$10 TPT Giftcard Giveaway!

 Good News!!

  

Teachers Pay Teachers is having their #BestYearEver sale tomorrow and Monday so start getting your carts ready! You'll be able to get up to 28% off products to help you with your Back to School needs.

To help you out, I'm not only giving away a $10 TPT gift card to one lucky winner, but I'm also going to give away 1 product of your choice (Bundles not included) from my store to another winner!

 Here are some of my favorite products to check out in case you win!

When you add beads to anything is makes it more fun! So why not add letter beads to some of your literary centers?? My Read it, Bead it, Type it, Wipe it packs are the perfect way to do that.

 These help them not only with spelling sight words, cvc words or monthly themed words, but it also helps them with beginning sound recognition, fine motor and handwriting practice. (I have had people use other manipulatives instead of beads, like magnetic letters or letter tiles to build the words.)

If you teach time, my time pack is definitely a fun and engaging way to help your students. It has 93 pages of jam packed fun! Printables, centers, games, an emergent reader & even a class book!

Next up is my Basis Astronomy pack. This is full of fun and simple hands-on activities.

Also, my Seven Continents pack. This is a great addition to any continent unit! This has posters, word wall labels, quizzes, art projects & interactive pages for your students to make their own continent books.

There are other packs available in my store like Shape Posters, Editable Banners, Alphabet Playdough Mats, Word Wall Letters and more! 

Now down to business:

 Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win a $10 TPT gift card AND another winner for your choice of 1 product from my store! (excluding bundles).

Good Luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(I will email the winner their TPT gift card code the morning of August 2nd, so they will be able to use the code the second day of the sale! I will also email the winner of my product on August 2.)

The World's Best Pencil Sharpener!

Oh my word you guys! I have the best thing EVER to share with you.

I mean, it is something that will change your teacher life.

Literally. It will never be the same again!

You know in the movie Elf, when he sees the sign that says "World's Best Cup of Coffee" and then he bursts through the doors yelling "CONGRATULATIONS! World's Best Coffee! You Did It!"

Well, that just about sums up how I feel right now, except I want to shout out "I found it! The World's Best Pencil Sharpener! It Finally Exists!"

I don't know about you but I have tried just about every pencil sharpener out there and without fail, they always break. They sharpen better on one side than the other, they don't sharpen enough or they sharpen too much...the agony never ends! And no one can truly understand this dilemma unless they have been a teacher.

Well I am so excited to announce that your dilemma does not need to continue any longer! Classroom Friendly Supplies has the answer.

I do recommend that you have a little lesson to teach your students how to use it. It's not your average sharpener and they will need to learn how it works properly.

First, you will need to pull out the silver plate on the front:

 
Next, you squeeze the plastic knobs together on the top of the plate and slide the pencil through the hole into the sharpener.

Once the pencil is pushed into the sharpener, release the knobs. This allows the small "teeth" on the silver plate to hold the pencil securely while it is sharpened.

Next, hold the sharpener down with one hand while you turn the crank with the other.

One of the best things about this sharpener is that it won't over sharpen. You will feel the pressure stop when the pencil is done sharpening! Then just squeeze those little knobs again to release the pencil.

I sharpened many different pencils, including some that were only sharpened on one side from a previous pencil sharpener and all of them came out looking like this...

My students absolutely LOVE it! They are still raving about how sharp their pencils are and we've been using it for a few weeks now!

If you are looking for the pencil sharpener answer, I promise you will not be disappointed with this one!

Here's a video if you want more information about it:

If you would like more information then check out the website!  
www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com

I received my pencil sharpener for free from "Classroom Friendly Supplies" in exchange for this review. This review is my true and honest opinion about this product.

Holiday Gift Ideas (Students, Parents, Colleagues)

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that it is almost December! I have no idea where this year has gone. I swear, the older we get the faster time goes. It really makes me try to enjoy each and every moment because life is so short! 

Now that Thanksgiving is in the past, it is time to prepare for the Christmas holiday. I always have good intentions when it comes to preparing early for student, parent and colleague gifts....but I'm usually stressed out in the end trying to come up with something!

 Well I'm linking up with the Weekend Warriors to help me (and hopefully help you) have some inspiration!

This year, all of my students keep asking me for a 3x5 card that they can use as a bookmark. So I thought that they'd probably love to have a personalized bookmark with their name on it!

I found these adorable (FREE) bookmarks from The Brown Bag Teacher on TpT and am going to make them for my class! I plan on laminating them so they (hopefully) stay nice throughout the rest of the year.

(Click the picture for the link)

 I work at a Christian private school and think that a smaller version of this would go along nicely with the bookmarks.

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Last, but not least, I'm going to include two homework passes for each student that can be used on any homework assignment that they either don't want to do, don't have time to do, or just want a break from doing! I'm planning on copying them on colored paper to make it more fun.

Click on the image above to grab your own copy!

In the past I have made the Applesauce/Cinnamon ornaments with my kinders...but this year I've jumped up to third grade and want to switch things up. I still haven't decided for sure what I'm going to do, but here are some fun ideas that I've come across:

Funny pose ornaments:

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Fingerprint picture frame:

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Baby Jesus ornament:

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Stained Glass Nativity. This could be larger as a decoration, or smaller to be used as an ornament:

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I always forget about gifts for coworkers until the last minute so I'm going to be better this year!

I love simple, fast and easy ideas (as I'm sure you all do too)! Here are some fun and quick ideas I have recently come across:

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I LOVE this idea!
I would have a very hard time not eating all of the pretzels!

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I have decided this year I'm going to make Homemade Cinnamon Almonds for my coworkers (and probably our neighbors while I'm at it):

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Who DOESN'T like these!? And this recipe I came across is SO easy.
All you need is:
1 cup sugar
3 cups raw almonds (or any other nut)
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Click on the "Source" link under the picture for the full directions! There are also multiple sites with directions or downloads to make your own cone paper holders.


What are you planning on doing for your gifts this year? Link up with the Weekend Warriors to share your own ideas.

Want more gift ideas? Check out my "Gift Ideas" board on Pinterest.


Last but not least....This is what I want for Christmas!

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Teaching with Hope shared a very easy tutorial on how to make your own. I just haven't had time to actually make mine yet...does anyone want to make it for me!?

Maybe it can be my Christmas break project since we're staying home this year.

I hope you all enjoy this wonderful holiday season with your scholars and are able to share with them the true meaning of the season by doing acts of kindness and spreading love throughout your classrooms.

Merry Christmas!