Enter to Win TPT $ for Back to School!

Check out JD's Rockin' Readers to enter a giveaway for two $25 TPT gift certificates!! We all like us some TPT $$$! Not to mention, back to school is just around the corner so why not try to win some $$ to help ease our way back from summer fun!

Have you heard? Designer Looks Giveaway!

I know we all enjoy a great giveaway. Add Creative Teaching Press in there and a giveaway titled "Designer Looks" and you know you've got a giveaway you HAVE to check out!

Do you see that? 10 people will win $200 worth of Creative Teaching Press items! Ooohhhh....let the dreams begin! Let's see, if I could spend $200 I would definitely get any of this for my black, white, and red motif to accent my pirate/chevron/polka dot theme:

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/bw-chevron-border

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/bw-calendar-set

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/bw-incentive-chart

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/bw-months-of-the-year

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/doodles-dots-border

Got to have adorable letters!!!

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/fancy-black-4-designer-letters

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/red-designer-numbers

Teaching military children who are highly mobile means we don't have a particular culture characteristic of the area, but rather a wide array of cultural representations. It is vital that I embrace that and these characters would help me put that honor on display!

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/multicultural-people-10-jumbo-designer-cut-outs

I turn my kiddos into scientists from head to toe - goggles, gloves, lab coats, clipboards, etc. and this would help spruce up our science area and the importance of science in the real world!!

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/science-lab-6-designer-cut-outs

Then to really help them decorate their interactive notebooks I would have to get them these science stickers...24 sets of them at that!

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/science-lab-stickers

I love using speech bubbles to emphasize reading concepts, strategies, or even things I repeatedly say. The best way? Using the kids' quotes!

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/speech-bubbles-10-jumbo-designer-cut-outs

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/fancy-fish-6-designer-cut-outs

I make a HUGE deal out of birthdays, too. Oftentimes, my students are celebrating while a parent is deployed, at training, or on TDY (temporary duty assignment away from the home) so I do what I can to make it extra special for them. I know these things would be just perfect!

To display:

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/happy-birthday-bulletin-board-set

And to treat them....

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/happy-birthday-crowns

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/birthday-candles-bookmarks

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/its-my-birthday-star-badges

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/poppin-patterns-happy-birthday-scratch-n-sniff-stickers-cotton-candy

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/stick-kids-happy-birthday-award

...and to help us start our first unit of math off right for the year which is a data unit, I'd have to get these awesome books!

http://www.creativeteaching.com/products/we-can-make-graphs-6-pack

Be sure to check out the Designer Looks Giveaway HERE.

Last day...enter soon!

It is the last day for the awesome giveaway going on right now!

Think you already entered? Well, they added a last minute basket worth $800!!!!!! Go check them out now! Click on the image above to enter for all 18 baskets!

Farley's BIG Giveaway!!

Did you see who Farley teamed up with to offer all of us teachers a chance at $100 to spend?!
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SCHOOL OUTFITTERS!!

Source: Oh' Boy 4th Grade

She is trying to decide how to spend her $100 and now School Outfitters is offering us all the chance to spend $100 in their store, too. So visit Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade to enter her fabulous giveaway!

Aussie Pouch Chair Covers Giveaway!

Have you heard of Aussie Pouch Chair Covers? They are covers for your students' chairs with pickets to hold journals, just right books, folders, supplies, and more!

Source: Aussie Pouch Co.

Well, Ashley over at Just Reed is having a HUGE giveaway! The winner will receive a class set of up to 30 of these chair covers! That is like a $300 value! They are available in several colors, too. Be sure to check out Ashley's blog post HERE.

I Won! I Won!

Have you ever visited Surfin' Through Second? Corinna has amazing ideas, is a creative designer (I just love her papers), and gives me a bit of "Hawaiian beach" when I can't get to it from here in Texas. Well, she blogged asking about our favorite papers in her store and we could "Pin It to Win It" and guess what.....

O.K. You already know from the post title: I WON! Oh yes, I did! See, look, I did for real. :)

Source: Corinna @ Surfin' Through Second

If you haven't visited her blog, take a second to show her some love. She has free papers in her TPT store (and now to brag, I got the Colors of the Rainbow papers I love!!!). Thanks, Corinna!!

Colors of the Rainbow by Corinna @ Surfin' Through Second

Then, I check my email to find out I won another giveaway! It was definitely my lucky day (which helped since my stomach issues have made me feel like death!)

Maria at Everyone deServes to Learn was offering her iMessages Anti-Bullying Activity to a lucky reader...and guess who that was? Yep. ME!!

Source: Everyone deServes to Learn

This will be great with my entire class, but especially my Russian speaker. He easily becomes frustrated so this will really equip him with a phrase I can teach him to use. Thanks, Maria!!

A Super Bowl Sized Super Bowl Giveaway

Have you seen Queen of the First Grade Jungle's Giveaway? She's teamed up with some other power players to offer you some awesome Super Bowl team swag!

Source: Queen of the First Grade Jungle

You can get up to 18 entries to win one of the 4 football and Super Bowl themed learning activities. Don't only enter the giveaway though. Check out her amazing blog. I love ALL of Katie's posts here and on FB. Then throw in Kelley from Teacher Idea Factory, Michelle from Fabulous in First, and Susan from TGIF and we have one heck of a collaboration!

Check them all out now!

Great Giveaway - Letter Writing Packets

There is a great giveaway going on at a fellow Texas teacher's blog, Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits!

Source: Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits

She has linked up with Kelley from The Teacher Idea Factory to offer some great letter writing packets. (If you teach CSCOPE in Texas, this is what we are starting when we get back next week...or at least, that is where we are :)) As always, Reagan's packets are absolutely amazing. I love her blog and her ideas. You don't want to miss out on her Mailbox Station packet or Kelley's Pen Pals Packet. You can get up to 11 entries and it ends at midnight tonight!

Crossing my fingers and toes that I win my first giveaway...so I am entering NOW!

The Pencil Sharpening Dilemma

I *LOATHE* sharpening pencils.

I hate when the wood starts to splinter!

I hate when it canoes with the lead on one side and wood on the other.

I hate when the lead breaks and falls out and you have to start again.

I hate how expensive pencil sharpeners are and then they still die every.single.year.

I hate how loud they are!

I hate those metal crank styles I grew up with because the outer part always falls off and shavings go everywhere and smeared lead is inevitable!!!!

Well, let me tell you how I really feel. :) ha. ha.

I start the year out great, sharpening them before school, using my neat little “sharpened” container and eliminating the need to sharpen during the school day. Then school stress sets in, time slips away, and it appears as if my kids are eating the pencils! I know, I know, someone like me should get mechanical pencils, but did I mention I hate those, too? LOL I hate how they rip paper, snap off and smear, etc. So, back to good ol’ pencils. I {heart} Ticonderoga. I buy tons, but my students don’t generally bring these at the start of the year.

So, back to my pencil sharpening dilemma. I have a class job to be a “pencil helper”. This person sharpens our pencils whenever they are done with work. This is only possible since I splurged on the:

Source: http://www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com/

And guess what? Lori over at teachingwithloveandlaughter.blogspot.com is having a giveaway for one! Click HERE to visit.

Want to win the pencil war? Check out The Wise Owl’s Winning the Pencil War HERE. It is FREE and may just be what we need! ;)

Fly Over...

...to The Tattooed Teacher blog.  She is having an AWESOME giveaway.  It ends tonight so hurry!!