Sunday Summary: 3-2-1 Style

I saw this on a post over at Middle School Math Rules! and wanted to use the same strategy to summarize the week.

3 Things that Happened This Week:

1. I finished my classroom!! Here are pictures :)

These are still not even the fully finished pictures. I added the novels and some supplies to the red caddies. I added books to the shelves, fixed the shelves, and got everything perfect for tomorrow.

2.  I attended Church and got exactly the sermon I needed: all about dealing with anger. I am not an angry person, by any means, but I have been angry here lately. I just need to remember that God is in control. Period. If I can remember to trust Him to do what is best for me and my son, I have no reason to hold on to this anger.

3. My son prayed. He prayed for someone who was in desperate need of prayer. Then, he told me his heart felt better. On Sunday (today), he prayed again in Sunday School AND in the car after Church. Moments like that make me feel like a champion as a mother. :)

2 Things on my To-do List:

1. Run copies for next week (well, decide what all needs to be copied and get the master copies so I can make the copies).
2. Get my house cleaned up and ready for tomorrow!

1 Thing I'm Looking Forward To This Week:

1. Meeting all of my kiddos at school! I can't wait to run through my first week of lesson plans with eager new faces! They'll be angels this week. Then, it'll get interesting. ;)

--A

I'm back! New Year's Organizing Revolution

Oh, I've been sooooooo very bad about blogging. Sigh. I am going to to better.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to blog more often. By this, I mean that I need to touch base at least once a week and update everyone on my life. There has been so much going on that I can't wait to share with everyone.

Also, I've felt that I really do just sleep better if I can get things off my chest, you know?


So, to start off the New Year on the right foot, I'm linking up with Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons and joining her New Year's Organizing Revolution!!! Each week, she will be assigning a new area in the home that needs to be organized. You have until Thursday night to post pictures and link up. On Friday, voting will begin. The voters decide who wins each week and she has some REALLY nice prizes up for grabs.

This week, we're focusing in the office area of the home. If you don't have an office, she wants you to focus on the desk area. My home office is in the 3rd bedroom's closet. I have a desk inside the closet AND storage space in there. I need to organize it more. I have it organized, kind of. I just spent the whole weekend cleaning it out, so I have a small jump-start. Let's see what happens when I focus there for a week!

I want that NeatDesk scanner ;)

Here is a picture of my home office area before:

I'll make sure I update here so you can see how it turned out! :)

XOXO

Giveaway!

I was really late jumping on the thirty-one bandwagon. My mom and my sister have been in love for at least a year...maybe two...maybe longer. Idk. I hated it right up until about 2 months ago. Now, I WANT ONE OF EVERYTHING.

My favorite print is Black Parisian Pop...followed by the Black Parisian Jacquard. I own nothing in either of these prints but I could definitely be happy with owning everything that thirty-one sells in those two patterns!

Luckily for me (or well, for someone...but I hope it's me!!!), Amber over at Synonym Rolls & Antonym Moments is giving away a 31 utility tote in black parisian pop!!!

WHAAAAAT?!

Just go to that link above and enter!

I'm jealous. I entered a few days ago...but I realized that I didn't blog about it. Silly me! Go check it out!



Another giveaway that is super exciting is the one from Simpson's Superstars. Stacy is giving away the winner's choice of $15 giftcard to Dollar Tree, Walmart, or Target! How awesome is she!?

Guys, these giveaways are epic. You need to be very thankful for them! These bloggers are spending their hard earned cash....so, even if you don't win...pop over and say thanks :)


XOXO

Monday Made It #2

Hey guys! I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for the second time for Monday Made It!

Honestly, I haven't been making as much this week. I have been focusing a lot on the documents that I need to have on hand as well as the binders that I keep for organization! I was inspired by Pinterest and some other blogs and made my own binder covers!

After that, I made these inserts for my substitute folder:

Then, I made my lesson plan papers to match!

My other teachers are going to think I'm obnoxious. Lol. They'll live. I love it! I'll be excited about having them displayed on my desk now! :)

Then, I finished up my Teacher Binder Files (I just have to print them off and get them ready!):

 

   
 

I have a super cute calendar that I'll add in, I print off my grades and attendance records from the computer (thank you NCWISE), and then I'm all set! I feel so organized! :)

Thank you Clutter-Free Classroom for the idea. I worship that blog! If you haven't seen it, go...NOW! (well, after you follow me and leave me comments! hahaha)

If I make anything else, I'll add it in!

XOXO

Giveaway

Hey guys! I love telling you about really neat giveaways. Well, today, Holly over at Fourth Grade Flipper is celebrating 100 followers by giving away a $25 Amazon gift card. Go visit her page to enter.

I know that, if you're like me, you're in need of that gift card to finish buying your last minute supplies for your classroom!!! I just posted about being broke! That would help so much!

XOXO

Currently! and a LITTLE Bit of Whining :(

Today, I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for the August Currently!

More info on my B2S Must Haves:

1) My Teacher Toolbox!

I am an extremely organized person, in general. Last year was my first year of teaching. About halfway through the year, I had a meeting with my principal. It was one of our "Hey! Let's touch base and make sure everything's going smoothly" meetings. They are never bad even though I get very nervous about them. She told me that she loves that I'm so organized and that it makes things so much easier for the students. However, by the end of the year, I thought I was going NUTS because of all of the clutter and junk that had accumulated. Now, after several teachers have retired and passed along more stuff to me (which I am so grateful for), I need to get organized again. This toolbox is going to help me SO MUCH. I'm thrilled about how great it turned out. I can now get all of this junk out of my desk drawer and out somewhere that I can can actually find it!

2) Decor that matches my class color scheme.

This year, I've decided to go with a basic black and white color scheme with pops of hot pink and Carolina blue. There will also be a lot of floral and damask decoration around. I'm so girly. I love the elegance of the damask print and I love flowers. The pops of color will help my room not to be so "boring" for the kiddies. I'm excited about it all. Last year, I didn't really have a scheme. I just used what I had...which WASN'T much :(

3) Cricut Expression

This is the best machine a teacher could ever ask for. I'm lucky enough to be able to use one of these bad boys for my classroom. I love this machine. It helps me cut out very nice shapes, words, labels, etc. Die-cuts are also really nice to have access to as well. Most schools around here have die-cut machines with the very basics in die cuts. My mother used to own a scrapbook store and is also in education...so it's nice to have her expertise when figuring things out for my room.



Alright, second topic. I'm so sad right now. It's tax-free weekend in my state and I WANT TO SHOP! However, I'm flat broke. I just want to go get clipboards and storage and ribbon and...this list could go on and turn into the LONGEST run-on sentence that you've ever seen. Let me stop. I'm whining. Wahhhhhhhhh :(

I must have been destined to be a teacher. For as long as I can remember, I've been so excited about going to buy school supplies. Now, I'm excited to buy them AND sad about it because they cost money. Lol! I try to buy very, very plain materials and decorate them myself...but now I'm needing border and decorations for my bulletin boards...and I need the materials so that I can put up my boards. :(

Wahhhhhhh!

Quick Thanks, HearALL Assessment Recorder Giveaway, Monsterous Giveaway, 100 Follower Giveaway, How Do You Know You're a Teacher??

First and foremost, I just want to say thank you to all of you who are reading my blog and following me! It means so much to log in here and see that I have had 2400+ views in the 13 days that I've had the blog running. 19 followers. That's 19 people who really care about what I have to say. That's awesome! If I can get to 50 followers, I'll have my very first giveaway! :)


Now, let's talk giveaways. Learning Resources is giving away a HearALL Assessment Recorder. It's really sweet!!!

Here is the recorder being used while students play a game!

Alright, here are some really neat features that you need to know about:

1. It can hold 62 tracks no matter how long each track is.
2. It focuses in on the noise close to it and quiets the background noise. This is ideal for small group recordings.
3. No software installation to use this device! Just plug it in to your computer via USB port and drag the files to the folder where you want to save them! Easy peasy!
4. Works with PC and Mac!
5. You can plug headphones into it!
6. Saves files as MP3 or WAV.
7. Rechargable! NO BATTERIES!!!!!

Ok...these bad boys are normally $99.99. To win one, click here! This link will take you to the giveaway! There are several opportunities to enter. A winner will be chosen August 6th! This is such a cool prize!!!

Next, another giveaway! A Year of Many Firsts has reached 500 followers. To commemorate this glorious occasion, Lyndsey is having a giveaway. Several other blogs have joined. There is so much being given away. This is why I love the teaching blog community. Everyone is so incredible!

Here are the blogs who joined in the fun as well as what they are offering!

1. First Grader...At Last! - A packet from Sarah Cooley's TpT shop
2. Jumping Jax Designs - $35 towards a new blog design
3. Teaching with Love and Laughter - a packet from Lori Rosenberg's TpT Shop
4. Mrs. Jump's Class - Deanna Jump's Back-2-School Packet
5. Schoolgirl Style - YOUR CHOICE of an entire classroom theme
6. Creekside Teacher Tales - Tracy Tegeler's Olympic Packet
7. Queen of the First Grade - a packed from Katie King's TpT Shop
8. A Cupcake for the Teacher - A packet from Teri's TpT Shop
9. KPM Doodles - Gift certificate for 3 combo sets or 6 single clip art sets
10. Life in First Grade - Leslie Ann's Back-2-School Pocket Chart Activities
11. First Grade Blue Skies - Any ready-made packet from Jen White's TpT Shop
12. One Extra Degree - a packet from Amanda Nickerson's TpT Shop

Wow!!!! AWESOME PRIZES! Go enter! :)

ANOTHER giveaway!? WHAAAAAAT!

Ashley Nicole over at Fierce in Fourth has reached 100 followers!!!!!! Crazy, right?! Everyone is doing so well!!! Yay! She's giving away a $15 Starbucks Gift Card! If you don't love Starbucks, we don't need to be friends! Actually, wait, if you don't love Starbucks, enter the giveaway anyway and give the card to me! :) :) :) Check her blog out. It's pretty awesome!

Last thing. Something that should make you smile!!! (I got this from Fierce in Fourth who got it from Diary of a Public School Teacher who got it from Jeff Foxworthy ;) Doesn't everyone love him??)

How Do You Know You're a Teacher?
1. You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.
2. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words, "It's Ms./Mr. ________________ and know you have been spotted.
4. You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.
6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.
7.  You start saving other people's trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the Teacher's Lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off."
10. You believe chocolate is a food group.
11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids are sure mellow today."
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items.
18. You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a "good choice" or a "bad choice."
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
21. You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents.

My Very 1st Monday Made It!

So, I keep seeing these Monday Made It posts everywhere! Everyone is linking up with 4th Grade Frolics so, I reckon I will too! :)

I've recently begun DIYing EVERYTHING for my classroom. It's so much cheaper than buying things and it's a lot of fun as well. I'm a really crafty person and love to make things. I just had never thought of taking that into my classroom (which is strange because I feel like a classroom is supposed to be DIY, right?).

Last week, I posted my DIY To-Do Lists with instructions! Here is another picture of those along with a link to the original post!

Original Post :)

I have been admiring this teacher's toolbox that I keep seeing all over Pinterest. Lately, it's been making it's way all over my friends' blogs. Now, it's my turn.

Here is the finished product:

Cute, right? I love it. It is going to be so wonderful to get all of this stuff out of my desk drawer and organized. Best of all, it is absolutely precious. I'll be proud to display this in my room!

Alright, now time for the how-to!

I went to Lowe's (Ugh, how I hate that store) and finally got someone to help me find this storage container. Next time, I'm just ordering online and picking it up at my store. That way, it'll be ready for me when I get there. No searching for someone to help me...only to have them send me on a wild goose chase...and be kinda snotty too...(ok, rant over).

The toolbox was only $16.47 at Lowe's. It's called a Stack-On 22 Drawer Storage Cabinet (in case you're looking for it). I hear that they also carry them at Home Depot. :)

Other than the toolbox, you'll need:

• glue
• Scotch tape
• scrapbook paper
• colored cardstock
• scissors
• a printer

Here is the template for the labels. (Drawer Labels) I printed one page of them on one color cardstock. I printed the second page on a second color that went well with the first color. Then, I cut them out and made the larger boxes look pretty by adding a strip of scrapbook paper to the labels (this is where you'll use the glue).

To stick the labels on the drawers, I used Scotch tape. You can't see the tape and it works fine. (Make sure you stick the label on the inside of the drawer.)

After that was done, it was time to do the handles to the drawers. I did this the same way. I cut strips of scrapbook paper and taped it underneath the little handles. You can't see the tape and it holds the paper in place.

I plan to spray paint the box itself black. They only have this in blue. I have the spray paint that is made for plastic. This means that I don't have to sand or prime anything! Just spray it on and let it dry. It's also supposed to be non-toxic paint. Woo Hoo! :)

I spray painted it black and then coated it with a layer of Mod Podge for a sealant! Here is what it looks like now that it is black! I'm much happier now that it's black!

Ta-da! We have a toolbox! :) Lucky me, I only had to buy the toolbox. I had everything else around the house! :)

Here is the link to the blog where I originally found the instructions! Create. Teach. Share.


I also went ahead and tackled my Student Intervention Box. Here is how that turned out:

How-to:

• Create your labels. I made these really fun labels on PicMonkey. It's free. All I needed was a blank jpg file. I used one that was 2550x3300 pixels (which is the equivalent of an 8.5x11 piece of paper). 
• I then added a few labels in black and white, four flower icons, and my text. 
• I printed them out as 5x7s through Picasa (which is awesome and also free!).
• Then, I cut them evenly using my paper slicer.
• I put a thin layer of Mod Podge on the surface that I was sticking the label to and then laid down the label, making sure to smooth out all air bubbles. 
• I waited until that was dry and added a layer of Mod Podge on top of the label as a sealant. It dries clear so it doesn't matter that I put it over the black parts too!

The pictures above are my finished product! I'm going to use this as a place to store my student behavioral interventions. With 70+ kids, it'll be nice to have a separate area for this!

If you have any questions, please, please, please leave a comment. I will answer you!

Enjoy! XOXO

New (School) Year Resolutions - Linky Party

Amanda over at Teaching Maddeness had the best idea today! Don't get me wrong, her ideas are normally fantastic, but this one was something that I really loved! She is hosting a linky party all about New Year Resolutions. However, she wants us to make them for the school year!

Now, I love New Year's Resolutions. I make them religiously every year. I blog about them. I put them on Facebook. I harass my boyfriend until he makes at least one good resolution that he thinks he can stick to. I love them. I'm really excited about doing this because 1) it gives me a reason to make them in the middle of the calendar year and 2) I can make resolutions that are completely school-centered. Yay! :)



This school year, I hope to...
Resolution #1: Make all copies (at least) one day before I need them. I had a bad habit last year of making copies at the last second and would be in a panic in the morning. Occasionally, I hate to admit, I would be waiting on my last 20 copies while I was on duty at the bathrooms (making sure students didn't sneak in there in the morning). This year, it will be better...even if that means I stay at work a little longer to make it happen.
Resolution #2: Grade papers for 15+ minutes a day (Monday - Thursday). I tend to let grading get out of hand. This year, with the shift to the Common Core, the students are going to be writing a LOT. This requires almost immediate feedback on what they are writing. Not just "good job" or "great work" but real, specific critiques and praise based on their work. In order to give the students what they need, I'm going to have to grade daily. 
Resolution #3: Weekends are reserved for family time. No school work from Friday at 4 pm until 8 pm on Sunday, if I have to do anything at all. I'd like to work really hard Monday through Thursday so that I don't have to spend my weekend with work. I need a life of my own outside of my job and I think that, if I stay on top of everything, I'll be alright :)
Resolution #4: FlyLady rules apply to the classroom. At the end of the school year, I spent a good amount of time creating a School Control Journal. It has all of my routines, cleaning zones, etc. in it waiting on me to come back in August. I want to use it every day. I know that it will be helpful if I do use it. My life will feel less chaotic if I use it. I will use it.
Resolution #5: For every negative phone call, e-mail, or note that I sent to a parent, I must send a positive one. I feel like so much of my parent contact was negative last year and that's not a good thing. I need to get a handle on my classroom management and then spend just as much time praising as punishing.

So there you have it. Five reasonable goals that I plan to stick to all year. I'm sure I will post and tell you how it is going as the year progresses.
What are your resolutions? Link up! 
XOXO

Updated To-Do List! (now with links!) - Linky Party!

Alright, I've had my blog up for ten days and I'm at almost 1350 page views. That makes me happy! I feel blessed that y'all would want to read what I have to write.

Anyway, I figured it was time to update my to-do list! Here it is as of 10:52 pm!
^^Editing again on Sunday. Leaving the original date the same...but adding a LINKY PARTY! YAY!!!

I'm linking up with Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies for a Back To School To-Do List linky party! Yay!

These are all of the things that I need to do to go back to school and feel 100% ready!

1. Print off all items for 1st Unit (Google Apps).
2. Mark pages in textbook to which I will need to refer. Make sure to print the excerpt of Tom Sawyer.
3. Read stories for 1st Unit (textbook and online).
4. Finish creating materials for 1st Unit.
5. E-mail Joy about WWW for this year.
6. Decorate clipboard (Pinterest idea).
7. Buy binder and decorate for missed work/notes. New Plan: Create ISN. Keep it updated throughout the year so that kids who miss notes and assignments have something to reference.
8. Back to school shopping (maybe) - Tax Free Weekend is August 3-5.
9. Organize books by genre. Label the genres.
10. Revise procedures, rules/expectations, welcome back letter, and supply list.
11. Picture frames with lined paper and a cute bow = dry-erase boards for to-do list (Pinterest idea)
12. Teacher Toolbox (Pinterest idea)
13. Create file box for documentation (Pinterest idea).
14. Create ice-breakers and 1st day activities.
15. Word Wall/Concept Map sketch for one of my whiteboards.
16. Ask my hall if I can do the August/September welcome back board. Show them the idea for the football board.
17. Create hanging file box for lesson plans, folders that I'm currently using, and calendar (Pinterest idea).
18. Create an all-in-one teacher binder (or this one from Clutter-Free Classroom) and/or a master notebook with one copy of every worksheet that I use. (I want to do this but, with the new curriculum starting this year, I may just make it as I go along...and stick a post-it on it with the standards that it helps me teach???)
19. Get this for my desk! Help me with the organization and the staying on task! Decorate it with the labels - Need to Grade, Graded, Make Copies
20. Create a birthday chart (need my rosters first!). Each month, I'll put up the birthdays! Each child gets some sort of prize on his/her b-day. Ideas?
21. Create a "behavior bingo" for management? It seems too juvenile for 7th graders...but I think they'll really like it once they start getting prizes! Here's where I got the idea: Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies
22. Create a station for enrichment. A place students can go to get something else to do that will enrich their minds (not just busy work...). What to have there??? Hmmm....

I swear, I just keep adding to this! Lol! Stupid Pinterest! ;)

XOXO

Fabulous Find Friday

Hi! I'm linking up with Fun in Room 4B for my very first Fabulous Find Friday!

I know that a LOT of teachers are working on their "teacher toolboxes." I thought I would share where I got mine!

If you click on the picture, it will take you to the link where you can buy this FABULOUS storage container. This is what all of the teachers are using to make their toolboxes. I got mine at Lowe's. It was $16.47. They sell this cabinet in blue.

However, I just found it online at NorthernTool.com for $9.99. This one is red! Unfortunately, it's back-ordered right now and who knows how much shipping is! Here is the link for that box: Northern Tool - Stack-On 22 Drawer Storage Cabinet

Here it is again at Home Depot. This is where you can get the gray storage cabinet. It's $16.92

Thought I'd share!

Have a Fabulous Friday! :)

XOXO