It's a Sale! And a Giveaway!

Have you heard about the next Teachers Pay Teachers sale?  Woot, woot!!!

I have been building up my wishlist since I heard it was going to happen.  I think I have 3-4 pages.  Seriously... What would we do without Teachers Pay Teachers?  It has seriously made me a better teacher, and inspired me to step it up in my classroom (I am a tiny bit competitive).

So, all of the products in my TpT store are 20% off November 30th through December 3rd.  Plus, TpT is taking an extra 10% off, so you can save 28%.  Again, woot, woot!

So, I thought I would remind you about some of my favorite, kid friendly, classroom tested products.

First off are my easy readers.  I love, love, love these!  They give information about historical figures without being too long, and they are written in kid friendly language.  We read each page, and then draw an illustration to go with the words.  I use these in my classroom all of the time, and the kids LOVE them!

They are super easy to print and assemble.  They are two double sided pages, folded in half hamburger style, stapled along the fold and cut in half.  I can make a class set in under 10 minutes (including copying time).

I made a set for famous inventors and scientists as well.  They are SO much fun!

 With a 4.0 rating, you can't go wrong with this pack.  This unit introduces maps, globes, and the continents in a fun, engaging way.  There are mini books, worksheets, anchor charts, and more!

Oh, I love these as well!  When we are finished with calendar, I choose a few students to answer a ticket off the carpet.  :)  The kids love to show their math knowledge (even my shy kiddos).  They cheer when I call their name.

And, I also made a version for ELA that I use after our read alouds.

I use these vowel challenge sheets for bellwork in the morning.  The kids can work independently because they are formatted the same.  I was so surprised to see how quickly they were able to move up to the challenge level.  The sheets are perfect to ready your kids for DIBELS phoneme segmentation and first sound fluency.

And, the last product I am going to remind you about is my word problem of the day pack.  This pack includes all of the different ways you should be teaching word problems in kindergarten and first grade.  My students are getting so good at word problems, and I know that your kiddos will, too!

As if a great deal wasn't enough, I am going to give away two $10 gift certificates to Teachers Pay Teachers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have I mentioned how excited I am?!  I'm off to add more to my growing wish list.  Happy shopping!

Just to remind you...

We have had two years of our world turning upside down.  We've been to countless hours of training on Common Core.  We've had to implement learning goals in our classroom.  We've had to supplement our curriculum in order to meet our standards.  Our pay is now tied to not only our performance, but the performance of our students on standardized tests.  Our funding is being cut.  People don't take the time to send in their ballots for the override.  Yes... right now it is really tough to be a teacher.

It's so easy to get caught up in all of that junk.  It's so easy to feel like teachers are being respected less when politicians slash our funding.  It's so easy to be caught up in the negative, which is why I want to share a story that will remind you why teachers are so incredibly amazing.  I want to remind you that teachers make a positive difference.  I want you to remember the reason you chose this incredible profession.

I met with a parent this past Wednesday.  She had some questions about the Spalding method, and how to properly complete homework with her daughter.  We talked for about 20 minutes, and I walked her through everything.  The morning bell rang, so we started to walk to my classroom door.

The mom started telling me that her daughter had always wanted blonde hair and blue eyes like the princesses or like Barbie.  One day, this sweet little girl comes home and says, "Mom, I am so happy that I have brown hair and brown eyes like Mrs. McCleary!"  The mom teared up and said, "My daughter never really loved herself until she was in your class."

I looked at her with teary eyes and I realized that all of the hours of prep work, all of the training, and all of the stress were worth it.  I realized that I had made a difference in this one girl's life.  I realized the amazing power of a teacher.

So, the next time your students are staring at you with blank stares, or you are sitting in yet another professional development class, think about how you are silently influencing the lives of your students (and you may not even realize it).  YOU make a difference in this world.  As a mom, thank you for what you do.