3,2,1 Sale Linky Party!

In anticipation of the Cyber Monday Sale over at Teachers Pay Teachers, I am linking up with The Apple Basket Teacher for her 3, 2, 1 linky! 


Maybe you will find a few items to add to your own wishlist- I always get great ideas from other bloggers!

Rounding to the Nearest 10 – 32 differentiated task cards from Not So Wimpy Teacher  Task Cards are great for independent, partner, small group, and whole class practice.  In addition, this set is so versatile because of the differentiation built in.

Guided Reading Grade 3 Bundle {Levels M-P} from Jen Bengel This resource has been great for planning small group instruction.  She has given you everything you will need to run a reading group lesson for students reading levels M-P.

 Clock Clip Art To The Minute from Mai Huynh - We have been working on all things time, and this clip art has come in handy for extra practice for my students.

I have literally thousands of items on my Wishlist (I am not exaggerating!), but here are a few newer additions:

Ka- Pow Telling Time Game from Meet Miss Parker As I said earlier, we are working on telling time and elapsed time, and my students can always benefit from extra practice!

Nerds North Pole Bundle from Melonheadz - I am a fan of all things Melonheadz and this clip art is no exception.  Adorable!

The product I am highlighting of my own is currently my best seller, and my students' absolute favorite!  It has been the best way to get my students excited about mastering their math facts!

Multiplication Fact Fluency Program - Kicking It Math

I hope you have found some ideas to add to your wishlist for the sale!  Be sure to link up with Nancy to share your own - I can't wait to read everyone's!  

Also, don't forget to enter to win a $100 Visa Gift Card in our Thanksgiving Leftovers Giveaway!

How to Link to a Linky Party

I have had this blog for almost two years, prior to that I had another blog for three years or so.  So.. I've been blogging a bit and I sometimes take for granted all of the things there is to know about blogging.  Now I am by no means an expert, but when I got an email from a sweet reader asking me what the deal with linky parties was (how do you find them, how do you link up, etc), I just had to help.  I wrote her back and gave her a pretty basic starter guide, but it got me thinking that maybe other people are struggling with this as well. So, without further ado... here is a quick tutorial on how to link to a linky party.

A linky party is when the author of a blog invites other blog writers to link up their blog posts on the same topic.  For example, a blog might host a book study, or an organization idea linky party.  Some popular linky parties in the teaching blog world include:

5 for Friday  from Doodle Bugs Teaching  This linky party involves posting 5 random things from your week.

Made it Monday from 4th Grade Frolics  is the place to show off the things you have made.

Saturday Snapshots from Run! Miss Nelson's got the camera! is a place to show off your pics.

Tried it Tuesday with Fourth Grade Flipper is the place to share things that you have tried.

  

Farley's Currently at Oh boy Fourth Grade is the place to share what you are Currently up to.   As you can see above, she provides a template for you to complete.  The completed one above is from her blog.  Currently happens on the first of every month and there are a few of us stalkers fans who hit refresh a million times until the new one comes up. 

I know what your next question is - How do you fill in the blanks?  So glad you asked:

1. Right click her template and copy it or save as JPEG or PNG.

2. Open up PowerPoint and paste the image or insert the image if you saved it.

3. Insert text-boxes over the open areas and type in your answers.

4. Copy this new picture and paste it into paint and save as a JPEG (you can also save as a JPEGin PowerPoint)

5. Upload your image to your blog.

If I didn't mention your linky party above, it isn't because I don't love you, I just put a few.  Feel free to leave a link in the comments section if you have a linky party we should join!

* As a blogger, joining a linky party increases your readership and helps other bloggers and blog readers to find you.

* As a blog reader, linky parties help you find more information about a topic you are interested in.

* Hello? Writer's Block maybe?  Linky parties are a great way to think of ideas to blog about when you just can't think of anything to write about.

Step 1: Write your post.  If the linky party has a "button" (a fancy word for the picture they use) copy and paste it into your blog.  They may have a grab button with a code for you to copy and paste into the html section of your blog. I have a grab button to the right on my blog. 

You would just copy and paste the info they have in the box (their info, not mine :D  )

Step 2: When you have hit publish on your blog post copy the url for THAT page (not your home page).

Correct: http://applefortheteach.blogspot.com/2014/06/five-for-friday-june-27-2014.html

Not Correct: http://applefortheteach.blogspot.com

Step 3: Visit the page where the linky party is at and click on the button that says: Add your link.

Then choose your picture from the pictures displayed.

Now that you have linked up, be sure to leave a comment for the host.  Also, visit several of the other blogs who have linked up and comment as well.  Farley advocates the rule of 3 on her Currently post.  That is, you comment on the 2 posts before you and 1 post after you.  I think this is a good practice and super easy to do.  If you have time, visit more!  It is also nice to respond to the people who visit your blog as well.

Five For Friday - December 20th

Well, better late than never, right?  I had every intention of posting yesterday after school, but I must have been exhausted from the crazy week because I fell asleep at 4:30 in the afternoon and didn't wake up until 5:30 this morning!  My hubby said he tried to wake me for dinner, but I wouldn't budge so he let me sleep. So, this is my better late than never link up for Five For Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

Here is a glimpse at SOME of the craziness of the week:

I vented last week about the looooooong list of plans for this week at our school, and one of them was a door decorating contest.  I just did not have the energy to even think about that with our play performance this week, so I decided to let that slide  One of my teaching partners came to the rescue when he and his class surprised our class with the door decor below.  Thanks Mr. Korf!

Our play was on Tuesday - and I was so busy directing I didn't take one picture!  I will have to hunt some of the parents down to get a few.  The afternoon performance (during school in front of all of their peers) was a bit rough, but the evening performance was much better!  I am super proud of these kiddos because we had a very short rehearsal period before the play.

I did manage to get a few pics of my son, Palmer's high school play which was also this week.  This was their best performance in all 4 years he has been there.

We had our Christmas concert this week as well - again - I forgot to take pictures, but I did manage to snap a picture of the tree my class made for decorations for the concert.  They left me a little message I almost didn't notice!  Super sweet!

In the middle of the chaotic week, I am proud to say that my students were surprisingly very focused!  

Hard at work during Daily 5

And very greatful - we each got gloves from our room Mom!

And, I will end with a bit of Christmas Cheer!

One of our friends is a photographer, and every year my hubby dresses as Santa for pictures with Santa - here is a shot of him and my youngest - super cute!

And the three youngest:

and the Christmas Card my class sent out:

And now... ready for a relaxing Christmas break!

Time to Be Thankful!

It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness of life.  Sometimes it is nice to stop and think about all the amazing things in life to be thankful for.  That is why I am linking up with Reading and Writing Redhead for this gracious linky!

Five for Friday

time to link up for 5 for Friday from Doodle Bugs Teaching!

Five random things from this week:

Learning some new vocabulary word from Bunnicula.

 Working in our readers notebook as we read the story.

 

 

Learning about Factors and Multiples the fun way - with games!

 Both of these games are available in my new Ghoulish Math Product. I also have the exact same product in a non-Halloween form called  Factor Fishing.

 

My boys loved these cool swings at a new park we visited. Even my 6th and 7th grader played!  I love that they aren't growing up TOO fast! 

We had a fire safety demonstration from our local fire department.  The kids' favorite station was definitely the fire extinguisher!

 

I finally bit the bullet and signed up for the GRE!  I will be applying to schools to start my PhD next fall.

And now... enjoying a restful Nevada Day -we got the day off!