Life Between Summers

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Life Between Summers

1 week ago

Life Between Summers
Today is the DAY!!! 🎉 Our School is a Family is officially available on Amazon! 👏🏼This new book really builds upon Our Class is a Family- extending classroom community to the wider school community 🏫 It’s a book that can be read to kids by teachers, administrators, school librarians, school counselors, speech pathologists, parents, etc. Essentially, any caring grownup who wants students to feel safe, loved, and supported at school! ❤️I've shared more details about the book (including a video book trailer, extension activities, & where you can order your copy) right here: lifebetweensummers.com/2023/03/20/our-school-is-a-family-a-school-community-book/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

2 weeks ago

Life Between Summers
Our School is a Family will be available to order on Amazon very soon!! 📖💕 Want to see this brand new book before it’s officially released??You can get the eBook and read it right now! 👏🏼OR just get a little sneaky peek at the first few pages by going to Amazon & clicking where it says “Look Inside” 👀See it here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY81F194/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

3 weeks ago

Life Between Summers
Our Class is a Family bracelets for the end of the year are officially available for preorder!!! 🥳👏🏼The EOY is still quite a ways away, but preordering is open early so that there’s plenty of time to get these handmade for you!These can be given to your students as a special keepsake on the last day of school- especially if you plan on reading aloud “Our Class is a Family” to them that day! 📖 They come fully assembled with the tag, packaging, and beaded bracelets for your specific grade level...nothing you have to take time to put together yourself! 🙌🏼There will only be a limited quantity of these- if you’re interested in reserving a class set of bracelets to be shipped to you by May, it’s recommended to preorder sooner rather than later, just in case. Hope you & your class family love them!! 🥰lifebetweensummers.com/product/our-class-is-a-family-bracelets-farewell-bracelets-for-end-of-the-... ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

7 months ago

Life Between Summers
SURPRISE!!! 🎉 Sandie Sonke Illustration & I just finished up the cover for our 4th book together, coming in 2023! 📙🥳In the past, I haven’t shared new book titles/covers until closer to the release date, but this time around I’d like to try and share more with you throughout the actual book-creating journey (sketches, sneak peeks, etc.) so here ya have it! 💞As you probably guessed by the title, this new one will be a follow up to Our Class is a Family! 🥰The premise:Kids have their immediate family that they live with, but extended relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) make up a special part of a family too! You can see where this is going- it’s similar at school! Students have their teacher & each other within their classroom walls, but they also have an extended family there to support them ❤️Specifically, all of the amazing people who are a big piece of the heart of a school:Librarians, speech pathologists, school counselors, administrators, custodians, school secretaries, reading specialists, cafeteria workers, and parent volunteers, just to name a few 🏫 And you’ll find them all represented in this new book! 🙌🏼 My hope for “Our School is a Family” is that it will help students feel extra safe, loved, & supported, and encourage kids to form positive relationships with (and show appreciation toward) the helpers at their school!I am so excited to share more about this book with you in the months to come!! 📖 P.S. Speaking of “months,” my very warmest congrats to Sandie, who is Society of Children's Book Writers & IllustratorsIllustrator of the Month! So very well-deserved!!! 🥂💗#ourschoolisafamily #ourclassisafamily #aletterfromyourteacher #shannonolsen #shannonolsenauthor #backtoschoolbooks #teacherreadaloud #schoollibrarian #schoolcounselor #speechpathologist #schoolcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

11 months ago

Life Between Summers
New book companion to go with Our Class is a Family! Class Family Memory Books for the end of the school year 📖💕This is a nice & simple writing activity for students to work on during those final weeks/days leading up to summer break 👌🏼 It’s a meaningful way to reflect on all their memories from the year, and they can take it home as a special keepsake on the last day of school! If you’re thinking you might want these memory books for your students, the timing couldn’t be better because they’re 25% off today & tomorrow (along with all other resources in my TPT store!) with the code THANKYOU22 💛 This comes available on its own, or in a discounted bundle with more extension activities for all 3 of my books 📚 I will share the link in the comments! 💕 ... See MoreSee Less

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  • This memory book is an end of the year activity that can be used as an extension for the book Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen. It’s a fun way for students to reflect on their favorite memories from the year, and they can take it home with them on the last day of school. Incorporate this into your end of year lesson plans. This makes a great end of year gift. Celebrate your strong classroom community one more time with this last day of school activity.
  • This Father’s Day gift is a special keepsake for the dads of your students. Kids write and illustrate a Father's Day book all about their dads. Students can also make their own picture frames for Father's Day. This Father's Day craft is low prep and easy to make. This popscicle stick picture frame can be made during centers or free time. Your first graders or second graders will love this Father's Day gift idea.
  • Are you looking for hands-on geometry activities to spice up your math lessons? These geometry games and activities are a hit for K-3 students. You can use these math activities during math workshop, small groups, and math centers. Help students to learn about 2D shapes and 3D shapes with a shape scavenger hunts. This blog post also includes shape building activities. Geometry Jenga is one of the most engaging and exciting math games for young learners. What geometry activity will you pick?
  • Are you looking for end of the year activities to do with your elementary students? One of my all time favorite activities to add to my end of the year lesson plans is an end of the year memory book. This year I created a memory book to go with my book Our Class is a Family. In this post, I share my end of the year memory book along with other end of the year activities that go with this best seller. Find all of my Our Class is a Family activities for the end of the year here!
  • With the end of the school year just around the corner, have you decided what you are going to give as student gifts? If you are struggling with an idea, check out this post for 5 student gifts from the teacher. All of the student gift ideas are inspired by a picture book, so you can do a classroom read aloud before handing out the end of the year gifts. Your students will love everything from the classroom bracelets to end of the year letters. Don’t miss these end of the year ideas.
  • Using the Secret Walker as a classroom management tool throughout the entire school year is sure to help keep your students on track. These prize coupons are a positive incentive for students who follow behavior expectations while walking in line. Students earn a secret walker coupon at the end of the day if they followed classroom expectations. This is a classroom management system I really push at the end of the year when behaviors start to slip and you have a chatty class.
  • Looking for classroom management tips and tricks to help you make it to the end of the school year? Some of my favorite classroom management hacks are catch a bubble and using visual voice levels. These are both great classroom management tools. Also doing whole class rewards or individual student rewards is another great way to keep students on task. Try one of these classroom management strategies and tools today!
  • Are you looking for the perfect end of the year activity to do with your elementary students? Today, I am sharing my book companion for A Letter From Your Teacher On The Last Day of School. This last day of school activity allows students to write letters to their classmates and their teacher gets to write letters to their students. A perfect end of the year gift from the teacher. Use this during your end of the year party or end of year lesson plans.
  • Looking for end of the year activities to do with your elementary students? Today, I have compiled a list of my 10 favorite end of the year activities you can incorporate into your end of year lesson plans. I am sharing an end of year countdown, end of year books, end of year crafts and more. You will also find an Our Class is a Family activity which is great for classroom community along with end of year games and an end of year memory book.