Help! I need a new bulletin board!

TGIF! Your first week may be over, or your second week, or you may be getting ready to start on Monday. Wherever you are in Back to School, if you've got one more bulletin board to do, you may be seeing spots by now! And that's a good place to start.



If you need a new bulletin board now, you need it fast! Never mind themes -- let's go with something decorative.




CTP's new Dots on Chocolate series complements their other dots and Poppin' Patterns items while still having a new look.




Carson Dellosa has a new dots look, too.



Trend's dots show up on letters.

Pick out your favorite dots and spots and put up a simple board of student work or student photos, and you're set!

Go Green in Your Classroom!

So many schools are working to go green and get the kids on board with the efforts! It's a great way to start off the school year.



EP has a series of Go Green decoratives for the classroom. We've got matching letters, borders, and more.

Great new stuff from CTP, too!



"Go Green in School" is a brand new mini bulletin board set making an important point about citzenship.



"Taking Care of the Earth"



This one gets the idea across graphically for pre-readers, too.

Check the A Plus Educational catalog, or come and see us if you're in Harrison! Remember -- we deliver to schools for free. Call (870) 741-1880 for details!

What's New for Back to School?

The joint is jumping! People are loving the new All Aboard Bulletin Board Set.


These fancy pointers are also very popular.

But we can't begin to tell you all the fun stuff we have for back to school! Come in and see us at A Plus, or visit our online catalog. Don't forget, we deliver to schools in North Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas for FREE!

Is There Anything New in Planbooks and Gradebooks?

Gradebooks and planbooks can be such a challenge. The differences are so subtle, but everyone has a clear preference.

• Colors Some like shadow on alternate lines to help them keep their places. Some feel that green is easier on the eyes, while others like the brightness of blue. Some swear by the red stripe at the end of a week or some other special color variation.
• Size Big squares, small squares, big book, small book, big space for notes... There are plenty of different factors to consider.
• Extra material Do you need a seating chart? A place to record parents' email addresses? A calendar? Or do you tear all that stuff out?
• Cover The most obvious difference from one set to another is in the cover. Some want a cute design, while others want a plain one. Some need a waterproof cover for grading at the coffeeshop.
  

The problem is, you can't get one from column A and two from column B. You might find small green squares in a large combo grade and planbook with a pocket, but not big green squares in a large combo grade and planbook with a pocket.

This is why every year people want to see the new stuff.

This year, Scholastic has brought out something really new, though: Differentiated Instruction.

Come see us and check it out.

When Is the Best Time to Shop for Back to School?

Right now! Our store is fully stocked, all your friends are there, and things haven't gotten too stressful yet. This is the best time.

If you're not close enough, just shop our school supply catalog. We deliver for free to schools in North and Northwest Arkansas, and we'll ship everything right to you if you're further afield than that.

What Are the Big Classroom Themes for Back to School?

The big hits in back to school classroom themes this year are monkeys, popcorn, and pirates. A Plus Educational has plenty of good stuff for all those themes.

Want to stand out from the pack? Consider a racing car theme.



Trend's Racing to Success series includes everything from incentive charts and stickers to desk plates and bookmarks. Go with this theme for one-stop shopping, or check out freshplans for more car theme ideas.

An Apple for the Teacher

Teachers, we know it's hard to give up the summer fun (or the summer hard work, even) and get your mind back on school.

Come into A Plus Educational Supply today and see the new stuff, meet your friends, and get back in the mood.

Did You Miss the Sale?

You missed the summer sale, but there's still time to take advantage of the best selection! Come in to the store NOW before your favorite planbook sells out.

Or shop online at the A Plus Educational Supply catalog, for maximum convenience.

Back to School Themes: Chickens

Sometimes you just want something REALLY different, and this year there's a new Welcome bulletin board with a chicken theme. It's designed to use photos, and it's small enough to fit the door.

The slogan is "Welcome to Our Nest," but we can see continuing the theme on other bulletin boards with more sayings:

• "Just Us Chickens"
• "We're Not Chicken About Math"
• "The Pecking Order"
• "We're EGGcited about the New Year"
• "EGGcellent Readers"
• "Our Education is Our Nest Egg"
• "Trying Our Wings"

Go on -- play the Chicken Dance Song and do the Chicken Dance to get the day off to a lively start.

Use "Chicken Little" lesson plans to go over disaster preparedness and safety issues -- a great way to start the school year.

Where are the Back to School Bargains?

The headlines say this year's Back to School shoppers are hunting bargains.

Make it easy on yourself. Come to A Plus Educational's giant sale on July 21st.

Do your shopping, and when you check out, you'll draw a discount -- 20 to 30% off your entire order, whether you're using school funds or personal funds.

Don't miss this amazing opportunity to save some serious cash this Back to School season -- without having to prowl around for bargains!

What's a really different theme for my classroom this year?

If you just don't want to do stars or frogs this year, you might want to do a movie theme!

Use Trend's Popcorn Box Classic Accents to write your students' names (or you could use any leftover stars you have from the last time you used that theme...) and make a bulletin board display. The open spaces on these are big enough for student photos as well. Just take your digital camera to class and print out those smiling faces.


There's also a Classic Accents Popcorn Variety Pack using photographs of popcorn kernels. Sprinkle these around your bulletin board, or use them for your word wall.

Use slogans like "Oscar Winning Students," "Mrs. X's Movie Stars," or "Popping Up a Great Year!" or take off on movie titles to have "Math Warriors" and "Write Hard."

The popcorn series includes a calendar and stickers, too.

Use Popcorn Trimmers and Desk Toppers to carry on the theme.

For another bulletin board, use film border. Beg old movie posters from your local theater, or use the movie schedule from the newspaper for the background.

Use this board to announce "A Reel-y Great Year!"

Start the year with Reader's Theater!

It's a jungle out there! What do you have for that?

It's a jungle in here, too! Go with it.

CTP's "It's a Jungle" mini bulletin board set has cute animals, including some peekovers that are great to tuck behind student work. There are many more items in the ensemble -- name tags, stickers, borders, you name it.

The Jungle Print Ready Letters are one of the big sellers this year. No surprise there -- they are precious! I like the assortment, but there are loads of individual choices, too.

Get reptilian with snake, or choose zebra, giraffe, tiger, and more.

Jump'n'Jam Jungle from Learning Resources combines gross moter skills and critical thinking, with tabletop or floor play.

Add Jumbo Jungle Animals for dramatic play, sorting, or just for fun!

What's a fun theme for Back to School?

First answer: how about pirates? North Star has done a "Welcome Aboard" bulletin board set to set the mood.

Carson Dellosa's Big Treasure Chest goes perfectly with it, and there are matching incentive charts, too.




These items are just a few of the cool piratical choices at A Plus Educational. Click on the pictures to see more details.

Free Lesson Plans on the Environment

Go green this year! Here's a list of free lesson plans to start the year off right:

• Taming the Paper Tiger: a Unit on Paper and the Environment from SmartPay
• EElink's collection
• Teacher Created's sample lesson plans on the environment
• Air and Waste Management Association's environmental teaching guide
• Environmental Ed list

The Big Sale!

It's hard to leave our summer fun and get to thinking about Back to School, but an A Plus Educational Sale can help!

July 21st from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., come on in for savings from 20-30% on your enitre purchase! Pick out lots of cool goodies for your classroom, and when you check out, you'll draw your savings.

Purchase orders are fine, and chocolate will be served!

Need we say more?

Wow! I'm so excited!

Our new website is up! A Plus Educational Supply now has a cool new page featuring me, and we'll soon have all our ebooks available for you to purchase. I'll be telling you all about them.

For now, let me just give you a hint with this picture of our cool monkey book!

Can I get butterflies for summer school?

Yes, you can.

We have the Butterfly Pavilions in stock, and we also have the certificates. That means that if you already have a Butterfly House, you can restock it without having to buy a new one.

Come into the store, give us a call, or add the certificate as a comment for your online school supply order.

By the way, the butterflies are great for summer school, but they're also fantastic for homeschool, camp, youth groups, VBS, or just for fun around the house this summer.

And don't miss the new Praying Mantis Pavilion!

What's New?

We're finishing up the school year, getting those orders in (do you have funds you need to spend? Let us help you!), and bringing in lots of new stuff for the summer and for next school year.

What's really exciting, though, is that we're updating our website. We'll have a new homepage where you can order Cindy's fun and exclusive e-books -- and I'll be telling you more about those pretty soon.

Just keep visiting us at APlusEducational.com!

Arkansas History Teacher Workshops

Local news: Arkansas History Workshops Arkansas teachers are required to have two hours per year of professional development in state history. Join me for your two hours on May 9th at Pages of Parenting bookstore in Fayetteville. You'll get practical, hands-on, frameworks-based activities that you can use, as well as all the juiciest stories in Arkansas history. I'm a certified Arkansas History Teacher Trainer, former Education Coordinator of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, one of the authors of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, and a fun person to spend your two required hours with. Saturday, May 9 9-11 am, grades 1-3 1-3 pm, grades 4-6 It's a mere $25, and school purchase orders are accepted. Pre-registration is required. Sponsored by Pages of Parenting and A Plus Educational Supply. Call 582-3139 to register for either session. Meanwhile, check out lots of great Arkansas History links and Lesson Plans.

I keep hearing that there's extra money for teachers in the stimulus package. What's up?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes more than $100 billion in direct education funding for the next two fiscal years. $44 million of this will be available in the next 30-40 days.

This money funds a lot of different things: Title I, Special Education, Technology Grants, Teacher Incentive Programs, and more.

Sometimes applications are required, and some have deadlines. Lots of supplemental materials are eligible for funding. Ask your local school leadership for details on local plans, but this is also a great time to get your ideas in!

Check amounts for each school district.

And here's some more detail:
Title I, Part A grants to school districts

IDEA, Part B grants to states and preschool grants

The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

I need a pick me up! What's new?

It's the end of the year, we're giving tests, the kids are fidgety, and we need something to perk up the classroom.

Copernicus has a wonderful new pointer, the Pick a Pointer, that will help. It includes a finger, a feather, a word swatter, and a word frame.

Use it with your Copernicus Rack, your smart board, pocket charts, Power Point presentations -- you name it! The kids will get a little help with paying attention, and you'll get a lift of spirits.



Write this into the comments section of your order at A Plus Educational's online catalog. It's $19.99 -- a small price to pay for an end of the year pick me up!

What's good for spring decorating?

How about a new Weather bulletin board?

I love the Weather Frog, and Scholastic has done a new Weather Panda, too.

Teacher's Friend Weather Accent Punchouts are versatile enough to use for interactive bulletin boards, as manipulatives, or for big books.

I'm sick of winter, and my classroom! Isn't there something really new?

Yes! Check out Carson-Dellosa's new Pop-It decoratives for something really different.

Click on the picture for more details or to order them from A Plus Educational Supply.

There are also flowers and pumpkins and snowmen -- oh, you didn't want to think about winter any more, right?

What can I do with the kids in this weather?

The weather has been unpredictable, ranging from unsettled to horrible.

What can you do with the kids when they can't go outside?

Sand and water tables are a great choice. A Plus Educational has lots of choices, all of which can be shipped directly to your facility.





Let's start with the traditional table -- only better. This one has storage bins, deep trays to limit spilling and splashing, and wheels for easy movement. Pull the bins out to fill, dump, or clean them.


Delta Moon Sand is better yet. It vacuums easily from the floor, clumps easily for pickup, and doesn't stick to hands. Great for kids with sensory issues, and it's gluten and latex free for allergy concerns.

Click on the pictures for more details.

What's great for Valentine's Day?

We're all ready to quit thinking about ice and snow and perk up our classrooms with some heartfelt treasures.


The Valentine Bears is a great book! A collection of lesson plans to go with it can be found at Freshplans, and Hotchalk's new Valentine's Day technology lesson plan uses this book.

Avoid sugar troubles by giving your students "Valentine from your teacher" pencils
or special Valentine's postcards.

These by Susan Winget are great for any age.


Valentine's Jingo is a great twist on classic bingo. Perfect for class parties.



And finish it off with a great Valentine's Day bulletin board set.

How can I make it easier to make centers?

You know that having plenty of good center activities makes life easier in the long run, but how can you keep your centers fresh without giving up your weekends to do it? The key is to have all the ingredients on hand. Then, make a quick center activity when you prepare a lesson.

Make your centers cuter and easier with self-stick pockets like these from Top Notch Teacher . Have plenty of file folders, plain or fancy, and you have the basic ingredients for centers on practically any subject.

Find step-by-step instructions for file folder centers at that link.

Need something even easier? Check out the Take It To Your Seat series from Evan Moor.

What's a good theme for January?

It's a tough time of year to decorate for. Holidays and special events abound, actually, but they go by so fast you don't want to decorate and undecorate that quickly.

Penguins to the rescue!




Penguins come in cute, realistic, and cool varieties.



Grab some penguin books and visit the Penguin Theme page, put some of these cool birds on your board, and you'll be chillin'. Click on the pictures here to learn more about these designs.