BRONCOS & PEYTON MILESTONE CELEBRATION!

I am a Southern Girl at heart. Born and raised in Tennessee, I know what SEC and NFL football is all about!! Loyalty and working hard!! For me, Peyton Manning is FOOTBALL!! So if he is playing for the University of Tennessee Volunteers, the Indianapolis Colts, or the DENVER BRONCOS that will be the team I am pulling for!!!


As you could see from my Instagram,Peyton reached the 70,000 yards thrown milestone!! AND he ran his famous 2 minute offense perfectly for the Broncos to tie the Chiefs.  With a lot of luck from his defensive friends, the Broncos won their 2nd straight game! To help them celebrate, I am linking up with Powerpoint Gaming's Football Freebie Frenzy!! For their hard work, you will find my STEM Engineering Challenge: Design and Make a Table free for the next 24 hours!! Feedback is greatly appreciated!!! 

 Let's go Peyton!! Check in next week to see what is free or discounted!!

BTS Blog Hop Tips & A Freebie & Giveaways!

It is hard to believe that August is truly here! With it, comes the endless school supply ads, "last summer"  mini trips, vacays, movies, dinners, walks on the beach, etc.  My own kids always knew it was almost time for school when the fair came to town.  The Ventura County Fair is here, so we know it is THAT time!!! To celebrate returning for new adventures, I am participating in a BTS Blog Hop hosted by Tammy from The Owl Teacher.

One of the best tips I have come to rely on is to always plan ahead and be prepared with your materials and have back up plans ready to go. In the beginning of the year, your students are really just the same students who left the school a few months ago, just perhaps taller, sporting new glasses or hair style, along with their same personality.  I often forget how my new 5th graders are still really 4th graders.  They take extra time to complete tasks, often need to be redirected, aren't used to producing 5th grade level complete answer work that I expect.  It is great to have high expectations, but give them AND you a break for a few days until you get your expected daily routines ingrained in them before trying to turn them into the students who recently left your class to go to a new grade were.


I love reading and I love motivating my students to read.  We just started using Accelerated Reader four years ago as a means to motivate and steer students towards books that are truly at their current reading level.   While I don't always agree with the results or keeping students in a certain level for a length of time, I see that it gives structure to several students who need that constant accountability or they wouldn't read at all.  I agree it is not the be all, end all, but I enjoy using it and conversing with my students daily about their reading.   We have been trained the last 2 years and diligently spent time talking with students about the books they were reading, their interests, successes with certain books, and guiding them towards a well balanced selection of fiction and non-fiction. 

While my students loved earning the AR award certificates that are embedded into the program, I saw a chance to step up my game when our school began using Brag Tags for Citizenship at our monthly award assemblies.  Believe me when I tell you that upper grade students love wearing them on necklaces or clips on their backpacks as much as younger students do!! Click on the picture below to grab a sample set to try out for yourself.  The link for the full set of 5 books read up to 50 books read along with 5 AR points earned up to 50 points earned is listed below.  The next set will include 55 through 100! I have had students who earned over 200 books read!!!!!!! Perfect for allowing your own class rules, whether it be allowing picture books, non-fiction, graphic novels, poetry, fables, or every genre!! Easy to store and the diverse options of colors and styles allows every student to find their perfect match!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brag-Tags-for-Accelerated-Reader-AR-Book-Award-Points-SAMPLER-1867612

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/READING-BRAG-TAGS-FOR-ACCELERATED-READERS-and-BEYOND-1995388

Don't worry!! The fun isn't over yet!! Be sure and hop to the next blog for more tips and goodies as well entries into the rafflecopters for grade specific items!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TPT Back to School Resources Link Up

It's that dreaded time of year for so many because they are going to miss SUMMER!! And it is that exciting time of year for the rest of us because we are going to meet our new students who will quickly become our newest treasures!

To help get EVERYONE in Back to School mode, I am linking up with Wise Guys for a TPT Back to School Resources Link UP!!!

 

I am starting my year continuing my use of Brag Tags! My 5th graders loved them last year!! Our jr. high students had them as well and it was great to see them swinging on backpack zippers or tied onto the handle or even worn around necks!!! They even were allowed to trade them in for certain "gifts" like first in lunch line, whole class extra recess points, wear a hat in class day, etc.  If you are thinking about them, think no more. Just grab a set and give it a whirl!!

My Reading Brag Tags promote reading by motivating students to earn a brag tag for simply READING!!! This set has brag tags for every 5 books read up to 50 books, as well as acknowledging Accelerated Reader, AR, points earned. Again from 5 to 50 in this set! All AR points earned are filled with glitter designs!! To save ink, there are 2 sheets per award for books and points, one with a white background and one with a colorful one. There is even an offer for free brag tags when you use pics of these in use with your students on Social Media or in a blog post and then email and tag me.

One of the hardest new concepts for 5th grade math has been the shift in teaching place value with exponents.  My best sellers gives students hands-on engaging task cards and scoot opportunities to play while mastering the concepts.

Common Core Powers of Ten Exponent Task Card & Scoot Set along with Powers of Ten Base Card Exponent Set are now sold individually or as a bundle. 

 

 

 

 

If you haven't heard by now, TPT is having their annual BTS sale.  My cart cannot possibly get filled further! Or maybe after reviewing all of the new resources, it can?!?!

Hop around and see what many more goodies to your cart!!

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Birthday Party Blog Hop June 6-12~~

SUMMER BIRTHDAY?!! My friend Celeste over at The Education Highway has a summer birthday!! What better way to kick off summer than a POOL PARTY?!?!  Join us for some amazing summer recipes, kids crafts, freebies, and 3 Giveaway packs jammed full of prizes to splash about!! Let's Get This Partttyyyy Started!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate reading...even with your own little ones this summer! Grab my Accelerated Reader BRAG TAG Sampler and surprise them with treats to keep on reading!

 

 

 

 

 

Download the ebook below for a quick glance at each blogger in this birthday hop and see just what goodies you could win!! Don't forget to check us out on Twitter and Instagram with our hashtag #poolpartyhop

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

 

 

Summer Time is Like a Ukelele! Blog Hoppin' Fun

Summertime!! Summertime!! I definitely don't have the Summertime Blues!! 

My Papaw Johnny (grandfather for all of you non-Southern folks) used to always sing one line that said "Summertime is Like a Ukelele!"  It would make me laugh and smile great big.  I think that was the point of the song as I don't really think a song with this lyric exists.  He was always full of life and itching at the chance to make me giggle and as he put it, "act like you are Susie Q from Bar B Q." We used to sit out on his porch after the afternoon sun went down and just enjoy the early evening.  I would get up and catch lightning bugs and put them in a jar for a bit to watch them light up before releasing them back into the night right when the mosquitos were about to start nipping. Those days were some of the most pure, down home good times of my life. He enjoyed traveling and took me to places of wonder like Washington D.C., where I fell in love with the Lincoln Statue, to New York, Canada, and all through parts of where the fight for America's Independence took place.  Lucky for me, my amazing husband is a travel buff as well because we hit the road during summer and love going on new adventures. We just pack up and drive not always sure where we are hoping to end up! We LOVE IT!!!!! 

To celebrate summer in a Splashy way, I have linked up with some amazing bloggers who are giving away great freebies at every stop along with a Rafflecopter of a giveaway at each stop as well!!! How stinking awesome is that!!!!   

My students love reading and one of my personal motivators is to give them AR brag tags to wear on chains either around their neck or attach to backpacks. They LOVE These!!!! 5th graders.. I promise!! Here is the link to my Sampler pack. The full pack will be loaded in the next few days! I give tags for # of books read as well as # of points earned via Accelerated Reader! If you download I would really appreciate your feedback! 

Another fun thing to win, is my Singular, Plural & Possessives Noun Bundle

This 3 card set is in the middle of a facelift!  Above is one set that is finished and the other 2 will be proofed and loaded by June 1! If you win, you will be sent the old set for now and the new set on June 1!! Pretty sweet deal!!! Click on the Rafflecopter to enter! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wait!! There's MORE greatness awaiting you!! The summertime fun is by no means over!!!! Click on the sun to take you to Education Highway's blog and her amazing freebie and rafflecopter entry!!! 

http://educationhighway.blogspot.com/2015/05/splish-splash-its-summertime-blog-bash.html