Giveaways

Freedom in First is having a giveaway for having 50 followers.  The giveaway is for a $5 Target gift card -I'm dreaming of things in the dollar spot I could have!!  Follow the link to enter.  The giveaway ends Monday August 1st!


First Grade Glitter and Giggles and 3rd Grade's A Hoot are having a giveaway for 100 followers!!
There will be two winners.  1st prize will win a $25 gift card to the Container Store and items from their TpT stores!  3rd Grade's a Hoot is giving these cupcake subject headers away:

First Grade Glitter and Giggles is giving away a Candy Themed Classroom Kit

Click on First Grade Glitter and Giggles to find directions to enter.  The giveaway ends Wednesday August 3rd!


Finally, A Teeny Tiny Teacher is giving away a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble.  Enter today because the giveaway ends tomorrow Monday August 1st.  Follow the link for rules to enter.

Excited but Bittersweet

I know I haven't been blogging recently and for that I apologize.  If I'm totally honest I don't feel like creating freebies and doing the whole blogging thing.  
Just a couple of days ago there was a tragic accident in my area where a plane crashed and three people died: Two parents and their 19 year old daughter.  They were friends of mine and I went to school with the 26 year old sister that is surviving.  Anyway, the whole climate of my hometown is sad.


On a positive note, construction is coming along in our school.  It's going to be a race to the finish - hopefully it will be open and ready when school starts.  I'm excited to have a new classroom - all the teachers are just itching to get in.
Also I got the desk Apprentice the other day for a birthday present.  I am so excited to use it this year!

Until next time,

Back to School Bonanza Giveaway!!!

These 12 bloggers have gotten together and created 1 large giveaway hosted by Erica Bohrer Erica Bohrer's First Grade
























 

Each member has donated a prize for the giveaway.  Head over to Erica Bohrer's blog for all details and instructions!  :D  The giveaway ends July 28th.

New Blog Design and Freebie!

First and foremost I need to give a HUGE SHOUTOUT to Dreamlike Magic Designs for helping me with this awesome template!  It looks fabulous and I couldn't be more thrilled with how she took my ideas and turned them into an amazing reality!  Thank you so much!!


Second of all my first freebie!!!  For all of you Daily 5 Users out there I created a simple template at the beginning of last year to keep track of which students were doing which part of Daily 5.  I took this paper to Kinko's and had it blown up and this was on my whiteboard by my CAFE board.  I laminated it and then each student had their name written on a magnet.  The students moved their magnet based on which activity they were doing.  Enjoy!

Who's Doing What?

Cootie Catchers Giveaway!

A Day in the Life of a 2nd Grade Teacher (Ms. Male) is having her very first giveaway!  CPT is sponsoring the giveaway and she is giving Cootie Catchers! The winner will get a Cootie Catcher book for Language Arts, Science and Math for the grade you teach.  Each book has 30 reproducible incentives that are ready to use!  Books are available for grades 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

Head on over to her blog and get registered for this awesome giveaway!!

Flippy Book Giveaway

Christina Bainbridge is having a giveaway!!!  She is giving one thing away for every 100 followers she has and she is close to 400!!  Check out her blog and start following now!!

You can win : flippy books!

Super Duper Cute!

Shout out to 3rd Grade's A Hoot for the awesome info on Etsy.  Check out some of the cute cupcake things I found!

 This would be a great organizer for books of the week, school supplies, etc.

Inside is a spot for a notepad.  This would be awesomely sweet for meetings!!

For my school ID or keys or Both!!

A coupon holder but I use them for student contact info.  For example - at the beginning of the year I have my parent contact forms in the school system and in the student files.  I write down the child's name, parent contact numbers, and allergies, etc. on a notecard.  Previously I placed those notcards in a regular coupon holder and I took it with me on field trips.  Now I like this one!

Cute for my desk to be filled with student pictures or my loving boyfriend! :D

Well I think my eye is bigger than my wallet.  Enjoy the evening everyone and definitely check out etsy for your classroom theme or personal usage.  FYI any owl themes out there - there is a lot!

Yearn to Learn Giveaway!

So like the rest of us, I love finding other third grade teachers with really awesome blogs.  Today I found an awesome blog and even better she's having a giveaway.  She's having three prizes and she's giving away some awesome task cards!  Follow the link and start following her blog!  Well worth your time.

Yearn to Learn

Penguin Place Value

 The Third Wheel is having a linky party for favorite lesson plans!

Every year my students have problems with place value.  While going over the chart is useful for some, most still don't get it.  This past winter I found the following activity on Katie's blog (Persnickety Pickles).  Katie has since taken her blog down, so I have removed the file.  You can still see images from her lovely creation below.  Here is the link to her TpT store if you would like to see any of her other creations.  My kids loved it - and many were able to comprehend place value. Enjoy!

Doodle Bugs Teaching Giveaway!!

Mrs. Kacey over at Doodle Bugs is having a Giveaway - but it ends today!!
Check it Out!

The giveaway is for these really awesome personalized portfolios.  After the giveaway ends, you should still check out her blog or her Facebook page for some really great ideas.

First Post

This is my first blog.  I will be talking about a bunch of things but today I want to talk about rewards/classroom economies/etc. in the classroom.  I know several teachers use classroom rewards for behavior and jobs.  I think I am about as obsessed with Beth Newingham's website as every other teacher on the planet.  I see how the system works for her - but I can't keep thinking in the back of my head is constantly rewarding students for doing classroom jobs the right thing to do?  I mean last year I had a monetary system where they earned Scholar Dollars for jobs and then they got them taken away for bad choices.  Half of the time, though, I felt like they only had a good day because they knew they were getting that immediate gratification.  Is this a good lesson to be teaching them. 

On the other hand, what is the alternative?  Will students complete their jobs if there is no motivation? 


I need a veteran's opinion.  The last thing I want to do is start my second year of teaching on the wrong foot and have unmotivated children. 


Thoughts?