Five for Friday

Hey ya'll!  I'm linking up again with Doodle Bugs Teaching this week for..... :)

This will be the last Five for Friday until August 2nd.  She's taking a much needed break!

No. 5

Image Source: Anna Brantley

I don't use Google Reader because I usually just check the blogs I follow through blogger.  I'm afraid that if I have an app on my phone or iPad then I would be checking all the time.  Well, I guess I'm going to give Blog Lovin' a try!  Be sure to Follow Me for all my updates.  I've been using it for about a week now and I love how they send you an email each day.

No. 4

So... I finally went to Ikea with one of my great friends from school.  We had so much fun shopping for our classroom.  Here are a few things I picked up.  What you don't see is the cart full of stools and organizers!  Love those stools for $5.99!  I'm sure my students are going to love them.

We also ate at this AWESOME pizza place that has been featured on a traveling show.  It is well known for its unique brick pizza ovens that were shipped from Italy.  It was delicious!

No. 3

I've been spending a lot of sweet time with my sweet boys.  Our days are never boring to say the least.  I love capturing them doing their every day routines.

No. 2

I've been spending a lot of time in my classroom.  I know... it's crazy and I'm crazy.  I just can't go through summer without my room being somewhat complete.  I wouldn't be so worried if I were not teaching a different subject and moving into a new room {have I mentioned it's smaller???}.  I have a few pics I want to show, but I don't want to ruin my classroom reveal.  I do have a picture of my reading area that I will share on Monday for my Monday Made It... Don't miss it because it's really cute :)

No. 1

Lastly, I've been spending a lot of time here...

Excuse the large boat in the background.. lol

It's been difficult because my 18 month old doesn't last very long because he hasn't completely learned how to use his floats.  On the other hand, my three year old could stay out forever!

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New Blog.. Go Check it Out

Hey ya'll!  My sister is starting a small little business where she makes handmade items and things.  She has a store locally where we live, but she will also be blogging about some of the things she makes.  It's a great way to get ideas and she may even ship you something :)  She currently does not have an etsy store, but I think she will eventually.  She has custom unique jewelry and home interior items that she will be posting to sell.  I am her first follower so I'm sure she would LOVE it if you would go check her out and follow her.  I may even talk to her about doing a few giveaways to build her audience.  We may even do a few together!

Please go check out her blog... I know she would be greatly humbled.

You can view her blog by clicking here.

Thank ya'll!

Personalized Teacher Planner

Hey ya'll!  I'm sooo tired!  I went into my classroom today and did A LOT of painting {mostly bookshelves} and had my husband hang my beautiful chevron curtains that I made {these will be my Monday Made It next week.}  It's a long process, but it's very.slowly coming together.  I want to go ahead and get it finished so I will not be worried about all summer long.  School will start back before you know it.  Are any of you already planning for next year?

Speaking of planning for next year....

I've created an oh-so-cute teacher planner that can be personalized just for you!  You can view it HERE.  After I purchased my EC planner, I was kind of bummed that I didn't make my own :(  Why do I do this??  I hope I enjoy my EC planner.  I've heard great things about it and I love my life planner.

Here are a few pictures of my planner that you can create by using my already made template.  All you need to do is add your own personal touches to the editable .ppt file.

{sorry about the blurry images}

You have your choice of 5 planner covers... love!

This is the year-at-a-glance pages.  This is a great place to write down standards for each month as well as any long-term goals you have.

This is a view of the quarterly planner pages.  Each subject has its own page with a place to plan for each quarter.  This is a great place to write down and record your pacing guide or curriculum map.

This view is the monthly planner page.  The dates are already entered for you and you can type your own things in each date by using the editable version.  I just love the bright colors!

This view is the weekly planner pages by month.  The dates are already listed for you.  I love writing the standards I will be working on each week.  This is a great way to pace your instruction to make sure you reach your deadlines!  This is probably one of the most useful formats for me personally because you rarely get this!

This view is the daily planner pages.  It's Monday-Friday and has 15-minute time increments (8:00-4:00) so you can write down meetings and such by time.  There is also a section to the right for notes and to-do lists.  The dates are already listed for you for each week.

Finally... the planning pages.  I know some prefer to plan vertically and some prefer to plan horizontally.  Now, you have the choice!  The dates are already written for each planning week!  You also have a choice of the right page background patter.  You can choose from one of the three pictured below the larger image.

 **please note that each planning choice has its own set of the 2nd page planning pages  **

This view is of the notes pages.  Print as many as you will need for your planner.

This view is of the record keeping pages.  You have the choice of 6 different colors.  Choose one or choose them all.  I also like to use these to manage paperwork coming in and out of the classroom/office.  I just list the paper to be returned at the top and check off student names as they turn them in.  Great classroom management tool :)

Lastly, this is a simple format to help manage your classroom birthdays!

I hope you enjoy it and find it useful  :)

Monday Made It

Good Monday!  I'm linking up with Tara again this week!  

In the summer, Mondays are always one of my favorite days because it begins the start of everyone’s weekly routine again.  There is nothing better than getting up at 5:50, going for a run, and sitting down around 6:30 to drink my coffee and catch up on some blog reading.  I.JUST.LOVE.IT!  With that said, I also love Mondays because I get to share what I’ve been working on over the weekend.  I try to have my Made Its be something crafty instead of something digital.  I have enough things I need to accomplish anyways so I might as well get them done one Monday at a time.  This Made It was something that I didn’t know I needed….lol!  Right before I left the house to go out and purchase some cute chevron fabric for my new curtains in my classroom {those will be next weeks} I saw this adorable craft on Pinterest and knew right away that I wanted to make them.  

Source DeLoop Blog

The great thing is that she has a wonderful tutorial on her blog.  I followed it step-by-step. 

This was not her original idea so you can get the original source by clicking here.

I went out and purchased all the supplies she listed.  I had never used the glue she mentioned but I thought I would give it a try anyway.  Here’s how mine turned out.

You may remember a post from last summer of a magneticboard I made for my teacher work area.  I am planning on using the magnets in this area and on my whiteboard and such.  They are oh so cute!  I am planning on making some of them personalized for myself and for a few friends :)  Great and inexpensive teacher friend gift!

Here are a few things to take note of.

• The glue was awesome and dried clear but it was terribly messy.  Although I have more I want to create, I will probably stick to Mod Podge.
• I will use hot glue to glue the magnets on.  They kept trying to slid off onto the plate.
• You could probably use Mod Podge instead of varnish if you don’t have any.
• Hobby Lobby had all the supplies needed. 
• Hobby Lobby has large clear stones that I purchased.  They are between 1” and 2” in diameter.  I love how large they are!
• I would have liked to have a greater variety of glitter but they were so expensive {3.99 each.. not to mention the $40 worth of fabric I was purchasing} that I just stuck with the basics.

I hope you will try to make some!  I can't wait to make more :)

Classroom Update #1

If you follow me, then you have probably already read that I will be switching classrooms, grade levels, and subjects next year.  I'm going from 4th grade math to 5th grade reading/ELA.  Not a huge difference but it really is when you've had your head in the 4th grade math standards for four years.  I have taught 5th grade (and I love it) reading before, but I haven't done anything with reading/ELA since the Common Core rolled in so I have a lot of learning to do.  Just when you get comfy... nah.. just kidding.  I'm super excited.  However, I'm not too excited that I am leaving a HUGE room to come to one that's probably 1/3 the size of my old one... no joke... 1/3 the size.  I've acquired a ton of stuff so I was thinking there was no way I would fit all this stuff in that tiny room.  Well, I went in today because I had to drop my niece off for hitting camp next door.  This is what I came into... a HOT MESS!

Hello... where are my two tiny children??

Yeah, I forgot to mention that my three-year-old and my wild loving 17-month-old were with me.  Both boys... both a mess... both into everything!  They love coming to my room.  In fact, my oldest left this adorable picture for me.  

How will I ever be able to erase it???

I was there for about two hours and actually managed to get a lot done considering I had to manage the 17-month-old.  During our stay, he was caught:

1) tipping over my rolling card and spilling all the drawer contents (paperclips, markers, etc) all over the place

2) climbing a ladder

3) standing on a bench

4) opening the door and running down the hall

5) eating a small timer battery (the 2nd one is still missing)

6) attempting to escape outside

7) playing in the water fountain

8) swishing hand in toilet

Let's just stop there.... you get my point!  

I did get some things moved around thanks to a neighbors rug and diapers (lol)!  You see, my floors have just been buffed and like to keep them shiny so I move heavy things by putting one side on a rug and then lifting the other side and sliding it around the room.  At first, all I had were two diapers... hehe.  Then, I borrowed a rug from my classroom neighbor.  Then, I finally found the hand trucks in the closet.. DUH!!

Here's the finished product.  I mostly have an idea of where I want to put things.  Next, I will work on unpacking the boxes and getting rid of all the junk I don't need... and finding where to hide all the junk I still need :)

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!