Avery Products Galore!

Shoplet has once again generously provided me with some awesome office supplies that I would love to share with you.   All these items are Avery products and I was extremely excited that they arrived just in the nick of time for preparing for my first grade classroom.   With the help of my creative teaching partner, we came up with some great ideas for using each of these items in our classroom. 


The Avery Flexi-View Round-Ring Presentation View Binder (AVE17686) and the Avery Ready Index Contemporary Table ofContents Divider (AVE11133) turned out to be a perfect complement to my teaching binders.  I had been looking for a durable binder that could easily hold my Common Core Standards that I use every day in my classroom.  The combination of these two items was absolutely perfect for what I needed!  The front cover is see-through so I was able to slip my printed sheet through the plastic and outer edge of the binder so that the title is easily displayed.  The Table of Contents template I downloaded from Avery.com was so easy to use!  I was a little nervous about printing it out, because you only get one chance at it!  It came out perfectly.  The 8 tabs that are included are sturdy and I think will hold up nicely to a great deal of usage!  The fact that there are 8 tabs made it an even sweeter deal because that is how many I needed for one particular group of papers I needed in my binder.   I still need to purchase a few more sets to complete my book, but it is going to be awesome when I finish.  Here is what it looks like so far!  Love them!!!

The Avery Round Easy Peel Labels (AVE22807) were also a perfect addition to my classroom.  Once again, Avery provides the templates and they worked perfectly!  The labels are clear and I must admit I was a bit nervous about how well the printed label would stand-up to the daily use of an active first grader. My ink from my printer adhered to the labels beautifully!   I was definitely not disappointed with the results that printed on the labels.  My students all have their own reading bin to keep their books they have chosen to read.   To go with my classroom theme, I printed them with a camouflage background and printed their name so they could easily recognize them.   Aren’t they absolutely adorable! 

The Avery Black Printer-Compatible Tags With Strings (AVE22802) are pretty awesome too.  I have so many ideas for them!   Here are just a few ideas that my partner and I have come up with so far.  We haven't quite decided how we are going to use them yet.  

• attach to little gift bags we will be giving to them for their birthday & Christmas.
• attach to a jar of jam/jelly at a wedding (next June)
• attach to a basket of books with the reading level of them

The last product I received was the Avery Tri Fold Brochure With Tear-Away Cards (AVE16152).  These are absolutely wonderful.  There are 4 tear away cards that will be perfect for what I'm going to use them for.  As a teacher, I always give my parents a pamphlet with information that their child needs to learn in first grade.  I haven't quite decided what I want to put on these cards, so I haven't printed them out yet.  So far my teaching  I have come up with putting this on the cards:

1. My name, email address, classroom website & cell phone number.
2. Our school name, phone number, and fax number.
3. Dates that the school will be closed for holidays, professional days, etc.
4. Important dates they need to save for our field trip, assemblies, etc.

I think my parents will love having this cards with some pretty important information for them.  

Don't forget to check out Shoplet for some wonderful promotional products.  I don't think you will be disappointed in what you find there!  

Disclosure:  Shoplet provided me with these complimentary Avery products.  All opinions expressed are my own.  

Fellowes Laptop Riser & Document Lift Review

I love being a reviewer for Shoplet! They have some amazing quality products. If you haven’t checked out their website yet, you seriously need to! They have a huge variety of affordable office supplies and promotional products. A couple of weeks ago I received a couple of wonderful Fellowes products to review for them. 

The Fellowes Laptop Riser (FEL9311201) comes completely assembled. It has a curved design that allowed my laptop to have ample circulation so it didn't overheat. When I placed my laptop on it, I will admit I was concerned about whether it would stay securely in place. I need not have worried because there are some sturdy tabs on the front that stopped it from sliding and to be held securely in place. It easily held my laptop of 17 inches. The laptop riser didn't move around on my table/desk because there is some type of grip located on the bottom of the riser. I tend to have problems with my neck, so I was pleased to see that using this riser made it a bit more comfortable for looking at my laptop for longer periods of time.

The Fellowes Document Lift with dry erase surface (FEL9311501) comes completely assembled too. It is the perfect size for leaving on my reading table at school. I will be using it with my small groups during the day. I love the fact that it can be used as a dry erase board, carried around easily or even used as a clipboard to hold up to 15 sheets of paper. There is a clip that is easily removable when you just want to use it for a dry erase board. Also included is a weighted base that the dry erase board/clipboard can be placed onto which allows it to stand upright in a landscape or portrait position.  I'm going to love using this in my classroom!

There you have it! I hope when you have any office needs you will go check out Shoplet.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products for free in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are definitely mine!

Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well by Billy Graham

Don’t you just love the title of this book?  Nearing Home – Life Faith, and Finishing Well.  I knew instantly that this would be a book that would be dear to my heart…and I was not disappointed.  

The personal experiences that Billy Graham humbly shares were  so touching.   As I have quickly become part of the older generation myself, this book has given me so much hope.   It was wonderful to read that Billy Graham chose to address this issue of aging through his own life experiences and those of family and friends.  He talked about how we should use our golden years to continue to honor God. The wisdom that he shared was of great comfort to me on a very personal level as well. 

We serve such an awesome God, and knowing that the Lord will not forsake us in our final stretch toward home is great news!  This was a very moving thought for me.  Throughout the book, Mr. Graham shares his thoughts and answers to so many question using the Bible as a references.

Mr. Graham talked about investments, retiring at the right time in our life, planning ahead by having a will prepared, working out any issues of forgiveness that you may have with others, etc.  This book caused me to think about my life, legacy and what I would be remembered for.  It is definitely an eye opener.

I would definitely recommend this book.  To the young people… knowing that as your parents age…how they can help them through the senior years and to encourage them during that time of their life.  It will also appeal to the older generation to help them prepare for their senior years.

DISCLOSURE: BOOKSNEEZE® HAS PROVIDED ME WITH A COMPLIMENTARY COPY OF THIS BOOK. ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN.