My First Blog Feature!!!!

I am so excited!  Today is my first blog feature!   I am so grateful to Dana for her support throughout my new adventure.  Click on the button below to read the feature.

Thank you so much to everyone for your follows, comments, and support!

What I'm Loving Wednesday - 8/7/13

I can't believe that this is my last week of summer break, even though I still have Kinder Academy, 2 PD days, and teacher's week ahead of me.  Granted part of it is my fault; I decided to teach summer school, and participate in a million things, but I love it!  This week, I am trying to soak it all in!

My mid afternoon treat has been an iced tea from my Keurig.  I love the convenience of it!

Several years ago, I stumbled upon the music of Tristan Prettyman.  I think it was through one of those iTunes free singles of the week.  I quickly fell in love with her incredible voice and truthful lyrics.  Since then, I have had the pleasure of meeting Tristan and hearing her live.  She is not only an incredible artist, but a truly humble human.  I received my newest TP shirt this week, accompanied with  stickers for this year's teacher gear.

I have been doing a lot of shopping, but mostly for my classroom.  I finally picked up a couple of Back-to-School clothing pieces; gotta love Target!

After a good amount of searching, I found Crayola's new Doodle Scents.  They are Crayola's classic markers with a smelly twist.  The scents range from toasted marshmallow, to evergreen tree, to barnyard!

In the midst of the fun and attempted relaxation, my pup is really struggling.  Some how he developed an EXTREME sensitivity to something.  We are still trying to figure out if it is his food or something outside.  At this point he is coned, unable to play in the yard, and a hazard to himself.  He licks his paw to a point where they are raw and he can barely walk.  You can only imagine the amount of anxiety this has caused my husband and I.  We are hopeful to pinpoint the issue and get back to our weekend hikes and outdoor adventures.  Good thoughts!!

What are you loving this week?

Monday Made It - Getting the Classroom Ready

I can't believe that there are only a few days left of summer break.  I am moving full speed ahead on getting my classroom ready, and am so excited to share some items I have created.

Check out all of the amazing creations teachers have been working on.

I am in love with the digital paper that Autumn has created.  The chevron is perfect and the colors are wonderful.  I have used her papers to create a ton of items in my classroom.  I love the way my behavior clip chart pieces have turned out.  Now, I just need to attach them to the yellow ribbon I picked up from Michaels.

I also used the chevron paper to create table labels for my students' supply baskets, crayon boxes, writing boxes, and who knows what else.  I am trying to learn how to use my new circle cutter so that it doesn't look like one of my students cut out the circles.  Any tips on how to use this thing?

I am so excited to have my birthday board pieces created.  I can't wait to get my class list and add each of my students to a scoop.  

I love the way these turned out!

Everything you see here is available in my TPT store.  Happy Creating!

Morning Craziness

I love establishing routines with my students, at the beginning of the year.  Taking the time to set expectations is well worth it.  I love that moment when my kiddos can walk a new student through our classroom routines, without a peep from me.
One routine I establish is the Backpack Tub.  I saw this in one of my colleague's classrooms last year, and knew it would help organize my morning routine.  I place this tub on the book case right next to my classroom door.  As students hang up their backpacks and unpack their gear, they can drop off notes, art work, signed papers, homework folders, and anything else they have for me.  I love that I can start my day without misplacing anything important (hopefully).  Once my students get going on their morning work, I take attendance and sift through the backpack tub.

Click here to grab your backpack tub label.

What is something you do to make your mornings run as smooth as they can?

Learning How to Blog

I have to say that blogging is not as easy as spitting thoughts into a post.  It takes learning a brand new language; the language of HTML and everything that entails.  I am beyond grateful for search engines and YouTube for teaching me the small amount that my brain can handle right now.
One YouTube channel that I can't get enough of is Mrs. Standford's.  She does an incredible job of walking you step-by-step through blog design, TPT creation, and so much more.  Thanks to her tutorials I have been able to create my post signature, blog banner, and am working on my social media buttons.
Another great blogger to learn from is Christi, of Ms. Fultz's Corner.  She will even design your blog for you.  She offers these wonderful blogging tips on Wednesdays, check them out!
Even more than tutorials, I have learned that it is ok to ask questions.  I don't know if it is the fact that we are teachers, but everyone is so helpful!  Teacher bloggers are not just willing to answer questions, but also help promote your blog.  Amanda, from Teaching Maddenes has a Budding Blogger feature, and Dana, from Common to the Core, holds a New Teacher Blog Tuesday.  Be sure to check back over the next few months, as I will be featured on both of these incredible blogs.

What advice do you have for a new blogger?  Check out what other teacher's are saying.

Show Us Your: Tech Tips (Five for Friday edition)

Today's Five for Friday is double the fun with two link-ups and back to school technology ideas.

 

I am a one iPad classroom, but I have not let that stop me.  I have learned that placing the iPad under my ELMO allows for it to be used whole class (I seriously need an Apple TV setup).  I have 5 favorite apps that I use constantly.

1. Class Dojo - This app is a fabulous classroom management tool.  It allows you to track positive and negative behaviors for whole class and individuals.  The greatest part is that the behaviors are stored and can be shared with parents or used for student support data.  One thing, I have learned is that you have to sign into the webpage to monitor attendance, but the app is useful for on-the-go tracking.

2. GoodNotes - I love the versatility of this app.  I use it for my CCSS checklists, student notes and conferencing, reading articles and adding notes, and so much more.  The free edition allows you to have a small number of notebooks.  Yet, the $5.99 I spent on the full edition was well worth it!  I HIGHLY recommend this app.

3. Endless ABC - My students cannot get enough of this app.  It supports: vocabulary, sounds, spelling, and letter-sound correspondence; plus it has the cutest monsters.  Even better is the fact that it is free and updated with new words all the time.

4. Sushi Monster - This is a fun game for practicing addition and multiplication apps.  I love using this app whole group.  I allow students to work with their table groups to determine which sushi (facts) the monster needs to be fed. 

5. Common Core - MasteryConnect did a great job constructing this app.  I use it daily for TPT creations, lesson planning, and research.  It has a simple search feature, and contains all of the appendices from the CCSS document.

I would love to hear about apps that you use with your students.

August - Currently

August!? Seriously, what happened to half of June and July?!  With Back-to-School on my mind, here is my Currently (thanks Farley)!

What I'm Loving - Games

I love teaching and reviewing through games.  Not only do they reinforce team work, but games allow students to gain confidence and establish strategies.  From day one, games are used in my classroom for whole group, small group, and individual practice.
Check out the games I love:

Extra Point is a great beginning of the year review for students.  It allows students to practice counting on and plus one. 

BUMP is the greatest math game!  It teaches good sportsmanship and math facts.

You can find BUMP and Extra Point in my TPT store.  They are wonderful for the beginning of the year and fall games, even though I play them all year with my kiddos.

So, I love math games, but literacy games are just as important in my classroom.  The greatest game EVER....I Have...Who Has...?  Seriously, it is the most adaptable game.  I use it for sight words, book reviews, and most importantly, learning names.

At the beginning of the year, my students and I practice each other's names through I Have...Who Has...?  Once we have mastered each other we move onto staff members.  Even though I teach first grade, I expect my students to be able to greet staff members throughout the building.  I also use this as a means of safety.  If my students do not recognize a staff member they can always ask me who the person is, allowing me to determine if they are a sub, visitor, or need to report to the office.  

What games do you love using with your students?  Check out the links below for other fabulous ideas!

Show Us Your: Read Alouds

I love to read to my students!  The look on their faces when they discover something new or make connections while listening makes my heart flutter.

Check out some of my favorite beginning of the year read alouds, and be sure to check out the other blogs that linked up with their favorites.

I use this book to introduce Writers' Workshop!  I love the discussions that it leads to.

Such a wonderful first day of first grade read aloud!

This book magically appeared in a bin of books from my sister, and boy am I grateful for it.  It is an adorable story of a boy's imagination and his "summer vacation."

Oh, Junie B.  This is the first chapter book that I read to my students last year, and I am thinking about reading it again this year.  There are moments when Junie makes me cringe, but the students love her and truly relate to her.

This book holds a dear place in my heart!  It was the book that my mentor teacher read on my first day of my student-teaching, and it is the same book that I read on the first day in my very first classroom.  I continued to read this book each year, as a fifth grade teacher.  My students' responses always amazed me.  I believe that this story opened doors of trust with my students that I am forever grateful for.  It isn't really appropriate for 1st grade, though.

What books do you read aloud to kick off your year?  Do you have any books that hold a special place in your heart?

Show Us Your: Lesson Planner

With August only a few days away, the thought of Back-to-School is inevitable.  I will be participating in The Teacher's Chair's School Week Linky.  Throughout the week, you will get a glimpse of my Back-to-School mindset.

I have started looking back over last year's plans and have begun organizing topics for this coming year.  I have learned that each year I am a better planner and more comfortable with my lesson plan tools.  YAY!  It sure doesn't feel that way sometimes!

Check out everything that goes into my plans:
I always start by figuring out what my week is going to look like.  I loving planning ahead, but things ALWAYS come up.  I decided to splurge on my planner this year, with an Erin Condren.  I didn't get a lesson planner, but a life planner, keep reading to see why.  I adore how it is laid out by month and week.

Isn't it fancy?!

Once I have a good idea of my week, I review my monthly overview to make sure that I am covering necessary ELA strategies and topics.  I created this template for each month.  It is available in my TPT store, in editable and PDF forms.  It has helped me wrap my mind around everything I do and want to teach each year.

Next stop, reviewing my CCSS checklist.  I found this checklist last year, in my search for understanding first grade.  It is created by the amazing Rachelle Smith.  

This checklist has allowed me to become more familiar with the CCSS, while making my planning more meaningful.
So now that I know how much time I have, and what needs to be covered, I start to throw everything into my weekly lesson plan template.  I discovered this template through Erica Bohrer and absolutely love it!  It was originally created for Erica by Ms. M, from A Teacher's Plan.  If you struggle to create the perfect lesson plan template, I highly recommend that you check out her blog.

 

Even though I create the majority of my plans digitally, I alway print them so that I can add notes and make changes along the way.  It is amazing writing this post and realizing how much goes into my plans each week.  What lesson plan tools do you use?

Be sure to follow along this week!