20 Days of Great Deals for YOU!

 I’ve teamed up with some amazing TPT sellers to bring you some cheer this holiday season.

Join us for 20 Days of December Teacher Deals. We’ll help you plan your month and make it to the end of 2020 with daily freebies and 50% off deals. 

Just head over to the private Facebook group and download the calendar for your grade level. There is one for grades K-2 and one for grades 3-5. Feel free to check out both for double the deals! 

Each day, click the date on the calendar to meet a new seller and check out their holiday, winter, and December-themed freebies and 50% off deals. 

My Freebies!

Click the picture to go to my store. 

Click the picture to go to my store.

My Half off Deals for just 24 hours!

Starting on Dec. 10th.

Click the picture to go to my store.

Click the picture to go to my store.

Plus there is a $100.00 TPT gift card giveaway that you could enter to win. Just follow me on TPT and on Instagram to get entered. 

I hope you’ll join us to wrap up the year with some fun!

DJ Inkers Winners

 Congrats to Amy Claar and Najda! They both won a $10.00 gift card from DJ Inkers! Thank you to everyone who entered. 

Decomposing Numbers for 2nd and 3rd Graders

 It's me again! I forgot to tell you that I've created a new product with a new set of snow globes that DJ Inkers have created. I had a lot of fun filling them with numbers, but you could fill them with many things. 

I made two sets. One in color and one in black and white. These normally will cost $3.50 but they are on sale today and all this week for half off. . . So grab them until Friday!  And don't forget to enter the rafflecopter below for more fun from DJ Inkers!

Click the picture above to go to my store

Click the picture above to go to my store.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You Could Win a DJ Inkers Gift Certificate!

If you're like me, Christmas just makes me happy. And this year, it seems even more important to look for happiness. 

Today may be Black Friday, and many people decided to venture out to stores. But for me, this is a first. I am home and am not going out to the stores. 

But I will still be shopping today. . . you can't keep that away from me! Looking for things on the internet has become the new me. Don't get me wrong, I'll still shop as local as I can.

One thing I do like to shop for is clipart! So I usually shop at 

DJ Inkers. They are easy to work with if you want to make things with their clipart and fonts. 

If you look through my TPT Store, you'll see that many things I make are with the clipart and fonts from DJ Inkers. 

I am partnering with them this season and want you to be able to do that too. You can purchase from them during their Holly Daze Sale.

 

Click the picture to go to their sale.

Be sure to visit www.djinkers.com for the Holly Daze!  It's 12 days of giveaways, amazing SALES and all new products!  Mark your calendars for December 1-12, 2020.  

Freebies and Sales are for 24 hours only.

 Plus... shop for smiles during Thanksgiving weekend to SAVE 25% on their entire website!  November 27 - 30, 2020

I have few fun things to share with you. First and most importantly I have 2 $10.00 gift certificates to give away to you. Just fill out the rafflecopter and 2 of you will win those!

Second, I want you to have my latest freebie made with DJ Inkers clipart and fonts.  You can grab that here. This is great for 2nd or 3rd graders who need practice adding and subtracting 1, 10, or 100 from random numbers. 

So now the only thing you have to do is enter the rafflecopter. It's very easy and there's not too many things you have to do.

Time to Find Those TPT Credits

 Maybe you have a few days off this week with nothing to do! 

Ha ha!

 I know how true that might not be!

But if you do get bored doing other things, you might want to take a look at your TPT files and see if you can earn some credits to help pay for your next purchases. 

If you don't know how to do that, let me point you in the right direction. Just click HERE to read more on that. 

$450.00 Could be Yours in a Giveaway

Here's a generous giveaway that you could win! There's still time to enter. 
So let's do this!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:  

Prize: $450 Gift Card of your choice, TpT, Amazon, Target, or PayPal.

Giveaway Organized by: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher)

Co-hosts:   An Apple for the Teacher, Jackie Crews, Katie Roltgen, Star Kids by Naomi, Teaching in the Heart of Florida, Teaching Superkids, Kovescence of the Mind, The Craft of Teaching, Tracy Smith - Smith's Safari Adventures, Kim Heuer, Right Down the Middle with Andrea, The Colorado Classroom, Kamp Kindergarten, The Best Days with Julie Santello, Julie's Learning Corner, Angelica's Resources, Digging Deep to Soar Beyond the Text, Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching, MM Bilingual, Patty Rutenbar, Teacher Gone Digital, Teaching Math and More, Minute Mommy, Roots and Wings, Amazing Materials for You by Amy Dickson, Mrs Davidson's Resources, Marianna Monheim- It Happened in 3rd, TheBeezyTeacher, Learned Lessons LLC, The Froggy Factory, It's a Teacher Thing, 180 Days of Reading, In the Land of Teaching, Mickey's Place, 2 Scoops of Kindergarten, The Butterfly Room- Stacy Ryan, A Pea in a Primary Pod, Profe 'Zulita, Oceanview Resources, The Homeschool Style-Katie Ring, Ever Joyful, Angie S, LittleStreams, Whimsical Wheelerland, Cupcakes and Chalkboards, The Literacy Library, and Off the Page.

 

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  Giveaway ends 8/1/20 and is open worldwide.

Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media?  Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas in July Sales! AND a Giveaway too!

Are you getting anxious about school starting? Are you unsure of what it will look like or be like? Then it's time to push those worries aside and get some retail therapy in to help with your stress! 

I have two One Dollar Sale items that will help your students!

 Clocks, Coins, & Dollar Bills Identification and Coordinates For Kids

Click the red links above to take you to my TPT store and these specific items.

Click the picture to go to my TPT store. 

 Both are needed skills that first and second graders can use all year long. 

Click the picture to go to my TPT store. 

There are many others who have also put things on sale. You just need to use this hashtag in the search bar:  #christmasinjuly2020   

and many other products will show up on sale. 

But that's not all. There's also a generous giveaway that you could win! But you have to enter to win. So let's do this!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:  

Prize: $450 Gift Card of your choice, TpT, Amazon, Target, or PayPal.

Giveaway Organized by: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher)

Co-hosts:   An Apple for the Teacher, Jackie Crews, Katie Roltgen, Star Kids by Naomi, Teaching in the Heart of Florida, Teaching Superkids, Kovescence of the Mind, The Craft of Teaching, Tracy Smith - Smith's Safari Adventures, Kim Heuer, Right Down the Middle with Andrea, The Colorado Classroom, Kamp Kindergarten, The Best Days with Julie Santello, Julie's Learning Corner, Angelica's Resources, Digging Deep to Soar Beyond the Text, Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching, MM Bilingual, Patty Rutenbar, Teacher Gone Digital, Teaching Math and More, Minute Mommy, Roots and Wings, Amazing Materials for You by Amy Dickson, Mrs Davidson's Resources, Marianna Monheim- It Happened in 3rd, TheBeezyTeacher, Learned Lessons LLC, The Froggy Factory, It's a Teacher Thing, 180 Days of Reading, In the Land of Teaching, Mickey's Place, 2 Scoops of Kindergarten, The Butterfly Room- Stacy Ryan, A Pea in a Primary Pod, Profe 'Zulita, Oceanview Resources, The Homeschool Style-Katie Ring, Ever Joyful, Angie S, LittleStreams, Whimsical Wheelerland, Cupcakes and Chalkboards, The Literacy Library, and Off the Page.

 

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  Giveaway ends 8/1/20 and is open worldwide.

Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media?  Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

He Gave His Life For Us, We Can Stay Home For Them

Happy Easter to all of you. On this day that Christ gave up his life for us, we must remember that we have to stay home and stay safe so that we can save others. 

But I have to admit something. . . . I'm tired of isolation. And I'm not even completely staying home. I do go to the grocery store. I have visited my dad, but he's 98 so I feel that's justified. 

I'm just tired of having to behave. I don't like to let someone else control me. I don't like that there are things I can't do. So I sit and wallow in my sorrow for a while. 

And then I get up and slap myself! 

 "Get over it Patty. You have so much that others don't. Quit being a crybaby!"

I truly realized this when I went with my husband to deliver food to students who need it. During the school year, we have a backpack program where each week food is put in their backpacks for them to take home so they can eat over the weekend. Also included is a voucher so they can go to the store and get a free gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, and a dozen eggs. That's a lot and that's so nice that the members of my community pay for this so our students who need it don't go hungry. 

But now that school is not in session, these students aren't getting their weekend foods. So we delivered it. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I have been teaching for 40 years. I know that kids come from all walks of life. I know that there are the "haves and the have nots." But I didn't truly get it until Thursday. 

We delivered to a run down hotel. I want to believe the people who live here are only here for a short time, but I have my doubts. Two little faces greeted us at the door. (Our job was just to knock and set the bag of food down, and then leave.) But these faces were so excited to see someone at their door that we caught sight of them. They just grinned from ear to ear.  They told us thank you very much and we left. 

But what didn't leave was what I saw. Inside that room, it was dark. The curtains on the one window were closed. In most old hotel rooms there isn't a fridge, and I'm pretty sure there's no stove either. There's probably not any utensils to eat with or dishes to eat on.  I'm willing to bet that there is no room service to change the sheets every day or even every week. Yet this bag of food will help give them some energy for a bit longer. 

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that when a child tells me they didn't or couldn't do their homework, I couldn't understand why. Now I can. 

When they tell me that no one would help them with their homework, I couldn't get that either. 

Now I can. 

When they tell me they didn't get much sleep, because they don't have their own bed or their own bedroom and they sleep on the couch while the tv is on until late at night. I can't believe that.

Now I can. 

When they said they don't have a pencil at home, (or crayons, or scissors, or coins, or paper, etc) I thought that was unbelievable. 

Now it's not. 

I get it. I GET it big time. No wonder elementary students love to come to school. There are supplies, organization, a place to sit, a place to put things, a person to love them. A teacher who is there every single day (usually!)

So if anything, this Stay Home Stay Safe initiative is a good thing, so that others can live. And if we all do our part and stay home, we can get those kids, ALL KIDS back to school where they too are safe and secure. 

You Need Help. We Are Here For YOU

This one is for YOU. You are in the trenches trying to find ways to reach your students at home. You are taking your time at home away from your own family and their needs as well as teaching your children too. You don't need extra expenses right now. 

So FOR YOU Teachers Pay Teachers has created this sale. You will save 25% today and tomorrow from my store and most other stores on TPT. 

The code to use when you check out is FORYOU. 

Don't forget to cash in those credits you've earned from leaving feedback. That also lessons the amount that you have to pay in the end. If you don't know how to get those credits click here to find out more. 

And Now. . . What Am I Doing?

Remember how many times we've said, "Oh if I had more time, I would . .... . " Well, now we have that time. . . and plenty of it. So what am I doing?  I'll tell you.

First of all, I started having my kitchen remodeled right before we took a vacation to Florida with my daughter and her family. That was March 6th. So the worst part of having my kitchen torn up happened while we were gone. 

 Before

After but not yet finished yet. Still have crown molding and countertops to add. The lighting will get changed and a white subway tile backsplash will be added. 

I also get to play games with my adult kids through our phones. We like one of Ellen's games called Psyche! 

We also set up Zoom so we can see and talk to each other while we are playing. If you'd like to see the game, click here.

I mentioned in my last post that I try to Zumba every day. There is another set of dances that I'd like to share with you in case you like a bit of variety. Some of the songs are the same. 

Radiant Life Ladies Zumba Part 1

I just know for me, if I didn't make a plan, I'd be sitting on the couch all day long playing Yahtzee on my phone and eating tons of the wrong things. At least with dancing every  morning, I can sort of justify the extra eating. . . . sort of!

 I have contacted all of my students and a few have written back to me. Man I do miss them and wish that we were back in school.  In Michigan we are off until April 16, but that may change this week. We will find out soon. 

I am reading a good book that I borrowed from a friend. Since our library closed, I have to rely on others to keep me in good shape. I love to read. Had I known this was going to happen, I would have borrowed a ton from our library. I hate to buy books when I can borrow them instead. How about you? Would you rather buy or borrow?

Right now I'm reading  Kristin Hannah's book called The Magic Hour. It is very good just as all of her books are. I can't believe I've never read this one before. 

In the meantime I am concerned about my dad who lives alone. We are visiting him every week (he lives 2 hours away and all of my sisters live in the same area.) He appears to be holding up ok. My in laws live in Florida in an Assisted Living Facility. They are very puzzled by all of this coronavirus. While watching TV is their main form of entertainment, it is also a very scary thing for them. I've sent her books to read and crossword puzzle books to do too. 

I truly hope all of you are well, and able to survive being with your spouse 24/7 without killing each other. I know it's not easy, but as all the actors are saying, "We are in this together. and We will get  through this."

And Now. . . What Do we Do?

For most of us this is Day 9 of the quarantine.

 How are YOU doing?

 What are YOU doing? 

Some schools are asking teachers to be available during certain hours to help parents who contact them. 

Some are doing Zoom classes online. 

I know my grandchildren have been thrilled to see their teachers and friends on Zoom.

Some are having parades where the teachers are driving in their cars and passing the students houses. (I hear this is a big hit! So if you haven't done this yet, it might be something you'll want to do.)

And there are some teachers who haven't done anything because of many reasons. 

Since I don't have an actual class, I have about 12 kids that I work with each day. So I have been emailing their parents to give them a chance to ask me questions, tell me what they've been doing, or for me to give them more things to do.  I have 5 that don't have an email listed, so I sent postcards out to them. I know getting mail is fun for kids. If you need some free cute postcards to send, Melonheadz Illustrating just posted some today. You can get them HERE. 

As far as my personal life is concerned, my kitchen is being remodeled and that takes up a large part of my day. I'm not actually doing the work, but I'm here in case they need me. It's stressful not knowing which box in the basement has the thing I'm looking for! 

But like the virus that's going on around us, life will get better! I have now been able to get my things back in my cabinets, the floors  have been installed, and they are currently working on trimming and electrical things. 

I get my zumba exercise in each day and try to get a walk in often. 

If you like Zumba, here's a link that you can use to dance with these ladies every day if you'd like. Zumba is easy, repetitive, and great for your heartrate!

Click here for Radiant Women's Fitness

I have grandchildren in Texas and here in town where I live. I have been playing games with them via Facetime on our ipads and that has been fun to connect with them and to give them (and us!) something else to do. 

What are you doing? What has worked for you? I'd love to hear what your days are looking like.  

And Now. . . . What do Parents do?

Social Media is being used as a great resource for parents. I believe it has always been used a a great resource for teachers. But now the parents are tapping into it to gain insight and help from teachers and other parents.

Teachers have used DoJo, Remind, and possibly other medias to keep communication up with their student's parents. One teacher in our building has asked her students to video tape them saying the pledge to the flag. That video is then posted to our school and district facebook page. What a delight to see these littles trying to remain in their routine by doing something they do every day in their classroom. It just warms my heart to see their smiling faces. You can see it here by clicking that link. 

 The Pledge to the Flag

Teachers are asking parents to take pictures of their children doing the activities that we have sent home and that helps us feel like our efforts aren't going unnoticed. 

This family is conducting a calendar time for the siblings. 

Our district is posting birthday announcements of our students in all grades each day. What a way to make them feel important and well loved!

Teachers are posting videos of themselves reading books on social media. I have watched them and found some new books to love. But even more important I have enjoyed seeing my friends whom I don't get to see every day now.  

Mrs. Pierson Reading Red a Crayon's Story

I love that authors are stepping up and reading their books aloud to us. Eric Carle, Mo Willems, Marc Brown, and Laura Murray. . . just to name a few. Our local library had to close, but the children's librarian has posted a video of herself reading to the children.  I love this. The more we can see people reading to kids the better their lives will be. 

Sturgis Public Librarian Reading Caps For Sale

Another idea for parents is to download these free pages from @Melonheadzillustrating. 

We Miss You

Thank You

Your children or your students can color these and hand them out to people they love or people in your community who are making a difference for everyone. 

I know this has been a rough week. . . and it's only been ONE week. If it's true that this could last 3 more weeks, how will we handle it? What if it lasts longer? 

We have to remember. . . . 

WE are all in this together. 

We are not alone. 

And Now. . . What Should We Do?

Our school, like many others in our nation decided to close for 3 weeks. And the following week is our spring break, so our students will be off for a total of 4 weeks. This news was so shocking. What would we do? What would the kids do? What would the parents do? 

All of these questions were and are unknown. This kind of thing has never happened before. So whatever we do will be a first for us and everyone else. Right or wrong, we need to do something. 

My particular school decided to jump right in and start getting things around for students to do at home. We knew that some parents would be asking for something for their children to do and we knew that having a routine would be important too. So packets were created and put together to match the needs of each student. Online resources were identified as well as sending home their clever badges so they could easily log in. 

Our entire district started brainstorming how to feed these students who rely on the food they get for breakfast, lunch and even some students receive extra food for the weekends. I'm very proud of my district. Sturgis Public Schools stepped right up to find bus drivers to deliver food on the buses each day so that no child goes hungry. Today they announced that we have been able to feed 500 children each day this week. My heart is full. I am grateful to all those who have given their time to be sure that our families are well taken care of. 

We have been asked to personally reach out to parents and students in any way we can.  . . email, phone calls, letters, etc.  I have a small case load because of the type of job that I have, but I was able to reach out to 70% of my students through an email. I got one reply so far. I hope to email them each week and open those doors of communication. 

I know that many of you are doing some similar things with your district. Whether the students actually do the work is unknown. But the fact that we have provided it shows that we care and that we want to do whatever we can to keep them on top of their academic world. 

Some parents have told me they can't work with their own child. I get that! I am a mom too. There are some things that  my child just didn't want to have my help with. So in that case, let them try to work independently or see if a friend or relative can help. . . even with staying 6 feet away!

I hope that you can rest knowing that whatever you have done for your students, that it is good. You have a home and family to attend to as well. 

I would enjoy reading any things that your district or you are doing that is different from what we are doing. Please feel free to share with me.  I do need something to read to keep me from going stir crazy.