Getting Ready for Back to School

The lazy days of summer are coming to an end. It's time to start getting ready to meet a new group of children. In fact, many of you have already begun. This past week I hosted a Back to School Blog Party. Don't worry! If you missed it, or even a day or two, it's not too late to join the fun. In fact, I am going to list all of the free downloads right here:

Free Back to School Candy Bar Wrappers
Free Back to School Classroom Management Printables Packet
Free Back to School Printable Gifts
Free Teacher's Money Binder
Free Teacher's Stationary Set

Cyber Search

I have some very exciting news! I am participating in Cyber Search Showcase on Monday. Fifteen teacher-authors will give away one teaching resource for one day only. The value of all of these resources equals $85. Take a sneak peak by visiting the blogs and websites of each author throughout the weekend, and then come back here on Monday to start your Cyber Search and to get your first free resource. All of the resources are specifically for grades 3-5. Happy Hunting!

If you think you missed out on the giveaways, think again! You have until Sunday, August 7, 2011 midnight Central time to enter. Here is a quick recap for each day's giveaway and a link to the blog post:

Day 1 - $25 Amazon Gift Card 
Day 2 - TPT Shopping Spree sponsored by 24 teacher -authors
Day 3 - $66 Worth of Beautiful Handcrafted Jewelry from two Etsy sellers
Day 4 - Back to School Teacher's Goody Box
Day 5 - $100 Shopping Spree from my TPT Shop

The Back to School Blog Party was such a smashing success that I am already making plans for next year! Thank you for participating!

As you begin to go back to your classrooms and prepare for school, don't forget to snap a picture of your  back to school bulletin board. I extended the deadline for the Back to School Bulletin Board Contest to Saturday, September 4, 2011 midnight Central time. I will place all of the bulletin board pictures on a permenant page on my website, but one person will win a $25 Target gift card, so don't miss out!

Kimberly at Science, Etc. wanted some ideas for quiet signals to use in the classroom, so she started up a linky party to gather ideas. I will put my two cents in. Switching lights, ringing a bell, or raising your voice is the least effective strategy for getting your student's attention. A simple, yet effective way to quiet down the crowd and get students to turn your direction is to simply same (in a normal voice): "Raise your hand if you can hear me." You can also say, "Clap twice if you can hear me," or you can say, "Put your hands on top of your head if you can hear me." The students around you will quickly follow your directions. The effect will domino throughout the room.

I am now publishing a bimonthly FREE newsletter on TPT titled from the Teacher's Desk: Classroom Tips & Ideas. This 2-page newsletter is filled with great ideas for the classroom. Download the first two issues now:

                                       Issue 1      Issue 2


Contribute a teaching idea to "from the Teacher's Desk".


You are invited to contribute articles and lesson plans to my blog, ETS monthly newsletter, and website. Simply fill out the following forms and share the love:

Submit a Teaching Article
Submit a Lesson Plan

One last thing before I sign out for the day. What do your students do when they are done with their work? My kids always have a book on their desks. Reading is a priority in my classroom, so I created a really cool classroom poster. You might have already found it and downloaded the first version, but this morning I changed the file to zip file and added a 300 dpi jpeg. I sent my jpeg file to Walgreens and created a 16 x 20 poster. I used the code 40PERCENT to receive 40 percent off the price (I don't know if the code still works, but it's worth a try). I picked up my poster an hour later and yesterday, I found the perfect frame at Target. I can't wait to hang it above my reading center. Even my teenagers gave their hard won approval. The best part is that you can download this poster for FREE! Done? Read. Poster