Guess what I did yesterday! I took part in a vendor day for teachers. An estimated 400 enthusiastic teachers gathered at a popular school-supply store in Covington, Kentucky, to check out the latest in educational offerings and to meet their favorite vendors. I’m pretty sure I chatted with all 400 teachers. It was absolutely the best time ever. One hundred percent engaging and fun!

Whoever came up with the idea of a vendor day was one smart cookie, don’t you think? I sure do! After all, a vendor day is a win for all parties involved. It brings customers into the store. Teachers receive freebies and discounts. And the vendors get to mingle with the folks they are ultimately trying to help out. In our case, that’s you!

So here’s my brainstorm. Let’s have a vendolog—a blog-centered vendor celebration! Here’s how it works: post a comment or suggestion you’d like to share about The Mailbox books, magazines, or online offerings. It could be something you really like, something new you’d like to see, or a suggestion you have for improvement. I’ll do my best to answer questions too. All posts made before the end of August 1 will be entered in a drawing for a $20 gift certificate from The Mailbox. We’ll have at least two winners—maybe more!

Hoping for a doozy of a vendolog!

Diane

Congratulations to our winners–Cathy M., Jodi, Cindi, and Glenda!

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That got your attention, didn’t it? Read on!

One week from today–on Tuesday, August 3, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. EST–The Mailbox is hosting its first online workshop. For a full 30 minutes, editors from The Mailbox and Learning magazines will chat about award-winning (and supercool!) classroom products from this year’s Teachers’ Choice Awards. And, at the same time all this is going on, bunches of free prizes—at least one prize every five minutes—are being given away to workshop attendees!

Let’s think about this. You get to see award-winning products selected by teachers just like you, you get to listen to knowledgeable editors chat about the award-winning products, and you are eligible to win free prizes. Can it get any better? Why, yes it can! The workshop is totally, absolutely, no-strings-attached FREE!

What’s the catch? Well, there’s only one and it’s teeny tiny. You must register (click here) and be speedy about it because space is limited.

My friends will vouch for me when I say I am not a bossy person. However, just for today I’m going to be bossy. I’m actually feeling bossy! Here it goes…

Register! Register right now! Do it! I know you’ll be glad you did!

Smiles,
Diane

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You know I’m a wonderin’ type of gal, right? Well, here’s my wonder for today. How in the world do you decide on a classroom calendar? Since I no longer use a classroom calendar, I only recently realized how many calendar choices today’s teachers have!

The selection of calendar grids is pretty remarkable! In addition to the standard year-round calendar grid (chart), I found disposable calendar grids for monthly use, magnetic calendar grids, and even pocket chart calendar grids. Who knew? There are oodles of monthly banner choices and just as many choices for calendar pieces. It all makes my head spin in a fun sort of way. I think the complete calendar sets are pretty awesome since they include the whole shebang—a year-round calendar grid and a year’s worth of monthly banners and daily calendar pieces. We actually sell a year-round classroom calendar set that’s quite spiffy and a heck of a deal. (Hey, was that a plug? It sure sounded like one!)

Really, I’m not trying to influence your calendar purchases—scouts’ honor. I’m simply curious about how you choose a classroom calendar!

All ears!

Diane

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As teachers we’ve heard a lot of excuses, haven’t we? I think younger students are more likely to give you the straight scoopie. If parents only knew the things we hear!

Older students have a tendency to be a bit more creative—sometimes too creative for their own good. For instance, take Robbie, the red-headed whirlwind who prompted me to promise myself I’d never name my child Robbie. Robbie’s “dog” ate homework, peed on homework, dunked homework in mud puddles, and so on. Come to find out Robbie didn’t even have a dog!

I thought of Robbie last night as I considered the phone call I’ll make this morning to my dentist. “I think my dog ate it” is the only explanation I have. You see, my mouth guard suspiciously disappeared yesterday and I’m quite certain my pooch, Lexie, had something to do with it! (I’m basing my assumption on Lexie’s past interest in this uniquely formed piece of plastic.) If Lexie didn’t eat my mouth guard, she gets a gold star for a successful stash. Either way, I’m without a mouth guard, which isn’t good for a skilled tooth grinder!

Since excuses are on my mind, it seems the perfect time to ask you to share some creative excuses you’ve heard as a teacher! No doubt you’ve heard some whoppers!

Smiles,

Diane

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Teacher stress?  “Fa-la-la-la-la, please don’t mention it. Fa-la-la-la-la, going to my happy place.”

Yep! That’s my reaction. I’m hesitant to bring up teacher stress, especially smack-dab in the middle of the summer. But here’s the deal: if we chat about teacher stress before it strikes, I think we can help each other be better prepared to handle it.

So where do we start? I know that when I begin feeling overwhelmed my stress level skyrockets. Then, before I know it, I’ve spent valuable time and energy simply being overwhelmed. And what good does that do me? My best strategy for harnessing this type of stress is to focus on a solution. Sometimes I simply have to prioritize my tasks. Other times I have to reevaluate my personal expectations. And sometimes I simply have to ask for help. (That’s hard to do, isn’t it?)

What about you? What tips do you have for handling the stresses that come with teaching? I really think we can help each other out!

Thinking of you,

Diane

PS: Remember that July 20th (that’s tomorrow!!) is the last day to be entered in our gift certificate giveaway. Check out “The Mailbox.com Makeover” for details. Congrats to our contest winners, Ruth and Bee!

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And you thought school was out! Here you go.

Preschool teachers: Where can you find directions for making a cereal-studded starfish? Creative ideas for a fishing theme? A song for the seashore? Tips for setting up a play lemonade stand? You tell me!

Kindergarten teachers: Where can you find a summer science activity? A picnic lotto game?  A frog puppet craft? Suggestions for math and literacy centers? A cool and creamy ice cream thematic unit? You tell me!

Grade 1 teachers: Where can you find color labels for your learning centers? Worksheets for reinforcing ending punctuation, reading comprehension, and problem-solving skills? A fishy classroom motivation tip? You tell me!

Grades 2–3 teachers: Where can you find worksheets for reinforcing math, spelling, grammar, and punctuation? Directions for setting up coin-counting and book-report centers? Printable checklists, graphic organizers, and math tables? You tell me!

Intermediate teachers: Where can you find ten different worksheets for reinforcing skills? Forms to fill out online? Classroom management tips? Suggestions for partner centers, math centers, writing centers, and more? You tell me!

Here’s your hint—xim.albethmooc!
Sign in or register now to get all these great ideas for your grade level!

Happy Friday!

Diane

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About this time of year, do you begin to experience symptoms of school supply fever? I sure do! I begin to crave the smell of crayons and drawing paper. Then I start scouring the Sunday ads for bargains. Before I know it, I’ve lost the willpower to pass by a fully stocked shelf of school supplies without making a purchase. Last night I gave in to the fever. I swung by the store to pick up a few items—cleaning supplies, paper products, and a bit of chocolate. Somehow, as if by magic, when I unpacked my bag of goodies I found a brand-new neon ruler, a Toy Story notebook, a package of multicolored ink pens, and a spiffy pink pencil sharpener—all for me! I simply couldn’t resist making a purchase. How about you? Have you made your first purchase of school supplies? I’ll admit to being a chocoholic, but I’m holding off on confessing to being a school supply junkie just yet.

Smiles,

Diane

PS: How do you get your school supply list into the hands of parents?

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Have you checked out our updated Web site? Yesterday, TheMailbox.com went from being a great Web site to being a super-duper, gold star, totally awesome, terrifically fantastic Web site! Can you tell I’m just a little excited?

You’ve got to check out My Mailbox. It’s the best ever! Now you can search for and get free ideas on our Web site! Simply enter a skill, topic, or theme in the search box, click the search button, and—bingo!— ideas pop up. The ideas are there for you to view and print for free.

But wait a second! My Mailbox gets even more fabulous: for just 16 cents a day you can have a digital subscription to The Mailbox magazine of your choice and all the magazine’s online extras, plus access to selected ideas and reproducibles from the past ten years of The Mailbox and Teacher’s Helper magazines and The Mailbox Books for your grade level! And you get a shiny new online file cabinet to save and organize your ideas.

Here’s one more fave of mine that you’ve got to see. It’s called The Mailbox Marketplace, and it’s a shopper’s dream! Right now you’ll find six individual shops filled with timely teaching solutions. What do I mean by timely? Well, for the month of July the marketplace features products for back-to-school! And, better yet, the items have been handpicked by The Mailbox editors (who are all former teachers).

So I’ve got a deal for you! Check out the new Web site and tell me what you think by responding to this post by midnight EDT on July 20. Your name will be entered in a drawing for a $20 gift certificate from The Mailbox—a gift certificate good for any offer on our Web site. Now, I’d better wrap up this post before I’m tempted to give away a second gift certificate! Oh, what the heck! Let’s have two lucky winners!

Proud to be a fan of The Mailbox,

Diane

Congrats to our contest winners, Ruth and Bee!

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Well, it’s not the last call ever for science tips and ideas. That’s not true at all! We’ll surely be chatting about science again in the near future. However, it is the last day to be entered in our science book giveaway. You have right up until midnight tonight, July 9. So if you haven’t checked out the blog posts “Squeezing In Science” and “Let’s Do Science!” I suggest you get crackin’! That is, if you’re interested in winning a free science book from The Mailbox.

And just in case you’re not familiar with our science books, I’ve selected a few of my faves to share with you. Remember, you can view sample pages of all our books at www.themailbox.com.

Have a great weekend!

Diane

Congrats to our contest winners: Deanna, Tina, and Debbie!

Everything Science Grades PreK-K

Let’s Do Science Today! Preschool

Let’s Do Science Today! Grades K-1

Fascinating Facts: Science Grades 2-3

Fascinating Facts: Science Grades 4-5

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On a scale of one to ten, I give getting a classroom ready for back-to-school a ten. What do you think? There’s plenty to do before that first day of school, that’s for sure—deciding on a classroom theme and readying the classroom, preparing lesson plans, completing paperwork, and the list goes on and on. Plus let’s not forget catching up with former colleagues and welcoming new ones!

I’m not sure when I began to ponder my back-to-school theme each year. I call it my back-to-school theme, but now that I think about it, the theme never went away! One year I had a frog theme. I used flamingos another year. And the year my class was loaded up with boys, I chose swashbuckling parrots. That was a big hit!

One of my faves was “All Aboard the Badden Express!” (Badden is my last name). If I remember right, my classroom train had three or maybe four boxcars. On the first day of school, student names and self-portraits were posted on the cars. In October, the cargo changed to student-made pumpkins and pumpkin stories. At one point the boxcars sported book reports and carried character look-alikes. And when the end of the year rolled around, the train carried large student-decorated star cutouts and the students’ written accounts of their favorite memories from the school year.

Anyway, enough of my rambling! Let’s hear about your favorite back-to-school (or year-round) themes.

All aboard!

Diane

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