Part 3 of Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten starts today! Many TpT sellers have put items in their store on sale and have drastically marked down their products in honor of Jessica's birthday! 

Best Seller Blowout

An InLinkz Link-up

Dynamic Dollar Deals

An InLinkz Link-up

Bundle Bonanza

An InLinkz Link-up

There are so many great items at such inexpensive prices! I can't wait to go shopping! :)

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Inspired Owl's Corner

Today and tomorrow, Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten will be giving away some prizes to some lucky blog readers! Giveaway #1 is a Teacher Toolkit. Enter to win in the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #2 is a K-2 ELA Resource Bundle! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #3 is a K-2 Math Resource Bundle!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Inspired Owl's Corner

Jessica from Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten is celebrating her birthday in a big way! Monday-Thursday there will be flash freebies, giveaways, and a huge sale! Be sure to check back tomorrow to see the awesome prizes you could win! 

Click on the picture below to head over to her Facebook Page so you can grab some FLASH freebies! They are only free for 15 minutes, starting at 8:00 AM CST! Be sure to grab them fast every half hour!

Have a great Sunday and check back tomorrow for the chance to win some great prizes!

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Inspired Owl's Corner

I'm excited to be a part of the Stress Free Linky and Giveaway hosted by Fancy Free in Fourth and Ramona Recommends! Today I'm going to share with you how I like to create a stress-free testing environment for my kiddos (and myself, too!)

Let's rewind to about twelve years ago when the testing frenzy began in my state. I had been teaching for almost seven years, and had never experienced anything like it. State test scores were the focus. Teachers were so stressed, that they started putting more pressure on the students and stressed them out as well! 

Not much has changed over a decade later. There are still teachers and students who stress out about "the test". Some teachers' salaries are even tied to the test! I can't wrap my head around that one! I decided a few years ago that the madness needed to end. I realized that I needed to put my energy into teaching students so they have the tools they need to be successful on any test or assignment. Instead, I have chosen to celebrate my students' learning. Now "the test" is something they look forward to instead of dreading. I tell them that they have already done all of the hard work, now it's just a matter of showing off what they know!

Each day of testing, I surprise them with a little treat. Yesterday morning was the first day of our state testing. The students were greeted by the sign below on the door. Click on the picture to grab your own copy!

This year, on the first day of the "Big Test", I decided I would give them a Test Taking Survival Kit. Inside they found a granola bar, bookmark, class money, a homework pass, and a pencil. In the past, I would pass out these items on different days of the test. 

On the other days of testing, they will get either get a pack of "Smart Cookies" or a Smartie candy. Each day I give them a ticket if they are on task, taking their time, and doing their best. At the end of each day of testing, I raffle off a "Smart Bar"- a Hershey bar with a Smart Bar wrapper. The students love this, and I believe it helps to alleviate testing stress for them. 

Click on the picture below to see the entire file.

I believe that changing my attitude about the test and creating a celebration of my class's learning has helped to alleviate testing stress in my classroom!

If you can use this pack in your classroom, leave me a comment, and I will randomly choose a winner after our giveaway is over! 

I'm also going to use some of the coupons from this adorable Freebie pack created by Arisbeth from Sailing into Second. She includes a few non-candy treats as well! I love the "You're O "fish" ally done with testing! This pack is sure to motivate and alleviate test stress!

Be sure to enter our Stress Free Giveaway to win some amazing prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Inspired Owl's Corner

Jen from Sparkling in Second is celebrating her two year blogiversary! To celebrate, she is having a two part celebration!  Part 1 is a sale, and part 2 is a giveaway! I have a some of these amazing products in my cart! I wish I could win the Erin Condren gift certificate! Good luck!

Have a great weekend! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Inspired Owl's Corner

I wanted to share this informative comprehension post by Julie from A First for Everything. Julie has tons of great ideas in this post!

I love how she uses sticky notes so the students can easily annotate their reading. Who doesn't love writing on sticky notes? 

Click on any of the pictures to see her post!

Happy Friday! :)

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Inspired Owl's Corner

I can FINALLY share this exciting news with you! I am thrilled and honored to be working with a group of 10 AMAZING third grade teachers at the brand new iTeach Third Blog! 

Third grade is such a unique and pivotal year. At iTeach Third, you will find ideas, strategies, and products that are perfectly suited to third grade teachers and their students. To celebrate the launch of iTeach Third, we are having a two day giveaway on April 12th-13th! Click on the picture below to head to the blog, follow us on Facebook, and download your 11 freebies! 

I can't wait to share and learn from the wealth of knowledge on iTeach Third! 

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Inspired Owl's Corner

Welcome to April's Pick 3 Party! Thank you for joining PAWSitively Teaching and me for the April addition of Pick 3! We hope you find tons of spring inspiration to get you through the month of April! The great thing about this linky is that you can Pin the ideas now, and save them for later when you need them! I'm always in awe of the great ideas I pin from this linky!

Click Image to View Original Pinterest Link

Click Image to View Original Pinterest Link

I just love both of these art projects using plastic eggs! I have so many leftover plastic eggs after Easter! I always end up forgetting where I packed them away the next year then I end up buying more! These projects would be perfect for all of those eggs! My students would love to make these birds and animals. They are so cute! I love the little nest too!

Click Image to View Original Pinterest Link

After Easter Break, we are going to be in full testing mode! It's so important to build up the students' confidence before "The Test"! In my district, the students take the big test for the first time in third grade, so I always like to give them cookie-themed positive incentives to get them motivated and excited. This bulletin board idea goes along perfectly with that! I love the idea of this Smart Cookies bulletin board! They get so excited every year, and testing isn't something they fear, rather look forward to.

My last pick is a variety of art projects for Earth Day. I want to have a huge Earth Day celebration this year, including a few of these art projects! We could have a Planet Party to celebrate this important holiday. 

Click Image to View Original Pinterest Link

Now it's your turn! We would love for you to link up and share your top three Pinterest Pins for April! This linky is hosted on the third of each month- so come join in on the fun!

1.  Save the Pick 3 images to your desktop.

2.  Create a blog post using these images to share you 3 Pinterest Picks     for the month.

3.  Share a link to your full Pinterest page if you would like.

4.  Link up by clicking the "add your link" button below.

5.  Be sure to check out the other Pinterest finds that have been shared and leave a comments on the ones you love!

Visit Marissa's profile on Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Inspired Owl's Corner