Motivational Monday {Linky}

Happy Monday everyone!

How simple is this?

Source: loladee.com via Anna on Pinterest

There are some amazingly big hearts out there.  You know who you are.

Source: homebasedbusinessprogram.com via Ben on Pinterest

And every teacher needs a little chocolate.

What keeps you motivated?

Did anyone else know this??

I was reading this book out loud to my kids the other day:

And I had no idea that there were 5 members of the Bear family now!  Honey is the newest member!  Did anyone else know this or have I just been totally out of the loop??

Anyways, I've created a Social Studies project for my students.  In the past, we have done the Flat Stanley project.  It's a lot of work and my students loved it, but I decided to switch it up this year.  We participated in a Postcard Exchange with some lovely bloggers out there!

I haven't told my students that we have received some of our postcards yet.  I plan to pick up a small mailbox from Hobby Lobby and have 1 or 2 cards "delivered" each day.  I'm so excited about it!

I created student booklets to record the info for each state.

We used these to research our own states:

     

Want your own copy of any of these products?  Just click on the pictures!

 I can't wait to start delivering their postcards!

Teachers for Teresa

I’m sure it is rare if there is anyone out there reading this post who has not heard of Teachers Pay Teachers, better known as TPT.  Not only is it a great site for teachers to share their wonderful teaching ideas, it is also a place of true heartfelt kinship with other teachers and many of the teachers form virtual bonds with each other in friendship.  This is one of those times.

One of my best friends, 2nd grade teaching buddy, fellow blogger and TPTer is in CCU in Atlanta with critical medical issues. 

I asked for all of my wonderful friends on TPT to help pray for her.  Prayers have been sent up for Teresa from all over the world.  I truly believe that prayer can bring about miracles and Teresa is certainly in need of prayers.

These very wonderful and special teachers then began asking, "What can we do to help?"

Out of their love and concern came

Teresa has pulmonary hypertension and is experiencing complications. She loves teaching and has a wonderful sense of humor that keeps us all smiling. The most important thing we can all do for her, is to offer prayers on her behalf. Financially, you can help by purchasing one of the below packages. All of these items have been donated by her fellow TPT colleagues who wish to help across the world.

If you visit Teresa's blog you will see she LOVES all things piggy...hence all the pigs! :-)

You can also view her great products on her TPT store.

We know how medical bills can quickly become astronomical, especially when in the Critical Care Unit. Therefore, we are offering you some wonderful deals in exchange for donations.

We have a HUGE pack of goodies in return for your donation of $25.

This is a value of $115.

You will receive all of these items via e-mail when you purchase.

After you purchase, please complete this google document so that I can e-mail your TPT units to you.

Click on each picture to see more information about the products.

In addition, several teachers have joined in another collaborative effort to form a piggy unit (Teresa's favorite kind).  This unit is available on my store for $10.  All proceeds will also be given to Teresa to help with financial needs.

Thank you so much for your donations.  I really appreciate it, but most of all, keep those prayers going!

Thank you

Mini-Vaca to Georgia!

Last weekend, my husband and I, along with my parents and grandmother visited Atlanta, Georgia for the weekend.  All I have to say is, y'all have a pretty city!  We went to down to visit my brother who is doing an internship with the Atlanta Hawks.  We saw as many sights as we could in three days.  Check it out!

We went to an Atlanta Hawks game...

and got to meet some of the team at the after-party!

They make me look short and they aren't even the tallest players!  I also met Dikembe Mutombo, but he  didn't seem to be in a picture taking mood.  My husband was excited to meet the cheerleaders (I got to hold their pompoms!) but that picture didn't come out for some reason.

We went to the World of Coca-Cola - so cool!

I did not try all 64 flavors of Coca-Cola, but my husband and brother came close!

And the aquarium, which is hands-down, the best one I've ever been to.

We visited Stone Mountain, but the Skyride was down :(

Still, very beautiful!

We went on the CNN Studio Tour.

It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to visit again!

On the plane ride there and and back, I got a jump on Thanksgiving!

I made some games for my students to play in class before we go on Thanksgiving Break.

Check it out:

{TpT}

{TN}

I Have a Question...

So today was an exciting crazy day.  It snowed!  Actually it's still snowing, see?

I didn't have time to change my fall decorations before the season changed, apparently!

Ok, now I have a question.

With the Common Core, it's really being stressed that we integrate the subjects we teach.  We need to use social studies/science in reading and writing and vice versa.  I was struggling a tad with this.

Then...lightbulb!  After reading all of your wonderful, wonderful blogs, I realized that so many of you do this by having theme weeks (if there is a different term for that, let me know).   I love how you do a "bat week" before Halloween or an "apple week" around Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  I want to try this!  

But...

How does it all work??  I've never been in a classroom that has done theme weeks before.  What kinds of activities do you do?  Where do you get your materials?  Is every week a theme week?

My goal is to get this up and running before Christmas.  I am hoping that it will keep me more organized and give me some direction with my teaching.  Sometimes I feel as though I am grasping for ideas at the last minute.  I am also hoping this is something I will be able to carry over from year to year.  I am looking to make learning more fun (and meaningful) for my students!

I'm off to explore some more blogs to research this.  Do you do this in your classroom?  Let me know how it works or if you can direct me towards some teachers who do!  Thank you, thank you!

P.S. ~ I hit 1000 followers - yay!  Expect something soon...