End of School Year Celebration - All TPT items free for 24 hours!!!

In honor of our last day of school on June 21, I will be giving away all of my Teachers Pay Teachers items for at least 24 hours... or as many hours long as I have followers (so 30 followers = 30 hours, etc. - hopefully it will be more than 24!)

Check it out and invite some friends!

A side note - I've almost reached 450 blog views!
Many of my blog viewers (colleagues, friends, students, and parents) do not have blogs themselves but it's really cool that they come from all over the world!
Check out the map to see where everyone who has visited (so far) is from.

And please....leave a message so I know you've been here! :)    

Update: over 500 views and only 3 new followers...I am DYING to know who you are and what you downloaded! If you don't have a blog, you can use the box on the top left to follow by email or leave a comment under this post! :) 

Writing Genres Freebies! (and new TPT account)

Are you looking to get your students writing more creatively? Are you tired of personal narratives and persuasive writing? Maybe it's time to focus on other genres. 

Download my writing fables, fairy tales, folktales, legends, and myths genres posters for free by clicking on the fables page to take you to Google Docs or click the link underneath to download it free from my new Teachers Pay Teachers page (hopefully it will be embedded soon). 

**It's free - all I ask is that you follow my blog or leave a comment if you don't have one of your own!**

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears narrated by James Earl Jones

Download a tall tales bingo game by clicking on the image above.

Visit Scholastic's Myths, Folktales, and Fairy Tales website for information on reading and writing each type of story as well as publishing your own!

Use Starfall to teach younger students about fables, folktales, and fables!

Check out the American Folklore blog for text of each of these types of genres.

Giveaways Galore!

Reposting these blog giveaways - check out the links and enter to win!


Ok, are you sure you have enough room on your computer for all these fantastic things? Anna from Crazy for First Grade, Melissa from Mrs. Freshwater's Class, Erica from Erica Bohrer's First Grade, Michelle Oakes from Fabulous in First, Amanda from One Extra Degree, Cara from The First Grade Parade and myself, Kinderglynn have teamed up to offer you ALL these fabulous units and games! This is HUGE! Enter here!


Attention! Attention! You don't want to miss out on this awesome opportunity. THIRTY-THREE teacher-sellers at Teachers Pay Teachers donated top notch classroom products for our T2T MEGA CONTEST! There are 3 major contest categories: K-2, 3-6 (1 winner each), and Middle School / High School (5 winners -1 per subject area: English, math, science, social studies / history, and fine arts). Enter here!

Creative Classroom Celebrations

Having an end of the year party? Here are some great ideas - some best used for specific holidays or seasons.

     

Food

Many schools have adopted low sugar / low salt party policies for parties and birthdays. My room parents of 2007-2008 gave me the great idea to theme the food along with the party. For example, we ate all red fruits and vegetables on Valentine's Day and all green vegetables on St. Patrick's Day. Before Memorial Day, you can use cookie cutters to make stars out of pineapple like in this picture. Try dipping fruit in yogurt and freezing it instead of using chocolate. You can also replace the blue strawberries with blueberries.

Check out this chart for other ideas!

Repurposing and recycling to make table decorations

    

For Earth Day, we used newspaper for table cloths. We used the flowers we had grown from seed that were planted in newspaper pulp pots we had made. Our table confetti was made from paper we had made and imbedded with seeds so that they could be planted later. Students made picture frames using recycled cardboard and puzzle pieces from boxes that were missing pieces.

(Note that these are not my pictures, I didn't think to take my own!)

Check out my website for lesson plans and websites for teacher and student use.

Gifts for Teachers

So it's that time of year when parents are searching for end of the year teacher gifts and looking to get more creative than the old fall backs (baked goods, ornaments, mugs, coffee gift cards). The knicknacks are cute, but after a few years of teaching, there's no room left on the desk, or chalkboard, or shelf... Many teachers are going clutter free, so try something that will be immediately useful, whether for classroom or for personal use. Just remember not to over do it, be creative, be personal (but not too personal), and know that every gift is appreciated.

Remember that every teacher is different, and that you can tell a lot about them by spending a minute or two in their classroom. You can instantly see their color scheme and a few personal touches. Plus, elementary school students remember everything their teacher says / wears / likes and will tell you if you ask. (You'll never see the apple-pencil-school bus-teddy bears theme in my room, I'm a bit more beach + rainbow+ stars +Yankees = dream theme... trust me, it sounds weird but it works!) I'm going to share with you the best gifts I've gotten / would want and break it down by teacher specialization. Note that these ideas may not apply if the stores  are not near where you live and that many ideas can work for any teacher.

All teachers

• donation to a charity (my favorite is the Make-A-Wish Foundation)
• Spa Finder gift card for massage, manicure, pedicure, etc. (female)
• Barnes and Noble gift card
• Panera Bread gift card
• teaching store gift certificate
• Steve Spangler Science gift certificate
• restaurant gift certificate
• scrapbook or personalized appreciation book
• jewelry (female)
• ties (male)
• beach bag with sunscreen, hat, etc.
• Edible Arrangement
• personalized name stamp

Elementary teachers (most of whom are happy to accept gifts for the class because they spend so much of their own money)

• subscription to BrainPop, EdHelper, Reading A to Z, Discovery Channel Streaming, MailBox magazine, etc. (check to see what the school/teacher has first)
• Scholastic book certificate
• book labels for classroom library books
• hand sanitizer

Science teachers

• animals like fish, hermit crabs, hamster, etc. (make sure they are welcome and allowed in school and that there are no allergies - not a good gift at the end of the year)
• plants and gardening supplies
• gift certificate to a plant nursery
• membership to planetarium or science museum
• lab supplies like cotton balls, toothpicks, food coloring, vinegar, baking soda, aluminum foil, balloons, straws, sand, Ziploc bags, etc.             

Drama teachers

• movie tickets
• movie bucket (fill with popcorn bags, candy, and movies for school / teacher movies)

Music teachers

• theater / Broadway tickets
• iTunes gift card

Art teachers

• art museum membership
• donation to art foundation
• art clock
• art theme music box

Gym teacher / coach

• Brita water filter bottle
• personalized sports t-shirt
• personalized sporting equipment (like this)

New teacher (graduation or student teaching gift)

• supply tree
• desk organizer 
• binders
• rolling cart
• storage on wheels
• BigBooks
• pocket charts
• bulletin board borders
• magnets for chalkboard / whiteboard

Check our more ideas on Pinterest!