Take a Second

Hi everyone! I am thrilled to tell you that I'm part of a great thing for all of my 2nd grade friends.

 It's called Take A Second. 

You'll get to take a peek into 2nd grade. 

Each month on the 22nd 

(get it. . . 2nd grade . . . twenty second!!!)

you'll meet a different 2nd grade teacher. Some may be new to you and some could be old friends. 

Not only will you be meeting new friends, but you'll get to hear about one of their products and purchase it at a sale price. 

How could you not like this?

This month you'll go to Lisa at 2nd Grade Stories. 

click the picture to go to see more about Lisa. 

I hope that you'll check back each month on the 22nd. 

(yes, we did get off to a slow start this month due to some glitches. . . 
but we're set now!) 

I'll be sharing with you who the featured teacher is. 

Coming up next month is On The Go Teacher Mama. You can check her out ahead of time just to get to know her until her week in the spotlight!

Don't Give UP!

We've all seen posters like this before. Sometimes it's being tired at the end of the year and sometimes its about being tired at the beginning of the year. 

Let's face it. . . Teacher Tired is all year long! 

I belong to several teacher groups on Facebook and there are many threads about ornery kids, unmotivated children, teachers that have too many meetings, deadlines, assessments, and the list goes on. 

Teaching is a tough job. It is NOT for everyone. But YOU chose it and YOU can rise to complete this job. I don't want you to think about giving up.

 I want you to dig down deep and do this!

I want you to pull yourself up by the boot straps and go get em!

I want you to brush yourself off and do it all over again!

I want you to remember that YOU are worthy of doing this job and you will be successful. 

I have had all those crummy days just like you have . . . . probably 36 years of them to be exact. 

I would like to suggest that if you are feeling lost, traumatized, exhausted, and thinking about quitting, that you read some blogs that have some lasting advice that you could live by. 

Read this first. It's from Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade. Holly wrote it during the summer, but it fits how many of us are feeling right now. 

If you feel that your students aren't settling down after recess or other specials, read another posting from Holly's blog on Brain Breaks

Holly is having success with her first graders. If she can do it, so can you.

Another teacher that I follow is Kristen Oldham from A Teeny Tiny Teacher. She always makes me smile and I love the way she writes. 

For inspiration and help with dealing with difficult situations, I always read Barbara Gruener's Corner on Character. She is full of energy and love for what's best for kids. She's even written a book called What's Under Your Cape? 

I know that at the end of the day you might be thinking you don't have time to catch up on reading other people's blogs. But Let me assure you that this is how I find out new ideas, get refreshed, and find a way to get up the next morning.

Hang in there! Be Strong! You are their teacher, they are the students. You have command of the classroom!

Bilingual and Others Give Away!

I am thrilled, excited, super happy to be a part of this huge celebration that Susana Nicolau From Brinco Into Bilingual is having.

Her blog is very helpful to many of us because we do have to work with students who are trying to learn to speak, read, and work in a new language.

 Who wouldn't want to have the help she is sharing with us?

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

ALL GIVEAWAYS WILL RUN FROM SATURDAY 19TH (6AM CT) UNTIL TUESDAY 22ND (12AM CT)


Mrs. Nicolau is giving away TWO DIFFERENT items of your choice!
Here are your choices (click on the link to see the dimensions and more details):

Let's giveaway a gift card!! Enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $25 TPT Giftcard! Remember the more entries you have, the more changes you have to win!!!









While we are throwing the house out the window, let's also celebrate with a $21.00 gift card from the AMAZING Melonheadz!

Last, but definitely not least! I have many blog friends that have joined me to celebrate this amazing event! They have all joined me to giveaway bundles by grades!!!

The first bundle is for our Bilingual teachers!

Next is the K-1 Bundle in English!

Last is our 2-3 Grades Bundle in English!

Are you excited enough?! We sure hope so! Stop by Mrs. Nicolau's blog to enter on all these great prizes!!!

While you are there, drop a note to her. She LOVES hearing from her readers! :)

Click on Brinca into Bilingual

Stay Tuned!

Come back here tomorrow 

to find out about this big giveaway!

Customized Name Tags

I want to share with you some of the ways that people are using the customized name tags that I am making. You will get a set of tags with each of your students names on them. I will make them for you and you can proof them before you print them to save your  ink. 

If you get any new students throughout the year, I will gladly make a new tag that will match the set you purchased. All the directions are included when you purchase this. It will tell you exactly how to get a hold of me so we can talk about what you're looking for.

My original thought was to use them for showing lunch count and attendance and also for jobs. 

If you're in need of the Lunch Count Signs you can get them HERE. 

They have many choices like Hot Lunch, Cold Lunch, Absent, Choice A, Choice B, Menu, Lunch from Home, Lunch Boxes, and Salad Bar. 

The jobs listed below  show what each child will be in charge of for the week. 

If you're interested in the Job Banners, you can grab them here. They too are customizable by me, just for YOU!

But I have seen a few other ways to use them. Check these out.

They can be used to show which locker is theirs. 

(I recently read where you can use Rubber Cement on the laminated tags to hold them on your locker all year long.)

They can be placed inside a plastic sleeve to use for name tags when you have subs or going to special's classes. 

I originally offered these shapes:

But I'm open to special requests:

A male teacher wasn't so much into "cutsie" but he loved these sports symbols for boys and girls.

This teacher has a frog theme. So these frog faces were perfect. 

I've also made a set of tents for a classroom who has a camping theme. 

 More Frogs!

Open Apples!

 Polka Dotted frames in many colors or just black and white.

So if you don't find what you're looking for, just ask. I can more than likely come up with something that suits your needs. 

Most of them are about 3 inches in size. But some people wanted them about 2 inches, and some have asked for about 4 inches. I can be flexible with the size too.

Remember your purchase entitles you to a full year of tags.

 I will add any new students in at any time 

during the school year 2015-16.

And if you want a second set of a different design all you need to do is purchase an additional license for half price!

I hope you take me up on this offer. I think it helps a lot of you make those organized classroom work even better.