Monday Made It

I am linking up with Tara for my first Monday Made It for the summer.

This school year, I am changing grades (from 4th to 5th) and changing subjects (from math to reading/ELA) so I have a lot of plans for my new classroom.  Not to mention that I am moving from a HUGE classroom into a very tiny one.  It's going to be amazing to see how I fit all my stuff into that little place.

I wanted to paint a few letters that spelled out READ for my new classroom.  Unfortunately, they were all out of the letter 'D' so I have REA for right now!  lol  All of the letters are hand painted by me:)  

This is my MOST favorite letter.  This chevron was not easy, but I love the way it turned out.

I just love my glittery orange 'E'!

Also love my purple and lime green polka dot 'A'.

Here they are all together.  Like I said, the 'D' was sold out but I'm thinking it will be a pink design.

Just in case you are wondering... my classroom has no particular color scheme.  It's a combination of all colors bright :)  I'm excited to get this complete and up in my room :)  I already have a few other words so these will fit right in.  You can see them below. 

I know this is kinda small, but you can see DREAM above my leaf.

My favorite...

I can't wait to make more Monday Made Its!

A Teacher's Guide to Math Workshop

Ya'll, I have been working on this since last year!  What?  It has been a huge under taking but I am glad to say that it is now FINISHED!  What an accomplishment!?!?!!!  This baby has taken so many hours to put together.  It is my Teacher's Guide to Math Workshop.  When I taught math for four years, most of them were spent using the math workshop (or guided math.. same thing) model.  I had so many ideas and plans of what worked for me that I wanted to share with all of you.  There are a few posts here on the blog, but this guide goes into great detail (107 pages to be exact) and also has freebies for you.  Through the weekend I am offering it to you for only $5!  Say what?  After that it will be regularly priced at $10.  So, grab yours now.  Here's the information from my shop.

Have you wanted to join in on all the guided math fun but are not sure how to get started? This 100+ page guide is intended for teachers who want to learn more about implementing the guided math/math workshop model in their classroom. This file does not contain actual math lessons, but it is a great instructional resource. This file goes through step-by-step procedures of how I have made it work for me for the past three years. It also includes photos and files of my classroom, things I use in my classroom, and resources that you can download. Basically, I took all the information I would normally deliver to a workshop class, and typed it out for you in the format of a guide. This guide includes:

• Reflecting on your own math instruction.
• What is math workshop?
• What does math workshop look like?
• Why should you use math workshop?
• Relating reading workshop and math workshop.
• Math workshop scheduling
• All Math Workshop Components in detail with photos (activating strategies, mini-lessons, guided small groups, math calendar, math workstations.)
• Resources I use during activating learning, mini-lessons, small groups, math calendar, and workstations.
• Free workstation sample
• Assessment Tools (ideas for recording and tracking data from pre/post tests and weekly assessments.)
• Rotation Poster
• Basket & Bin labels for workstation baskets and workstation storage.
• Storage and organization ideas.

This is a must read for anyone wanting to learn more about using the guided math / math workshop model in your classroom.

Here's the link to grab your now... CLICK HERE.

And here's a preview of some of the pages.  You can also click them to go to my shop.

 I hope you enjoy it.  I am really excited to be able to share it with you :)

Virtual Classroom Library & A Little Bit of Everything Else!

Hey ya'll!  I've been super busy.  Well, I was actually on vacation last week.  It was S.U.P.E.R. cray-cray!  It was like the end of the year then BAM!  Time to leave for vacay.  I only had one day without work before we left out.  I've had so many great things I wanted to share with you.

First of all, All of these word are my words!  I am not being paid by money or products to say anything in this post... keep that in mind :)  Okay, so if you follow me on Instagram {you totally should:}, you have heard me make mention of this great app I discovered.  Well, I discovered it from someone else.  It's called Classroom Organizer.  It does something utterly amazing!  It lets you scan your classroom library books and store them on a database.  It then lets you input the students in your class so they (or you) can login to the app, select the student's name, whether they are checking in or out, and then scan the book.  You can also go in and look at which students haven't returned books, setup reminders to be emailed, and print overdue notices.  How awesome is that?  The best thing is that it's {FREE}!  Here's a screenshot of my work :)

Like all things, I did find a few things that I wish were better.  A major problem for me came up while scanning my books from Scholastic.  I get a ton of my books from here.  For some reason, they have their own ISBN# system that doesn't match up with the real world.  However, there is an actual true barcode in the front cover.  So that was great to learn.  BUT... sometimes... when you buy the books in sets, they will not have any type of barcode any where.  This was very saddening to me :(  So, I had to type the title in manually and when the student check them out/in they will also have to type it in manually.  I started thinking... it would be really great if you could create your own barcodes.  Well... there is an app for that :)  Unfortunately, this app is not free.  It's called Book Retriever.  It's fairly inexpensive at .99 (I think).  Here's the problem I ran into for this... they only have the app live right now.  You can not login via your computer like with the free app.  In order to print the barcodes you would need to print from the iPad.  My iPad isn't set up for that and I'm not sure if it ever will be :(  The company is in the works of developing a website but you must pay for a yearly subscription, and they haven't released how much it will be.  So.. here's my verdict, I will stick with the free one for right now.

I'm not sure if I posted my pics of my EC teacher planner... BUT I was super excited to get it in the mail!

However, I was a little disappointed that there were not more record keeping pages.  I teach several classes and now I think I'm going to have to keep up with a record book too... Boo :(  I do love it!

I also ordered a few May Books when they were having their 50% off Mother's Day Sale. They are so cute!

What cute packaging it came it!

This is so me:)

Here they are!  One is lined and the other is a nutritional tracker.  They are very cute books, but I'm glad I got them while they were on sale.  They are a bit thin to be as expensive as they are.... but totally worth it!

Lastly, here are a few pics of my sweet family from our vacation last week.

Happy Summer, Friends!

Summer Bucket List

Okay, so I thought I had already done this... but I guess I got it confused with a FIVE for Friday???  I am {finally} linking up with Teri for her Summer Bucket List Linky Par-tay.  With teaching a new grade and new subject next year, I have a ton of things on my bucket list for the summer.  But first, I want to...

#1: Get my vacation started!  We leave on Saturday for Destin, FL.  I am so excited for some good seafood, sand, and salty water!  It's going to be very interesting to be at the beach for seven days with a three and one year old.  It's going to be a long and interesting drive!

#2: My {old} team and I are taking a trip to Ikea at the end of June!  I am sooo excited.  My nearest Ikea is nearly an hour away.  Here are some things I am looking forward to purchasing..hehe

These cute stools are only $5.99!  I can't wait to get about 6 of these for my small group table.

These....

With this....

I just {love} that idea!

I'm also in the market for a new rug, but I haven't found one I'm crazy about yet.

#3: Finish reading my CAFE book and try to figure out what in the world I am doing next year!

#4: Spend a ton of time by my pool with my sweet babies!

I am sooo looking forward to this summer!  I've had a rough past year and I'm excited to have some time for ME and MY FAMILY :)

Five for Friday

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for 

I don't have many pictures to share because this week has been so CRAZY at school!

{1}

Today was the kids' last day... WOOHOO!  That means that summer vacation for me is right around the corner!  I have three days of post-planning next week where I will work on packing up my room because I am moving up to 5th and looping with several of my students.  I'm already not looking forward to the last day of school next year because I'm going to be a HOT MESS.  I will have taught some of these students for two years.

{2}

We had our awards ceremony today and I was able to give some of my sweetest kiddos some awards.  I decided to make my own 'special' awards for every student in my homeroom.  Some of them were for "most likely to get dirty" and "best smile."  I wanted all of my students to get something.  BTW- here is a picture of of me and one of my students right after our awards program.

This boy is just so precious!

{3} 

We have exactly 

Until we are here

I can't wait!

{4}

I am almost finished with my Daily 5 book and i am IN LOVE with it.  Last year I taught math so I've not read it previously.  Next year I am teaching reading/writing/LA and I am so excited to implement it with my students.

{5}

Monday we are spending some time at the lake and I'm super excited.  My boys love the water and are going to have so much fun on the boat. 

Stay safe and have fun!

{FREEBIE} Curriculum Binder Pages for School Year 2013-2014

Are you already planning for next year?  I know I am :)  Does anyone else feel silly for getting ready for a new school year before the current one is over?  Last summer, I decided to create a curriculum binder where I would store all things related to my lesson plans and pretty much anything else I would need to help me plan.  I offered the divider pages in my TpT shop for free.  Today, I have updated them for the upcoming school year. If you would like to learn more about my binder and watch a video where I explain it, click here.

This upcoming year, I have six designs to choose from.  This year, I had one basic black/white design that I printed on bright paper.

Curriculum Binder 2012-2013

Boring.... BLAH!

It worked for what I needed, but I decided that I would like a little color this upcoming year.  You have a few color choices and a few black/white choices as well as two different font choices.

Here's a preview of the binder pages as well as close ups of each design.

The cursive font is a free one called Xiomara and the cutesy one is KBLimeLight.  Both can be downloaded for free.

To get your free 114 page download, please visit my TpT shop.

I also have four of the designs available in a .ppt file so you can personalize and create custom titles using your own fonts.  These are also available for free by clicking here.

Here's what they look like.  Please read the directions in the TpT description carefully before printing.

Happy {ALMOST} Friday ;-)

I Appreciate You!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!  To celebrate, TpT {and myself} are throwing an awesome sale!  Click the image below to go to my store.

What all do you guys get for teacher appreciation?  I have been looking at all the photos being posted on Instagram and they are oh so cute!  Go ahead... spoil yourself... you deserve it!

Differentiating Book Study, Part 1, Chapter 2

It's that time again.  Time for a check-up on the book study.  I'm actually thankful for this book study because it holds me accountable for actually reading and reflecting upon this book.  How many of use start a book, and we know it's good, but we end up not finishing it.... I'm guilty here.  I guess you could say  that grad school ruined me of book reading.  

Chapter 2 had a HUGE focus on getting to know your students so you can better instruct them.  You should know your students academically and how they learn best.  But how can we do this?  You can start by looking at past grades, test grades, and big assessment scores.  Focus on grades and assessment scores.  These two should align with one another.  If they don't then there is a discrepancy somewhere that should be evaluated and addressed {not meaning special education placement here.. only that maybe they are not great test takers.}  

• Create an academic profile for each child you teach.  Add to the profile as you get to know the student better.  Just because you complete a student profile the first few weeks of school doesn't mean that you can't go back and adjust the content.

There is a {HUGE} emphasis on Gardner's multiple intelligences.  Become acquainted with them, know what they mean, and actually use them so you can add variety to your teaching and the ability to reach all your learners.  There are many ways you can do this.  Heacox even has several examples in her text.

• Interest Inventories
• Personality Tests
• Learning Style Tests

If you give any of these assessments to better understand your students... actually use the information.  Don't just sit on the knowledge of how your students learn best without using that information to their advantage {and yours too because they will be successful if you deliver instruction in a way that they learn best.}  One way that you could do this is by having a designated spot on your wall {or bulletin board} that has all the different learning styles as headers.  As students learn their learning style, have them decorate an index card with their name on it front and center.  Have them place their name under the learning style that they are.  This way, you have a visual all year long of what your students' learning styles are.

I really liked when she briefly discussed conferences that you could have with parents to help you understand your students better.  She included some sample questions that you could ask that I found useful.  

If you are unable to get your parents in at an appropriate time, you could always have them write a letter to you during the first week of school.  Sometimes some of the most valuable information we could get about our students will come from their family.  

In chapter 3, Heacox will discuss What Do You Teach?: Essential questions, curriculum mapping, and planning a unit.  Stay tuned... it is getting deep ;-)