A Note From...1st Grade Hip Hip Hooray!! AND a DEAL you can't refuse!

I am so excited to have been asked to be a guest blogger.  And having to follow Nikki is thrilling as she is my Number One Fan!  She makes my products come alive and the kiddos just love them.  I even found if I wrote Nikki and told her I needed something she was right on it.  Thanks Nikki!!

Being asked to be a guest blogger was "mind blowing" because each and everyday I am humbled by all the amazing sites and materials out there.  I have been teaching a LONG time BUT I can't bring myself to retire because of all the exciting material now available to teachers and the love I continue to feel each and everyday toward educating our "future leaders".  A few years back when I was raising my three sons and working full time I really would have loved to of had a site to go to where teachers use their creativity to prepare products that are teacher tested, embedded in the Common Core and kid friendly!  How lucky are we now?  Because of the new "bloggy" world , TpT and Teachers Notebook there is no reason not to be successful in enhancing standards,curriculum and your lessons.  

My blog was just a year old in February and what a growing experience it has been.  I still am looking for more followers and to get some conversations going but I also know I need to be patient. My favorite part of it all is preparing materials and packets for students and teachers that I know are valuable and worth the effort to put together.  Like Nikki...preparing them is easy because I LOVE to create them and I can assure that all the writing, word work, reading and mathematics that needs to be included is there.  At my school we have no official reading program.  They used 4 Blocks for awhile and now we are using Daily Five.  These are wonderful formats but as you know it puts the responsibility on the educator to assure you are creating a Balanced Literacy Program that meets the Common Core.  For this reason most of my packets embrace these themes.  Creating them has been fun and allowed me the freedom of embedding my science standards into my literacy which also meets the informational text piece in the Common Core and saves time while making connections to the real world.  So.... here is the deal!

For any follower of Mrs. McLaren who becomes a follower of 1st Grade Hip Hip Hooray! (http://hensonsfirstgrade.blogspot.com/) I will give you a packet of your choice.  All you have to do is email me (michele0003@aol.com)  and I will forward the packet to you.  I have made this same offer to my followers who follow Mrs. McLaren.  I am so happy to share my blessings with others as I know what a limited budget we are all on.  

Final days are here my friends...Summer is just around the corner.  Together we can make a difference.   Michele