Start Strong, Stay Strong, and Finish Strong

You may have seen the calendar recently and if so you can see that August is really coming. . . soon. . .fast. . . like this coming weekend! OMG! OMG! OMG!

In Michigan we can't start until the day after Labor Day so we can still pretend that we have a full month of summer left. . . However, if you're like me, your mind starts reeling and you start getting the jitters about buying the latest new things and getting your room all ready. Plus we have teacher meetings that start around the last week of August. 

I have had some really good and stimulating back to school meetings. I truly do remember the main purpose of them. I was NOT sleeping through them. 

One was all about Blueberries. Here's the link in case you feel like reading more. And here's a You Tube link that shows him talking. In a nutshell, he told us how we have to take all the children who come to us. We can't sift through them the way you would a bunch of blueberries and throw out the bad ones. We have to take the good with the bad and make them successful. If business owners could understand that it might make them appreciate teachers a bit more. 

There was another one that stood out for me. It was Keeping the Main Thing as The Main Thing. Then throughout the presentation they showed pictures of kids doing things in classrooms. But those kids weren't just any kids. . . they were OUR KIDS! And they weren't just our kids, they were TEACHER'S Kids. All of a sudden it hit home. . . HARD! 

We want all teachers to teach our own children who live in our homes the same way you would teach ALL kids no matter who's home they lived in. THEY were the Main Thing! It was very powerful. 

I wish you all a wonderful start to the new year and hope that something inspires you to start strong, stay strong, and finish strong!

Follower Frenzy Is it YOU?

Today marks my last post on the TPT Challenge that 4 wonderful ladies started earlier this summer. 

I have learned a lot through this challenge and forced made myself keep busy making things and following others even though I've had a houseful of guests and had many things on my agenda. 

(Yes, I can do it all . . . . . said everyone who is a teacher!)

When I first started blogging the normal thing to do was to read someone's blog and leave a quick comment. 

You NEVER just walked away! 

If you were a new follower, then you always said, "Hey I'm your newest follower . ."  (or something like that!) and left your name and said some kind words too. 

If you had a blog of your own you would also leave the link for your blog name. 

If you don't know how to do that, just look at my sample.

<a href= "http://2ndinline.blogspot.com">Second In Line</a>

In the red part put your whole blog address. In the blue part put the actual name (with the spaces) of your blog. Then save this to your desktop or someplace where you can grab it when ever you need it.

But . . . back to the beginning of my story. . .  there are so many blogs to read and our time seems so short that many people aren't leaving comments or saying hello.

One of the things that this challenge has reminded me was to do just that. Make comments, ask questions, leave compliments and always leave your blog name. 

As to who am I loving since this challenge. . . well they aren't exactly new people. . . just well loved ones! Heather's Hearts was one of the first blogs that I started following. She was very sweet and helpful and seemed to be talking right to me. 

Missy Squirrels has been a teacher, is now subbing, and makes wonderful things with her hands. I love her sense of humor and now that I've added Periscope to my social media, I love to listen to her talk too!

Alyce Bartel and I have met a couple times and I so enjoy each time we chat. She has been a huge supporter of me and always encourages me to keep on going! It's funny how those nice comments and always being there to leave comments has left an incredible impression on me. (see didn't I tell you that comments were important!)

And of course I have to thank these four new friends! Third in Hollywood, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, Sparkling in Second, and Teach Create and Motivate. You gave me a challenge that I couldn't resist!

Making My Masterpiece! Have You Made Yours?

Make Your Masterpiece!

If you want to see other Masterpieces, just click on the picture above!

 The lovely ladies are at it again. This week the challenge is to make something new and showcase it here. I happened to have had a product that I started a while ago, but this gave me encouragement to finish it and get it posted. The good thing is that it's perfect for Back to School. 

 I know that increasing vocabulary is important and sometimes tricky for kids. Now my masterpiece is complete and here is my newest set of Words in Context set.   

(Plus. .. everything is on sale in my store until Saturday!)

 

Thanks to Rebecca Morley from Edventures at Home for proofing my work. Stay tuned and I will share what she made on my next blog post.

A while ago I made a set of cards to help students with new vocabulary words. They had to read the text and try to figure out the meaning of a new word. They could use the text to help them understand the meaning or they could use the picture to help them. This set all about Community Helpers became a good seller for me. Here's a pic of that set.

You can see it in my TPT Store by clicking HERE!

Thank you for inspiring me to get a move on this summer. I don't know what motivation I will be using after next week!