Saturday, February 25, 2012

Thanks and Seuss Song

Hi there~

I cannot tell you how excited I've been to "meet" so many of you the past few days.  I know I still need to respond to many posts and I'm working my way down the list to make sure I'm following all of you as well.  May take me a few more days but I'll get there.  (Oh... contest still open until March 1st!)


In the meantime, here's a quickie Seuss song to the tune of Bingo.  Click on it to download. 

Enjoy!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Knock My Socks Off and Give Me That Crown!

Who needs a Grammy or an Academy Award when are bestowed the Liebster Award?



I would like to thank Linda Nelson over at Primary Inspiration, my agent and manager, George Clooney for his never-ending faith in me, and Brad and Angelina and the kids for their love and support along the way.  I wouldn't be where I am without them!

Go check Linda's Blog and grab her new freebie game, Long I Bullseye, to help your students master the long sound and its most common spelling patterns.

Now for the hard part!  I am supposed to award the Liebster to five newish blogs who have less than 200 followers. I ran into a little 63 minute glitch...I could only find FOUR blogs that didn't have the award yet that met the criteria.  Over an hour searching in the wee hours of the morning! The good news is that I have now been introduced to 52 other awesome blogs! So, with a tap on the shoulder of each blogger and a sprinkle of Liebster fairy dust, I present the Liebster to:

1. Kindergarten Teacher, Tara West, over at Little Minds at Work.   Oh, how I admire the energy of those K teachers!  Go grab her freebie at her TpT Store for an Estimation Jar.

2. Check out the oh, so funny blog of first grade teacher, Miss Squirrels at http://goingnuttyinmisssquirrelsfirstgrade.blogspot.com/.   Really, reading her blog at 5am had me laughing out loud...several times! I heart first grade teachers but I double heart FUNNY ones!

3. Kaci Hoffer is a Kindergarten Teacher.  Visit her blog and get to know her!

4. Second grade teacher, Ms. Lies,  over at http://www.love2teach2.blogspot.com/ . She has a cute Lorax freebie posted.

Yea, bloggers!  Don't forget to check out my giveaway in the post below! FREE BOOKS! Have a great day!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Chapter Book Series Giveaway!


Yea!  I was thrilled to come home yesterday and see my author copies from ABDO!!!  In honor of Katharine's release (Set 2), I'm giving away all six books in this set to one lucky winner. How do you enter?

1.Follow me and leave a comment below. 

or

2.If you Blog about the giveaway on your blog or website,  you'll get FIVE extra entries.  (Just tell me in comments!)

A winner will be randomly chosen on March 1. 

A little background:  Katharine the Almost Great (Set 1) was published in January 2009. I stayed home to write for a few years and only returned to teaching this year.  I honestly loved doing author visits at schools but missed teaching WAY TOO MUCH.  Seriously.  I am so glad I'm back in the classroom where I feel I belong!

So, on with the contest!  Who doesn't need more books (GRL M) for their class library?  The characters are third graders but books are appropriate for kids in grades 1-4 and some wee ones also read them!

This one was inspired by a school visit at EJ Patten School in Perth Amboy, NJ. 
In fact, I dedicated it to them!

Katharine thought the school's art auction would be mucho mega fun. But it's no fun when no one bids on her bowl! To make matters worse, Katharine thinks Miss Priss-A-Poo is the secret bidder outbidding her on everything she wants. But when she spies something she really needs, Katharine makes a plan to get it. Will her plan cause more explode-a-rama bidding drama?

Someone's playing a trick on Katharine and Crockett -- a ring-the-doorbell-and-run-away-quick trick. Could it be The Invisible Man? Or is that Vanessa's shadow lurking outside their door? When Katharine thinks she knows who is Ding Dong Ditching them, she decides to get even. But her prank doesn't turn out quite the way she's planned. Can Katharine make things right again without getting zapped?

Katharine has a decision to make--a hairy scary decision! When her idol, movie star Penelope Parks, cuts her hair for charity, lots of Katharine's classmates donate their hair, too. Penelope says it's the only way to show you shine and sparkle on the inside. But Katharine isn't so sure she wants barely-there hair. Does that mean she's not a caring kid?

Katharine thinks writing is boring. Boring with a capital B. No matter how many details and dollar words she adds to her story, it's never enough for Mrs. Bingsley. Katharine wants a Write Stuff Pencil like everyone else. Even Miss Priss-A-Poo has one! Can she whip her story into shape before the Author's Tea and earn one?

Katharine and Crockett hope to make a splash during swim team tryouts. They want to earn a spot on the Stingrays, especially since Vanessa, the Unsinkable Garfinkle, is on the Sharks. When Katharine does a belly flop in front of everyone and gets caught telling an itty-bitty lie, she feels like shark bait. But when the Unsinkable Garfinkle faces her own troubles, will Katharine dive in to help her out?

Everyone's in the Christmas spirit . . . everyone except Mrs. Bingsley and Crockett! Mrs. Bingsley cancels the Secret Santa, doesn't laugh at jokes, and refuses to sing the new version of ''Jingle Bells.'' And Crockett's father has canceled their Christmas plans. Katharine knows they're both down in the dumps. Will her plan to become Santa's Secret Helper succeed and turn this ho hum season into a holly jolly holiday?

Good luck!  All are quick read-alouds with some good character education themes woven throughout!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

An Amazing Giveaway for EVERYONE!

To celebrate having 200 followers, Mandy is giving away a FREE item in her TpT store to everyone that leaves her a comment with email address.  How cool is that? Then, from those comments. two lucky people will win a $10 Amazon Gift card and ALL of the items in her TPT store.  WOWZA! Good luck to all!


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Helpful App that's FREE!

Do you have any kids that need to work on fluency?  I have six first graders who are working on this now.  Remember the days of having the kids record using cassette tapes?  So glad those days are behind us.  I just got three iPads for our class (yea!) and I immediately downloaded Quick Voice.  So easy to use and their readings can be saved.



Here's another way I've been using this app:

First of all, I feel like I've been living in a Seinfeld episode.  My class sure has its share of low talkers.  Remember that one?  I kid you not.  I am constantly saying, "Use your loud and proud voice."  It's February and it hasn't worked.  Well, this is where Quick Voice is helping!

I recorded all the kids saying, "Hello."  Guess which kids we couldn't hear on tape?  Guess which kids were SHOCKED and then bummed out? Now guess which kids are working on upping their volume?

I'm pretty confident their low-talking days are almost behind them.  And I'll save them from this fate:



That's why I heart Quick Voice!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Dr. Seuss Quotes

I had to take these down from TpT so now you can get them for free by clicking on first picture.  Enjoy!