Remember Me? [part two]

I'm back again, and quickly this time! :) I promised I would post more often, and by the title of my last post, I HAD to post at least a part two [if not a part three here shortly].

I was back at work in my classroom again yesterday. I got a lot of detail things I had thought about doing done! Most teachers probably don't decorate their rooms to the extreme with which I do, but it's just my personality and I can't help it. I definitely type-A and extremely detailed oriented [and also a tad geeky!] the little accents and things here and there are what really get me pumped! lol

So here's a look at my classroom yesterday standing from my doorway:

What do you think? In my last post it looked pretty much the same. I just got the students' nameplates and Take Home Binders [look for a post about those coming soon!] done and added something to the front of my desk. I also changed up my Reading Corner off to the left there.

I had put my new robot calendar [that I just LOVE] on the wall above the papasan chair near the reading corner. But I just didn't like it there. Last year my calendar was on the middle window [now behind my desk] and loved it being on the window. So I changed up the Reading Corner and took the Book Bin shelves away from the window and put the calendar on it. I then put the book bin shelves against the wall where the calendar was and it looks much better! I just want a rug to put over there now! [in time...because of course the one I want and I won't settle for less is a bit pricey, so I'm waiting for my next TpT payment in September! lol]

So here's how it looks now:

 

I like it so much better.....don't you!?

Here's my Book Bin shelves I was able to finish yesterday too! I got my class list Wednesday [yayy!] so I was able to make the tags and get them finished up. Here's the complete look:

                                                          

and here's how I set them up:

                               

Everyone has their own bin. They will keep their Read to Self books, Reading Group books, bookmarks and a small pack of Kleenex in there. [This idea dawned on me last year when I had a few girls ALWAYS needing to blow their noses while they were reading. This will prevent that. You know those 3 pack of purse-size tissues are only 99 cents - and saves their "hassle" ;)]
I numbered the shelves so they keep their bin with their number. They'll always be in the same place and I won't have to re-number them year after year.

The clips are new for this year; something I am trying. Last year I had a problem with them taking TOO MANY BOOKS! No matter how many times we talked about taking only 6 or 7, they would take at least 3 times that. Well not this year. I am going to number the clips to make their numbers and they are only allowed to take as many books as they have clips. They can take a clip back when they return a book. Right now everyone has 4 clips, but that's because I didn't buy that many when I picked them up at a flea market. I didn't exactly have a plan for them at that time, so two packs seemed sufficient....wrong! So I'm planning to stop out today and pick up a few more.... I think I will give everyone 6, perhaps 8 but I'm not sure. How many do you allow your students to take? Any input would be great!

Yesterday I also put up my behavior management clip chart. I made a new one this year to match the chevron [of course!] and hung it in a new spot. It looks great, I think!

I made matching behavior calendar logs as well. They are available in my TpT store here if you decide you really like it! I posted it on there because whenever I looked for a system I liked, the behavior logs didn't exactly match the clip chart because they were always separate files by different Teacher Authors. Chevron is a huge new craze and the colors match just about any "theme" so I thought it would be about time that someone offered BOTH together to correlate easily. Let me know if you decide to get them and how they work out for you! :)
You'll notice next to it the Homework Club display. It's a round cookie sheet from the Dollar Tree that I hung. I got the Homework Club sign, numbers and idea use from the TpT store of 4th Grade Frolics here for FREE! I love it and hope it will be a great incentive for my students to do their homework! We shall see..... ;)

Well, that's all for this post... I have lots more to show and say but my Hubby wants me to bring him lunch at work :) so I'm off to pick us up some Panera [yum-o!]
I'll definitely be back with a part three [and who knows, maybe even a part four] some time soon [maybe even later tonight]....

Until then, thanks for reading and have a BLESSED day!

Tami :)

Remember Me? [part one]

REMEMBER ME!?

I know.. it's been a looooong time since my last post! It's been crazy busy around here, but I'm back and promise to post more - so please hold me accountable to that!

So, here's what's been going on.... last time I posted I had moved up to 2nd grade and looped with my students! Second grade was wonderful and I absolutely LOVED it! This year, though... I'm moving up AGAIN! I'm headed to 3rd grade! I don't think I am truly looping with my kids again, but I will have a majority of them for a third time... I just don't have my class list yet! [fingers crossed it comes today!]


I've been quite inspired by Pinterest over the summer [aren't we all?!] and my newest craze is ChEvRoN! So, I thought I'd give y'all a peek into my classroom! It's not quite done all the way, still waiting on some chevron border I bought from Creative Teaching Press ....it's been back-ordered since July! I'm hoping it comes in soon. We don't start back until after Labor Day [lucky, I know!] so I still have time... I'm just impatient!

So to start with chevron craziness, I made my own curtains for my classroom this year! Last year, I really wanted to find white cotton valances [harder than it sounds!] for cheap and tye dye them. Well, I never found them. The ones I did find would have been $20 per panel, and I would have needed about 5-6 of them... a little too much for my wallet at the time. I'm glad I didn't end up finding them. As fun as they would have looked, I LOVE the ones I ended up with this summer!
So, I bought some gray and white chevron fabric from Hobby Lobby with my nifty 40% off coupon and got 8 yards for about $35. I also bought this fabric "tape" instead of ribbon to give it a fun accent. I bought 5 different colors for each panel. Then, I just used a heat bond adhesive to put it all together. I don't own a sewing machine, and if I did I don't know how to use it..... so this was the easy option!

Here's what the process looked like:

I just used my iron and my eyes to make the creases straight. The zig zags of the chevron pattern help make it straighter but also help camouflage any mistakes too!
After I made one using the curtain rod I had at home [I knew it was the same as what I had at school] I took it to my classroom to see how it looked. It fit perfectly but it didn't look full, so I decided that I need 2 per panel. I have a large window at the back of my room with two windows side-by-side, and I knew that one would need 3 panels.... so I had a lot of work to do!
The thing about the fabric I bought that I didn't realize until I got it, was that the chevron pattern didn't run continuous over the whole 8 yards, it ran the opposite way. It ended up working out, as the 44" width it came was the way my pattern ran, and all my panels ended up the same width. I just had to cut them to be the same length. Once I made the first one to the length I liked, I just measured it all and got the rough length to cut the rest of the panels.

So here's a close up of all the panels done with their colors!

I have 3 windows that are a standard size... those are the green, pink and orange. The teal panels are my large back window. Then, the yellow is the extra fabric I had left and I made it to cover part of a tall shelf I have for Word Work activities. Since it's so tall, I can cover the top half of items I use mainly as storage and the bottom is open for the kids. I just hung that one with a tension rod [that of course didn't fit!] and two hooks.

Here's a look at them hanging in my classroom:

What do you think? I just LOVE them! They feel so homey and will match just about anything I do down the road!

You can see a bit from here I have a lot of chevron going on...

I made and hung rainbow colors/chevron patterned pennants from my ceiling randomly. I love hanging things from the ceiling! :)

Over where the book bins are, I used gray and white chevron contact paper to line the shelves. I'll be making a chevron mini pennant banner that says "book bins" to hang over the window [check for a part 2 or 3 of this blog in the coming days!]

The new décor I bought this year is probably some of my favorite.... along with the library... and the curtains...... who am I kidding - I love it ALL so far! haha

But here's what I'm talking about:

I found a lot of these on Pinterest and printed them off. I just love how they look on the wall! They serve as great reminders and inspirations for myself and my students.

This is my absolute favorite of all! I just loved this metal sign when I saw it at Hobby Lobby. I went back for it and got it half off a few weeks later and it looks awesome! It's one of the first things you see when you look/walk into the room and will be a great reminder each morning :)

I made a reading corner this year that is not a part of the class library so the kids have another place to relax and read! This is a small stand I had leftover from my days at home living in a cramped bedroom with my little sister [LoL!]. Again, I used the contact paper and put the flowers I had left from a bridal shower for [one of] the wedding I was in over the summer. Above this awesome sign I [again] found on Pinterest, I have a ribbon board. I am going to ask my students to bring in pictures of themselves with their families to keep in the classroom over the year. Just another idea I found on Pinterest and adapted to my room!

Okay....here's the last picture I'll post for today...

My class library! I just LOVE it!

I got the bench/storage seat at Target for more places to relax and added book storage. I also brought in the white cube storage shelf I got on sale at Target [LOVE that store, obviously] for more book storage. I accumulated a ton more books this year. Between donations, garage sales and good deals at the store I stocked up on a bunch more for my kiddos [especially since I'll have a good chunk of them for the 3rd year in a row!]

And Now For Something Random...

I just HAD to share this picture with all of you quickly...

Today, I had my students write in response to a journal prompt "I Ate So Much Turkey That..." and one little girl [literally, little and SO cute!] wrote how she ate so much turkey she felt like she was going to blow up. Her written response was not as adorable or hilarious [to me, anyways] as her picture....

I mean seriously, does this not crack you up!? I just loved it and had to share :)

Have a blessed day!
Tami

The Liebster :)

Well... it's been a while since I last blogged, so I guess I should pick up where I last left off before I begin again...

In my last posting, I hinted at changing my blog title because I looped with my class to 2nd grade. Well, I decided against it. I love my blog title and I AM truly blessed [but not quite witty enough to create another title just as cute] so I opted to leave it. Plus, I loved first grade as much as I am loving second grade, so if I ever move back it will fit once again. Also, I was blessed in my first year of teaching last year, so it can apply just the same in that regard as well.

Now to update you on life in second grade. One word.... AWESOME! I adore my students so giving them up last year was super sad [as you can read in my previous Tears post]. Imagine my delight when my administrator called in late July and told me I could loop with them! Talk about a great day! It was so nice knowing the level my students came to second grade on and as I teach our curriculum what lessons I could differentiate based on my teachings last year. It's so fun! Relearning another curriculum is challenging and I am constantly recreating items to suit their growing needs in a new grade, but it's still fantastic. I enjoy challenges and am certainly not bored! I was also asked to move my classroom to be down by the other second grade and to allow the new Kindergarten teacher to move in to my old room, so needless to say THAT was quite a challenge! Somehow, over the years [though they are few] I have managed to amass quite a large amount of stuff! Packing and moving is one thing; UNpacking, redecorating and reorganizing was a whole other issue! But, it's done and I really love my new room! I have 2 extra windows so our room is brighter [and cooler!] and I love the new setup... it feels much larger than the room last year!

So, that's a recap of the past few months since my last post. Here's what happened today...

I was nominated for an award! Seriously... Me?! With my 16 followers!? How fantastic! So first, I would like to say a big "THANK YOU!" to Cathy Hoffart at A Growing Class for nominating me! I see so many other bloggers [with much larger follower numbers] and wonder how that happens.. NOW I KNOW! Woo hoo!

So here is how it works!

1. Post 11 random things about yourself.

2. Answer the questions the nominator set for you.

3. Create 11 questions for your nominees.

4. Choose 11 other blogs with less than 200 followers to nominate and link back to their blogs.

5. Leave a comment on this post if you were nominated so I can learn more about you and see who you nominate too!

MY 11 RANDOMS:

1.  I have been married for [almost] 4 years now to an amazing man! Dave and I have been together for a total of [almost] 9 years and met in high school <3 

2. We are total dog people! [I converted my hubby!] We have a cute pup named Reagan, and I'm hoping to convince him for another puppy for Christmas!! [fingers crossed!]

3. We live in a small town in northeast Ohio and we LOVE it! We both grew up here with our parents 2 and 6 miles from our house :)

4. I am a HUGE football fan! GO BROWNS! ps.. the Browns beat the Steelers yesterday... WOO HOO!

5. My favorite color is orange, inspired by Rachael Ray. I love her, have her orange cookware, an orange Kitchenaid mixer and an orange fridge! [among other items in the kitchen too :)]

6. I love owls. Long before the big trend, I was decorating and collecting the cute birds. I especially love using owls in my kitchen combined with a bit of a retro feel!

7. I'm a runner. I love running! Though school has made it difficult to find the time, I still love getting out and having my sneakers hit the pavement. I've completed a half marathon and someday my goals are to complete a full marathon and triathlon as well!

8. I don't have any kids... yet. I get asked this question ALLLL the time. Even by my husband! We will have children, but I'm struggling right now because I really feel the Lord guiding me towards adoption. It will be a matter of prayer and discussion as a couple to find what the Lord really has set for Dave and I and our family someday. We shall see :)

9. I love to read. I picked up all sorts of books over the summer and really enjoyed them. When I pick up a good book, I become so interested I can't put it down until it's done! I HAVE to know what happens!

10. My mom is a breast cancer survivor! In October of 2011 we learned her diagnosis. It was scary. Her mom had had and survived it, so we knew she could [and would] too, but she's my mom. She's young. She hasn't been made a grandmother [yet]. Praise God that He kept her in His hands and healed her! I love you Mom!

11. Mustaches are my latest craze. I'm not sure why, except for a joke between a dear friend of mine and myself. But I can't even remember how that started!? I just think they are hilarious. In fact, my husband is turning 30 this December and his surprise party theme? You got it >mustaches!<

QUESTIONS FROM CATHY:

1. What's your favorite TV show (current or past)?

Oooh, I'll have to answer BOTH in the parentheses :)  Past: would be Will & Grace! I love that show! I own all 8 seasons on DVD and since we don't have cable at home, if there's nothing on I'll pop one in to watch for fun. I can quote WAAAYYY too many lines in this show! Present: The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother...  I would have answered Law & Order:SVU, but since Eliott Stabler left, I can't watch anymore :(   it' just not the same.  So BBT and HIMYM are my new faves - they are hilarious!

2. What's your ultimate vacation destination?

Though I would love to answer the beach, I can't. Dave would have to be a part of that ultimate vacation and the beach isn't his cup of tea. So a beautiful, secluded cabin in the mountains would be it. We took our honeymoon to Gatlinburg, TN and did exactly that. It was lovely and I can't wait to go back someday :)

3. If you weren't a teacher, what would you be doing?

Hmmm, that's a tough one. I like to do a lot of things. I would probably be a wedding planner though. I LOVED planning my wedding! If I were rich, I'd plan a wedding reception/party EVERY YEAR!

4. Would you save a million dollars or a million children? Why?

A million children. Money is great but I couldn't save a million children with it. It's much more honoring to God to save His precious children than money. How could I not!?

5. If you were a super hero, what would your name be?

probably, Super Tam! :) hahah

6. If you were running for public office, what "educational platform" would you run on?

I don't like politics. It's all a bunch of fluff. So if I tried to answer this question, that's probably all I'd be giving too.

7. What's your favorite thing to cook/bake?

I love to bake cookies. Especially sugar cookies that I can decorate with royal icing to look like adorable animals or something fun :) I also love cooking Italian food. My grandma has a fantastically delish recipe for homemade gnocchi, sauce and meatballs. MY FAVORITE MEAL EVER! along with her potato pizza, and string beans, and stuffed peppers.... [I obviously love to eat! lol] 

8. What is one wish you have for your biological children or classroom children?

I wish for them to have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior so they can sit in eternity with me! :)

9. What advice do you give your students every year?

to be creative... their imaginations are fantastic and I wish I had one as large as theirs still! Use it or lose it, right?!

10. If you were the boss, what one thing would you implement immediately?

I have to agree with Cathy on this one..... casual day, every day!! :)

11. What do you want for Christmas?

I have lots of items on my list this year :) mostly, a GSHP puppy! or another anniversary band for my wedding ring [you know, for the other side!] or some more Ugg boots, or more Rachael Ray Hoot dishes,or a North Face jacket, or stuff for my classroom....I love clothes and shopping, so I'm good with anything really! haha

MY NOMINEES:

[drum roll please.....]

Grade One Fun

I Heart Elementary

First Grade Funtastic

Dizzy for Kindergarten

Teach to be Happy

The Eager Teacher

Teaching Third

Kindergarten Sparkles

Wild About School

2nd Shooting Stars

Simple SWEET TEAching

It's a variety of teaching websites from different grades, ages and areas... we can all learn something from one another, right!? I should hope so, we teach our students that daily! :)

So, nominees, here are your questions to answer!

1. What is your favorite concept/subject to teach your students and why?

2. If you were given a million dollars tomorrow, would you retire from teaching immediately?

3. What is your favorite TV show currently?

4. What good book have you read lately?

5. If you weren't a teacher, what you be doing?

6. Would you consider yourself an "animal person?"

7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?

8. What is one thing you really love about yourself?

9. Name three things you are thankful for today.

10. Do you like to do laundry?  [had to give you a silly one to answer! :)]

11. What's on your Christmas wish list this year?

Well, thanks everyone for reading [I know, it was A LOT! : /] Congrats to the nominees! My search for 11 nominees helped me find many more great bloggers to follow [including them!] and if this task seems daunting, just think of the networking and sharing you can receive through your time! :)

Have a blessed evening...

Tami

Better start thinking....

...about a lot of things!! As I hinted to in my last post oh, so long ago, I will officially be looping with my current group of kiddos to second grade!! I am so excited about it, as I just ADORED those children! However, I have to move classrooms, get a new curriculum and think about a possible BLOG TITLE CHANGE! ahhhh!!! So much to do!

I'd rather not change blog titles, since I absolutely love it, but it doesn't apply anymore since I won't be in first :( But what if I move back!? I don't want to give the title up, and thinking of a new once seems so daunting.. any suggestions??

Oh well, until I decide I better get to thinking about how I can make another year with the same teacher just as exciting and engaging for my students. If you have any advice, please share! It's only my second official year of teaching [hmm, my first year was in first, my second will be in second.. quite a pattern developing!] so advice from more experienced teachers [or anyone!] is always appreciated.  I hope y'all are having a super summer so far! It's time to get back in the groove of creative thinking and planing for another great school year :)

Have a blessed one!

Tami

Tears.

There were many tears today as it was our last day of school :(  This year marked my first official year of teaching, so naturally I became attached to my class. It was emotional saying good-bye to them for the summer. As I told them all how much I love them, tears came to my eyes and I couldn't help crying as I thought of how I wouldn't see their faces for the next few months and feel the love from their many hugs each day. I felt horrible, then, when 4 of my precious little girls started crying and didn't stop! I was heartbroken to see them leave today. On the bright side, there is a chance I may looping with them to 2nd grade next year and would be their teacher once again! I won't know until summer what God has in store for me here at our school, as it will all be based on enrollment numbers [we just keep growing and growing!] but I know I will see their smiling faces again soon :) I'm praying for whatever He has for me, whether it be to stay in first or move on with them!

I did give them their Scrappers tickets [mentioned in an earlier post - Counting it Down] and they are all so excited to come visit me at a game! I also gave them each a piece of baseball themed writing paper with my address attached so they could write me a letter telling me about coming to the game and all they are doing this summer. I certainly look forward to receiving some great pieces of mail soon!

I hope you all have a blessed summer, or rest of the school year, whichever applies. I'll be writing soon!

Counting it Down!

We have only 9 more days of school left!!!! and boy, can I tell! The kids are crazy with excitement and chatter going into the homestretch. I was so happy to complete my last bulletin board for the year yesterday too! I have to share with you, because it's probly one of my faves! I found the sunglasses idea on Pinterest here and just ran with it! The sunglasses have pictures the kids drew of what they "visioned" for their summer. I decided to make it more of a "craftivity," if you will, and added the thought bubble (from Microsoft Word). They wrote about their "visions" in the bubble and that's what they had to draw. I simply drew out the sunglasses and cut them out for them. They drew on small white papers that looked like sunglass lenses and we glued those onto the black sunglasses. I took their pictures and put the sunglasses on them and put the thought bubble coming off them like they were thinking about their "visions." They had such a good time doing this, I decided to do one too! [sans picture of course! :)] The title just came to me and is a perfect fit for it - as I said, one of my favorite boards for the year! What do y'all think!?!

We also had another fun activity added to our room a la Pinterest [man that site can get me in trouble!] I found the idea to put up balloons to countdown that last few days of school. The idea I found here counted down the last 20 days. However, my little munchkins would go nuts for that long [and so would I!] so I trimmed it down to 10 days. I hung the balloons in my room this morning and we are popping one per day to find the fun activity inside. Here's what I listed to help with ideas:

Day 10. 10 minutes of free time

Day 9.  extra snack (cookies and hot cocoa :)

Day 8.  sit wherever you want today\

Day 7.  extra recess

Day 6.  dance party!

Day 5.  surprise guest (probly my sister for a craft/read aloud)

Day 4.  field trip (love how that worked out!)

Day 3.  popcorn and a movie (we are reading Charlotte's Web so we will watch that)

Day 2.  hat day

Day 1.  school carnival and class "baseball" party

About the "baseball" party... I work for a Minor League baseball team in the summers, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers [Cleveland Indians affiliate]. This will be my 9th season there, so as an end of the year gift I am giving each of my little learners a free ticket for any game of their choice, along with a coupon I found in the phone book (LoL!) for buy one, get one free tickets. They can come visit me as I sell "ice cold pop!" all around the stadium.  I have worked there for going-on 9 seasons now, so I can't give up the fun job of vending! I have had many former students from where I worked in the past come visit me there, and wanted my kiddos to have a chance to come visit too. I made a fun "Have a BALL this summer!" letter telling them about it, along with the ticket. I am going to find some baseball pencils and suckers to give out too, and we're going to munch on some peanuts and cracker jacks (of course!). Hopefully there will be a time and place on the last day for us to play baseball as a class also!

We had a great time popping the balloon for Day 10 today! I think it was more exciting than the activity listed inside!

Hope you found some inspiration today!

Have a blessed day :)

-Tami