Canada Day Blog Hop & TPT Sale! FREEBIE & a GIVEAWAY too :-)

We did it, teacher peeps...we MADE it to the end of June! Congratulations on a job well done. I say this deserves an awesome freebie and a chance to win a product from my TPT store, what do you think?

First of all, thank you to Reading With Mrs.D for organizing this amazing Canada Day Blog Hop! I'm honoured to participate and excited to share a sample of one of my favourite items in my (currently) itsy bitsy TPT store.

Last time I checked, I had around 10 other projects that were all *this close* to being done. I can't wait to actually finish them up now that I'm on vacation. If you aren't already following my store, please do. My new resources are always 50% off for the first 24 hours. And in celebration of Canada Day, my entire TPT store is 20% off until July 2nd :-)

I don't know about you, but I love getting Scholastic READING Club FlyersTM every month. They are right up there with BBC Good Food, People Magazine and Chatelaine for me. I have a ritual I do when I get them which is to take the cover off and staple that to a flyer inside. Then I 3 hole punch it and keep it in my day book. Pretty exciting, right? LOL

When I first started teaching in France 14 years ago, I used to get way too many flyers and I hated to throw them out. I saw how much my students loved looking through them...first they would yell out their favourite picks to everyone, then they'd circle what they wanted, next they'd walk around and talk excitedly about their choices and finally compare wish lists. So instead of throwing these literacy and numeracy rich gems into the recycling bin, I came up with the idea of having my students do an "I Spy" activity with the extra flyers. My hand written creations were an immediate hit! Since 2000, I've become much more tech savvy.

Here is a look at a page from I Spy READING Club Flyers: Alphabet, Numbers & More.

When I'm teaching Grades 1 or 2, my students typically complete them at the same time. However, with Kindergarten students, I work in small groups during Center Time. These make a great partner or bonus activity for early finishers. I've used them with our older Learning Buddies too (ever heard a Grade 8 boy reminisce about his favourite picture book as a kid? It's precious!). I also keep a pack of these in my supply bin at all times.

Another fun activity to do with your students after they are done is have them create cartoons on the back of their page with the extra pieces. Here are 2 that crack me up every time I see them. Recognize the skunk at all? He's from the book Hugs, written by one of my favourite (and local) Canadian authors. Robert Munsch, you make children around the world love reading! Two thumbs up from this teacher and Mom.

And yes, that's Dora being attacked by sharks. This year I had a class full of boys. What can I say?

Before I forget, here's something to add to your TO DO list before September. Call Scholastic and ask them to send you additional flyers so you have enough to hand out and enough to do these activities each month! Or, better yet, look for leftover packs from teachers that have moved but not told Scholastic yet. We always seem to have loads in our workroom that go unused to research and development in my classroom.

Now I know when you check out the freebie you're going to think-it's not even close to Halloween yet and this doesn't look Canadian specific. I know, I know. However, October is my all time favourite month of the year and I just *had* to share my love of all things pumpkin with you, sweet Canada Day Blog Hoppers ;-) As for the second page in the freebie, you probably didn't know this but American book flyer prices all end in .00 while ours end in .99. Now, why is that? Hmm...kinda mysterious. I created that bonus page (only found in the October Sampler) specifically for my Canadian colleagues. Sorry, USA friends.

Click here to grab them.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Here's your chance to win a copy of I Spy READING Club Flyers: Months & Seasonal Holidays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Good luck and Happy Canada Day!

Bryn

P.S. Don't forget to stop by and grab your freebies from the other Canadian bloggers, eh ;-)