End-of-the-Year Memory Book

We're in the homestretch.  

The countdown is underway... only 26 days until Summer Break! 

We can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Every year is different and yet the same as well.  You start the year all cheerful and excited.  The holidays in the beginning help you to push through.  Then there's the hope of Spring Break to looks towards... and finally the long stretch until Summer Break!  

Somehow any craziness that happens throughout the year is blocked out and hidden away as you just put your head down and fight through the last weeks to finish.  Then by some secret magic or maybe a hidden talent we teachers have, the summer refuels our bodies and reenergizes us to start all over again!  Yes, we're probably a bit crazy to do this job day in and day out. It's draining, frustrating, and tiring every day.  But, OH SO REWARDING! 

So, how do we make it through these last weeks while maintaining our sanity?  FUN and EXCITING activities of course!  Every year I always looked forward to creating a Memory Book for students to fill out and reflect upon our year.  

Somehow students have the AMAZING capability to remember all those funny, embarrassing, and nothing to do with academics, moments that happen in our classrooms.  It's in activities like these that we're reminded of all the JOYS of teaching, and therefore reminded of how it's all worth it! 

Over the years I've mix and matched and recreated pages to put together for an end-of-the-year Memory Book for my students and their families.  I say their families because I included A LOT of pictures, art work, and other 'memorabilia' that create more of a keepsake of our year together.  

After starting to create resources on TpT, I knew I wanted to create a new Memory Book so others would have the chance to create these keepsakes for their students as well.  I'm hoping to add on to this resource with activities to complete throughout the entire school year, and not just remembering at the end of the year, but that'll have to wait until I have more free time. AKA Summer Break! 

So, what did I come up with?  14 different pages to complete as the end of the year comes to a close.  Each Memory Book includes a cover page for your specific grade level as well.  Simply print the pages and staple together for an easy NO PREP activity to use in the last weeks of school.  

OR.. you can step it up a notch and create more of a 'keepsake' for your students and their families by completing the cover first and then laminating and binding them into a booklet with the pages inside.   This option takes just a little prep on your part, but a handy volunteer can easily laminate covers if possible, as well as binding the booklets!  Then they're ready to hand out and have students work on the Memory Book pages inside.  

Here's a 4th grade Cover example:

After coloring:

Here's a 6th grade Cover example that's been laminated and bound into a booklet:

Memory Book pages:  (includes 2 autograph pages not pictured)

Memory Books are a fun way to wrap up at the end of the year.  Students enjoy filling out each page with their memories and reflect on all their learning.  It helps to give closure to the school year as well and beginning to think about next year.  

Having independent work that students actually want to complete is invaluable at this point in the school year!  Am I right?

Here's the link to check out this resource and start incorporating this fun activity to your end of the year traditions.  Plus it gives students and their families a keepsake to remember the year. Win win! 

End-of-the-Year Memory Book

Let me know if you check it out and how it works?  Are there pages you would like to have added?  Let me know that too, and I can always revise to make it better!  

Thanks for reading this far... enjoy the rest of the school year teacher friends.  We can do this, we're almost there!  

Find your balance,

Shelby

Summer Essentials Goodie Bag & tag

Spring is among us!  Although here in the PNW you might think it's still winter with our 32 degree weather this week.  After being down in Mexico [Puerto Vallarta] last week for Spring Break, it's been quite the contrast to the 85 degrees and sunshine we were soaking up.  

Returning from Spring Break always marks the countdown! AKA the end-of-the-year at school. I can't believe it's already time to start counting down!  

I've been working on updating an end-of-the-year teacher gift that I originally created for a teacher friend that was retiring.  Back in 2012! Here's the original post if you want to check it out:

Teacher Retirement Gift. 

Here's what the OLD 'Summer Essentials' tag and gift looked like:

I needed to bring it 'up to date' with a digital version to say the least, but I'm excited with how the NEW one turned out!  

I created two versions of the tag to better meet everyones' needs.  The first 'Summer Essential' tag works perfectly for a teacher, volunteer, student-teacher, or even that favorite colleague!  The second version is specific for that retired teacher! 

What better way to say THANK YOU and send them off to summer vacation than some fun relaxing treats!  Plus it all looks pretty cute when it's tied together or put into a fun beach tote or bag! 

These are just suggestions for items to pair with the 'Summer Essentials' list, but I know you're all SUPER creative and will make it your own and tailored for those that you appreciate!  I hope it makes that transition into summer vacation just a little sweeter. 

Here's items I put together as an example:

I bought the items from Dollar Tree, Target, and a local grocery store.  Super quick to put together too!  See here:

Find the Summer Essentials resource here:

Summer Essentials Gift tags

Of course it's not summer vacation yet, I know I still have 10 weeks of teaching before the break, but it's never too soon to plan those thank you gifts!

Hang in there teacher friends, there's light at the end of the tunnel.  We'll get through this school year and onto a MUCH NEEDED summer vacation.  In the meantime, just keep swimming! You got this! 

Find your balance,

Shelby 

Showing Appreciation

"Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other."

When I feel appreciated I'm ALWAYS willing to go above and beyond what's expected.  I think most people do too.

With that being said, I always try to find cute and fun ways to show my appreciation.  Whether it's for people that lend me a hand in the classroom or volunteers at an after school club, a fun thank you tag always makes a small treat that much cuter!  I mean, who doesn't love a tag?!

I've created these different thank you tags to help YOU show that appreciation with a simple treat and voila!  Easy and convenient to help you SAVE TIME! 

Simply print the tags and attach to a food/non-food item to show your appreciation!  

BEE THEME:

COFFEE & TEA THEME:

FLOWER THEME:

MISC THEME:

If you're interested in these tags check the resource here: 

Thank You Tags BUNDLE

There's 30 thank you tags to choose from and can be used throughout the year for colleagues, volunteers, student-teachers, students, and MORE!  They make great thank you gifts during TEACHER APPRECIATION week too! 

Let's continue to make people feel appreciated!  It takes a village! 

Find your balance,

Shelby 

Me on the Map Flipbooks

I LOVE all things maps, globes, geography... you name it!  

In my classroom I had a collection of globes displayed throughout the room.  One of my favorite back-to-school activities was 'Classroom Detective' where students had to explore the room and get to know the space.  The last question was always: How many globes does Mrs. Oas have? I remember hearing "Oh, there's another one!" or "That one has two globes on it!" or even "Don't forget the globe pen on her desk!"  I think there were so many globes they often counted them multiple times.  

Oh well.  

The take away?  

They knew I LOVED globes!  This then lead into sharing my passion of traveling and learning about the world as much as I could! 

My 2nd favorite activity is then teaching geography and some basic map skills with a 'Me on the Map' flipbook.  I originally saw examples online but never felt inspired by what was out there... so I did what I often do... I CREATED my own! 

I would cut and paste all the different layers of maps starting with the Earth and slowly working down to our school neighborhood.  I assembled the books and copied all the maps they would need to cut and paste and we'd work a little each day to finish by the end of the week.  

This is what a finished flipbook would look like: 

We'd hang them around the room and at the end of the year I would put them into their 'Memory Books' to save as a keepsake.  

As I've been creating products for TpT I just knew I needed to create a digital version of this flipbook so others could share my LOVE of geography too!  I had to brainstorm the best way to make it accessible for each state, so it didn't require too much 'extra prep' on the teachers to get them ready.  

What did I end up with?  

50 INDIVIDUAL US STATE 'Me on the Map' FLIPBOOKS! 

It's been a long week getting them published but they're ready to go! 

I LOVE how the new digital version that's READY-TO-PRINT turned out and hope they'll be useful for others too! 

Click here to find your state and download:  Me on the Map Flipbooks

As I wrap this up here at home, sitting in our 'office' and staring at the hanging world map thinking, where will we travel next?  I hope you all continue to explore the world around you and travel often! 

Find your balance,

Shelby Oas 

Motivational Testing Treat Tags

Looking to help MOTIVATE and INSPIRE your students for an upcoming test?  Look no further!  These simple, READY-TO-PRINT treat tags will do the trick!

I always LOVED creating treats for my students.  Both as an outlet for myself to do something creative, as well as helping to encourage my students too.

Whether it's just an end-of-the-unit test in class, or the ACTUAL state testing, little treats like these help to disguise the stress and anxiety of the situation and make it a little more memorable instead! 

When I started my TpT store I knew I wanted to recreate these fun tags that I've used for so many years in my classroom.  They're updated since my original versions of course.  Thank you modern fonts and electronic backgrounds!  I had fun creating the clipart for each of these tags too.  Thank you Procreate app and my iPad!  Making these designs is SO MUCH EASIER than it was before... or maybe I've just learned how to use these apps more efficiently?  Either way, I'm excited to be able to share them with others online too! 

If you're interested in creating these fun testing tags too, check out my resource here: 

Motivational Testing Tags

These are the 8 Ready-to-Print designs: 

Good luck as you continue to MOTIVATE, INSPIRE, and ENCOURAGE your students to do their best! 

We teach them to work hard without needing to earn a reward, but having a fun treat always makes it THAT much better right? 

Find your balance,

Shelby Oas 

Food Group Activities

It's been all about the FOOD GROUPS in PE this week so I decided to create some resources to help my students better understand each food group and a chance for some hands-on learning.  Yes, even in PE they can do some 'actual work' to help review the health concepts they're learning. 

With it being my first year in PE I wasn't sure how it'd go if I incorporated some 'actual work' into my teaching and was a little nervous to see how it'd go... 

Surprisingly, the kids left saying "That was so fun!"  Who knew?  

It gave me hope that I can create and include more content into my PE lessons.  Obviously, I need to get them moving as much as possible when I only see them for 30 minutes, two times a week, but I'm excited to see what else I can create! 

 

Download these resources here:

Food Group Posters

Food Groups Flipbook

Find your balance, 

Shelby Oas 

Spread some encouragment

Who doesn't need a little encouragement every now and then? Every week. Every day.  Every hour on recent days?  I hear you.  Me too! 

Just like this note says:  Sometimes we just need a LIFE SAVER to help keep us afloat!  [Use daily or as often as needed].

Can I have the whole bowl?

Sometimes just hearing the simple "We got this" from a colleague is enough to keep pushing through.  It helps to know that others are right there alongside you in the arena.  Especially with our current 'pandemic' situation it makes teaching VERY different to say the least.  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I originally made these treats 10 years ago [I know right?] at the end of a trimester as we were all preparing for parent-teacher conferences.  Teachers, staff, anyone working in the building needed a little life saver to keep us afloat! I took this as an opportunity to put aside all things teaching, which ALWAYS means I work on some kind of craft.

See original post here:  Sometimes we just need a 'Life Saver'

Like everything, I made the old new again! Thank you modern fonts and paper backgrounds to give the 'crafty' look without having to layer papers and require all the tedious cutting.  Since I'm also keeping up with the times and creating my designs to be digital and accessible online, it's in my TpT store.

Download the new tags here: Encouragement Tag with Life Savers

I'm excited to revive an oldie but a goodie.  I also enjoyed a nice laugh at the old design and appreciated how far my 'crafting' has come along.  

Teaching warriors out there, keep showing up each day!  Despite the daily challenges you constantly face, you got this!  And just remember, sometimes we just need a LIFE SAVER to help keep us afloat!  

Find your balance,

Shelby