Tuesday

FREE Meet Your Teacher Day Treat

Meet Your Teacher Day Treat

We have all heard the saying....

you only have one time to make a good first impression.

Well, this is true with meeting your students, too. Did you know that some research shows that people form an opinion of you within the first 90 seconds of meeting you.

HELLO!!! You better make it a great 90 seconds. :-)

If this stands true with students meeting a teacher then they are going to either walk away from 'meet your teacher day' grumbling that they have the meanest teacher, or they will walk away smiling and thinking they have the best teacher in the world. Let's face it, in a kid's eyes, those are about the only two choices.

For me, I want them to walk away thinking they have the coolest, most creative, and fun teacher EVER!!! So, I start working on creating that caring classroom environment the very first time I meet the kids. Not only do I have the room all arranged and decorated and put a smile on my face, but I usually gift them with a little something to make them feel special. It's not much... just a little treat. This year, I have a movie theme going on in my classroom, and to go along with that theme I created a card to place on a baggie of popcorn or other special treat.

This treat sheet doesn't have to be used exclusively for a movie themed classroom, as it would work in any setting in order to make a new student feel special. If you would like to try gifting your new students with something special, feel free to use this FREE movie themed printable teacher treat sheet in your classroom. If you don't want to use it on the 'meet your teacher day', you could even use it the first day of school.

*****************************

Click Here to Get the Printable

For other creative ideas on creating a caring classroom, please head on over to Corkboard Connections, which is Laura Candler's awesome blog. Grab some tips and even some other freebies. Click on the image below.

Share the Sweetness!

Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.

We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often.

Wednesday

My Movie Themed Classroom

My Movie Themed Classroom

Yep, it's that time again.... Back to School!

In my district, teachers go back this coming Monday. Just as I do every year, I have spent several days in my room this week trying to get ahead of the preplanning game. Isn't it terrible that you feel like you have to do stuff before preplanning just to feel on top of things! After 17 years, I still feel that way. Anyway, I thought I would share a few things from my classroom. I have tried to work a movie theme into different areas of the room. I still have lots to do, but here is a peek at what I've done thus far. All of these items can be purchased from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. So, here goes.....

These are my movie themed classroom rules posters and my calendar set. You can purchase the movie themed class rules by clicking HERE. The calendar set comes in my movie themed classroom decoration set, and it can be purchased HERE.

Click on images to enlarge.

This is my movie themed hallway display. It stays up all year, and I just change out the kids' work.

This also comes as part of my movie themed classroom decoration set.

I tried to work something movie themed into my reading area, so I printed off some theater curtains and made a poster that says, "Books are like Movies".

This is something I made to help me call on kids randomly. I won't use it all the time, but it's nice to be able to pull names out of a 'hat' sometimes. Once I have my class list, I will put the kids' names on each of the popcorn pieces. This can be purchased HERE.

These are movie themed labels for my essential questions. I simply clip them to my dry erase board and write the questions beside them.

I also hung a few other things that are not movie themed, but I thought I would share.
This is a place value chart I made using color coding. Check out the details HERE.

I am using the set below as part of my behavior management. There is a positive word for every letter of the alphabet. Under each word are two cards. Each month the kids can earn their name under a card when I see them displaying the positive behavior. This display can be viewed and purchased HERE.

Share the Sweetness!

Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.

We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often.

Back to School Activities

Back to School Activities

I know, you are probably telling me to shush up, right? You can't possibly be thinking of back-to-school activities when July has just begun!! Well, the funny thing is, I start thinking of back to school as soon as it's the end of school. I get so excited about summer because I LOVE my summers, but I also start thinking about how I want my class to be decorated, what I might set up differently for the new year, what theme I might like to use, etc. And I know a lot of other teachers are just like me. It's just how we are.

My students go back to school the first week of August, which will be here sooner than later, so I thought I would go ahead and post a few things I think you could use the first week of school.

Just click the links or pictures to be taken right to the product.

If you are looking for an activity pack for grades 3-5, you may want to check this one out:

Back to School Activities

Looking for a fun way for your students to get to know each other?

Back to School Game

Looking for a way to motivate your kids to read? Celebrate with ice cream!

Year Long Reading Incentive Program

Motivate your kids with some themed writing paper.

Back to School Writing Paper

The above listed activities are just a few of the things I have to offer to get your classroom and students ready for the new year. Don't forget to check out my positive words behavior management system, my reader's workshop guide for grades 3-5, my themed classroom sets, and so much more. Good luck finding lots of great things!

Share the Sweetness!

Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.

We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often

Monday

Are You Building Walls?

Building Walls

I realize this blog post has nothing to do with teaching, but it does have to do with life. :-) I love to reflect and even go back to rethink things I have thought much about before. This is a recycled blog post from my 'mom blog' that I used to keep up with. I have several others I will be posting over the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy.

Are you Building Walls only to have them Knocked Down?

Do you ever see people that have what you want?

Do you look at them and wonder, "How can I get that?"

You know what I'm talking about.... you see some people and you think they are simply blessed beyond belief. You start to desire what they have.

You want to build a successful business just like they have.
You want your marriage to be happy just like theirs.
You want the funds in your bank account to runnith over exactly like theirs.
You want deep faith to lead your life just as it leads theirs.
And, you want your family to have close bonds just like you witness in theirs.

So, what's the difference?

Why do they seem to have it all when your walls are crumbling down? Do you find yourself asking, "Why can't I get ahead in these areas of my life?"

Maybe your marriage is in turmoil.... maybe it's even your third marriage that is falling apart.
Maybe your bank account is overdrawn.
Maybe your family doesn't find the time to be a family.
Maybe your business is filing bankruptcy.
Maybe you just don't have the faith.

For these areas of your life to grow, it takes sweat. It also takes consistency. And that means it's not going to be easy.

Let's just focus on marriage, and then you can apply this metaphor to the rest of your life.

The blocks on the left represent a man who is devoted to his wife. He is there for her and wants to see their relationship grow. The blocks on the right also represent a man who is devoted to his wife. He is there for her and wants to see their relationship grow.

A year passes. The man on the left continues to be devoted to his wife. He starts to put sweat equity into the marriage. He asks her how she is doing on a daily basis. He pours her coffee. He asks her out for date nights. He prays for her and their marriage. The man on the right expects that his marriage will work, but there is no consistency in his actions and he is not willing to sweat. He is sometimes late for dinner and doesn't call. He sometimes forgets to greet his wife when he comes home from work. He doesn't ask her directly how her day went but does talk about how hard his was. His wall are destined to start to crumble.

2 years later

The man on left, his marriage is growing. He has something to show for his sweat. The man on the right, his marriage is falling apart. He will have to work hard, put things in overdrive, to build his walls back up if he wants his relationship to work.

3 years later

The man on the left now has a firm foundation for his marriage. He will continue to devote the time, energy, and be consistent in his actions in order to build this lasting relationship. The man on the right has backtracked. He now has to recover from all his inconsistencies and try to make things work. He can build the walls again, but keep in mind, he is still on the first floor.

4 years later

It's a vicious cycle of inconsistencies for the man on the right.

five years later

Which set of blocks represents you? Are you the blocks on the right, and you find yourself having to rebuild everything from relationships to your bank account to your faith just because you are not willing to work at it? or maybe you have to work extra hard to make up for the lost effort. Is it time to break the cycle of inconsistencies in your life? After 5 years, the man on the left has something to show for his hard work. The man on the right builds his walls only to have them fall down... time after time.

You might have even noticed that the man on the right came close to building five floors himself. The problem was, his inconsistencies kept those floors from growing. You have a choice, you can work hard and have one floor, or you can work hard and build a high-rise. The high-rise gets you closer to the sky. The high-rise is what you get after many years of sweat equity.

So, what is the answer?

prayer, sweat, consistency

Apply those to your life and you will build your business, your finances, your family, your marriage, and your faith.

Share the Sweetness!

Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.

We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often

Saturday

Printable Alphabet Matching Game

FREE Fun Alphabet Game

This is just a basic partner game to reinforce lower case and upper case letters. If you decide to download this alphabet game, please share the sweetness by liking me on facebook or leaving me some love notes in my comment section below. :-) You have my permission to share about this game on your blog with a link back to my website. Thanks so much.

Download Alphabet Game HERE