The Bender Bunch

Sunday, April 9, 2017

SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!

Welcome to SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!! Every Sunday I host this freebie link up here on my blog for Special Education Teachers! Visit every week to download free resources for your classroom! If this is your first time visiting, you can access all of the freebies from previous link ups by clicking on "SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies" under "My Files" on my right sidebar. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you're a TPT seller, blogger, or resource creator, I invite you to link up and share your own freebie using the link up tool below!

Link Up Rules

1. All resources must be FREE! It can be free for the day, but please delete your link once you mark it back to paid.
2. Your freebie may link to your blog or store.
3. Freebie does not have to be related specifically to SPED, but should be practical for SPED.
4. If you are linking up from your blog, using this image in your post and linking back to my blog is not required, but is greatly appreciated! Be sure to share this image on your social media so others can see your freebie!

*I recommend using an image of your freebie & not your button when linking up.

Feel free to share the image above all over your social media to let other teachers know about these freebies!

The link up tool will close on Saturday each week, but "forever" freebies will remain accessible! Come back every Sunday to link up or download new freebies!

Thanks for dropping by!

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, April 3, 2017

End of Year Gifts for Paras

It may be too soon for some of you to be thinking about the end of the year already, but it's never to soon to recognize those special people that make your class go'round! Your paras!

These individuals play such a huge role within schools, yet probably receive the least recognition. They care about kids just as much as you. Many of them spend their own money for classroom treats and give their own time for after school events. Many of them go home each evening with thoughts of a kid stuck in their head, just like you...thinking of ways they can reach a student. Many of them SHOULD have become teachers themselves!

Here are some simple and inexpensive gift ideas to help you send your paras off on summer break feeling appreciated!

Who has a "countdown to summer" tradition they do with their students every year?? How about doing a summer countdown with your paras! Last year I did a 10-day summer countdown for my paras and they loved it!

Every day for the last 10 days of school, I surprised them with a little gift of appreciation.

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1
Summer Break!

Most of these can also be used any time of year to recognize your paras if you choose to do it that way! Get these free labels here.

This is another simple and quick idea and everyone can always use a new tumbler. Find one in their favorite color or one that shows their personality. You can also fill them with goodies or put their names on them with vinyl.

These are gallon size, glass mason jar pitchers. Inside is a beach towel, magazine, lip balm, sunscreen, shades, and snapple (or whatever they like) singles.

Here is a close up of the label and you can grab them for free here. This set also includes a student label too to use on Starburst!

If you're not super crafty or don't have the time or patience to put together these gifts, end the year by treating your paras to lunch with these easy to do Subway cards. The photo shows "Happy Paraprofessional Day," but there is also a "Thanks for all you do" and a "What a great year" included. Grab them free here. Just print, cut, and add a $5-10 gift card!

Take a look at my Teacher Gift Ideas Pinterest Board for even more ideas!

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Autism Acceptance Celebration!

It's Autism Awareness Day! Typically, every Sunday I host a freebie link up here on my blog called what you might know as "SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies." However, today we are all linking up our freebies over at Autism Classroom Resources to honor Autism Acceptance Month. There are tons of freebies waiting for you. Click here to access them!

A bunch of us have also marked an Autism related resource 50% off today too! Get my Disability Awareness Day kit for 1/2 price here and see just how easy it is to host this event at your school!

Then search the hashtag #AcceptAutism on Teachers Pay Teachers to find all of the other sales.

Don't forget to sport your blue today and light it up blue tonight to honor those living with Autism and to encourage acceptance.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

SPEDtacular Sunday Freebies!

Link Up Rules

*I recommend using an image of your freebie & not your button when linking up.

Feel free to share the image above all over your social media to let other teachers know about these freebies!

The link up tool will close on Saturday each week, but "forever" freebies will remain accessible! Come back every Sunday to link up or download new freebies!

Thanks for dropping by!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Need Resources? No Budget? Get What You Need!

Need supplies for your classroom? Have a limited budget? Have you heard of Donors Choose?

I often assume that all teachers know about Donors Choose, but recently discovered that many teachers out there have never heard of it! Especially newer teachers!

Well let me just tell you...you want to know about this fabulous organization! Donors Choose is a place where teachers can post their classroom projects and supply requests and donors can choose to fund your request. While not every project gets funded, I have posted 4 projects/requests on Donors Choose, and 3 of the 4 have been fully funded! According to Donors Choose, 70% of projects are fully funded! So that's a pretty high chance!

And project funding just keeps growing!

Here are the projects I have had funded!

Donors Choose is completely free and works on a point system. The more points you earn, the more options you'll have and the more funding you can request. You can even request funds for a field trip and a class visitor, once you've earned enough points, or even seek funding for professional development for yourself such as curriculum guides, books, workshops, seminars, and even courses!

After you create an account and create your project, you'll shop and select the resources you need from their online vendors and if and when your project is fully funded, Donors Choose automatically ships the resources directly to you! Choose from many popular vendors that you know and love like Scholastic, Lakeshore, School Specialty, Amazon, Nasco, Kaplan, Best Buy, just to name a few!

Here's how easy it is! Select your project type.

Then tell a little about your students.

Next, choose your vendor and start shopping.

Summarize what's in your cart and continue.

Give your project a title and explain how your project will impact your students.

And that's it! Submit and Donors Choose will review your submission within 5 days and either approve it or provide you with suggestions or corrections that need to be made to help you have the greatest chances of being funded.

Once it's approved and posted, sit back and wait for it to be funded! Sometimes your project will receive multiple donors, as donors can choose to partially fund your project or simply donate a few dollars. Each time a donor gives to your project, you will receive an email notification.

You'll also receive a custom URL to share your project with others and if you start a project for submission and don't have time to finish, it will be saved to your drafts to return back to later.

Projects do have an expiration date and only remain on the site for a few months...unless it has changed, it was 4 months. If your project is not fully funded, your points used will be returned to you and any donors that donated will be credited.

The only requirement Donors Choose has is a mandatory thank you package if your project is funded. You must upload an impact letter and pictures of the resources in action to Donors Choose within a certain timeline that will be forwarded on to your donor(s). They respect student privacy, don't allow last names or uniform logos to show and provide photo releases for parents to sign.

It doesn't get much easier than that! Donors Choose has allowed me to obtain resources for my students that I otherwise would not have been able to provide for my students. They are making a difference and impacting the lives of so many children! Allow them to make a difference in the lives of your students and submit your project TODAY! :)

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