Amazon Giveaway & A Freebie

Friday is World Downs Syndrome Day (WDSD). It's on 3/21 each year!!! The date for WDSD was chosen to signify the uniqueness of the triplication of the 21st chromosome which causes Downs syndrome.  

This year's campaign is to raise awareness is called "Lots of Socks." We are hoping that everyone will wear "lots of socks" on Friday to help increase an awareness and spread the word about WDSD. 

You can wear lots of socks, one sock, colorful socks, or maybe even three socks to represent the 3 chromosomes!

To help spread awareness, I'm giving away a $21 gift card to Amazon!!!

WDSD Lots of Socks Contest!

How to enter:

1. Participate in the "Lots of Socks" campaign on 3/21.

2. Post a picture of you, your family, your kids, OR your students wearing lotsa socks to my Facebook page {here} by midnight (PST) on March 22nd. 

Extra Entry - Earn an extra entry into the contest by pinning the button above and leaving a link to your pin in the comments!

A winner will be chosen and announced on March 23rd. 

Even if you're not participating in the sock campaign, you can still help spread awareness by pinning the button and/or sharing this on your blog, with friends, or on your social media sites! Thanks in advance for helping to get the word out there!

Have you got your leprechaun dust ready for tomorrow??

Well since I haven't posted a freebie in awhile and I don't have any great finds to share with you today for my "Great Finds Sunday," I have a cute last minute freebie you can do with your students tomorrow. 

Kids are amazed to see how this magic dust turns green when they add milk....and even more amazed to see that it has little nuggets of gold in it! 

If you don't have a jar, baggies work just fine! Just be sure NOT to let your kiddos see the pudding box. 

I also have my kids say this magic chant......

"Leprechaun, Leprechaun

Never to be seen,

Make me colors

Turn to green."

Download {here}

This recipe and label are from my classroom leprechaun kit and it is 50% off today. 

Have a great day!!!

Wear Lotsa Socks on WDSD & Win an Amazon Gift Card

Did you know that Friday is National Downs Syndrome Day (WDSD)? It's on 3/21 each year!!! The date for WDSD was chosen to signify the uniqueness of the triplication of the 21st chromosome which causes Downs syndrome. 

On this day, people with Down syndrome and those that work and live with Down syndrome people throughout the world participate in activities to increase public awareness and to create a voice for advocating for their rights and well-being. 

This year's campaign is called "Lots of Socks." We are hoping that everyone will wear "lots of socks" on Friday to help increase an awareness and spread the word about WDSD. 

You can wear lots of socks, one sock, colorful socks, or maybe even three socks to represent the 3 chromosomes!

To help spread awareness, I'm giving away a $21 gift card to Amazon!!!

WDSD Lots of Socks Contest!

How to enter:

1. Participate in the "Lots of Socks" campaign on 3/21.

2. Post a picture of you, your family, your kids, OR your students wearing lotsa socks to my Facebook page {here} by midnight (PST) on March 22nd. 

Extra Entry - Earn an extra entry into the contest by pinning the button below and leaving a link to your pin in the comments!

A winner will be chosen and announced on March 23rd. 

Looking forward to seeing LOTSA socks and spreading awareness for Downs Syndrome! For more info, you can visit the WDSD website {here}.

Amazing Day with Science, Gardening, & Leprechauns

I am so excited!!! What a great day it has been! First off, I finished my NV Alternate Testing up........I can breathe! I don't know if any of you administer the alternate assessments with your students, or what the alternate assessments are like in other states.....but in NV we have to record and videotape them, not to mention deal with a bazillion materials. Here are some of the materials I had to have just for the Science assessment:

a real apple, plastic apple
a real orange, plastic orange
a real table, a toy table
a toy horse
a real flower, silk flower
a hat
a toy boat
3 water bottles--one full, one empty, one 1/2 full
a cup full of paper clips
a cup full of rocks
a cup full of cotton balls
two small boxes--one empty, one with small gadgets

And they don't send any of these materials....we have to gather them ourselves. Needless to say, I'M DONE and oh what a relief it is!!!

The other exciting news that I'm SUPER excited about is that one of my Autistic students got approved today for in-home therapy sessions....40 hours a month....paid for by the district!!!! Yeah! That's right! An outside agency partnered with The Lovaas Center and Autism Partnership will be going into the home and providing this child with social/behavioral/communication therapy intervention. 

I am so excited to be able to obtain this amazing opportunity for her as her parents have not been able to afford additional therapy. This is probably one of my biggest educational accomplishments I've achieved during my teaching career! Thrilled beyond words! You just gotta dig down deep and find those resources! 

So yes, it's been an AMAZING DAY!!!!!

We also started our rocky candy today that will be ready to eat for St. Patrick's Day! If you've made it before, then you know it takes about 4-5 days to make. 

Super easy though, just a waiting process! This makes it all the more fun for the kids though, as they get to watch the process and see the changes taking place each day!

We also did a little spring planting today! 

If you were a reader of my blog last year around this time, then you may remember the cute little garden we had right outside our classroom door last year!

This year I moved classrooms and had to give up my garden bed.   :( So sad....it was so perfect and probably the only downfall of the new classroom! There is no place for a garden bed near my new room, which is why you see us above planting in containers this year. Oh well, we will have our garden regardless....and it's portable! The kids just love it so much and it really brightens up the school!

Well if you're still planning your St. Patty's Day and want a visit from a Leprechaun, check out my newly posted Leprechaun Kit!

 Just like the "Elf on a Shelf" tradition, but with a Leprechaun! Includes everything you'll need for a fun-filled day of Leprechaun mischief. Check it out {here}.


Until next time..............

SymbolStix Tutorial & Great Finds Sunday Linky

I've had a couple of people ask me how to insert SymbolStix symbols into a template, so I've made a tutorial to show you. It can be tricky to figure out on your own, but once you do it, it's super easy!! Personally, I like SymbolStix much better than Boardmaker.

Now onto some great finds! 

"Great Finds Sunday" is where every Sunday I post some of my great finds for the week and you can too! Your great finds do not have to be educational. It can be anything you found helpful or that you think might be helpful for others. It can be resources, sales, websites, recipes.....you name it!

Have you heard of "Tator Tots & Jello?"....the blog that is? I just love her blog! You should subscribe to her weekly newsletter if you haven't already! Her and her contributors always have great home and holiday ideas and printables. And every Friday she hosts the Link Party Palooza with fabulous giveaways EVERY Friday! Last Friday's giveaway is a $25 Target giftcard and there's still 3 days left to enter! Click on the giftcard to go to the giveaway. 

She's also giving away an awesome $200 Fort Building Kit. You can click on the picture to read more about the kit and to enter!

I also discovered an awesome new educational blog this week that I LOVE and think you will too! 

"Flap Jack Educational Resources!"

Her blog and resources are adorable and she has some great freebies too! You will definitely want to check it out!

And speaking of freebies.....that's how I found this cute little blog.......looking for St. Patty's Day activities and boy did I hit a JACKPOT!!!!!

      Almost 80 St. Patty's Day activities and they're ALL FREE!! 

Just click on the picture to snag some!

And last, Farley has really outdone herself this time!!! It's CURRENTLY for the classroom! 

If you haven't heard of Currently, it's a monthly linky where everyone links up what they're listening to, loving, wishing, wanting, needing, etc. You can check out March's currently{here}. It's fun and because Farley has the rule of 3 where you have to leave at least 3 comments to other bloggers, you get the chance to meet and find other new bloggers. 

You can check out Farley's Currently For the Classroom {here}.

Well that's it for this week! 

Grab the button and link up your great finds!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hope you all have a great week! Anyone else celebrating Read Across America this week???

Lock Your Students in an APP & Currently

One of the biggest challenges with using iPads in the classroom is keeping your students in the app you put them in. Now you can do that with "Guided Access." Here's how:

To use Guided Access, open the app you want to lock your student in. Tap the home button 3 consecutive times quickly. That is the button on the front bottom of the iPad. You will be prompted to enter your passcode. Do so, and then tap {start} in the upper right hand corner. Your student will be locked in the app. To exit Guided Access, tap the home button 3 times again, enter your passcode, and tap {end} in the upper left corner. 
Sorry but because accessibility is restricted in guided access, I was not able to take screen shots of these steps. But if you follow the directions I have provided you will have no problems. 

It's the first of March, so you know what that means..... Currently with Farley!

               CURRENTLY....

I am loving my new kindness wall. It is working out so well with my students and they're are actually being kinder to one another. 

You can read all about it {here}. 

Next week is NV reading week, so my mind is going a hundred miles an hour brainstorming my lesson plans for the week. Our student council has done a fabulous job planning out a fun-filled week for everyone. Here are our themes for the week.

Monday is "Hats off to reading." Everyone will wear a fun hat. (Genre: Dr. Seuss books)
Tuesday is "Reading is an Adventure." Wear animal prints or camoflauge. (Nonfiction books)
Wednesday is "Reading is Cool." Wear sunglasses and a shirt with words. (Poetry)
Thursday is "Reading: Your Window to the World." This is also the district theme and the staff will be wearing the t-shirts below with this logo. Students will wear college or career clothing. (Biography)

Friday is "Brighten your day and be a star reader." Everyone will wear neon colors and a star or two. (Friday Fiction)

As you can see, each day there will be a focus on a specific genre. We also have activities planned throughout the week to include a Read Around, Daily Book Bingo school-wide over the intercom each morning, School-wide D.E.A.R. time each day and other contests. Students can also pledge to read each night between 7-7:30 and we will be calling our students between those times to try and catch them reading. If they are caught they receive a free book the next day. Are you celebrating reading week next week at your school?

Wanting it to rain again!! I live in the desert and no rain, ever! Well we finally got rain yesterday and early this morning. But I want more!

Tuesday our staff is having a Mardi Gras themed potluck at school. I've been searching online for some good recipes, but haven't come up with anything yet! Any ideas out there for a simple, delicious New Orleans style dish that is suitable for a potluck??

?????????? Now for the mystery question!!! The first 3 people to correctly guess what product in my store this snapshot is from will get it for free or have the option of choosing a different item from my store for free!! Link to my store. 

Head over to Farley's blog to link up and meet some new bloggers. Oh and I'm so excited, she actually has "Currently" for students now. Check it out!