Currently September and Winners of Flash IG Giveaway

Well - this is it people.  September is here and we start school tomorrow.  While I really enjoy being at school, I am sad to say so long to another summer.  Thanks to Farley at Oh Boy, 3rd Grade we can ease our way back into the changing season with her Currently linky.

 I am a huge Phil Mickelson fan, and am hoping he's able to inch closer to the lead today.

 

Like many others, I went with a chevron scheme in my classroom this year.  I am still adding to it, but if you look at my previous post you can check out some pictures of my room.

 

I am also a huge Green Bay Packer fan, and the higher ups in the organization have cut ALL of our back-up quarterbacks this weekend.  WHAT??  I hope Aaron stays healthy or we're cooked.

 

We are beefing up our classroom libraries this year - in fact, there are 4 boxes of new books in my colleague's room for us to go through.  I am definitely in need of more shelves to display all these books.

 

I took an Engineering in Education class at the Boston Museum of Science, and approached my principal about starting a monthly STEM Club for our 3rd and 4th graders.  He was all for it, and even told me he'd pay me for running it.  So, my goal is to get it going this month.

 

I have been somewhat attached to my iPad this summeCome on over to IG, and check it out!r.  I have to cut the cord now that school is getting started.

 

I just reached 300 followers on Instagram!
The winners of my giveway were:
Diane from Fifth in the Middle
Breanne Simons
Thanks for the comments and for following me everyone!

I'm hoping to get to 300 followers on my blog, too!

 

CTP Made My Day and Show Off Your Space Linky Party

So I have been busy away from the blog getting my room in tip top shape for Open House and the first day of school next week.

Like many others I have used chevron paper and border for decorating my room.

It's still a work in progress (probably will be all year!),

but I did put some pics on Instagram and one was recognized and commented on by Creative Teaching Press!

I love the CTP trimmer on my goal board that is in the front of my room.

In the black frame I am posting "I can" statements that coincide with our ELA workshop lessons.

(They will be in my TpT and TN stores soon!).

 

Here's a peek at some other displays I have put together.

 

I thought it turned out so cute with our room number on the paddles. 

Hope some of the kids are Dancing With The Stars fans so they get the message.

More of that same border with matching library pockets.

We study Rocks and Minerals through a FOSS unit.

I got this shelf from Hobby Lobby to display current read alouds and suggested titles.

It's right under my white board in the front of the room.

This shelf is on sale this week for $15, which is 50% off the regular price.

 

My September Calendar Cards are a Daily Deal tomorrow (August 30) on Teachers Notebook.

 

Be sure to join up with Swimming into Second for the Show Off Your Space Linky Party!

 

Words Their Way Pouches and a Freebie!

It's a stormy Wednesday night here, so a good time to stay in and hook up with the
Win, Loss, and a Thing of Cost Linky that Matt and Jeanette are hosting.

 

WIN:

About three weeks ago I stumbled upon some pouches that were on sale at Office Max for a penny each - that's right - one stinkin cent!!

You could only get 20 at a time so I went back the next day and got 10 more so I would have enough for my entire class. (I am overjoyed to have only 24 students this year, but got 30 just to be on the safe side.)

I added a little washi tape, and some labels I also purchased at Office Max, and they will now be used by my students to store their weekly word sorts for Words Their Way.

LOSS:

My dog has been sick, and I'm hoping he feels better before I have to take him to the vet.  I called the vet today and he gave me some suggestions to try before I bring him in.

If you have a pet you know those vet bills can be expensive.

 

Thing of Cost:

Actually this is an item of NO COST to you!

I have created calendar corners for September that you may download as a freebie by clicking

HERE.

These corners work well because they don't cover up the number and/or number cards on your class calendar.

 

I also have some unique calendar cards for sale in my TpT and TN stores!

 

I'm also part of giveaway at A Grade 7 Heaven that has loads of great prizes for K - 12!

 

 

2 + 1 = BTS13 and New Literature Circle Product

I love the concept behind this linky!

The huge TpT sale starts on Sunday, and many of us are eagerly awaiting it's arrival.

I'm sharing the two top wishlisted items in my store, as well as an item that I have on my own wishlist.

The item in my store with that has earned the most wishes is my Insect Inquiry Unit.

 

This unit includes a bingo game, an insect observation booklet, quidelines for assigning an independent study project with a scoring rubric, and much more!

 

The second most wished for item is my SchoolTown University Classroom Decor and Management Pack.

This pack has over 50 pages of goodies for turning your classroom into SchoolTown University.

The inspiration for this unique pack was the Monsters University movie.

It's sure to be a hit with your students!

 

My wish list consists mostly of clipart like this from Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah Designs:

 

So cute!  There are lots more color schemes!

 

I have just added a new product to my store! In this pack you will find speech bubbles with literacy circle conversation starters, as well as large and small posters (perfect for putting into reading response journals) explaining literacy circle guidelines.

 

 

Hope you'll check out my store during the big sale this Sunday and Monday.  All of my products will be 20% off!

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Diane at Fifth in the Middle for the images for this linky, and for being one of the hosts.

 

 

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday - Free iBook on Using iPads!

I'm joining Covered with Glitter and Glue for What I'm Lovin' Wednesday (on Thursday).

Here's what's cast a love spell on me this week:

 

1.

On Tuesday I took a class on using iPads in the classroom, and learned lots of things which I will share in future posts.

One of the things I learned about really stood out, and when I heard about it I immediately knew I had to share it with other teachers.

This is a free item that is available through the iBooks store.

To download it just go to the store and search

Hot Apps 4 HOTS.

 

Two teachers wrote this iBook, and it contains easy lessons to use with free and popular apps.

The lessons are easy to understand, and look simple to implement in the classroom.

Here's a sample page:

There are lessons that directly address each level of Bloom's Taxonomy.

It really seems to be a useful resource.

 

2.

Last week I went on a trip to Boston, and I LOVED the hotel we stayed in.

It was called the Hotel Marlowe, and was on the banks of the Charles River, near the Museum of Science.

We got free breakfast every morning, a $10 gift card for the mini-bar, and before arriving they sent an e-mail asking to send a "family" picture to be placed in the room.

I sent a pic of my cuddly dog.

Oh, and did I mention Justin Timberlake was in our hotel bar on Saturday night?

YES, he was!

Unfortunately I didn't find out about it until the next day, and never saw him.

So close and yet so far.  Darn it!

 

3.

I'm loving the way my video for Teacher's Notebook turned out.

Check it out HERE, and while you're there check out the items in my store that are on sale until Sunday!

 

 

Monday Made It (OnTuesday) - TN Video and Sale, and Blogger Exchange

Happy Tuesday!

I'm a day late for Monday Made It but wanted to slide something in because Tara's making this popular linky a monthly one until next summer.

For this week's MMI I am sharing a video I created using iMovie for Teachers Notebooks' Back To School Sale.

 

I created a teaching tip video on "Creating an Interactive Math Focus Wall" (as you can see below in a picture from the website).

Click on this LINK to get to the video!

Here is a sneak peek at some of things I explain in the video:

 

The polka dot background in these slides is from Covered in Glitter and Glue!

Also, all the items in my Teachers Notebook store are on sale until Sunday. 

 

I finally stopped by school yesterday and found a package from my Blogger Exchange buddy on my desk!

 

I found a package filled with goodies from Erika at Reyes Remarkable Rants!

I had tutor yesterday afternoon and the student I was working with loved the cool mechanical pencils.

Thanks to Erika for all the cool new school things!

Thanks, too, to Covered in Glitter and Glue  and Adventures of Ms. Smith for organizing the Blogger Exchange!

 

  Hope you'll check out my video and sale on the Teachers Notebook site.

A link can be found on the top right of my blog.

Monday Made It - Chevron PBIS Signs

Monday is turning out to be my "deadline day" when it comes to projects for the new school year.  Luckily we don't start for a few weeks, so I'm pacing myself when it comes to classroom decor.

The rubber will meet the road soon enough!

Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics has been putting together some cool projects for her room!

Make sure you check those out!

 

Here's what I've been working on this week:

I found some photo mats in the clearance section at Michaels for a dollar each and covered them with chevron scrapbook paper.

The PBIS mantra at our school is:

Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible.

During the first week of school we brainstorm what this looks like in the classroom, in the hallway, in the lunchroom, in the bathroom, etc.

The chalkboard stitch signs in the middle of the frames were made from templates in Erin Cobb's store on Tpt called Lovin Lit.

 I also created a frame that I may use at home:

The colors match those in my great room area.

I loved the way this scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby looked on the 71 cent photo mat I found.

The burlap flower was on clearance at Michaels too!

Total cost of this project was less than $3.00!

I'm thinking about what photo would look best in the middle.

Any suggestions for what else I might put in there?

I also created more monthly calendar cards - this set is for October.
 Each card challenges your students to develop thinking skills as they figure out the number quizzes.

First two people to pin this product and leave a comment with a link to the pins will get a free set!
You can learn more about these cards at my TpT or TN stores.

One more thing -
did you know that Office Depot is selling these pouches for a penny this week??
They will let teachers get 12 of them!
It wouldn't be enough for my class, so I'll have to go back a second day to complete my set.

They could be really cute  - maybe part of next week's Monday Made It??

Currently - August

Let's look at the positive side, friends.  It's August, but that still means a few more weeks of staying up, sleeping in, summer activities, etc.

Yes, the school stress is looming, but there is still some fun to be had.

 

And it's always fun to link up with Farley and this month's Currently.

I am not a Big Brother fanatic but I usually watch on Thursdays.

The bickering is a turn-off but I like the challenges.

 

I am working on covering some photo mats for MMI, and I am totally in love with the way one turned out - I'm going to keep it for home instead of using it at school.

 

I'm going to Boston next week for a workshop at the Museum of Science on Elementary Engineering.

Anyone have suggestions for restaurants?

 

I wrote a grant for 2 iPad minis got an e-mail today that they are ready. Yay!

I can't wait to start getting them set up with apps.

 

I just finished reading the book Wild and have requested two more books at the library but they have not been returned yet.  I hope to get something before my trip next week.

 

We have no air conditioning at school and the weather seems to always be HOT that first week, so cold water is a must.

Even though you may have heard rumors about new students in your class, I think it's always best to keep an open mind about how the year could go.  I've been pleasantly surprised in the past.

 I usually have too much planned those first few days, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

I have a couple back to school items you may want to check out:

Inspired by the Monster's University craze!

 

Check out this unique way to mark the calendar each day.

 

Check out both products at my TpT or TN stores.