It's Almost Time!!! Mini Teacher Haul

Hello! It's been a while!  Here in NY, most schools will be starting back next week, so there's one more week to enjoy this beautiful August weather!  I have been hard at work on (sometimes avoiding) my comprehensive exams and trying not to get sucked into school.  It is so easy to spend a whole summer getting ready for next year, but I find that I am more energized and excited for my new crew when I focus on enjoying my time off.

Monday is the BIG day! I plan to submit the first of my two exams and go into school and begin putting my new room together.  The halls are being done this week, so that forces a good timeline. Hopefully, I can put everything I moved to my new room away and make it look presentable for meet and greet on the 31st!  The rumor is that the cleanign crew stacked boxes upon stacks of boxes in my room - YIKES!

Even though I have not been focused on school (or blogs/blogging), I have been doing a bit of school shopping. You know teachers just can't resist! Since my goal is to "spend less, save more," I have been trying really hard to make do with what I have and not get sucked in by every new idea I see. The prospect of going on a sabbatical and not working next year is exciting but daunting. My goal is to save as much as I can this year so we don't feel crunched if I can make it through comps and into my residency. Long story short, here are a few things I have picked up at the Dollar Tree (aka the teacher's best friend) and the Dollar General (i.e. one of the only stores in my town).

From the DT I picked up magazine files and glow sticks.  I decided to go back to magazine files for my student book boxes. They are more compact than the tubs I was using and I learned last year that I still like to keep an eye on what the kids are reading. I had a surprising number of students obsessed with picture books, even in June!  I also picked up some glow sticks.  I like using them as a little gift with jitter glitter and ready confetti at the meet and greet.  They are a prize for finishing a scavenger that engages the family and gets supplies put away! I also bought extras as prizes for either birthdays or giveaways during testing week.

The DT has some really great kids books!  They regularly have National Geographic books. Scholastic has them for several dollars, so this is a great deal!  The almanacs are favorites for the kids and provide great experience with different genres. I had several students into biographies last year, so I picked up a few biographies.   I also found these great science experiment books! I have wanted to have a "Scientist of the Week" for years and I think it'll infuse a bit of science back into school when it is being pushed out by the ELA and math focus. I bought one set for the classroom library and another for a bag that I would send home with the student who is to be the scientist.  Hopefully I can get this together this year!

Finally, I picked up some items from the Dollar General.  They were 90% off! I picked up about four dozen seed packets for Mother's Day presents and gladiolus bulbs for volunteer gifts. We have a building tea for all volunteers and classes are asked to contribute.  These bulbs were 20 cents for six and would make cute gifts wrapped in tissue paper.  I thought we could attach a little paper with "We are so "glad" you are part of a school.  Thank you for helping us "bloom!" I usually feel like a slacker because I avoid volunteering with all of the busyiness at the end of the year, so hopefully we can contribute this year!

Have you picked up any good finds lately?

Best wishes to everyone who is back to school or starting this week!

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Let's Get Acquainted Linky Party

I'm linking up with Latoya for the Let's Get Acquainted Linky Party.  This week's topic is about about personal goals for the upcoming school year.

These are my goals:

1. Conquer the Paper Piles – I am a piler!  I end up stacking paper everywhere and  sometimes, I hate to say it, but I have to move a pile so I can teach groups.  I end up stashing piles on shelves, in cabinets and other various places.  This bad habit quickly leads to feeling unorganized and sometimes not being able to find things. (How many times have I  made a new copy rather than try to find what I have?!?)  My goal is to prevent that paper pile from starting!
2. Use my planning time!  I have been better at this the last two or three years, but my goal is to get more corrections done during this time and to not take that gigantic teacher bag home very night!
3. Utilize parent volunteers!  I have never been great with having helpers in my room.  To be honest, it has been my experience that helpers want to hang out with the kids and not actually help them or teacher.  I plan to avoid the dance and let parents know that I need them to help with copies, hanging displays, and other specific tasks. (Here’s to being assertive – I think I’ve earned it after 13 years of teaching!) I teach my students to be independent and have never found the need to have adults help with centers and such.  I find I get distracted and sometimes the supported activity does not go as well as it would have if the kids were doing it on their own.  I also think it would be helpful to have parents in during technology time – 22 second graders and laptops is not a pretty!
4. Leave work between 4:00 and 4:30!  I will continue my college courses this year, so I know that I can do this!  Here’s to not going to school on the weekends too!
5. Get to work earlier!  I pushed my home time in the morning up to the very last minutes the last few years.  I hope to get in earlier and get started to reduce stress during the day.
6. Spend less of my own moolah!  I have gotten a bit out of control the last few years. Part of me feels like if it makes my life easier, buy it.  However, I would hate to total what I spend on my classroom every year.  I also have tons of things stored in my home that I no longer need in the classroom. I want to think carefully about my spending and set a budget to limit what I buy.
7. Eat better!  I am one of those teachers who works through lunch and inhales a bit of something while prepping.  I’m just not a person who packs a lunch and I avoid the teacher's lounge like the plague.  It just doesn’t help me to stay positive. However, I would like to eat more balanced and healthy “meals” at school – and not buy the student school lunches!
8. Keep working on balance!  I have worked really hard the past few years at creating a life for myself outside of school.  I want to continue to do things that I enjoy and not let work take over every minute of my life.

source:http://www.trishblackwell.com/the-balance-game/

What a list!  I could probably come up with a few more goals, but I’m a *little* OCD too!  I can’t wait to read more blogger goals.  Link up and share!

Sunday Smorgasbord

 

 

I'm linking up with Michelle from Fabulous in First for a Sunday Smorgasbord! I know that I’m just in time this evening!

I am about half way through summer and have been trying not to think too much about school and my classroom.  Summer Rec is happening in my room this summer and I have no hope of getting in for 2 more weeks!  The idea of setting up a new classroom is both exciting and daunting!  I have a bit of a wish list going:

IKEA Stools – I was going to make the bucket stools after my ottomans from Big Lots died a quick death last year, but realized that it would be worth the money to order IKEA stools and have them delivered.  I started making the bucket stools and it would take days! I’m planning to buy these stools and paint them in bright colors to match my room.

Classroom Carpet – I didn’t have a carpet last year with my third graders, but I still feel like second graders need a defined meeting space.  This is the one I am thinking of:

Chevron Borders – I have the Dots on Turquoise theme that was all the rage last year, but I am thinking of adding chevron to my decorations, using the same colors. These are from Creative Teaching Press – but there must be very popular, because they are all out of stock!

Budgeting!

I don’t know about you, but I know that my spending habits when it comes to school related items has gone cra-zay! (Bad, bad Pinterest! Bad, bad Dollar Spot…need I go on???) One of my fav fashion/style bloggers, Franish, has a “Budgeting Bloggers” feature. 

What do folks think of doing a monthly link-up on teacher budgets – you know, those Dollar Spot cutesies, TPT items, and great decor items that you just can’t resist? The idea behind it is that you establish a budget and show what you buy each month. Who will join me?

Book Study Anyone?

Yes, a book study!  I completely spaced on the amazing books studies this summer.  Packing my 7th classroom and moving to my 8th, followed by the most challenging college course I have ever taken, I just couldn’t bring myself to do anything more than necessary the last few weeks.

So, I was thinking of reading Spaces and Places by Debbie Diller.  I bought it several years ago and never really read it.  I thought moving into that 8th classroom might provide me with an opportunity. There are 5 Chapters – anyone interested in hosting one?

Speaking of professional books, what do you do with all the books you don’t use?  I have been purging and Amazon ad Ebay just don’t seem like they would be worth my time. Some fashion bloggers do “Shop My Closet”, maybe I could do “Shop My Bookshelf.”  Or do you think TPT would be a good place to put collection of books (i.e. a set of sight word resources, a social studies collections, etc.)?

Please email me if you are interested in working on this book study!

Well, that was certainly a smorgasbord of topics!  Like up with Fabulous in First and share your randomness!

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Back to School Books Linky and Strategy Website

 

I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' for their Back to School Books linky party.

First, I started a blog a couple years ago to keep track of the books I use to teach in my classroom.  They are organized by strategy and it contains both a summary and several mini-lessons.  I hope to really expand it this year.  Check it out if you are looking for great books to teach strategies!

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Here are my favorite books for the beginning of the year!

It is going to be fun re-discovering the books I used to use in the third and fourth grade to begin the year!  I like using the Black Lagoon series to break the ice and talk about the jitters we all have.  Plus, the teacher and I have the same name, so I went through the book and colored her hair brown!  (Shh! Don’t tell!) First Day Jitters is a favorite from first grade!

Miss Nelson is the perfect book for brainstorming rules.  I stop at the point when the kids are wild and have the kids brainstorm rules to help in the class in small groups.  Then we come back and finish the book.  We make a giant list of all the rules and I color code them as we brainstorm. The color code follows my classroom rules: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Kind and Be Safe – all of the kids rules fit somewhere in these four! I plan to make my banners inspired by The Inspired Apple with my class this year.

These books are great for talking about listening rules.

Great books for beginning a discussion about what we like to read and introducing the classroom library.

Great books for introducing book nooks and reading workshop/Daily 5

I love reading the Library Dragon to talk about how to treat books and behave during reading workshop.

Love this book for talking about being ourselves!

I discovered these books last year when I read about them on a few blogs.  I like using them to talk about bullying and how we are going to treat each other in class.

And, of course, the Bucket books are great for beginning the year. I am going to add The Seven Habits of Happy Kids this year.

Follow the Road to Freebies

Thursday was  International Blog-Hopping Day and TBA was hosting a link up of several Linky Parties!  I am a few days behind, but thought I would link up and share too.

Kreative in Kinder is hosting “Follow the Road to a pot of Gold.”

Here is a beginning of the year writing activity:

One of my first writing activities with students involves Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge by Mem Fox.

I read the book with my class and talk about how we can use memories to write about ourselves. I have the students take home a paper lunch bag with a note for homework. Their job is to put 4-5 items in their bag that help them remember important things in their lives.

When they bring the items in, I give them time to share with a partner. We talk about how to take turns and listen to a partner and I model before setting them loose. Over a couple days, I have them partner up with different kids to get to know new friends.

After the sharing times, I model thinking about one of my object and writing about what I am thinking through a think aloud. I also use this as a time to introduce writing in journals. I then have the students write about one of their favorite memories they have in their treasure bags.

This activity has been an amazing motivator for the most reluctant writers. I had one little guy who wrote about items from his treasure bag throughout the year. We also use this bag as a jumping off point to create a list of "Writing Gems" or their ideas for writing. This stays in their folder all year long and can be added to.

After a few weeks, I have the students take their items home and begin other activities to foster writing.
I have attached a printable with my letter, labels for the bags (or small boxes if you wish), and a writing idea list. Click here to download it.