Cyber Monday sale!!

Just wanted to let you know I am participating in the cyber Monday sale on TPT.
Check out my little store at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Heather-Gower-2

Students of the Month

Sorry it has been SO long, but life happened!!!
I'm sitting at home feeling guilty about deserting my poor little blog. So I was trying to think of something to blog about (that I could include a picture with) and found my son's student of the month shirt and voila! a post was born.
Our school has two separate assemblies for ours. K-2 and 3-5. We used to give certificates for free meals at restaurants, but last year we started giving a t-shirt to each winner.
Our character word for the month and a quote are both on the back.
The teachers have one with the same front, but all the character words on the back in a puzzle.
Personally, I love our shirts for the kids. It gives them something to remember forever, not just a certificate.
We print a certificate off and take their picture in their new shirts then hang them all on a bulletin board in the lunch room.
I find it SO hard to pick just one sometimes. I try to pick good role models who behave, do their best and have good attendance.
If you have Students of the Month, how do you pick? Help me make my life easier. :)
Love,
Heather

Stick it up!

Well I finally got in my classroom only to be kicked out again until Monday. :(
They are redoing the hallway floors and the polyurethane has to dry.

So I just have a quick tip for your classrooms until then.

How do you feel about bulletin boards? I secretly LOVE them. I love the planning and creativity of them.

On the boards on my classroom I have used duct tape for my border! What?!? Yes I did! I love it.

Where I live, duct tape fixes everything. The kids are really surprised and like it too.

They have so many designs to choose from: zebra (my choice), tie dye, happy faces, plain colors and more designs find there way to the shelf each time I go to the craft section at Wal-Mart. The print is small and doesn't take away from the board content.

I really wanted something different for them. I will have to cut them along the edge when I change the paper this year, but it will be ok.

So... How do you feel about bulletin boards? Do you use unconventional items to decorate them?

Love,
Heather

Check In!!

Hey!!!

I just wanted to let you know that I FINALLY got back to my classroom and it's BACK!!!

No more boxes, ladders, or wires!!! I am so happy! :)

So stay tuned cause I will have lots of great things to write about by the end of this week.

I hope you all are enjoying what little summer there is left. :( I only have 3 weeks!!! We go back for classroom setup/meetings August 6-14. How long do you all have left?

Love,

Heather

Letters to...

At the beginning of school, I love to have my kids write letters to their former teacher. I display these in the hall and later give them to the teacher they wrote to.

Last year I had so many sweet letters to give. One of them said to write back if they read the letters. (The teacher said she was lucky she stopped to read them! :))

I just posted these units to TPT! I have activities for first-fourth grade. Fifth grade will be added soon!

Stop by my store to check them out!

MY TPT STORE!

I will post pics of my new class' letters when we go back to school in August!

Hope you all are having a GREAT summer!

Love,

Heather

Donors Choose!!

I just had to share that I received my first donation on my Donors Choose project! I am so excited an feel so blessed at this moment!!! Tpt is going well and now this... :)

My project is asking for Scholastic News subscriptions for my classroom. I will be so excited when this (hopefully) is funded! After reading Amy Lemons describe how she uses weekly readers in her classroom, I knew I wanted to incorporate that in my classroom! Here's the link! Check it out!

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/extra-extra-we-need-to-read-all-about/786623/?verify=-1882339416&challengeid=235962

A little catchup!!

Hey everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA lately! My kiddos have kept me busy!!!!

I just wanted to share my latest classroom work with you!

Last year my grade level had an AWFUL time keeping our kiddos from arguing, tattling, you know...

Well this year we are incorporating character in our lessons! My classroom will revolve around the Golden Rule. I was SO surprised last year when most of my kids didn't know it! :(

So tonight I set to work on my room a little. It's still techie headquarters and a mess, but they aren't around my door so I can cutesy it up! ;)

Well, until next time!

Love,
Heather

Letters to My Future Teacher! An end of year writing activity.

Hey everyone!

I just posted my end of year writing activity to TPT!

It's a pack that includes a Bulletin Board Header and lots of different writing papers. These papers include areas to draw in (or not) and some of them include the greeting and closing filled in.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Letters-to-my-Future-Teacher-An-end-of-year-writing-activity

I wish I had pictures to show you, but I didn't really get into my blog until school was already out. :(

Next year though, I promise!

Please go check it out and let me know what you think!

Love,

Heather

Roll, Say, Write! A Sight Word Center

Hey guys!

I just posted my first items for sale in my TPT store!

They are sight word centers using Fry's first, second, and third 100 sight words.

There are three sets of the centers.

Each center has 20 cubes that list five sight words and a cute star on it.

All your students do is roll the cube, say the word, then write it on the accountability sheet.

Want a copy of these?!?!?

Well...

If you are my two current followers Katie Jones and Heidi

or

my only TPT follower Teresa Williams

send me your email. You've won yourself a copy just for making my week! :)

Not one of these people?

Enter by...

Following my blog (1 entry)
Following my TPT store (1 entry)

Leave me a comment for each of these.

This giveaway will end Saturday June 2 and i'll pick a winner Sunday!

P.S. I don't have many followers. Your chances a pretty good! :)

Good Luck!

Love, Heather

My Most Memorable Moment Linky Party

Hey ya'll!

Me again, today?!?!

Yep!

I'm linking up with Heidi at My (Not So) Elementary Life for her Most Memorable Moment Linky Party.

So...

Here goes...

My most memorable moment was one that I actually missed.

What?!? I know, your asking yourself... how is that her most memorable moment?

You'll see.

In the beginning of February I had to miss school because of my grandpa's funeral. I was horribly sad and feeling down and I got a text from my teacher teamie.

That afternoon was our Student of the Month Assembly. The entire third, fourth and fifth grade was there. Along with the principal, counselor, aides and some parents too.

Our principal was handing in between handing out awards and it got pretty quiet.

Well my other teamie had a boy in his room that was quite unstable. He got angry quickly and lashed out of whoever was nearest during his episodes. This young man wound up sitting right next to our most immature third grader. This boy giggled, aggrevated and made messes in certain clothes of his.

Picture it... A lunch room that all of a sudden got quiet enough for everyone to hear across the room and Mr. Unstable bolts up and turns to Mr. Immature, points his finger and yells "F YOU!!!" at the top of his lungs.

The entire room got silent and he bursts into tears after realizing what he did.

Needless to say after the shock, we all found it quite funny and it brought me some much needed laughter on a very yucky day.

And that's that. My most memorable moment that none of us got to experience, but I know you can picture it! ;)

Love,

Heather

Me and TPT and Manic Monday

Hello!!

Can you hear it?

"School's out for the summer!"

This has been playing in my head all week! I'm LOVING summer vacation!

Now that I have the time, (well not really... my five year and eighteen month old are keeping me BUSY!) I have finally posted my first blog post and uploaded my first TPT product.

Happy Birthday To You!

A mini bulletin board set.

CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD! :)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Happy-Birthday-To-You-Mini-Bulletin-Board-Set

This set includes a header "Happy Birthday To You,"

a set of balloons for each month January-December,

and a set of black and white stars for your students to color and write their birthdays on!

How can you use this set?

Well...

You could use it as a mini bulletin board in your room to display your students birthdays

OR

How about as a supplement to your daily calendar routine?

You could display the current month's balloon on your calendar wall.

The stars are included just in case you don't want to laminate the balloons and write your student's birthdays directly on them.

I plan on printing out this set and putting it on display in my room for the upcoming year. I would just print it out and laminate it right this second but...

This is the current state my room is in.

I like to call it techie headquarters, or their lair.

It is FULL of ladders, tubes, wires, cups, hammers, shirts (yes, shirts), and lord only knows what else.

Well, I hope that you all go and download my very first product and that you find it useful in your classroom. Please let me know what you think and if you use it I would LOVE to see your pictures.

Until next time, which hopefully won't be too long. If it is blame my kiddos. :)

Love,

Heather