23 January 2015

2,000 Comment Celebration!


I hit a huge milestone! 2,000 comments in my TPT store! I'm so excited I changed my blog design! It's been less than 1 year since I reached 1,000 votes. This is starting out to be a great year! I'm celebrating this weekend with Flash Freebies (via Facebook), sales, and giveaways! Let the festivities begin!
 
 
Flash Freebies!
Be sure you've liked me Facebook page and clicked "Get Notifications"! I'm going to a have a few daily flash freebies!
I"ll also be giving away a few powerpoint games too!
 
 
Sales!
My TPT store will be on sale Jan. 24 through Jan. 26.
 
Giveaways!
I've teamed up with 28 awesome TPTers to bring you 4 amazing prize packs!
 
K-2 Prize Pack #1
 
          

K-2 Prize Pack #2
 
3-5 Prize Pack #1



3-5 Prize Pack #2

 




If the rafflecopters are working, here are the links!
K-2 Prize Pack 1
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d789a4724/
K-2 Prize Pack 2
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d789a4725/

3-5 Prize Pack 1
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d789a4726/

3-5 Prize Pack 2
I'm so excited! Time to start celebrating!
 

20 January 2015

Photo Contest Begins!

 
 
 
 
As some of you know (or may not know) I'm currently not teaching at the moment due a seizure I had in July. There are a few things I miss about being in the classroom. One of them is working with students. I still see them occasionally when I go out and they say they miss me, even though they're not in my class anymore. Another thing I miss is my own students using my products. They would ask me almost every day if we were going to play a Teacher vs Student game or a Jeopardy game. That's how Powerpoint Gaming came to be. I miss it so much, but have come up with a idea that can benefit me as well as you!

Ladies and gentleman, may I present the Classroom Photo Contest!

The rules are simple! Just submit 1 to 5 pictures by the 15th of every month. I will go through the entries and choose the best photo. The winner will receive a $25  Teachers Pay Teachers Gift certificate, a $10 shopping spree in my TPT Store, as well as a blog post about the picture.


Pictures can be students engaged in an activity, you and students playing a game, or even a bulletin board you've created using one of my products. The more picture you enter, the better your chances.


Each contest starts on the 20th of each month and ends the 15th of the following month. The 16th through 19th allows me to judge the entries, contact the winner, and prepare the post. The winner will be announced on the 20th along  with the start of a new entry cycle. You can enter once every month (unless you win, then you cannot enter the following month).





 

Pictures can by submitted by clicking on "Fun Giveaways" on the left side of the screen and clicking on "January Picture Submission Open!"

You can view the official rules and guidelines here.

So what are you waiting for! I wanna see my products in action!


 

17 January 2015

You Ought to Know January Blog Hop


You Ought to Know about: Study Jams!



If there's one website you need to know about, it's Study Jams. This website created by Scholastic, includes videos about Math and Science topics for 2nd grade and up. I use these quite often. Not only for myself, but for my students. It's great for review!
Math Topics include Numbers, Addition & Subtraction, Multiplication & Division, Fractions, Decimals & Percents, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis, Probability, and Problem Solving.  



Science topics include Plants, Animals, the Human Body, Ecosystems, Landforms, Rocks, & Minerals, Weather & Climate, Solar System, Matter, Force & Motion, Energy & Light,  and Scientific Inquiry.


Each topic includes subtopics and all you have to do is click on the topic. Some topics are videos and some are just slideshows. For the videos, "the crew" discuss real life problems for each topic.



Each topic also include key words that you can click on and see the definition. Most topics also have a "Test Yourself" which has a few questions about the topic. Some even have Karaoke songs.




For some of the math topics, there a step by step guide to solve math problems.



This website is so useful, I find myself using it almost every day, especially for the science topics. It great for the students too. Best of all, this website is free!

Check it out for yourself: Study Jams or watch a video of it in action here!
Don't forget to hop on over to other blogs for more!








13 January 2015

Blog Design Tutorial: Layout



Layout
  1. Header
  2. Posts
  3. Sidebar
  4. Bottom
  5. Background


Choosing a layout can be a easy task, but for some, it could be a bit tricky. To get started, click on "Layout" on the left side of your screen to access your blog layout.



1.) Header (Your logo!)

Create a header or someone else to make a header for your page. I made mine myself using free clip art and fonts and using "Microsoft Powerpoint" to design it. Check out my list of Clip Art from various TPTers and creators.  Once you have your header, upload it your photo website.



You can also add a ribbon (like my red ribbon) with links to various pages of your blog by clicking "Add a Gadget ". Use the gadget "HTML/JavaScript" and use a HTML code and images for your link. (Don't worry, I will go into more details here later).

2.) Posts (what you write about)

I won't go into much detail here. You can click on "Blog Post" and choose the settings that you would like to see in the blog posting area. You can choose to show 1 post at a time or many at a time. You can add the date, how it was posted (ex. say "written by" or "typed by" instead of "posted by"). You can decided about the comments and social media. You then can arrange it to your linking.




You can add other gadgets and widgets below it such as "Other Posts you Like" widget. Simply click "Add a Gadget", input the HTML/JavaScript code. You can move it by clicking on the box and moving it under the "Blog Post" box.

3.) Sidebar

Here, you can customize what viewers will see. You can add your own gadgets. Bloggers has many pre-made gadgets such as "About Me" or "Follow by Email." Some gadgets and widgets you may have to create find online or create yourself. (Again, I will go more into detail here later).



4.) Bottom
If you choose to add gadgets and widgets at the bottom of your blog, you may do so. This is also the area where you would place a "Back to the Top" button, any disclaimers, or your sponsors. I used this area for a "Back to the Top" button. 



5.) Background

This can be tricky depending on what you want. If you want a simple one design background, you can add it by clicking on "Template" on the left side of the Layout menu and click "Customize". A new screen will load. Click on "Backgrounds" and "Background Image". You can upload your own image.

 
To make the 3 different page designs, I used 3 different sets of Digi-paper and used Microsoft Powerpoint to add the shadow effect. Once each page was ready, I made a design in Microsoft Paint (Yes, paint. I was not about spend hundreds of dollars on a Photoshop program). Depending on the Layout and widths of your blog, you may have to adjust the sizes of each paper.
 
Here's a basic layout of what mine looks like:
 

 
Here's the actual background:
 

Try different designs. It will be a trial and error with the backgrounds because of the layout you choose (aka where your sidebar(s) are located).

Once you have you layout completed, SAVE YOUR TEMPLATE! I cannot emphasize this enough. If you like you design save it so that you do not have to start from scratch. I advise saving each time to changes to your blog. Sometimes codes may not work and you'll have to delete it manually (as in go into the actual HTML code and deleted it). 
 
 
Here's the link to the Blog Design Tutorial Guide.
 
 
Class Dismissed!
 
 
 

05 January 2015

New Year's Resolution




Hey look! It's my 50th post (according to BlogSpot). There are so many things I wanna do this year! I always remembered making New Year's Resolutions when I was in school and always thought it was lame. Now that I'm older, I find myself want to make, and fulfill them.









I want to blog more. I added a blog planner sheet to my TPT planner and haven't used that part as much as I would like to. I want to blog at least 2 to 3 times a week. I figured if I add plan it out for the entire month (topic at least) then I'll be more likely to write them. Plus, there so many things I wanna share (especially blog designing and powerpoint tutorials).











I want to take better care of myself. Not just lose wait, be eat healthier and exercise a little more. I know this sound pretty common for most people. For me, it's something I need to do. Since my seizure in June, I was pretty limited to what I could do (aka, exercise, driving, etc.). Fortunately, I was blessed not to have any problems since then. I've been to the doctor twice with another check up this month. Hopefully, I can go back to driving and working out at the gym again.










Something I've always been bad with is finishing things. I'll start something and tend to not finish it. I want to try and break that habit and finish everything I can (within reason). Prime example, I wrote lots of fictional stories over these past few year.  I have around 3 to 5 stories, but all are unfinished. Fortunately, I have actually completed 3 stories (you're learn about those later) and have published them all. I wanna break this habit of unfinished projects (Powerpoint games included . You should see how many Work In Progress games I have).
 
I think this goals are achievable and simple. It may take some work on my part as I am the most organized person in the world. Hopefully, my TPT Planner will keep me organized! Let me know in the comments what your New Years Resolutions are!

 

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