Christmas for Teachers :)

I have a secret.  Well, not so much a secret, but a confession.  I love books.
Let me say that again a little louder: I love ADORE WORSHIP books.  (Well, maybe that last one was a little dramatic, but you get the idea!)  Years ago, like any other nerdy bookworm elementary school student, I looked forward to getting those crinkly scholastic book order fliers in my mailbox as school.  I would pore over the pages and make my MANY selections, dreaming of ordering every book that peaked my interest (although of course my mother would always make me pare my order down significantly...).  Then, I would eagerly await the day my teacher would receive the big red and white box in her classroom--the books!!

Now that I am the teacher, book order has not lost any of its appeal.  In fact, I may be even more excited about it now. :)  Why?  Two words: BONUS POINTS.  Who knew that teachers make out like absolute BANDITS when their students order from scholastic?!?  I sure didn't!  Last year I passed out book orders every month and usually scraped together a $20 order from my kiddos.  Just enough to get shipping costs waived and usually enough to allow me to pick out a few titles for myself with bonus points.  It was thrilling. :)

This year, I handed out a book order the first week of school and was SHOCKED and ELATED when the orders poured in!  Tallying up the money last weekend, I couldn't believe that I was placing a $160 order!!!  That happens all the time in my mom's classroom, but at my lower income school, it's pretty rare.  Not only did that kind of order give me a TON of bonus points (I even had some coupons that doubled my points!), but the September order catalogs had tons of free book awards for orders over $20!  Amazing.  I was like a kid in a candy shop selecting my free books.  And seriously, I was even more excited than the kids waiting for them to arrive.  And arrive they did, in the biggest scholastic box I have ever seen.  After I sorted out the kiddos' orders, it was time to take in my bounty:

A beautiful thing...

(Almost as beautiful as how good it felt passing them out to students during Daily 3 and telling them I just bought them and KNEW they would love them)

:)