Favorite Pins Friday #2

It's time for Favorite Pins Friday with Cara from The First Grade Parade!

I'm starting to realize that my summer is rolling along TOO quickly! There's still more left than I've had (just finished week 4), but looking at the calendar is starting to scare me. So even though I haven't done anything school-wise yet except buy one Reading Comprehension booklet from Target's Dollar Spot, I have begun to repin school ideas.

I got this from Head Over Heels for Teaching when she blogged about her reading workshops. I've seen a few inventories over the years and tried some out, but I really like this one. It's SO important to figure out about your students as readers, especially with the struggling readers. They will need so much guidance when choosing books, and you've got to be prepared to help!

Mind. Blown. Unfortunately this picture didn't link back to any website, so I can't give credit. What a great way to store their water bottles without having them all over the desks, though!

Forensic Science for Kids had a great inferencing idea. Set up a crime scene! Now, you could create your own (I have a fantastic hubby with some experience that can help me in that area), OR they provide a link to two great ones for kids that are already created. Obviously a lot of prep time goes into this, but it would be SO much fun!

Collaboration Cuties posted about this last week in their Favorite Pins post, and I love it! I feel like we waste so many paper towels cleaning our white boards. Instead, buy a bunch of Dollar Tree facial cleansers. Now I'm going to try and see if I can attach them to the board somehow for even more ease. Any ideas?

Onto a more personal pin, I'm thinking about actually letting my hair grow out (no source again). Usually I keep it shoulder-length because it's so thick and just gets to be too unmanageable. I saw this hairstyle with long layers, though, and I think we'll try it out! Plus I've starting pinning all these cute updos that my current hair isn't quite long enough for. We'll see if I stick with it, but I could always donate it to Locks of Love if I quit!

And on a similar note....

So true!

What are you pinning this week?

Favorite Pins Friday!

If you've been following this linky, you've already heard from EVERYONE how sad we are that Five for Friday is on hiatus, but the amazing Cara has filled our void with a super-fun linky!

I mean, what teacher (or girl, for that matter) doesn't like Pinterest, right? I'll be honest, since I've only been out of school for 3 weeks and don't go back until the end of August, I haven't gotten into the mood for pinning a lot of teacher-related items recently. However, I did find this amazing gem! Even though I'm not a regular classroom teacher anymore, I always had plenty of kids who needed redirection. I used to print out a simple morning/afternoon schedule to tape on their desk so they could check it off. This is SOO much better and will last a lot longer!

Around the end of the school year, I created a board for hair and nails. My hair is SO thick, and I have a lot of trouble maintaining it over the summer. I love this style, but I haven't tried it yet. Not sure if my hair is quite long enough, though.

A cleaning tip - did you know that you can (and should) wash pillows twice a year? I didn't know they could be washed. We always just bought new ones when they started smelling/yellowing. This link also walks you through how to get them white again.

No, I'm not pregnant again (yet), but I thought this was a cute gender reveal. You get someone to put colored confetti into a solid color balloon, and then the mom pops it!

And one that's Fourth of July related, of course! How fun would it be to eat an edible firecracker? I'm in!

Click on the pictures to follow the original source, and if you want to follow me (I have about 10 teaching-related boards alone), click here!

June Workshop Wednesday

I'm linking up with Jivey for her monthly edition of Workshop Wednesday! Instead of every week, we'll do one each month.

This month's theme is one I can get behind BIG time because it's all about Pinterest! I'm sure there are tons of you with me who are crazy about Pinterest, too. I spent a long time last summer reorganizing my boards and probably have about 8 boards that are related to teaching only. Please feel free to follow me here! Now for the pins. I didn't do any math pins because I don't teach it, however I do have a board for math, science, and social studies ideas that I made when I was teaching 4th grade.

Reading:


In the upper grades, it's such a huge thing to focus on your thinking as a reader. Since I work with the struggling readers, I see this need even more. Many of my students just rush through a book and never stop to think about what's going on. I love this anchor chart with codes for thinking.

Writing:


In fifth grade for VA, students have to take the writing SOL. We have some very weak writers, and so I want to focus on expanding sentences to make them more interesting. I also plan on using Jivey's Mentor Sentences. I've already pinned her second pack that she just finished, and I'm hoping to buy it soon!

Thanksgiving centers are here!

Yippee! Today was a teacher workday, and I was able to FINALLY finish my literacy centers. I'm so excited to post them! There are 6 centers and a poem that can be used for different activities. I focused more on comprehension because there are very few centers available that are geared more toward comprehension skills These are recommended for grades 3-6, although you know your kids and if they may be more capable. The centers include:

• fact and opinion
• main idea and supporting details
• cause and effect
• author's purpose
• prefixes
• suffixes

Isn't it so cute? These are the first graphics I've purchased (KPM Doodles), and I LOVE them!

I also bundled these centers with my writing pack that goes with Thank You, Sarah.

You can find the Thanksgiving bundle here.

By the way, PLEASE feel free to pin these activities. I would love to have my work floating around Pinterest!

Oh, and Tammy at Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten is having a giveaway. Go check it out here!

I'm on Facebook!

I'm moving on up in the technology arena and decided to start a Facebook page for my blog! Click on the banner to the right to like my page. Then go follow my Pinterest boards! There are a TON of them, and I spent a lot of time this summer reorganizing them so they were more user friendly!