Five for Friday--Theme Pack Sale, Outdoor Furniture, Tutoring, and Wonders!

 Hello there!

I'm very happy to be blogging/typing with a little more ease today. Three weeks post-op means I don't wear my sling all the time and I will be able to move beyond passive movement this week in therapy. Woohoo! I know it will be painful, but I am more than ready to start getting the use of my shoulder back.

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs this week for Five for Friday! 

First up, I wanted to give you one last chance to get our theme packs for CHEAP! It was hard work to update the calendars in my current condition, so I thought I celebrated by slashing the prices on our theme packs. Regularly $8.50, marked down to $6.00 for today only.

 Next up...this!

My husband and I finally picked up some outdoor furniture for our porch. I spotted these rockers at Academy Sports (one of my new favorite places--heehee). $25 each. Comfy. Rockers. No need for pillows. Yes, please.

Now I get to look at this view as I have my quiet time in the morning. This will definitely be the thing I miss most when the craziness of back-to-school starts.

 I'm tutoring two of my kiddos this summer. Right before surgery, I went up to the school to get everything I thought I'd want to have available. I may have went a little overboard as you can see by the mess in the corner of my living room. :-/

 

Now that I'm feeling a bit better, I should probably take care of that... LOL!  

Oh, and so glad we decided to do this. I couldn't believe all the kiddos had already forgotten after just a month off of school. Yikes!

And lastly, our Reading Wonders curriculum came in! 

I really wanted to go right up to the school and get all my stuff, but opening boxes and digging through it one-handed wasn't that appealing to me. 

Thankfully, the 3rd/4th grade reading teacher is like me and understands my excitement. She boxed up some of the things she thought I would most want to see and sent it to me. Yay!

I'm still going through the box, but I can't wait to get going with this curriculum. I'm so excited for these new stories! I'm hoping to get our games printed and prepped soon, too. :-)

 

Five for Friday--B2S Panic, Periscope Ugh, and Dollar Spot Disappointment!

Happy Friday, Friends!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for Five for Friday to give you a peek at my week!

1

Confession! 

I am an end of the year "stuffer!" I stuff things on these shelves--up and out of the way for the cleaners--instead of putting things where they belong. :(

Every year, I try to talk myself into not being a "stuffer," but it hasn't worked yet. 

I've been seeing all these classroom setup pictures, so I thought I'd go in and just take a peek at what awaited me. I snapped this picture and then RAN away...FAR, FAR away!

2

#DollarSpotDisappointment

Why, oh why?

This is what awaits me when I go to my closest Target--45 minutes away--after seeing all the great teacher finds on Instagram.

I have to know... 

Does yours look like this?

Do you dig for those golden treasures?

3

I did buy this at Target. Today I'm busy turning it into a family calendar for a new "command center" project I'm working on at home.

4

I finished my Monsters Theme Classroom Decor Pack this week!

I love how it turned out--especially this preview!

I made it with Picasa after watching Amy's tutorial (Step into 2nd Grade). It was so much easier than making a collage in PowerPoint! 

I mean, seriously. 

This topic made me sign up for Periscope. 

I still missed it--but thankfully Amy put it on her blog! 

Thanks, Amy!

I have since tried to watch some other periscopes.

I don't like it...at all!

I know it is all the rage, and maybe I'll warm up to it.

But right now, I would much prefer to read it in a blog or watch a video where the presenter (and me) isn't distracted by the hearts and comments. 

Is that awful?

Please, I mean no offense to those who are loving it. 

I can see the interaction part could be fun...

Maybe I'm just too easily distracted!

Moving on... 

My Bugs Theme Classroom Decor Pack is also listed!

This preview was made in PowerPoint...before I knew the Picasa trick. I really like how this one turned out, but it took WAY longer than Picasa.

5

Last, but certainly not least...

Disclosure: If you are interested in scheduling a "fix," I will receive $25 credit if you use the links in this post--which I would very much appreciate! :-)

I finally did it! 

I scheduled my first Stitch Fix.

I actually signed up for Stitch Fix over a year ago, but I have been too chicken to schedule one!

I know it will be pricey--which scares me--but considering I hate to shop and struggle with fashion, I'm hoping it will be worth it!

I'll let you know how it goes. ;-)

Goodbye Job Chart and Hello Music Room!

Happy Friday!

I am sooooo exhausted. I have made it through the first full week of school--or I will if I make it until 3:00 this afternoon. Ha!

I'm popping in to share pictures of my music room (as promised). 

These cabinets used to be bright red, green, and blue. I knew I wanted to paint them black, but I was afraid it would be too much black. Then I had the idea of using black chalkboard paint. I *love* how they turned out. The kids were so excited to make their mark on the music room by writing their names. :-)

This is the view from the door. Notice the red arrow pointing to my stuffed dog, Duke. He happens to be the best classroom management tip I have for teaching music (not that I claim to be an expert at all). 

Last year with my first year teaching music, the management part of it was definitely the biggest challenge for me. It is just so different than how I handle my second grade classroom. Kids are in and out in 20 minutes and I just didn't feel like I had the time needed to really bond with students to promote good behavior (other than my 2nd graders). 

Duke watches every day for a student making good choices who he can sit with during each music class. The kids also enjoy the stories I tell them about how ornery Duke is when they aren't around...swinging from the ceiling fan, dumping out my markers, etc. The idea is he has to sit with someone who can help him be good. :-) I wasn't sure using Duke like this (similar to how I used him when I taught 1st grade) for music would work, but for now he is definitely a keeper! 

This is the view from the other side of the room.

I only use the music room for 1 hour each day (20 minutes each for K, 1, and 2), so in the mornings it will be used for reading groups. I set up this little area for the teacher who will be working in here.

And finally...goodbye job chart!

Last year I got tired of swapping jobs and trying to remember who had which jobs. I knew I was going to one special helper a week, but I hadn't figured out how exactly I would make that work.

I was talking it over with another teacher and she gave me the BEST idea!

I use an assigned line (I know Kristi talked about this before...of course, I learned it from her) and in the past I have left it exactly the same all year long (except for the line leader). Sometimes I would feel bad that those in the back were always the last to lunch...and everywhere really. 

So my teacher friend's suggestion solved both my problems. Rotate my assigned line and have the first person in line do all the jobs. The next week, that person goes to the back and I have a new special helper. The line is really the same (so no getting confused on the order)--just rotating it. LOVE IT!

My first special helper has done an amazing job. I posted these pictures by the door to help him remember all the things he is in charge of doing.

This system, along with the colored dots on the desks being used to help out with team jobs, is working wonderfully for our class.

Have a wonderful long weekend! 

I know I have big plans to rest up on Monday. :-)

Who, Where, Why, When, What???

Happy Saturday everyone! 

I just finished my first week back to work--and wow--I am tired! 

So glad Kristi picked up the slack and blogged EVERY day. 

Can you believe it?

I'm going to chime in here (and link up with Blog Hoppin') with what may be picture overload, but hey...I know I love picture-filled posts so here goes...

This is me and hubby--attempting to take a selfie. We need a little work, I think. :-)

We've been married almost 18 years! We were "high-school sweethearts" except we didn't go to the same high school. We met at church. We have lived in the same small-town area all of our lives--except when we went to Phoenix, AZ for hubby to go to school at UTI. Talk about culture shock! Still miss the weather there though--loved it!

Here's our kids on the first day of school:

Last year, I started teaching at the elementary school I attended for K-6. One of the things I love about it is how close I am to work...

Now for a peek in my classroom...

Now remember I said this is where I went to elementary school...SMALL classrooms. When I went here, we had combo classes (1st/2nd, 3rd/4th, and 5th/6th) and there were only 6-8 kids in a classroom! Now the two towns that make up our district combine for K-2 here in my town and 3-12 in the other town.

I only have 16 students this year! Hooray!

Last year with 23 it was so crowded!

Here's just a couple close ups because I really didn't change a whole lot this year. You may have seen these birthday cupcakes that took Pinterest by storm last year...

These are the same ones! All I did was swap out the candles. If you want directions on how I made them, see this post from last year. Weird Side Note--my class has no summer birthdays (the one in July is mine) and I have two different sets of two students with the same birthdays.

As far as decorations go, this is really it. I added "Seuss Club" which is really Mastery Club. I found the editable documents in the pack were not very user-friendly--but here is what I came up with...

I will put stars on their name tags as they complete a challenge. When they get 16 stars, we will move their name tag below the Hall of Fame words and add their picture. I love the idea of this, and I really think my kids are going to enjoy it. 

For the why of my post, glance back up at the pictures with my desk groups. Each group is a color team. You will notice the blue team has blue book boxes, but down below they also have a team tub of supplies and a math tub. I started this last year and it works so much better for me. There is less waiting to get out supplies. This year, I also added dots to my desks inspired by this pin (click the pick to go to Owl-ways Be Inspired and read about them):

I love these dots! In two days of school, I have already used them several times. For example, I might say, "Green dots get your team's supply bucket out," or "Yellow dots please come help me pass these out." LOVE IT!!!!

Also loving that I got rid of my job chart, but I'll post more about that later.

Now here's a peek at my schedule:

All I can say is that I can't wait to actually be using this schedule! The first two days were...well, you know. Basically a list of things I hoped to accomplish! 

Finally, what I love to teach...I don't even know how to pick just one thing! I absolutely love teaching--and I love my new class! Thursday was by far my easiest first day--ever. :-)

Five for Friday - Again? Say what?

Okay, folks, the countdown is really on for me.

Two weeks of summer vacation left!

I have been busy working on the music room (ugh), sprucing up our TPT and TN stores, getting my kiddos to work on sample interactive notebooks, finishing my math interactive notebook, and writing about the armour of God (my latest chapter in the devotion book I'm working on).

Whew! I'm getting tired just reading all that...

Anyway, because of all that craziness, I actually do have Five for Friday pictures again!

These scrappy numbers are actually a freebie from Graphics from the Pond that I stumbled on yesterday. Be sure to check them out!

The dreadful music room. Take a look at what I'm up against:

Now see my progress:

My wonderful mom made the zebra curtains for me. As of right now, all the primary colored shelving has been painted black. You can't see it in this picture, but there is a wall of cabinets (with doors). I'm painting the doors with black chalkboard paint! Should be fun and cute to decorate. As for the pile in the middle of the floor...ugh!

 I know I brag on them a lot, but I really do have the best kids in the world (okay, in my world?)! Anyway, here they are helping put together my reading and science interactive notebooks.

So maybe he is eating kiwi, but he really has been hard at work on the science notebook!

In case you're wondering, here's the notebooks I'm using:

Bundled Interactive Science Journals by Primary Graffiti

(LOVE THESE!)

Reading Interactive Notebook by Nicole Selby

(Love it, but I am adding things to it so it will be more like a complete ELA notebook if that makes sense.)

The math one I am actually making and I'm not done yet! Ack!

I'll admit, I wasn't really sold when I was reading so many of the tips for your TPT and TN store about attractive cover pages. Why? Because I'm not a "cutesy" person. I want functional. I'm all for simple. However, as I started working on updating some of our products, I can whole-heartedly admit that the updated products are definitely more eye-catching. I've also added two new products:

We've had people asking us to bundle games for awhile. Here's my first one--finally!

This is more of a time-saver, sanity-saver for me. People were loving this idea on my focus wall and would e-mail me about an editable file. I would e-mail it to them (after they purchased the other one) so I finally decided I should just list the thing! Woohoo!

I won't bore you with the details, but I got a problem with our Facebook fan page fixed (thanks Angela!).

Speaking of that fan page? Have you liked it yet? We are at 1,848 likes. Sure would like to hit 2,000! Click here to visit our page.

And finally, a food picture. Yes, I truly took this picture and posted it to facebook the night I made it! I don't think I am going to be a food photographer or anything, but this was so good!

Cauliflour used as "rice." Oh, the possibilities!

In this case, I substituted it for spaghetti noodles. I made both for the family. My son picked the cauliflour over the noodles right away. Hubby and daughter each tried it and liked it (after already having their noodles).

I saw it on Food Network Star...we usually follow the show, but missed most of it this year so I don't even know the guy who made it. Sorry!

Head on over to Doodle Bugs and link up.

Oh, and come back on Sunday for chapter eight of Guided Math in Action! It's about centers...my least favorite thing. ;-)

Five for Friday - Happy Bday to me!

 

Happy Friday! 

 

I don't usually get in on Five for Friday...only because I usually don't have any pictures!

Well, I had plenty this week...so here is five random things about my week:
 

1
 

It's my birthday! Hubby makes fun of me for "celebrating" all week long. This year I think he just surrendered to it and gave me a birthday card every day! LOL! The first four were kind of goofy, but the one on the left was for today (my actual birthday) and it was SO sweet!
 

 

2

 

Any followers of Amanda at Teaching Maddeness? If not, you should be! Run over there and check out her series on homework. I was so excited to see her post on math homework. I had been wanting to go to a "game" type homework. Check this out:

Amanda has already "invented" it. It was a steal of a deal at $3.99! Those are all my instruction cards, printed on colored cardstock, cut and waiting to be introduced to my students. They are going to love it!

 

3

Wow! This picture is kind of blurry...this is the beginning of my classroom set-up. I just had to see what it looked like with fewer desks! Last year I had 23 students. This year I am expecting 16 (or so). My classroom is sooooo small. I'm hoping I won't be stepping on, I mean over students this year.

 

4

Here's a few other things I accomplished this week in my room. Top picture is my music bulletin board. My son has been working tirelessly on it! So thankful for him! When school starts, each of the K-2 kiddos will have a "note" on the board. Middle picture is my door decoration. My daughter tackled that one! Again, so thankful for such great kids. And finally, the beginning of my Daily 5 anchor charts...all ready for those first days as we go over each one as a class.

 

5

 

I know, I know. You've been seeing Jamberry everywhere. I'm here to tell you there is a reason! Someone like me--who never paints my fingernails because I mess them up the same day and doesn't like to spend the time and money in a salon--can have cute fingernails.

 

I'm not selling, but I am definitely buying them! Ha! In fact, I'm hosting an online Facebook* party right now to try to earn some free wraps. If you are curious about Jamberry, joining my event (I thought I could link to the event, but it doesn't seem to be working...so let me know if you'd like an invite) will give you all the information you need. Plus my consultant is Tori from Tori's Teacher Tips! There's no pressure to buy, you can just play along with us and see what all the fuss is about. :-)

 

That wraps up my Five for Friday. Head on over to Doodle Bugs to link up.

 

 

 

*If you are familiar with Facebook and having a fan page, I'd love to ask you a few questions if you're willing! See our e-mail icon in the upper right corner.