Mrs. Gold's Announcements for Teachers only!
August 10, 2011
If any of you have ever done a Postcard Exchange, you'll know it's really an amazing project and opportunity to learn about the United States. I joined one recently, but we still need a lot of states. If you are a teacher in the following states, please consider joining:
Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, > Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakoda, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Canada.
More info about the project and how to sign up can be found by clicking HERE!
I'm not running this Postcard Exchange, I'm just a part of it, but am trying to get more people to sign up, so please consider joining!
August 7, 2011
I've decided to retire my award for an Outstanding Classroom Website! I'm so sorry to all the teachers who have amazing websites, but I just don't have the time to keep it up anymore. But PLEASE, I would still LOVE to view your websites if you'll send me your links!!! If you have a classroom website, I already know how amazing you are, so keep up the outstanding work teachers!!!
July 15, 2011
I've created a mini-site that has information about my website design business. Click HERE to view it! It can also be found on the Teachers page under "Would You Like Your Own Website?" Now is the best time to start your own site- the start of a new year, and we have a few weeks to get it together before school starts. Contact me if you're interested!
April 18, 2011
August 17, 2009
My friend Mariely Sanchez, who a lot of you
know from
Sanchez
Class referred me today to
Melissa Forney's website. Melissa Forney is an author, presenter, and key
note speaker who works mostly in Florida. Now I've never heard this woman speak,
but Mariely is a HUGE fan of hers. So today I went to her site and I was so
impressed! I wanted to post tonight for all teachers to make sure to visit this
site, especially the free handouts page. On this page, make sure to download the
"Young Writers Survival Kit" and "Writers Toolbox". They were my favorites, but
there are tons more downloads there that you'll find helpful.
August 12, 2009
Teachers, this message is for you! Some of
you had emailed me with interest in my designing a website for you. Now that I
am settled with the baby and seem to have a little free time while he's napping
(more routinely now), I'd love to design a site for you! Please contact me if
you're interested. More information about my services can be found
HERE.
January 9, 2009
So you might have seen on my main page (or guessed it) by now....I'm 4 1/2
months pregnant! I'm feeling great, now that I'm in my 2nd trimester. I had
"night sickness" for the first trimester, which worked out great with my job,
but had me laid up on the couch all night, every night when I got home! I woke
up in the morning and was starving, had a huge breakfast, felt fine all day
while I taught, and then was sick as a dog when I got home from work. But
anyway, that's all over now and besides the fact that right now I have
bronchitis, I feel great! We'll find out what we're having in less than 2 weeks
and are very excited! I'm due on June 11th!
January 3, 2009
Happy new year teachers! I felt that the new year was time for a change on
this page- what do you think?? I have an announcement to make, but I have to
wait until Monday b/c I want to tell my students first, but it will explain a
little bit about why I haven't posted many updates this year. I do apologize,
but I have a very good reason for it! I hope you're still able to use my
resources that are already here though. Here's to a happy and healthy new year
for everyone!
October 22, 2008
Hello! Wow, 2 months have gotten away and I haven't posted
anything?? I'm so sorry! The year has really been busy so far (but good!), and I
have been very tired after work, so I haven't spent much time on the computer.
Anyway, I just wanted to write a quick note to those of you who are using my
spelling program. I'm so happy that it's useful to you, however....if you tell
your kids to do the "type em" activity, can you please give them YOUR email
address, and not mine? I know this sounds funny, but I've been getting so many
emails from random kids lately with their spelling words! And I'm sure you
teachers are wondering where in cyber space their homework landed since you
obviously didn't get it? Well...it's in my mailbox, lol!
Hope your years are going well!
August 20, 2008
Hi everyone! I know that many of you have started back
already, so I wish you good luck with the upcoming school year! I really hope
that your classes are full of well behaved and hard-working students with
wonderful, supportive parents!!! (isn't that all we wish for??)
I posted a new idea on the "Misc. Ideas" section (under Classroom Ideas, then Misc.) Our school has school spirit days, but usually they're just "wear your school colors" each month. I found a bunch of great ideas on Pro Teacher (where else??) and compiled a list for my principal. It may be helpful to you too! Check it out!
August 13, 2008
There's a new VOTE NOW for teachers!!!
Have you all seen Mrs. Jensen's website yet? If not, it's a must-see! I've gotten so many great ideas from her and I just saw her site for the first time tonight! Make sure to check out her page on her Classroom Economy, it's really detailed and helpful for those of you who want to start up your own. She even suggested this website called My Kids Bank, where you can set up your own Classroom Bank, and all the kids have their own IDs and it keeps track of everyone's money! Very cool!!!
Also, today I came across another great site: Mrs. Bainbridge's Class. She has some awesome files for teachers to download. I came across two in particular that were very useful to my new Morning Meeting For Teachers page. There were Activity Cards and also Greeting Cards, which will be very handy to your meetings! I've added them to my MM page, but you can also download them (and more) at Mrs. Bainbridge's site!
August 5, 2008
Today I've added (see below) a new page about Morning
Meeting! I've gotten a lot of questions about how I do Morning Meeting (part of
the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching) in my classroom, so I decided to
create this page for all of you who'd like to try it. It's a great way to create
a community in your classroom. The page includes resources such as printables,
websites, ideas, and book recommendations! I do hope it's helpful- if it is (or
if there's more you want to know) send me an email!
August 1, 2008
Oh that about killed me to write
August as the date above! Where did the summer go? I know that many of you are
starting back soon, so I wanted to wish you all a good start to the new school
year.
Some of you may have already heard of Dynamath before? Well today was the first day that I had heard of it, so I apologize if my discovery today is a big "duh" to everyone else, lol! Dynamath has these incredible monthly printables, including a math calendar (problems for each day of the month) among other creative math activities. Make sure you check this site out!
July 26, 2008
Have you all had a chance to look at the great writing lesson
plans that I posted a few weeks ago? I ended up re-posting Sarah Punkoney's
plans, as I had posted the wrong ones before. But now there is a great variety.
Amy Anderson's plans are geared towards first grade, and Sarah Punkoney's plans
are geared towards third grade. I can tell you, as a third grade teacher, that
I'm DEFINITELY going to try out Sarah's plans, they are very helpful. Thank you
again Sarah and Amy for sharing!
July 10, 2008
I have something really good for
you today, compliments of a few excellent teachers! Has anyone heard of Lucy
Calkins "Units of Study"? Well, it's a great program that pretty much outlines
the writers workshop process, one lesson plan at a time. A few teachers on
Pro Teacher (Amy
Anderson and Sarah Goodsell) have re-written the lesson plans to a very easy to
read and use format and posted them for everyone to use! They've both given me
permission to post these plans (which range for almost the entire year) on my
website! (Thank you girls!!!) Anyway, these plans are actually for a first grade
level, but you can adapt them for your grade level. They're worth taking a look
at! You can find them on the DOWNLOADS page, under Language Arts! Enjoy!!!
June 20, 2008
Teachers, if you've won my award in the past, I have an
updated award that is even cuter than the last one! If you'd like the updated
award, please email me for it. You can view it on the "Win
My Award" page! Thank you
Mariely
for designing it!!!
June 11, 2008
I have a new writing idea posted on the Classroom Ideas page!
I hope you are all enjoying your summer vacation so far! 7 more days for me!!!
June 5, 2008
How many of you are kindergarten
teachers? If you teach kindergarten (or even if you don't), you must see
Kelly's Kindergarten. She has tons of monthly printables for Kindergarten
level- even summer packets! There are songs, games, classroom management tools,
and much more than I can list here! For the rest of you, she has great monthly
newsletter templates- I'm sure they'd be really helpful! Her website is a window
into her classroom, and she shares everything!
May 15, 2008
I know that some of you are almost finished with the school
year (you lucky ducks! I have to go until June 20th) and now is the time to
think about creating a website of your own! Need help? I'd be happy to design
for you! Click on the "Website Design" button below for more information. We'll
have the whole summer to work together and have your new classroom website up
and running by September!
May 4, 2008
Check out
www.teachers.yahoo.com. It's looking to be a great future resource for us if
we all contribute!!!
May 2, 2008
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week
(a little early)! Next week,
Learning A-Z celebrates "our special day" by opening up it's paid members
area for free for you to take what you'd like for an entire week! Each day opens
a new area: Reading A-Z, Raz Kids, Writing A-Z, Vocabulary A-Z, Reading Tutors,
and Science A-Z. Check it out!
It's also Scholastic Dollar Days! Get all kinds of resources for only $1.00! I got some great things last year!
April 25, 2008
Hi everyone! I'm sorry- it's been a long time since I've
added to the site for you. I have been updating it a lot for the parents though,
with class projects and writings, so hopefully some of those ideas are useful to
you! I've had a really busy year, a lot of which has to do with Golden Graphic
Designs, and of course, I've been designing websites for some other teachers as
well.
Anyway, just this morning, I found this great website! It's called Super Teacher Worksheets and the name says it all! It has everything- and it's all printable and ready to use!
My favorite part of this is the spelling lists on the left side of the page. I don't know if your districts have a special spelling program that you have to follow or not, but if you have trouble coming up with spelling lists each week, you HAVE to see this site! Enjoy!!!
February 17, 2008
I have a new
testimonial
up for a website I recently designed if you're interested in viewing it!
January 23, 2008
If any of you have pen pals, I have just updated our
pen pal page with topics for each month, including
pictures and projects that you can do with your pen pals! If anyone has any
other ideas that they do with their pen pals, I'm open to suggestions!
January 17, 2008
Have you seen the website,
Math Wire? I don't know how
today was the first time I've come upon it, but what a terrific site!!! It's got
TONS of creative ways to teach math, and they give you the printables to go with
the ideas! You've gotta check out this site!
January 15, 2008
I've added a new page to the Downloads page for
Science/Social Studies downloads. In my district, to teach our science
units, we use FOSS Science Kits. The kits have every lesson planned out for us,
along with all of the necessary materials and worksheets for the children.
However, recently our district has wanted us to enhance our units by teaching
through Interactive Notebooks. The downloads I've added to the Science section
are "Left Side (creative) Activities" that go along with each lesson, but are
really creative prompts and activities that can be used for anyone teaching
these units! So if you teach Rocks/Minerals or Magnetism/Electricity, you may
find some really cute and creative ideas to use in your own class!
January 3, 2008
Today I've posted "Read All About It Bingo" on the LA
Downloads page. It's a great getting to know you/class bonding game that centers
around reading habits.
December 12, 2007
If anyone's interested in seeing samples of my website
designs as well as reading comments from my new friends I designed for, click
HERE! Winter vacation is a great time to hire me to design a site for you.
Imagine...when the students walk into their classroom on the first day after
break, you could surprise them with their very own classroom website! I finally
finished my Website Design Certification, so my prices will be raising (just a
little) come January 2008, so now's the time to hire me for all your website
needs!
Also, we're playing BINGO at Golden Graphic Designs and you could win FREE graphics for your website! In addition, all items at GGD are now 50% off until Christmas!
November 28, 2007
I'm very excited to announce that
I've added a Message Board to my site! I hope that you will be able to use it to
gain ideas and knowledge from all the wonderful teachers who visit my website!
You can also feel free to use it for personal use as well, as long as you keep
the content appropriate.
November 27, 2007
Happy belated Thanksgiving, teachers! I hope that this holiday
season brings much happiness for you all!
I have a small update tonight. Last year if some of you remember, I'd deleted my entire website. In the process, many of the pictures I'd taken were lost along with it. I tried to recreate my site as best as I could last year without the pictures, so this year I'm making an effort to make up for those lost ones and add new ones. With that being said, on the Science Ideas page, I've added pictures of our volcanoes and "edible rocks" lessons. I hope they're useful!
Also, last year I had posted on here about holiday gifts that the kids can make for their parents. Again- that page was lost with my website, so I'd love to be able to recreate it again for those of you struggling for ideas this holiday season. If any teachers have great holiday gift ideas for parents (from kids) that they do in their classrooms, can you please email me a description (pictures would be great as well) of your activity? I'd love to post it on the website as soon as possible.
In fact...if anyone has ANY great ideas that you'd like me to post on my ideas page, if you don't have your own website, you can always feel free to send them to me and I can add them on here (of course with credit back to you)!
Finally, December is the last month that my
prices are going to stay this low for website design. I have two more weeks
until I attain my website design certification, whoo hoo! I've had some
wonderful teachers who've let me design for them, and it's been very successful
so far. Prices aren't going to go SKY HIGH or anything, but they will go up once
I have that certification, so why don't you give yourself the holiday gift
you've been longing for....your very own classroom website!
November 12, 2007
If any teachers are looking for some great challenges for their
students, I've created a new page for my students called "Printable
Challenges". I have to thank
Mrs. Renz
and
Mrs. Decker for these great printables!
Also, I know that many of you have websites out there, and if you're looking for graphics, not only have I created two new sets (Christmas and Winter 2007), but I'm also having a raffle. It's $2.00 a ticket and if I pull your #, you could win ALL 11 of my purchaseware websets to use on your websites! Can you imagine....11 sets for $2.00?? However, you must buy now. I will pull the numbers on the evening of Nov. 14th, so visit Golden Graphic Designs now!
November 8, 2007
I found some great vocabulary center
ideas today, while browsing the internet. I've uploaded them onto the LA
Downloads page. Enjoy!
October 27, 2007
I'm proud to say that I finally have an update for the Teachers
Section!!! We all know that the day after Halloween is a "lost"
day for students! They are so tired from their candy high and late night
Trick-or-Treating. On the "Holiday
Ideas" page, you'll find great ways to spend that day in the classroom,
which will keep the students focused and learning at the same time. Each child
will bring in their favorite piece of candy that they got the night before. Each
subject area of the day will focus on a different lesson where you will use the
candy. I'm looking forward to using these ideas this coming Thursday!
For those of you who have a website, I've just created the cutest Thanksgiving webset from Golden Graphic Designs. You'll have to check it out! For those of you who don't have a website, but are longing to, remember that I'm available! My prices will go up as of January 2008, so get me now! I've already designed many websites for teachers- you can be next!
October 24, 2007
I am so sorry that I haven't been
good about updating my site this year. I've been really busy with my
website/graphics business. Many teachers have hired me to design their sites,
and it's been keeping me busy to have a 2nd job on top of my teaching job! Plus,
I am taking classes to get my Website Design certification. I'll be done in
December, and then my prices will go up, so if you're interested in having me
design a website for you at cheap prices, now's the time to book me!
In the meantime, I've changed the VOTE NOW question for the teachers. I'd love to see your responses!
September 30, 2007
Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. I hope that the school
year is going well for everyone. It's been really busy with me, but I'm happy to
report that I have really nice kids and great parents, and all is going well so
far!
The first thing I wanted to tell you is that I have a great new Halloween webset out, called Witches. You can see samples on my "home/index" page. It's available for purchase at Golden Graphic Designs right now!
The second and BIGGEST thing I wanted to tell you all is that I'm having a HUGE Halloween Bash with one of my sister sites. You can win tons of prizes through contests and games such as "Pick a Pumpkin", "Trick or Treat", "Halloween Bingo", and there's even a prize bundle of graphics and memberships to pixel sites (if you're into pixeling and creating your own graphics) worth over $230! You can buy raffle tickets to try your luck at winning. You have to check it out! It's so much fun...and everyone's a winner! Click HERE to go to the Halloween Bash!
September 6, 2007
I just wanted to let everyone know that I've added 3 testimonials
to my Website Design page. I've had the pleasure of designing three of my
visitors' websites in the past few weeks, and I'm very proud of the finished
product. They are all happy as well, so if you'd like to read their thoughts and
see their new sites, just click on
Website Design.
My prices are still low....so now's the time! If you've ever wanted a website,
it's still the beginning of the year, and a perfect time to do it. Email me for
more information.
I hope "Back to School" went well for everyone!
August 26, 2007
Today I've added a new idea to the
Back to School Ideas page. It's a very
creative "Defining Our Class" bulletin board or "Student Dictionary" that I
found on ProTeacher from a user named UrbanTEacher.
August 24, 2007
Sign up for "Back to School Bingo" at Golden Graphic Designs, and
win a free purchaseware set or sig-tag of your choice. This is for you,
teachers- I know that some of you may be in great need of a fall webset, so sign
up now! Speaking of websets, not only am I offering a new purchaseware fall set,
but I've just made a small fall linkware set as well, so stop on over to Golden
Graphic Designs and check it out!
August 22, 2007
Teachers, just in time for the autumn season, I've created my
first (and I think my best yet) fall webset! Check it out at
Golden Graphic Designs!
August 18, 2007
I just wanted to add to my
Website Design
page about Netfirms' free hosting plan. If any of you were on the fence about
getting a website, this might just change your mind, and save you a lot of
money, if that's where your concerns lay. Remember, if you want me to design
your site for very cheap prices, you should book me now, as my prices WILL
definitely be going up in the next few weeks/months.
August 15, 2007
I added a couple more
Back to
School Ideas today, as well as some downloads. The newest updates are the
Gremlin Letter, an update for Mystery Friends (my own version, adapted from one
I originally found online), and Shades of Summer. I've also added a new "Writing
Process Book" (in the LA Downloads) that kids can make and hold onto during the
year. It's really cute and compact- someone posted it on Pro-Teacher, and didn't
know the source. If it's you, let me know!
August 12, 2007
More
Back to
School Ideas were updated
today! Can you tell I'm getting ready? Although, the kids don't come back until
Sept. 10th....shouldn't I be relaxing???
August 11, 2007
Today I spent a while updating the
Back to
School Ideas under the Classroom Ideas page. I've not only added 11 new
ideas, but I've also compiled a "Back to School Checklist" as well as a
"Procedures Checklist" (for topics to discuss on the first day with the kids). I
hope these checklists are useful to you, but remember...these are my personal
checklists so some of the content and things listed are personal things that I
do in my classroom. And if anyone has any Back to School ideas to share with me,
I'm always looking for new ideas too!
August 10, 2007
I'm sure that every teacher has their
version of a "Writers Checklist". And I'm sure that every teacher has students
who "say" that they've checked everything over using the checklist, yet there
are a million silly mistakes that say otherwise. Am I right? Well, my checklist
may solve this problem! It's color coded by rule (punctuation, capitalization,
word usage, neatness, and ideas), and students must underline examples of each
color coded rule as they make their corrections. I'm very proud of this, and
think it might just do the trick this year! This editing checklist can be found
on my
Writing
Ideas page, as well as my
LA Downloads
page.
August 9, 2007
Today I added a new page showcasing my
Classroom Economy!
Finally! I figured it all out, after tons of questioning, thinking, and
re-thinking! I think it's going to work out well. Thanks to those of you who
wrote with suggestions. Be sure to check it out!
August 5, 2007
I am very excited to announce that I am now offering Website
Design to customers who would like me to create their sites for them. Customers
may range from people who have no idea how to create a website, all the way to
people who just don't have the time to do it. Check out my prices and details
here! Email me if you're interested.
August 4, 2007
Oh no...it's the dreaded August! For
some of you, that means back to school already! For me, and many others, that
means it's the last month of summer! Good luck to those teachers who are
starting back real soon. I hope I'm able to give you some new ideas!
I just wanted to take a minute to promote my very good friend, Mariely Sanchez's website: Sanchez' Class. You may have seen her site before, but it's made a huge transformation in the last few months, in format and content. The most exciting part of this transformation is her new Teachers Section, which includes ideas, thematic units, TONS (and I mean tons) of downloads, a new teacher section with a "New Teacher Handbook" she made herself, and my favorite part is her "Creative Teacher Blog" where she shares her thoughts on teaching and new ideas. Make sure to check it out- it will definitely help you get prepared for school!
July 26, 2007
If anyone's in need of a "magic, science, or wizards" type set,
I've just uploaded "Magic" to the purchaseware section of
Golden Graphic Designs. I've
added a few things to make the set work to teachers' needs. For example, I've
made glittery texts to say "Math Wizards, Reading Wizards, Writing Wizards, and
Science Wizards" for those of you who are looking for that type of set. It's
really cute, and very cheap, so come check it out!
July 24, 2007
I just found this AMAZING tool called
The Teacher's
Pet. You download it, and it works as an additional toolbar inside of
Microsoft Word! It creates flashcards, word/sentence jumbles, crossword puzzles,
cloze activities, bingo cards, quizzes, antonym/synonym questions,
punctuation/word remover, and so much more! I know that there are tons of
websites out there that do this type of thing, but it's all in one FREE package
that installs right into Word, and I wouldn't post here if it wasn't EXTREMELY
EASY! I mean, I created flashcards in about 10 seconds- it was that easy.
Download it to your home AND school computers!
I've also updated my Teacher Resource Websites page, and have added lots of new links for you to check out!
July 23, 2007
Today I went to a workshop called "Using Technology in the
Writing Process". It was really interesting and gave me a lot to think about for
the upcoming year. The man running the workshop provided us with a link to a
page he'd made on our school website with everything on it that he covered. I'm
not going to list everything we did, because it's all on
this page.
It provides links to programs and websites that will assist your students in the
writing process. I will list one of my favorite links that he gave us today.
It's called
Read,
Write, Think, and I'd seen it before, but not this page. This page in
particular has an index list of interactive student activities that they
provide. Play around, and see what will work for you!
Also, today I was on Pro Teacher, and someone had posted two websites in which there were tons of Morning Meeting games and greetings listed. I don't know about you, but I love to keep a variety of games in my Morning Meetings, so these websites were a great find to me! I hope you'll find them useful as well!
Ultimate Camp
Resource
Origins
July 17, 2007
I'm extending the sign-up for the Bingo game at Golden Graphic
Designs to this Friday, July 20th, to enable more players to take part. You can
win any of my purchaseware sets for free!
July 16, 2007
I had to post SOMETHING on July 16th- it's my 1 year wedding
anniversary today! It's bitter-sweet. I keep remembering all the wonderful
events that happened one year ago today, and how tomorrow at this time I would
have been in Hawaii (sigh).
Anyway...I have a new Vote Now for you, teachers! Please vote when you get a chance. And this is the last call for Bingo. It starts tomorrow, but I need players in order to be able to give away free graphics, so don't forget to visit Golden Graphic Designs right now and sign up!
July 13, 2007
If you haven't read
32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny,
put it on your To Do List for summer vacation. This book, is a series of short
stories told by a third grade teacher, and is quite possibly the best book I've
ever read! Philip Done shares the ups and downs of classroom life in an
extremely humorous manner! I sat down tonight and read over half of it in an
hour, and couldn't stop! I sat there reading and laughing and then re-reading it
aloud to my husband! Take this book to the beach and be prepared to be amused!
I've added it to my
"Must Read Books" page.
July 12, 2007
Bingo is back at
Golden Graphic
Designs! Sign up to play by July 17th to win free graphics!
July 7, 2007
I just found the most amazing tool! It's a
FREE website that converts your files
to PDF files immediately and free of charge! For those of you who like to share,
like I do, this is a great website to have on hand, to help you add to your
downloads page!
Has anyone been on Pro Teacher lately? I think I'm addicted to that website! Anyway, while I was last on there, I found the greatest idea called Behavior Bingo! Read about it in my Misc. Downloads page or my Classroom Ideas (Misc.) page.
With my new PDF converter, I changed over all the "Publisher" files on my downloads page. I know that some of you were having trouble opening them. I also was able to add a few new downloads to the math and misc. pages.
July 6, 2007
Who wants FREE STUFF??? There is a site called
Vista Print, which
prints personalized items from business cards, to magnets, to stamps, and much
more! Each month, they offer 6 products FREE (for the cost of shipping). These
products change all the time, so you have to keep checking back, or sign up for
their mailing list, but I know that one of the items is 250 business cards for
shipping of $5.95. I think that's pretty good! And if you want some really
creative ideas for how to use these printed items in your classroom, visit
Mrs. Meacham's website to see
her Vista Print Creations!
Oh...and there are lots of store sales happening now! Staples is having a "1 cent" sale starting this Sunday! I know that Target has a new dollar section, with lots of teacher supplies. I know you don't want to think about September yet...but think of the savings!!!
July 4, 2007
Happy 4th of July! I just wanted to post about the "50 States
Postcard Exchange" that I'm involved with over at
Mrs. McDavid's website. There is one slot for each state, and kids get to
learn about all 50 states as they receive a postcard from each one throughout
the year! If you'd like to get involved, check out
Mrs. McDavid's site, and sign up now, before your state is taken!
Also...I just found some really great timesavers! These are all printables that kids can work on if they are "early finishers". We all have those, now don't we? I've added these also to my "Teacher Resource Websites" page for future reference.
Daily
Activity Cards
Math Maven's Mysteries
Problem Solving Printables
July 3, 2007
My new "Gold Star of the Week" page has been added to the "Our
Classroom" page- check it out! I'm super excited to implement this!
I've been thinking about implementing a Classroom Economy for some time now. However, I'm having trouble getting it set up, due to time restraints. Right now, I use tickets in the classroom. I give out tickets for good behavior, and can easily turn those tickets into "dollars". However, I'd like to use checkbooks and fines (for bad behavior) but these are two problems I'm having trouble figuring out what to do. If I give a child a "fine", it will disrupt class time while he gives me money (or writes me a check). If he doesn't do it immediately, how am I to remember that I had given the fine, and when should I be taking the fine? The same problem is for the checkbooks. When would the kids have the time to write me a check or balance their checkbooks? Mariely has the same issues that I'm having. If you'll read her blog (scroll down to the bottom of the page), you'll see the issues more in detail. If anyone can advise us on this, we'd really appreciate it. If you respond to her blog, please also email me your response. Thanks!
July 2, 2007
Teachers, there's a new linkware set at
Golden Graphic
Designs entitled Star Student, featuring the Freckle Face Kids! I've
redesigned my Star Student program, which you will see within the next day, on
the Our Classroom page, so be sure to check it out. Thanks to
Beth Newingham and
Mariely for their inspirations of my new idea (and new webset)!
July 1, 2007
Recently, I asked my students and
their parents for feedback on how the year went, and if they had any suggestions
for improvement. One of the things I heard from mostly the kids was that the
spelling homework was monotonous because it was the same assignments every
single week. I actually agreed with them. It got boring after a while, even if I
was giving them a Free Choice for one night.
So I've reconstructed my entire spelling homework system! You can read more about it HERE. Basically, the kids get to choose their spelling homework every night from a monthly calendar with new choices each month. There are more choices than what they have to complete, so they have the freedom to choose what best fits their style or schedule. In the beginning of the year, I will give every student a Spelling Choices Handbook which explains all the activities in detail, with examples.
I'm really excited about this new idea, but I have to thank Mrs. Stamp for her 72 Spelling Cards! You can find them on her website, but that's where I got many of the ideas for the free choice spelling options. Let me know if you have any input or suggestions, or if you find this useful! Oh, by the way, everything is available for download in the Filing Cabinet under Language Arts!
June 29, 2007
Don't miss the Independence Day sale over at
Golden Graphic Designs! Websets are 25% off,
Sig-tags are 50% off, and there is a new Purchaseware Webset entitled "Once Upon
A Fairytale..." Check it out, while the prices are low!
Also, today I've added a few Writing and Science Ideas under the Classroom Ideas page. If there's anything you want me to add to this site, just let me know.
June 26, 2007
Teachers, is anyone interested in being our pen pals this
upcoming school year? I've just had a great last few years with a Hawaiian 3rd
grade class, but they're unable to continue this year, due to the teacher's
movement of grade levels, so we are now left searching for a replacement! I'd
LOVE to continue with a Hawaiian classroom, but we're open to any 3rd or 4th
grade classroom who speaks English! Also, our school enables us to use the video
conferencing equipment, so it would be great to correspond via postal mail for
the school year, and then have a video conference to culminate our project at
the end of the school year. If you are interested, email me as soon as possible!
If you know anyone who might be interested, please send them my email. Thanks!
June 10, 2007
Come and see my new collection at
Golden Graphic Designs, entitled "Exotic Mermaids"! It includes 52 beautiful
backgrounds that will decorate your websites perfectly for the season!
June 9, 2007
Some of you may know, I use a ticket system in my classroom as an
incentive program. I give the kids tickets as I "catch them being good". They
can save their tickets throughout the year for different incentives. Today I've
added my incentive list to the downloads page. It may seem like a lot of tickets
for each prize, but I give out a lot of tickets each day, so it adds up fast. I
give tickets for good deeds, if a child is doing their work quietly, I'll even
give a "ten ticket" to tables who are the first to achieve 10 table points. I
hope that my incentive list is helpful!
Bingo starts today! If you don't see any words highlighted on the BINGO page, you can still email me to play!! It's free graphics- how can you pass that up??
June 2, 2007
Check out the new Summer Bingo game at
Golden Graphic Designs! You can win a free
purchaseware set of your choice, or a sig-tag from my site! We're going to have
a lot of fun! I hope you'll stop by!
June 1, 2007
It's JUNE!!! I know that many of you are already done with
school, so congratulations on completing another year successfully! For those of
you still in school (like me, for another 3 weeks), I wish you a wonderful end
to your school year. Today I added an End-of-the-Year-Letter for parents to my
downloads page. It's a tear-jerker and a must-send for the end of the year. I
hope you'll find it useful. Good luck- I hope to post more soon!
May 16, 2007
Our Mothers Day Cookbooks turned out
really cute. If anyone wants some free recipes, click
HERE to download our recipe book- minus the kid
versions. We have some very eclectic recipes in here, so enjoy!
Also- I'm sorry I haven't posted much lately. I guess my new graphic adventure has taken my time away from this site, but it's so exciting for me! (Check out my new Strawberry Shortcake webset!!) I've also been very busy lately- there's tons of things going on in my personal life (all good!!), and I've started a certification program in which I will come out of it with a Website Certification in a few months, so that's also keeping me very busy. I have to say, the new website classes I'm taking are very motivating, so I'm looking forward to this summer, when I can focus on my websites and graphics and give back to the online teaching world! I hope that you'll continue to visit me!
May 6, 2007
Check out
Dollar Days at Scholastic, teachers! Teacher Resource Books are on sale for
only $1.00 each! Remember to visit Reading A-Z this week too!
April 27, 2007
I don't know if anyone subscribes to
Reading A-Z, but my
district is nice enough to pay for a subscription for every teacher. It's a
great site with tons of printable books by level, along with packets that go
along with each book including vocabulary, comprehension worksheets, and phonics
practice for each book! It's great! Anyway, the point of this is that Reading
A-Z is opening up their website for FREE during the week of May 7th-11th. They
offer not only Reading A-Z, but Vocabulary A-Z, Reading Tutors A-Z, and Writing
A-Z, which I haven't even seen, and am really looking forward to using that
week! So everyday during that week (which is Teacher Appreciation Week) they are
opening up a new section of their site for FREE usage. I suggest that if you
don't already subscribe, that you take advantage of the free day, because it's
worth it.
Is anyone looking for a cute Mothers Day Idea? I'm excited to try a new project this year- Recipe Books. I'm going to have the kids pick their favorite recipe that their mom makes, and write their version on a recipe card. Then, they will actually get the recipe from mom, and write the real version on another card. I will take those cards, copy them, and make recipe books for their moms. (Honestly, this is a great resource for me too b/c I LOVE to cook!) For cute recipe cards that the kids can use, check out Graphic Garden. She's got adorable cards! (Just a suggestion- I'm putting 2 cards on one page, for easy copying. You can copy/paste them right from her site onto a Word Document.)
Another idea I've used in the past has been Bookmarks that read "Top 10 Things I Love About My Mom"- the mom's love it! You can use this idea with cards, books, etc... instead of the bookmarks.
A special thank you to all of the teachers who have helped get the word out about Golden Graphic Designs. I need your help in order to be successful, so keep visiting, spreading the word, (and ordering)! There's also a new purchaseware set available called Busy Bees!
April 21, 2007
The purchaseware section of
Golden Graphic
Designs is now open with a new set: Summer Freckles 2007! It's actually 2
sets in one with a Hawaiian theme and a pool/sunshine theme. It's on sale for
$5.00 until April 30th, and then it will go up to $6.50, so buy now!
April 17, 2007
I've added back my Frequently Asked Questions page today. I had
many questions listed on there from before my website was deleted, and now I
only have one, so feel free to email me anything you want to know and I will add
my responses to that FAQ page.
April 6, 2007
Spring break is almost over, but do I
have a lot to show for it!
Golden Graphic
Designs is now open for business, teachers! For those of you who have a
classroom website, you will really appreciate the colorful and animated school
and kid graphics that I have as linkware! My Freckle Face Kids are so cute!
Please stop by, and let me know what you think! Remember, that you can always
sign up for the newsletter, as I won't always post here about Golden Graphic
Designs, so sign up if you want to stay informed on new sets! Happy Easter and I
hope that everyone has either enjoyed their spring break, or is about to!
April 1, 2007
Well folks, I'm full speed ahead!
Thank goodness it's spring break, or I don't think I'd have the momentum to be
doing all of this! But it's official- I've bought the domain
Golden Graphic
Designs! As of now, it's not open, because I do have to work more on some
sets before I open the site, but because of the terrific response I've gotten
from all of your votes, it gave me the confidence to believe that maybe I can do
this- with your support of course! So I'm not sure when it will be open- I do
tend to be quick about things when I really want them to happen (such as my
website last week!!), so it might be really soon, but I also don't want to rush
on my graphics because I want them to be the best quality they can be. So I will
let you know. In the meantime, I've posted a newsletter sign-up below. Sign up
if you'd like to receive my newsletter letting you know when Golden Graphic
Designs is open for business!
Also- you may have noticed my "Wish List" below as well. I did post about that before my website was deleted, but in case you didn't read that post, I will explain quickly. First of all, I don't want anyone to feel obligated. People in the past have asked what they could do to thank me for the work I've done on my website, and all the ideas/printables that are here. I've never wanted anything other than your visitation and usage of my website, but now that I'm into graphics, there are some memberships that I'm really longing to belong to, but don't quite have the money for all of them. So I've posted a Wish List- for those of you who are so inclined to help out! No obligation!!!
March 30, 2007
Welcome to my new and improved teacher page! I'm sure many of you
have heard by now about my unfortunate incident involving the deletion of my
website. Unfortunately, the last time I backed it up was July, before I got
married, so although I had a lot of it saved, I still had many things missing
and many changes to make. I've had a challenging week, but I pushed myself hard
in order to get as much of it back as I could. I worked hardest on the teachers
page, since that's what I had added to the most since July, which is when my
website was last saved. Please let me know if anything is missing or working
incorrectly, so that I can correct the problem as soon as possible. Also- if you
have won my award since July, please email me, because I only have Award Winners
listed from July and back. I'd really like to add you back to my list! Teachers
with websites, learn from my experience- always back everything up as often as
possible!