Hello Mrs Sykes

This paid post is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association and SparkySchoolhouse.org. Free Fire Prevention Learning Centers October is Fire Prevention Month and Fire Prevention Week is October 8 - 14. Teachers love to pull in topical resources, but they need to cover the standards, too. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is educators’ new go-to source for fire prevention resources geared towards elementary teachers and their students.

This is a paid, sponsored post in partnership with TypeTastic! All opinions are my own. Keyboarding Skills TypeTastic! is a free web-based game that helps teach young elementary students basic typing skills. They have taken a QWERTY keyboard and broken it up into 9 color-coded sections to help young learners remember where the letters are. When you check out their site, TypeTastic.com , you'll notice an area for teachers to sign up for ad-free experience for their class. So far, they have a selection of games teaching the QWERTY keyboard (Games 1-3), keyboard games (Games 4-6), and basic typing from the home row (Games 7-13). Additional lessons and games are being added as the site evolves, so I predict this will be a one-stop website for your keyboarding needs.

This is a paid post sponsored by WeAreTeachers and  fit4Schools . All opinions are my own.  Not all students come to school ready to learn, so it becomes our job to help them get ready to learn. fit 4Schools is a free resource for teachers, caregivers, and parents to help kids learn about keeping fit ! What is fit 4Schools ? fit 4Schools is a collaborative project from Sanford Health and WebMD. Their mission is to empower children to do the simple things every day that make healthy lifestyle choices a habit.

Omigoodness, y'all! I love my logo shirt from A+ Images, Inc . I'm going to be sporting this baby on the strip in Las Vegas this summer! Getting ready for #tptvegas Want an awesome custom shirt of your own? Maybe something to tell your students how amazing they are? Check out their website at www.aplusimages.com . For tons of creative teachers shirts, visit www.teachershirts.com .

Every year, schools have a "budget season," when purchasing decisions must be made for the following year. If you are an administrator in a school that uses iPads or other mobile devices, you need to take a look at Tech Tubs from Copernicus Educational Products . {source: www.copernicused.com}

If you're a teacher, you've seen the kiddos who need to work on their pencil grasp. Sometimes, I'm really just impressed they can write with their thumb folded across the index and middle fingers, or index fingers that wrap around the thumb and pencil. Let me tell you, it's not just their handwriting that will suffer; a wonky pencil grasp can impact their writing stamina, as it puts additional stress on their fingers. The result? They stop writing faster than they normally would, or they rush through their work so they can do it without getting fatigued. Read on for a Giveaway - a prize pack from  www.thepencilgrip.com

Who has a student who enjoys using manipulatives? Silly question, right? Do they like to use the iPad, too? Would they benefit from additional practice with CVC letter patterns or number sense? Then you simply must check out the Touchtronic Letters and Numbers from Junior Learning! I loved playing with the Touchtronic manipulatives last month!

Last week I received a copy of The Reading Game - 2nd Edition , and I have to tell you, I was pretty excited about it! I saw the game at the ED Expo 2015 in Atlanta , and I need to share the brilliance of this product with you. The Reading Game truly is a game that helps children develop confidence in reading.

I am super excited about attending EDExpo 2015 this year! In just a few weeks superintendents, curriculum coordinators, and retailers of educational brick & mortars and online stores will meet in Atlanta, Georgia for the premier showcase of educational supplies, materials, furnishings, and products. What will I be doing there? I'll join a group of educational bloggers in sifting through the amazing school products. Our job sounds fun: Find the latest and greatest products you just have to get for your classroom. Challenge accepted. :) I am looking forward to meeting the bloggers, scanning the aisles for cool tools for school, and visiting Atlanta. I'll fill you in after EdExpo!

It's a bit of an epidemic, but low staff morale is spreading across many schools and districts.  When I was asked who I wanted to send a card to, I immediately thought of the teachers I work with!  I went back and forth for a bit, and I had a revelation - let's use the art from their kiddos!  As anyone who has worked with kids before knows, the things we treasure from our students are creative and come from their heart.  I used the online service www.Treat.com  to create these cards... I let the kiddos in on my plan - we were each going to decorate a small slip of construction paper, and I would piece them together to share in a card with their teachers.  Look how amazing their art turned out! Next step - scan the pics.  (OK - really, I was in a hurry.  I took the pics with my phone and uploaded the pics to Treat.com ... Then I started browsing.  {{swoon}}  This was tricky, since I had a *ton* of cards on my "favorites" list....

Many teachers work at least 2 jobs, particularly if you are trying to send someone to college, pay bills, etc.  If you've ever thought of running your own tutoring business, you need to read this book : Visit the Novice Tutor online by clicking here The amazing Adrianne Meldrum of The-Tutor-House.com  has compiled this resource, which is easy to read and dead-on accurate regarding what tutors need to consider before starting, when the phone begins ringing, and during the tutoring lessons.  Here's a quick peek at the inside: The Novice Tutor Stop by, visit Adrianne's blog , and pick up a goldmine of information and resources!

So... we got the email this week.  The one I dread every year.  You know which one - the one reminding you about copying quotas, and how we all need to limit our copies as much as possible.  I always try to limit my copies by projecting as much as possible and having the students use whiteboards, but I'm trying out some new things this week to avoid making copies.  I thought I'd share... If you really need to make copies, do you need a class set?   Check out these C-Line Reusable Dry Erase Pockets .  I've tried tons of alternatives, like a piece of cardstock in a sheet projector, a laminated sheet, and a sheet inside a zip-lock bag.  (Teachers liked to reduce, reuse, and recycle before it was cool, right?)  Ummm, those alternatives might work for a while, but then they look ragged and icky.  These pockets are rugged, sturdy enough to use in the classroom, and wipe clean easily with a felt eraser, a tissue, etc.  We've been using t...

Good morning!!  I recently received a free pair of glasses from Firmoo, which is an online eyeglasses store. Since I don't wear glasses right now, I went ahead and got a pair for my hubby.  He  usually  wears contacts, but needed a backup pair of glasses.   Here are the glasses I got for the Mr:  Here is the Mr. wearing them:  My guy in his new glasses - great for a backup pair! The ordering process was fairly straightforward.  We got the prescription information from the  optometrist, went shopping online, and filed in the eyeglass prescription online.  I wasn't sure about a lot of the jargon, but the website had little help buttons everywhere directing me to the proper part of the prescription, so it was pretty easy.   Y'all know I'm fairly cheap   frugal   a penny pincher broke, so when I get an opportunity for free stuff for my family, I'm in.  Last time we bought glasses for the...

Time for "The Magical Product Swap!!" Don'cha just love the button from The 3AM Teacher ? Ok - go ahead and be jealous for a quick moment... I was paired with Sandy from Ms. Fiorini's Stadium !   I have been a blog-stalker of hers for quite some time, so I was really nervous to email her.  (Ya know, since I'm such a rookie at all this... <<sigh>>)  Anywhoo - I got to go shopping in her store .  She has so many helpful activities and bundles of lessons, including these... Hard work, trying to pick just one...  Then I saw it -  the answer to my homework issues !!!! Homeworkopoly!! {{rant}}  I don't know about y'all, but homework is one of my pet peeves.  Either you completed it (ALL of it!) or you didn't.  Simple enough, right?  I try to make my homework assignments meaningful and a fun extension of our work, while still letting parents see some of the expected tasks for the grade level.  Even so - g...