Congratulations to the Winners!

A great big THANK YOU to all those who entered my fun little giveaway!  You can check out the original post {HERE}.  Congratulations to Katie Jenkins, Casey Turner, and Linda Kamp who are the winners!  Yes, I did pick THREE winners instead of just one.  I have just emailed all three of you the three products below!

If you entered and didn't win, you can still check out the three products in my TPT Store!  Have a great Friday!  FIVE, yes that's right, FIVE more days of school for me!  Yippee!!

Let me add a real quick note:  YES, I am creating a June/July Common Core Writing Unit just like my others.  I have had many requests from you sweet year-round schoolers, so I have one in the works for ya.  It should be up on TPT this weekend sometime.  Thanks for all the sweet requests!  :)

End of the Year Giveaway!

Who's ready for summer?!  We only have 8 more days left of school and I am SO ready to soak up the sun!  So, I thought I'd throw a little giveaway to add some fun to the last few weeks of school!  It's easy to enter through the Rafflecopter below and you can win ALL 3 products you see: May Common Core Writing Activities, Summer-Themed Math and Literacy Centers, and my End-of-Year Classroom Achievement Awards!  Just what you need to get you through!  If you own all of these, but still want to enter and win, you can choose any other item from my store.  There are 5 easy chances to win and I will announce the winner Thursday at 8:00 pm CST.  Good Luck - enter below!  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teacher Appreciation TPT Sale

This is quick post to remind you of the amazing sale that is still going on at TPT.  In case you haven't heard (where have you been?) many, many sellers are offering 20% off of their stores PLUS if you use the code TAD13 at checkout you will receive an additional 10% off of everything in my store!  Awesome!  So head on over to my TPT store and check it out!

Side Note: Doesn't this picture just make your heart happy?!  I LOVE new pens!  Follow me on Instagram to see more random snapshots like this :)

OK, focus, focus... Back to the subject at hand...

Many of you are using this sale to stock up on all of my Monthly Common Core Writing Packs - brilliant idea!  Get them while they're cheap, my friends - no shame :)  I'm also winding down my school year, so I'm thinking more along the lines of May Writing, Award Day, and Summer Break - don't judge!  If you are in the same frame of mind, check out the products below to make your last few weeks a little easier!  Click on the pictures to check them out on my TPT Store!

 

  

I appreciate all of the support you've shown me during the TPT sale!  The feedback you all are leaving is phenomenal!  Happy Teacher Appreciation WEEK to all of you!  :)

TPT Sale and a Fabulous Feedback Linky

Fab button design by Beth at Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!  If you're like every other teacher in the world, you're not told often enough just how much you are appreciated, so tons of sellers have come together and are offering up to 28% off our ENTIRE TPT store to show our appreciation!  Don't forget to use the discount code TAD13 at checkout to get the full 28% off!  Now that's a great deal!  Join me May 7th and May 8th as I clean out my wish list and get all stocked up for next year!  You can find my TPT Store {HERE} or click on the button below.

In other news, I'm linking up with Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge for a fun linky party highlighting some Fabulous Feedback from some sweet buyers of our products.  An added bonus: If you see your TPT username and feedback featured on my blog post, you will get ONE product of your choice for FREE from my TPT Store!  So make sure to check out everyone else's post too to see if your feedback was featured!  I really do appreciate each and every person who takes the time to leave sweet feedback in my store.  I really do read every single one!  :)

See some of my Fabulous Feedback below.  Each one of these buyers made me smile :)  Click on the images to check out the product for yourself in my store.

Backgrounds by Ashley Hughes, Frames by The Enlightened Elephant, Fonts by Kimberly Geswein Fonts

Remember, if you see your TPT username and feedback featured above, please leave me a comment on this blog post with your email address and a product of your choice from my store and I'll send it to you for FREE!  My way of saying, "I appreciate YOU!"  :)

Teachers are Taking Over Instagram!

Well, I have jumped on the bandwagon and created an Instagram account for 2nd Grade Stuff.  Apparently all the cool kids are doing it!  I honestly have NO idea what I'm doing and I've uploaded a total of 3 photos so far and have zero followers.  Again, I don't even know what that means!  LOL!  But I do know that teachers are going to take over the Instagram World on Tuesdays using the hashtag #teachertalktuesday...whatever that means!  Click on the picture below to find out more.  :)

If you're interested in joining in on the fun, you can follow me on Instagram {HERE}.  You can also just search for the username 2ndgradestuff from your Instagram app on your phone or tablet and follow me.

Make sure to click on the picture above to find out more, link up, and join in on the fun!  I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually and add it to my list of technology addictions!  Wish me luck!  ;-)

Fun with my Cameo and New Units

Well, today I decided to finally get my Silhouette Cameo out of the box!  I have had the sweet little gem since November, but just seriously haven't had the time to even open the thing, much less figure out how to use it.  After hours of playing today, I'm pretty sure I still have no idea how to use it, but I did manage to pump out some fun vinyl lettering!  If you "Like" my 2nd Grade Stuff Facebook Page, you have already seen these fun little creations!

Background by Ashley Hughes, Frame by The Enlightened Elephant, and Fonts by Kimberly Geswein.

Now let me explain how I plan to use each of the fun little creations in the classroom.

1. The first thing I made with the black vinyl was lettering to go on my drawers that I keep by my desk.  You see, in a teacher's world, there is grading, copying, and filing, and it happens all day every day and it never ever stops.  Paper piles drive me crazy, so my drawers keep me somewhat sane in the paperwork craziness.  I think the drawers are pretty self-explanatory and this (I'm sure) is not a new idea!  I did remove the cute scrapbook paper that I once had used to decorate the fronts of the drawers because I really needed to be able to see in.  I noticed that I had a tendency to forget things, because I couldn't see in because of the cute scrapbook paper.  So, not as cute, but more functional!

2. Next, I made vinyl lettering for my Kiss Your Brain jar!  Whenever a student gives a great answer or makes an awesome discovery, I always tell them to "kiss their brain" and then I throw them a chocolate kiss!  They absolutely love it and grin ear-to-ear when they get to "kiss their brain".  So this just makes it a little cuter than the pink basket they were in!

3. Finally, I used the same style jar and made a Bubble Gum Group jar.  Now this is something super special in my classroom.  Every day at the end of the day, I choose a bubble gum group.  This is the group that packs up all their belongings, picks up their table area, and gets to the carpet as quickly as they can, and of course as quietly as they can!  Right before the bell rings, I pick the bubble gum group.  It works wonders for a quiet dismissal time!  I also pick a bubble gum group randomly throughout the day possibly during ELA or Math centers.  This really encourages the groups to work efficiently and quietly.  You would be amazed what the kiddos will do for a piece of bubble gum!

I really had fun with my Cameo today.  Next project: I plan to cut out some cute bulletin board letters with some more KG Fonts!  I'll post more pics when I do.

While you're here, let me remind you of my May Common Core Writing Activities that are now in my TPT Store.  Once again, you can practice the 3 main types of writing found in the Common Core Standards PLUS shared research writing, also found in the CCSS.  They are appropriate for Grades 1-4 and offer fun, authentic, themed writing prompts.  Each prompt includes a task page, a graphic organizer, and publishing paper with both primary and intermediate lines for differentiation purposes.

In the May Common Core Writing Pack, your students will be writing their opinion on whether students need a summer break or if year-round school would be a better option.  The students will also be writing an informative article explaining and describing the parts of a flower and their importance.  In the narrative piece, students will be writing about their favorite memory of the school year so far (which every student can easily relate to).  Finally as a shared research writing piece, students will be researching Memorial Day and writing about what they learned.  Check out the pack below or by clicking {HERE}.

On a side note: I have received several kind emails and messages about creating a writing pack for June/July for those who are in year-round schooling and I'm happy to say that YES, I will definitely be creating a June/July pack for those people.  I will be laying by the pool while you use it though!  :)

Also, if your students are already in summer-mode, why not use that to your advantage?!  Check out my Summer Math and Literacy Centers {Common Core-Aligned}.  The activities are a perfect review of several key skills found in the CCSS with a summer theme that your kiddos will LOVE!  Perfect for the last month of school!  You can check them out below or click {HERE}.

We are officially into the teens for the number of days of school left, so I am jumping for joy!  How many days of school do you have left?

Makeover Madness and New Unit!

Well, you could say that I've been slightly obsessed lately with going back to my older products that I created last year and giving them a complete makeover!  It really is quite fun!  The latest product to get a fresh, new look is my Adverb Mini-Unit.  You can see the new cover below.  All of the pages inside the unit have also been given a fresh, new look with new fonts, graphics, frames, and backgrounds.  I think you'll love it!  Remember, the best part is that if you've already purchased this unit, you get the updated, much cuter version now for FREE.  All you have to do is go back to your My Purchases on TPT, find the product, and click Download Now!  It's all yours!  If you haven't purchased this unit yet, you can find it by clicking the pictures below or clicking {HERE}.

Included in the unit are 5 hands-on, engaging activities to teach adverbs in a super fun way!  The kids will be playing board games, acting out adverbs, and more!  This unit is aligned to the Common Core Standards for Grades 2 and 3.  Click on over to my TPT Store to see more!

See below to view all that's included:

Now that I think about it...I'm pretty sure that I never blogged about my brand-new unit called "Let's Investigate the... Characters".  I created and uploaded this a couple weeks ago and never blogged about it - so sorry!  :)

This is a complete unit that hits many Common Core Standards that address the characters in the text.  It is aligned to the Common Core Standards in Grades 1-3.  Activities include graphic organizers and printables that will serve as more than just the typical "worksheets".  The activities will require some higher order thinking as students investigate the characters in the story and how story elements can affect the characters.  I think you'll find that this unit will keep the students engaged and having fun while hitting those Common Core Standards!  You can check it out in my TPT store by clicking either of the pictures below or clicking {HERE}.

Thanks for stopping by 2nd Grade Stuff!  :)