Happy Pumpkin Day!

I just love math cartoons, and Fox Trot seems to use math in quite a few. (Maybe the author is actually a mathematician!) Here is one of my favorites and just in time for Halloween.

Hey! A little math humor, even on Halloween,

can be "ghoul"!

A 2022 Go Figure Debut for a Full Time TPT Seller Who is New

Anne has devoted 20+ years to elementary education, mostly in 2nd and 3rd grades. She currently is not in the classroom but spends her time as a teacher-author on Teachers Pay Teachers full-time. Her favorite part of teaching was seeing a child's eyes light up when she told them they were going to do a science experiment or play a math game Anne says her classroom was always organized and exciting! Students couldn't wait to get to school! Many parents commented that their child talked about her and school non-stop at dinner each night (something, as teachers, we all hope for).

Anne loves to spend time with her family, especially her adorable grandchildren! In addition, she loves to travel! Recently she and her husband took a cruise to Alaska. It really was a trip of a lifetime and certainly much cooler in July than in Texas, her home state. They also like to travel to Cabo, Oregon, California and South Carolina. They even took a trip to the beautiful country of Barbados a couple of years ago for her nephew's wedding.

FREE

Anne has 842 resources in her TPT store Believe to Achieve by Anne Rozelle, and 22 of those resources are free. The free items are primarily for grades 2-3 in the area of math. Anne’s featured free item is called 3rd Grade Math Spiral Review Worksheets Free Sample Digital and Printable. It is an easy-to-use resource to help students practice math skills all year long. It includes three printable worksheets, three digital worksheets and three answer keys that are perfect for practicing math skills with nine math problems per day to spiral through math. Answer keys are provided for easy grading.

$4.90

Anne’s paid resource is a bundle entitled Halloween Multiplication Facts 1’s to 12’s Bundle/Jokes/Digital Print. This resource helps students practice the multiplication facts from 1 to 12 and contains fun Halloween jokes to engage the students! Included are 12 different worksheets for practicing these multiplication facts with the same 12 different worksheets as digital. Included in the bundle are answer keys for easy grading.

In addition to being a full time TPT seller, Anne writes a blog called Believe to Achieve, the same name as her store. You might want to check it out.

Anne believes that if a student thinks learning is fun, then he/she will learn more; therefore, using materials that are engaging and curriculum related is essential! Those are the type of materials that Anne creates; so, I strongly suggest you take time to visit her store. While there, download a couple of her free items to get a good idea of the type of materials she creates.

__________________________________________________________

This year, I've been featuring TPT sellers that are members of The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative (TBOTEMC). Both Anne and I are members. TBOTEMC has been in existence since 2014 and is made up of teachers who work together. Whether you are a beginner seller  or a veteran seller on TPT, let the power of the group’s cross-promotions help you market your TpT products and take your TpT store to the next level. Click the red acronym for more information on how you can join TBOTEMC.  

Making Parent Teacher Conferences Meaningful

Are You….....

• Tired of always talking about grades at parent/teacher conferences? 

• Tired of feeling like nothing is ever accomplished during the allotted time? 

• Are you having problems with a student, but don’t know how to tell the parents? 

• Do you want to be specific and to-the-point? 

When I taught middle school and/or high school, these were the items that really discouraged me. I knew I had to come up with a better plan if I wanted parent/teacher conferences to be worthwhile and effective for both the student and the parents. I created a a checklist that I could follow, use during conferences, and then give a copy to the parents at the end of the conference.  It contained nine, brief, succinct checklists which were written as a guide so that during conferences I could have specific items to talk about besides grades. I found it easy to complete and straight forward plus it provided me with a simple outline to use as I talked and shared with parents.

Since other teachers were able to use it successfully, I took that checklist and turned it into a resource called Parent/Teacher Conference Checklist, Based on Student Characteristics and Not Grades. Nine different categories are listed for discussion.  They include:

1. Study Skills and Organization 
2. Response to Assignments 
3. In Class Discussion 
4. Class Attitude 
5. Reaction to Setbacks 
6. Accountability 
7. Written Work 
8. Inquiry Skills 
9. Evidence of Intellectual Ability 

To get ready for conferences, all you have to do is place a check mark by each item within the category that applies to the student. Then circle the word that best describes the student in that category such as "always, usually, seldom". (See example above.)

$2.00

Finally, make a copy of the checklist so that the parent(s) or the guardian(s) will have something to review with their student when they return home.

Now you are ready for a meaningful and significant conference.