summer

Thursday, December 29, 2016

How do YOU Reward Your Staff Members?


What do you do to reward your staff?

I know we just finished with Christmas celebrations and gifts, but what about a random surprise?

 Do you stop and thank them in some big or small way once in awhile? Have you ever thanked them on a day that wasn't a special day on the calendar, like Teacher Appreciation Day? Maybe it's time to brainstorm with your staff some days within the year that you can give the others some special attention. 



 I'm so glad to have this support staff to do some of the work that I can't possibly get completed by myself.

Have you ever sent the bus drivers a kind note? We like to send a bowl of candy to the bus garage at Christmas time to thank them for taking the kids home every night. (Well, we do thank them for bringing them TO school also! It's just that sometimes it's more meaningful that they have a ride home.)


                                        

Click HERE to see the candy bar link in Pinterest. 

Do you thank your custodians? Have you left them a note or a treat once in awhile? I know that some of them may not seem to deserve a special treat, but maybe if you kill them with kindness, they'll turn around and do something for you too. I've often heard of custodians who complain about all the mess in a classroom. . . .. hmmmm. . . let me think about this. . . . if there were NO messes, would they have a job? Isn't that what they were hired for? Don't they get paid to clean up after us? Imagine that all of us kept our rooms spotless, why would we need them?

Attach this sign to a muffin. 

                                                      Click HERE to see the Muffin post on Pinterest. 

Oops, I digress. .. this was supposed to be about good stuff.

One day, my principal brought all of us a large drink from McDonalds and one of their chocolate chip cookies. She hand delivered them to us. . . .Yes, she is a peach and yes, I love her on every other day too, But wasn't that wonderful that she did all that for us?  She said it was National Appreciate You day. . . or something like that. . . I was so amazed at the treat, that I don't think I heard what came from her lips. 

We also have maintenance people who come in during the day to fix things and clean up when a child gets sick. There are the people who run our district office. There are the school board members. Who else do you have in your district that does something big or small for you?  
Attach this to a bag of  microwave popcorn.
Click HERE for the link to the popcorn sign. 

With Valentine's Day approaching, maybe you could get the ball rolling and find a way to show them some extra love. Divide and conquer. Let each grade level pick a group and a day to shower your staff with some goodies.

                                                             


Moral to the story. Stop and look around you. Who helps you? Who is always there for you? And who do you need to give warm fuzzies to? It can be a group effort or a class letter. You can be creative about this. Treats, cards, pictures, or whatever. 

I would love to hear what things you do to appreciate your staff. Leave me a note. I'm anxious to read your thoughts.  






Sunday, December 11, 2016

Snow Day Give Away!


I created a product to help Krista Wallden from Creative Clips fulfill some Donor's Choose projects of teachers around the nation. Be on the lookout for more of these this whole month. 
Click the picture to find out more.

Our school just cancelled for tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 12th. So I'm giving away 2 sets of my newest product called Fry Words Fun. This is a great way for your 1st and 2nd graders to practice those Fry sight words and have fun too. 

 You can enter to win these by visiting my Facebook page, liking it and leaving me your email address. If you leave a friend's email who teaches 1st or 2nd grade, then that person will also win if I pick your name.  Click HERE to go to my Facebook page. If you're not a Facebook user, you can leave your email and a friend's here in the comment section. 

Maybe my luck will rub off on you and you'll get  a snow day too!!! 



Friday, December 9, 2016

Santa Letters

Many of you have your students write letters to Santa. I'd like to share a post I wrote last year about what I do with my Santa Letters. I know I should have gotten this around sooner, but maybe you can tuck this idea away to use next year.  Click HERE to go to my last year's post. 


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Vowel Games That Elves Play

Tis the Season for Giving! 
So I'm giving 2 sets of my Vowel Games That Elves Play away on my facebook page. 
Click HERE to go to my facebook page. 

Just like the page and leave me your email address. 

If you don't have a facebook account, leave your address in the comments below. 




Monday, December 5, 2016

DJ Inker Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered! I hope you enjoy hearing from DJ Inkers if you signed up for their newsletter. They do fun things all the time! 

I could only pick one winner and. . . . it. . . . is. . . .


I know you'll have fun making stuff with this set. Congratulations!


Sunday, December 4, 2016

Last Day to Enter My Giveaway!



Click HERE to enter. This set is complete with clipart from 7 holidays, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Scandinavia, and USA. Click HERE to go to DJ Inkers to see the complete set. 

Below are some samples of what you'll get. 






I hope you win! 


Thursday, December 1, 2016

Still Time To Enter Plus A Surprise

Have you entered my DJ Inkers giveaway yet? If not get moving! You have a few more days left. And then when you're done entering here. . . you can also go to I Live to Learn I Love to Grow and enter her giveaway too. She and I are both giving away this Holidays Around the World set. So you can double your chances of winning. How fun is that! Click HERE to enter. 

Good luck!