What to do with those extra Scholastic book orders....

Don't get me wrong, I love Scholastic and their book orders.

I don't love that I always seem to have extras and feel bad just throwing them away.

So, instead we sort!

One of the first reading standards we cover (or review) is the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts.  

I make an anchor chart with the kiddos:

I grab a few books off the bookshelf and model previewing the text, thinking aloud if it is fiction or non-fiction.  I do a few, then ask for student input.  They did a really good job this year identifying if a book was fiction or NF based on the back cover, front cover, and text features. 

From there, I use some left over Scholastic book orders, glue, scissors, and construction paper to have the kids create a sort.  I use this as an opportunity to teach (or review) making a T chart:

(Image from {fellow blogger})

 

Students worked with a partner to look at the book orders (which secretly gets them excited about reading) to find five examples of F or NF books.  They cut them out, glued them to their T charts, and then explained their thinking to their neighbors.

I walked around listening to their conversations and interjecting when necessary.  

Instead of just teaching procedures of how to use the scissors or the glue sticks, I like to have them practice immediately so there is a purpose to the directions.

Transitions

I'm preparing to transition to third grade and getting kind of excited about it.

One of my favorite kiddos has a younger sibling in second grade, so I'll get to work with his awesome family for a second year in a row! (Not that teachers have favorites...but I'm allowed to have favorite parents!)

The classroom I'm moving into probably won't be ready on time.  That teacher is leaving to another school due to personal reasons, and I don't want to further anger this teacher by trying to move in while he is moving out.  It's better to just move everything home (it's not that far of a drive) and move back in August for a clean start.

I've started boxing up materials and separating what will stay in my garage, what gets given away, and what is set aside for third grade.  I'm even labeling the boxes for ease of moving.  Since B is on campus helping coach girls' soccer, he's on campus anyway.  On Mondays, he helps me move home boxes.  I told my students that I'm moving down to third grade and that the classroom books will be the last thing to go so they can enjoy them as long as possible.  Once it was established that the books are off limits until June, they were totally fine with me boxing up the classroom.  Granted, I'm not doing this while they're actually in the room.  There are just piles of boxes slowly being piled up along the sides of the classroom.

In the mean time, I'm also going through materials and seeing what can be scaffolded down to meet third grade needs.  I'm using my "bonus bucks" from Scholastic to stock up on second and third grade classics.  I've got a {donorschoose} project for third grade materials.  Today, between naps, I also drafted my third grade supply list:

We are supposed to supply some blurb that the school district supplies all the necessary materials and the listed supplies are just a suggestion, but we all know that's simply not true.  I get $123 from the state for class supplies, which won't even cover notebooks for my classroom.  Most teachers spend around $1,000 out of pocket on their classrooms each year.  Hopefully my parents will be generous and I won't have to cover too much out of pocket. I was able to stock up on dry erase markers on clearance last year and always try to snag deals at Target.

Fellow teacher friends, am I missing anything for third grade?

It's gonna be May

(Picture from {fellow blogger})


First and foremost: 


1) Survive.


There are a lot of escalating behaviors. There are a lot of parent-teacher-principal meetings. There are a lot of frustrating days..

2) I know it's more than half way through the month.  I can still make goals.

3) Finish this grad class.  He (the instructor) wasn't joking when he said the course work would take 45 hours (outside of work) to complete in the month time frame.  Once I'm done, I'll officially be at masters +34, which meets my personal educational goal.  (More on why that doesn't matter to my district at a later date!)

4) Do my nails.  They've been bare for a week. It's a small thing I can do for myself to boost my mood.
   

Reading... a huge stack of opinion essays on which would make a better pet: cats or dogs.  Since I am the proud fur mama to both, I'm torn.

This is the best set of essays my students have written this year, which is exciting.  It's been wonderful to see their growth as writers (and learners).  There's a lot of humor in these essays and my favorite line so far is "claws before paws".  

However, once all of the chaos of the end of the year subsides, I'll be diving into this:

Can't wait!   Some of my students have already finished The Hidden Oracle because it was released weeks ago but I told them no spoilers.  Several have expressed empathy because I have to wait until school is done to start the book.

I lack self control with books. I will escape into the pages and emerge hours later, having blissfully ignored the world spinning around me.  However, with everything on my end of the year to do list, this is not an option.  Since I lack self control, I have to wait. 

Playing... how long can I put off writing my report card comments. It's a game no one wins.

Watching... Gilmore Girls, again, in preparation for the Netflix relaunch of four epic episodes later this year.


Trying... to be positive.  This continues to be a struggle at the present time.

Being a grown up really stinks sometimes.

Cooking... nothing.  I was not aware of the true size of a 24" pizza from Angelina's so when I picked one up for me and B...it will feed us for a week.  The box did not fit in our fridge.  The box did not fit in the front seat of my car but instead went in the trunk.  So we will be eating left overs all week.

Eating...previously mentioned monster-sized pizza.

Drinking..water.  Lots and lots of water.

Calling... my mom, soon (ish).

Texting...B's mom about what she needs from the store.

Pinning... end of the year ideas.

Going... to finish grading. I have 2 final tests to give (and grade) on Monday and then year 7 will officially be in the books!

Loving...all the support surrounding my dear friend Ashley. She's a bit of a medical mystery and despite the weeks of hospitalization with no definite answers, she's got a smile on her face. She's one of the strongest people I know.  

She's also a die-hard Carolina Panthers fan...so I redecorated for her:

 

Waffles and I went to visit her yesterday.  We brought her family dinner and then I did her nails because everyone needs some girly time.  Waffles absolutely loves going to the rehab center because so many people want to stop and pet her.  

She's not a therapy dog but will happily sit and let anyone rub her belly.  She is also very gentle and was on her best behavior (it was our second visit).  Waffles also did amazing with the little kids that were there, which is good news for our future (IN A FEW YEARS) kids.


Hating... that she has no answers and isn't getting better.  At school I'm not a fan of the fact that about eight students are ruining the end of the year for everyone

Discovering... fifth grade may not be the grade for me.  That's rough to process, but there's a new crisis each day and it's getting hard to handle. 

But I'm trying to cope and focus on the positives through journaling:

Thinking... about opportunities.  I'm sorting through a lot of "maybe" scenarios for the future, so I stocked up on some office supplies to help me sort through my thoughts:

To be fair, I don't ever really need a reason to buy new office supplies!

Feeling... like my nose may fall off.  Thank goodness my face CT and follow up with the ENT is scheduled for the first week of summer break.

Hoping (for)...minimal to no report card edits!  We submit our grades and report card comments to administration.  My principal double checks that the comments are appropriate and specific for each child.  Then gives them back with editing remarks.  I'm hoping for a short stack!  Last semester I just had a few misplaced commas, nothing urgent.

Listening (to)...B watch a video for class.

Celebrating... that this school year is almost over! That means a new planner for next year:

Smelling... nothing. Thank you allergies.

Thanking... everything holy that the school year for being almost over!

Considering... a nap. 

Starting... to prep for next week's baby shower at work.  In the past two weeks, I've hosted a Amber's bridal shower:

And baby showers (two at once):

 
I do the shopping and decorating.  Another amazing staff member makes the cakes.  Team work is truly winning at our school!
 Finishing... the grading today, even if all the curse words are involved!

Thankful November, day 21: Small Business Saturday

I posted this message on my facebook wall, but felt it warranted appearing here too.

I wanted to say thank you to those who have supported one of my small businesses ({Jamberry}, {TeacherspayTeachers}, and/or {Younique Products}).

Your support helps pay for books and supplies for my students.  (Specifically glue sticks, thousands of post its, and everything Rick Riordan writes in mass quantities.  You'd figure nine copies of the same book would be enough, but it's not enough.) You helped pay for Waffles's pet adoption fees, shots, obedience school, and toys.  (So many toys).  You're helping us pay for our wedding, because we're trying not to go in debt for this fabulous dinner party we're hosting.  Your support helped us afford the new computer B needed for college (because his laptop was eight years old).  Your support helps cover expenses because teachers took a pay cut this year and well, that sucked.  I need to double check my courses, but I'm pretty sure I just finished Masters +32, that I may or may not receive a pay raise for...so small businesses help cover the difference. 


Thank you for supporting me.

Did you think that one through?

One of our back to school surprises from our administration was new electronic pencil sharpeners.

Secretly, I was thrilled.  My one last year was broken by a student (yes, he did it on purpose) and I really didn't want to buy another.

We were gifted with these:

However, while it looks nice in my classroom:

It's beyond impractical.

This is the plastic portion that holds pencil shavings:

That's it.  I can sharpen maybe four pencils before it's time to dump it and start over.  In an elementary classroom with three dozen students (yes, you read that correctly), this is just silly.  The capacity is ridiculously small.  

Bostitch, did you think the design through on this?  What teacher sharpens only four pencils at a time?!

I miss my old sharpener:

If you're upgrading classroom supplies, don't upgrade to this product.  The only upside I see is that it was a gift.

It's started...

I have all day math trainings on August 14, 17, and 18th.  I report back to my school on the 19th and get munchkins the 24th. I was a little nervous about how I would set up my classroom since I was originally told we couldn't get keys until the 14th and that overlapped with the training.  

My brain went into overdrive, thinking if I could go in on Saturday, but only if the air was turned on and which days I'd stay late next week...

But then I got a glorious email from my lovely administrators.  We get to get our keys on the 12th!  Problem solved!

I'd rather do a little bit each day (and since the air is only on 7-1, this helps!) and ease into the beginning of the school year.  I plan to set my alarm starting Monday and get adjusted to a more structured routine. 

This week I did start my back to school supply shopping.  Thanks to coupons and deals at Office Depot and Target, I feel I was able to stay within a reasonable budget.  

In years past, I stocked up on the expensive shower caddies from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  

However, they were an expensive investment and were not treated well at all.  I ended up throwing all of them away at the end of the year because they were cracked from being stepped on.

Last year, I went the dollar tree route instead...and they're still in great shape, so I can reuse them!

However, by the end of the year, the materials in the bucket were very well used.  No group had a complete set of the ten markers, 24 colored pencils, pencil sharpener, and scissors by the end of the year.

I'm thinking that I'll use washi-tape to color code the supplies this year.  I tried doing colored star stickers and packing tape, but that wasn't very successful.  

I already have the baskets and the back pack hooks color coded with washi tape and that worked fairly well last year, so I'm excited to try to build on that organization system. 

I've got almost all my supplies, I know when I'm going back, I've just got to pack my stuff into my tote bags.

However, I don't know how many munchkins I'll have (I planned for 36) or a class list.

So I subtly tagged my lovely administrators as this on Facebook:

 We are a subtle bunch!

Happy back to school!

Teacher Favs

Fifth in the Middle and Fancy Free in Fourth are two of fun teacher blogs I follow (and you should too!).  

She just did a post about teacher favorites and (not) surprisingly, ours were quite similar! Great minds must think alike.

Here are some of my favorite teacher things!  Some of them make my classroom run smoother and some of them just make my heart happy.  I wish I'd had all these things on day one, year one of teaching!

I think I must have asked PTA to do a little too much laminating for me because for teacher appreciation week, I "mysteriously" won a free laminator!  I use this beauty to laminate all my {centers and sorts} so they can be reused.

Costco stopped selling laminating sheets in store, so I now purchase them in bulk from Amazon.

I also trained my coworker's daughter to laminate and cut out for me, so she does that as a side job.  She is very involved in extra curricular activities (cheer, church, choir), so this is one of her ways of fundraising.  Plus B is very happy to not have to help!

If it's pink and/or has polka dots, chances are I want it...and office supplies are no exception.

My planner is pink and this year, I'm determined to stay organized! I also picked up several of these pink and gold polka dotted portfolios at Target to use next year.  One will be for writing conferences, one will be for reading conferences, and one will be for meetings.  

I organized by genre and I have coordinating solid and striped colored bins. I've gotten lots of compliments and love my classroom library!  It's inviting for students and fits into our cozy classroom.

What puts a smile on your face? Join the conversation!

Things I've Found

As I wrote about earlier, it's a long weekend for us due to Veteran's Day.  While I'm freezing because it's 70 degrees inside our home, apparently others are having a snow day. (Looking at you Mrs. A in Wisconsin!).  

I decided to tackle cleaning out our guest bedroom because it's been a box fort for a few months now.  When I switched classrooms, I went from nine bookcases down to three...so it's been an adjustment.  I also am not doing small groups based on novels this year, but instead pulling based on skills, standards, and Reading Rangers levels.  I feel I get to conference with each child more, but I miss having lengthy discussions about novels.  I'm sure there is a way to balance both, I'm just not there yet.

As a result in these changes, I have a lot of teaching supplies still at my house.  I'm shifting through the boxes, deciding what goes to my classroom, what gets donated, and what is just plain outdated.  

Here's what I've found:

1. Binders full of paper copies of novel guides I created but were erased from my hard drive.  Hallelujah!  Many of them have already been recreated and improved for TpT, but there are a good several dozen that have yet to be updated.  I know what I'll be doing over the next few months!  My goal is to have 200 TpT products by my 2 year anniversary (July).  I'm at 158, so I think that's definitely doable!

2. My good wall stapler.

Yes, I've been missing this for months.  I came pretty close to becoming this:

I bought a second online but it just wasn't the same.  While I love office supplies in general, this is one of my favorites.  The wrist strap means I don't have to constantly bend down because I've dropped it.  The stapler molds to my hand and the staples can't fall out.  I'm a little too excited to be reunited with my good stapler.

3. Green staples.  Why do I own these?  Perhaps I can do something Christmas themed with them.

4. Expo markers.  Dozens of them.  Along with binder clips, pencils, glue sticks, post-its, and student scissors.  I may not need to buy office supplies for a long time (hallelujah).

5. Old Presidential Time lines.  When I say old, I mean they don't include Obama.  Or Clinton. Or Bush.  So...those have to go. 

On the bright side, I'm a few hours away from having a spotless guest bedroom!

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!

Craft time!

The beginning of the year is always an expensive time for teachers. I've stocked up on supplies for six table teams, including new buckets for them.  I bought some new border and letters for bulletin boards, got burlap to make border, and various other items at the craft store(s) for new cute things in my classroom.

One of the projects I just completed is my "good effort beads":

I saw on pinterest a fellow teacher made "smart beads" for her students to wear.  I modified the idea to more mesh with my growth based teaching mindset. 

By switching from "being smart" to "great effort", this shows my students that I'm focused on them. Our goal is progress.  Our academic journey focuses on improvement.  My students are in competition with themselves.  They aren't all coming in at the same place academically, nor will they all end the same place.  I have high expectations and will continue to push each of them to do their best. I believe in praising growth and progress, not "smartness".  

In a TFA (Teach for America) flashback, I vividly recall one of our many Saturday sessions ending with this idea:

Smart is not something that you are.

Smart is something that you become.

How powerful for students to realize that being smart comes from effort, perseverance, and continued hard work.  It doesn't happen overnight.

I can't wait to encourage my students to keep trying their best.

Continuing with empowering students, I picked up some lanyards:

Which I turned into:

I'm very excited for my new brag necklaces.  Again, this emphasizes a student's progress over time rather than a numerical score.  

This year, my students will be reading...a lot.  We are utilizing AR with our "reading rangers" program that focuses on comprehension and stamina.  I'm excited that this is used consistently K-5 in every classroom, so there is a school wide support and buy-in from students.

I also am a realist and know I teach ten year-olds...

Which is why I created this:

I know I will have books get damaged. I understand small rips from wear and tear, but I think if a student completely destroys a book, the family should replace it.  I'll need to double check with my grade level and administration, but I'm thinking of putting that in the library contract I send home at the beginning of the year.  In five years of teaching, I've only had to collect from a handful of families.  One student left my copy of Hatchet on the bus.  One had a water bottle explode and flood her backpack.  A third left it out for the dog to find (comically yes, the dog ate it).  A fourth ripped the spine in half.  A few others lost the books in various places.  I think it's fair to hold families fiscally responsible.  After all, if they lose library books, they have to pay to replace the books...so why shouldn't the same be true for my classroom library?

I wanted to jazz up our information space, so I had a little fun with chalk board markers.  I bought a banner from the party supply aisle at Target:

I also borrowed a neighbor's cricut to make:

We are expected to post our calendar so it's obvious what the students are working on, so why not make it fun? 

I also want to to focus on small groups in math, which means I'll need an additional management strategy.

I decided on student math coaches, which would be designated by these:

I'm all about collaboration, so they'll soon say "math coaches".  Students will prove to me they can handle the concept, then I'll give them the lanyards and let them coach their peers while I work with a small group.

More pictures coming soon!