It doesn't hurt to ask...

I've been doing a lot of wedding purchases on Etsy for several reasons:

1) Many of the items are cheaper or comparable to what I'd find in stores, but I don't have to leave the house.  Since I've been super sick, this is a huge plus. 

2) Many of the items are way cooler than what I'm finding in stores.  Sure, I could go with a generic sparkly S on the top of our cake.  Or those plastic cake toppers of the groom running away from the bride. 

Or I could go with our custom Batman one.  

For the same price.  

Naturally, I chose the Batman one.  Thank you Etsy for making this magic happen.

3) I'm supporting small businesses, which makes my heart happy.  Since I've got three side small businesses ({TpT}, {Jamberry} nail wraps, and {Younique} make up), I know how hard it is to have these side projects.  Plus I'm (ideally) supporting families.  

4)  I get to talk to the sellers first. I think I've messaged most of them with questions about the products and usually hear back within 24 hours.  That doesn't happen if I'm buying at a store.  I'm able to work with the sellers to customize items with exactly what I want, which is great.

Plus...I drop the "this is for bridesmaids" or "since I'm ordering several, is there a discount?" line and most of the time, the answer is yes!  Sellers will bundle items (to save me the cost of shipping) or give a small discount because I'm buying 6 or more of something. 

It doesn't hurt to ask!

Classroom, day 2

I've done a lot of Target trips lately...but my classroom is coming along nicely! I'm trying not to be overwhelmed...

Our book hospital:

Next to it will be my large collection of informational magazines:

There are labels on the book bins:

Here's an overview of the library:

I'll put these cute Harry Potter CAFE signs up as well...

I'm just waiting to go over the components with my students before hanging up the signs.  That way they have ownership over the content as well.

I hung my bathroom log by the door.

I've learned the importance of making sure a writing utensil is nearby.  The twine prevents the pen from walking away.

I finally finished my bulletin board:

I'm happy with how it turned out!

I used washi tape to distinguish certain supplies as mine:

I set up their supply buckets:

I hung my poster about how they're learning:

I like to put it on the board so I can move the magnet to the appropriate spot.

Here's our daily schedule:

I also excited about my board:

I'm excited with how it's coming along!

Responder Cups

One of the things that drives me nuts as a teacher is hands raised to go to the bathroom.  Or when students just shout out an answer rather than raise their hands and wait to be called on. (That wait to be called on thing is rather tricky!)

So I use responder cups:

These are just plastic cups from any dollar store.  I purchased red, green, blue and yellow ones for my classroom.  They usually come in packs of a dozen but I could supply my whole class for under twenty bucks.  We have had to have many, many conversations about not poking holes in the cups or drawing on the cups, but it doesn't bother me enough to purchase more.  A set of cups will last a year or two (tops) but hopefully your students would be slightly more respectful of supplies.

We do have conversations about not playing with the cups during instruction and 99% of my students follow this norm.

The cups' primary use is for independent or group work.

Green: I'm good. I know what is expected of me and I am fine.

Yellow: I'm a little stuck and have some questions.

Red: I'm confused and need help immediately.

Blue: May I use the restroom?

We also use them to vote and respond in class.  Instead of shouting out answers, I can get a quick (and silent) response from the class.

We use them for A/B/C/D questions, true/false, agree/disagree, math operations and to vote on other class matters (lights on or off, choices for stations, etc).

To help my students, I have the color coded signs at the front of the room in case they forget:

My favorite function of the cups is the restroom issue, especially during independent writing or assessment time!  (Or when I'm conferencing with a student or progress monitoring)

I'll send one boy and one girl out at a time and when they come back, they pick another boy or girl to sign out and go to the restroom.  Students know to keep working until it's their turn and no one is wasting time with their (writing) hand up in the air asking to go.

I love how these responder cups help my classroom run smoothly :)  

(Well, as smooth as a fifth grade classroom can be!)