Summer Reading Fun with Book Clubs!

Hopefully you all are winding down your school year and settling into your summertime routine!  I know I am!  It will take me a couple of weeks to program myself to sleep in, though.  My challenge now is to  make sure my two kids get their summer reading going as they prepare for another year in high school next year!  As I pulled up their summer reading assignments I started thinking back to when my son, Derek was in the second grade!  He was in what we called a dream class with a small number of students, many of them teacher’s children or neighbors that we knew really well.  Several of us moms were talking and said that we needed to keep our boys reading over the summer.  So...we decided to make a book club!  There were six boys and all of the moms taught with me (which was wonderful!)  We all belonged to different community pools and knew that the boys would enjoy organized book chats while visiting each other’s pools.    We scheduled six different chapter books with six different pool party dates!  We had a “Book club host” that organized snacks and the craftivity/book discussion.   Basically, each parent signed up for a date and a book and the boys did their activity... then played!   The pools worked well for us but you could do playgrounds, dollar movies, tea parties for girls, painting pottery, park activities, sports days, or whatever interests your kids might have. 
                Book clubs are a great way to keep your kids reading.  
As far as choosing the books you could use there are tons of resources out there!  Check out some below.  I personally love the Spaghetti Book Club because it is "kid reviews" of the books.

Reading to Kids has a wonderful list of teacher recommended books by grade levels for book clubs!  Love it!

Book Clubs Resource has some tips and suggestions for running a book club and getting your books. 

I have made some Summer Book Club freebies here for you to use if you decide to do a book club with your kiddos! 

I'd also love for you to check out my Summer Book Club packet I just posted on TpT!  Please follow me on Teacherspayteachers for more teaching resources and packets!  

Thanks friends and happy reading this summer!-Yvonne 

Flying Cat!

Okay...just when you think you've seen it all, you realize you haven't!   Just had to share this with you all! This evening we went to visit my dad at his house!  Well here we go... me, my husband, my son and our spoiled rotten miniature dachshund (Wallie).  Anyway, usually when we go visit my dad he is thrilled to see Wallie.  When we've gone on camping trips or vacations he has always loved watching our dog for us.  Well not tonight.  I TOTALLY forgot that my dad and step-mom have recently gotten a CAT!!!  So here are the pics to help you imagine what happened...

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Broken...

Within five seconds of opening my dad's door my precious Wallie had chased his kitty (Smokie) right through the bay window!  The cat ran around the kitchen table and straight through the glass in an instant!  Amazingly she didn't have a scratch on her but I now have to buy my dad a new $300-$500 dollar window pane!  The joys of pets!  Just had to share!  Needless to say I am not too happy with my precious Wallie tonight.  -Yvonne :) 

Memorial Day Sale!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone!  I hope you all are enjoying this 3-day weekend with your families  spending time relaxing and settling into your summertime routine!  In honor of the holiday several of us are having Memorial Day Sales starting Sunday!  We'd love for you to check out our TpT stores and see what goodies you can grab at great discounted prices!   My sale runs Sunday-Tuesday!  Check out these other amazing bloggers /teacher friends below for their sale information!  You can also grab some great freebies while you are there at our stores!  I plan to post several freebies over the summer and I know these ladies are always offering something special!!!

 Thanks again friends!  Have a fabulous holiday weekend!-Yvonne

Making Words/Mystery Word Freebie!

Hi friends!  For those of you on summer break already, I hope you are winding down and starting to relax!  For everyone else...hang in there!   It will be here before you know it!  The teacher in me is starting to work on my summer/back to school projects and one of those was to spice up my...Making Words/Mystery Words activities packet I downloaded last year.  I'm sure you've noticed that in each of my center packets I include a Making Words center.  I LOVE Making Words!  It is an awesome time to teach children how words work!  I learned about making words when I discovered Patricia Cunningham's and Marie Clay's word work through my Reading Recovery training years ago!  It is powerful for students to see parts of words and connections of words they make in their own writing and text.
I just posted a freebie for you all to enjoy as a "Back to School" sample!  I hope you will download and try it with your kiddos!  Here is my Making Words/Mystery Word...Playground freebie!  If you like it I hope you will look at my Making Words/Mystery Words by the Month as well!  I teach this small group the first of the year and move them into centers as the children become more independent.  I hope you enjoy these!  If you have questions, let me know!  Thanks-Yvonne

New! Bundled Tiered Math Tub Sets!

Hi bloggy friends!  Wow...just one more day of school!  Here I am sitting on Thursday night excited that tomorrow is the last day of school.  Kind of hard to believe!  I've had an amazing school year with my second graders!!!  They are sweeties and I hate to see them move on.  If there ever was group I wanted to loop with...this is the one!  

On another note...I am excited to share with you my bundled sets of tiered math tubs! In an earlier post I mentioned that I've had several emails and requests for bundled sets.  You now will have the option of buying sets of THREE tiered math tubs at a discounted price!  Just click on the pictures below to see each set!  I plan to make several new tiered tubs this summer.  I'd love to know which Common Core skills you would like for me to focus on.  Leave me a note/comment below if you have a request!  I've already been asked to make one for fractions and measurement!  Thanks so much and have a wonderful Friday tomorrow! -Yvonne

Mother's Day Sale!

Hi friends!  I want to wish you all a ... "Happy Mother's Day!"  May it be a day you all enjoy your moms, love on your children, and take some time for yourselves!  Go take a bubble bath, get a manicure, or buy yourself something really special!  For me,  Mother's Day is a little difficult.  I lost my mom ten years ago this July to breast cancer and miss her so much.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and wish she could be with us all now!  She would be so proud of her family and all of her grandchildren.  My idea of enjoying Mother's Day is to spend time with my husband and two kids, maybe go out to eat, rent a movie, or just chill out!!!  Hope you get to do what you enjoy and I hope you have a relaxing and wonderful day!  In honor of all moms who will spend some time shopping TpT and blog hopping...I am having a 20% off sale on Sunday! Hope you'll check out the deals and have a wonderful Mother's Day! Thanks!
                                                        Yvonne

Muffins for Moms!

Wow!  What a crazy busy week I've had at school!  In addition to all the excitement for Teacher Appreciation Week, we've had so many other things going on.  Our school spends the two weeks after CRCT on Project Based Learning which is amazing!   The children choose from a list of activities (ranging from Piano 101 to learning how to play Rugby) and we implement those activities school-wide in the afternoons.  I taught a health and fitness class with one of my third grade friends Tiffany!  Thank goodness she had done this before because she knew exactly what to do.  Last year I helped with sewing( that was a joke...I don't sew! I was pretty good at ironing though!)  Tiffany lined up yoga lessons, jazzercise, a visit from a pediatrician, jogging for the Couch to 5K program on the track one day, and a gymnastics teacher for tumbling. In between all the physical fun we taught lessons on healthy eating habits and overall fitness!  LOVED it!  We also wrapped up our MAP testing this week (woo-hoo!) and we are having our Muffins for Moms tomorrow.  I wanted to share with you the goodies my students made.  We made "memory pots" with black and white pics of the kids on them.  Here are the pictures of them and a couple of shots I took of my room before I left school today!  These are easy breezy to make!

1.  Paint pots white with tempera paint (school washable paint).

2.  Ask parents to send in black/white pics of the kids on copy paper.

3.  Students cut out their pics and use a paintbrush to paint Modpodge all over the pots.  It looks like glue and is easy to work with!  The more you paint...the shinier they are.  It acts as a gloss coat so you don't need to spray with clear spray paint.

4.  Once dry-tie a ribbon around the rim of the pot!  I actually hot glued the ribbon for the kids.

I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow with their Mother's Day Celebrations!  We also have field day right afterward!  I know...crazy isn't it!!!   Just 6 MORE DAYS TILL SUMMER!  Thanks-Yvonne

Sales and Giveaways! LOVE TPT!

Hi dear friends!  Just wanted to thank you again for following me (Sassy in Second) and to let you know that I am SO excited about our Teacher Appreciation 3 Day Sale!  May 6th-8th all of the items in my TPT store will be 20% off AND you get an additional 10% off if you use the coupon code TAD12.  

This will be an amazing time for you to get your teaching packets at amazing prices!  Great opportunities for you to grab those summer downloads or back to school goodies that you need.  Here are my most recent postings:  

*April and May Math Journal Prompts

*Sassy Cat Goes to the Beach Math and Literacy Centers

*Silly Shape Riddles Tiered Math Tub

and one that I just posted...my B.E.A.R. (Be Excited About Reading) Reading Resources and Graphic Organizers!  Make sure you download my B.E.A.R. strategy posters as well!  They are listed as my Primary Freebie download!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend shopping and remember to keep checking back on my post about the Teacher Appreciation Jackpot to see which packet I choose to give away!  You guys are amazing and I love sharing with you all!  It thrills me to think that students are using my goodies.  Thanks!  Yvonne

Teacher Appreciation Jackpot Update!

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and Sunday, May 6th is sure to be your lucky day! I'm excited to announce the very first Teacher Appreciation Jackpot, an amazing "blog hop" event involving over 130 bloggers!
We wanted to show our appreciation for you in a BIG way, so we've all agreed to give away one of our TeachersPayTeachers products for free on that day! Each free gift will be valued at between $3 and $8, so the total jackpot amount is estimated to be over $500! We'll post the actual amount on Saturday, May 5th.
Because so many bloggers are participating, this event will be divided into three grade level groups. Each of those smaller events is being coordinated by one blogger as shown below:

•               PK - Grade 2- April McNair on A Modern Teacher

•               Grades 3 - 6- Laura Candler on Corkboard Connnections

•               Grades 7 – 12- Adrianne Meldrum on The Tutor House

I can't share any more details just yet, but be sure to check back each day this week to see the events unfold! Watch for blog posts tomorrow from your favorite bloggers to see who is participating in this one-of-a-kind event!In the meantime, why not take a look at the items in my TeachersPayTeachers store and comment to let me know which item you would like as your free gift? Keep in mind that the free item will be valued between $3 and $8.  I'd love to see what interests you!
Thanks so much for all you do! We appreciate your commitment to your students and your dedication as an educator! Thanks so much!-Yvonne


Thursday Jackpot Update:  We are getting closer and closer to the big Jackpot day! Tell everybody you know at your school because this will be an amazing time to get fantastic freebies.  Today we are posting the blog pics of each blogger participating in the Jackpot!  Check them out below.  Remember, items will only be free on May 6th but the TpT Teacher Appreciation sale will continue from May 6th-8th.  Check back for updates on which item I will post.  Thanks friends and have a great night!-Yvonne


Friday Jackpot Update:  Watch tomorrow night for the item I am choosing to give away!  I will give you a hint...it  sells for $8.00 in my TpT store.  Have a great night!-Yvonne


Saturday Jackpot Update:  Let the Jackpot Begin!!!  I am happy to give away my Autumn Math and Literacy Centers as requested by Amelia!  I hope you can use these for back to school centers and some Autumn fun!  I hope you all enjoy it!  Please follow me at my TpT store and check out my other products while you're there!  Leave me a note and let me know what you think!  Have a blast tomorrow as you download a ton of teaching goodies for our Teacher Appreciation Jackpot!  You are all amazing!-Yvonne

Sunday Jackpot Update: It is midnight friends and our Jackpot Giveaway is over!  Thank you so much Laura Candler,  April McNair, and Adrianne Meldrum for organizing this for us all!  Thank you all so much for all your sweet comments on my TpT store and here on Sassy.  I hope everyone was able to download your goodies! I had a blast going from store to store getting so many awesome resources from such talented teachers!  Remember the TpT Teacher Appreciation Sale is a 3-day sale (6th-8th) so you still have plenty of time to shop and look around for some great deals!  Have a wonderful week and good night!