Love for Sandy Hook #love4SH

 

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School. We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children. We honor their memory with our service. Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

Winner {and a freebie!}

Thanks for all the comments... It was fun to see how many (or how few!) days of school some of you have left... and for those of you that are done, I officially hate you! Just kidding... I'm super jealous though, that's for sure... anyway... thanks to my good friend, random number  generator, we have a winner....drumroll please.....




 Comment # 4 is the winner! YAY :)





Check your email, Karen! I wish all of you could win, and I appreciated all of your sweet comments.... so I decided to make a FREEBIE so that EVERYONE can be a winner :)  Click on the image below to snag your freebie from TPT.  And if you want to buy the full elf packet, it is on sale until Saturday. You can check it out here.

So glad that tomorrow is Friday.  Can I get an AMEN?!? :) 5 more days... I think I can, I think I can!

If I were an elf {new pack + giveaway!}

If you recall my post about burnout this summer, you might remember some of the goals I set for this year... one of my goals was to work less, and live more... seems ironic to set a goal like that at the same time I open up a TPT shop and teaching blog :) LOL! BUT, I've been trying really hard to spend more time with friends and not spend so much time at school.  So between having a life and being sick (why am I cursed with sinus infections?!?!?!) I just haven't been on my computer much lately... and you know what, that's okay. There have been entire WEEKS where I don't turn on my home computer at ALL.  It's been nice... however, my TPT to-do list keeps growing by the minute as I get new ideas of things I want to make... sooner or later, I will get around to it {I hope!}

Anyway, it's been a while since I've posted anything new, but I finally got around to making up a new packet... mostly out of desperation... I have been trying to come up with things to keep my kiddos entertained during indoor recess. I don't know what the weather is like where you're at, but here in Utah it's been COLD.... and here's the thing... we can't take our kids out to recess unless it's at least 20 degrees... well, as you can see, we haven't had many outdoor recesses lately... thus my latest packet was born...

this was the forecast over the weekend... notice it says about 1 inch of snow possible.... that's because on Saturday night it dumped well over a FOOT of snow on us... and Monday morning I woke up to much more than just an "inch" of snow!

 

Today.... BRRRR!
 

So yeah, Sunday I was super sick, and woke up to a foot or more of snow... so I decided to hunker down, make some chicken noodle soup, and create.... And let me just tell you... I am LOVING my new packet! Just look how cute it is :)

 

I *LOVE* the movie "Elf", and bought some super cute elf clip art this summer, but never got around to using it... so one day I just printed off some elf pages for my students to color, and they were in HEAVEN! I haven't seen them  this excited since I don't know when... So once I sat down to start making this packet, the ideas just kept coming.... 70 pages later, my packet was finally done (for now anyway... just found more cute elf clipart tonight... might be adding another art project soon! LOL).  Anyway, here's a little information about the packet, as well as a few preview pages... but keep reading for your chance to win the packet!!

 

The packet has everything you need to turn your students into Santa's little elves... this packet has been such a lifesaver for inside recess, but would also be great for a last minute sub or a time filler between now and Winter break (I have 7 more days...I think I can, I think I can!)

 

There are 6 graphic organizers (bubble maps and standard list-type organizers); elf applications, elf information sheets, persuasive writing pages (the kids get to write letters telling Santa why he should hire them or why they would make a great elf); and an assortment of "elf yourself" style pages where the elves don't have faces -- that way the kids can either draw their own elf-face, or you can glue pictures of the children onto the elf. How cute is that?! Here's a few pages from the preview:

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to all of the above awesomeness,  there's a few extra pages just to give you and your class a good laugh... I added a "can, have, are" page, because my students have been rocking those graphic organizers with our non-fiction text lately, so I wanted to see what answers they would come up with for elves... trust me, it's hilarious!  I also had a request for an elf "craftivity" of some sort... Don't get too excited, it's nothing fancy.... after all, I have  7 days of school left... I'm more concerned with surviving than making a cute craft at this point.  If we get our ornaments and cookie mats finished, it will be nothing short of a miracle... (and if I have time, I will post the cookie mats later this week) SO, if you're looking for a super cute elf that you have to trace and cut out of construction paper and scrapbook paper, and add ribbons and bows, then I'm sorry to disappoint you... but if you're looking for something that you can simply copy and let your kids color and cut, then you've come to the right place :) (After all, I am the "good enough" teacher, not the "over-the-top-I-never-sleep-at-night" teacher! LOL!!) See that little elf sample above... I think that is SUPER cute and will look darling in the hallway... my class hasn't finished it yet, but if we get it finished, I will take a picture of the bulletin board.

 

I really hope you will check it out on teacherspayteachers... it's on sale until Friday... but you can enter to win by leaving a comment on this post... simply tell me how many days of school you have left, and what the weather has been like for you. That's it. Super easy.  I'll post the winner on Thursday night :)



Remembering Sandy Hook

It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary... I did not have this blog last December, but I was on facebook... so I pulled my status from that night...  

"We have to believe that there is still good in this world. Yes, today was a sad and tragic day, but we must not lose sight of the fact that children go to school and DO return home safely every day. Today is a reminder to hug your babies even closer and be thankful for every moment you have with them. There is still good in this terrible world. I am reminded of that every time I look at my sweet students. Am I scared to go to work on Monday? Absolutely not. I am saddened by what happened today and can't imagine what that school must be going through. But I'm not going to leave the job I love just because of a single, isolated incident. We never know when or if our babies will be called home "too soon"... All we can do is love them and teach them that in a world filled with hate and violence, there is still a lot of good. We CAN attend school and feel safe."

 

To be honest, I can't think about it without crying.... I didn't know about the shooting until school had dismissed (it was on a Friday, which is "short day" in my school district, and I had recess duty that morning... so I hadn't had 2 seconds to myself the entire day!) I remember getting an email from my mom, who is a secretary at another elementary school nearby, and I had NO idea what she was talking about... I started googling it and went numb... I'm thankful that I didn't know until after my students were gone... because I needed time to process it all, and prepare myself to be strong for my darling little students... I posted that status first in reply to a family member who decided she was going to homeschool her children, and never let them out of sight.... And while what happened is certainly frightening, we can NOT let evil win. 

 

 

I'm not the best with words, so I will stop rambling.... however, before I finish, I want to share a video I recently saw.  Even though the shooting happened on the other side of the country, I quickly learned that one of the victims was originally from Utah... 6 year old Emilie Parker was born in Ogden, Utah, and her family hadn't been living in Newtown for very long when the shooting took place... they brought their sweet Emilie back to Utah as her final resting place... suddenly our state was involved in the shooting in ways we couldn't imagine... The city of Ogden covered the town in pink, Emilie's favorite color.... they wanted pink everywhere to welcome the family here under the most unimaginable of circumstances... I have sat in awe for the past 12 months as I have watched countless interviews with Emilie's parents, and have fallen in love with this blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel of theirs.  Emilie's parents recently put this video together, and I bawl every time I watch it.... Evil did not win on that terrible day... and evil can NOT win in this world. We mustn't let it win.
 

 

As the one year anniversary is quickly approaching, the staff at Sandy Hook Elementary has asked us to preform random acts of kindness in honor of these sweet angels.  If you are on any social media platform, please join us by using hashtag: #love4SH

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School. We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children. We honor their memory with our service. Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

 
Here are a few freebies from TeachersPayTeachers if you would like to incorporate random acts of kindles into your classroom.  Click on the photo to go to the unit.

 

 

 

May these names never be forgotten....