Summer is right around the corner — and with it comes many opportunities to relax and enjoy hot sunny days. But summer also brings opportunities to learn and grow. Days get longer and students’ attention spans can get shorter. Here are a few tips to help preserve the progress you and your students have made this year.

Spark their interest: Read the first book in a series to your students before summer starts and then encourage them to read the rest of the series over the summer.

Public Library Tour: Before school is out, take your kids to the library on a field trip. Help them sign up for library cards and show them how to use them.

Be aware of the Summer Slide: Increase parental awareness of the summer slide and increase the number of minutes children read over the summer. Download the FREE summer reading calendar below.

Summer Reading Passport: Create summer “passports” and then have a local librarian give your students “stamps” when they go to the library and read a book off of your summer reading list.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Download this summer reading calendar and give to your students. It will help your students keep track of their reading goals and serve as a reminder to stay on track. 

The lovely Jennifer from First Grade Blue Skies is hosting a BragTag™ giveaway! Super cute, totally custom tags you can use for end of school awards, or for the beginning of next year – whatever best fits your needs. Hop on over and check out her adorable blog, she has awesome tips, lesson plans, freebies and more!

First Lady Michelle Obama is making huge efforts to create healthier lifestyles with her campaign “Let’s Move“. One of the major goals is to create healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity. Principals and teachers can get involved in her quest to raise a healthier generation of kids by joining the HealthierUS School Challenge.

Regular exercise in nature is proven to improve children’s physical and mental health. Outdoor activity helps kids maintain a healthy weight, boosts their immunity and bone health and lowers stress. Kids need at least 60 minutes of active and vigorous play each day to stay healthy, and one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to meet this goal is by playing outside.

FREE Download: Help your students begin a healthy active summer with this “Weekly Exercise Chart“. From now until the end of the school year, give your students this weekly exercise chart, each week award the students that exercised, and completed the chart with the “Weekly Exercise Certificate“!

I will never forget it. It was a Mother’s Day celebration in my son’s kindergarten class. There we all were, moms and kids, sitting criss cross apple sauce on the floor listening to the calm and soothing voice of kindergarten teacher extraordinaire, Ms Watts. Even though it was more than 10 years ago, I can close my eyes and very clearly hear her melodic voice as she reads the touching verse:

I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be

I will always remember how this little book tugged on my heart-strings that day; and I’m sure the beloved Ms. Watts knew that was the perfect Mother’s Day treat. : )

Help your students make Mother’s Day special with this sweet Mother’s Day Coupon Book.

Do you have a special mother days project that you like to do in your classroom? If so, we’d love for you to share.

Stay tuned… more chances and contests coming up THIS MONTH!

The five winners are below, we will contact you via email today.

To every one of you amazingly talented, caring, giving, kindhearted, benevolent and just plain AWESOME teachers – you are much appreciated today and everyday!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU for all you do, you are appreciated, revered and respected!

In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week May 7-11. We are giving FIVE lucky winners free BragTags™! Winners will be announced tomorrow May 8, so don’t miss out – enter today! You may be the lucky winner, simply leave a comment on the “Teacher of the Year – Giveaway”.

Teacher of the Year – Giveaway!

Check out just some of the SUPER cute reading BragTags™ that we created for Post.

Great job on developing SUPERHERO READERS!

Defeat standardized tests by giving kids the ultimate superpower: READING.

Supersonic hearing and X-ray vision have nothing on reading. A love of books can transport students around the world, launch them into the future, and help them to conquer high-stakes exams. Check out these FREE teaching resources for popular read-aloud books.

Click here for more lesson ideas, activities, and recommendations for turning your students into reading superheroes.

Quote of the day: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss, “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!”

Recently President Obama recognized Rebecca Mieliwocki, a 7th grade English teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School as 2012 NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR. We are exceptionally proud to say that her school, Burbank Middle School, is one of our VALEUD customers! (hip hip hooray!)

We are also very proud of another VALUED customer, Carl Melhorn, who was announced as 2012 Educator of the Year by Camarillo CA Chamber of Commerce. It was noted that Mr. Melhorn gives his students BragTags™ to honor academic achievement. (another yippee!)

By now, you know we LOVE teachers, you know we are proud of teachers and you know how important we thinks teachers are! And by now, we know how much you LOVE BragTags™. (thank you) : )

My friend and I conducted a fun little experiment at Starbucks. You know how the barista takes drink orders for a few people in line before you get to the register to pay for it? Well… in honor of “Pay It Forward” day (THURSDAY April 26), my friend and I paid for the beverages of the two people in line behind us. We asked the sweet barista gal not give us away, but to simply say “the person paying for your drink asked that you pay it forward.” We then sat down and watched as the recipients smiled and looked around. And guess what?! They then paid for the person behind them! My friend and I smiled and giggled mischievously as a warm fuzzy ran through our bodies!

Check out these fun pay it forward ideas for elementary students:

FREEZE TAG - Play freeze-tag and “unfreeze” the person by saying something kind about them.

PAY IT FORWARD TREE

FRIENDSHIP HAND

GOOD DEEDS JAR

We love to show off how other schools creatively reward good deeds! Kudos!

Friendly Reminder #2: Environmental Week this week. If you haven’t already check out this FUN and interactive environmental lesson plan!

Below are other FREE DOWNLOADS that are designed specifically to encourage your students to think about our earth and natural resources:

WHO GIVES A HOOT - Students learn about endangered birds and animals.

EASY ON THE OIL – This is especially poignant because April 20, 2010 marks the date of the 2nd largest oil spill in history, the Gulf Oil Spill.

SAVING OUR EARTH - Students will test their knowledge and enjoy a few “eye-opening” facts about consumption, and easy ways to reduce.

Happy Earth Day! (April 22)

Question: Are you doing something special for Environmental Week in your classroom? We’d love for you to share!