Sunday Savings Circulars!!! (Oct. 26th) A Weekly Linky Party!

Hey guys!!! How was everyone's week?? I must say that my 2 week fall break has been great! We go back to school on Monday so I've been trying to get back into a rhythm. Monday may be a little exhausting! haha :) I'm excited to see my "kids" and to get some new things started like our interactive notebooks and a different intervention schedule!

If this is your first time perusing or linking up your own Sunday Savings Circulars...WELCOME!!!! I hope you enjoy looking through all the new products, deals, sales, etc.! The Sunday Savings Circulars have joined my love of Sunday ads!! I hope you enjoy them too!!

If you are a returning shopper or linker (new word? :), nice to see you again!! Hope you find some great deals today!!

Here is my Sunday Savings Circular for this week!!


This week, in honor of fall party week (ahh :), my ENTIRE TPT STORE IS 20% OFF TODAY ONLY!!! Make sure to check it out by clicking HERE or on my button below!!!

Come join the party!!!

This linky party works the way you want it to!! Every Sunday, you can send out a Sunday Savings Circular that displays a sale that you are going to have that day, new products you want to showcase, deals like dollar deals/bogo/etc. It is completely up to you!!!



Sunday Savings Circulars!!! A Linky Party!! (Oct. 19th)

Hi everyone!! Welcome to the Sunday Savings Circulars linky party where you get to peruse the deals, sales, and new products of teacher bloggers from all over!!! It's a great way to get to know other bloggers as well as find some AMAZING resources that you can use in your classrooms!

Who doesn't love perusing through Sunday ads with a hot cup of coffee, hot chocolate (my go to), tea?!?

This Week's Sunday Savings Circular 


This week, ALL of my TIME activities are HALF OFF on Sunday!!!!!! My HUGE "Nothing But Time" unit is HALF OFF!!! Make sure to check that out first as a couple of the other products are included in the bundle!!!

Come Join the Party!!!


This linky party works the way you want it to!! Every Sunday, you can send out a Sunday Savings Circular that displays a sale that you are going to have that day, new products you want to showcase, deals like dollar deals/bogo/etc. It is completely up to you!!!



Taking Conferencing MOBILE during Writer's Workshop!

Hey there!!! Welcome to the Bright Ideas Blog Hop!!!! 
It's been a while since I've posted with this awesome hop, and I am SOOO excited to share an idea that I use in my classroom that may be new, old, or slightly different than something you already do! With that :), I really hope you enjoy reading all about my...

Writer's Workshop MOBILE CONFERENCING!!!

After reading friends' blogs, books, and other articles on writer's workshop, I decided I wanted to take my writing conferences MOBILE!

Let's take a look at my past writing conferences!

Back in the past, I would set up my writing with a mini-lesson, status of the class, writing time, conferencing at my u-table, and sharing. Now, I liked and still use everything BUT the u-table!! If you are anything like me, I can easily find 50,000 other things to hurry up and do when you see all of your students working quietly! Not that I'm saying that's a good thing AT ALL or that I did that all the time, but there were those days that I was so overwhelmed that I just HAD to (at least for my sanity) get something done really quickly and get back to conferences. Well, what started as a quick task ended up taking the whole time. Has that ever happened to you?? Like I said, it didn't always happen that way, but I just would be so mad at myself for doing that. 

Then, when I was at the u-table, I would call back one student at a time. Now, yes it's one on one which is great AND lots of teachers are AMAZING at this, but TEACHER CONFESSION...I am not! I admit it!! I do fine with the conferencing part, but I'm not able to monitor the other kids in a way that doesn't disrupt the writing of others. 

So here comes the birth of the MOBILE CONFERENCING!!

What I do NOW!

Now, that I confessed and feel way better haha (thank you for listening :), let me tell you how I have taken my conferencing MOBILE! 

Like I said above, I still set up my writer's workshop like this...
When my kids are independently writing, I take my Conferencing Toolbox (in first picture in post) and go TO my first student conference! I get my conference notebook out where I have tabs for every student with about 5 pages for each student. I start out just talking to my student about what they're working on as I also reference my notebook to see what we were working on the last conference time. My goal is to find something I like about their writing, find a teaching point for the conference, and give a goal for my student to have. For the teaching point, it may be something that I will model and have the student try it after me. I may also teach a new skill to them to practice. Whatever the case, my teaching point usually leads to the goal. 

Now that I just got off track, let's get back to the MOBILE CONFERENCING!! :)

So as I'm conferencing, I have everything I need inside my conferencing toolbox to identify, diagnose, record, and prescribe for my student's writing!! 

Inside my conferencing toolbox I have the items below!

NOW, as I'm sitting all over the classroom, I am in THEIR writing spaces!! I didn't interrupt their thought process. I didn't waste time in the transition of the student getting to the table, opening their journal, conferencing, getting back up, and returning to their seat. There was NO INSTRUCTIONAL TIME LOST!!! YAY!!! That will totally look amazing on our evaluations, too!! haha Right?!? That's not the point, BUT it is a BONUS!!

Since I'm already AMONGST my students, the classroom's behavior is AWESOME!!! I'm with them! I'm not separated and in my own bubble at the u-table. I'm showing them that I respect their writing and their process, wherever that may be! I let them sit wherever they want in the room, except during practice writing prompts. With this, when it's time for me to move on to the next student, my MOBILE CONFERENCING allows me to check in with several other students as I'm in pursuit of the next student. This knocks down behavior issues as well, and it gives me a chance to see what my kids are working on since I can't meet with everyone every day. WIN WIN!!

BOTTOM LINE...MY KIDS LOVE THIS!!! I LOVE THIS!!!



Here is a quote by one of my most reluctant writer's last year (I looped to 3rd this year :)...
WHAT?!? I seriously told myself to stay calm and don't act like a fool and start jumping around that your most reluctant writer is cheering that we are writing today!! Oh my word!!! I wanted to do a teacher dance!! Total teacher chills moment!!

SO...if you can relate to this post at all, maybe give it a try and see how it goes!! It has changed the whole atmosphere of my room! It's probably one of my favorite times of the day aside from reading!! :)

I hope you are able to take something away from this post even if it's simply a laugh or a smile!!! I, by no means, am an expert! However, I am always changing and trying new things so for now, this is working!!! I hope to keep improving the mobile conferencing as we continue on our journey!! Check out my other Bright Idea posts by clicking on the Bright Ideas label in the right column of my blog! :)

If you did enjoy it, I would love for you to join in my journey too!!! You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Now, there are a TON of other BRIGHT IDEAS out there so get comfy and peruse more bright ideas by grade level and topic by clicking on the links below!!!





SUNDAY SAVINGS CIRCULARS (Oct. 12th)!!! A NEW Linky Party!

Hi everyone!!!! I'm sooo excited that you're here for the 2nd week of SUNDAY SAVINGS CIRCULARS!!! I just started my 2 week fall break!! Yes, 2 weeks!!! :) We're on a balanced schedule so we've been in school since July 29th. I already feel like I'm a 100x more relaxed! hah Maybe I'll even get to read a book for pleasure!! WOOHOO!!! So perusing all the Sunday Savings Circulars this week will be even sweeter!!

I'm also SUPER EXCITED to reveal my brand new blog design by Megan from A Bird in Hand Design!!! She's awesome to work with, and I'm absolutely in love with it!!

So let's get this week's circulars started!!! Don't forget to link up your Sunday Savings Circular below!!!!


Sunday Savings Circulars

Here you will find Sunday Savings Circulars by several of us bloggers showcasing some of our favorite products for you to check out!!! Each blogger will choose what kind of deals they would like to have by promoting them with their Sunday Savings Circular! Use the hashtag #sundaysavingscirculars on instagram, twitter, and anywhere else you'd like! :) Here is a look at mine! :)

This week on my Sunday Savings Circular, I have a huge BOGO sale AND the rest of my store will be 20% off!!!
Graphics by Red Pepper (distressed brick background), Educlips (shopping cart), My Clipart Store (vintage frame), Creative Clips(arrow) and Fonts by Hello Literacy and KG Fonts
My 2 newest sets are 2 of my absolute FAVORITES!!! They have come in handy in my classroom, and my kids love them!! SOOO...if you by What's the POINT, anyway?, you get Synonyms & Antonyms GALORE FREE!!!! Simply email me at allthingsapplein2nd@gmail.com with your TPT username, and I will send you Synonyms & Antonyms GALORE for FREE!!! 
This set is all about being able to identify and analyze the author's point of view, or opinion! It starts out with facts and opinions to build the foundation!! If they can't identify and decipher between a fact and an opinion, they're going to have a difficult time figuring out the author's point of view!! Then it progresses along to proving and explaining more on facts and opinions to short passages finding and analyzing author's point of view! TONS of resources included as well!! Organizers, interactive notebook additions, flip flap books, answer keys, QR codes, and options!!! 
This set includes 6 different task card sets! There are 3 different activities, and for each activity, there are 2 sets of task cards: one for antonyms and one for synonyms. You also have the option of mixing the sets within each activity to include a mix of antonyms and synonyms!! There are QR codes if you want to use them, but you don't have to either. Tons of options to use, and the kids love it!! :)

Come Join the Party!!!

This is YOUR Sunday Savings Circular so feel free to do whatever deals/discounts/sales you'd like to do!!! The template is open for you to add your own touches! :)





Five for Friday!! (Oct. 10th)

Happy Friday everyone!!!! It's an EXTRA happy Friday for me since I'm on fall break for 2 WEEKS!!!!!!! :) I've been wanting to link up again for Five for Friday for A LONG TIME now so I thought what a great way to start the break! So here we go!!

SUNDAY SAVINGS CIRCULAR!!!

Do you LOVE reading the Target ads on Sundays as much as I do?!? Well, I've wanted to do some sort of fun Sunday sale for a while, but I just couldn't think of what. Then, as I was looking through my weekly Target ad in my email, the idea dawned on me! A TEACHER SAVINGS CIRCULAR!! :) So last week, I started my very first linky party!!!! SUNDAY SAVINGS CIRCULAR!!! 
Now, I have to be completely honest with you guys!! I was sooooooo nervous that it was going to be a PARTY OF 1!! haha :) It ended up being a PARTY OF 17!!! I think I did a happy dance EVERY time I got the email that someone linked up!!!!! So fun you guys!!! You can link up with me for this weekend's Sunday Savings Circular starting tomorrow at noon!!! OR, stop on by to do some perusing for great deals and sales for Sunday!!! Best thing is, you can do it with a cup of coffee/hot tea/hot chocolate, and a blanket all cozied up on your couch! :)
We started with a new reading series this year, Reading Wonders. Well, the passages are all way higher than where my kids are right now minus a hand full. So when we're trying to practice a skill, it makes it a little difficult when every passage has to be read to them. With that, I've been trying to find/create activities that allow explicit practice with the reading skill of the week. We do literature circles which are at their levels so when we do the reading skill practice, I want to really focus on learning the skill and being able to then transfer it to longer passages. For the past 2 weeks, we've been working on analyzing the author's point of view, or opinion. Not finding much specifically for this, I set out to create a set!! I'm sooooo excited with how it came out that I couldn't wait to share it with everyone!!! Click here to check it out!! :)

This week I made it to 1000 TPT FOLLOWERS!!!!!!!!!! 
I cannot tell you how grateful and excited I am for this!!! TPT, blogging, and instagram came into my life just as things started to get a tad bit crazy in the education world with evaluations changing, testing changing, etc. The people I've met through all of these communities have truly helped me push through these times coming out as a better teacher!! I've learned SO MUCH from everyone, and I have had the absolute JOY in creating, sharing, and blogging with other teachers around the world!! So a HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to all of you for making such a positive impact in my life!!! :) 
OHHH, and I'm having a HUGE giveaway coming up soon so stay tuned!!!! 

I am absolutely LOVING our writer's workshop time this year!!! After I read this POST by my friend, Catherine, at The Brown Bag Teacher, I really wanted to get back to conferencing in THEIR writing space, not mine! Let's face it, when I asked them to join me at the u-table, they had to stop, get up, come over, sit down, open their journal up again, and then conference with me. So much interruption! AND I found myself not monitoring as much when I was stuck to my u-table. Being VISIBLE for the other kids to see helps keep everyone focused and on task. As I sit on the floor, chair, etc. with them, I can join in on their writing without interrupting their thought process. They really like it too!!! In my Writer's Workshop Conferencing Toolbox, I have everything I need to DIAGNOSE my student's writing strengths and weaknesses!

My students LOVE the toolbox! haha They want to look in it, touch it, use it!! It's a great motivator, and it keeps everything with me which makes it much more efficient! Then, when I'm ready to move on to the next student, I can quickly monitor others as I go. My kids are easily writing for 20 minutes, and I mean EVERYONE is writing! We have 45 minutes for writing, but it's split into 35 and 10. So I do my writing warm-up and mini-lesson for the first 15 minutes, and then they write for the next 20 minutes. I seriously almost fell over when one of my most reluctant writers since last year (I looped to 3rd with my class this year. :) came up to me and asked..."Are we going to write today?" I said, "Yes, of course!" This student along with several others, mainly boys have you, CHEERED..."YES!" I stopped in my tracks and looked around at them! TEACHER CHILLS ALL OVER!!!!! :) Don't you wish you could bottle up those moments to keep forever and ever?!? I'll make sure to blog more about this next week!!! 
Finally, I have 2 good friends getting married the next two weekends. The one tomorrow is a friend that I've taught with for 11 years now!!! I was so excited when she asked me if I would make some cards for her bridesmaids!! I love creating for friends, and I love how it turned out!!! This picture is my friend on the left and her sister!! Can't wait to celebrate with both of them!! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by and getting through this extremely LONG post!! :) Have a great weekend!! Don't forget to link up or stop by for the 2nd week of the SUNDAY SAVINGS CIRCULAR!!! :)

Sunday Savings Circular!!! A NEW Linky Party!!

WELCOME TO MY VERY FIRST LINKY PARTY!!!!!! Can you tell I'm just a little excited?!? Get a SNEAK PEAK at what it's all about AND all the deals for THIS SUNDAY (tomorrow), OCTOBER 5TH!!! 

Who doesn't love the Sunday circulars?!?

Last week, as I received my Target sales ad in my inbox, I felt that excitement of "OHHH, what can I buy this week at one of my favorite addictions, Target??" As I perused through the ad, I stopped and thought, "Oh my gosh! I should do a Sunday sales ad, too!!" So, I sat for a couple hours (yes, it takes me forever to create EXACTLY what I want ESPECIALLY when I'm procrastinating on writing my plans!! :) making my NEW SUNDAY SAVINGS CIRCULAR!!! After spreading the word of my new sale, I had several other bloggers/TPTers interested in being a part of this as a Linky party! Well, here it is!!!! My very first Linky Party!! 

Sunday Savings Circulars

Here you will find Sunday Savings Circulars by several of us bloggers showcasing some of our favorite products for you to check out!!! Each blogger will choose what kind of deals they would like to have by promoting them with their Sunday Savings Circular! Here is a look at mine! :)
Graphics by Red Pepper (distressed brick background), Educlips (shopping cart), My Clipart Store (vintage frame), Creative Clips (arrow) and Fonts by Hello Literacy and KG Fonts

Click on the product covers below to learn more about my FEATURED PRODUCTS! :)

 Come join the party!!

This is YOUR Sunday Savings Circular so feel free to do whatever deals/discounts/sales you'd like to do!!! The template is open for you to add your own touches! :)