August Already? My Currently

Hello all! Where has the summer gone? I'm headed back to work tomorrow! I think I'm in denial. So I'm distracting myself by linking up with Oh Boy 4th Grade for her August Currently!

Most of this is pretty self-explanatory...I am soaking up my last real day of laziness with my little sister. Slept in, watched TV, went to the pool, read a book. But of course in the back of my mind are all the things I still want/need to do for school. Physically, my room is ready. We went up yesterday and finished hot-gluing numbers and and decorating. But now I feel like I have a million little things to do. Which is okay. I have time. 6 days of professional development before open house. That kind of time. So what am I wanting to accomplish before then? 

First up is my reading area. I've moved it separate from my library this year. Last year my students were a little too distracted by choosing and looking at books to actually do any reading. So I'm going to try separating that some this year. In this picture you can see my cute rug ($10 thrift store find) and reading pillows I made. I love the way this looks. I'm also going to use this space for our meeting area and read-alouds. Last year, I didn't design my room with this area in mind, and we were meeting at the back of the room because it was the only space big enough. It wasn't very intentional at all. And I think my kids picked up on this. So this year we are going to meet here! But check out my teacher chair...yuck! I inherited it with my room last year. It's good for some things...but not meeting time. So it's going out. I'm not sure where yet, but it is. Instead, I bought a little black stool from Ikea ($4.99 what what) that I'm going to use. So I have to put that together. Or convince Husband to.

But can you see my desk in the background? All the wires and cords and junk? That's my next project. Since my desk is actually just a table (legit, right?) I want to make a little curtain to go around the edge of my desk and hide some of that clutter. I think it will help separate my desk area from the reading area as well. So I bought some lime green fabric yesterday (one of my other colors), some ribbon, and some liquid stitch. I don't really have a plan for how this is going to work. I don't sew. So fingers crossed it works out well ;)

Next, I need to put the finishing touches on my Writing Process Chart. I had to pick up some more clothespins, and then I am going to number them so they're ready for the kiddos. I love the way it looks all hung up! I just used a little ribbon and some hot glue to put it together. Don't forget it's a freebie in my store if you think you could use it!

We don't get our class rosters until usually the day before Open House. So I also have a million and one things I want to do when I find out my kids' names. My Birthday Wall, for example, is blank. I also want to print out the labels for each of their notebooks like this...

But of course, I need names! So that's going to wait. If  you follow me on Instagram, you saw that last night I was working on a little Time Capsule Project for my kiddos during the first week. I usually do some version of this with my kids, but it's pretty casual and thrown together on the spot. But this year I've made a cute little book for them to fill out and decorate, then "open up" at the end of the year to see how they've changed. I am working on putting it up in my store as well.

On top of that are all the usual back to school things...organizing supplies, take home folders, seating charts, etc. And of course, I need to print and prep my Back to School Survival Guide for the first day! Can't wait to use this as an interactive way to go over rules and procedures. And finally (yeah right), I also have plans to make these cute little gifts for my kiddos at open house that I found on Pinterest...

 

Of course, without the zebra. But I love this idea! So yes, that is the cherry on top of all the things I have going on right now! What are you working on? And don't forget to link up your Currently if you haven't already :)

Currently - August Already!

It's officially August! Happy back to school month, people. Is that depressing? Sorry. I love back to school. I think I walk down the school supply aisle every time I go to the store. Plus I'm a newbie teacher, so I'm extra-specially excited to start my first year! :) Anywho, today I am linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade to let you all know what I'm "currently" up to!

 

Listening

My husband is watching Seinfeld in the background. We just got Direct TV installed yesterday (oh boy...), so he's been enjoying all of his channel freedom! Haha. I think when I finish this I will make him turn on Friends! ;)

Loving

I'm excited for the weekend. I've been at workshops all week, so I'm ready to give the ole brain a break (while I still can!). I'm also just excited to stay home and work on school projects and be a bum. Our getaway last weekend was so fun, but there's really no place like home :)

Thinking

My brain is a never-ending to-do list of things for school! Anybody else feel like that? I was sitting in my workshop today and kept sticking post-it notes on my planner with things I needed to remember to do. I think it was covered by the end of the day! Haha. And August 19th is our first day of school! My very first first day of school as a teacher. Hooray! Just two more weeks of meetings and it will be here! Crazy.

Wanting

I have been thinking about the pool alllllllllllllllllllll week. Husband says he will come swim with me Saturday. I can't wait! Oh, and I always want ice cream. Duh ;)

Needing

Who doesn't need a nap? Still getting back into the swing of things- getting up early and what not....not taking naps...you know.....Haha

Back to School Must-Haves

If you've read any of my blog posts recently....you know I love books. Reading them and looking at them and recommending them and smelling them and buying them...I'm a crazy book lady. So I always love to get new books. Especially books that I know my kids are going to love.

A cute teacher bag is a must. And of course, it has to hold a lot of stuff. For student teaching last year, I used an adorable Thirty One bag my Mom got me with "Mrs. Burns" on it. You just can't go wrong with monograms, am I right? I also have a matching lunchbox. Yep. I'm that person ;) I love that bag! It has tons of pockets and a durable inside liner that's totally capable of handling all the crazy things us teachers put it through. Spills, markers, crayons, food, glue, binders and books.....

And who doesn't need new clothes? I always do, personally ;) My husband might disagree...haha. Since it's my first year, I'm still building my "teacher wardrobe". And a lot of the clothes I bought for student teaching last year were kind of winter-friendly. Not so much hot. Which is definitely what south Arkansas has been lately. So hopefully when that first paycheck comes in (haha) I can take care of that back to school "must-have" ;)

So there's my August currently! Make sure you head over to Farley's to link up your own Currently and read your blogger friends'. Happy almost weekend!

     

July Already? { "Currently" Linky Party }

I can't believe that July is already here! I love and hate the month of July. I love it because it's summer, my wedding anniversary, my Mom's birthday, the Fourth, etc. I dislike that it's the last (*sniff sniff*) month of summer before school! But I am looking forward to spending these next weeks working hard to get my room and myself ready for my fourthies!

So this is my first link up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade! Love love love her blogging style. Check her out here.

 

I'll admit it...Top Gear UK is pretty funny. I can actually watch it. And it's a show about cars. Crazy, right? But right now I'm too busy catching up on the blogosphere to really watch. 

Ahhh summertime...there's nothing like it! After a crazy week of VBS, we've had a pretty great summer weekend to wind down. We went swimming with friends yesterday (did a little work on my tan ;) and had a cookout at my parent's house. Today we had church, lunch with friends, and a whole afternoon of undisturbed laziness. There's nothing better! I am looking forward to a (hopefully) less busy week filled with my doggy, swimming, and working in my classroom.

I do a lot of thinking about things I need to do. First year jitters, I suppose? I've even had dreams about school these past two nights. Time for a chill pill, perhaps?? Haha. I just have so many, many ideas and am having trouble getting the ball rolling. This busy week was a bit of a setback so hopefully I can get back on track and knock out some of my bigger projects! Like my library...any volunteers to come organize that? I spent the whole afternoon lexile-leveling -_-

Don't even listen to me. I have more than enough stuff for my room. A generous teacher before me, my kindergarten teacher mother, Hobby Lobby, and a teacher trip store have all granted me plenty of supplies. I just need to get my life together and put them up! Haha. 

This is a real need. I've had the same tub of books in my living room for two weeks now. They are all contact-papered and lexile-leveled. If only I could say the same for all the books at school? I love books. I was so happy to see that the teacher before me had left shelf after shelf of books for my kiddos. I just need to get in there and organize them! Helpppppp :)

Oh, and dinner will hopefully be happening after this post. Haha.

Tips and tricks for TPT/blogging/etc. Well, I'm obviously  no expert. BUT. I know what I like. And I like practical stuff. Well, let me rephrase that. Practical cute stuff. Stuff you can actually use. Stuff I can see working for me and my kids. Stuff I have used myself or seen used or heard about being used. You feel me? Nothing appeals to me more than seeing a product that I truly can use! Not just download and forget about.

And that's my "currently"! Head over to Farley's blog and link up your own :)