Winging it in Fourth: July 2013

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Thursday to-do

Ok some teachers might really dislike me for this post and think I'm a crazy woman, but I am SUPER EXCITED to get back into my classroom and back in action! I've recently found Bloglovin'... so I am addicted. I can't help it, just so many awesome classroom ideas that I'm planning and have done already! But, I need to get organized and make a to-do list...here for all the world to see.. enjoy! (evil laugh..Mu-hu-hahahaha)

Print & Laminate Whole-Brain Teaching Rules & signs
Print Labels for Science Notebooks & take home folders
Print, Laminate & Hang Chevron welcome sign
Print 'Me bag' labels & staple to paper bags
Type first day plans
Print coloring sheets for first day bellwork
Make the Rise & Shine Binders from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits (one of my favorite blogs), ~~buy binders~~
Make 'How we treat books book'
Make Calendar flip books & Calendar folders
Decorate hallway bulletin board
Finish Interactive Word Wall & buy velcro circles
Party City-buy hanging flower/pompom decorations
Chart paper markers
Make glue bottle vowels
Label and organize Math bulletin board and math manipulatives
Make first day of school sign
Get a pencil sharpener that works
Make a box for 20 questions game
Make a 'What we need' donation board for hallway

Make goodie bags for meet the teacher from Room Mom 101
Cute idea, Im so lucky to have you in my class. First day of school snack?

Cute idea, Im so lucky to have you in my class. First day of school snack?

Donorschoose.org Projects
ipad
Pencil Sharpener
Balance Ball Seats

WHEW! That's a lot but it actually doesn't seem like that much now that it's all in writing! I finally got ink for my home printer so now I just need cardstock from my classroom tomorrow and I can start crossing off, yay! Toodles!

Tally

PS. My bestie tells me I have a problem with exclamations! Think she's right?!?

10 Things I've learned from Teaching

Hey y'all! Sorry I haven't blogged lately, the fam and I have been in Indiana visiting family & friends. We had our family Christmas in July...filled with good ol' Pork tenderloin sandwiches (an Indiana favorite-not many Texans know about this yummy treasure), driving around golf carts, playing Purdue cornhole (it got pretty competitive), and ice cream...lots of soft serve ice cream! Anywho, I'm going to Link up with Miss Kindergarten for...

1. Make time for the fun things- My favorites are crafts that go along with stories or writing prompts. These fun activities are meaningful to the students & you get to know your students better!

2. Don't sweat the small stuff- Teaching can be stressful, and although it's natural to stress a little, try to remember why you started teaching in the first place! This reminds me of the saying my Principal shared with us this year, "I'm too blessed to be stressed"... SO TRUE!

3. You will always have a to-do list! Needless to say, I learned to prioritize pretty quickly!

4. Expect to be called Mom- Often, we spend more time with our students than their own parents do, so it's an honor and makes me smile when I am called 'Mom'!

5. Be friends with janitors & thank them for everything they do! We learned about letters and even wrote letters to them- they were so thankful!

6. Ask for help - Experienced teachers have been there & done that and they are full great ideas & tips.

7. Keep up with the newest research & teaching books- There are awesome education books out there, and they seem to reignite the learning flame whenever I read them! This summer I'm reading Teach Like a Pirate & Debbie Diller's Math & Literacy work station books.

8. Embrace Change/Who moved my cheese?- So many things are constantly changing in education (admin, curriculum, standards, teammates, grade levels, students, ect.) & well.... you just have to put on your big girl panties and get over it!

9. 'Me' time - Make 'me time' for hobbies outside of teaching for whatever you love! For me, it's reading, reality tv, Texas Rangers, my dog, baking, and cough *long naps*!

10. Love your co-workers- Take time to get to know your coworkers and spend time with them outside of the classroom, they will become some of your closest friends!

Have a great night!

Tally

Friday, July 12, 2013

Favorite Pins Friday

Ok...I admit it, I'm a Pinterest addict. There I said it...the first step is admitting it, right?! Some nights I get on my Pinterest for an hour (or two)... man that's embarrassing to admit...I really should be reading or planning or making TPT items, or working out....or sleeping...ok you get it! So, I'm going to link up with Cara at The First Grade Parade. Here are my favorite Pins for the week:

1. I've heard great things about Teach Like a Pirate & finally ordered it... It should be in just in time for me to go on vacation to Indiana for airplane & car reading..o ya, that reminds me, I can't forget my sea-bands!

2. First day of a school sign from First Grade Schoolbox...I'm def. going to be making one of these asap, I think I will use $1 foam board & turquoise chevron border

3. Interactive word wall from Tales-of-a-First-Grade-Teacher. For my first couple years of teaching I had a huge word wall & it was behind the students...I moved mine to the front of the room, bought some ribbon & Velcro circles & will look similar to this.

4. Rise & Shine Binder from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits. I absolutely love this idea! No more rushing to find bell work bright and early every morning, the kiddos just open up their binder (or in my case folder) & use an expo marker to do 2 or so re-usable pages! It's also awesome practice with HFW. Talk about saving trees. The kit also has other papers bell work, including place value, number lines, a hundreds chart, and games. Awesome!

5. LOVE.LOVE.LOVE this e-card! I'm excited to meet my new kiddos and get my room ready but I'm NOT excited to wake up at 5:30 every morning... I've gotten pretty accustomed to sleeping in *cough* 11:30 *cough*. This e-card pretty much sums it up!

Finally...here's something really random that I just love...enjoy & have a Happy Friday! Tally