It's Hereeeeee! {And a FREEBIE is too!!!}

I finished my Back to School {MEGA} Pack a little earlier than expected...probably due to the temps outside, and not wanting to be anywhere around that heat in the middle of the afternoon.

{Confession: I actually don't HATE the HEAT.  I like it...but since no one else does, I had nothing else to do yesterday afternoon!}


Anywhoooo...my Back to School {MEGA} Pack is up in our TpT shop!  I am also working on posting packets for each of the books individually, but that's taking a little more effort than I currently feel like expending!  {So, if you're looking for activities pertaining to one of the books only, keep your eyes peeled}.  I must say, though, that the {MEGA} Pack is a much better deal {for you bargain shoppers}.


If you won the packet in our little give-away, keep your eyes peeled.  I'll get it to you soon!


For the rest of you, I'm offering up a FREEBIE!  You can grab the Friendly Letter posters I made for the packet for FREE here!

I hope you like them!  I always start my year off with a friendly letter writing.  I end my year that way too...I'm "full circle" like that :)


I hope everyone is having a great Saturday with all this Blog Swappin' goin' on. I know I am :)


Have a good weekend!


Halle

Haven't I Seen This Somewhere Before?

If you regularly read this blog, bear with me because you saw this earlier this week.  I wanted to link up with TBA's Freebie Friday...well, I've wanted to for a loooong time, but this is the first Friday I have my act together.








If you are new, well then, WELCOME!  Glad to have you here.  I am offering up some bulletin board inspiration today!  It's a SMASH-HIT every time I do it.  I can use capitals there because it really is.

It was {and still is} available for FREE in my tpt shop, but I am also uploading it to Google Docs to comply with the Friday Freebie Rules.


Grab it here.


Enjoy and Happy Friday!


Halle

Give-Away Results: Everyone Wins!!!!*

*If you entered the give-away on or before Wednesday, June 27, 2012...YOU WON!  I didn't feel like picking one person {too much work on these lazy summer days, I guess!}

Please make sure I have a way to get a hold of you.  If you didn't leave your email in your original comment, please make sure to email me {acrossthehallin2nd@gmail.com}

My Back to School Books Mega Pack should be finished within the week, and I will email it to you!

Congratulations!

Halle

This Bulletin Board is a Real Crowd Pleaser!

This is a bulletin board that I have done every year since my 2nd year of teaching.  And, every year, teachers, staff members, and parents pop their head into my room to tell me how much they love it!!!

This is the book that inspired the bulletin board, The Best Part of Me {M. Tingley, Wendy Ewald}.  I learned about the book through a workshop I attended awhile back, and I can't for the life of me remember the name, or who lead it.  But it was good.  Really good.

This bulletin board is awesome for the beginning of the year.  It celebrates every single child in your class.  And believe me when I tell you that the kids LOOOOOVE it.  They just think it's the coolest thing to pick their favorite body part.  It's not a question they're asked often, or really need to think about, so they have a lot of fun.  And you should see what they come up with.  Their answers are funny, creative, and surprisingly deep.


I model the board just like the book.  This is not a piece we edit.  Whatever they write is allowed.  We brainstorm using a web, they write a copy in pencil, and then I gave them a black marker and they write their final copy.  I don't know what they loved more: writing in marker, or not having to make any revisions/edits to their writing! 


After they write about their best part, I photograph just that part, and print it in black and white {just like the book}.

I have uploaded the planning sheet, as well the bulletin board sign to our TpT shop for FREE!  The beauty of this bulletin board {and the writing assignment} is that it is meant to celebrate the students, and it doesn't need to be {nor should it be} frilly.


I do this at the end of the year, but I am considering starting next year off with this bulletin board.  It's a really good one no matter when you do it!

This bulletin board really shouldn't be done without the book, which you can buy here.


Let me know if you use it!  I love the feedback here, or at my TpT shop!  And if you do use it, please follow my TpT shop for more {free} resources!


{If you missed the link above, click here to go to our TpT shop}


And remember, we're hosting a give-away here!!  The deadline is sometime tomorrow morning!  Don't forget to enter!

Give-Away Now Closed

Halle

A Flash, 50% Off, Thank-You Sale AND A GIVE-AWAY!

I remember reading, "some"where, "some"time ago, from "some"one, that bloggers {especially small ones like us} need to celebrate every.single.follower.


So when I logged on this morning, and saw that we had reached over 50 followers, I decided to celebrate (and appreciate)!  This is some exciting stuff!  Everything in our store is 50% off right now!  Get it? 50 followers? 50% off...looks like my brain hasn't officially retired for the summer!


Please stop by and see if there is something fun that would work for you for next year!  


Anddddd, I am very hard at work on a back to school book packet that I would love to give away, as a thank-you!


So, please leave a comment below (with your email), letting us know you follow our blog, or that you are a new follower (we love to follow our new followers back :)), and you will be entered to win my Back to School MEGA Book Pack!

This little appreciation sale/give-away will end when I wake up on Wednesday (and I'm sleeping in these days!)

Give-Away Closed. Thanks for participating!

Good Luck, and THANK-YOU!!!


-Halle

Where, Oh Where, Have We Been?

Hello?


Remember us?


We might not be surprised if you didn't.  It's not a new blog that showed up in your blog roll, it's just us, after a much needed vacation!


So, where have we been?  We've said it before, but this year has been very overwhelming for both of us.  Along with new administration came lots of change {not all of it bad, at all...but still.. change!!!! lots of it}.  The change took the wind out of our sails, and the little energy we had went to our students, our classrooms, and all of that end of the year goodness.


Jenna was maid-of-honor to her best friend the very weekend we got out of school, before that she was planning and executing a shower and a bachelorette party {both a distance from her home}, as well as working a 2nd job.  She's been a busy, busy, bee, and her summer shows no signs of slowing down.


Me? Well, I'm just planning a wedding...no big deal.  The first week in June, I was incredibly spoiled by my fabulous coworkers, with an adorable after-school shower, spoiled by my little munchkins {and Dave} for my birthday, and then the frosting on the cake: my bridal shower was thrown for me by my wonderfully creative mom and generous and lovely bridesmaids.


Whew.  That paragraph used a lot of adjectives.


But it was all so wonderful.  I loved every single second of all that good stuff, just for me!  It only happens once, right?  I vowed a long time ago to take it all in, and appreciate it, and I really, really, really did {and still do!}


Here are a few pictures of my {perfect} shower.

See what I mean?  Shabby-chic, girly, pink, vintage-y, garden-y, romantic, perfection.

I realize that this is not teacher-related in the least.  But, this is what I've been doing, and wedding planning has definitely been the focus of my attention lately. We are at just over a month.

I will be back soon with school stuff as well.  Our new administration is allowing us in over the summer to work on our classrooms {see, not all change is bad}.  And since I'm in a new room, {again!}, I am thankful for that, and yes, anxious to get started!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

-Halle