Five for Friday 8/23

Slowly but surely trying to get acclimated to the beginning of the school year and all the crazy stuff that has been going on. I'm kinda jeals of all the teacher bloggers that were able to really beautify their classroom spaces...for so many reasons in which I already discussed I still have some minor things to do but we are still in full swing! On to my Five for Friday link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

I promised a few classroom pictures. As I said due to various reasons I have to finish up some odds and ends. For the most part we are all set up and functioning. Here's a small glimpse.

A little blurry but reading and writing bulletin boards

Goals and Book Boxes

Door with "you are loved" mantra

Library, CAFE, D5

Promethean, number line and world landmarks cursive alphabet

My whiteboard with WBT rules above

Magnet behavior chart on whiteboard, I can statements, Marzano rating scale, and word wall

My very rambunctious group is giving me a run for my money! Whoooo! I'm a little spoiled since many of last year's third graders looped up with me from second. It's funny....with a new group you forget that they are still 2nd graders and need a lil coaching to reach a functional level of independence. Work in progress :)

In science we have been working on the introductory unit on science inquiry. We did the very simple bubble experiment in our textbook in order to prepare the students to make observations and ask questions. When I tell you they were too excited....they just went nuts! They're observations were quite interesting too! Great day!

Our social studies introductory unit called for students to discuss conflict resolution and decision making. The students watched a youtube video of three girls that created a conflict rap. Then I allowed my students to create their own rap, skit, song or poem. When I tell y'all cute and hilarious....I mean it. I recorded them but unfortunately the audio is not so great. Great lesson though!

Read to self is going well! We reached 13 minutes today! At this rate I'll be getting ready for their celebration next week! Once they reach 20 minutes we are having a reading celebration in the classroom. I'm thinking big banner, cake, certificates, and bookmarks. Any other ideas?

We had our first activity day today as well! Activity day is a school wide program in which teachers sponsor a fun activity that students can choose such as painting, basketball, cooking, Wii, crafts and so many more! Students have to earn points in Class Dojo in order to be able to attend activity day on a bi-weekly basis. I sponsored painting and the kids has a great time! More on Activity day in a later post!

Evernote Love! <3 <3

I have been using Evernote for all kinds of documentation and I am innnn love! Combining Evernote with Skitch and  KustomNote has allowed me to eliminate so much paperwork. For example using KustomNote I was able to create a template for the San Diego Quick Word Assessment. So awesome! I'm hoping to move to a "mostly" paperless classroom. I have been using Evernote for tracking homework, anecdotals and soon reading and writing conferences so the possibilities are endless. I will definitely do a Evernote/Kustomnote post!

Happy Friday! Off to have some non-teaching related Friday night fun!

First Week and A Half of School Review

O.K.....so I promised to participate through teacher week and let's just say while I had the best of intentions last week was super hectic. Imagine all the normal stresses and nervous energy of the first few days of school compounded with mold in the building, no copier access, several teachers out, an influx of new students and more! Mannnnn...it's been rough but nonetheless I've made some progress with my thirdsters!

We are doing really well with Daily 5. Today the kids reached the half way mark at 10 minutes1 Woohoo! They are so excited about their reading stamina celebration once they reach 20 minutes. I still have to work out the exact details of the celebration. I do know I will have a cake. I'll probably give out certificates and book marks. Any other ideas?

With whole brain teaching they have mastered knowing and the rules and gestures. A few of my darlings are still working on following the rules :0 They are class-yes experts and hand-eyes experts. We are going to try teach-ok this week.

Our school uses Class Dojo school wide for behavior and it honestly works wonders. I have to do better at using that instead of addressing every situation. As soon as they hear that sound...they get back on task especially since I don't show their points all day. Students work to receive enough points to go to a school wide bi-weekly activity day. I will go more in depth on Friday since it's our first one!

I'll be back throughout the week to share some classroom pictures, and also more about class dojo and activity day! Have a great week!

Teacher Week '13 Meet the Teacher

I knowww I've been absent (first three days of school last week). I promise to give a little recap at the end of the week. Everything going on at the school has made for one tired teacher....I've been engaging in what I affectionately call "little nappies" every day after school. :)

Anywhooo....I am linking up with Blog Hoppin'  for.....



Yay! This of course is my first time linking up and I am so excited to learn more about some of my favorite and also new bloggers. So without further ado..




1.I am originally from a small town suburb of Cleveland, Ohio called Twinsburg. My little town actually hosts an annual Twinsday festival in early August that gathers twins from around the country.
2. I am a total insomniac. I get my best ideas at 2 a.m. when I am supposed to be fast asleep. All summer I stayed up into the wee hours of the night, and slept in in the mornings.
3. I arguably watch more T.V. than I should (trying to change that habit) so I am a reality TV junkie however I do have some staple shows that includes Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and The Walking Dead.
4. HUGE fan of Beyonce! I've shared this before but this is how much I love this lady! I was in the BeyHive before there was a BeyHive mmmk! I had the time of my life at the Mrs. Carter Show!

5. I used to say that I would NEVER NEVER NEVER be a teacher but if I would it would be early childhood or high school. Ha! Go figure!
6. I have no tattoos but I must make a decision if I want to get one by the time I'm 30.
7. I love keeping up with the newest technology. I am that person that scours Best Buy looking for the newest laptop, tablet, phone whatever fun techy stuff I can get my hands on! I feel a certain way that I haven't been able to get a new phone.....it's driving me nuts!
8. When I do get married...I want it to be small and intimate so that I can splurge on yummy food (not traditional wedding food), a gorg cake, and a rockin party!
9. I'm sort of a natural comedian. In my classroom....my students are constantly laughing at either my facial expressions or the funny, crazy things I say. I'm a total goof. See.....

10. Of all the characteristics of a Gemini I would have to say I am definitely the whole scatterbrained...all over the place thing! I am rarely ever focused on one thing. At any given time my internet browser has 17 tabs open, I'll start cleaning one area then move somewhere else and remember something I'm supposed to do, go back to my original task and so on. It's dizzying sometimes! Haha!

Well that's me! Teacher Week has commenced!

Monday Made It and Open House

Super late post this evening as I had a long day of continuing classroom set up and Open House. Needless to say I am very tired but wanted to do a quick post. First let's discuss Open House...

I think I told you all about the major mold problem throughout the school. Of course this issue delayed many of the teachers and getting prepared for Open House with that problem was a scramble! In spite of that and not having everything perfect like I wanted, we had a great turnout. Wish I had pics but it was totally hectic. I had about half of my parents come out! If I told you how many half is....I think there may be some jealy teachers. Hahaha :) Small school. Anyway I was happy to meet and greet parents and this evening made me even more excited for this year! On to Monday Made It...

I love linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. Teachers are soooo resourceful. Here are a few things I've made (and this isn't even everything!)...

Whole Brain Teaching-ish rules posters

Writing Process Chart

Number Magnets for my Magnetic Behavior Chart

Playdough in Fun Colors for the First Day of School

I am soooo excited about all of these Made Its. Everything was super easy to make! Quick tips for Magnets and Playdough....

{Magnets}

$1 flat gems from the dollar store
Scrapbook paper (already had it)
Mod Podge
Magnet tape or strips
Sharpie
Hot Glue (possibly)

I've seen other bloggers use a different glue for the magnets but the mod podge was fine for me, I just used a thin layer. I'm not as particular about bubbling because the magnet was covered by the  written numbers. You may need the hot glue just to firmly secure the magnet tape.

{Playdough}

Using play dough as a first day activity has definitely become my fav! I did it last year and I had an excellent first day and the kids loved it! I used this super easy play dough recipe found at this pin. This batch came out great....I may make a few more colors tomorrow!

Going to bed....one more day before school starts!

Currently: August

Started back on Wednesday and can I just say I am already exhausted! I passed out when I got home last night! LOL. So much to do, so much going on! So I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade to tell you what's going on with me.....currently. :)

Listening
Today is a professional development day.....I'd much rather be perfecting my pretty little classroom but hopeful it's a productive session. I am taking two classes...one literacy, one science. Let's see how this goes....

Loving
All of my colleagues are just ooohing and ahhhing at how organized I am. I am getting many compliments....which makes me feel great because in my book I still have so much to do but what I've done so far is light years ahead of my first and second years.

Also I'm loooooving that Giselle is almost house trained! YAY! YAY! YAY! I debated with how I would manage leaving her at home for that long period of time and if she would have accidents and the Wednesday she was accident free! So happy!

Thinking
We have a major problem in the building! Mold! Can you believe it? Many of the classrooms on the first floor are effected and some of my colleagues couldn't even work in their rooms. Scary stuff. I just hope it's treated before the children arrive.

Wanting
I have been doing everything school and classroom related and this weekend I just want to do something fun! Haven't decided what that will be but whatever it is will have nothing to do with school! lol

Needing
I have spent out y'all.....I think the laminating sheets is self explanatory but if I had a disposable income everything would be great. HA

BS2 Must Haves
You need a few new cute outfits to start the year, fun colored paper and ink for all those beginning of the year printables and activities and composition notebooks if you are a notebooking teacher!

Happy Friday! Link up to share what you're doing currently!