New Finds & A Winner

Thank you to everyone who posted about which products on my wishlist you would like to win.  The number chosen was 8 (we celebrated our 8th year of marriage this month).  Congratulations to Carly Valencio – I just sent you a message so check your e-mail 🙂

Don’t forget that tomorrow is the BIG SALE 🙂  After I finish this post I’m off to finalize my wishlist.  Since my wishlist is over 2 pages long, I think I need to set my budget and THEN prioritize what I really need NOW and what can wait until later. 

I took my first outing to the local teacher store today.  I was good….I promise!   I only got one thing that wasn’t on my list:

I was trying to think of a new incentive for our monthly reading calendars (homework).  Last year I saw one of my friends doing an ice cream sundae party (thanks, Erin).  Each month that students returned calendars, they got to add one more piece to their sundae.  At the end of the year, the students had an ice cream party.  Fun, right?  I loved the idea, I just wasn’t sure I had the wall space to dedicate to it.  I saw these tickets and knew they would be perfect.  Each month the students will earn a sticker on their ticket.  At the end of the year, students will get to enjoy an ice cream party (each sticker represents a part for building that ice cream sundae). 

OK, if I was going all the way to the teacher store, I had to make a Target run, too.  I picked up one more pocket chart and while I was looking through the dollar bins I found these two items:

 

On the left are stickers that say, “Hello, my name is”.  They are about 2″x1″ each.  They will fit perfectly in the pocket chart I use for attendance and lunch count.  I’m so excited!  Each packet comes with 30 stickers which is more than enough for one class, even if students move in/out all year.  I bought a second pack so I would have more for the following year.

On the right is a pack of bookmarks.  There are 24 in the pack, which means I would be cutting it close for class size.  So, I bought a second pack.  Besides, even if my class size is desirably low for once, I just know my kids will need replacement bookmarks throughout the year.  I also give my kids one of these bookmarks to decorate any way they like:

There is a color version, too.  Click on the picture to grab your own copy.