Good Birthday Gifts and Goodies for Great Kids!

I was just going through my pictures and ran across this one. I wanted to share this with you in August . . . whoops!

Anyway, every year I gather together Dollar Tree and Clearance Goodies to make good birthday gifts for my kiddos. I'm sure lots of teachers give goody bags at birthday time, but one thing I do to take the pressure off during the school year is pre-bag the bags. That way, at birthday time, all I have to do is grab a bag and put it on the desk. I also found a cute star centerpiece that I set out to make the day special. The kids love seeing the bouncy stars right when they walk in the room. 

Sorry I waited to share this in the middle of the school year! I guess it's better than never, right?

What do you do to make birthdays special in your classroom? I'd love to hear about it!

By the way . . . Remember to clean out your 

{shopping carts at TpT} during the Cyber Sale this 

Monday and Tuesday! 

Remember to use the promo code CYBER!

Kids and Staplers . . . Easier Than Ever Now!

Cooperation in Stapling . . . Check out the Rainbow Looms!

I am always stapling packets together, and I really get tired of it. Kids are always wanting to staple paper together, but they can never push hard enough to get the staple through the paper. 

That's the way it USED to be! I'm sure you all know about these awesome staplers that you can push with one finger and it works. Well, the other day, I was at Office Depot and found these staplers and they were so small, cute and colorful . . . and they were on sale to boot! I bought one in every color and now have a stapler for all my tables! 

I like my kids to be independent learners and having the tools they need for their creativity, helps them along that path. I also keep tape, sticky notes, and paper out so their creativity can run wild. 

How do you encourage independent thinking in your class?

Differentiation Math Mystery Style!

Hi guys! Hope you are having a lovely fall weekend. It's beautiful here. I finished up a 2nd and 3rd grade math mystery for you! 

Math Mysteries are a great way to reinforce Common Core Math Standards in a fun way! The mysteries are a twist on the old 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books. The kids start reading the story and answer the math question. If they choose the correct answer, the story continues. If the answer is incorrect, they will be send to a 'stopper' page that will instruct them to 'Go back and try again!'

You can get a{2nd grade mystery} or {3rd grade mystery}. If you would like to buy both of them to provide math differentiation in your class, just pick up the {multi-level bundle} for this title.

Our Town Grade 2-3 Bundle

If you have never tried out one of my math mysteries, you might want to with these MINI-Math Mysteries, just in time for Thanksgiving. This mystery is for {2nd}, {3rd}, or {4th} graders.

2nd Grade Version

4th Grade Version

3rd Grade Version

If you would like to differentiate with your {2nd and 3rd graders}, I have a Thanksgiving multi-level bundle as well!

Grade 2-3 Bundle

Yeah Baby! Differentiation Math Mystery Style!

Have a great week!

               

How About More Baaaa-rain Breaks? aka {Brain Breaks}

Howdy! How are ewe all doing? Hope you are ready for more jams! I was looking around for some other brain breaks to use with my munchkins and I came up with a fewe (get it?) more! 

Please note: There are ads on some of these videos now, so you may want to get them cued up to start after the ads. 

How to Use My New E-Book Math Mystery Video

Hi everyone! I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Okay . . . I'll give you the good news first! I finished another math mystery and I am really excited about it. I made this math mystery an e-book! It is a book that isn't meant to be printed out (save on ink and paper), but is meant to used on a computer, iPad, or other electronic device. I made a video so you could see just how it works. Check it out!

Oh, sorry! I almost forgot I need to tell you the bad news. The bad news is, I don't have a book ready for any other grades besides 3rd. (Remember, I do teach 3rd grade math.) 

Oh, and one other thing. I'm not sure this is good or bad, but I am going to still make this in a printable form if you would still like it that way. However, yup, you guessed it, it isn't done either. Sorry!

I hope you like this idea because I know I'm really excited about it! Click if you would like to purchase this {3rd grade e-book} now.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Are There Any Creative Minds Out There?

If you are one of the creative minds out there, I have a question for you. Are you neat and tidy or are you a bit lot messy? I came across this quote from Albert Einstein that made me feel a little better about myself:

So, if I have a ton of things on (and around) my desk, I have a lot of things going on in my mind! Right? 

One of my friends sent me this {awesome article} that made me feel much better about my creative and messy mind. 

Did you know that Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Mark Twain all had messy desks? Hey, you can put me in that group anytime!

How is your desk? Is it cluttered like mine? 

Check out the poll on my sidebar. I'd love to hear from you! 

                         

No Tricks! Just Treats!

Just click the {pic} to get 20% off in your trick or treat bag!

My Truth About Fitness

My friend, Denise from Sunny Days in Second Grade is holding a linky party in an effort to make this big blogging community feel a little smaller. She is starting a 12 part series called 'My Truth Monday' and that will bring us right up to the New Year! I hope you'll join us so we can all get to know each other a little bit better and have some fun along the way!

Each Monday, Denise will share her truth about a particular topic and people will share their own truths. The first topic is about fitness. Here's My Truth about fitness:

If you would like to join in on the fun, head on over to {link on up}! Even if you don't want to participate, you can check out other people's truths! 

Happy Monday everyone!