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Monday, August 26, 2013

No, David!

Well, I have one full week plus a few extra days under my belt. And at some point everyday, I still feel like it is day 1. My group this year is not quite as good as listening as my class was last year. Say a prayer that they get better soon! 

Because of this, I have had to spend soooo much more time on practicing walking in the halls, practicing walking into our room, and practicing sitting in groups. This class just isn't quite there yet. I tried out a new activity that I am hoping will do some good! After reading some David books, we discussed being "peacemakers" and "peacebreakers." Then we made this ADORABLE craft from Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten. I love how they turned out!
One put his David in sunglasses "because he's famous."
Another made her David a girl!

This week, we are doing some fun alphabet book activities from my ABC book unit!
 
Hopefully I will be back with pictures from it later this week! 



Sunday, August 25, 2013

Giveaway

Karen from Adventure's with Firsties is having a great giveaway!


There are so many great items, and 2 chances to win! Head over and check it out!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Sale Extended!

Well the TpT sale is over. 

But because I love back to school time.
 Because I love sales...

I have extended the sale at my store! Everything in my TpT store is 20% until midnight tonight! Enjoy!

Monday, August 19, 2013

Sale, Sale, Sale!

The sale is ending soon! Head over before it ends!
I shopped yesterday, but I am planning to do some more shopping today with my credit from yesterday!

I realize I have yet to post anything about my school year starting...but it's been crazy. I started assessments today, and I'm just hoping I make it through the next few days. This year is definitely going to be different than last year! Here is a little sneak peek at our centers for this week! They are very basic, we are just working on getting the routine down!


These are both from my Back to School Centers packet, which is, of course, 28% until midnight tonight!

Happy Monday!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Back to School

It's back to school time (my first day was Thursday!) which means sorting lots of school supplies, chaotic days, and most importantly, the Back to School Sale!!
August 18 and 19, everything in my store will be 20% off! Use code BTS13 and get an extra 10% off. That's a total of 28% off! I already have my wishlist full of things to buy!

Check out the My Products tabs above to see my products that will be on sale! Some are perfect for back to school!

Go here and here to check out some other great stores that will be offering sales!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Taming the Wild

I love Teacher Week! So much blogging and idea sharing going on! My first day of school is today (ahh!!) so I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

I posted here this summer about how I was going to give my classroom management a complete makeover this year. I am super excited about this change! I think it will make my classroom an even more positive atmosphere.

This year, I am going to by using warm fuzzies!
My love of vinyl creeps up again!

I have big fuzzies and little fuzzies. My plan right now is to give out the small warm fuzzies, and they can be traded in (5 little=1 big) for a big warm fuzzy. Maybe a big one will be given out every once in a while, but for something really good. Once they collect some, they can be turned in for prizes! I have some small things (erasers, fun pencils, party favor type things), but I really love using Mel D's coupons!

I also inherited this from a teacher who retired last year. I am planning to use this for more things the students should do, but need a little recognition for, like turning in their homework or reading at home. They will write their number in one square, then I will draw a bingo number every few weeks of so, depending on how long it takes to get full-ish. The winner gets a prize! There is also a spot in the middle for a whole class prize!

What are some of your favorite prizes or management techniques?

Happy (my) first day of school!



Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Classroom Digs

It's Teacher Week! I'm joining in today to give you a little peek into my classroom!
I thought that getting my room ready this year might be easier and take less time than last year...but that was not at all the case. Oh well! I had lots of things that I wanted to change and I am so happy with how it turned out!
My welcome sign leading into my room! It's a freebie on TpT!
(I hate that glare. Darn lamination.) 

Here is the view from the back corner of my room--by the only window.

Standing in the doorway. You can see my Ten Frame Number Posters above my calendar board!

Here is my small group table/teacher table. My goal this year was to get rid of my desk altogether and just have a "teacher table," but I wasn't able to get rid of my desk. So instead, I just stuck it in the back corner!

I am in love with the plastic gutter that is hanging on that wall! I have a cousin you taught 1st grade and she gave me so many goodies, including that gutter! For now, I am planning on displaying read alouds on it.

This is my desk in the back corner. I'm sure it will just collect junk things I will need at some point during the year. And adorable chairs for the kids to sit in while they read!

Looking from my small group table. I have yet to add clips to my writing process chart! Oops!

My library! My book collection is easily double the size of what it was last year. I like this so much more than last year!


I ordered these baskets from Really good stuff, but obviously I didn't order enough! I am waiting on more to come in so everything will match! My life would be so much easier (and less expensive) if everything didn't have to match.

Do your kids get as confused by book jackets as mine do? For real. You would think I had asked them to perform brain surgery when I ask them to put a book jacket on. I hated to just throw them away (they are so pretty!) so why not display them?! I love it!

And I am so happy with how my Dr. Seuss canvases turned out!

It "looks" like I am all ready for the first day! Or at least to meet my new kiddos tonight! Now if I only had time to decorate and plan...

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Monday Made It

Oh my goodness. I have a new love. I have no idea why it took me so long to jump on this bandwagon, but I am jumping on with full force. What is my new love?

Vinyl. I want to put vinyl on everything! Here's what I've done so far!
I finally found something to store big books in!

Kiss your brain! Hopefully I won't eat more kisses than the kids do!

And for my sister's room! She's a speech path at a school not far from mine!

I also have 2 new products up on TpT! They are perfect for back to school!

Check both of them out on my TpT store!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Throwback Thursday

It's my first time to link up with Throwback Thursday!
School is sneaking up on me fast--only one week! I have been trying to do things throughout the summer to be ready, but I know crunch time is around the corner! I plan on making lots of changes to the layout of my room this year, so I am throwing back to what it looked like {before the chaos of kids} last year!

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Originally posted August 9, 2012

So first off, I feel like it has been YEARS since I posted.  This last week in my room has felt like the biggest whirlwind.  My mom, younger sister, and cousin have been helping me in my room the last few days.

On top of that, my AMAZING sister has been helping everyday that I have been there--even though she gets married in 36 hours! So needless to say, things have been hectic.

But thanks to all of this, my room has gone from this...




to this!






My wonderful sisters helping out!


Now I can focus on curriculum and lessons, aka the reason I am there in the first place! :)


But for now, I will have a weekend of wedding fun, then I can refocus on Monday!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Monday Made It

For this week's Monday Made It, I have a new product up on TpT!
Every week, our school has a life principle that we focus on for the week. We discuss it at our weekly assembly, and it really helps with my students' vocabulary! This packet includes 36 life principles/character education words/whatever you would like to call them with a short definition.

Click the picture to check it out!





Check it out at my TpT store!
Today only I will have it on sale for $3!