.  I hope you are having a great week.  I've been keeping busy - yesterday my sister and I took the boys to a water park in the next town over.  It's a community center that has a playground in a middle of a shallow wading pool.  The boys had a blast!



I've also been going through my files on the computer and realizing that I haven't printed/laminated a bunch of stuff that I have created and/or bought.  The school to do list is getting longer... which is starting to stress me out.

One of the things that I forgot to print for myself is my Popsicle Place Value to Hundred Millions.  My kiddos need to know up to the millions so I had made up these task cards at the beginning of summer.  It's the first unit we tackle during the school year.

But then I started thinking of my own almost 2nd grader and wanted to make up a similar product to the  Thousands.  I uploaded it last night.  Click either of the images to go check them out.  

There is also another Giveaway today :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


I'll be back in a bit to let you know who won Day 2.  :)  

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