Teacher Week '13: Taming the Wild!

This will be a shorter post, but today is about classroom management. Since I'm not a regular classroom teacher, this has become VERY simple for me. I use Class Dojo, which I HIGHLY recommend if you don't already use it.

I can set up separate classes for my groups (which are easy to edit since my kids are in and out). Then I can also set up positive and negative rewards. I give these from my phone and/or computer (whichever is closest at the time), and I don't have to worry about interrupting instruction.

There are two different sounds: one for positive and one negative. Students are quickly redirected by either sound. At the end of each group, students get as many Skittles or M&M's as they have positive points (negative cancels them out though). Simple, but they love it! And I love that I don't have to break the bank to keep them excited about coming to my room (even when we may not be playing games).

Okay, I promised pictures of my classroom, and I am delivering today! There's a LOT to be done, but I'm getting things ready. Then I can make it pretty next week.

I will be putting my CAFE board on that back wall along with some other posters. The white cabinet is in need of repainting (thinking a nice blue), and I will be getting rid of that filing cabinet, although I may move my other one back there. I also want to get stools for my table and send those chairs somewhere else.

This is my desk area. I added my para's chair to the other side so we both have work space. I'm also going to probably move this filing cabinet, like I mentioned above. I haven't pulled out any of the personalization (except for my Chick-fil-A calendar that never moved), so it's looking pretty sad right now.

Not sure why this picture is so fuzzy. I have NO idea what to do with that rolling white board thing. It's so big and awkward, but it was purchased with Title I money, so I can't just give it away. I use it some, but I mostly use the Promethean. I may just lend it to someone permanently. Any of my coworkers reading this, we can talk!

This blue bookshelf came with the room, and I realized last week that I could turn it on it's side like I pinned two years ago and make it a bench! It's also in need of a paint job and some cute bins to hold books. I will be taking this and the white rolling shelf home at the beginning of next week to paint. Can't wait to see how they turn out. Oh, and this adorable rug is from Walmart.com. Don't you love it? I bought it last summer!

That's my tour so far. I made more of a mess today than anything, but we have SEVEN workdays before the kids come back. I usually come back earlier, but our principal is giving us two of those days (the two we don't usually work) completely for us, so I decided to enjoy as much of my summer as possible. The only reason I went in today is because we had to meet and discuss our plan for an in-service about CAFE. This will be our second official year with CAFE and Daily 5 as a school plan, so we're working out kinks from last year.

Teacher Week '13: Now Teach!

Okay, so I skipped out on yesterday since I've only been in my classroom once this summer (that's HUGE for me), but it looks basically the same as last year. So, for now you can click here to see my room reveal from last year. When I actually finish it this time around, I will post again!

Today, the theme is organizational ideas. I have evolved my organizational strategies a lot over the years. For a while, I was ALL ABOUT file folders, but I hate how they bunch up and how it's not as easy to stick something back into the file neatly. Last year, I moved to the binder system. I liked it okay, but I didn't want to invest in all of those page protectors. So I just hole punched and moved along. My only issue with the binders is that they're SO bulky. I'm very much a minimalist (which makes set-up and tear-down of my room pretty simple), and I hate clutter. So I'm working to get almost all of my files digital. I've already narrowed down a LOT. 

We use gmail at work, so I have most of my files on the Google drive. Not sure how much it holds, but I think I may find out this year. I also got a dropbox account and am working to put all of my clipart and TPT products there. That way I can use it at home or school.

Dropbox is free, and you get extra storage for referrals (up to 16 GB). If you don't already have it, I recommend getting it! You can even download it on your phone and get some of those freebies that pop up while you're away from your computer! Click on the image above to get it.

The only thing that I want to keep in my filing cabinet (because I'm going to get down to just one) are games/centers and student files. My student files are the biggie because I am Title I and have to keep a file for EVERY child who received any services while they were at our school. They may have only gone for a week in kindergarten, but I have to keep it until they leave. Since I just have 3-5, this takes up 2 drawers. I keep one drawer for students I currently see and another for those who have been dismissed. I'm working on color coding these by grade, but I need to buy more colored files. Right now I only have green.

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I've been creating almost monthly literacy center sets. I wanted to show a picture of how I prepare them so they can be pulled out and easily used, but apparently I've never taken a picture of them. Something to add to my picture list (I will try and be better about that this year). Anyway, I took my inspiration from Amy Lemons because she's a genius and made a cute instruction page for each center. When I print, that page is glued to the front of a file folder and then laminated. I put all of the cards in a baggie that is stapled to the inside of the folder (I open the bag and staple inside so it can be opened), and then I make a few copies of the graphic organizer that accompanies each center to add to the folder. The centers go into a hanging organizer, and I write a short description on their tabs so I can pull out (or have my kids pull out) what I want easily. So easy, and I look forward to making it full circle so I can reap the benefits of my hard labor last year. 

Speaking of literacy centers, these are the themes I currently have in my TPT store:

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Winter

Valentine's Day

St. Patrick's Day

Spring

Summer

Camping (for summer and/or fall)

Each back has at least 8 centers geared toward grades 3-5. I have about half for major comprehension needs and half for word knowledge. Many of the skills are repeated through all packs, although I change it up for some. I plan on creating Back to School, Fall, and Halloween centers soon, but right now I'm enjoying my last full week of summer break! Can't believe I just said that...

Hop on over to Blog Hoppin' to see what other organizational tips you may find, and I PROMISE pictures later this week!

Teacher Week '13: Let's Talk About Me!

It's Teacher Week! I believe this is the third year I've actually linked up. The first two would have been over at The Dalton Gang since this blog isn't quite a year old yet. Soon though! Anyway, some of you have been following me for a little while and know a decent bit about me. Still, I think it's fun to learn about each other's personal lives every once and a while. We spend so much time talking about school that it's nice to learn what we do when we're not "being a teacher".

So here are my 10 things:

Steven and I are a successful long distance relationship story. We met when he came to visit my college roomie (she was his show choir partner in high school) our sophomore year of college, but he lived in Richmond while I was in Macon, GA. So we "made it work" (to quote Tim Gunn) until I graduated in May 2006, then we got married about a month later. This summer marked our seven year anniversary, and I couldn't be happier with my choice!

I have the COOLEST little boy ever! Keagan will be 20 months this week, and he really is an awesome kid. His latest deal is to wear his fedora everywhere. Literally, he wakes up in the morning and puts it on. I call him my little blue eyes.

I was scared of dogs for most of my life, but about 3 years ago, these two sweethearts stole a place in my heart. I love my "boys", even though they're now at least twice the size we were planning on!

They were only 3-4 months old in this picture. Now John can rest his paws on my shoulders.

I've taught in the same school for 7 years but have held 3 different positions. The first year was 1st grade (while the school entered its final year as a primary school), then I taught 4th for five years. Last year, I became the reading specialist for grades 3-5 and love it! I miss having my own group of kids and getting to do all of the cute crafts, but not grading papers and being able to visit multiple classrooms is a lot of fun!

Possibly my FAVORITE class - my first group of 4th graders who are now about to enter their SOPHOMORE year...eek!!

My hubby and I decided to cancel DISH a while back (GASP!), so we are dependent upon the weather for good signals. Fortunately we get all of the main channels and can watch morning cartoons on PBS. The main thing we miss is Food Network, though.

I'm crazy about anything nautical, and we decorate with it a LOT! Keagan's room has sea animal decals, our living room has a painting and sea animal prints, one bathroom has seashells, another has a crab painting, and our guest room has pictures from Key West. It helps that Steven is as into it as I am. We could move to the beach tomorrow.

We actually painted these chairs ourselves (Steven drew it, and I painted in the lines), but we had to throw them out this year because they had rotted. I miss the chairs!

We're also obsessed with Christmas. We're those annoying people who start decorating before Thanksgiving (sometimes immediately after Halloween), but it's because we have SO much stuff and usually are traveling over Thanksgiving break.

We actually went into the woods to get this tree a few years ago when our old living room was open to the upstairs. The tree ended up being about 12 feet by the time we FINISHED chopping it down. SO fun!

My very best friend, Amanda (Teacher at the Wheel), lives in Atlanta, so we don't get to hang out enough...

Hanging out with Jesse at our alma mater - Mercer University!

...but I've started building a close relationship with these lovely ladies from our "life group" at church. 

Even though we've recently decided to go to a different church, we plan on staying close with these families. We all had kids around the same time, and it's always fun to get together with or without the kids!

This pic is actually missing two kids - we're a little behind on the quota!

I don't know if I'll be able to make the post tomorrow (Classroom Tour) because I don't plan on going up to school again until Thursday (got called in to the principal's office over the summer! No worries, we just have to plan for an in-service), but be sure to follow the party! I may do a double post later in the week to catch up!

Teacher's Notebook bundles and sale

Have you seen the Back to School bundles over at Teacher's Notebook?

Well, they are AMAZING deals, and I have a product in one of them. Go check out Bundle #16 where you can get over $100 worth of products for only $20.93 (a savings of $83.72)! If you're anything like me, and money's running a little tight, these are a great way to get some quality products based on your grade level. You can view all of the bundles by clicking on the icon above. 

And if you're just looking for specific items, many stores (including mine) are having sales running until August 18. Happy shopping!

Giveaway Winners

This will be short, but I wanted to announce the winners for my giveaway. I am SO blessed with how many people entered! Ladies, you should have an email in your box. Please let me know if you don't get it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm just getting home from the beach, so now I'm going to rest. Maybe I'll have a more substantial post tomorrow!

The Last Leg of Summer and don't forget my giveaway!

I can't even believe I just said that. After spending all of last week and yesterday in committees working on tests, we are headed to the beach today. Steven has a conference, so Keagan and I are tagging along! Then I have one more full week. I had no idea until I looked at the calendar that it was only one more week. Now I may cry...

How much earlier do you have to go back before the kids? We used to go a week before, but this year we have SEVEN workdays. I'm not really sure why. We go back on August 22, and the kids start after Labor Day. I may sit and twiddle my thumbs...or just hang out with my co-workers. I liked the week because it gave us time to do the in-services and get our classrooms ready. Thankfully our principal is giving us the two extra days entirely for us to work in our rooms. So I may not go in any next week. Actually, I won't. Keagan goes back to the sitter the next Monday, and I'm going to enjoy every minute with him!

Sorry this post is just a bunch of rambling. I felt like I should say hi and also remind you that my giveaway ends at MIDNIGHT! Make sure you've entered. There are some amazing prizes that you don't want to miss!

Oh, and if you're like me and didn't actually make it to ACE Hardware for the free gallon of paint last Saturday, you have one more chance! Go to their Facebook page to print a coupon, and then pick up your free quart this Saturday.

Now if the dryer would hurry up and finish, I could head on out to the beach!

VA is for Bloggers - Southern Hospitality Freebie Hop

Have you ever heard the saying "Virginia is for Lovers"?

Btw, I also found a picture of a former student in front of one of the MANY VA is for Lovers signs around the state you can check out here. So fun!

Well, Virginia is also for Bloggers!

I'm so excited to be linking up with my fellow Virginia blogging buddies for a freebie hop! Nikki from Teaching in Progress was so sweet to organize this, and Karen from Mrs. Stamp's Kindergarten created this adorable button. There are over 20 stops, so after you visit mine, be sure to follow it along to the rest so you can collect as many goodies as possible to help you start out the school year!

For my freebie, I thought and thought about what I could create that would be appropriate for multiple grades but was a little different. Then I had an idea (of course, this idea came when I was trying very hard to sleep, and then I couldn't. Does this happen to anyone else? Drives me crazy...): What about a little booklet for students to share about their summer break? I may even create a linky for it if there's enough interest!

The reason I like this so much is that it can be as simple or as deep as you want to make it. Little kids can just write something that they loved for each color, but I could see older writers taking colors more figuratively. I hope you like it as much as I do. I can't wait to use it with my writers!

After you've clicked on the picture to download, keep on hoppin'! The next stop is...

So grab a glass of sweet tea and stop in for a visit for some sweet southern hospitality from Virginia. Y'all be sure to grab a freebie before you go!