Northeastern TPT Meet-Up

Wow, it is hard to believe a week has already flown by since I attended the Northeastern Teachers Pay Teachers Meet-Up last Saturday.  I've had a lot of questions from followers in regards to what the day was like so I figured I'd share my adventure with you in a little blog post.

***Thank you to Mary Beth from Brain Waves Instruction and Donna Tyler from Worth a Thousand Words for providing some of the photographs that appear in this post!***

Since I was unable to attend the TPT Conference in Vegas this year I jumped at the opportunity to attend this much closer conference in Binghamton, NY.  Fortunately, it was only about an hour and half drive from my home in Auburn.

I prepared for the big day by creating and printing some business cards on card stock...

....printing the notes for today's workshops and presentations...

....putting together a gift bag for the teacher tool exchange....

...and creating a gift basket of teacher supply goodies for the big giveaway!

Upon arriving I was immediately overwhelmed by all the friendly faces, new knowledge, collaboration, as well as the amazing decorations and goodies sprawled throughout the room.

I'd like to send a HUGE thank you to all the wonderful ladies who made today possible.  There time and dedication to this conference did not go unnoticed.

There were many amazing donors who helped make today's conference possible.

TPT donated fabulous tote bags and water bottles for each teacher...

... as well as a scrumptious breakfast for all participants and presenters.

We each got a swag bag full of awesome goodies, a raffle prize, and a teacher exchange tool bag.

I selected an amazing bag from Kelsey at Kiddie Kreations by Kelsey.  I'm always on the look out for a stapler that can survive the classroom and so far, the One Touch has lived up to Kelsey's praises.

A photo booth was set up in the corner of the room for TPT sellers to take selfies and group shots.

That is me with the fabulous Susan from The Math Spot and Jackie from The Template Teacher.

Overall, the day was filled with an overwhelming amount of knowledge, tips, tricks, and collaboration with some of the best teachers and TPT sellers I have ever met.  The enthusiasm and energy in the room was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

I know many of the tips and tricks that I learned will help me to improve the materials that I create for the classroom in many ways.  I can't wait for summer to come so that I can get to work editing and revising some of my old products, as well as creating new.

Hopefully you are feeling a little inspired to attend a TPT conference near your home town, or even better, to attend the conference in Vegas.

ATB Challenge - Week 7

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 7 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 7 Challenge: 

Simple right?

All you have to do is smile.

Smile at others to brighten their day.  Smile at yourself.  Smile when your happy.  Smile when your not.

Your smile is one of the first things others notice when they first see you.  Impress them with your best.

Some experts believe that smiling when you are cranky can actually improve your mood.  Not only does smiling help reduce stress, but can actually boost your immune system.

What makes you smile?

Tune in next Sunday for Week 8.

ATB Challenge - Week 6

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 6 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 6 Challenge:

If you are kind to your body your body will be kind to you.  Healthy snacks will keep you energized throughout the day and will keep your spirit running high.

Prepackage your snacks for the week in advance.  Measure out each serving and place them in zip-lock bags or in small containers so you can quickly grab them and go throughout the week.

I love this image of healthy snack ideas under 100 calories from Pinterest.

What are your favorite healthy school snacks?

Tune in next Sunday for Week 7.

Dear Earth,

Happy Earth Day Blogging Buddies!

My class loved reading National Geographic's Human Footprint so much last year that I decided to use it with this year's class as well.  You can see how we used this book a little differently last year here.

This year, after reading the book, students wrote a promise to decrease their negative human footprint on the Earth.

We used their footprints as the leaves of our hallway tree display.

We printed some hearts to fill in the blank spaces that contained Earth Day vocabulary.

What did you do today for Earth Day?

ATB Challenge - Week 5

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 5 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 5 Challenge:

Spring has finally sprung.  So, what are you waiting for?  Get outside and enjoy the increasingly nice weather.

Enjoy the sun, smell the fresh air, enjoy the sound of the birds chirping.  Walking can be extremely relaxing.

Check out all the many varied benefits of walking here.

This is by far my favorite challenge.  Most nights my husband, daughter, two dogs, and I go for a long walk to the park.  It is about a 3 mile round trip walk.  Getting outside in the fresh air and moving lifts my spirit, helps my body relieve any tensions built up from teaching, clears my mind, and provides my husband and I some time to talk.

Don't have time for a nightly 3 hour walk?  I don't blame you!

Try these tips to get more steps into your day:

1 - Set small goals.  15 minutes here, 10 minutes there.  Eventually the walking time will add up.  Every little bit helps.

2 - Find a walking partner.  This could be your spouse, child, neighbor, best friend, or dog.  Anyone could be your walking partner.  Not only will they enhance your walking enjoyment, but they will encourage you to get out and walk more often.

3 - Walk to the store.  If the store is too far away, park further away.

4 - Plan your time.  If you schedule in your walk you will be more likely to do it.

So what are you waiting for?  Stop reading and go for a walk.

Then tune in next Sunday for Week 6.

Writing On a Stick

Are you looking for a way to spice up your writing centers while incorporating a fun spring theme?

Check out my writing on a stick sets.

These are quick and easy to put together.  Just print, tape, and go.

I have students grab a prompt and use the accompanying stationary to write various genres during their writing center time or if they finish work early.  I select a few students to read their writing at the end of the day while we wait for the buses.

Check them out here in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

ATB Challenge - Week 4

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 4 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 4 Challenge:

More water?  Really?  Will that really help prevent teacher burnout?

Surprisingly, it may!

The benefits of drinking water are infinite.  Check out this image I found here on Pinterest.

So, how are you going to squeeze in a few extra glasses of thirst quenching H20?

Tune in next Sunday for Week 5.