Cyber Bonus Tuesday Sale!

Huge November Sale Nov. 24-27

If you ever wanted to purchase some of my products, but were waiting for a sale, the wait is over.

All of my products will be on sale on both TeachersPayTeachers.com and on Teachers Notebook.

Just visit either site to get amazing bargains.

3 Day Sale on Teachers Notebook November 24-26



Cyber Monday Nov. 26th  + Tuesday Nov. 27th Sale on TeachersPayteachers



Have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend and save lots of money.

Have Your Students Enter the 2012 seventeen magazine fiction contest

Your students (between the ages of 13 through 21) can enter the 2012 Seventeen Magazine Fiction Contest and the winner will receive $500 and a chance to be published in a national magazine.

The entry period is between November 13, 2012 and February 13, 2013.

The contest is a great motivator to teach students to write fiction. Click here for the contest rules and instructions on how to enter.

Writing short stories is fun for everyone. I have several units in my store that will help your students become better writers and learn to write fiction.

Show Don't Tell $3.50

Three Ways Authors Reveal Characters $3.50

An Original Short Story to Analyze $2.00

Using 3X5 Cards to Set Up Scenes (Free)

Enjoy!

Freebies Page

I just added a Freebies Page to my blog to make it easy for you to find the free products that I have available on TeachersPayTeachers.com.

I think there is something here for everyone, and I hope these products will be of help to you.

My One Day Happy Birthday Celebration Sale

Visit my store!

Is It Really September Already?

I have not written a blog post for a while due to two momentous family events. 

To paraphrase Dickens, it was the worst of times; it was the best of times. We spent five weeks away from home and from my office.

On July 31st, we left in a rush for Green Bay, Wisconsin, after we received
a phone call telling us that my husband's dear sister was in hospice care. Sadly, she died of cancer on August 24th at the young age of 62.

Then, the day after her burial, we attended Jerry's nephew's beautiful wedding in Bailey's Harbor, Wisconsin. 

Many of the guests had attended both a funeral and a wedding for people they love dearly within a two day span of time.

Talk about lows and highs. Words cannot describe how emotional it really was.

Here's a picture of Jerry and me at the wedding.

Now, I'm back in Texas and catching up on my writing and my housework. School is in session, and students and teachers are hard at work once again. I still miss the excitement of the first few weeks of school, and the process of getting acquainted with new students and their parents.

I wrote about a Getting to Know You Activities Packet  in an earlier blog post. Click here to read that post or click here to download it. It will give you and your students 4 or 5 days of activities for the first days of school.

And here's a free product you can use to teach your students about transitive and intransitive verbs. Click here to download it absolutely free.

I hope you are as happy to be back at work as I am. 

Don't Miss the Back to School Blowout Sale!

Be sure to get in on the "Back to School Blowout Sale" that the TeachersPayTeachers Website is hosting on August 12th and 13th.

Most of the products will be on sale including my entire Simple Steps to Sentence Sense series, and you can save up to 28% off by using the code BTS12 at checkout.

Don't miss this chance to get amazing prices on amazing products to get your school year started right.

In case you missed it, check out my latest product which will help you get to know your students during the first few days of school. I used this activity every year with much success.

I hope the beginning of your school year is just great this year.

Back to School Dollar Days Sale

Wow! What a bargain. For two days, teachers from all grade levels who blog for the Lesson Cloud are offering some of their most useful products for only $1 or $2. Now is your chance to get some awesome teaching materials for almost nothing. These products take hours to prepare and have been tested by teachers in classrooms all over the world.

Be sure to check out some of the great products created by teacher bloggers on The Lesson Cloud. 

Nine (9) of my products are in this sale. Click on the links below to visit my store for more information about each one. Hurry! Mark your calendar. Set an alarm in your phone. This sale is for two days only (July 29th and 30th) and then the products will go back to their original prices.

Getting to Know You Activities for the First Few Days of School
$2.00

Grading Scale Chart
$2.00
(Easily assign a grade without doing any math!)

How to Develop a Thesis Statement
$1.00

Hints for Writing a Critical Essay in 40 Minutes
$2.00

Avoiding Redundancies-A Revision Technique for Writers
$1.00

 Elementary Short Story One
$2.00  

 Secondary Short Story One
$2.00  

Halloween Songs Exercise 
$2.00






















Be sure to get your BACK TO SCHOOL Bargains from the Dollar Days Sale and visit
The Lesson Cloud all year long for helpful hints and freebies.

The Lesson Cloud won Best Educational Blog in the "Other" Category

Now is your chance to choose from a huge selection of $1 and $2 items. Don't miss this sale. Here's hoping your back to school adventure is a good one!

Fabulous Purse-Card Freebies

Aren't these cute?

These adorable purse cards would make great place cards at luncheons, parties, baby and wedding showers. I can see them as door hangers for children's bedrooms. They would also be really useful in the classroom to hang on students' desks. (You could modify the blue ones into wallets for the boys.)

I have two nieces who are going to be new mothers this summer. Wouldn't these make adorable baby announcements? 

These three patterns are absolutely free from MyMemories Software. All you need to do is to click on the link below each picture to get the patterns.

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_2

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

You don't need the MyMemories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software to make the Purse-Cards, but all of these freebies are MyMemories Suite Compatible. That means that you can now load them directly into your MyMemories Suite Software, and then completely customize them with any paper and embellishments that you have.  

The MyMemories Suite Software provides a powerful set of creative tools and time-saving features for only $39.97. If you are interested, just click here to purchase the MyMemories Suite Software and be sure to enter this code STMMMS2791 at checkout to receive $10 off the software and a $10 gift certificate to use in the online store. (Disclosure: I am compensated for purchases made via the affiliate link in this blog post.)

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make these adorable Purse-Cards.

1.  Print your Purse Card templates on cardstock and gather supplies.  (Recommended supplies: small craft scissors, bone folder, 8-12" of ribbon, stapler, tape or velcro)
TIP: To print your information on the inside create another page with the template in place.  Put all your text and embellishments in (leaving a little room on the edges) and then remove the template right before exporting or printing the inside page on the back of the first.  This will keep from having to worry about if the templates line up exactly when cutting out your card.

2. Use scissors and cut along the outside line.

3.  Fold card at indentations.
TIP: Using a bone folder will help you get crisp edges on your project.

Repeat by folding down top flap.

4. Staple ribbon to both sides of your card on the inside to look like a strap or handle.

5.  Enjoy the finished cards and share.  Don't forget to use your imagination.  The possibilites are endless!

Have fun with these. Leave me a comment if you have any ideas for other uses for these Purse-Cards. 

Hope your summer is going well.

A Freebie for Father's Day

Today we have a great freebie for you!!  Crowns! What kid doesn't love a party crown for their birthday, or maybe just a crown to be a prince or princess for the day.  These crowns are also a great idea for both boys and girls to create a personalized gift for Dad. You can even customize your crowns with pictures or ages by using MyMemories software. You don't have to have the MyMemories software to use this freebie, but if you do, you can create so many wonderful things. Just use my code when you purchase the software to save $10. on the price of MyMemories Suite Software. My code is STMMMS2791. Click here to get your free crowns. Enjoy!

Summer Reading Suggestions

Teachers have to read stacks of papers, articles, essays, 
and professional books during the school year, so why would they want to compile a summer reading list? 

Because reading and summer go together like peanut butter and jelly, 
french fries and catsup, and. . . well, you get the idea.

I have read some really good books recently, and would like to pass 
along some recommendations.

All can be found on Amazon.com and I have provided links to make them easy to find.


Defending Jacob by William Landay


A story that made me think about the unconditional love and the uncertainty we parents must face when our kids get into trouble and made me ask, "What if?" This book was powerful and emotional.






Calico Joe by John Grisham


A wonderful step back in time to the days when we wheeled TV's into our classrooms so that we could all watch the World Series. The names will be familiar even if you are not a baseball fan.

The King of Lies by John Hart

Dark family secrets rise to the surface when Work Pickens, a Southern lawyer finds his father murdered. I had no idea "who done it" until the very end, and I like reading novels that keep me in suspense.

I would also like to suggest two of my own novels as a pleasurable summer read. Both are only $2.99 in the Kindle Book Store. If you don't have a Kindle, you can download a free Kindle Reader and read on your smart phone, tablet, or your computer. Just click on the book covers below and take a look.

The Cowboy's Treasure by Charlene Tess

When a cowboy is stranded at the end of a cattle drive in Ogallala, Nebraska in 1868, he is out of work and out of luck until he meets a lovely young woman who is trying to keep her father's apple farm from the clutches of the town banker and to raise her four-year-old brother by herself. This is a carefully researched sweet historical romance (no bodice ripping)that I hope you will enjoy. It won first place in the Southwest Writers Conference Writing Contest a few years back.

The Greatest Gift by Charlene Tess 

Patricia Gillespie’s wonderful play day with her five-year-old granddaughter turns into a tragic nightmare when they are involved in a car accident. The accident is Patricia’s fault, and Patti Cake is dead. Patricia and her daughter, Alaina, have always been each other’s best friend. Can the love between a mother and her daughter survive such a tragedy?  

A huge thank you to my talented cousin, Chaz Bourland, for the cover designs. Visit his website for really creative artwork. 

Find a great book to read today, settle back on a lawn chair, and enjoy the summer!

My Mother; My Friend

Alice M. Bourland

Alice Bourland was a beautiful woman with black hair, green eyes, and a genuinely warm smile. She had a generous heart and soul and thousands of school children at North Loop Elementary School and Parkland Elementary School were influenced by her wisdom and her knowledge.

She worked her way through college and earned a Master’s Degree in Education. She was a teacher and was the second woman in West Texas to become a principal. Her students and the teachers in her schools loved her.

We, my sister, my brother, and I were so blessed to have her as our mother. She taught us many lessons. Be honest, stand up straight, do it right or don’t do it at all, don’t slam doors, turn off the lights when you leave the room, treat your elders with respect, follow the Golden Rule.

She was a gentle woman with a very quick temper and her feelings were easily hurt. We all knew that if Mama was mad at us, we had better get out of her way until she cooled off.

She was generous with her money, her time, and her love. She and my dad were madly in love for 66 years. She told lots of stories and repeated them often. She was, in every way, the definition of a lady. She went to meet my dad in Heaven on New Year’s Eve in 2008. I miss her every day.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of us who were blessed with mothers to whom we owe everything.

Here’s a great idea for a Mother’s Day Gift!

How about helping your mom relax with a good book. You can give her a Kindle ebook as a gift and deliver it within moments. No shipping charges, no wrapping paper, and if your mom doesn't happen to have a Kindle, she can easily download a FREE Kindle reader for a computer, a smart phone, or a tablet.

Find the book in the Kindle Store that you wish to give to someone.

To gift a Kindle book, click the Give as a Gift button located under the Buy button on Kindle Store product detail pages.

To complete your Kindle Book gift order:

1. Enter the personal e-mail address for your gift recipient. You can also choose to send the gift to your own e-mail address, and forward the e-mail directly to your recipient or print the e-mail and personally deliver it to your recipient.
2. Enter a delivery date. If you don't select a delivery date, the e-mail will be delivered immediately.
3. Enter an optional gift message. If you'd like to preview the notification your recipient will receive, click the Preview your gift message button.
4. Click the Place your order button to finish your gift purchase using the Kindle 1-Click payment method.

Note: Make sure you enter the personal e-mail address for your gift recipient, not their kindle.com e-mail address.

Gift Notification

Your gift recipient will be notified of their gift at the e-mail address you provide. We will send a notification at the time the gift order is placed.

If you don’t have a book in mind, may I suggest my latest novel. 

Click on the Cover