Surviving Spring to Welcome Summer Blog Hop! - with a writing freebie!

My best blogging buddies and I have gotten together to do the best kind of blog hop, one with freebies and giveaways! Hop from one blog to the next, picking up a freebie and a secret word at each stop, and don't forget to enter the giveaway! If you're not already following one of these blogs, now's a great time to start! And if you are a reader already, this is our way of saying thanks! There are some great TpT gift certificate prizes, and someone lucky will win the best pencil sharpener ever (I know because I have two in my room!) from Classroom Friendly Supplies.

Our hop's theme is basically all about how to make it til the last day of school without losing it! :)  If your kids are anything like the couple hundred I've had over the years then I'm guessing with every passing day they are getting a little more antsy. 

My freebie is for writing! Towards the end of the year I try to plan some highly engaging writing lessons that are more focused on instilling a love of writing in the kids than anything else. While I'm at it, I figure I might as well get something in the queue for next year. (I'm always thinking ahead!) So my kiddos take some time to write a letter to my future students! Then next year during the first week of school my new students read and respond to the letters. I've used a couple of varieties of the form the kids write on, but I think my favorite is "A letter to the kid sitting in my old desk." Haha. The freebie includes 3 versions, and each of those come with two different sized writing lines. 

I've done this activity several times over the years, and each time it has been a big success. The kids just love the idea that sometime next year there is going to be a new student reading all the things they've written. And when they get their letters a couple weeks into the school year, they're excited all over again! Double win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, hop on over to my bud, Jess from I {Heart} Recess to get another freebie and another entry in the giveaway!