3 Million STRONG!!!!!

Can you believe that TpT has reached 3 million members?!?!?  I seriously can't believe how fast TpT is growing and I am so PROUD to be apart of it! :)

(Thank you Lyndsey for the button!)

To celebrate 3 million members, TpT is having a SALE!  You can get up to 28% off if you use the code: TPT3 when you check out! :)

Here are some March goodies from my store that you might want to check out, click on the picture to see them in my store! :)

And a freebie... :)

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Table Captains

I want to share you a SIMPLE classroom management tip that I used with my Kinders and 4th graders. The concept is "table captains."  I typically keep my kids in table groups all year, and just switch them around to different spots in the room each month.  I keep them in little groups of 4 or 5 to encourage collaborative groups.  I was noticing that when I had one task for the group to complete, they would argue over who got to take a turn, or sometimes there wouldn't be a natural leader.  Then I thought.... TABLE CAPTAINS! 

I organize this by assigning each person in the table group a little animal.  The picture below is a view looking down at the center of the table group.  So for all of my little pods of tables there is a rhino, zebra, elephant, and monkey.  I laminate these and place them at the corner of each desk.  

At the front of the room I hang this poster that displays who the table captain is for the day.  I change it each day, and it stays in the same order.  The table captain is in charge of getting more supplies, passing out and collecting paper, or any other job I have for each group to complete.

If the person who is supposed to be the captain is absent, I just pick a random card from the stack and that table group has a different captain that day.

I can also strategically group the kids using these animals as well.  I can say "all of the monkeys are in a group" for centers, and they don't know it but those might be all my high kids.  This has worked WONDERS for me, and I am positive it could do the same for you.  Download this FREEBIE by clicking here!!!

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100th Day of School!

Thanks to Teacher Created Resources my class had a wonderful celebration on the 100th day of school. (We will forget fact that it fell on the SAME day as Valentine's Day)  Here is the 100th day loot that we used to celebrate!

I think the students were most excited over their 100th day of school bracelets!  My kiddos wore these proudly all day and some are still wearing them this week.  :)

I love this photo of the students holding up a 100th day of school banner.  We hung this outside our classroom to celebrate!

I had the students write some goals they hoped to achieve by the time they reached 100.  Their ideas were adorable, hopeful, creative, and hilarious.  We wrote a rough draft in our journals, and then copied it onto this pretty firework paper.  I created the lines and title in a word document, and printed it out on the firework paper for them to write on.

I also got these two 4th grade CCSS aligned books to help me align math and writing in my class.  

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Facebook Freebie Hop!!!

It's time for some freebies in honor of the Southern California Kindergarten Conference at the end of the month!  Hadar and I will be presenting together and we are SO EXCITED!!!!  We decided to get the the ball rolling with some freebies on our Facebook pages!

All of the bloggers that are presenting wanted to share a freebie on each of their facebook pages...start off at Dragonflies in First Facebook page to pick up the first one!  Keep hopping through to grab them all!!  Don't miss the one at the end! ;)

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Valentine's Snow Globes

We made THE cutest Valentine's snow globes for our parents!  I received these supplies from the Oriental Trading Company, and the students were thrilled to make snow globes for ones they love!

Supplies:

Picture Water Frame Globes

Red Fringe Door Curtain

Giant Inflatable Heart

First, I set up a photo booth station for the kids to hold the giant heart and stand in front of the streamers.     I had to take two sets of pictures because the first set I was standing too close to the students, and their picture didn't fit in the little snow globes!  I had to stand about 15 feet back to make sure they fit in the snow globe. 

We traced a shape that fit perfectly into the snow globe and then made an outline on our photo.  Before we put the pictures in, we filled up the globes with water and let them dry.

You can see the snow globes are really small, which means they are easy to package and store!  

The students were SO excited to take their snow globes home and share them with their families.  I wish I would have saved this for Mother's Day gift, but maybe that is something you can use this for in your classroom!

I took a turn in the photo booth too...do you think my principal would like this as a Valentine's gift?  She better! ;)

The items used to create this feature were sent to me free of charge from Oriental Trading Company for review.  All ideas and opinions are 100% my own.

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We LOVE TpT!

I started blogging about 2 years ago, and became a TpT-er about a year and a half ago.  As a group, us ladies from Freebielicious wanted to share why we LOVE Teachers Pay Teachers.  Because for me, my life will be forever changed (that sounds dramatic, but it's true!)

A little bit about myself...

Three years ago, I didn't know what a teacher blog was.  Once Pinterest became a hot thing, it led me into the world of teacher blogs.  I was overwhelmed by the creative teachers out there, but it also unleashed a creative beast inside of me.  I took the plunge and started a blog, just sharing DIY activities in the classroom.  After about 6 months of blogging, I decided to share my first product on TpT.  

I am beyond thankful for the opportunities that have emerged from selling/buying on TpT and I am so excited to share why...

I think when I stop and reflect on my experience with TpT, I am floored by how much I have grown as an educator because of it.  I am able to purchase amazing lessons, crafts, learning experiences, new ways of thinking, and creative teaching strategies to use in my classroom.  This year has really put me in a new category because I am now on the "buyer" side.  I switched from teaching Kindergarten to 4th and now I am researching and purchasing lessons that I can use with my class.  Teachers Pay Teachers products have been the road map to show me what quality teaching looks like in 4th grade.  My text books aren't aligned to the CCSS, but I am able to stay on top of my game because of TpT.

Another reason I am thankful for TpT is because of the great friends I have made.   This is a picture of some TpT sellers that were able to meet up last month in Dallas.  Over the last couple of years we have become so close!  We share life and teaching together even though we are all over the USA, and TpT is what brought us together. :)

I still can't believe that teachers all over are using items that I make and sell on TpT.  After school, when I get to read my emails and feedback, I get so overwhelmed with thankfulness at the sweet comments that people leave.  I really feel that for some people I have the smallest opportunity to make their teaching day a little easier, or help add a little spice to their lesson plans.  It's one thing being creative in your own class, but to think I get to help others too... It's crazy.

To celebrate our thankfulness of TpT, we are hosting a giveaway at ALL of our blogs.  You can enter to win a $10 gift certificate to Teachers Pay Teachers.  You can spending it on anything on the site, not just in our stores!  Enter to win below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Robin S. YOU WON!!! Check your email!  ;)

Next, hop over to A Cupcake for the Teacher to hear why SHE loves TpT, and to enter her $10 gift certificate giveaway!

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Line Up Buddies

I am thrilled to show you a new classroom management goodie!  

Introducing: Line Up Buddies...

Do you ever want to rip your hair out dismissing your kids to line up?

This product is to help you dismiss your kids to line up in a calm and organized manner. After teaching Kindergarten for several years, you learn classroom management tricks through trial and error. I found that it was challenging telling 30 (or more) five year olds to line up at the door without running, pushing, and sprinting to get there first. 

Then I discovered if I dismissed them in small groups, the whole process went a lot smoother. 

Here is where Line Up Buddies come in:

Pick a stick and fill in the blank with different answers.

The students get to line up if what you say applies to them.

Examples:

One stick says: If your favorite color is ________.

You will then say different colors and the students get to line up when you say their favorite color. Once there are about 4 left sitting, I just dismiss the rest of them to line up.

There are 24 different buddies for you to print out.  I just hot glued them onto popsicle sticks, but you could leave the sticks off, and just keep them in a little basket near you.  You could also use these to help transition from their desks to the carpet or to various parts of the room!

You can pick these up in my TpT Store!

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SCORE!!! A Super Bowl Sale!

I don't know about you, but I am ready for some chips and salsa paired with amazing commercials!  I don't know if I even really watch part of the game!  My family teases me because I swear, I used to be an athlete.  I even played basketball in college for one year.  But for some reason my jock days have left me, and shopping has become more of a team sport!  In honor of the Super Bowl, the girls over at Freebielicious and I are throwing a 20% off sale in our stores!

Here are some February and March goodies that you might want to pick up while they are discounted! :)

Here are some goodies for Valentine's day...

For March....

For the Spring...

Even if you aren't watching the game, I hope you have a wonderful day shopping!

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