TpT Gift Card Giveaway for BTS 2017!

How exciting is it to begin a brand new school year?

It's time to sharpen those pencils, organize those bins, and welcome a new group of eager learners.

If you're anything like me, right about now, you're probably thinking of some new ways to excite, engage and challenge your students. If so, you surely don't want to miss the TWO DAY Teachers Pay Teachers sale.

Are you currently using interactive notebooks in your classroom? They are a very valuable learning tool. Click here, here, here, and here, to read my blog posts about them. 

Shown above: Grammar and Phonics Interactive Notebook Activities

Shown above: First Grade Journeys Interactive Notebook Activities

Shown above: Kindergarten Phonics Interactive Notebook Activities

Shown above: Fry Word Interactive Notebook Activities

If you're a kindergarten teacher, looking for some exciting activities, you may want to check out some of these...

Shown above: Sight Word Sentence Booklets, Read and Draw, The ULTIMATE CVC Pack, Back to School Labeling, Roll, Read, and Write Small Group Games, Back to School Rhyming Activities, Word Family Mats, Literacy Skills Activities, Gumball Sight Word Graphing

If you're a first grade teacher, looking for some engaging activities, you can check out some of these...

Shown above: Break the Code, Building Words, Crayon Sight Word Graphing, Phonics Mats, Read and Write, I Have Who Has, Grammar Sorts, Writing Right Through the Year

Shopping during a sale is a great way to score some really good deals. My whole store is 20% off on August 1st and 2nd. And, TpT is giving everyone an additional 5% off if you use the promo code: BTS2017. Don't forget to use it!

And, because we ALL love gift cards, I am giving away two $10.00 gift cards to Teachers Pay Teachers. You can use it to purchase some of your new goodies, whether they come from my store or someone else's. Not ready to shop during the sale? No problem! You can use this gift card any time you're ready. They never expire.

I'll choose two winners before the ONE DAY sale is over, and email you the code to your gift card.  Good luck everyone and happy shopping!

Enter using the rafflecopter below!
Contest will end at 12:00 PM EST on August 2.

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Work on Writing...for the whole year! Includes a GIVEAWAY!

Work on Writing is one of my students' favorite stations to visit. It is chock full of fun and exciting activities and offers lots and lots of variety. My students can pick and choose what they work on each time they visit and this makes them very happy. They get to choose activities that interest them and, because of this, they are motivated to do their best work.

My Work on Writing Station is incredibly easy to maintain and this makes me VERY happy!

This cart, that I purchased at Michaels, holds 10 of the activities my students can choose from. Most of the activities I change out monthly. Drawer one sometimes has a "must do" activity, which is usually a grammar game. I also use my Scoot games as task cards and put them in drawer one too.

Here's what was in the drawers when I took these pictures about two weeks ago...

Nice Notes

You can read about how I use these notes in this blog post.

This comes from my Parts of Speech pack. You can read my blog post about it here. Students pick six picture/word cards from my labeled parts of speech baskets or from the ones hanging in the pocket chart, and write them in sentences.

This comes from my #1 seller, Writing Station Activities for Young Learners. I use all of the activities from this pack and from Part 2 at my Work on Writing Station, throughout the year. They are both filled with no or low prep activities that engage my students and help them get in touch with their creative side.

This comes from my Having Fun With ABC Order pack. I have all the cards printed, laminated, and cut out. There are so many of them, that I can put this out several times during the school year and my students always have new cards to put in order. You can never have too much ABC order practice! 

This also comes from my Writing Station Activities for Young Learners pack. It's always fun for me to see what the children choose to write about. The latest one that made me laugh, was from a little boy who had to choose between his classmates and his toys! He chose his classmates because they are always sweet to him.

This thank you note template comes from my #2 seller, Writing Activities Menu. It is also chock full of writing activities that are easy to prepare. My students love writing letters to different people. I love when they write to me! I always keep a sample of how to set up a letter inside the drawer, in case my students forget how to do it.

Children love to state their opinion, and these opinion writing sheets are always a big hit! You can find tons and tons of these templates in my Writing Right Through...packs. This one comes from the February/March pack. I also had My Opinion about Valentine's Day in the same drawer. 

This letter writing template for Valentine's Day also comes from my Writing Right Through February and March. These monthly theme and seasonal packs make it very easy to always have appropriate and timely writing activities at the ready.

My students LOVE making books! I always have one or two book making templates at my Work on Writing Station. This one comes from Writing Station Activities for Young Learners Part 2. You can read more about it here.

This book is from A Year of How To...Writing. You can read more about these books here.

This table is also a part of my Work on Writing Station. I keep a binder here with a copy of everything that is in the drawers. This way, my students don't have to open and shut each drawer until they find what they want to do. 

Each activity is numbered to match the number on the drawer and is kept in a page protector. This makes it very easy to change out the activities. 

If I have a "must do" activity in drawer number 1, as mentioned earlier in this post, I slip in a template I made that says "Must Do" activity. I forgot to take a picture of that, since I didn't have a "must do" activity when I took these pictures.

I also keep my Shared Journals at this station. The children can choose to write in any journal. I have 16 different journals, so I switch them out during the year, only keeping 10 out at a time.

In the picture, you can also see my monthly vocabulary picture/words for writing. They are included in all my Writing Right From...packs. The children use these words at this station and the Writer's Notebook Station, where all their writing happens in their notebook. 

So, there you have it! My Work on Writing Station is a popular station in my classroom. It's easy to keep it stocked with engaging and meaningful activities. There is lots and lots of variety and it always contains something for everyone.

Would you like to win one of the products mentioned in this blog post? Just leave a comment below, telling me which (non-bundled) pack you'd like to win. This same giveaway is also on my facebook fan page and Instagram. Feel free to enter just here or everywhere! 

Good luck everyone!

Giveaway is over! Thanks to everyone who entered!

The winner is...

Check your email!

Teaching With Love and Laughter Loves Teachers Pay Teachers (Giveaway)

I love Teachers Pay Teachers, and I am more than thrilled to be giving away a gift certificate to a lucky follower. Not only am I giving away a $10.00 gift certificate from MY blog, but all my Freebielicious friends are also giving away a $10.00 gift certificate from THEIR blogs too! 

But that's not all! Teachers Pay Teachers has graciously donated some gift certificates for us to give away from our Freebielicious blog. So many chances for you to win! How exciting!

I have been a part of the TpT family for 2 years and I can't imagine my life without them. Being a creator and a seller has drastically changed my life in more ways than I can possibly explain. But, I will try!

It's really nice to have the extra paycheck each month. I am a very simple person and I don't require a lot of material things to make me happy. I haven't made any big purchases since I started selling, (much to the chagrin of my accountant!) but I have used the money in some great ways. The extra paycheck has allowed me to regularly support my favorite charities. 
The ones that are nearest and dearest to my heart.

First, is the American Heart Association.

This is my dad.

Sadly, he passed away when he was 57 years young, from heart disease. Sitting with him, was my dad's best friend Mickey. I know they are together right now, playing catch with each other and just enjoying each other's company.

Next, I wholeheartedly support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 

and The American Cancer Society.

I have lost several close relatives and friends to cancer and pray every day that we can eradicate this deadly disease.

Next, if you know me well, you know that my yorkies are very special to me. I love all dogs. Truly I do. But yorkies hold a big part of my heart. Here are my yorkies, Buddy and Max. 

Max was a rescue. 

He has a lot of health issues and my TpT money has been a saving grace. In addition to helping me pay for the treatments my little Max needs, I also regularly support many different animal rescue groups. Those sweet, innocent faces, get me every time!

Charities need us. They desperately need our help and I am grateful to Teachers Pay Teachers for giving me the opportunity to do something to help change the future for millions of people and animals.

Now, let's get back to the giveaway!

I have purchased a $10.00 gift certificate from TpT and I want one of YOU to win it! All you have to do to enter is fill out the rafflecopter, with integrity. I have included many opportunities for you to enter. Choose one of them or all of them. But, the more you choose, the greater chance you have of winning. And, when you are done entering my giveaway, hop on over to Michelle, and enter to win her giveaway. Just click on her button below.

 You can easily hop through all our blogs to enter the giveaways. Don't forget to stop by Freebielicious to enter to win the BIG money!

Good luck to you all!

Before I go, I just want to tell you one more thing that TpT has done for me. TpT has given me the opportunity to get to know tons and tons of teachers from all over the world. Many of whom have become my friends. We talk about teaching, creating, selling, and just about everything from A-Z. 

I will be forever grateful to TpT.

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Brag Tags Giveaway!

Can you I just tell you how much I LOVE Brag Tags from Boost Promotions?!

I have seen these cute little tags all over blogland and was so excited when the company contacted me and offered me 100 Brag Tags of my very own!

These are the tags I chose. 4 different designs. 25 of each design. And, they are customized with my name! Yay!

I knew right away what I was going to do with them.

A few days after I received my Brag Tags, the WOW Work Jar was created!

Every time my students produce WOW work, they write their name on a little piece of paper and put it in the jar. On Friday, I choose a name from the jar, and that lucky winner wins a Brag Tag. Since they know the more often their name appears in the jar, the better their chances are of winning, they are really trying hard to produce work worth bragging about. It's not easy, though! There is so much to think about as they are writing. When they succeed, they are so happy for themselves! 

These cute little tags are a great motivator and I am excited to tell you that Boost Promotions is allowing me to give away 100 Brag Tags to a very lucky blog follower. The winner will get to choose up to 4 different designs. That is very generous of Boost Promotions! To show your appreciation to this wonderful company, please enter the contest honestly, using the Rafflecopter below. There are many different ways to enter and the more you choose to follow, the better your chances are of winning.

One more thing! If you would like a WOW Work Jar in your classroom, just click the image below to download.

To find out more information about Boost Promotions, please click on the links below...

Blog Link

Facebook Link

Good luck to you!

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Lakeshore Review and Giveaway!

I love Lakeshore!

This week, I received a whole bunch of awesome learning station activities from Lakeshore, which were funded by Donors Choose. Did you know that Lakeshore is now partnering with Donors Choose? You can read all about it here! This makes me very happy! And my students too!

Speaking of Lakeshore, I was recently contacted by them and asked if I would like to review a product from there new line of educational toys for the home. I said YES! Of course! You can find these products at any Lakeshore store and online here.

I chose this:

This is the Arts and Crafts Supply Center.

It is loaded with tons and tons of creative craft supplies, like pom-poms, wiggle eyes, ribbon, foam pieces, popsicle sticks, beads, glue, markers, and more. Everything is held in little drawers in a very attractive and durable bright blue organizer. It's perfect for home and the classroom. It really came in handy this week, because we had lots of rainy days and were stuck inside. Once I whipped out this baby, 19 frowns turned upside down!

Check out these excited faces! (I took these pictures on 9/11, so my students are looking patriotic in their reds, whites, and blues!)

First, they tried out the glitter!

Then, they made the cutest popsicle stick puppets.

And bracelets too!

They tried everything! And the next day, more kids enjoyed all this art center has to offer. And, every day since then, my students have been eagerly waiting for free time, so they can create all kinds of fun stuff.

I love this art organizer for many reasons. But, above all, I love that it is very easy to set up. My students take care of everything! They put on the table cloth, put the organizer on the table, and have at it. I don't have to do anything. Except, that is, watch how excited they are to explore what's in the drawers and ooh and ahh at their masterpieces.

I highly recommend the Arts and Crafts Supply Center for every classroom and home. If you click on this link, you'll find a 20% off coupon, good at any Lakshore store or online. It expires on 10/31/13.

And, here's more good news! The kind and generous folks at Lakeshore are allowing me to give away one Arts and Crafts Supply Center to a VERY lucky follower. Just enter as many times as you want on the rafflecopter below. Good luck!

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Cozy up Your Reading Space Giveaway

I am so in love with my new classroom carpet. 

My students are thoroughly enjoying it too.

It is from Mohawk Home.

I was given an opportunity to choose one of their carpets for my classroom and I had an incredibly hard time deciding which to choose. I finally decided on this one because I love bright colors. It looks beautiful in my classroom and is plush and cozy.

I am so excited to tell you all that Mohawk Home is allowing me to give away a carpet of your choosing to a very lucky blog follower. Isn't that super sweet of them? Not only that, a few of my best blogging buddies are also giving away a carpet to one of their lucky blog followers. You actually have 4 chances to win a carpet, if you enter at each of our blogs. The carpet I am giving away can be up to $149.99! Wow!

Mohawk Home is such a wonderful, caring, and dedicated company. Click here to watch a video they made!

If you want to enter, just use the rafflecopter below. I gave you lots of opportunities to enter. Not all of them are mandatory, but the more you click enter (making sure you actually do what is being asked) the greater your odds are of winning. The very lucky winner will be announced on Sunday. Good luck!

Be sure to visit these blogs too!

(Looks like my buddies may not have published their posts yet. Stay tuned...)

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