It's A Give Away!

Update 2/22/13: The give away is officially closed!  Thanks to all that entered.  The winner will be posted this weekend, probably Sunday night.  Best of luck to you all!

So, I mentioned that I  wanted to do a give away for a very special reason. 

Today is the day! 

After all, it is the weekend.  What better way to start the weekend?

I know!  I was going to wait a bit so that I could work on the stinky spam problem.  But, it seems that just adding a word verification has solved the problem (she whispered under her breath in fear of tempting the evil spam trolls.)  Before we get to the goodies, let me tell you why I'm so happy to be doing this.  During my hit or miss posting the past few months it seems my little blog hit over 1,000 followers!  I was stunned when I saw that.  Now, I know in blog land 1,000+ followers is not such a big deal.  But, for me it is H U G E!  I was stunned to see that, despite the fact I haven't been posting regularly, you have all stuck around and even a few more joined out little party.  It brought a huge smile to my face and was a major factor in motivating me to get back to blogging.  And, thanks so much to everyone who had such nice comments about losing my teaching mojo.  Your kind words are very much appreciated. 

It is that restored motivation for which I can't thank you enough.  Many of you have commented in the past that you come to my blog for ideas and motivation.  Well, it is your coming here that motivates me and has been just what I needed this school year.  To thank you all for what you give to me, I have a little something to give to you.  I've collected some things that make me smile in hopes they will make you smile!

Before we go on, I should mention that I am limiting this give away to followers of my blog only.  I've never done that with a give away, but it seems fair this time since it is a thank you to them (you!) for bringing me to over 1,000 followers and sticking around during my funk. However, if you want in on the loot just become a follower and join the fun!

The give away includes the goodies

shown in the two pictures below!

Good stuff, right? :-)  Let me tell you why they make me smile.

Mini Stamper Markers - I know these are great for things like having your friends make rebus stories, but I use them in a totally different way.  These markers usually make their appearance during math.  When working on a whole class lesson, I will walk around and look over my friends' shoulders while they work.  If things are going well, I simply lean over, give a quick verbal compliment, stamp the math problem, and move on.   I also switch off on markers so they get different stamps as we are working.  They honestly get so motivated by this you would think I was throwing money at them!    The markers are washable and non-toxic, so sometimes I will stamp the back of their hands instead of the papers.  They love that!  If I have a friend who is struggling a bit, after we work it out together I will give them a bunch of stamps for working so hard and not giving up.  Those are the best smiles ever.

Tri Write Pencils - I order a bunch of these with my school order each year for a very special group of friends.  These are the perfect pencils for my friends who have organization issues, ADD, or just tend to be those kids who are always knocking things off their desks.  Take a look at the picture below, and see if you can figure out why I like them so much.  I might have even highlighted it for you. :-)

Yup!  These pencils are triangular shaped.  They are the same size as normal number two Ticonderoga pencils, but they have flat sides.  These pencils stay where you put them!  They don't roll off the desk or under a paper.  I can't tell you how a simple change to this type of pencil has saved the time lost searching under the desk or  under papers several times a day.  It may seem like a little thing, but it is so helpful to my aforementioned friends.  These pencils are also great for your friends who are having trouble with their grip.  The three sides help with finger placement without the need for a pencil grip.

Sparkle Heart Accents - Who says hearts are only for Valentine's Day?  I included these hearts because they are the exact hearts I used to make a game called Heart Breakers.  I posted about it in THIS POST.  Heart Breakers is a fun review game that your friends will love and you can play anytime of the year.  My previous post will tell you exactly how to set up the cards and play the game.  It will take you just a few minutes to make the hearts, and then you have the game forever.  It's a great review game for all grade levels, seriously K-12 can play this!

Bulletin Board Letters - I like easy.  I like colorful.  I like pre-made, colorful bulletin board letters! These letters are just fun.  Check out the back of the package.

 

TPT Gift Certificate - And finally, what I consider to be the best part of the whole give away. . . a $20 gift certificate to TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS.

 

If you haven't visited this site, you need to go there now!  Teachers create materials from all curriculum areas and post them for sale on this site.  Honestly, you can find pretty much anything you need there.  I like the site because it is a great way to support our colleagues, and it is full of great stuff!  Once you buy something, you can download it immediately.  Also, most everything is so reasonably price you can really get a lot for $20.  I have been toying with the idea of starting a store there myself, but haven't worked up to it.

So, there we go!  A great big THANK YOU give away to those who have been nice enough to follow my little blog and bring a smile to my face.  I think I love give aways so much because, well. . . who doesn't like getting a surprise?  I still send cards and notes via snail mail for the same reason.  How nice is it to get an unexpected something in the mail that isn't a bill?!

Here's the info you need to enter:

1. Leave a comment!  That's your entry.   One comment/entry per a person, please.  I usually like to ask a question for a comment entry, so how about this:  What subject do you most enjoy teaching?  I'll post the total responses for you all after the give away closes.  Or, you can leave any old comment you like!

2. Be a follower of Teaching My Friends. I don't want to exclude anyone, but this is a give away to thank those who have helped my little blog have over 1,000+ followers.  Of course, everyone is welcome to follow and enter.  There's a "Follow" button down a bit on the right side of the page. 

 

The give-away closes on Friday, February 22, 2013, at 8:00 P.M. eastern time. I will randomly pick a winner from the comments and post the winner that weekend. 

Good Luck!

 

Disclaimer: Nothing in this give away is sponsored in any way. 

It's all fun stuff purchased out of my own pocket to thank you!