Spark Student Motivation: Post It Notes and Spelling!

I am linking up with Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching for her Spark Student Motivation Saturday!

My son has always struggled with learning his spelling words. We have tried all different "tricks" over the years to help him. This year he has two weeks to study his words and his test are on Mondays. Ugh! There always seems to be so much time to master the words and then before we know it, it's Sunday night and he has barely mastered a third of the list.

So when my son came home with a few study suggestions from his teacher, I knew I just had to share.

My doorways and cabinets now look like this.........

The idea is to put the spelling words in high traffic areas. Each time your child passes the word, they stop and spell it. This way they are constantly reviewing their words.

My son's teacher also taught him to use an aerobic component. When he stops at a word, he spells it aloud and does hand signals based on how the letters fall on the line.

He raises his hands up for letters that touch the top line (b, d, f, h, etc).

Hands on hips for letters that only reach the middle line (a, c, e, m, etc.).

Hands touch toes for letters that go below the line (g, j, p, q, etc).

I can't recommend these two methods enough. Even before he arrived home with the scored spelling test, I knew it had been successful. Monday afternoon after his first spelling test using this method I arrived home to find new post-it notes replacing the old ones. He felt so confident after his test, he wanted to get started on his new list immediately.

Days later he arrived home with his spelling test - 100%!

How do you spark motivation when it comes to studying vocabulary words?

My Favorite Things Blog Hop!

I am so excited to be involved in this amazing blog hop that Laura from Where the Magic Happens has put together. 

First, let me start by telling you about some of my favorite things.

I love coffee but I try not to drink it every day. So when I do have a cup, I want it to be good, really good. Dunkin Donuts is my favorite coffee shop. I drink decaf coffee and many other places have such a limited selection of flavors in decaf. DD never disappoints. I love treating myself to one of their many seasonal flavors. Pumpkin Mocha is my current favorite! Since I love DD so much I will be donating a DD gift card to the prize package below so one lucky winner can enjoy DD too!

My all time favorite treat to make over the holidays is sugar cookies. This tradition has become even more fun now that I have children of my own to share it with. We then deliver the cookies to our neighbors and friends. We, of course, make sure we save some for us too!

Here is the link to my all time favorite sugar cookie recipe. 

I am sure I have said this before but my all time favorite school supply is Post-It Notes.

I use these for everything. I use them for exit tickets, summarizing, my shout out board, book discussions, the possibilities are endless.

Lastly, I would like to share my four favorite items from my TpT store. They will be 50% off from December 7th - 14th. They are currently my featured items at my TpT store. I use these products all the time in my 5th grade classroom. My students love them.  You can also use #myfavoritethings2014 to search on TpT for all the 50% off items available in this blog hop.

If you click on the picture it will take you directly to the product and you can see a full description as to what it includes.

If you click on the picture it will take you directly to the product and you can see a full description as to what it includes.

If you click on the picture it will take you directly to the product and you can see a full description as to what it includes.

If you click on the picture it will take you directly to the product and you can see a full description as to what it includes.

Enter the contest below and then hop on over to the other great blogs participating in this fabulous event!

Because we value our followers and wanted to treat you to our favorite things Oprah style, we have put together the best giveaway of the season! My bloggy friends and I welcome you to the best, biggest, most cheerful event of the season:

7 winners for 7 prize packs!

Come and enter the giveaway and check out my bloggy friends' favorite things:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

Pick 3 - December Pinterest Favorites.

If you're looking for great holiday ideas for your classroom you have come to the right place/linky. PAWSitively Teaching  and Inspired Owl's Corner have set up this great linky to help you find what you are looking for. My three favorites are below.

Last year I made these adorable penguins with my class. They are an easy holiday project that my students loved. See the step by step directions here.

Click on image to view original Pinterest link.

I plan on making these cute Rudolphs for my students. I can't wait to see their faces when they find them on their desks. You can find the directions here.

Click on image to view original Pinterest link.

I think this would make a charming classroom door. The snowman can be left up all through the winter. Go here to find the details.

Click on the image above to view original Pinterest link.

Now hop on over to the other blogs and check out their great Pinterest finds. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Cyber Monday Sale!

It's that time of year again. TpT is having their annual Cyber Monday Sale!

My entire store is 20% off today and tomorrow. Add the promo code TPTCYBER at checkout and get an additional 10% off your purchases. It's a great time to get all those items still on your wishlist. Happy Shopping!