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!
Hi! What I would love to see more are activities/ideas for the six grade. The 4-6 rating is too broad and not always appropriate for sixth grade. However, I do get inspiration from your articles in your magazine.
I am quite new to The Mailbox, but I already like what it has to offer. My one big request would be for more materials aimed at those children who struggle with conventional learning methods..for instance, those on the Autism scale, or those who have physical difficulties with pencil grasp….when attempting to teach these children at grade level it can be a real challenge, and any help would be very much appreciated (maybe there could be alternatives suggested at the end of the printed learning activity to accomodate special needs children?)
Thank you
I also teach 6th grade and agree with Sonia concerning the ideas for 6th graders. However, I do love many of the activities for my struggling learners. I love the science activities that you share that use everyday materials to make a science lab.
I adore mailbox and all it offers. My current favorite is the daily idea being emailed to me and I still love my Themes from A to Z book.
What I would love to see is the Mailbox magazine once a month vs the 6 times a year.
I also love the blog. Its a great resource.
Mailbox is the best.
I enjoy mailbox products. I have used the ideas for my class. It is good to be fresh winds to teach old concepts. Keep up the good work. By the way i am Having trouble with the printables.
Wow. I get so many great ideas from the mailbox, it’s hard to nail down what I like best. I enjoy getting the frequent emails with printable ideas I can use right at that time of year.
I agree with others that it would be fabulous if you went to a once a month format for your magazine.
I also want to second what one other person wrote about special needs children. Have you considered developing more products/ideas for students with autism. The number of children with that is growing by leaps and bounds for some unknown reason. I’m sure all of us have had children with autism or Asperger Syndrome in our classes.
Keep up the great work!
I have used Mailbox across the grade levels from pre-k thru 8th. There is ALWAYS something I can use. I’m changing grade levels again and I KNOW I can count on Mailbox to help me with my new endeavor. Thank you! I love all the ideas adn activities.
I love Mailbox! It provides me with so many opportunities to stretch my teaching and to enhance my students’ learning.
I agree with the others that having more suggestions to adapt activities to help the special needs children would be so beneficial. I am seeing more students every year who are struggling with Autism aspects and more who are below average intelligence, your “low learners” as one expert called them. Help us with products and activities to reach these children.
I agree with others that a monthly format would be extremely beneficial. There are so many wonderful ideas that receiving Mailbox once a month would increase all of the positive outcomes your magazine helps teachers with.
Also, I would like to see a column/article written for teachers, maybe dealing with a “struggle” of the month or a tidbit about a new piece of research that is out there. I enjoy the help Mailbox provides, but it would be nice to read and connect mentally with other teachers. This would help to energize and renew us!
This is what I’m talkin’ about! Thanks for the super-duper feedback. Our first vendolog is off to a great start!
Mary C., if you’re still having trouble with the printables, our customer service department would love to help you out. Call 1-877-696-0825 or zing an email to custserv@themailbox.com.
I use Mailbox Magazine in my Pre-k class almost daily! It has simple ideas for all sorts of themes. The ideas are easy to incorporate & it is always great to hear the suggestions from other pre-k teachers.
I have the resource of all the Mailbox Magazines that I have received since I went back to teaching over 4 years ago. I keep them all because there are so many great ideas in them. Thank you
I moved away from using textbooks and workbooks in my 3rd grade classroom about 3 years ago and have been able to use so many ideas from Mailbox to build my own units. I don’t think I could ever be happy going back to a “workbook world”. I do a lot with differentiated instruction and find I can meet my lower learners by using materials from the 2-3 issue but can challenge my over achievers with many activities from the 4-6 grade level. I like that I can subscribe to the 2-3 but purchase the yearbook for upper grades so I get loads of ideas!
I love the wide variety of ideas in the Mailbox! It’s fun to embellish lessons with teacher shared lessons. It’s learning fun, fun, fun!
I would love to see ideas for differentiating instruction catered to the mailbox activities and more extensions for early finishers. The online bonus activities/ideas and patterns are awesome! They are a lifesaver when you can just print from your computer. I wish the archives were available to past and current subscriber of the mailbox companion.
I really like using The Mailbox (preschool) with my daughter at home. It helps me find ways to reinforce the things whe is learning at school (ESE).
I use Mailbox and teacher helper to deepen my lessons and center activities. This year I requested 1st grade teacher helper so that I can challenge my kinders that need it without tracking down a 1st grade teacher to borrow things.
I like the online extras also.
I am always looking for new ideas and now that you have a book just for First Grade I am looking at renewing Mailbox. Would love to see one each month
I absolutely love reading through my Mailbox magazines. I get so many great ideas that both myself and the kids just love! A few people have already said this, but I would also love to see a monthly format.
Mailbox magazine is the “go-to” resource for me. I have taught 4K for many years, and I have ALL my copies of your magazine. I use ideas from them all, every year!
I would love to see a thematic yearly graph in the back of the magazine, much like the monthly theme books have. It would be so easy to find specific plans and ideas to use.
I also like the idea of a monthly magazine and an article just for teachers, maybe written by one.
Thanks for all the great ideas!
I noticed someone mentioned ideas for differentiating instruction…possibly have some ideas incorporated into the Mailbox mag/blog for Special Needs students. Many activities can be modified but just thought of incorporating some ideas from teachers who have used certain lessons/activities with disabled children that have been successful. I curently work with a Primary (K-2) Life Skills class…this summer I have also helped with students who have been diagnosed in the Autism Spectrum. There are more and more studnets diagnosed in this category…both teachers & students could use some helpful ideas! Thank you!
I enjoy the free sample pages on the web site. These links help me decide if I a book will be useful in my preschool classroom.
I have used the Mailbox for years. I love all of the daily ideas through email. I have printing these neat ideas and placing them on index cards. This year I plan on laminating the cards and placing them on a ring. This way I always have these ideas at my fingertips. Thanks!!
I love, love, love the Mailox magazines and books! But I am a begining teacher and don’t have a ton of money and always question if I should put my money towards the magazines or wait and put it towards the yearbook? Any thoughts and or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!
When it comes to finding ideas, projects, worksheets,or centers to support my teaching, it has to be Mailbox that I turn to for the best ideas. When teachers are notorious for having too much “stuff”, I think it says a lot if we save every back issue of Mailbox! I can count of Mailbox to show a clear, graphic, and well designed paper or project to apply to an endless number of skills. One thing I appreciate is the reasonable number of examples on a worksheet, the child is going to show what they know. For the early finishers, there is the bonus box. The only disappointment I have is when two grades are in one, and I see a worksheet that I wish were more challenging, since I teach the higher grade in the combination. Your new additions of the digital format and helping us with our organization of materials, is a step in the right direction! Your publications certainly do demonstrate your concern that “real” teachers “in” the classroom are your major contributors to your publications! Now you are a vendor reaching out to your teachers…another good step! As we try so hard to teach our children…your best effort pays off! Thank you!
I love Mailbox magazine and have used it for many years. It really refreshes me to see new ideas or formats for lessons. I may not use the lesson exactly as it appears in the magazine but I am able to adapt it to a child or small group that needs reinforcement or an extra challenge in my classroom.
I agree with Jacquie about seeing a column/article dealing with a “struggle” of the month or a tidbit about a new piece of research. Teaching is a demanding profession and it sometimes helps to know others struggle with the same issues and hear their take on solutions.
Keep up the good work on this blog – one of my favorites!
I really look forward to getting my Mailbox magazine and The Teacher’s Helper every month. I take the ideas presented and adapt them to my students and their specific needs. By having these additional ideas, my students are able to work on skills while having fun.
I believe we use Mailbox on a daily basis at our school. There’s always so many fun ideas and helps where our own brains are stalled! Thank you for the wonderful work you do!
Love, love, love that Mailbox is filled with ideas that have been classroom-tested by real teachers like me! You just can’t beat that!
I would like to see more differentiated activities in the Mailbox for working with students of varying abilities.
I love Mailbox and I am getting excited for my yearbook to come. I am wondering if there is a yearbook filled with ideas for the little ones. ( twos to be specific)
Keep up the good work.
I LOVE Mailbox. They are life savers for ideas. I have used all from prek-intermediate issues. I really appreciate any of the pull-out games that are pre-made. They have great skills and games that are fun! Using the website is my saving grace. Anytime I have a theme or a skill I want to work on all I have to do is pop it in the search and it’ll find it! I like being able to make some of the worksheets/forms personal by filling it out online. It’s the one thing I HAVE to have each year!
Have you ever thought of incorporating a Spanish department in Teacher’s Helper where basic Spanish vocabulary is introduced such as color words, numbers, weather words, names of places and other common everyday words?
I love the Mailbox books and magazines. They are always agae appropriate for kindergarten and have so many hands-on activities for the younger students. I usually try to buy the Yearbooks when they are on clearance. I am going through all of my Mailbox books and magazines and scanning in pages for different themes and saving them to disks so that I have everything in one place for my themes. I hate it when I am looking through one of my books or magazines and find an idea I could have used a few weeks ago.
I ♥ The Mailbox! I just ordered 8 of the new Mailbox books. My favorite was “Calendar Time for Little Learners”. I especially like the songs for each month.
Keep up the good work! I couldn’t do it without you!
I have been teaching in daycare for 24 years and I love the mailbox books. They have alot of fun and creative actvities to do with all ages in daycare. My favorite are the cooking and sciece. When I worked with toddler age I loved the busy little hands. Thank you
I absolutely LOVE my MAILBOX books…I have TONS of them! I have used them for 6 years as a Pre-K teacher and will continue to use them within my brand new day care center that has just opened 🙂
I have recently ordered some of the new MAILBOX books and can not wait to incorporate them into my daily curriculum. Keep up the great work and keep the wonderful books coming! Teachers everywhere LOVE’EM!! 🙂 Especially me…it hard to pick a fovorite…they’re all awesome!
I absolutely LOVE my MAILBOX books…I have TONS of them! I have used them for 6 years as a Pre-K teacher and will continue to use them within my brand new day care center that has just opened 🙂
I have recently ordered some of the new MAILBOX books and can not wait to incorporate them into my daily curriculum. Keep up the great work and keep the wonderful books coming! Teachers everywhere LOVE’EM!! 🙂 Especially me…it’s hard to pick a favorite…they’re all awesome!
I love going on to the mailbox website and pulling the additional education ideas, crafts, and worksheets for my students. I use a lot of the time management things for my students and a lot of the extra sheets that are provided on the website get sent home for practice.
I would like to see more pages that are interactive. In my district, the push is “flexible grouping”. If the pages could be used for literacy small groups, that would be wonderful. Also, my students struggle with “critical thinking”. More pages that force kids to think outside of the box would be wonderful too!
The Mailbox is an awesome source for making lesson plans. This magazine has helped me get through my co-op and is now helping me plan weekly for my classroom. I love the art and science ideas and the children do as well. I order the Mailbox Yearbook yearly and the magazine is a must. My 12 year old borrows my magazines and makes the art activities her self. She said to use an a sample in my classroom. And the online bonuses are great also. If you haven’t had the experience of looking at or using this magazine I strongly suggest that you do.
I LOVE to get my mailbox magazines and books in the mail. Each time a new additon arrives in the mail, I do a quick run through because my curiosity is running wild. Once I have satisifed that curiosity, I am able to go back and zone in on my areas of interest. When an idea really stands out and lines up with my lesson plans, I make a copy of that page. One the bottom of the page I write what month and year it belongs to for later reference if needed. Then I file it in a binder marked lesson ideas. That way when I need the ideas they are handy in one central location, instead of having to scan through all of my magazines or books. This works great for me. Then my magazines are intact for later viewing. I love to revisit an issue from years ago.
I L-O-V-E The Mailbox magazine and other publications from Mailbox. I love that fact that if I get stuck on a small group idea, I can look in my mailbox resources and find something. I also love that any ideas I get, it’s easy to expand or change to fit what is going on with my age group.
The mailbox resources are SO easy to follow. Thank you!
I love Mailbox. I am a subscriber of mailbox magazine & teacher’s helper. They have been my go to for the last 2 years for new ideas on how to teach a concept and my centers. They always have something new.I’ve also bought the yearbooks which are a lot of help because you don’t have to look through your magazines to find something from the following year it is all in one place. Now that I am changing grades I’m looking forward to see what mailbox offers for kindergarten. I’ve been looking through the catolog and know what I would use the gift card on of I won!
Love, love, love Mailbox magazine! I was introduced to mailbox from my mentor teacher when I 1st started teaching & I am so thankful that she did! I use them all the time & I also now share with new teachers…
I love that the mailbox mags make lesson planning so easy. Of all of the resources that I have used, I have to say that I love the mailbox publications the best. The ease of use makes a huge difference for me and my choices. I also love that the mailbox mags are full of ideas from other teachers! I love to steal ideas! Keep up the great work.
As a new teacher, I was thrilled to receive a subscription to your magazine from a friend. I’m hooked. You always publish the topics I’m about to cover at just the right time!! Thanks for all of the great ideas. I’ll definately be a long time subscriber.
There are so many great ideas in The Mailbox. I’ve used it to help reinforce and enhance what I am teacher. Online extras and the forms I can fill in online are wonderful helps.
Mailbox books and website is my “go to” place(s) when I need ideas to spruce up lessons. They, routinely, provide me with fresh ideas and activities. -Not sure what my teaching would look like without Mailbox!
I am new to mailbox as well, and I am still eagerly awaiting my first magazine. I have heard many wonderful things through other teachers, and I look forward to using these ideas in my new early learning classroom this year. (We are introducing kindergarten for 4 and 5 year old, full time this year, and including an early childhood educator who will co-teach with us.)
I would like to see a section on smartboard activities in the magazine. I love the hands on approach with young children, and would love to have an ever growing ‘bag of tricks’ for my smartboard.
I am a substitute teacher as well as a stay-at-home mom of preschoolers. I find lots of fun ideas to do with the kids in THE MAILBOX! I use the ideas to compliment a craft that have planned to do with my own kids that will lead to a field trip somewhere fun! I love the songs, rhymes and stories! GREAT IDEAS!!
Every year I struggle with getting together my homework packets and finding extra sheets that I haven’t already used. So I would love to see a First Grade book with already made homework packets. It would be GREAT if they would include 2 math sheets, a reading comprehension sheet, and a writing activity. Please let me know if you think that’s something you would be able to create. 🙂
I just finished my second year of teaching and Mailbox has been a HUGE help! I discovered The Mailbox in October of my first year and it saved my sanity! The ideas and worksheets, especially center ideas, are fantastic and having a first grade edition is great. I agree that a column about teacher struggles or new research would be great, I am still learning about all that is out there and Mailbox is my favorite place to turn to learn. I have several other Mailbox books and LOVE them as well. Keep up the good work!
I would love to have a section in The Mailbox Magazine or website where people can respond to how they used a lesson or project and how, if any, they changed it to better fit their needs.
I love that Kindergarten and Grade 1 have been separated and that I can use Grades 2-3 material for my high achiever; however, juggling three different email accounts to access the online resources for the three different grade ranges has become a bit of a logistical nightmare for me. It would be lovely if online users could use a single TEC account to log in to their current grade level homepage but also have access to the free online resources for the other grade levels/ranges as well.
And it would be especially helpful for recipients of the daily For Little Learners email who use/adapt the activities for Special Needs children if we were given the option of adding certain activities to our My Mailbox Files folders.
Thank you so very much for your time posting, reading, and responding to teachers’ needs!
I have LOVED most of the books I have purchased from the Education Center, but i would love to see on your website a place for people to review the books they have purchased for other educators to read. I am often intrigued a book, but am leary to purchase it until I can thumb through the actual book to see that I would use more than just the sample pages.
I love your website and your books and Ideas. It create a lot of fun and and interaction with preschoolers.
I use The Mailbox books and magazines differently than most everyone else here. I’m a homeschooling mom to a 6 year and we use them to make schooling fun.
We use our standard curriculum, but use your books and magazines for fun ideas.
I absolutely love Mailbox and take ideas from your magazines and books constantly. I was lucky enough to get a SmartBoard last school year, and as much fun as it is, I would love to have additional ideas, lessons and activities that are ready-made. It would be wonderful if Mailbox would publish a book centered around using SmartBoards and other interractive whiteboards. Thanks!
I love the Mailbox magazine. I also used to get teachers’ helper. I would love to see a pre-kindergarten teacher’s helper magazine. With all the curriculum being pushed down, pre-k is much like kindergarten used to be and kindergarten in like 1st grade.
That would be awesome! Thanks for a great teachers’ magazine!
The Mailbox is my number one choice for activities and information. Though my personal budget doesn’t allow me to purchase it now, my school purchases it for us to use. I love the online extras. The Mailbox rocks! Thanks!
I am new to teaching and absolutely love the Mailbox magazines. The ideas they have in the books are a great motivation and inspiration for me to make my lessons more rewarding for the children in my classroom. I will continue to buy every book I can….without spending all of my money…. from the mailbox for a long time
I have subscribed to Mailbox magazine for as long as I can remember! It’s THE ONE magazine all teachers need – I absolutely love it! The extras that are available online are GREAT! It’s the only “teacher magazine” for me!! Keep up the good work! :o)
I love the preschool theme books. I would love to see theme for: bears, apples, December holidays, transportation, pets along with bugs and butterflies.
Do Mailbox do any book sfor younger than preschool? I teach children with special needs and some are around a 2 year old level.
Thanks!!!!
Sorry for the typing errors-I didn’t realize my computer was auto finishing/editing words! 🙂
I love all the Mailbox books, magazines and Teacher Helpers. I have all of them from the past 13 years and some from even further back. Other teachers borrow them but when not returned I hunt them down. I use them every day and mix and match to fit my plans. Thanks for a great resource.
Love your magazines, online ideas and FREEBIES! I would like to see more differentiation ideas for instruction.
I love Day By Day Plans for Pre-K but would like it updated to include activities and writing practice for letter, letter sounds, and numbers.
I have taught 3rd, 4th and now kindergarten. I have used the Mailbox books for all the grade levels I have taught. My favorites books are the Teacher’s Helpers. I look forward to seeing the new ones when they arrive. They have wonderful worksheets for all subject areas. I have many other books from this company and love them!
Hi, I love mailbox too. I think it’s a cool idea to keep this blog. I also think that it would be fun to find a way to share things or tips we may have picked up in a workshop. I know myself this summer I attended two really good workshops and came away with lots of information and ideas….it would be nice to have a way to share them.
I teach Kindergarten and LOVE Teacher’s Helper. I like how Teacher’s Helper has stayed up to date with the demands of teaching more academics in kindergarten.
I have used the Mailbox and Teachers Helper since I started teaching. I found out about 3 weeks ago that I am moving from 3rd grade down to 1st grade. With school starting on Monday, I am eagerly awaiting my 1st grade edition to both magazines. 😀 I am hoping that the 1st grade edition Mailbox also has the color pull-out posters in the center like the 2nd-3rd grade does. I used those ALL THE TIME! They are SO child friendly. My ESL students could understand those better than the store bought ones. I also LOVE the ready made centers that come with the magazines … I am hoping that the 1st grade edition comes with those too!! 🙂
I love all of your books!I love how the ideas come from real teachers who have tried the ideas out and found that they work. I just recently got my first job teaching 2nd and 3rd grade Science and Social Studies. I used some of your books for lessons when I was in college doing internships and I look forward to using your Science and Social Studies books this year.
I love the monthly mailbox magazine. It has such great ideas. THe most useful resource is the online site The Mailbox Companion. The extras that come with the magazine are great. I can’t say how many times I am looking for materials and I find it on that site.
I love using the Mailbox books and magazines with my pre-k class! I have also used the Early Childhood Teacher’s Plan Book for the past 5 years and plan on using it again this year. The format and layout of the plan book work well for my planning style and the online extras are definitely a help. My only suggestion for improvement would be a specific place to write in standards for lesson plans.
What is NOT to love about Mailbox books?! Each week I use Mailbox books to bring a variety of interesting, age-appropriate and FUN ideas to my lessons. Mailbox books are my FAVORITE! Keep those wonderful ideas coming…
I really love mailbox. It’s got some of the best ideas. I also love vendors. It’s nice to get free gifts but it’s also nice because they too pass along ideas that they have heard from other teachers. Diffinatly a win win situation!!
I don’t see my post from yesterday on here, so I’ll try again! 🙂 I have used and loved my Mailbox magazines and books ever since I began teaching Kindergarten. I absolutely love the fresh ideas and insights. I have submitted several ideas in the past and I encourage everyone to submit their great ideas to the magazine! You never know when your idea could make an impact on another teacher!
I was fortunate to get a SmartBoard last school year and have been thrilled to use it for instruction. I have adapted several Mailbox ideas to my Smartboard but would LOVE to see a book or section each month dedicated specifically to SmartBoards and Interactive Whiteboards. They are the wave of the future. 🙂 Thanks!
I love the ideas in Mailbox magazine as well as the ideas I receive by email. Always something I can use! Thank you!
I am a special education preschool teacher, and I use Mail Box magazines regularly. They are the best!It would be beneficial to have more special needs activities incorporating all developmental domains. Your magazine has great ideas for each center in my preschool room. Do you offer more comprehensive literacy based theme curriculum books(ages 3-5 years)based on national/state standards? Each month my classroom relates to a new theme and all activities and materials are related such as forest, ocean or farm. It would be great to be able to match state standards online and create lesson plans online especially interactive board lessons. Also, I would like to hear suggestions from fellow teachers regarding lessons in their classrooms!
I use ideas from the Mailbox magazine and books for every subject throughout the school year. Your publications are the backbone of supplementing our curriculum, making learning interesting and fun for my students.
I would love to have the book Sorts of All Sorts for my 1st graders. I absolutely love the Mailbox Magazine! However, I would like for the games to be on pages by themselves and to be perforated (nothing on the backside). It would just be more user-friendly when trying to use them!
Good morning, all! We had a doozy of a vendolog, didn’t we? Thanks so much for the positive feedback and the terrific suggestions. Wow! I’m in awe!!
For those of you who asked about activities appropriate for two-year-olds, we do have two recent publications specifically for this age group—Totally for Twos and Totally for Twos: Art. You can find these books on our website.
Also, we recently published a series of books for differentiated instruction titled For Every Learner. The series offers two or more grade-specific titles for grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Each book features approximately 20 different skills with three differentiated activities for each skill. Awesome stuff! Check out these titles on our website as well.
Again, thank you for participating in our first vendolog. You can count on your comments and suggestions being carefully read and considered by our editors. And you’ve given me some great ideas for future blogs too!
Our winners will be announced shortly! And guess what: we are sooooooooooooooo happy here at The Mailbox that we are going to announce FOUR winners. Good luck to all!
Smiles,
Diane
I would love to see planning pages in the mailbox companion for 2-3 grades with ladybugs! I love my mailbox companion and use it every month. The theme of my classroom has always been ladybugs. They are so lucky!
Bethany R.
I know I’m late, but I still have an idea. I think it would be great if in the planning pages section of the website had calendars for all 12 months all the time. Sometimes, it’s nice to plan farther out than 2 months. I use the Mailbox all the time. Keep up the good work.
I know my post is late, but I wanted to say I LOVE your magazine! And so do most of the other teachers I know. I know because they are ALWAYS borrowing mine!
I liked the way you had art projects online in an index card type format. I printed them and kept them in a file box on my desk. It was easy to quickly search for a last minute idea. I wish you would do that again, I was so disappointed when you changed the format back to a full page.