Five For Friday (7/18/14)

Hello all!

Linking up today with Doodle Bugs for another Five for Friday to tell you about what I've been up to this week!

 

First of all, I went to my classroom this week! You know what this means, right? I'm not in denial any more. I've realized that, as of today, there is exactly one month until the first day. The. First. Day. Sighhhhhh. So I went to school. And got started on a project I told you about in my last post...my bookcases! Like I said, my six bookcases were a hideous lovely combo of yellow, green, blue, and brown. Not cute. My original plan was to make them a dark brown. Cute, right? Not so much. Walmart had other plans. They were out of yellow in the paint mixer thingy. I'm Small Town Suzy, remember? And I am not patient. So I bought some premixed black paint and that's what the bookcases are. And I only have one and a half left to do! Woo!

Which leads me to the reason why the bookcases aren't finished...

My dog baby Lewis finally caught a car :( He loves to chase them. But the other day one finally caught him. He gave me a mini heart attack, I swear. We were very lucky in that he only has a dislocated hip. Nothing broken, thank goodness. But he has to have his leg taped up and his movement restricted for several weeks. Which should be interesting for him, since this dog LOVES to move. He's been pretty grumpy about it actually. So I have been dealing with that. Fun stuff, right? Not so much. Moving on to happier things...

If you follow me on Instagram (@cuteintheclassroom), I posted today about my Back to School pile at my house. Anybody else have one of those going on? Mine is getting seriously out of control. It wasn't too bad until I hit up the school supplies aisle at the store yesterday...

Yes, I was the crazy lady at the store with no children buying tons of school supplies. We should make shirts... "Don't worry, I'm a teacher." Ha. I stocked up on composition notebooks- I like to buy extras for the kiddos that don't bring them and I plan on using some for class journals. I also got index cards (can never have too many), markers, erasers, crayons, glue, and duct tape. You can also see my pillows for the library in the background and some book bins as well. And that's just what you can see ;) What have you bought??

And now I want to share about a BIG project I have been working on lately. I shared a sneak peek on Instagram the other night...

My latest product is something I am really excited about using in my own classroom...CCSS ELA Quick Guides. Have you ever been writing the daily objectives/standards on the board for the day and needed the "number"? And then you have to go dig out your Common Core binder or find your lesson plans (my desk is a war zone) just to put "RL.4.1" on the board. Sigh. Precious seconds wasted. 

I don't really remember how the idea came to me (it's usually in my sleep...not kidding), but I wanted a way to keep the standards handy, easy to find, and easy to read. No digging around, no searching through other grades' to find mine, just there. Ready to go. Done.

So here you go! Brightly colored- you can see them across the room on your desk amidst the sea of papers, notes, and books. Organized- by each ELA subject (Literature, Informational Text, Foundational Skills, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language). Fast- just flip right to the standard you need!

So here's how they work...

Download your grade.

Print.

Cut.

Glue or staple together into a flipbook.

Get to work.

What do you guys think?? I currently have K through 4 posted in my store and ready to go. I also have plans to work on 5th grade, and if things go well, maybe some Quick Guides for Math standards?? Hmmm??? Anyway, if you're interested, check 'em out!

And finally, here's what I've been listening to lately...

His voice is amazing!!! If I'm not watching TV, I have to have some kind of tunes to listen to while I work. What do you guys like these days?

Well that's all for me on this lovely Friday! Hope you guys have a spectacular weekend.

P.S. Thanks for sticking with me! Comment with your grade and email and I will choose two lucky people to get a CCSS ELA Quick Guide hot off the presses ;)