Showing posts with label Teacher's Notebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teacher's Notebook. Show all posts

Sunday, September 16, 2012

A Tip for Today

Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone had a great week last week and has had a wonderful weekend as well!  I have a tip for you today.  You probably already know all about it, but I found it by accident working on my latest product!

When I create new products for TPT or TN, I use power point to make a collage of the pages included in the file.  In the past I've always saved each slide from my document's original power point file as a picture to insert into the collage.  Well I have found a better way...at least for me!

Create your document (I use power point) and save it as a PDF before you begin to create your preview picture!

First, open a blank power point presentation and insert any backgrounds or frames you'd like to use as well as the text you want to include, such as the title and your name.

Next, choose 'insert - picture from file', and choose your product's pdf file.  You should see a pop-up screen that says 'Select Page' and is showing the first page of your product.

Now you're ready to find the page you want to insert!  Scroll through until you find the picture you want to include and just click to insert it.  Easy-Peasy!  Resize it and put it in place!


Finally, insert the rest of your pages/pictures and arrange them to your liking!

To me, this is so much easier and less time consuming than saving each slide as a picture then going back to find them later.  Plus, it saves space on your computer if you're like me and forget to delete all of those slide pictures when you're finished with them!

Anyway...I hope this quick little tip is helpful to somebody out there!

My rounding unit, "Ready and Rounding" is now up and active on TPT and on TN if you're interested, and don't forget to download your rounding freebie from my last blog post!

Everybody have a great week ahead!  We're out on Friday, so I'm thinking it'll be a great week!!

Monday, September 10, 2012

I'm back!!

If anyone is still here, I'm back, and I have lots to share today!


First I have some big news....

Can this count as a Monday Made it?



Tomorrow we'll be 12 weeks, and as awesome and amazing as it is (at least to me), I guess it can't be a Monday Made It! haha...but I do have some things to share with you over the next month or so that have already made my year easier!  I'll save a couple for next month's linky!

Now hopefully I can make math a little easier for you this year!

We just finished up rounding to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred.  One of the things my kids have the most trouble with is knowing their options!  I usually see many answers at the beginning that affirm that...6 rounded to the nearest ten is 60...236 rounded to the nearest hundred is 600.  So that's always where I start, learning how to find your choices.  We review counting by tens and hundreds first.  Then we practice finding the two multiples that a number is between.  We make a color coded hundreds chart and then practice A LOT by writing our options down to find the correct answer.  That hundreds chart and other worksheets for a rounding unit are in my new "Ready and Rounding" unit that's {almost} for sale in my TPT store or TN shop.  But I have a freebie for you too!  Click on the picture to download the freebie and use these two worksheets to practice finding your options for rounding to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred!


If you like those worksheets remember to check out my "Ready and Rounding" unit {soon} and my "Rounding Robots" Scoot Game in my TPT store or my TN shop!



And I want to apologize again before I go...can you forgive me for my month long (and then some) absence??  Finding out we're having our first precious little one, school starting about 2 weeks later, and a few scary moments with a one night hospital stay in between (already...ugh...) have really kept me occupied!  I've already missed two days of work due to unplanned doctor visits...and I HATE missing work!!  Hopefully things will straighten themselves out soon and my body will start cooperating!  And hopefully I'm back for good...for at least a post or two a week!

So if you're still with me and you're still reading this 'forgive me, please' post, if you'd like to proofread my rounding unit leave me a quick comment!  The first person will get to keep the finished unit for free!  I'd love to post it within the next couple of days so make sure you can look over it soon!  Anyway, thanks again for sticking with me, and know that I'll try to be a better blogger during this school year! :)

Now go grab some more great freebies!

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Everyone enjoy the week ahead!  
I hope it got off to a great start today!

Saturday, July 28, 2012

It's My Blog's Birthday!

One year ago today I published my first post on my little ole blog!  I didn't keep up with it so well during the school year, but I think I might have the hang of it now!  Hopefully!  I plan to keep up with my posting a little better this time around!

Now it's time to celebrate!  

It's my birthday, but you get the presents!


I have reached 250 followers, and my blog is one year old!  So to celebrate I'm throwing a sale in my TPT store and in my TN shop for 15% off this weekend only, July 28th - July 29th!

I'm also giving ALL of my followers a birthday gift!  You can pick any one of my scoot games listed below, and I'll email it to you for free!  You can see all of my games and more details and pictures in my TN shop or in my TPT store!

Just leave me a comment with your email address and the item you'd like BEFORE MIDNIGHT on Sunday the 29th!  I'll have all of the items emailed by Wednesday, August 1st!

Scoot: Identifying Nouns

Scoot: Rounding Robots

Scoot: Adjectives

And finally, I'm giving away some items to make going back to school a little more fun!  2 winners will each receive a copy of Barbara Robinson's chapter book "The Worst Best School Year Ever" (you know how I love those crazy Herdman's) and 7 packs of stickers (various shapes, sizes, and themes)!
Source

You've just got one easy entry using rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, do you have any blogging tips to help me keep it up after school starts?  

I'm going to have A LOT going on!

**Both giveaways are now closed!  Thanks to everyone who entered!**

Monday, July 23, 2012

Flash Giveaway!

I've been busy!  Haven't we all, though??  School will be back in session before we know it, so I've been working in my classroom...Honestly it doesn't look like I have accomplished much, but I can move around my room now!!  I set up all of the computers, my table, and the students' desks.  Now I just have to unpack some of my boxes and move them off of the window sill.  So I'm back at it today!  Hopefully I can get my goodies together that we bought last Thursday and snap some pictures to share too!  As of now there still in the other teacher's car!


I've been working on finishing up and uploading all of my parts of speech scoot games to my stores too!  Well I think I finally have them all up and ready!  So to celebrate I'm having a flash giveaway!  One person will win my scoot game mega pack which includes all 6 parts of speech games, and one person can choose either the noun combo pack or any two individual scoot games!  Just enter using the rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post!  Hurry!  This giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday!

Classifying Nouns
TPT     TN 

Identifying Nouns
TPT     TN

Noun Combo Pack
TPT     TN

Verbs
TPT     TN

Pronouns
TPT     TN

Adjectives
TPT     TN  

Adverbs
TPT     TN

Parts of Speech Mega Pack
TPT     TN


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Birthday Baking, A Freebie, & ELA Scoot

My hubby's birthday is coming up...tomorrow!  Ahhh!  And I'm blogging instead of getting things ready...gosh...

I'm baking a scrumptious dessert bar today and a red velvet cake tomorrow for him, and chicken enchiladas were requested for his birthday dinner!  These dessert bars (whose name I won't mention) are sinfully delicious...I'd hate to think how many calories they have!  I found them on pinterest along with the "lighter" chicken enchilada recipe!  Click the pictures below to go to those pins!

The dessert bar is super easy to make!  The enchiladas take a little more time and prep, but they are so worth it!  I thought I'd bring you along today while I make Kyle's brownies!

You only need a few ingredients!

Preheat your oven and prepare your brownie mix and cookie dough!  I'm using boxed today to save some time, but you could use your own recipe too!

Layer!  Cookie Dough - Oreos - Brownie Mix  (You'll notice I made a double batch...now Kyle can take some brownies to work with him!)

  



Bake and Enjoy!  Yum!!


Be sure you check out the original blog post I pinned for the full recipe and her amusing explanation of the name!  Check out those enchiladas too!  So good!!  I can't wait for dinner tomorrow! =)

I'm linking up with Michele from Miss Nelson's Got The Camera for her "Make it, Bake it, Sew it, Grow it" giveaway!

Now, to help celebrate the birthdays in your classroom, enjoy these freebie postcards!  Everyone loves getting mail, right?  Just click on the picture to download your own copy or get it for free from my TN shop or TPT store!

And finally, I'm working on scoot games for the parts of speech.  I'm finished with a noun combo set (2 games) and a verb game!  The first three people to comment and agree to proofread one of my games will get to keep the finished version for free!  All you have to do is email me back with comments, questions, suggestions, or any concerns with the game!  I definitely want to produce a quality product so I need your help!  So, if you want to be my editor for the day (or for 15 minutes!) comment on this post, and tell me which game you'd like to look over (identifying nouns, common vs. proper & singular vs. plural nouns, or verbs) and your email address!  I'll give one of each game to the first person to request it to proofread for me!  Remember, if you ask for one of my games you agree to proofread it for me!  =)


So, do you have any special ways that you celebrate birthdays at home or at school?


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Multiplying - Sharing Ideas and Freebies

Well, I got the privilege of being a guest blogger today for the first time!  I helped out Courtney at Miss Third Grade while she is vacationing...wish I was there!  But anyway, I shared my thoughts on the importance of teaching multiplication and starting early!  Check out that blog post to get a couple of freebies!  One is for skip counting, and one has a great graphic organizer (and more) that we use for writing our very own word problems for multiplication facts in my class.

My post was getting really a little long, so I had to cut myself off!  I thought I would just come on back to my own little blog and share the other two freebies I wanted to give to all of our readers!  On Courtney's blog I talked about how we learn the multiplication facts we need to know, but now I want to share more about what we do after we've learned them!

After we have studied and learned all of our multiplication tables, we take timed tests!  With each test they pass, the kids earn a part of a banana split, yes a real one!  It never fails, when I tell my students about this, one of them always asks me if they get a real banana split!  They love doing this and look forward to it all year (we usually do our tests in the spring).  It always surprises me how well they do!  The quizzes I give are 40 questions long and cover only that table (all 2's or all 6's for example).  This year we set a time limit of two and a half minutes and required a 90% (36 correct) or better to pass.  In my homeroom 16 out of 18 students passed EVERY test!!  Everyone got their bowl and banana and at least one scoop of ice cream to enjoy!  It is really set up so that everyone can earn those basic parts!

My "Multiplication Madness: A Trek to a Treat" Unit is for sale in my TPT store and my TN shop.  Even better though...I'm giving one copy away in my 100 follower giveaway (along with items from other great bloggers)!

But today, I have a couple of freebies for you that can be used with this unit or on its own if you do a similar activity with your kids!  On banana split day, we serve the kids, and in all the hustle and bustle, it can be hard to remember who got what.  These helped me out last year!  

First, these stickers will let you see quickly and easily who earned their whole banana split!  These were made using an Avery Print-to-the-Edge Round Label template and they are compatible with products 22807, 22817, and 22825.  Just click on the picture to download the PDF from my Teacher's Notebook shop and print onto the labels! {tip: do a test print first :)}

The second freebie is to help you remember what the other kiddos did earn.  You can highlight the parts a student earned on these notes and have them carry their note through the line.  I didn't make these into stickers to avoid embarrassing any students who didn't pass some of the timed tests.  If you prefer to make them stickers they could easily be printed onto full sheet labels and cut apart.  Click on the picture to download your copy!

Be sure to check out Courtney's blog if you aren't following her already!  

And don't forget to enter my giveaway!!


How do you teach multiplication in your class?  
What really makes it stick??

Monday, June 18, 2012

It's Time to Celebrate!

I've passed 100, but we can still celebrate you - my followers!  I can't believe that I have passed 100!  Wow!  Thanks again for sticking with me...especially if you've been here since the beginning.  I was inconsistent to say the least!

So, to celebrate YOU, I have 10 great prizes to give away from me and 5 other terrific blogs that you absolutely have to check out if you aren't following them yet!

Grab this picture if you blog about my giveaway...it links back directly to this post!

3rd Grade's a charm

Here's What You Can Win!!


I'm giving away my 3 newest items!

You can see them all (soon) in my TPT store and TN shop!
Multiplication Madness: A Trek for A Treat
{earning a banana split}
Scoot: A Game of Place Value Review
Scoot: Rounding Robots

Aimee from Pencils, Books, & Dirty Looks {love the name :)} is donating 3, yes 3, Fluency Workstation Phrase Jars!  
You can pick up a freebie phrase jar in her TN shop or TPT store too!

Heidi from My (not so) Elementary Life is giving away a pack of different partner and grouping strategies for cooperative learning pairs and groups!  She has a lot of great freebies in her TPT store too!

Michelle at No Monkey Business donated one "back to school" unit!  She has lots of themes to choose from like monkeys, owls, the beach, giraffes and more!  Check them out at her TPT store or TN shop!

Amber from Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher is giving away her Fraction Frenzy Task Cards!  I have these task cards and they are terrific!  They're are 26 different cards with multiple choice questions covering all aspects of fractions (equal parts, parts of a set, comparing, etc.)!  She even gives you a few different ideas for how to use them!  Check them out at her TN shop or TPT store!

Lisa from Learning is Something to Treasure is giving away her fun "Wild and Wacky Watermelons" math and literacy unit!  Such a fun theme for the end of the year or even back to school!  Check out her TPT store for more great stuff and LOTS of freebies! 

Enter my 100 follower giveaway using Rafflecopter!

{Don't you love rafflecopter?  So easy!}

All of the blog links and TPT/TN links are above with their giveaway items and in the rafflecopter entries as well! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck to all who enter and thanks so much for following!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Big News!

Big news for me at least!  I finished my "really groovy class pack" that I blogged about last week and uploaded it to TPT...but I decided it was time to open a Teacher's Notebook store as well!  So I got down to business this morning and set up my store!  I uploaded a couple of freebies and my new retro themed class pack!  Click on the picture to check it out in my TN store or click on my new Teacher's Notebook button in my sidebar to make your way to my shop!


To celebrate the opening of my new TN store I'm running a giveaway on Teacher's Notebook.  It only lasts until Wednesday at midnight, so hurry over to enter!  One person will win this class pack!

Don't forget, you can sample my class pack with a freebie!  Click on the picture below to download!

Be sure to check out more freebies at Classroom Freebies' Manic Monday!

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

More news...I am ready for the Daily 5 and CAFE book studies that are coming up!  And I am excited!!  A book study for grades 1-3 is being hosted through linky parties on a lot of lovely blogs, and a book study for upper elementary grades is being hosted at "We Read, We Blog, We Teach"!  I got the kindle version of the books for $9.99 each to read on my iPad!  I've heard great things about the Daily 5, and hopefully I'll see great things for myself this year in my classroom!  


Now, have you met Amber?  (I feel like Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" haha)  She blogs at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher, and she is having a giveaway to celebrate summer!  You have the chance to win $25 worth of items from her shop {which is great!} so be sure to stop by!  Just click on her button to go to her blog!


I'll be having a giveaway of my own soon to celebrate 100 followers!  I'm almost there!