Welcome Friends! Thanks for joining me and three blogger buddies from I Teach K-2 for some giveaway fun!  We've rounded up some fabulous titles that primary grade students are sure to love reading again and again!  ...

Hello Friends! I'm so glad you are making your way through our blog hop to read through the terrific teacher tips, gather the letters that spell out a secret message, download the fabulous freebies, and enter all of the great giveaways at every stop! Our hop is a 3…2…1… BACK TO SCHOOL BASH  because each member of The Primary Pack will be giving you  3 teacher tips,  2 giveaways (one on each of our blogs and one BIG one on the Primary Pack),  and  1 freebie! To enter our BIG giveaway, you need to head over to THE PRIMARY PACK first! As you "hop" through our blogs, you will collect a letter from each of us… 28 total. Those letters spell out a secret code that you need.  You will use the secret code to enter the Rafflecoptor on The Primary Pack at the end of the hop. You need to collect the letters from us IN ORDER, so please make sure that you start from the beginning of our hop. Click on the button below to head over to THE PR......

The countdown continues my friends..... Eight more days. Seven really. My school's Open House is Monday, Aug. 17th. My classroom is still in  a state of set-up chaos at the moment, but it will be ready by the time 26 eager little learners walk through the door to begin their new learning adventure.   One of the things they will see upon entering Room #2 is a tie-dye reading corner where  Pete the Cat will be "rocking in his school shoes."   They'll see endless bins full of books-- waiting to be read.   They'll see my guitar-- ready to be played at our daily sing-a-long time. They'll see me--smiling and giving welcoming hugs--ready to love each one of them for all the reasons that make them special. They'll also see this Focus Wall that spotlights our learning targets for Reading, Writing, and Math. Consider it a gift from my classroom to yours.   Click {HERE} to d......

Hello Friends! Thanks for stopping by as I take another walk down memory lane before introducing one of my newest ideas!  In my best Junie B. journal-writing style, let me share this personal story. WHY I MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT BIRTHDAYS by Jennifer Reynolds Elementary Teacher My Mom always made a huge fuss about my birthday when I was growing up.   Even though it fell 12 days before Christmas when time and money were tight.   She always made sure to provide a thoughtful and usually homemade gift, donut cake in a holiday shape from a local shop, and chocolate milk bought in glass bottles from the corner Sterling's store. Fun games were planned with a few friends from school, and a grand time was usually enjoyed by all.  Well, except for when I turned eight and she put trick candles on my cake that would not blow out and made me cry!  Luckily, that lesson was learned and and happy celebrations followed  year-after-year!  ......

Happy Friday! Are you ready to shop 'til you drop?  Then head over to The Primary Pack blog to click through our current store sale link-up!  It's never too early to stock up for next year, or grab a few fun activities you can use if you are still in school!  Thanks to Kelly & Kim's Kreations for hosting!  If you are a TpT seller, be sure to join the party! Two products from my store that you might like include this set of  CLASSROOM LIBRARY POSTERS!   Be sure to check out the coordinated  READING AND MATH FOCUS WALL FREEBIE as well!  Thank you in advance for leaving some feedback love if you download them! Be sure to check out my newest set of   SLICE OUT OF SUMMER prompts and coordinated ANCHOR CHART ACCENTS !   They are sure to help you students enjoy some juicy writing! Know that your continued support of my store and blog makes my h......

Happy "Lesson Planning Sunday" Friends! On the eve of Teacher Appreciation Week, I am just dropping in to link up with my my friend Angie from Mrs. Olson's Lucky Little Learners to share a FREE template that I hope will help you communicate more effectively and positively with your parent community!  After you've downloaded it, be sure to hop over to her blog to read about all of her fabulous ideas and link up with your own! I try to send home these weekly newsletters every Monday to keep families informed and involved as my partners in education.  A child who is mentored at home is going to be more successful in school, and providing parents with specific tips and ideas on how to help their son or daughter in each subject area has proven to be very effective for me over the course of my 23-year teaching career. Be sure to grab the complete, 10-page editable PowerPoint file  {HERE}! You can also read more about how I......