Teacher Appreciation Week 2016

I have to say, I think Teacher Appreciation Week is my favorite week of all. Our PTA is amazing, and they go ALL out every year with a theme.

This year is the best one yet. THE WIZARD OF OZ!!!!!

 So our PTA decorated the whole lobby and main hallway to our cafeteria. I'm actually frustrated that I didn't get a picture, but there was even a yellow brick road!!!

The rainbow with our sweet and amazing music teacher posing in front of it :)

The Yellow Brick Road Bulletin Board (the kids wrote sweet messages about the teachers and sent them in).

The doors to our media center!!

I'm on the top row (second from the left)

 For the rainbow bulletin boards, the PTA staff posted a picture of each staff member. Underneath staff members got to send in their answer to the survey question. As you can see, not all of us participated in that part. (The question was: The Tin Man asked for a heart, the Scarecrow asked for brains, and the lion asked for courage. What would you ask the Wonderful Wizard of Oz for?)

This is the entrance to the cafeteria, which was decorated with flying monkeys, and The Wicked Witch of the East's belongings on the right.

Our PTA asks our sponsors to donate raffle prizes for the school staff. Not everybody wins one, but today was my lucky day!!

I just love how our PTA organizes something special for each day of the week - and my favorite part: The invitation to Emerald City on Wednesday! 

As I said before, I love teacher appreciation week. I'm so thankful everyday for the amazing school that I work with. I love the staff, the students, and the parents are amazing. It makes the stress of a job so much more worth all the hard work! I can't thank our school PTA enough for making us feel so special! They put a lot of time and hard work into making us smile and feel appreciated this week! :)

As my token of appreciation, YOU all get 20% off anything you purchase in my store this week. Call it an early St. Patty's Day gift, if you will. Enjoy, and have a great week!

Click the picture to go straight to my store!

Happy Monday,
Happy Early St. Patrick's Day, and
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!!
~Sarah

Ready for BTS 2015?!

I think I am... I know some of you were already pre-planning last week, and the kids come tomorrow.... but we go back for pre-planning tomorrow, and the kids come back the 10th. I almost feel like it hasn't set in yet. How can it be pre-planning already? Summer just started a few weeks ago!

Is it just me, or did the summer FLY by? I worked most of the summer part-time at my Dad's office, but I took some time to do a few fun things too. Every once in a while, I have to count my blessings and I call this my chicken soup. So here goes: 

- Went to WV for Memorial Day Weekend to see extended family
- Finished (Almost) an on-going kitchen renovation since February
- Started Orange Theory Fitness
- Learned to wake-surf on my 27th birthday
- Went to a great wedding in Madison, GA 
- Went to Disney World with the in-laws 
- Braves Game (They won!) 
- Celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary <3
- Saw the Stone Mountain Laser Show
- Went to the movies a few times: Pitch Perfect, Entourage, and Mission Impossible
- Cleaned and organized our house a thousand times 
- And of course spent lots of time with friends that I don't get to see very often.

I think it's safe to say I had a wonderful summer! Did you all cross a few things off your bucket list? What would be in your list of chicken soup? Leave me a comment below :)

While I'm sad that I can't continue working at my Dad's office, I am looking forward to see my kiddos again, and meet a few new ones! As I close this chapter of summer, I'd like to remind you all that TPT is having a SALE starting tomorrow (Aug. 3-4) and I am participating!! Use the code BTS15 at checkout, and get an additional 10% off after already receiving 20% off on all of my products.

Click HERE to go to my store

While I only have a few products, chances are you might find something useful if you teach PK - 4th. Especially if you teach special education or have a wide variety of needs in your inclusion classroom.

Recently I've uploaded a Reading Response packet, which is great for 3rd graders who need a little step-by-step assistance in the assignment. Click the picture to view the product in my store, and download the preview for more information!

Please check it out, and let me know what you think! I could really use the feedback!

Alright everyone, Good luck this school year, and whenever you do go back.... HAPPY TEACHING!

Have a great year!
~Sarah

Georgia Milestones

Do you live in Georgia? Do you teach 3rd-5th? Do you fear the constructive response questions? Do you worry your lower functioning students and how they will perform? Have you been practicing to help prepare them?

If not, no worries. There is little time, but I put a few organizers together that may help you.

I created this product back in September, to prepare my 3rd grade students right from the beginning. We were given a little guidance about what to expect, and immediately I thought of my 3rd grade students who are very visual learners and lack executive functioning skills. I decided I needed to figure out a fun way to help them visualize, remember, and practice what to do on the test. With little information on the new test, I decided to keep this resource this from the digital world, until I knew more. I presented to our cluster literacy team in November, and got some feedback to make it useful for multiple grade levels.

And now, I believe it's ready to present to you!

Yes, that's right!!! I mean... Who DOESN'T LOVE a superhero theme?!

Here's an example of the COLORED version....

 There's also a BLACK AND WHITE version to save that ink!

In this packet, you will not just find posters! You will also find resources like .....

 and checklists, and graphic organizers to practice with! 

Here's one of the 7 included graphic organizers in this packet. 

If you are needing something to present to students to prepare them for answering constructive response questions, then this is it! Use the posters, use the checklists, practice with the graphic organizers!

*Whatever you do, please don't forget to rate it and let me know how it works for you!*


Here are the links:

Click *HERE* for the BLACK AND WHITE version

Click *HERE* for the COLORED version

Click *HERE* for the BUNDLE that includes BOTH! *(Only $1 more)

Thanks!
~Sarah

#Motivational Monday

Anybody ready for spring break?

Need some chicken soup for the next few days? 

My kids are SERIOUSLY feeling the spring fever, so as I crawled into bed last night, I thought of an idea! They need some motivation! And when I feel upset, I try to remind myself to be thankful. I try to think of all the happy ideas that I store in my pot of chicken soup. I knew I couldn't ask my students to think of EVERYTHING that makes them happy, so I capped it off at three. 

So I put it to the test today, and if you're willing to give it a try, here's what I did. Come up with three things that you love, that make you happy, or make you feel good. Come up with one thing that brings you down or bums you out. Model for the kids. And WAH - LAH! There you have it. Motivational Monday

So here are some pictures from today: 

My Motivational Monday Ticket

It actually was a rainy Monday morning today! ...Which perfectly set the mood for #MotivationalMonday! Here's a view of the kids working after I modeled this for them and posted it on the Mimio. 

  

  

This friend is apparently very competitive. [It brings me down when...] "I loose a game :(" 

I usually put happy faces in 100's when I'm grading papers... So I wonder where he got the idea to do another sad face in the "oo" of "loose" ...hehehehe... so cute!

    

"A lot of tests and homework." - TRUTH

(Poor Kids)
They have it so rough!

If you would like to try my #MotivationalMonday Tickets, please download the template from my google drive (click the link below), cut in half, and please come back to comment and give me feedback!

*CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD*
 

Have a great week!

~Sarah :)

The Autism Angel

I stumbled upon something that I wanted to share tonight. As I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, I found a video that caught my eye. I work with students with Autism on a daily basis. Although mine are extremely high-functioning, I still wonder about what makes them tick. They are such fascinating individuals, and I'm so lucky that I get to work with such angles everyday. 

We don't always have good days, but most of them are. On the other days, I somehow find myself reflecting on what went wrong - what caused such behaviors. Many of you have and/or will encounter children with Autism. Therefore, you know how each individual can be so different. 

This video is an excellent reminder of how remarkable the human brain is. And how to never underestimate the power of a child. Enjoy! :) 

~Sarah

Teachers are Heroes & 2nd Grade Animal Research Packets

Hello, friends!!

As you know, TPT is having a SALE!!!

I'd personally like to take a moment and say THANK YOU to all the amazing teachers out there (ESPECIALLY teacher bloggers) who have inspired me to bring and design CUTE products to engage students and make learning more fun! I have learned so much since I started following teacher bloggers, and it reminds me why I love what I do. What other profession involves doing the impossible everyday (I mean seriously - between the teaching, differentiating, data collecting, hand- holding, and never-ending to-do lists!!!)?!

Teachers really are HEROES, and I'm so glad to show my thanks for you all by participating in this wonderful sale! So head over to my blog to get some great deals under $4!

*Click HERE for my store!*

DON'T forget to use the TPT PROMO CODE: HEROES



While you're there, I thought you might like to check out my Animal Research Packets! Now, I originally created this to help some of my 2nd grade friends during a writing unit, but it could be used for any grade. If you are interested in using it for a special education classroom where you have multiple grades, please email me and let me know, and I can send you a different cover page for the other grade levels! :)

First of all, I have two different products, so please read carefully before you purchase!

The first is a RESEARCH PLANNING PACKET, to help organize facts as students research.

This packet also includes pages to use as the first draft OR final draft, but WARNING: it specifically has headings to help students remember to use their topic and concluding sentences (See picture below):

That's right! You get TWO great packets in ONE UNIT (*FYI: Click on each picture to enlarge!!)! 

Now if you have enough time to spend on this unit, and you want to go through the entire process (edit, revise, and conference with students...), then the PLANNING PACKET could be your research and rough draft packets. Then you can purchase PART 2 for the final draft! 

So, quick recap before you purchase:
Planning Packet = Research Packet & Rough Draft Pages (with sections for Topic Sentence, Body, and Concluding Sentences)
*ORIGINALLY, this product was $4, but you can get it TODAY ONLY for $3.20
Click HERE to Purchase the Planning Packet PART ONE

Part 2 = Final Draft Packet (complete with text boxes and additional text features)
*ORIGINALLY, this product was $3, but you can get it TODAY for $2.40
Click HERE to Purchase PART TWO

Please let me know if you have any questions!! Enjoy these amazing products!

Weekend Stories

Happy Columbus Day!

Hopefully, you have Columbus Day as a holiday from school, and you're using the day to find new awesomeness on blog-world and TPT. Or if you're lucky like me, you get to go to work as a Teacher Work-Day. I'm all for a break (I started teaching in 2010 when budgets were at an all-time low, and I was used to receiving a million furlough days), but now I'm just grateful that I'm getting paid to wear jeans and attend a few workshops tomorrow! And HEY! One less day for lesson planning :)

Okay so either way..... I'm here to share a new product with you. I've done Weekend Stories for a couple of years with my first graders, and I've seen so much progress after comparing stories from week to week.

Now this year, I'm teaching a 3rd grade Writing group, and I've had to differentiate the task so that they do not get away with the bare minimum! Also, the pace of the 3rd grade writing curriculum is so fast, that we don't have time to do this task every week. However, it's always good to do every once in a while, or once per month.

For me, it's a great work sample to use for data collection, since so many of my kiddos have needs in writing. For you, it may even be a great sample to hold on to and compare one from the beginning of the year to one towards the end of the year. However you choose, I think this will be great for you to use to differentiate whether you are teaching regular-ed 1st, 2nd, or special education 1-5th grades.

This product includes the following:
- 3 graphic organizers for different levels
- 3 content checklists for different levels (two copies on each page)
- 1 editing checklist (four copies per page)
- 3 styles of writing paper (you can use this as the final OR rough draft - whichever you choose)

Please click the picture below to find it at my store, and let me know what you think!

Graphic Organizer #1: Lowest Level

Lowest Level Checklist

Graphic Organizer #2: Middle Level

Graphic Organizer #3: Highest Level

Highest Level Checklist

Lowest level Handwriting Paper

Highest level Handwriting Paper

I hope you enjoy this product as much as I do! Let me know your thoughts,