Ultimate "Middle Years" Back to School Giveaway/Blog Hop!

ARE YOU READY?  Krystal Mills, Lessons from the Middle, and I have teamed up for The Ultimate 

"Middle Years" 

Giveaway  
and Blog Hop! 
GOING BACK FULLY STASHED!

$300 worth of donations will be given away! 

You're going to love what we have put together for you!!! It's great to connect with such a great group of middle grade teachers and bloggers, gaining new ideas, activities, lessons, tips, etc.! After you see what all has been offered below, you'll find our Rafflecopter Giveaway widget to enter for your chance to win a collection of awesome resources for your new year! Below are the "OH SO SWEET AND GENEROUS" Teacher Bloggers who have helped make this such a spectacular giveaway!

  

$15 to Spend in Addie's TpT Store!

EVERY PRICED item in Elizabeth's 
Fun in Room 4B TpT Store for FREE! 

$5 Spree in Heidi's TpT Store

Kristen Bowers' 101 Writing Prompts for Fall!

$10 Shopping Spree in Madame Aiello's TpT Store!

SciPi's Halloween Fraction Riddles

Homophones: Lessons, Homework, Tests, Writing Shopping Spree in Andrea's TPT Store for $10
$15 Shopping Spree in Hojo's TPT Store

$10 shopping spree to TPT store Liz's Lessons


 $20 shopping spree in Tracee Orman's TPT Store

Adrianne's Integer Elevator Game

$10 Shopping Spree in Michelle's Making It Teacher's TPT Store

Loriana Romano, Elita Saulle, and Lisa Papa have donated
 "Your Essential Teacher Binder" 
Classroom Organization Kit (of choice)

Michelle's Dear Mr. Henshaw Comprehension Question Packet

Lacie's Data & Probability Scoot Game Jennifer's Survival of the Fittest Bear Hunt Game 1 Item of Choice from Joy's TpT store!

Any 3 Items from Lori's TPT store!

$15  Shopping Spree in Amy's TpT Store!

Your Choice: 1 Item from Science Penguin's Store!

Kim's Making Numbers-Warm Up Math Activity

E-Motive Teaching! Winner's Choice: 1 of Deborah's Free 

TED Talks Viewing Guides!

Kristine's Classroom Procedures to Teach!

25 Frames Clipart from Oxana's Store!! 

$10 Worth of Products from Teresa's TpT Store!

$15 Shopping Spree in Lauren's TN Store!

Pre-Teen School Friends Clip Art Set by The 3AM Teacher

$25 Shopping Spree to Innovative Connections' TpT Store!

$25 Shopping Spree to Lessons from the Middle's TpT Store!

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Visit my Blog Buddy and ULTIMATE "MIDDLE YEARS" GIVEAWAY/BLOG HOP PARTNER at Lessons from the Middle! Let Krystal know you stopped by and entered this ultimate giveaway!! 

You will love her blog anyway, if you are not already familiar with it. Be sure to subscribe via email and networked blogs so you don't miss out on awesome posts regarding middle grade classroom ideas, tips, activities, lessons! You can bet she'll provide her readers/followers with valuable information to take to the classroom!

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AND THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED!!!!
NOTE: THOSE HAVING COMPLETED BLOG HOP CHALLENGE NEED TO WATCH EMAIL INBOX OR SPAM BOX FOR YOUR VIRTUAL GOODIE BAG!!!!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS A SPECTACULAR EVENT!
Winners will be contacted via email! ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In addition to the giveaway, this is also a BLOG HOP!! Every blog you hop to will be featuring another fabulous middle grade blog! You'll have quite a list of "FAVS"  when you are done checking them out! Don't you love a good excuse to blog stalk?

For those eager to take on and complete the BLOG HOP CHALLENGE, we've put together a pretty cool stash of resources to give you--THANKS to the outstanding bloggers who have been SO gracious to donate to this event! I hope you are pumped. I am!! If you like incorporating new and exiting ideas and resources into your daily lessons, or just like to find out about other great teaching blogs, I challenge you!! 

Blog Hop Challenge Form 

Below are all blogs in the blog hop! Now, get to hopping!!

KinderKay of Love Those Kinders, Innovative Teacher-Author and Back to School Freebie!

Learn a little bit about this fabulous teacher-author-blogger!! 

Welcome, KinderKay!

Classroom Experience:

I have been teaching for 24 years! Wow! It is hard to believe that many years have gone by! I taught second grade for 7 years and thought that was the perfect grade for me. Then my children came along and I became a stay at home Mom which I thought I would be doing for the rest of my life. But this was not to be the case! One evening as I was finishing up the dishes, I received a phone call from our priest. He told me that he wanted to start a kindergarten and that he wanted ME to be the first teacher. Now get this.... It was June and he wanted it going by August! There was nothing - no books, no table, no chairs, not even a classroom! He had ordered a portable classroom that hadn't even arrived yet! Yikes! Only a crazy person would take this job, right?? Well, I took it and here I am.... 18 years later and LOVING it! Since then, we have built a new wing for our kindergarten and I now reside in what the rest of the school calls "the palace!"

Valuable info learned...beneficial to teachers/teacher-authors, bloggers: Oh gosh, since joining TPT in June of 2011, my whole teaching life has been transformed! Before becoming a part of TPT, I thought I was a good teacher, but I didn't realize how sheltered I had become. Some of it, of course, was from teaching in a private school. But much of it was from the fact that the only teachers in which I shared experiences with were from our local area. I am not saying that I did not grow as a teacher, but being able to bounce ideas off of other teachers from around the country (and other countries) has enabled me to become more focused on the changing needs of my students. When I started a blog in January of 2012, I found even more of an opportunity to improve myself as a professional. For example, I participated in a book study this summer with other kindergarten teachers as we explored how to implement the Daily 5 into our literacy curriculum. My blog gave me the opportunity to learn this new skill and now my students will benefit from the knowledge that I have gained!

Advice for a beginning or veteran teacher?
Be flexible and accept the fact that your students may know more than you know! Instead of getting upset about this, rejoice in it! As teachers it is our job to inspire and guide, but after we have done that, we have to let our students turn our lesson into something that becomes their own!


Great ideas, lessons, or pieces of advice learned from other blog(s): I have learned so much from SO MANY blogs! There are so many really, really GOOD teaching blogs around! I guess the thing that I have learned the most from all of them is how to organize my classroom. Being able to find materials when needed has always been a weakness of mine, so reading blogs that show how to organize a classroom have been so helpful. The biggest help I have received, I think, are the classroom library bin labels. I am presently re-designing my library and these labels will come in SO handy!

A Freebie KinderKay Has Chosen to Share! 
I have quite a few freebies to offer! I really believe in sharing and also love FREE things myself!Here is one for Back to School...

KinderKay's Online store---Check it Out!
Teachers Pay Teachers

Helpful Hints for Classroom:

Hmmm... This is hard, but I think the thing that makes me unique is how I try to bring Art into our everyday curriculum. I truly believe that children learn by doing and with all the curriculum changes that are occurring in our nation, the arts have slowly been replaced. So in order to give my students a taste of the world around them, I encourage them to use pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, and paint in their daily activities. For example, instead of giving them a printed worksheet of a plant to color and label, I show them how to DRAW the flower and then label its parts. Instead of giving them a pattern to trace and color, I show them how to create their picture using simple shapes and step-by-step illustrations. When children create their own illustrations, learning becomes real for them and they feel some ownership in their school journey.

Something cool, weird, funny about you, OUTSIDE the classroom: Let's see...My husband thinks I am weird because I like to eat sweet pickles wrapped in cheese and I put ketchup on my scrambled eggs! I take water aerobics classes and love lakes and boating even though I am petrified of water! I am afraid of cows even though my husband is a farmer and has a herd of them! I can sit hours watching the birds in my bird feeder! I love to use drawing and cutting in many of my lessons. I would so much rather sew, paint, draw, cut, or work in my garden than do household chores - yuck! :) My favorite vacation is spending a few days enjoying Lake Michigan!

Connect with KinderKay...

I just started a Facebook page in June and have no idea how to use it yet! But, This is what keeps our brain active, correct? Learning new things!

Visit KinderKay on Facebook! 

Here is my Pinterest link! 

I love Pinterest! 

_________________

I would like to say THANKS to Cindy, for sharing her ideas and freebie with us!  Be sure to swing by her blog, Love Those Kinders, and/or her store to see all of the other teaching resources she has! Please leave a comment below to let her know you stopped by and picked up some helpful info and her awesome free download! Show some love! 
Oh, I must also admit, I love Pinterest TOO, just like KinderKay!!!

Do you have a favorite idea, tip, or activity that you've found on another blog? Share it below!! We love to find and share new ideas, so give us one--maybe the blog name if you remember too!

It's TPT Back to School Sale Time!!!

Jump on over to Teachers Pay Teachers and pack your cart full of the teaching resources you need for the new school year! It's TPT's Back 2 School Sale for 2012! This year's sale runs August 12th and 13th!! You can get up to 28% off resources for all grade levels and subject areas! 

You'll find all digital products in my store are on sale for 20% off, plus you get the additional discount at checkout when you enter the Promo Code: BTS12 for a total of 28% savings! 

What items are you most eager to purchase?? Tell me what's on the top of your list---from any store!! :) 

Gosh, shopping is so much fun!! 

P.S. In case you didn't know, TPT now accepts Purchase Orders!! 

That's a great new feature! Go make your list!

And, Thanks to The 3AM Teacher for creating this cute graphic for us!

Happy Back 2 School Shopping,

A. Smith

August Currently, Back to School...

I appreciate the "moment of silence" from Farley's "Currently" post for those of us that have returned to school after a short summer! Thanks, Farley!

Now, for AUGUST! What??? For the first time, I waited until the last minute to go to my classroom to set up---day before workshop! Not a smart move! The last three days have been so long. I can't believe how exhausting it is---Brain Overload!!

Now, for the August Currently....

Here is the Book that is the #1 B2S must have---I love this book! I linked the picture to a site for you to read more about it! It's our "book study" for professional development!

And, I want to create a toolbox just like the ones I've been seeing, such as Stephanie's at Teaching in Room 6! In fact, check it out on her Currently post!

Stinkin' Cute Huh??

Be sure to swing by Oh Boy Fourth Grade to see all the other "Currently" link ups for August and you can add your own!!
So, what are your Back to School MUST HAVES?? I'd love to know! 

Back to School Project: Making Personalized Student Journals

Show Some Personality: Personalize a Student Journal for Using All Year and Present Your Journal to the Class!

CLASSMATES GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER Through the presentations!
Students Decorate a Journal to Display Everything About Their Personalities! This is like an "All About Me" project but in the decor on journal covers! It's fun, creative, and successful. This is a project my students do, and I even did it too...

This goes with any subject or grade that has any type of journal writing or literature response type writing. (It is Not limited to Language Arts!) 
Student Handouts also come with a Sample Journal Picture, Step by Step Instructions with Diagrams, A Suggestion List for Journal Decor, and requirements
This freebie is complete with instructions to make a journal or doing this project with a binder. 
The entire point of the homemade journal is for students to think about what makes them "Unique!" AND---to have a personalized journal to write in all year long!

Show Some Personality: Journal Project