Rainy Tuesday

I love when it rains ... especially since we hardly ever get rain here in fabulous Las Vegas. I was so ambitious that I even made a trip to the gym. Go me! I can't believe that tomorrow is August 1st. That is when the school panic sets in and I realize that very soon I will be in my classroom preparing for my new third graders. How exciting and overwhelming at the same time.

I found quite a few linkys that I would like to participate in today. I'm starting with Amanda over at Teaching Maddeness for a New School Year Resolutions linky party. This is so perfect because at the beginning of every school year I always say I am going to do things that I never end up doing. Now it will be here on my blog. Here are my new school year resolutions.

1. Just Say No! - When people ask me to do things or help plan things I always say yes. Then I end up stressed out because I have no time to do what I need to do both at work and at home. I vow to not overload my plate with things I can't handle.
2. Maintain a nice, neat desk - My desk always starts out nice and neat but by the end of the day, forget about it. I end up with piles of papers, materials I use to teach that day that I don't put away, etc. Not this year!
3. Do not bring home work with me over the weekend - this is something that happens without fail. I get so behind that I can't keep up and am forced to do work over the weekend. This leads me to my final resolution.
4. Do not get behind - I am not sure how I will manage this yet but I will figure it out.

Next I am linking up with Jodi from Fun in First for a What's Your Favorite Back to School Activity linky party. The beginning of the year is a fun time to get to know students as well as teach rules, routines, and procedures. That very first day of school can be chaotic. Students are coming in and they have supplies they want to give you. They are trying to get settled and you are running around like a mouse. What I did last year was I put a small can of play dough on each student's desk. They were instructed to come in, find their seat, place all supplies under their desk and create something with the play dough.This keeps them occupied while I am trying to get them all settled in. This is also a good time to start collecting supplies. Usually they have them at a decent price at Walmart.

Another thing I do is send home a letter a week or two before school starts to each of my future students. In the letter I ask them to bring in something special that means a lot to them and to bring in a favorite book. Throughout the first week we share our books and treasures.

Thank you to Pam over at Pocketful of Center for giving me the One Lovely Blog Award!

1. Follow the person who gave me the award

2. Link back to the person that gave me the award

3. Pass to 15 new bloggers and let them know they received the award

I am passing the award to the following blogs. Ok so I only did 4.

 

Third Grade Mission to Knowledge

Where Seconds Count

First Grade Found Me

Totally Terrific in Texas

 

 

 

 



Confessions of a New Blogger

Honestly I am in awe when I look at other blogs and see 100+ followers. Since I started this month I am fairly new to the blogging world. I have a whole lot more to learn and I am certainly trying. It is truly amazing to see other teachers at work. Between Pinterest and blogs, my classroom is going to look truly awesome!

I am on the last week of an online course about spelling and phonics instruction. It has inspired me to attempt developmental spelling instruction this upcoming year. I have to admit it is a little frightening but no doubt I will persevere. It will take an  investment into Words Their Way books and a lot of time. My students and I will be the better for it! It is a year of trying new things. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

So I ask my followers to please leave a blogging tip for me. I really do need all the help I can get. I would also love to be one of those teachers creating activities on TPT. I'm so puzzled as to how to get that started as well. TPT has been a wonderful resource and as I said earlier, my classroom is going to look awesome.

Just a final note, please visit Lisa at Learning is Something to Treasure. She is doing a Back to School 650 Follower Giveaway. There are lots of great prizes!

Awards and Issues - ahh Wednesday!

I have quite a few issues today! My daughter decided to get up at 5:30am this morning. So not only could I not get my early am workout in, but I am super tired. This is resulting in a very cranky mommy! My workout clothes are on but will I get possession of my tv so I can do my workout? Better question is do I feel like getting up out of this chair to do it? My scale tells me yes!

As it is apparently Issue Wednesday, I tried to join the Newbie Blog Hop but I think I messed up somewhere. I managed to include the link for my page but forgot to include my q and a. So here it is:

1. what state you are in: I was born in New York, but currently living in Nevada

2. your current teaching position: third grade

3. your teaching experience: 12 years - 9 in 2nd grade and 3 in 3rd grade

4. when you started blogging: July of this year

5. share a blogging tip / blogging resource: I don't have one since I just started blogging at the beginning of this month. I am still learning! :)

Thank you to Janis at

and Angie at

for

Here are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you

2. Include a link to their blog

3. Include the award image in your post

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award

6. When nominating, include a link to their blog

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated

7 Random Facts About Myself

1. I have a think for vampires. I have read the whole Twilight Saga and all of the Vampire Academy books. I love watching Vampire Diaries. Oddly enough - I am Team Jacob. Weird huh?

2. I'm an old t.v. show junkie. My favorite show of all time is I Love Lucy. Every week day I watch Family Affair and My Three Sons. I also like to watch Rhoda, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Mary Tyler Moore show.

3. I am lactose intolerant. I can tolerate pizza in moderation, which is weird but anything else makes me sick. If you look in my fridge you will find Silk (soy milk), which isn't really bad. I also have soy ice cream if I have a craving for it.

4. I love country music!

5. I just started running. I am trying desperately to lose weight and wanted to add something else to my workouts. I started the Couch to 5K and have come a long way. I am still not ready for a marathon, though.

6. I am addicted to chocolate chip cookies.

7. If I were to ever stop teaching, I would want to be a country singer. :)

Check out these awesome blogs!

Teacher Mom of 3

Teaching Third

Tootsie and Teed

Teach On

The Idea Backpack

Monday Made It!

I am linking up with Tara today for Monday Made It.

The other projects are finished and I just wanted to show them off. Thanks to my wonderful hubby for making these for me. It goes great with my polka dot theme.

Passes for my kids

 This is the bookshelf. Top row will be for Author of the Month books. Bottom row will be for Genre of the Month books.

This is the small table that will house my listening center. The stereo will sit on top. If I have room, I want to add a small lamp.

I am so excited! I entered the contest at Creative Teaching Press. If you are using a decor theme from them, they wanted your favorite decor, how you will use it in your classroom, and pictures. I sent in the pictures above and I got an email back asking if they can use the pictures for their Facebook page, Pinterest, and future catalogs. How exciting! I can't wait to get into my classroom and get this theme going.

I am doubling up the turquoise on blue theme with a sweets theme. I was thinking of making a big gumball machine for my door using butcher paper. Then I am going to add gumballs with my students' names on them. For my bulletin board outside my classroom where I display student work, I was going to caption it "Baking Up Some Good Work" and use cupcake accents with their names on them. Just some ideas!

Happy Monday!

 

My First!

After seeing all the Boggle Boards around on Pinterest I decided to give it a go and make my own. Deciding to be ambitious, I put it on Teachers Pay Teachers. I put a few free things on there but this is the first thing I added that has a charge. I'm not sure how this will go over but you don't know until you try so I tried. So here it is: Boggle Board.  Now that I have discovered how to make things and change them to PDF's, my next goal is to make some more things for my classroom.

My wonderful husband finished the class projects I requested - he made me a small table for my listening center, a small book rack for my author and genre studies, and 3 passes. It all goes with the dots on turquoise theme I chose. Can't wait to see how this will all look in my room.

This is Day 2 of "Bye Bye Baby Weight!" I started a pump program yesterday and my muscles are so sore today. I have been eating well and this is day 2 of no soda. Actually not having soda has been the only easy part of this so far. I've also added Shakeology, which is pretty good. If I get hungry, which has been happening a lot, I just come to the computer and work on school stuff. It's working so far. Then again, it is only day 2.

Rebekah says - Have a great evening!!

A finished project!

Woohoo - I am linking up with Tara for Monday Made It. This is a first for me!!

While I was checking out Pinterest for some more wonderful things to make for my classroom, I came across a board to post papers with no names. I went to Michaels and got the wooden plaque, the letters, and the clothespins. My room is going to be dots on turquoise this year so we painted the plaque blue and added polka dots. Here is the finished product!

My husband built a small bookstand for me to house the genre of the month and author of the month books. It is not quite finished yet - it is painted the same shade of blue as above. We are going to add polka dots on the side. He also made me three passes, which I am going to use for a girls' bathroom pass, a boys' bathroom pass, and a hall pass. They are painted blue with polka dots. We just need to label them. I am hoping to have these two for next week's Monday Made It.







So many ideas!

I had a field day at Target yesterday. So much so that I visited two different Targets on the same day. I found myself taking a few pics of things that would fit my theme but I wasn't sure what I would use them for. If I happen to think of something, then I go back. After several days of consideration, I have decided to go with polka dots and monsters. Superheroes were a great idea but I think there is so much more out there with monsters and it is a lot cuter. After checking out Amanda's blog, I just had to see if they had the goodies at my Target and sure enough, I found them!

I will be using these sandwich bags to keep the students Isham Bucks. I used  to buy the canvas wallets at Oriental Trading but it has gotten too expensive.

These will go great with my polka-dot goodies. I was thinking of using them for supplies. I might have to go back and buy some more.

These will be attached to my white board. One cup will hold Expos, one cup will hold an eraser, and the third cup will hold the remote for my ELMO.

I bought four of these to put in my Daily Five centers. Students can practice cursive. I might make a few more trips to buy some more. They would also be great as a math center for practicing multiplication facts.

After reading about how teachers are using binders to organize files I decided to buy one of my own. I made the cover myself. It inspired me to be organized this year. When I told my husband how I planned to be organized, he said that I say this every year. Well we will see.

I am joining a fun linky party. Tori, over at  Tori's Teacher Tips, is challenging everyone to find a creative place to read. Take a picture of you or a family member and link up so everyone can see your pic.











Mine is not exactly creative but it is cute! This is my daughter reading on the couch.

I guess I should go work out. Enjoy your Thursday!!





Tired and Frustrated

It's been several days since I posted - lots going on but nothing going on if that makes any sense. Being home for the summer makes the days all run into each other. All I know is it is way too hot to be doing anything outside. 113 degrees - ugh! I sure dislike Vegas summers. Rebekah is almost back to herself. She is eating and playing. Some nights she just doesn't want to sleep which makes for a tired Mommy and Daddy.

As usual I am thinking about how to organize my classroom. I'm anxiously awaiting my new decor even though I will not be able to get into my classroom for awhile. I found so many great ideas through other blogs. Instead of CAFE, I will be doing CRAFT, thanks to Ladybug's Teacher Files. Tomorrow I will be heading out to the stores to check how much crates are. The crates will be great for storing Daily 5 stuff like Word Work games. Ideas are just filling my brain and I can't make them stop! You know it's bad when your husband checks the mail, says "Oh no," and hands you a teaching supply catalog. Yep, it is that time of year!

My wonderful husband made me a little table to put in my reading corner. It will house a lamp and a radio. I was planning on putting a crate next to the table to store Listen to Reading supplies such as headphones and books. He is willing to make me stuff for my classroom and I am all about taking him up on it.

What a morning!

This has been some morning so far! My sick child, who by the way has had no fever since yesterday, decided she wanted to stay up half the night. As we speak she is at the doctor with my husband because it looks like she has chicken pox. On a good note, I went to my WW meeting and found out that not only did I lose the weight I gained from Disney last week, but a little bit more. It's on!

I was so excited to get a Creative Teaching Press book in the mail yesterday. I found the decor theme that I want for my classroom: dots on turquoise. To say I'm excited is an understatement.

dots-on-turquoise

My next task is to go to Michael's and get my shopping on! I want to buy wooden door hangers that I can decorate. My plan is to paint them to match the border above and then create my own bathroom and hall passes. Since I am going with the polka-dots theme more so than the superhero theme, I am also going to pop over to Teacher's Clubhouse and get some polka-dot themed stuff. The goal is for my classroom to rock!

I am participating in a book study of Daily Five and CAFE. I really want to use it fully in my classroom. If you are interested in joining, head on over to We Read We Blog We Teach. It is excellent so far!

So much to do, so little time!

An award :)

Being very very new to the blogging world, I am still learning the ropes. How happy was I to get my first award? Olivia over at Classroom Craft nominated me for the Liebster Blog.

Thank you Olivia! Make sure you go and check out her blog. Not sure exactly
how to link up so you can click on the link above!

 

 Here are the details which recipients of this award must follow:

1. Copy and paste the award on to your blog.

2. Thank the giver and link back to them.

3. Nominate five other bloggers and let them know by commenting on their blogs.

Here are my five nominees! Make sure to check out their blogs by clicking on the link. Maybe someone can teach me how to use the buttons and link up.
Sorry I stink at this.  :/

Tori

http://toristeachertips.blogspot.com/


Lisa

http://learningissomethingtotreasure.blogspot.com/

Abby

http://thirdgradebookworm.blogspot.com/

Dana

 

http://www.3rdgradegridiron.com/

Heather over at Beg,Borrow, and Teach

http://begborrowandteach.blogspot.com/

I have a sick baby which is why I didn't get around to posting yesterday. We took Rebekah into the doctor today and she has some kind of virus. Her fever has dropped but she still isn't eating very much. I'm hoping for a better day.

Matt went over to Michaels and is going to pick up some stuff for me to make for my classroom. Yay! I am going to make a No Name wooden plaque type thing to hang No Name papers on. I am also going to make bathroom and hall passes. My theme is polka dots so I am going to paint them in polka dots. So very exciting!

Not very much going on today. I have assignments to complete for my online class so I better get at it. Have a great day!

Happy 4th!!

Happy 4th!! I tried to find an appropriate blinkie from my collection (which is pretty huge), but oddly enough I could not find one. I am a blinkie addict among other things. As I left the house this morning I found myself reminded of several book characters. The sun was hiding behind clouds and it made me think that I like days like this when the sun is not shining. Then I thought wow - vampire! I realized I read far too many vampire books.

After hitting the gym, I went to Walmart to get red food coloring for my husband for his cupcakes. Of course I walked out of the store a half hour later with lots of other things. It's a bad habit of mine. I picked this up to store Rebekah's books. This of course started me thinking about how these bins would be good storage in my classroom.

I miserably failed at Day 3 of no soda! This is going to be a difficult day for me with the goodies that are in this house. I can keep away from the burgers and hot dogs but not sure about this ...

I finally finished my first Pinterest project. It's rare that I can make things since I I am not a crafty person at all. I saw something else that I will be able to make myself. Stay tuned! Anyhow, my finished project is below.

It's fair to say that Pinterest is my new obsession! Now if I could just get the hang of this blogging thing, that would be great. Speaking of blogs, I am featured on a friend's blog today.

http://grimmricksen.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

My super clingy child is letting me know that it is time to get off here. Hope you all have a happy and safe fourth!!







Early Morning

The day started with Ms. Rebekah crying at about 4:45am. I got out of bed at 5 to get her some water and she went back to sleep. Then I attempted to lay back down and was in and out until about 6:30. So I figured I would have some breakfast and watch I Love Lucy. I'm not sure if working out is in the cards for me today as I'm not feeling the greatest.

As usual I am thinking about work and my classroom. I got the labels for my teacher tool kit. Yay! Below is what it looks like so far after me adding the scrapbook paper.

And I am going to use these labels.

I had another thought as I watched my husband working in the garage. In our old house he made the girls bunk beds and desks attached with chairs. He isn't going to use the chairs so I was thinking of putting them in my reading area.

It was just a thought! On another note I had two successful days of no soda. Day 3 is not looking good as we got a case of coca-cola for the barbecue tomorrow. Matt said he would hide it but I told him I would find it if I wanted it bad enough!

I went on Teachers Pay Teachers and added something that I created to teach point-of-view.  It was one of the few things that I actually made on my own. If I could get busy on making things for my classroom, it would be neat to put them on the TPT site.

I guess I should go and be productive!











Currently

I just had to do this ...

Burnt out on I Love Lucy (did I really say that?), I am watching Will and Grace. I love being out of school. There's nothing like watching Family Affair and My Three Sons! Eating cereal for breakfast was probably a mistake. It never fills me up so looks like I will be grabbing a banana soon.

Did you hear that? I think Target is calling my name. The only bad thing about shopping at Target is going in for one or two things and coming out with a lot more than that. I could really use a coca-cola. To think this is only Day 2 of my no soda mission. I don't think it is going to last.

I finally decided on a theme for my classroom. It's more like a double theme - superheroes and polka-dots. I'm not sure how it will come together but I will make it work! As I read through other blogs it gets me thinking. I'm not like all these other teachers that can make things for the classroom and create activities. Most of my ideas come from other teachers and I just put my own spin on them. I think it is time to create some things of my own. My teacher tool kit is in progress, thanks to Pinterest. All I need are clear labels and I am set. Now I am off to figure out how to link ....



To Work Out or Not To Work Out

Ahhh Sunday afternoon and I am watching a Lucy marathon on the Hallmark channel. I ate lunch about an hour ago and I know I should get a work out in while Rebekah is napping. Why do I not want to get up and do it? Lazy Sunday I guess.

On another note - this is Day 1 of no more soda! We went to Disneyland last week and I went four days without it but when I got back I just had to have some. Here we go again!

This is my first blog .... a work in progress! I'm still trying to figure things out. I just learned how to add buttons on here. It might not seem so exciting to anyone else but I was happy. I'm very glad that I have subscribed to so many wonderful teaching blogs. Between the blogs and Pinterest I will have an awesome classroom come August!