Fourth of July Blog Hop

Greetings friends and fans of fireworks, fun, and family picnics!

Welcome to our 4th of July Blog Hop!  I hope that you have plans to celebrate your holiday weekend in a festive way! I hope that you enjoy collecting all of the freebies my fellow bloggers have prepared, and be sure to enter the great giveaway we've organized for you using the Rafflecopter at the end of this post! 















I am also hosting another giveaway on my Facebook page today for a $10 TpT gift certificate so be sure to stop by to "like" the post and leave a comment with your e-mail there for a chance to win a shopping spree!  It is the Day 2 prize in my HAPPINESS IS....picnic basket full of my favorite things.  Consider it my way of showing my appreciation for your part in helping me "grow" this year!





 Feel free to tag a Facebook friend and "share" as well!  
I will announce the winner on Saturday evening!














Many of the free resources you will collect today are patriotic in theme or designed to help you start your school year off with a colorful and possibly star-spangled bang!  Before I share how I use mine in my classroom, I must first take a moment to honor all those who have already or are currently serving and protecting our country.  My respect and gratitude goes out to all of them, especially my nephew, Jason, who is an U.S. Army Captain.  After three tours, countless base trainings, and twelve years invested as an ROTC instructor, he is HOME safely and ready to return to civilian life--raising his young son, finding employment in the private sector, traveling to see friends in faraway places, and enjoying time with our extended family.  

"Jay-Man" was my first nephew, and will therefore always be my favorite.  His dry sense of humor, steadfast loyalty, and willingness to help and problem-solve in any situation will serve him well as he walks a new path, and I wish him well on his journey.  To paraphrase the poetry of Robert Frost and incorporate words my father shared with me when my "road diverged in a distant wood and I took the one less traveled by".....

"We are with you, Jay...."

Here is a picture of him in his captain's uniform, as well as a picture of my father, who was a soldier in World War II.  J.R. is the one on the far right in this infamous picture of "The Boney Brothers."











The sample product I am featuring today is a set of  
Salute to Citizenship 
posters that is designed to help you develop and establish a classroom learning community that is friendly, positive, cooperative, and collaborative.  













I introduce one  "WE CAN" statement per day at the beginning of the school year, and share related picture books by Helen Lester, Leo Lionni, Arnold Lobel, and Kevin Henkes to help reinforce the important and desired social skills for my second graders.  Some of my favorites are listed on the product's "Teacher Tip" page for your use!

After reading and discussing the lessons learned in these stories, I ask the group to share real life examples of each "We can be...." statement.  I then invite student pairs to help me role play and improvise short skits to model what each behavior should look and sound like and what it should not look and sound like.  




I also use these cut out stars labeled with the key words and concepts we are learning about to prompt student discussions about our "We Can" statements, and ask them to share real-life examples or situations for each one. 





My school counselor also comes in once a week throughout the first quarter to lead "Second Step" lessons that help teach problem-solving skills that students can use in case they encounter verbal or physical bullying. Experience has taught me that this time spent reviewing "life skills" during the first weeks of school is truly worthy and valuable, and usually leads to a very caring, courteous, supportive, and stress-free learning environment.

The posters can either be printed full-size, laminated, and displayed on a wall or bulletin board.  They can also be slipped inside plastic page protectors and kept in a three-ring binder for easy referral.   Printing four to a sheet and laminating each poster before putting them on a binder ring is another way to keep them handy or make individualized reminders for students who need them!  You can download this product from my TpT store {HERE}

Thank you in advance for leaving helpful feedback!



Know that your continued faith in and patronage of our blogs, stores, Facebook pages, and Pinterest boards is very much appreciated!  You will find my social media buttons underneath the flag-waving dog "blinkie" in the top-fight corner of this page, so be sure to use them to stay connected and receive notifications of sales, new products, more free resources, and giveaways!  

The fun icon is courtesy of Barbara over at  




The graphics featured in this holiday series of posts spotlight
the designs of these talented artists!  Thank you in advance
for patronizing their TpT stores!




As always, thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to continue on through the map below to collect more wonderful resources and complete the Rafflecopter for a chance to win some great gift cards.  The first four winners will receive $25 TpT gift cards, and the fifth winner will receive a $10 Target gift card! 

Know that I wish you the best as you teach on, share your story, hold a song in your heart, and wave a sparkler or two for the red, white, and blue!









a Rafflecopter giveaway

22 comments

  1. For the fourth of July this year I am planning on going to visit my grandparents and watch the Brazil World Cup Game!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like fun, Sarah! Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your holiday!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  2. Fourth of July plans include spending much needed time with the family, cooking out, roasting marshmallows, then finishing off with the fireworks downtown =)

    Thank you for the opportunity to win this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like lots of fun, Chanda! Thanks for commenting and enjoy your day! I am off to a friend's pool party after I watch some of Wimbledon with my sister!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  3. These posters are great for back to school, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome, Nancy! I hope to add more sets as I find time this summer! It is going by too quickly!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
    2. Glad you like them, Nancy! You are most welcome!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  4. I traveled to upstate NY to spend the long weekend with my parents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The 4th is a great time to hang out with family! Hope it was a fun day!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  5. We are spending the weekend with at home! The local parade, going to the lake and skiing, watching the fireworks from our front yard, eating A LOT of food, listening to the kids play in the backyard~ all good summertime fun!! LOVE all the amazing freebies! So much fun to 'surf' through them! Thank you to everyone!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sounds like your holiday was full of family, food, and fun! Yay! So glad you enjoyed the blog hop! It is great fun to put together and participate! There are so many talented teacher-bloggers involved!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  6. Thanks so much for a wonderful post! I loved reading about your nephew.
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind words, Laura! My nephew holds a special place in my heart, that's for sure!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  7. I really enjoyed reading your post today. Your post was so patriotic and I enjoyed learning about your nephew. Your resource was the bomb!
    Sebrina
    Burke's Special Kids

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind compliments, Sebrina! This hop has been so much fun! I'm glad you liked the Salute To Citizenship poster set! Hooray for patriotism and positive choices!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  8. Great post- colorful, patriotic and fun! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the poster freebie! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind words, Jennifer! Glad you liked the posters! My holiday was fun and restful! Hope yours was too!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  9. My Kinder students benefit from repeated problem solving from Second Step also. These posters will be a fabulous addition to my classroom! Thanks!

    Kay

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't you just love the Second Step program, Kay?! I think my second graders get a lot out of it! I'm glad you like the posters! Enjoy!
      ~Jennifer

      Delete
  10. What a wonderful post and tribute to our country and servicemen and women! Hope you had a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would love to have the blog set. I am wanting to get into blogging but haven't a clue. Thanks for the chance.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the writing for the Holidays because I think it's so important to add kindness and thinking of others during our hectic Christmas celebrations. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LIGHT-UP-THE-HOLIDAYS-WRITING-PROMPTS-TO-PROMOTE-CLASSROOM-KINDNESS-1011866 I love writing and combining writing with something to help them build character and think on a deeper level.

    ReplyDelete