It's a Celebration Mega Giveaway!!

It's a celebration!!

I am so excited for this week and I hope that you are too! 

I would like to begin my sending a HUGE thank you to all the teachers that have so generously donated to make this event FABULOUS and to all of you that have taken the time to show your support to my blog!!

Each day, there will be a collection of products and a special little something to make you smile!

One winner will be chosen using Raffle Copter and will be announced each day. Each giveaway will be active for 24 hours and end at 12:00 am.

To participate, you will need to follow each blog and Teachers Pay Teachers store. Once you have done that, register through Raffle Copter and let me know!

Not sure how to follow a blog? 

Check out the great posts by Deedee and Hope that explain what to do and how to double check that the blog has been added to your Blogger reading list.

On Teachers Pay Teachers, just click on the red "follow me" found under each author's name. Super easy! :)

Alright......Here we go!!!

 

Erica Bohrer's First Grade 

Erica's TpT Store 

Teaching with Love and Laughter 

Lori's TpT Store 

Kindergarten Lifestyle

Jeannie's TpT Store

Lessons From the Middle 

Krystal's TpT

   

Terri's Teaching Treasures 

Terri's TpT Store

A Special Kind of Class 

Amanda's TpT

The Teacher's Cauldron

Jennifer's TpT

My Not So Elementary Life

Heidi's TpT

Mrs. Standford's Class 

Jessica's TpT Store 

Confession of a Teaching Junkie

Teresa's TpT Store

And....last but not least.....

2 Coffee Cozies from the amazing Miss Squirrels! 

Going Nutty in Miss Squirrels' First Grade Class

Miss Squirrels' TpT 

Isn't this AWESOME!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I am super excited!! Can't wait to see who the winner will be!! This is gong to be a great week so make sure to share it with your friends and continue to show your appreciation to all those wonderful teachers that have donated!

1000 followers and an AMAZING GIVEAWAY!!

I can't believe it! 

I can't believe it! I can't believe it!!

Thanks to all of you...my little blog has over 1000 followers!! 

(Special shout out to Ms. Lawson for being my 1000th follower!!)

So to thank you, I have something HUGE planned!!

My wonderful bloggy friends have generously donated their most amazing products to help celebrate this milestone!  From back to school to classroom management, there is something for everyone! Along with digital products, there are coffee cozies, blogging tumblers and gift cards!! Winners will be chosen using Raffle Copter each day!

Share this with your friends and make sure to come back on

Monday, July 23 

for the fun to Begin!!

QR Codes in the Classroom

Happy Fourth of July!! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends! 


We will be grilling burgers today and enjoying ourselves at home this year. 
One of my favorite things to do on the Fourth is watch the fireworks display from New York City. Yes...

I am still in a New York State of mind!!

There is something about that city. 
Another thing that I love about the Fourth of July are SPARKLERS! 
My sister bought the biggest sparklers I think that I have seen! I swear they must be about 3 feet long! Can't wait!!


Until then, I thought I would take some time to share what I learned at a fabulous workshop that was hosted by facilitators in my district. It was on technology and how to incorporate it into a Gifted and Talented classroom. 


I find myself to be tech savy and was very lucky to be able to attend a week long technology training given by our district a few years ago. But as you all know,technology is always evolving and I was so EXCITED to be able to walk away with some great new tools to use with my kiddos (these are great strategies for all learners, including ELL as well).


One of the strategies that I was most excited about was QR Codes! I have been wanting to use these in my classroom ever since I saw it on Pinterest (ah, my muse...lol)! 


I can't believe how easy it is! 
Here is what I did to make QR Codes for my classroom and blog:


1. Go to website like http://www.snapmaze.com/ or http://www.qrstuff.com/
or you can find another site by searching QR Code generators.


2. There are a multitude of ways make your QR Code unique. You can make a QR for contact info, share documents and even videos! The possibilities are endless!


3. Once you have generated the code, you can safe it as a jpeg or png file. This will make it super easy to add them to whatever your heart desires.


Seriously, its that easy...who knew!?!


Now, you will need to have a QR Scanner installed on the devices that you plan to use to read the code. Here are a few that you mat want to use and encourage your student's parents to have as well:


For iPod, iPads and iPhones:
QR Reader for iphone 
QR Code Reader and Scanner

For Android Phones:
QR Droid 
QR Barcode Scanner


I am planning on incorporating these QUITE A BIT this year....and I think the kiddos are going to L.O.V.E it! 


Here are a few ideas of how I plan to use QR Codes in the classroom:


1. On my stations posters to give directions and 
remind students of what to do in the station


2. Early finisher activities. 
Students can scan the code and find word puzzles, games and more.



3. Scavenger hunts. 
The students will travel around the school using the codes to receive  "clues" that will make practicing key skills interactive and fun.


4. Classroom Communication
I am making some QR Codes for my contact info that, when scanned, will become a vcard that will automatically add my contact information into their phone contacts (woohoo!)


I am also adding a Qr Code to my email signature that will lead them back to my school/classroom blog.


Another fun idea that I think will be very effective is adding QR Codes for special events that when scanned will added it to the parents' calendars in just one scan!


Can you tell that I am SO SUPER EXCITED?!?!?!


So tell me, how are you planning to use this in your classroom??


Want to find out more?
Check out this AWESOME linky at 

Currently...

I am so happy to know that the Blog Swap and Hop was such a success! I hope that everyone has been able to find some awesome new blogs, great new resources and new ideas to use in your classroom! It was a blast and a huge shout goes to the awesome teachers and bloggers that participated!  Here's a link, in case you would like to check it out!

Blog Swap and Hop

Now, for one of my favorite blog posts....CURRENTLY!! Farley of Oh Boy Fourth Grade as a super fun monthly link and here is what I am doing....

Have a great Sunday!

Top Teacher Blog Swap and Hop

Good morning everyone!! Today is the big day!!

We are so excited about swapping blogs and sharing some fun ideas with everyone! I will be guest blogging for April of A Modern Teacher. Denise from Sunny Days in Second Grade is my guest blogger!! I am so super excited because not only did we get a fabulous blogger but there is also a linky that you can use to hop through other great blogs! Hope you have a super, summer Saturday!!

Enjoy!!

Hi Friends!
Denise here from Sunny Days in Second Grade. I've been saving up some great Common Core math ideas to share with my readers, and what a great way to kick start it by guest posting here on my buddy Lynda's super adorable blog! With many of us moving toward CCSS this year or in the very near future, I've been delving into the standards and how to actually teach the depth of those standards. I was fortunate to attend a great training full of hands-on math activities that were really eye-opening for me.

This first activity is such a fantastic way to make a difficult concept crystal clear. All you need are some counters and a cup! {And yes, someone did indeed break into song at the sight of the red Solo cup!} We also used a whiteboard, but if you don't have those, paper will work just fine.

If you've ever tried to teach the concept of unknowns in an addition or subtraction problem, you know that it seems like it should be a lot easier than it is! Let's look at this problem as an example:

Here's a pictorial representation of how we explored the concept:

Easy, right? You can have the kids take turns with a partner creating and solving equations. I can picture this working as a center activity once they get the hang of it.

You can eventually work on moving the unknown to a different position or try two equivalent addition problems on either side, like this one:

The standard you'll be tackling with this is Operations and Algebraic Thinking, 2.OA.1. {Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.}


Be sure to stop by my blog over the summer as I share more of the great little teaching ideas I picked up!

See you soon, my friends!

Looking to the year ahead...

Hi everyone! This has been a very busy couple of weeks!! My daughter and I just got back from my dream trip to

  New York City!! 

It was the best and I absolutely love everything about the Big Apple!! I really can't wait to go back....hopefully very soon!!

After plotting a move to NYC and knowing that won't happen for many, many years, I decided to focus on something a little more in the near future. The beginning of a new school year...

Now, so my list begins.

This year was a wonderful and exciting time and now that I have spent a year in second grade, I am ready to make additional resources for my kiddos to meet their needs. As I blog hop and surf through Pinterest, I see many awesome examples of interactive notebooks.

So, I started thinking....I can do that for my kiddos for writing!! 

This is just the start of what I think will be one of my favorite projects this summer....

I started with the basics. What is a sentence? 

The best part of this is that as I continue to work on this, the more ideas I get to add to their notebooks!! I have a hard time finding inspiration sometimes....but I think I have finally found it!!  I will continue to share freebies from this product, so make sure to keep checking back to see where my overflowing ideas take us! 

Summer = Reading!!

Are you enjoying your summer? I know many teachers have finished up their school year and have hit the beaches, while some are still counting the days!

I have spent the first couple of weeks writing my essay for the next step in my Teacher of the Year journey. It has been a labor of love and I am so honored to continue to represent my school, district and all those that are part of this amazing profession! I am so blessed to be a teacher.

Along with writing my essay, I have been gathering a beautifully long list of books that I will be sinking my teeth into in just a few days!

I love reading professional books! My brain just starts swimming with ideas to implement in my classroom and share with all of my colleagues (including all of you, of course!). Here are a few of the books that I will be reading (and rereading again) this summer:

This one I bought last summer and referenced it throughout the school year but I haven't had time to REALLY read it:

I am going to reread these little beauties, and will be following along in the 1-3 Book Study:

Want to follow the book study?

I also have a second stack of books more for entertainment and the pure of love of reading, but I'll leave those for another post! ;)

So, what are you planning to read this summer? I am dying to hear!