School's Out Blog Blowout

6:55 AM Sarah Koves 0 Comments



I have teamed up with 19 other teacher bloggers to give you a summer blog hop.  We have included a series of limited-time freebies, our summer bucket lists, and what we are currently reading.  In addition, you have the opportunity to win $100 gift card to Teacher Pay Teachers.

This post contains affiliate links, but these words and opinions are %100 my own.
This hop has been a lot of fun to put together, and I hope that you get tons of great ideas and freebies over the next week.  Be sure to read all the way to the bottom for the giveaway and next stop.  You will know you have finished the entire circle when you have 20 freebies downloaded and arrive back here.



One my favorite posts in on Social Studies Bell Ringers.  I decided to create this product after finding out that the book I use is no longer available to individual teachers and must be purchased through the school's representative.

This product is one month of social studies bell work based on the five themes of geography: location, region, movement, place, and human-environment interaction. Two questions for each day of the week. Answer key included.



I am giving away my First Month of Daily Geography for free during this blog hop.  Be sure to snag it now (and leave it some love) because it won't be free for long.


My list of things to accomplish this summer is always longer than vacation (especially since I work summer school and go back to school in mid-August).  I wanted to share just a few highlights of my summer plans with you.


Work on our Family Bucket List

 Back in January, my family wrote our bucket list for 2016. We have visited Great Wolf Lodge and Disney World already this year, but we have a lot more fun that we want to have.
Not only did hubby and I create our lists, but the girls did too.  I certainly think each of us can cross an item off our lists this summer.  I think the zoo, camping, Frankenmuth, Gurney's Sandwiches, and a few of the girls items can be crossed off in the next six weeks.  I think I will schedule some of those now.



Back in January, I set a personal goal for myself to read 52 books this year.  I use my Goodreads app to help me track how many I have read.  That goal means a book a week; I don't do that well during the school year, but I devour them in the summer.  I update the books I am reading fairly regularly, and I am just about half way there.

Here are a few of my favorites.




Finish my Google Trainer Certification

Last winter I passed all my tests.  I now need to finish my case study and record an online demo of a product.  I haven't yet decided what product I want to demo in my video- what would you like to see?


The certification program is changing this fall, so I want to make sure I get it done while I have time this summer.

I also want to finish my Google Educator Level 2 test as well.  I think that will be easy after those trainer tests.

Check out my entire Google Blog Post Series



Thoroughly clean my house.

While I know this isn't a very exciting item, I am aware that many teachers feel the same way when summer rolls around.  We have way too much stuff.  I feel like I am always taking car loads to donate, but the stuff still multiples.   Summer is the time I can do things like go through the girls' closets, wash all my windows and curtains, and clean out our kitchen cupboards.  I have three tips for you that I use to get my home cleaned while on break.

1) I schedule many of these tasks in my Google Calendar.  This allows me not to think about them during our fun family time because I know that I have set aside time for them.

I will be spending a couple of days in the basement cleaning that out- hopefully, lots of items to trash or donated.  
2) Some people like yard sales, but I have found that they are actually more work than the little money I make is not worth it, so I haul items to the road (people usually stop that day and take them away), or I take boxes to the local resale store.

3) I make sure and get products that I love to use, and it is even better when they come right to my house.  This past year I discovered Grove Collaborative.  I get Method and Mrs. Meyer's natural cleaning products delivered to my house each month, so I never run out (this is often a problem at our house).  Right now you can get $10 off your first order with THIS LINK.





Grow my Facebook Groups

Currently, I run two Facebook groups.  One is for teachers of journalism and the other is for educator bloggers looking to promote their blog to a wider group of readers.

My journalism group sprung out of an elective that I taught last year (and hope to be teaching again).  I was disappointed with the lack of support for such programs in schools and wanted to create a place for those who run journalism programs to work together.

The Educator Blogger Promotion group came to be only recently.  I am a member of several non-niche-based blogger promotion groups on Facebook.  I always get great social media interaction from these groups in the daily threads, but I don't know how much they help grow my readership because my target audience is different from those who do recipe, fashion, and life-style blogs.   I am hoping that with enough educators, we can all grow our readership and reach, so if you are an educator blogger, be sure to join.


This past year has been a little rough on me as I had my feet in both the teaching and administrative worlds (working part time at both).  I knew going into June that this summer was going to have to be a time for me to recharge and reignite my passion.  I found the perfect book in Unshakeable by Angela Watson.


In addition to picking this book up, well adding it to my Kindle, I have joined the Facebook book community on it.  The next book club starts July 17th, and I am furiously reading.


I would love to know what books you are reading this summer- leave the titles in the comments below.





I have teamed up with the other 19 bloggers in this hope to give you the chance to win $100 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card.  What a great way to kick off summer?

School's Out Blog Blowout





Hop to the next stop with the image above.





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