Velcro is all You Need!

I love velcro! Here is a ready to use book you can make for your child or student. All you need is to purchase some velcro.

The child would read the words and then place the correct picture in the square. I used velcro for this. Put velcro on each page of the book and the given picture. Kids love putting the pictures in their correct place.

***You can print my printable for this by clicking here.

Mary Wore Her Red Dress

This book always ends up being my favorite class book! Very easy and simple and so cute. The children draw a picture of themselves with black markers (I use permanent, but in the past used plain markers)Then they use watercolor paints to paint ONE item of clothing ONE color on their drawing. After it dries, cut out the person (I cut a "blob" shape around the body.) Glue the picture on a background color the same color as the one they painted, and then add the verse for their name and color. For example: Alex wore his orange shirt, orange shirt, orange shirt Alex wore his orange shirt all day long.(this sounds confusing...I wish I had a picture!) Hope it makes sense. Then just put all together into class book! It really does turn out cute. - Barb/MN on 8/30/02

Our class big book was very simple. I wore a red dress the day we read the book. Our aide took a digital picture of me and all the children (individually). The title of our book was "Mrs. Karen Wore Her Red Dress" with my picture on the cover. Each child responded to the sentence ___________ wore a _______ _______________. They were asked to pick out one article of clothing. This is probably the most loved book in our room at this time. While the pics are not the work of the children, the book has helped with name recognition and learning the names of classmates.Hope this is something you can use! Posted by Kinderkiddos on 8/30/02

I draw an outline of a person on a white piece of paper (holding the paper vertical) on the bottom I write-_____________ wore (a) ___________ _____________.
I run off a class set. The children add features, hair and clothing to the outline. Then they pick one clothing item and dictate the sentence. Example, Alex wore a blue shirt.We use the book for shared reading and then can be read again and again during centers. Rona/K/NY

Marshmallow-Toes - Back to School Idea

Show a marshmallow. Make a web on the white board with the word marshmallow in the middle. Pass out marshmallow and ask students not to eat it right a way but feel it. (soft, white, squishy, powdery, sweet, smells fresh…) Outline their remarks as they state their descriptions of the marshmallow.Drop your marshmallow on the floor and tell them to listen to the sound it makes on the floor. They should come to the conclusion that it makes no sound. It is quiet. Explain to the class when they walk in the halls or around the room when other people are working they should have marshmallow toes and marshmallow voices.“What do you think that means?”Discuss that you would like them not to talk and to walk quietly in the halls using their marshmallow voices and toes. Read poem in pocket chart –

“Marshmallow-Toes”
Walking through the hallways,
Everyone QUIETLY goes…
Being respectful, all the way,
Walking on our “Marshmallow-Toes!”

The Poem and Activity Sheet seen above are found in our Back To School Packet!

Click Here to Learn More!

Summer's Almost Done - The importance of play!

Summer always seems to end with the start of school. With that said, only a few more days left in my summer. This summer really has been great (well, up till the last week - see here). We have been outside 80% of the summer at parks, pools, and trails. My kids have run, biked, played with friends, swam, and been active.

I am super grateful to the mommy friends that I spend my summer days with. I just can't stand sitting at home all day. Thank God I have friends that feel the same way. While our kids are playing with each other; we get to chat and even exercise. Knowing that my friends will be out with me and we have a plan for most days of the week, is what makes summer so awesome. This summer just flew by. It is great knowing each day will be filled with something to do. Busy kids ='s well behaved kids.

My girlfriend Amy, who is also a preschool teacher, had a profound statement the other day. We were talking about the summer and how often we are the only moms and kids at the parks we visit. She said something that made me glad we have spent so much time letting our kids just play on their own. I made her write it out: "I think our kids have learned to socially organize themselves to play games and carry out imaginary play. The biggest thing they have really mastered is their ability to problem solve and make everyone a part of the game they are playing (often a game they have created)." She also made another important statement about why free play is so important, it gives kids "The ability to build their social vocabulary and feelings for others." That from the mouth of a preschool teacher! So I feel good about this summer.

Memories were created and hopefully my kiddos will remember this summer fondly. I hope your kiddos had plenty of time to play this summer.

My Poor Little Cookie is Broken...

This little guy sums up our last two days. Just add some red hair and color the cast green and that is my son in the form of a cookie. Poor guy broke his arm after falling off our backyard jungle gym monkey bars. Keeping positive, but praying he heals well so that he won't need surgery. In a week we will have an answer to that question.

Our little broken cookie is so brave... Having his arm twisted when it hurt so badly to get x-rays. I think mommy cookie and daddy cookie aren't quite as brave. Sleeping is a little tough, but we are trying to make sure our cookie is comfy.

As annoyed as I am with this situation and all the things he can't do & the pain he is feeling from the break... I am trying to focus on the positive.

This happened the last week of summer and not the day before school started or in the middle of all the fun. He has had a blast all summer. Yes, we had fun things planned for this week that he can't do, but we will get creative now.

Little green cast boy keeps reminding me... Thank goodness it was the left hand so I can write with my right hand at school.

We will watch Harry Potter and some other movies. Our neighbor dropped off two movies she thought broken cookie would enjoy and I am looking forward to watching them too.

This is probably not the last broken bone we will face. This is something to learn from... Like today I realized the best way to get a shirt on someone with a cast is to do the casted arm first.

Realizing what a brave cookie we have.

I will be burning more calories with helping my broken cookie get dressed and complete other tasks he normally does on his own. Maybe I will loose a pound.

Hard to feel sorry for myself when so many parents face daily situations that are 10x worse than a broken bone... We can deal and thank God we are so blessed.

Mom Knows What Works, Dad Should Listen...

I believe my kids have the greatest dad in the World. A Dad that always stops to play, a dad who loves them more than anyone and would do anything for them, and a Dad whose eyes light up when he walks in the door after a long day at work... Still, mom knows best. Why, because mom (who happens to be me and a WAHM) is with them 7 days a week -- all day long. Mom knows what works, Dad should listen.

Example #1:

Dad decides to take the kids to the trail by himself. His plan is to run while pushing the stroller with the three-year old in it while the six-year old rides his bike. Mom stays home to get work done. However, mom packs up a little bag with a snack for the 3 year old to eat while she is being pushed in the stroller. Dad sees the snack, takes it out, and says to mom, "Mom, she doesn't need a snack... she can wait till lunch." Mom says, "but I run and push her in the stroller at least twice a week and she always has a snack and is fine and happy in the stroller. " Dad, rolls his eyes and leaves the snack on the counter. Mom hands Dad the IPod and selects the three year olds favorite playlist. Dad says, "Mom this is just a crutch she does not need." Mom says, "But, Dear Dad... I figure since our cooperative bike riding son gets to ride his bike and our 3 year old has to sit in the stroller, she can at least listen to music as entertainment. It makes her last longer in the stroller." Dad does not take the IPOD. Mom gives up... Mom is alone in the house about 45minutes and the phone rings. It is Dad. He is in a bad mood. The three-year-old was crying for a snack... Dad spent the time running and listening to a whining three-year-old. Poor Dad, if only he would have listened to Mom he would have had an enjoyable moderately quiet run. Maybe he will learn from this and listen to mom next time???

Next Time:

Dad decides he is gong to take both kids to the mall to look for a birthday present for Mom. Mom suggests that she keep the three-year-old with her but Dad insists she come. Mom asks dad, "You have the stroller in the car?" Dad says, "No, she can walk." Mom quickly replies, "I never take them both to the mall without a stroller. The stroller will keep her in one place while you look and you can give her a snack or a toy while she waits." Dad pauses, "No, I think we will be fine. She is getting too old to be in a stroller. She needs to learn how to behave in a store." After a few more attempts at trying to get Dad to at least take the stroller, Mom gives up and knows this is going to be bad.

Dad goes to the mall with both kids. Two hours pass. Mom begins to wonder why and how they have been at the mall for two hours. Mom calls Dad on the phone. Dad is obviously in a bad mood. Mom asks, "Is everything okay?" Dad is quick to snap back, "No! Our Three year old is being terrible and just knocked a shelf of clothing down." Dad has to hang up quickly and all mom hears on the other end in a crying three-year-old. CLICK!

Dad gets home and admits something that just makes moms day. While at the mall another mother comes up to Dad and says, "I have two children at home. You should put your daughter in a stroller and give her a snack. It helps and then you can get things done more quickly!" Mom smiles after hearing this and thinks.... my friends are going to love this story!

I did not win... but here's a prize for you!

I am bummed, I did not win the parent choice awards... Losing is no fun (unless I am losing weight)! Burgh Baby won. Congrats to that site! I know many of the 6,000 plus members on my mailring had been voting daily and many of my personal friends and family had been voting too. Thank you to all who voted for Teaching Heart Mom. It was an honor to be nominated for this award.



I did say if Teaching Heart Mom won, I would do a week of free printables... We did not win. Still I would like to thank those that voted with one free printable set. This is a printable board game with a back to school theme. You pick the skill you want to work on and create index cards with the skill. Teachers can use this as a center the first week of school and parents you can use it to get ready for back to school.


The object is to collect all four back to school charms to put on your chalkboard. When your chalkboard is full, you are done and very lucky!


How to Play:
Each player gets one chalkboard to fill.


Taking turns each player rolls the dice and moves their piece ahead.


Once they land they must pull a card and answer the question. You will see that I have two sets of cards on my board. One set is programed for my son (second grade sight words are already on some of the cards). I programed the rest of his cards (the blank ones provided) with math problems and the Kindergarten writing strokes. You can program the blank cards with skills your child or student needs to work on. The other set of cards have things my three year old is working on (shapes, colors, letter sounds, numbers). This game is great because two people working on two different levels can play together! Great when you have a six year old and a three year old playing together. The picture show an example of a set of cards.




Here is what you need to print:

Print 1

Print 2

Back To School Party Winners!

I used http://www.random.org/ to pick each number for each drawing. Below are the winners! I sure hope you see your name below. Congrats to all of you! If you see your name and or email below, please email cgallagher_1999@yahoo.com with the subject, B2S Winner Address. In the message please leave the name of the item you won and your shipping address. You must send shipping on or before August 20, 2009. Items will ship on the 22nd. If you do not respond by the 20th, you automatically loose the winning & a runner up will be selected on the 21st via email.

If you played and did not win... I am so sorry, I wish I had a prize for everyone! I hope to do this again in the future! It was lots of fun!



#1 - hardback book - Amelia Bedelia's First Day Of School
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-amelia-bedelias-first-day-of.html
#14 - cathyc119@yahoo.com

#2 - $25.00 Giftcard to Walmart
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/2500-walmart-back-to-school-party.html
#5 cathyc@tds.net & the link to my blog about the Walmart Back to School Giveaway is:http://cathy-teachingideasandinformation.blogspot.com/

#3. – Basket of Back To School plus 1 CDROM of choice
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/2500-walmart-back-to-school-party.html
#13 amytrax@msn.com

#4. – CDROM of Choice
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/party-party-teaching-heart-cdrom-of.html
#20 I'd love the Timesavers for teaching literature.mj.coward@gmail.com

#5. – SMATH Game
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-to-school-party-day-3-smath.html
#2 My favorite childhood memory of back to school is always traveling about an hour from my home town to go school shopping. My dad would always come along and sleep in the middle of the mall while my mom and sister and I shopped. He NEVER complained about how long it took. I think he looked forward to the yearly naps.Marshammmoffitm@yahoo.com

#6 - First Day Jitters Bookhttp://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/got-jitters-to-giveaway-book.html
#11 Yes, I do get the jitters on the first day of school, but I will say that they aren't as many as my first year teaching! I love the first day because you get to start a new year with a new group of kids- it's kind of like a blank slate. ajb104@hotmail.com

#7. – Graphing Giveaway
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-to-school-party-day-4-graphing.html
Kristilewisk@txkisd.net

#8. – Scholastic 3 DVD Set
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/scholastic-dvd-giveaway-7.html
#26 Jennifersophie30@windstream.net

#9 Back to School Basket #2 with choice of 2 CDROMS – Must be Previous Customer!!!#4 Christine Pickensneenasimone11@aol.com

#10 – The Letter Factory DVD
#1 Suesue.lattea@gmail.com

#11 – Signed Birthday Zoo
#12 - Susielabelle6pack@comcast.net

#12 – Have You Filled A Bucket Today Book
#9 - Amato family

#13 – Lots of Back To School Goodies – 1 CDROM a DVD and more
#6 Patti cradles2crayonsdaycare@gmail.com



Thanks again to all who joined the party!

If you are a company, children’s book author, or sell a product that both a mom and a teacher would love and enjoy please email me cgallagher_1999@yahoo.com, I would love to review it and offer it up as a giveaway in the future! Teaching Heart will also work with you on getting your site listed on one of our pages for a reasonable ad fee package if interested. See Alexa to learn more about our site ranking http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/teachingheart.net

Teaching Heart is one of the top listed sites on GOOGLE and Yahoo for teachers. Try typing in a search for teaching themes or teaching lessons and we are always one of the top 10 sites on google - if not one of the top 5. Try Teacher Interview and we are the top. We usually come up for any searchable teacher topic. Teaching Heart also has two mailring each with over 5,000 members. We also have a Facebook page with over 600 members. All of these places are used to support our advertisers and giveaway contributors. - Making TEACHING HEART the place to be!!!

Mini Offices For Home or School

Grab some file folders and make your students a mini office to place on their desks during independent work time. Parents, wouldn't these be great for homework time too???

At this link on Teaching Heart you will find some files and pictures from teachers in the US that use mini offices in their rooms. They have kindly shared their resources so that you could create your own offices.

If you are thinking of making these office for your classroom, I suggest you look through these pages and begin to get an idea of what you want on your office. Then pick and choose some of these files to print and use. The files here would also be useful in the MOOSE Binders as a resources to use at home!!!

Goodbye to Our Yummy Green Guy!

This is our green guy... given to us by my girlfriend who has a knack for farming. He loved sunning himself on our overly sunny back porch. My kids got a kick out of the size of Mr. Zuchinnie. My daughter even said it looked like a Veggie Tale. Before she got too attached... Mommy cut him up and made Zuk Pizza! It was Mmm..Mmm.. delicious. Don't worry, he didn't scream when I cut him up.

First cut into the poor guy. Make large thick slices. In a ziploc combine Extra Virgin Olive Oil & chopped garlic. Place the zucchini in the bag and coat with the mixture.

Throw your coated green circles on the grill with your other yums for the night. Flip them when you flip your meat. When they are cooked about 10 minutes on each side, coat the top with pizza sauce and add shredded mozzarella on top of that.

Now enjoy your yummy green guy... They really are so good.


After having Zucchini Pizza's for two nights we still had a good amount of our green guy left. So I did what I have done since I was a kid... make up a recipe with what I have on hand. Here is what I had.

Here is what it turned into: We will call it: Chocolate Blueberry Green Guy Bread.

Recipe:

1 Devil's Food Cake Box

1 Triple Berry Muffin Mix

2 1/2 cups water

3 eggs or egg substitute

1 Applesauce

(cream all of the above together)

Stir in:

2 1/2 cups zucchini chopped

1/2 cup of blueberries

1 cup of white chocolate chips

Pour into three bread pans. Cook at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes.

My kids loved it! My hubby loved it! It had fruit, veggies, and no oils in it! Success!

I saw this recipe and thought, boy our green guy would have dressed well as a taco boat! Maybe next time.

I miss our Yummy Green Guy, but he was better on the dish than hanging out on the porch.

Recap of BTS Party Giveaways - Last day to play is August 14th

What a fun week! Thanks to all participants! I hope to do it again. Below you will find each giveaway. It is your last day to enter each giveaway. Reread each giveaway and enter them if you can! Good luck and I cannot wait to post the results on the 17th! Check back on the 17th to see if you won!

If you are a company, children’s book author, or sell a product that both a mom and a teacher would love and enjoy please email me cgallagher_1999@yahoo.com, I would love to review it and offer it up as a giveaway in the future! Teaching Heart will also work with you on getting your site listed on one of our pages for a reasonable ad fee package if interested. See Alexa to learn more about our site ranking http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/teachingheart.net Teaching Heart is one of the top listed sites on GOOGLE and Yahoo for teachers. Try typing in a search for teaching themes or teaching lessons and we are always one of the top 10 sites on google - if not one of the top 5. Try Teacher Interview and we are the top. We usually come up for any searchable teacher topic. Teaching Heart also has two mailring each with over 5,000 members. We also have a Facebook page with over 600 members. All of these places are used to support our advertisers and giveaway contributors. - Making TEACHING HEART the place to be!!!

Here's the Recap of the party... Last chance to enter is today, August 14th!

#1 - hardback book - Amelia Bedelia's First Day Of School
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-amelia-bedelias-first-day-of.html

#2 - $25.00 Giftcard to Walmart (must have a blog for this one)
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/2500-walmart-back-to-school-party.html

#3. – Basket of Back To School plus 1 CDROM of choice
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/2500-walmart-back-to-school-party.html

#4. – CDROM of Choice
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/party-party-teaching-heart-cdrom-of.html

#5. – SMATH Game
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-to-school-party-day-3-smath.html

#6 - First Day Jitters Book

http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/got-jitters-to-giveaway-book.html

#7. – Graphing Giveaway
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-to-school-party-day-4-graphing.html

#8. – Scholastic 3 DVD Set
http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2009/08/scholastic-dvd-giveaway-7.html

#9 Back to School Basket #2 with choice of 2 CDROMS – Must be Previous Customer!!!

#10 – The Letter Factory DVD

#11 – Signed Birthday Zoo

#12 – Have You Filled A Bucket Today Book

#13 – Lots of Back To School Goodies – 1 CDROM a DVD and more

Thanks again for a fun time!

All Good Things Must Come to an End!

I love to party!!! All good parties have to end and this is it folks. Our back to school party has been tons of fun. I have had a blast reading your comments and posting some awesome giveaways. I look forward to many happy, happy people on the 17th of August.

One last giveaway and the party is over. :(

This is for a packet of super back to school goodies... You get...

Small red pocket chart, Teaching Heart CDROM for Oct.-Dec., Phonics Flash Cards, Star Student Stickers, Cute Letter Paper Clips from Office Depot (My favorite back to school supply stop), and A Sight Words DVD

How to enter. This one requires a little work. Only one entry per person. You entry must include all of the details below. All entries must be in by August 14th.

a.)List your favorite giveaway for the week. The one you want to win the most.

b.)Find a post on my blog that you have not made a comment on. It cannot be a giveaway post. On the post you find, make a comment there.

c.) At http://www.teachingheart.net/ find the URL for The CDROMS index page and include the address for the link in your post.

d.) Tell me if you knew about the Teaching Heart Mom BLOG before this contest or if you just found out about it during the contest.

e.) How long have you know about Teaching Heart the website http://www.teachingheart.net/ ?

f.) Do you know what Teaching Heart was called before it became Teaching Heart?
You don't have to get f. right I just want to see who gets the answer right first. Give it your best shot!

So your comment would look something like:

a.) Walmart Card

b.) I made a comment on your http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/2008/08/do-you-know-blueberry-muffin-man.html post

c.) http://www.teachingheart.net/..... (yours would have the correct address, I don't want to make it too easy)

d.) I have been following the blog for about a month

e.) I have been visiting http://www.teachingheart.net/ since 1999.

f.) Of course I know what it was called and wonder who else does???

Good luck and thanks for coming to the party!

Have You Filled A Bucket Today Giveaway # 12

A must read book on my list is Have You Filled a Bucket Today. I think every teacher should have this book in their classroom and every parent should read this book to their kiddos. I blogged about it here.

Through simple prose and vivid illustrations, this heartwarming book encourages positive behavior as children see how rewarding it is to express daily kindness, appreciation, and love. This book explains to children that we all carry an invisible bucket in which we keep our feelings about ourselves. When our buckets are full, we are happy; when they are empty, we are sad. It is important to know that we can fill our own bucket and so can others. We fill buckets by saying nice things to the people around us. We fill buckets by doing nice things for people.

Pre K to first grade students really understand this "bucket thing"! I have used it with my own children and they now get it! They know when they are bucket dipping or filling the buckets of others. I have seen the book used in PreK and Kindergarten classrooms and the kids really get the concept of being kind through the ideas in this book.

Today you can win this book for home or your classroom.

You must be a follower or sign up now to follow this blog. In the comments section leave your email. Tell me about someone who fills you bucket. All entries must be in August 14th. One Entry per person. Come back August 17th to see if you won!

Birthday Zoo Signed By The Author # 11

Deborah Lee Rose must love parents and teachers. She donated her book Birthday Zoo. She even signed the paperback! Below are my thoughts on the book.

I was excited to read this book when I got it in the mail. I have never read books by this author. After this read, I can't wait to read more by Ms. Rose. I really enjoyed the book and so did both of my kiddos. It's all about animals at the zoo getting ready for a little boys birthday. It would make a great birthday gift for a little boy or girl. The illustrations compliment the text and had my daughter talking on and on about what was happening in the story. The text is full of catchy rhymes; such as, "Blow up the balloons," puffed the raccoons. "Spread out a cloth," directed the sloth. As a teacher I was thinking of all the opportunities to teach rhyming with this fun book. After one read through, we reread it and as I read I left out the last word in each sentence and my son would fill in the blank with an animal word that rhymed. He had so much fun filling in the blanks and didn't even know he was working on literacy skills.

Teachers you can even put the sentences on sentence strips and leave out the last word. The student would need to say the last word. I can see a center being made out of this book!

Here's how to win the book:

1.) Go over to http://www.deborahleerose.com/ and pick one other book besides Birthday Zoo that you would like to read someday. Come back to this post and in the comments section write the name of the book you would like to read by Rose. Leave your email and that is it! Good Luck!

All entries must be in by TODAY Friday, August 14th.

Leap Frog Letter Factory Giveaway # 10

As a teacher and a parent, I have to say Leap Frog has some of the best "teaching" products. Whenever I speak to Kindergarten or Preschool Parents or Teachers I ALWAYS suggest The Letter Factory Video! It rocks and it will help your kiddos learn their letter sounds.

I also love the Leapster. I am not a big fan of "screen time". But, Iwill admit I can be guilty of giving my kids too much screen time on some days... but I feel less guilty when it is on the Leapster. All the games are fun and teach skills in math and reading. Both of my kiddos have Leap Pads and I love those too. I truthfully haven't found a Leap Frog product I do not like.

This is one of the best learning DVD's I have seen. It will be a great watch for the Pre-k to first grade classrooms. The DVD teaches the letter names. Most importantly, it teaches the letter sounds in a creative way. Viewers see the letters, hear the letter names, they see a picture/video that represents the sound each letter makes, and the viewer hears a catchy tune to match the letter sound. For instance, the letter C is shown in a cold environment with ice hanging from it. The letter comes to life by shivering and stating that it is /c/ /c/ /c/.... old. Then the characters in the story sing the catchy Leapfrog song; "The C says/c/, the C says /c/, every letter makes a sound. The C says /c/. This DVD/VHS is marketed towards parents to use with their PreK to First grader, but all teachers need to know about this video and share it with their class. It would be a great review or introduction to letter sounds. Teachers could also use the catchy phrases and visual representation of the letter sounds in their lessons by creating activities or visuals based on the video. Students will see the sounds letters make, hear the sounds, and sing the sounds. This video combined with strong phonics based classroom instruction will help reach a variety of learning styles and lead your students on the path to becoming strong readers.

HOW TO WIN:

One Entry per person. Must enter today the 14th. Winner will be announced on the 17th. Come back to see if you won!

Parents and Teachers

1.) Click over to http://www.leapfrog.com/ and click on a product you think your child or your students would benefit from. Come back to this post and comment. Tell me the product you clicked on and why you think your child would benefit from this item. Leave your email in the comments section.

2.) You have to be one of my followers. So if you aren't already, please click on follow on the right hand side and sign up.

Good Luck!

Last Day 5 of Back To School Party!

I hope you have had fun this week checking out all the great giveaways... Today is the grand finale for our party!

I have FIVE giveaways scheduled for today.

Be sure to look over all of the giveaways posted this week because today is the last day to enter all the giveaways. Don't miss out... enter to win each one if you can! ONCE AGAIN... TODAY is the last day to enter all the giveaways for our back to school party week!!!

Grab a coffee and stay a bit... make sure you did not miss a giveaway!

Okay, we know you all love Teaching Heart for Back To School Ideas and for great CDROMs to make lesson planning easy. Humor me!!! So here's another basket of Teaching Resources and the winner gets to choose, two CDROMs or packets from here.


Please follow the directions below or your entry will not be approved!

Here's who and how you can win!!!!

For the first giveaway today, you must be a previous customer to Teaching Heart. You must have purchased one of these items from Teaching Heart in the past. You may only enter once. In the comments section give your first and last name (the one you used to order). Give an email address. Tell me what you purchased and how you like the product. What do you like about it and what is one of your favorite resources/activities from the product? Please list the two CDROMs or packets you request if you should win. Reread this paragraph to make sure you know what to write in your entry... I will only except complete entries. I am on tough cookie! Hee-hee!!!


Come on back... more giveaways to come today. So much fun to be had!

SCHOLASTIC DVD Giveaway #8

On to our second giveaway of the day. This one is for anyone!!! Great giveaway (Over $25.00 value)... A set of three Scholastic DVD. Three of my favorites!

I am a huge fan of the Scholastic Storybook DVD's. I love that you can pick the story you want and watch it. The stories are read wonderfully and the video or pictures make the story even more interesting. I love reading my kids or students a story and then letting them watch the story on the DVD. This particular set has some of my favorite stories on it! It has 19 total stories! The best being the video of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. It is such a catchy song sung to the words in the book. The Chicka Chicka Boom Boom DVD includes some other great stories on it; Trashy Town, Rosie's Walk, The caterpillar and the Polliwog, and Joey Runs Away are all excellent stories. The second DVD in the set is full of great stories too. Harry the Dirty Dog is a favorite and the best part of this DVD is that it contains Officer Buckle and Gloria! The third DVD is great for Back to School Time with Miss Nelson has a Field Day and Miss Nelson is Back. As a parent and educator, I recommend the scholastic DVD's all the time and buy them as gifts. A great gift idea is to purchase a book to match one of the DVD's. Give the book along with the DVD! Scholastic Video Collection 3-Pack #2 - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom / Harry the Dirty Dog / Miss Nelson Has a Field Day

Rules to Enter:

PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT BE APPROVED

All entries must be made on or before August 14th (TODAY). You may enter three ways. Three entries per person. Please chooses 1,2, 0r three to complete or do all three for three entries.

1.) In the comments section include your email and tell me one of your favorite books from the collection above. and/or

2.) Share an activity that matches one of the books found on the DVD's on your blog. Share the link to your blog post in the comments section of this post. Also include your email. For example, Teaching Heart has many ideas to match Chicka. Click here to see. and/or

3.) Tweet about this on Twitter. Copy and paste this as your tweet: (Back To School Giveaways at http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/ check it out @teachingheart) Once you tweet this, sign the comments area with "I tweeted this" and your twitter id as well as your email!
GOOD LUCK!!!!

Come on back Friday... only one day left to join the party! Grab your coffee and stay a bit... It's a grand finale filled with a Children's book signed by an author, CDROM's, DVD's, and more! Wahhhhooooo.... who knew back to school could be so much fun!

Back To School Party Day 4 - Graphing Giveaway #7

Have you seen the Staples Commercial for Back to School? The one where the father is singing the Christmas song, "It is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?" I think it is so funny and somewhat rings true for parents. As a teacher, I loved back to school too. I think it is the start of something new. Starting off with a clean slate. I loved getting my room ready and my lessons organized. It was a great feeling to turn off the light in my classroom the night before school started. I knew I was ready and I was excited about starting a new year with new kiddos. O, what they would teach me!!!

In honor of all the PreK to Third Grade Teachers getting ready to take on the kiddos for a great year, the first giveaway for today is a TEACHER ONLY giveaway. It is for a the Teaching Heart Graphing CDROM and small pocket chart. Retail for over $20.00 total. Read more about this CDROM by clicking here!

If you are looking for free graphing ideas, go here!

How to enter:

1 entry per teacher:

1.) In the comments section please place a link to your school or district webpage. Include your email and tell me why you would like the Graphing CDROM for your classroom. Entry must be in on or before August 14th!!!

Once again... You must be a Prek to 3rd grade teacher to enter. Also you must have a school website or district site to enter...

That is all. Good Luck! Winner will be announced on the 17th.

Got the Jitters to Giveaway a Book!!! #6

There are so many great books to read for back to school either to your own children to get them excited about the first day or to your students to introduce them to school! I have a list of my favorites at http://www.teachingheart.net/backtoschoolreading.html . Here you can find ideas to match some of the given books too!

One of my favorite books to give to NEW teachers is First Day Jitters! As this cute picture book shows, first day jitters aren't just for new students. The first day in a new school has Sarah Jane Hartwell wishing she could stay in bed. Mr. Hartwell tries to ease her nerves with reassurance and advice. Throughout the book you think it is a student who may have the jitters (if you look at the pictures closely, you will see some clues to who really has the jitters). Teachers get the jitters too!!! Students will make a text to self connection with the Sarah. Also, students will realize that it is normal for everyone to be nervous for the first day - even your teacher.

Makes a lovely gift for a first year teacher!

All teachers understand what the first day jitters are and they realize that even veteran teachers get those jitters. I still recall the dream I would have before school would start... My classroom was not ready and all my students suddenly show up for school!!!! I would wake up thankful that it was only a dream. Because all teachers know it takes a ton of prep to be ready for that first week of school.

Do you get the jitters before school starts?

To win this book: One entry per person. Entry must be made on or before the 14th of August.

Teachers in the comments section tell me if you get the jitters and share what you love about the first day of school. Leave your email.

Parents in the comments section tell me if your kiddos get the jitters. What do you do to calm their nerves? Leave you email.

That's it kids! Good Luck!!

Come back Thursday for more party fun! Two giveaways!!! Be sure to look over all the giveaways, the last day to enter is the 14th of August. Enter each one if you can!

Back To School Party Day 3 - Smath Giveaway #5

Day Three of our Back To School Party! I don't know about you... but I am having fun! Thanks you all for your excitement about the party... it make me want to do it again. Before I tell you about the next giveaway, I need to shout out: Please check over the other five giveaways. Read over each giveaway. If you entered and your comment was not posted it was because you did not follow the directions on a entry. Each entry is different. I know many of you want that Walmart card... but you need to have a blog so that you can blog about the Walmart giveaway. So be sure to read the rules for each entry. Also, the last day for all entries for each of the giveaways is August 14th. Now time to get back to the party... This is an easy one & there are lots of options to enter!

Sharpen you child's math skills before they go back to school with this fun game!!!

Product Description

"Smath is the game that makes math fun. Now you can sharpen your math skills the fun way. This game makes addition, subtraction, multiplication and division more exciting than ever.
Players use number and symbol tiles to make math equations crossword puzzle-style. Use the tiles in your hand and the ones already on the board to build your own new equations.

Smath can be played on two different levels - one for beginners and one for more advanced players. For beginners, start with simple addition and subtraction equations. As players improve their math skills, multiplication and division can be added to game play and equations. Players score points by adding the value of the tiles they use for each equation formed. Try to increase your score by covering bonus squares with your tiles.
Includes: Smath game board, 184 playing pieces, four game racks and complete instructions. "

Rules To Enter To WIN!!!:
You may pick either to do #1 or #2 or #3. You may do all three entries or just one or two. Three entries per person. Pick one or do all three... Each entry should be a seperate comment... Please enter on or before August 14th.

1.) In the comments section share a back to school memory that you have. Leave your email in your comment. and/or

2.) Follow me on twitter. http://twitter.com/teachingheart After you are following me, make a comment that you are following Teaching Heart on Twitter in the comments section of this post!!! and/or

3.) Join BOTH facebook pages.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Teaching-Heart-wwwteachingheartnet/111345987534?ref=nf
This will make sure your updates show up in your feed

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=46195418417&ref=ts
General Fans Page

After you join, make a comment that you joined the BOTH Facebook pages or if you are already a member of both then tell me that you are already a member in the comments section of this post. (You entry will only be approved if you are a member of both Facebook pages)

Winner will be posted August 17, 2009. Items will be shipped the week of the 17th!!!

Party, Party!!! Teaching Heart CDROM of Choice! Prize #4

Having fun yet? Here is giveaway #4 for the week. You get to pick a CDROM from
http://teachingheart.net/primaryteachertimesaver.html
One lucky winner will be selected.


Here is what you need to do to enter this contest!

Go to http://teachingheart.net/primaryteachertimesaver.html and pick a CDROM you would like to have for yourself or to give to a favorite teacher as a gift. List the CDROM you would like in the comments section and why you would like the chosen CDROM. Please include your email.

One entry per person. You must enter on or before the 14th of August. Items will be mailed the week of the 17th.

Come back on Wednesday for two more giveaways! Here's a hint... one of the giveaways is a great learning game! The other giveaway is a children's book that may take away some Jitters!

Back To School Party Day 2 - Teaching Heart Basket Giveaway #3

We are on day 2 of our Back To School Party! It's so much fun giving away stuff!

Look what we have today... A basket filled with goodies for any k-3 teacher or homeschooler. Winner gets to pick a CDROM of their choice from Teaching Heart. Click here to see what to pick. If you don't teach or homeschool, go ahead and win this for your child's teacher! Save it for his or her Christmas gift! Over a $40.00 Value!!!

Here's the rules for this giveaway:
All entries must be in before the end of August 11th, 2009

You must do either 1 or 2. Or you can do both and enter twice. Two entries per person. If you enter more than twice you will be disqualified.

1.) You must blog about this party and today's giveaway on your blog or website. You must do it today (August 11, 2009). Feel free to grab a button to add to your blog. After you blog, come back here and in the comments section, leave me a link to your post as well as your email. Also tell me which CDROM you would pick if you won. and/or

2.) Facebook This:
Go to the notes section of Facebook:
Add a new note
a.) Copy and paste these directions into your notes. Add the Title… Teaching Heart Back To school Giveaway Week. Write about this contest with a direct link to this post.
b.) Share this post with me by clicking on share (while on your facebook note) and typing in my email cgallagher_1999@yahoo.com
c.) Then come back to this post and put your email address and the words… “I Facebooked this!” Also tell me which CDROM you would pick if you won.

Sorry, no exceptions you must either blog or use facebook or both to enter. THANKS!!!

All entries must be in before the end of August 11th, 2009. Winner will be posted and contacted August 17, 2009. Item will be shipped the week of the 17th.

$25.00 Walmart Back to School Party - Giveaway #2

Wahhhhoooo, we are having a blast getting ready for Back to School with Giveaways all week long... It is some party!!! Here is giveaway #2.

Are you a mom or a teacher with a blog??? Here's an easy chance to win yourself a $25.00 dollar gift card to spend on getting ready for back to school.

NOTE: YOU MUST DO BOTH TO HAVE YOUR COMMENT APPROVED & entered in a contest. Please read all of the post before leaving a comment. I am sorry but you must follow this blog and have blog as directed. I cannot make exceptions to any of the rules for each of the prizes. Thanks!!!

1.) Become a Follower of this blog if you aren't already... You can do that by clicking on Following on the right side of the blog and sign up. It is free and easy.

2.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to Teaching Heart Mom.
Here is what your blog post should include:
Tell us how you would use $25.00 to get ready for Back To School. What would you buy that is Back to School related? Tell us what you love about back to school time. Do you have any special traditions for Back To School???

3.) Once you are following & have blogged, leave a comment with your email and link to your blog post on this post.

Drawing:
You may enter once until August 11th. Winner will be posted on the 17th and will be contacted for shipping address. Items will ship the week of the 17th of August.

Good luck!

Back To School Party - Day 1 Book Giveaway!!!!

As a teacher, I loved getting ready for Back To School. You know how some people say that teachers are so lucky because they get their summer's off? That really is not true for most teachers. Summers are spent planning and preparing for the new year. Most teachers are in their classrooms way before the day they are paid to be there.

As a parent I am a little sad that Back To School Time is around the corner... and I am surprised that I am sad. I thought I would be pulling my hair out about now and praying for the summer to be over. This has been a great summer. The kids and I have had fun together and I will be sad to see them go back to school... I will miss my little cutties.

Still, Back to School Time is exciting... It is a time of new beginnings and a time for a fresh start! Teaching Heart and this blog are ready to celebrate Teachers and Parents gearing up for a great year with a week of giveaways! Come back daily to see the new giveaway.

Today's lovely giveaway is an awesome hardback book....
Amelia Bedelia's First Day Of School

We have another great giveaway to be posted today... so keep checking so you don't miss out!

How To Enter:

1.) Become a Follower of this blog if you aren't already... You can do that by clicking on Following on the right side of the blog and sign up. It is free and easy.

2.) Once you are following, leave a comment with your email on this post.

Drawing:

You may enter once until August 14th. Winner will be posted on the 17th and will be contacted for shipping address. Items will ship the week of the 17th of August.

About the Prize:

I love Amelia Bedelia books and read all of them as a child and as a teacher, I was sure to share them with my students. This book is super special because haven't all Amelia Badelia fans wondered what Amelia Bedelia was like as a child? I know I have and this book shows Amelia as a first grader. This is the first time Amelia Bedelia has been shown as a child. With this great story we now know that Amelia started out silly and that is just the way she will always be. Ordinary first grade happenings become extraordinary with Amelia Bedelia's literal take on all things first grade. Teachers can see themselves in Miss Edwards. She is patient but knows when enough is enough and tells Amelia, after she has gotten out of her seat many times to, “Please glue yourself to your seat.” If you know Amelia Bedelia, you can guess what she does when Miss Edwards just wants her to stay in her seat. Students get a look at a fun filled day and will laugh out loud when Amelia Bedelia does what she is told. The pictures by Lynne Avril really compliment the text and make the story even more exciting. My son loved seeing Amelia Bedelia try to put her nose in a book because he hears me tell him to do that often. This would be a great first week of school read or a special book to share with your child the night before they start school. This would also be a fantastic gift for a new teacher. I love Amelia Bedelia and enjoyed seeing her as a child in this terrific picture book!

It's Almost Time!!!

Reminder… The Teaching Heart Back to School Party starts on Monday and ends on Friday the 14th. Each day will be at least one contest with awesome giveaways. You have to check the blog daily. On the blog you will see how to enter the daily contest or contests for super sweet giveaways. Monday will start the party with two giveaways… Here’s a hint for Monday, one of the giveaways is a back to school hardback children’s book and the other is a $25.00 gift card to somewhere!!! Stop by Monday to get more details. The rest of the week promises to be great too with CDROM’s, DVD’s, Children’s Books, Baskets of Back To School Treats as giveaways and so much more!!!

Check the blog daily at: http://teachingheartmom.blogspot.com/

Also, be sure to join both Facebook Pages! Teaching Heart has Two Pages on Facebook. Join one or both to get at least 1 free printable every six months.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Teaching-Heart-wwwteachingheartnet/111345987534?ref=nf

This will make sure your updates show up in your feed

.http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=46195418417&ref=ts

General Fans Page

Come Follow Teaching Heart is on Twitter now!http://twitter.com/teachingheart

For Tons of Free Back To School Resources hop over tohttp://www.teachingheart.net/ultimate.html

Thanks for reading and have fun at the party!!!

Kick Off Back To School Party!!! Winners

Monday starts our back to school party... So many giveaways. Some days during the week you will even see multiple giveaways. Everyday will have at least one giveaway. Please be sure to check daily for giveaways and rules to enter each giveaway. It is going to be a blast!

I want to thank those that entered the kick-off giveaway. Only four entered and after you hear the giveaway, you will wish you entered too.

Let's say hello to those that took the time to enter. Check out their blogs!!!

1.) Pearlann66
http://muffinsmemoirs.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-best-time-of-year.html

2.) Patti
http://cradles-2-crayons.webs.com/

3.) anniekate
http://anniekate19.blogspot.com/2009/08/teaching-with-heart.html

4.) Amato family
http://theamatos.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-to-school-party-week-of-giveaways.html9/08/back-to-school-party-week-of-giveaways.html

The winner won... Something to drink to get your motor going on the first day of school! A $10.00 gift card to Starbucks & Teaching Heart mug & a Fancy Nancy Book!

Drum roll... Random Number Generator says:
3!!! Anniekate is our winner. Please email your shipping address!

Thanks to the other 3 that entered! You all rock!

Stop back Monday... We will have two giveaways. One is a book giveaway and the other is a gift card valued at $25!!! You will have to stop by to see the book and the gift card.

Discipline Messed Up My Day

Has discipline ever ruined your day?

My what a day... a day that I had hoped to get lots done and unfortunately ended up trying to teach my kids a lesson. One thing that sucks (excuse my french) about being a mom is that if you tell your kids you are going to do something, you better mean what you say! How else are they going to learn that if you say something, you mean it. It drives me nuts when you see a child misbehaving and the parent gives a warning that goes like this... "If you do that one more time, we are leaving!" Child does the undesired behavior again and they don't grab the child by the neck (Ok a good mom may grab the hand -- I think I may have grabbed by the neck today. Oppss!) and leave. It gets worse, the child does the undesirable behavior again and the parents restates the statement... "If you do that one more time, we are leaving!" STOP... do you think they believe you and how often do you say things and not follow through? If you really don't want to leave, then you should have never said that statement in the first place and if you made a mistake (like I did today) and said it, you still need to follow through...

Here's why my day was messed-up due to me trying to be a good mom... Day started with a run on the trail. All was well, kids were good and well behaved! Next stop a quick jaunt through TJMAX to pick a birthday present and then on to my children's favorite place (the grocery store playarea/daycare). Finally we had planned to meet friends at a pool... Unfortunately, we made it to TJMAX and then our day stopped! Why? Because as we are walking through the store my son is pulling on my daughter and my daughter is using her "nasty voice" to yell at him and get him going. Everyone is looking at us. Behavior gets worse as we go through the store... Things get knocked over... Both are being terrible and then I say, "If I have to talk to you both one more time, we are going home and we will not go to the playarea or the pool later." Opppsss... maybe, I should have just said the pool because I really needed grocery's. Too late, it happened my son and daughter are screaming and pushing each other and being terrible. I leave my cart and drag them out of the store. People are staring... I start thinking that they all must be thinking I am a terrible mom and I begin to pray I do not run into someone I know. At this point, both kids are crying and begging to go to the playarea... My daughter is screaming at the top o her lungs. I am sure people could have thought I was abducting her. I almost go back on my word and take them to the grocery store playarea so that I can get my shopping done... but as much as I need milk, I want them to learn a lesson more. Hopefully our next trip out will go smoothly. It just really is no fun using discipline. Sometimes it would be easier to just ignore the poor behavior and go on with what needs to be done or what I want to do... but then would my kids really have horns?

Today is the first day I counted how many days till back to school day!!!!

Exercise Turned Bad

I wasn't sure if I should blog about the LA Fitness shootings in Bridgeville, PA. Since I can't stop thinking about it, I thought I would put some random thoughts out there. First of all, I live about 10 minutes from where this happened. I have been to the plaza often. The Chuckee Cheeses that I take my children to is across the road from the plaza. I think what most freaks me out about this sad story is that it could have happened at any gym or it could have happened anywhere. I almost hoped that there was a big motive to why this happened and then to find out the shooter basically did it because he had trouble getting dates and finding someone to be with forever - even more scary and so heartless. To hear the witnesses talk about what happened is ere, because I go to another local gym and take classes similar to the one the shooter picked to act out his plot. I can imagine the girls in the front of the class didn't even see this coming since they were probably too into the routine to see anyone come into the class. Then when it happened, where do you hide in a box shaped room. Some hid behind the Step blocks or mats. I found myself thinking of the room I take classes in, there is no place to hide as well. Similarly, one could try to shield themselves with mats or with the steps. However, my class has a door in the front and back of the class. I think that when I go back to class I will be sad thinking about what happened only a few miles down the road in a similar facility. I feel blessed that this shooter did not choose my gym and at the same time guilty for having such thoughts since he took lives at another gym. What a terrible thing for any human being to go through. My heart goes out to the families and friends of these people. I pray for them. It really is unfair that things like this can happen. It reminds you how precious life is and how at any moment it can be taken away from you.

Party Necklace Idea

This necklace idea was shared by my friend Nancy!!! It is a quick, easy, and fun idea for a special party!

I thought it would be a great treat for all party people to wear at a bridal shower, birthday party, or bachlorette party.

On a circular piece of cardstock place pictures of the person you are celebrating. Also include a celebration title. "Happy Birthday Jennifer!" Laminate the circle and punch a hole in the top of the circle. String the circle to a mardi gras type necklace. You can purchase the necklaces in bulk through oriental trading. Now all the party goers will have a special treat to wear as they celebrate the occasion.

I was even thinking that teachers could even create these at the end of the year with pictures from the school year. I bet the kids would get a kick out of taking home these necklaces. What a fun and different end of the year treat!

Thanks for sharing Nancy... and yes, I still have your necklaces... I will give them back this week.

Healthy & Colorful Yum For Your Grill

We have been grilling lots lately. Summer is grill time. We usually go through two or three propane tanks in the summer months.

My favorite treat for the grill is to cut up peppers of all colors, green zucchini, and red onions.

Mix up some chopped garlic (I love garlic... so I use about two cloves), three table spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, half cup of red rice vinegar, and seasoning of choice. Toss it with the veggies (if you have time let it marinade and if you don't have time to marinade, it is still good) Throw it on the grill. All I do it lay foil on the top shelf of my grill and put all on the foil and cook it while I cook my meat on the lower rack. MMMM! So good, easy, colorful and healthy way to get veggies in.

It really is so yummy! One of my faves for summer time cooking!

What is your favorite grilling treat?