Kwik Stix at Toys R Us and a Giveaway!

As you all know, I absolutely love Kwik Stix!! These are amazing paint sticks that dry in 90 seconds!! The pictures that your kid make are amazing! So bright and colorful and the best part is they do not make a mess!!! No water needed!!!!!!

 Aren't the colors amazing!!! So bright! 

The best thing is they are now available at Toys R Us!!!!!

So one lucky reader will win a set of these amazing paint stix! Just enter by commenting below to win a set of these amazing paint stix!!!! I will choose a random winner on May 9.

Good luck everyone!!!!!

scento-sational Point of View Writing

I love teaching point of view! This is such a fun topic! There are sooo many amazing storybooks to use when teaching this concept. So for first person point of view I love using interactive storybooks! The two that I used this year are 

And 

These books are amazing! My kids love them and they adore the character, Larry! 

For Don't Push the Button, my kids were asked to identify the point of view it was in as well as make a Larry out of purple paper! They also made a red button snack out of graham crackers, vanilla frosting and a red gummy lifesaver!

For Don't Touch This Book, we discussed point of view again and also discussed first person point of view writing!!!

The kids then did a directed drawing activity of Larry and used Scentos markers to make them into pop art Larrys!!! The smell of these markers are amazing and the kids were so excited to be able to use these markers!!! Then they wrote a story in first person or from Larrys point of view and got to trace their writing with Scentos gel pens!! You would have thought they won the lottery!! Using Scentos made them take their time and take pride in their work because these are special writing tools!!! 

So if you are looking for some tools that will make your kiddos want to write then Scentos is your tool! The great news is that Scentos are now found at Michaels!!!!!! A combination of amazing storybooks and Scentos will make any lesson amazing and one to remember!!! 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

2017 French Lick Teacher Blogger Retreat

When and where can we go as educators to become rejuvenated and spark that fire of passion within us? Where can we go to feel appreciated and valued? 

French Lick, Indiana, that is where!!!!

Thanks to an amazing team of educators and companies who worked together to make a weekend retreat that provided educators with an atmosphere of awesomeness, value, admiration, and so much more!

First can I just say the team of educators are amazing! They work so hard to provide us with a weekend that focuses on us, the educator. A weekend that we can meet other educators and just talk and enjoy each other's company. This retreat is not a professional development, it is a bonding experience! It is a weekend where we can get together with the many friends we have made throughout the blogging community and just be ourselves! It is a weekend where we are policy free and we can just be free!!!

For this I thank you!

 

This year we had a keynote speaker! Principal Gerry!! He was amazing! His message was about school culture! Such an important topic! While he was his funny self, the message was loud and clear!!!

Then we had two more amazing speakers that just totally got our hearts beating and our blood pumping! If you were not enthusiastic before hearing then then you were after!!! They really are true  and wonderful educators who are in the field of education for the right reason.... the kids!!!!!! I love how they stressed that you do not need  to be perfect!!!! Who were these amazing educators??? Wade and Hope King from the Ron Clark Academy!!! We sang and we're given so much encouragement!! I know I couldn't wait to get back into my classroom!!!!

 
The sessions were amazing!!! Chris Pombonyo was so informative during his technology talk! Dee Dee Wills was amazing during her writing session and Katie Mense was awesome teaching us about PowerPoint! I learned soooo much!!! 

After the sessions, we had the raffle and then we left to get ready for the big night!! The Red Carpet!!!!! 

ESGI was live at this event!

They broadcasted it live!! It was amazing! First we got to walk the red carpet! The decorations were so awesome! They were from one of the sponsors, Oriental Trading! 

Here are some pictures from the amazing night event!!!

Here are some teachers dancing the night away!!! Who says teachers can't dance?!!!!

 

This event is sponsored by so many amazing companies!!!!

@huehd is such a teacher friendly company! Their products are amazing! Kids love making movies using their animation camera!!!

Oriental Trading is the place where we can get so many amazing things for our classrooms year round!! From decorations to crafts to educational items! 
 

If you love using technology in your room then Seesaw is an amazing tool for you! This is an online student portfolio and families love the communication!! 

 

GoNoodle is every teachers best friend! The kids love it! Brain breaks and learning!!! 
 

Get Your Teach On is an amazing conference experience that is provided to us by some truly amazing educators! This is a must attend event so if you get the chance to go you absolutely must!!!
 

The pencil grip is an amazing company that offers so many things!! The best item they offer are the Kwik Stix!!! If you haven't tried them then you must! These are a must have! Paint sticks that dry in 90 seconds! No mess! No clean up just smiles!!!
 

Math manipulative at the finest!! Visit this sponsor, ETA, for some amazing tools for your classroom!

Scentos are amazing and boy, do we educators just love these products!! The smells cheer you up and your kiddos will love using them!!! 
 

 And last but not least.........

ESGI is an amazing online assessment tool that will literally save you 400 hours a year! 400!!!! Who could use an extra 400 hours?! I know I could!!! Not only does it save you time but your kids will love to be assessed! Isn't that half the battle?!! Go to their site and sign up for a free trial!! You won't be sorry!!!

Just look at the swag we received from these companies!!!

I love the tshirts that were made for this event and I love all of the friends that I have made!!

I can not wait until next year!!! 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

wacky links!!

I love #stem and I love doing anything that is #stem related! I have found the most amazing tools that all teachers must have and include in their stem areas, supplies etc! 

Wackylinks are amazing! Have you ever heard of them?! They are flexible tubes with awesome connectors. The kids loved them. 

 

The connectors come in safari theme, rock and roll and winter! These connectors are easy to use and allow the kids to build such amazing structures!

 

We read the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar written by Eric Carle. The kids #stem challenge was to create a cocoon that their Caterpillar will fit into. No child received the same size Caterpillar! They loved it! They had to design their cocoon first and then using the wacky links create it! 

Check out some of their creations! 

 

This is just the first of many #stem activities that will involve Wacky Links!! If you don't have any then you must get these for your classroom! You won't be sorry and your kids will love being engineers!