Thank You!

TIMES UP! 
Comments closed at 33 entries!
Winner to be announced tomorrow,
Tues., 10/18!

Woo Hoooooo!!!!!

It's a Thank You Prize!

I mentioned a few days ago that I wanted to do a little give-away to thank all the new readers who have decided to follow my blog and even those who lurk!  Any and all who stop by are greatly appreciated.  And to show you my thanks, I'm offering a little basket of some things I hope you will like.



Poor little pumpkin fell over!

 So, what's in the basket?  Glad you asked!  Well, besides the oh-so-fancy, green plastic basket, there are these goodies:

Of course, a brand new copy of Some Smug Slug!

Then, there's a pointer finger (not sure what else you would call this) for your friends and you to use, a blank notebook teacher journal, and just about the cutest folder ever.  I seriously fell in love with this two pocket folder when I saw it.  How fun are those giant pencils? 

A paperback "basic" thesaurus and dictionary from Webster's.  I don't think we can ever have enough of these in the classroom.

Another good book and some treats for you!  Are you familiar with Scholastic's "If You. . . " line of books?  They have to be a Scholastic classic. I must have a ton of them in my classroom, and my friends love each and every one.  It's a basic question and answer format about the event, and I think they have books on almost every event or important person you can imagine.  They are great books for a research center activity.  I think I've just talked myself into doing a post about them later this week!  Then, there are some Jelly Belly Autumn Mix jelly beans for you and a plastic foam pumpkin for a little fall decoration.

And finally, a great book for anyone just starting to use guided reading groups or anyone wanting to refresh what they are doing.  It's Guided Reading in Grades 3-6 by Mary Browning Schulman.  Now, I have to be honest.  This is not a new book.  Everything in the basket is brand, spanking new with the exception of this book.  In fact, there's a small tear on the back cover that I taped.  Here's the story.  When I wanted to start guided reading groups, I purchased a copy of this book and read it from cover to cover.  I probably wrote more notes to myself in the margins than the author wrote text!  It was invaluable as I started my guided reading.   It wasn't until I went to put the book on my bookshelf that I saw this copy sitting right there.  Yes, I had repurchased a book I already had.  So, this is the copy that was sitting on my shelf.  It's essentially new.  I didn't read this copy and there's no writing in it, but it's a little shelf worn.  Is it tacky that I'm including it in this give-away?  I hope you don't think so.  It's just a great resource I would rather share than have sitting on my shelf.

So, that's the contents of my little give-away.  I hope you are interested in entering.  Here's what you need to know:

1. One entry per a person. 
2. One basket for the one lucky winner!
3. To enter, leave a comment with the word "BOOKS!"  That's it, but. . .   If you really want to be a sport, in your comment you could also share the title of your favorite picture book and what mini-lesson you use it for.  It would be a nice way for everyone to get a new idea or two.  Then, everyone is a winner!  Sadly, it won't improve your chances of winning the basket. ;-)
4. The contest will be open from Wednesday, October 12th, 6:00 AM until Monday, October 17th, 6:00 PM Eastern Time.  Now, this is my first give-away, so I'm going old school on the drawing.  I'm just going to print out the comments, cut them into strips, drop them in a bag, and randomly pick one.  It probably doesn't get more old school than that!  Once I draw a winner, I will post their name and comment. The winner will be instructed how to contact me with an address to which I can mail the basket. 
5. The winner will be posted Tuesday, October 18th.

I know how busy teachers are,

so this is just my way of saying thanks to

all of you that choose to spend some of

your time reading my ramblings.

Good Luck to All!