TPT Sitewide Sale Going on Now!

Graphic by The Creative Classroom - Ashlyn

It's time to appreciate us teachers and to do that TPT is having a Teacher Appreciation Sale. Many TPT sellers are participating in this sale which can give you up to 28% off if you use the code CELEBRATE !

Be sure to stop by my store to pick up some of those wish listed items!

Click the picture to go to my store.

Find more stores on sale here.


Happy Shopping!



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Start the Year Off Inspired - TpT Sale

I n the new year
N o teacher has a thing to fear
S o many great ideas, products, and clip art
P repared for you by teachers that poured their soul and heart
I nto each and every page.
R eading, math and vocab that will undoubtedly engage
E very student in every classroom from Arizona and Wyoming and everywhere in between, so...
D on't for get to use the TpT code START16
 
Happy Shopping!!

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TpT Cyber SMILE Sale

We teachers are so funny. Across Social Media you will be seeing the TpT Cyper Sale advertised with smiling pictures from their youth. What a great way to capture what we do and who we do it for. I hope you have enjoyed looking at all of our cute but somewhat embarrassing younger selves.

This was tough for me to do, all my baby pictures are at my mom and dad's house. So I used what I had, which means my mom and brother are part of the fun :)

Let us all SMILE!

Smile for the sale
Smile for TpT
Smile for kids young and old
Smile for great ideas
and
Smile for buying things that make our lives just a wee bit easier...

Happy Shopping!

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It was the start of school, but not for me...

As a teacher without a classroom and a parent with adult children I always have mixed emotions this time of year.

It was the start of school, but not for me.

Teachers organized their rooms; 
I organized my closet.

Teachers sat in PD’s and staff meetings; 
I sat on my couch and in waiting rooms.

Teachers bought school supplies; 
I bought stuff for dinner.

Teachers planned and packed their lunches;
 I set up lunch dates with friends.

Teachers photocopied and laminated; 
I pinned and gardened.

Teachers decorated their home away from home; 
I watched decorating shows.

Teachers were excited to meet their new students; 
I was sad I didn’t have any new students to meet.

Parents bought their children school supplies;
 I watched my daughter shop for and buy her own.

Parents bought new school clothes for their children;
 I kept my credit card in my wallet.

Parents packed snacks and lunches for their children;
 I put the old lunch boxes in storage.

Parents comforted and consoled their nervous children;
 I watched mine leave without looking back.

Parents were nervous for their children's first day of school;
 I was sad my children would have no more first days of school.

Parents drove their children to school;
 I watched mine drive away.

It was the start of school, but not for me.

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10 Things Real Teachers Appreciate

Since it is Teacher Appreciation Week I thought I would take a quick survey of some teacher friends to see what they, as teachers truly appreciate. 

1. A note of sincere appreciation.

2. When a parent compliments/praises you about their child’s growth from being in your class.

3. Enthusiasm from students and gratitude from students and parents.

4. No recess duty.

5. A parent’s trust…”They trust that I have their child’s best interest in mind.”.

6. Parent follow through and Mr. Sketch Markers.

7. Students that are polite and kind to their classmates, “Even when my back is turned.”.

8. Parent help with prepping and supplies and unexpected drinks on cold or hot days.

9. Good communication and respect amongst staff, teachers, and parents.

10. A quick and efficient copy machine repair guy.

It is interesting to me that most of these are not tangible things but simple acts of kindness, respect and good manners. 

I hope this is not the only week that you truly feel appreciated. I hope you are pampered, showered with praise and love and made to feel like you are the best teacher in the world, you deserve it!!

As my gift to you I am participating in the TpT sale as well as many of your favorite bloggers!

 Best,

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Chocolate Milk, Por Favor! book winner

Congratulations Tracy! Check your email :)

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Five for Friday

 That's right my friends, I am actually participating for the first time in F.O.R.E.V.E.R!

Thanks Kacey for giving us a place to link up and have fun!

We got a new car. A 2015 Honda Pilot.

I enjoyed a delicious dessert martini and some fresh strawberries on this summer like spring day.

A few nights later I enjoyed a fire and this cheese plate on this cool spring day. My family was all out for the evening so it was just me.

 

Enjoying me Easter flowers.

When you pull out a handful of trail mix from the bag and it looks like this, there is a BIG problem! I'm thinking the ratio of nuts to raisins is a bit off...and to make this even worse, I HATE raisins!

Well that about sums up my Spring Break week :)

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What a Surprise! A Bonus TpT Sale Day!!

Clicking the above graphic will take you to my TpT store.

TpT has extended the sale and so have I! If you didn't get what you needed yesterday, grab it today!

The above graphic was created by The Printable Princess with the help of super cute graphics and fonts by Melonheadz, Hello Fonts and KG Fonts.

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Super Savings...It's a TpT Sale!

Clicking the graphic will take you to my store.

For the classroom heroes of today, I say thank you! My entire store will be on sale!

The above graphic was created by The Printable Princess with the help of super cute graphics and fonts by Melonheadz, Hello Fonts and KG Fonts.

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Super Bowl Sale

Click HERE to take you to my store :)

Happy shopping!

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My New Blog Design

So I know that my new blog design has been up since before Christmas, but I have yet to point it out and acknowledge Barbara from BL Designs.

Barbara was awesome to work with, she took my ideas and turned them into my new look. She took the doodle picture of me (drawn by my daughter) and incorporated that look, my "brand" in to the design.

I love the colors and I love my new name. I am not sure if you noticed but I have shortened my name to The Picture Book Teacher, so much easier to remember (but please note that all the addresses are still The Picture Book Teacher's Edition).

My main design thought was doodles, because quite frankly that is what I do when I have a pen in hand and paper in front of me. My vision was a doodled designed blog, so without going overboard with the doodles,  I think Barbara got it just right.

If you are thinking about a new blog look, I highly recommend taking a look at what Barbara has to offer! You will be quite pleased!!

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Super Cyber Sale at TpT

It is that time of year again, time to stock up on all those wish list items you have.

Sale runs Monday and Tuesday December 1 & 2.

Click the adorable graphic (made by the 3am Teacher) below to take you to my store…it is all on sale!

Happy shopping!

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My Mom’s Cancer Story

My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at the age of 58, just days before my 40th birthday. My mom had a huge bash planned for my birthday, because she was the type of person that made every special occasion, extra special. We debated on whether or not to go through with the party then finally decided that we needed the distraction. It was a great party that is now an extra special memory.

She had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation. All of that went so smoothly. Aside from her loosing her hair and being tired, she had no horrible side effects from the chemo. Her initial check up after all of that was cancer free, but we had to wait the allotted amount of time to say that with complete certainty. We were all very hopeful.

Our hope was soon shattered when they discovered that the cancer had already metastasized to her liver and bones. We were heartbroken, but up for the fight. Knowing how well she handled the chemo the first time we were confident that she would be active through the fight.

For the next 2 and a 1/2 years she was on and off chemo with little to no side effects. Her tumor marker numbers would be good after one round of chemo, then by the next one they would spike. We just couldn’t seem to get a handle on it. It was getting harder and harder for my mom to stay positive and focused on beating the cancer because every step forward she took, there were 2 steps backward.

During the 2 1/2 years we enjoyed life, did everything we could because we just didn’t know what was going to happen. Then, last October, she took a turn for the worse. Within a matter of days she went from coherent conversations, to mentally being gone. We got her to the hospital where they finally informed us that it had metastasized to her brain. It was so sudden, so unexpected and so wrong!

My beautiful, 61 year old mom was not supposed to die yet.

Within the week we got her home and on hospice care. We invited our immediate family over to say their last goodbyes because we knew it was going to be soon. We kept telling my mom that my brother was on his way, so she needed to hold out till he got there. She did not acknowledge this in any way except for the fact that she held on till he got there. He arrived Sunday afternoon and she took her last breath Monday afternoon, about 5 minutes after I walked in the door from work.

We had a celebration of life party for her a couple weeks later when my brother could come back out with his family. We had all of my mom’s favorite things at the party. A words with friends table set up for everyone to add a word that described my mom, a martini bar, a little gambling with the LCR game (all proceeds were donated to a breast cancer organization), a guess how many tea cups she collected with of course a prize, and of course the friends and family that loved her. It was a party my mom definitely would have loved.

This past year was a year of many firsts. The first Thanksgiving without my mom, the first Christmas, the first time her birthday came and went without a celebration, the first time my youngest daughter (who was the closest person to my mom) graduated from high school. The first time we went motorcycle riding in the desert without her organizing and planning all the food and the first time I had a breast cancer scare.

Not 4 months after my mom died I discovered a large lump. It was determined that it was a complicated cyst and needed to come out right away. I knew it would be okay but I was angry and questioned why I was having to deal with this right now, without my mom to talk to and support me? 2 weeks later I was in surgery and had the lump removed. To my relief my 3cm cyst was not cancer.

I cannot stress enough how important self examinations are and regular mammograms. Early detection is the key, had my mom gotten to the doctor sooner than she did, the cancer would not have been stage 4.

In 16 days it will be the one year anniversary of my mom’s death. My heart aches at how much I miss her. This year Thanksgiving and Christmas will be especially hard, last year we were all so numb and on autopilot that I don’t think we fully comprehended the holidays without her. This year we will be figuring out what our new normal is going to be.

My friend Vicky from Teaching and Much Moore  has shared her cancer story and has teamed up with Katie Knight from Teacher to the Core to have an awesome giveaway. Be sure to head over and enter to win the Go Pink Goody Bag, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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Common Core, What is it we truly hate about it?

I have been reading many articles and opinion pieces about Common Core. I recently read and shared this opinion piece on my Facebook page called Why I Want to Give Up Teaching by Elizabeth A. Natalie.

Natalie writes about wanting to quit teaching because teaching is not what it used to be. It is now filled with data and a teacher’s worth based on that student data. She states that “…in English, emphasis on technology and nonfiction reading makes it more important for students to prepare an electronic presentation on how to make a paper airplane than to learn about moral dilemmas from Natalie Babbitt's beloved novel "Tuck Everlasting."”
 
This statement makes me sad. Don’t we want to teach children to love reading? If we just concentrate on nonfiction aren’t we going to lose that? What happened to moral, social and emotional conversations that come naturally from reading the same book as a friend. I know I enjoy reading more when I have someone to discuss the book with. The emphasis on Nonfiction texts leave us nothing but facts to process and sort and understand. Too much of that and boredom is sure to set in.
 
Natalie also says, “I no longer have the luxury of teaching literature, with all of its life lessons, or teaching writing to students who long to be creative. My success is measured by my ability to bring 85 percent of struggling students to "mastery," without regard for those with advanced skills. Instead of fostering love of reading and writing, I am killing children's passions — committing "readicide," as Kelly Gallagher called it in his book of that title.”
 
I have a friend that was talking about Common Core and she said that all they are now teaching children to do is “regurgitate facts” and not think for themselves. It’s true, my new mantra now is “Where’s the evidence?”, “Where’s the evidence?” I am not sure how many times a day I say it.
 
When I get done with Natalie’s opinion piece, I am sad and frustrated at how and where education is moving. Then I read an article like this one called What’s Right About Common Core by Robert Pondiscio.
 
Pondiscio says “…I come neither to praise nor bury the Common Core State Standards, now widely regarded as a “damaged brand” and a political piñata. But I do wish to point out that the standards enshrine several sound education ideas…”
 
The first idea is Reading to Learn. Being able to read is key to getting by in the world. We all wish we could just spend our time reading the genre of our choice but the truth of the matter is we have to read a plethora of different genres. We have to read recipes, instructions on how to put something together, a contract, medical news, political views, sales ads and disclaimers, and reasons for or against something. My day is usually filled more of this than what I want to read. It just makes sense to have students read more nonfiction.
 
Pondiscio also says “Broad general knowledge of the world correlates with reading comprehension — the more you know, the more you take from reading.“ We as teachers see this every day, our low income babies are definitely at a disadvantage when it come s to exposure to vocabulary, conversation, and experiences. Shouldn’t we as teachers expose children to everything, rather than limiting it to one genre?
 
The second idea is Content Matters. One of Common Core’s main purposes is to achieve a knowledge rich curriculum. Now, you have to remember that Common Core is not a curriculum; they are just the standards that are common across the states in which districts develop and mandate a curriculum for teachers to teach. Ask yourself this, has your district given you quality content?
 
The last idea that Pondiscio talks about is Show What You Know. He writes, “If kids enjoy writing, the theory goes, they’ll write more. But too many teachers tend to be far more concerned with “voice” than with structure or grammar.” The “show what you know” is very hard for some kids; it takes too much effort to add that in. They know what they are thinking but they don’t show what they are thinking. What would happen if this becomes the “norm” expectation starting as early as possible? I would love to start hearing “David always gets into trouble because he doesn’t follow the rules at school” instead of just “David always gets into trouble”. Adding in the “why” as early as possible simply makes a more literate, knowledgeable person and just imagine what could be produced if this was the “norm”.
 
Common Core also focuses on phonics, a very important foundation for our young emerging students. It is probably safe to say that without a good solid phonics curriculum our babies will struggle and hopefully that is an already established curriculum in your district.
 
Math standards within Common Core probably are pretty similar to the old State Standards with the biggest change on how to solve the problems. The complicated, convoluted, abstract way of solving simple problems is mind boggling. Why are we making things so confusing? But when I really think about it and look at the different ways our minds work it starts to make sense. A few years ago our district had a math program that taught each concept one way and one way only, that way when they got to the next grade the teacher would review the same way the concept was taught the year before. The problem was, that one way didn’t make sense to all of the kids. We as teachers ended up showing the kids multiple ways to solve a problem. Isn’t that what Common Core is asking us to do? I was taught one way to solve multiplication, and that is how I still solve multiplication. My husband on the other hand can do math in his head, by grouping and sorting and making 10, etc., etc., etc.,. He always tries to explain it to me but it is all gibberish. He was never taught that way, he had to figure out on his own how it all went together, that is just how his mind works. So looking at Common Core math I realize that I may not understand all the “strategies” for solving a problem, but shouldn’t I share all those strategies with my students so they can find the one that makes sense to them? Won't this help make math easier for them?
 
So, after reading both of these articles, I am a bit more confused about Common Core.
 
Do I hate the Common Core Standards or the curriculum (or lack of) my district has given me?
 
Do I hate the Common Core Standards, or the data that my district, the state, and the government are requiring me to track?
 
Do I hate the Common Core Standards, or the fact that I have to teach areas and content in which I am not used to or uncomfortable teaching?
 
After talking to a teacher that I highly admire, I have come to one realization, the truly great teachers regardless of location (low or high income schools), take what they are given; the Common Core Standards, the district curriculum, and their passion for teaching and learning with their students, and they make it all work. They take the standards, the curriculum and what they know is right and they just teach. They are having meaningful discussions about fiction books, they are using technical vocabulary when reading nonfiction texts, they are talking through different strategies for solving one math problem, and they are showing what they know in their writing and answers. It is truly an awe inspiring sight. These teachers have not given up on what they know is good teaching, they have just incorporated what has been handed to them and made their teaching even better.
 
My daughter who wants to be a college English professor read the first article and came to me concerned. She was concerned about what kind of students would be coming to her in college English. She said, “If nonfiction is the focus, what kind of work and discussions am I going to get when we have to analyze a piece of literature?”. Let me first say that I love being able to have these kinds of conversations with my own daughter. I told her what I thought. I think the good teachers are still going to teach and discuss literature, but now with Common Core they are requiring students to always prove it. I think the fact that students are being exposed to many different genres will add more interesting layers in the discussion of literature. I think students that are shown multiple strategies to solve a problem will be able to creatively think outside the box when it comes to analyzing the nuances of literature. I think regardless of a child’s mastery level in elementary and high school, if they had teachers that used the Common Core standards and what they know is right, the students taking your English class will give you a run for your money (she was not taught under the Common Core standards).
 
So, I go back to this question, Is it truly the Common Core Standards that I hate?
 
Just my rambling, wondering, two cents.

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It’s Time to Stock Up

It’s time to come by and stock up on all those beloved holiday book Reading Skills and Strategies packets. The best way to incorporate these books into your day is to have meaningful activities to go along with them, its a win win! Just click on the TpT below to take you to all the savings!

My TpT store.

Enjoy!

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The Top 10 Ways To Make a New Teacher Feel Unwelcome at Your School

 
10. Eat lunch together as a grade level in the classroom right next door to the new teacher and never invite her to join you.
9. Never respond or acknowledge that the new teacher sent you an email.
8. Schedule staff and grade level meetings on days the new teacher doesn’t work.
7. Put the new teacher’s name on her mailbox 6 weeks after she starts.
6. Make sure to not let the new teacher know when there is a change of plans concerning grade level events.
5. Be sure to not add the new teacher’s email address to the staff group, this way everyone needs to remember to add her when emailing the list, which they never remember to do.
4. Tell the new teacher that the events calendar is in her mailbox and then never put it in there.
3. Tell this new teacher how important it is for her to come to SST meetings and then don’t call to let her know they have started early, been postponed or were cancelled. Just let her show up late, or not show up at all, or better yet show up and be the only one there.
2. Put the new teacher in a room occupied by the afterschool program and then tell her that basically it is their classroom and I am just using it…deal with it.
1. If you are upset with a student that just walked into the new teacher’s classroom, make sure you walk right in and yell and discipline that student in front of you and the other students, and then make sure you don’t acknowledge or talk to that new teacher as you turn and leave her classroom.
What makes it all okay?
When one of your students comes up to you and tells you how much you helped them and that because of you they now love to read.
Best,

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TpT Back to School Sale

Just in case you missed the last sale, TpT is having another one. Everything in my store will be on sale…

I have some great stuff…

Happy shopping!

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