Helping Moore, Oklahoma!

All of my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Moore, Oklahoma but I want to do more. I will be donating 100% of all the sales from The Teaching Bank's store today, Saturday, May 25th to the American Red Cross to help the people of Moore pick up and rebuild.

Shop today, Saturday, May 25th and 100% of the sales will be donated to the American Red Cross.

Don't forget to check out the special bundle at Teacher's Notebook as another way to help.

Helping Moore, Oklahoma

As all of you, I have been watching the news of the unbelievable devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. The involvement of the schools, students, and teachers adds a whole other layer to the feelings of despair. As a teacher I can't imagine being in that position with my class, and as a parent I cannot imagine the feelings of helplessness the parents must feel waiting and searching for their children. Those teachers are true heroes, as are all the first responders and everyone else who went into the fray to help. All of my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Moore, Oklahoma but I want to do more. I would like to donate 100% of all the sales from The Teaching Bank's store on Saturday, May 25th to the American Red Cross to help the people of Moore pick up and rebuild.

Shop Saturday, May 25th and 100% of the sales will be donated to the American Red Cross.

There are some other wonderful collaborations going on at Teachers Pay Teachers to help raise funds for the people of Moore, OK. The teachers were so quick to donate products that I was unable to get into the group before it was full! I will be out of town so I will not be able to fully promote these wonderful sellers but I want you to watch for the opportunities to help by visiting TpT's Facebook Page for further information on how the community is helping.

I was able to get into the Teacher's Notebook donation. At the time of this writing there was nearly $1000 in donations from all the wonderful sellers. Check it out.

Don't forget to head over to The Teaching Bank's Store on Saturday, May 25th. I will donate 100% of the sales that day to the American Red Cross. You can have a chance to help and get something for your classroom.

Helping Moore, Oklahoma

Last Day! Don't Miss Out on the Big TpT Teacher Appreciation Sale!

Don't Miss the TpT Teacher Appreciation Sale!

What better way to celebrate all you wonderful teachers out there than with a bargain! Don't miss out! Through midnight Hawaiian time tonight, Wednesday, May 8th, every item in The Teaching Bank's store has been marked down 20%! In addition to that 20% Teachers Pay Teachers is offering a coupon code good for an additional 10% off your order! Use code TAD13 at checkout!

Check out some items to make the rest of the year run more smoothly or get a head start on next year's planning!

But most of all thank you for everything that you do every day for your wonderful students. They may not show their appreciation very often but what you do each and every day touches their hearts and makes a difference in their lives!

Teacher Appreciation Sale!

The TpT Teacher Appreciation Sale is here!

What better way to celebrate all you wonderful teachers out there than with a bargain! Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7th - Wednesday, May 8th, every item in The Teaching Bank's store has been marked down 20%! In addition to that 20% Teachers Pay Teachers is offering a coupon code good for an additional 10% off your order! Use code TAD13 at checkout!

Check out some items to make the rest of the year run more smoothly or get a head start on next year's planning!

But most of all thank you for everything that you do every day for your wonderful students. They may not show their appreciation very often but what you do each and every day touches their hearts and makes a difference in their lives!

Teacher Appreciation Week is Here!

Teacher Appreciation Week is here!

What better way to celebrate all you wonderful teachers out there than with a bargain! For the whole week, Saturday, May 4th- Friday, May 10th, every item in The Teaching Bank's store has been marked down 20%! In addition to that 20% Teacher's Notebook will deduct another 10% off your order! So get some items to make the rest of the year run more smoothly or get a head start on next year's planning!

Every day during the sale you can enter to win a $100 gift certificate to Oriental Trading Company! Make sure to enter everyday for your chance to win!

But most of all thank you for everything that you do every day for your wonderful students. They may not show their appreciation very often but what you do each and every day touches their hearts and makes a difference in their lives!

School's Almost Out! Blog Hop and Giveaway!

The words "school's almost out" bring joy to many student and teacher's ears! We all start to get restless as that calendar turns and the days start counting down, along with the new warmth of spring making us want to be outside and not in! The end of the school year was always bittersweet for me because like many of you I was ready for that break, but many of my kids would be apprehensive about the end of the school year. I taught in an inner city school and my 4th graders brought with them many challenges from the neighborhood. School was the one true place many of them could feel safe and just "be kids". Many of the kids, especially the girls, in my class had a lot of responsibility at home in helping care for younger siblings. School was a place they could come and get 2 hot meals served to them and only have to take care of themselves. As we neared the end of the year I would see the mood in my students conflicted with excitement for the upcoming summer, but also a sort of a dread at missing their "stable" place.

To combat these feelings I would do a lot of group activities. We were always a family in my classroom and as we neared the end we worked and played together as a family. We would create a yearbook of favorite memories and sign each other's books with comments and anecdotes of the past year. Even though I kept the behavior and classroom management as consistent as I could I would veer off the course on a nice sunny, spring day and we'd all head outside for a classroom game of kickball, me included! It's amazing how much the kids enjoyed having me participate in their kickball game. I have to admit I enjoyed it just as much! ;)

Best advice I have for that "school's almost out" time is to keep things consistent but be cognizant of how the students may be feeling about the year ending. Their feelings may be a bit conflicted and sometimes you just need to put down those lesson plans and head out in the sun for a game of kickball!

I've created a free activity that you can use to help your students bring the year to a close and yet still feel connected to your classroom.

Future Student Letter ~ End of the Year Activity is a fun activity to fill time during the end of the year slump. These letters also translate into back to school fun for the new students who get to read the letters on the first day of school!

To help you with those end of the year issues I have joined into a blog hop with some fantastic teachers and bloggers who have some great ideas for this special end of the year time. Please hop over to all the blogs and check them out!

Once you land on The Lesson From The Middle Blog you will be able to enter the giveaway for the following products:

• Editable Teacher Binder

• Time Flies - End of Year Literacy Activities

• Class Votes Awards Kit

• End-of-the-Year New-Year-Introduction-Student-Brochure-Project

• Seasonal Demand Writing Prompt Bundled Set

• Traditional Lit versus Fractured Fairy Tale

• Combining Like Terms - Quick Review

• Alien Text Talk Full Year Daily Language Practice ~ Grammar, Spelling

• Measurement Wars Bundle

• Fun with Probability

• 20 Figurative Language Posters

• Create a SMART Goal Board

• Plus: Choice of any 3 items in the hosts' TPT Stores and a $35 Amazon gift card!

  Hop over and check it all out!