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 ;)

Five For Friday June 20th

Is it June 20th already?? Where is summer going?? Ahhh.

Anyway. Sorry I have been awol this week. I was out of town at a teacher conference. But, after a day of recovery, I am BACK. And linking up with Doodle Bugs for my favorite random linky- Five for Friday. Here's my random.

I spent Sunday through Wednesday in Little Rock (I live in Arkansas...that's our capitol....here's your Southern geography lesson for the day) at a teaching conference called the Comprehensive Literacy Institute. It was hosted by the UALR Center for Literacy. UALR is the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. At this place, there are some really smart folks. The main person is Dr. Linda Dorn. She is the author of the books Teaching for Deep Comprehension and Apprenticeship in Literacy.

At this Institute, they work with schools to implement their approach to literacy. Through their approach, you work to make your entire literacy curriculum and workshops integrated. That is the big word. Integrated. Everything works together. Reading, writing, language, speaking, listening- connected. Their ideas are incredible and backed by some serious research and hard work. I highly recommend checking their work out. Or at least the free resources from their website. Ha.

This was my second year to attend the Institute, and though much of the content was familiar to me, there were still many "ah ha" moments. I learned so much about mentor texts, vocabulary, and literature discussion groups. And got lots of ideas to take back with me, that I am sure I will share with you at some point :) So that is my number one. 

P.S. I am not being paid or sponsored or obligated or anything to mention their books or website. I just like them a lot and learned so much from their ideas. Okay? Okay.

 

While I was out of town, I got to stay at a fancy hotel, eat out, shop, and watch dumb TV. And I got paid to go. So it was awesome, basically. 

This is me going to use the cool workout room and sweat all over the fancy elliptical. It was fun. And this is my cool new shirt that I got from Target. I like it. I posted this on my Instagram and Katie King from First Grade Jungle commented on it and followed me. ****BRB I'm fangirling****

So that just about made my week. 

P.S. I don't actually know how to "twerk". I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it even if I did. Okay. 

While in the "big city" we went to a teacher store. I love teacher stores. Sadly, Small-Town-Suzy over here has to drive at least an hour away to go to one. Walmart is my teacher store, mkay? So I was excited. I bought this really big piece of notebook paper. It's "wipe off" so you can use dry erase markers and I don't even have to laminate it. Love that. I'm going to use it to show my fourthies *exactly* how I want some things done this year. We have a document camera that I use sometimes to do this, but it's still hard for them to really see sometimes. So I got this.

I have also been on the hunt for some buckets. Yes, more buckets. The teacher's best friend I think. Anywho, after looking at Walmart, Target, and another town's Dollar Tree, found these gems. At my Dollar Tree. Take that, big cities! They actually had so many choices that it took me forever to choose. I think the cashier lady thought I was a weirdo. Don't care. I got my buckets. I am going to use these for my Guided Reading groups. Each group gets a bucket. Everything is all separate and organized. That's the plan. Cute colors though, right?

P.S. That's construction paper and colored pencils inside. I love dollar stores. And yes, I'm already buying classroom supplies. I'm a weirdo okay? Okay.

Also, I  made something. Woop! These are my new library pillows. I am saving the big fancy post about these for Monday Made It (because I never make anything and therefore never participate), but here's the basics. I needed new library seating. Beanbag chairs are randomly very expensive. I had pillows. I made new ones. And they only cost me $23. Booyah. Check back Monday for the "deets". 

P.S. I do not really say "deets" in real life. That was a joke. Don't judge me. 

And last of all, library labels. I really liked my library labels last year, and so of course, in true teacher nature, I redid them. Ha. I've added like a million more categories and a new KG font. And I didn't stop there. I made zebra ones!! In rockstar colors. Now, I do not have a rockstar room. But I think they are awesome. And I love these labels. I kept thinking of ways to make these labels work in my room. Seriously. They won't. But I wish they would. Cause I think they are adorable. So if you are in the market for some library labels with LOTS of category options, I have two options for you at the moment. Hopefully more to come.

So there's my five for the week! Go link up at Doodle Bugs and read some more :)

Happy Friday!

 

Five For Friday - June 13th

Happy Friday the 13th! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for Five for Friday! So here are five random things from my week...

(1)

I have been so lazy this week...mostly sleeping and reading. With a little bit of cleaning thrown in. And some swimming. And just a smidge of work. I am working on not feeling so guilty about being lazy...during the school year I am literally working nonstop. So transitioning to not working at all has been weird. Awesome. But weird. I keep reminding myself that I deserve to relax. Right? Ugh. But anyway. This is a picture of my dog, Lewis. Sums up our lives these days. 

(2)

I have also been soaking up all my laziness because I am leaving for a Literacy Institute Sunday afternoon. A couple days in Little Rock (our state capital) staying in a hotel, eating out, and learning about literacy with some teacher friends! I am really looking forward to it. And not just because I get paid to go. We're planning some shopping, cupcakes, and a teacher store visit as well!

(3)

Last night I worked on a great home project! My husband and I have lived in our house for almost two years and the shoes in our closet have been driving me crazy for that long. Okay, my shoes. Because that's mostly what it is. This is the "before" picture. Yuck.

Can't find anything. Hate it. So...

(4)

We bought some shelves! I know, I really went all out for this one. Ha. But it looks sooooooo good! We bought two of these shoe shelves from Walmart for about twenty bucks each. The box said they hold like 16 pairs of shoes or something, but if you stack them up (like the flip flops) you can fit more. I even managed to fit three pairs of Husband's shoes on there! Miraculous. 

I may have a slight shoe obsession. Maybe.

(5)

And this is the smidge of work I did this week. I finished up my 4th Grade Survival Guide for Back to School! I love this thing. Best idea my brain ever had while I was supposed to be sleeping. It's basically a little journal with rules, procedures, and stuff to know for my new kiddos. As you go over this stuff, the kids fill in the blanks and answer some questions about their first day and what they want to accomplish this year. And then they keep the little book or take it home and share it with parents. I can't wait to use it!

So what I did this week was make an Editable version for TPT. It has like 40-something pages for you to choose from and then type in your own information to build your very own Back to School Survival Guide. So if you're interested in that kind of thing, go check it out!

Thanks for reading my random! Go link up over at Doodle Bugs and tell us about your week :)

Five For Friday - August 9th Linky Party

Happy Friday! I'm so glad Five For Friday is back from Doodle Bugs Teaching. I love this linky! Basically, you just share five random things from your week. So here are my five...

1. Today is my last day off before school officially starts! We had two days of professional development this past week, but we go back Monday for a full week's worth. Just 10 days until the first day of school! And only 7 days until I get to meet my kiddos! Can you tell I'm a little excited?? So to celebrate my last official day of summer vacation, I spent it being incredibly lazy. Slept in, watched excessive amounts of Gossip Girl (my guilty pleasure Netflix show, don't judge me), ate candy, and did some online (window) shopping. It was pretty perfect :)

Lewis enjoying a lazy afternoon with Mom.

I'm seriously crushing on this monogram phone case from Put A Case on Me!

2. Teacher Week 2013 Linky Party

Have you guys heard about the big linky party going on over at Blog Hoppin next week? I am so stoked! I'm planning my big classroom reveal for their Tuesday linky. My MIL took some adorable pictures this week and I am itching to share them!

3. And speaking of classroom pictures...here is the sneak peek I posted on my Facebook page last night. Excuse my dorky face...haha. What do you think? ;) 

4. Everyday Editing from Jeff Anderson. Have you guys read this book? We had a professional development meeting this week about it and I really liked what he had to say! One of his main points about teaching editing and grammar makes so much sense to me... Why do we spend so much time teaching our students grammar and editing by looking at incorrect sentences? Why do we spend so much time finding what's wrong with sentences instead of finding what's right? Anderson encourages inviting students to see what authors do correctly and then applying those same concepts to their own writing. I can't wait to read more from him and use this with my students. It was such a teaching "duh" moment for me. Don't you love those? ;)

5. And finally, a little inspiration for all of us that are heading back to school soon. 

Teach fabulous, my friends! :)

Five For Friday! (On Monday)

 

Like I said in my last post, I have been a little lotta out of the blogging world for the past month or so. Student teaching/spring busy-ness got pretty crazy! But I am happy to be back and sharing five things from my last week in 2nd grade.

 1. Earth Day Cupcakes! I got the idea off of Pinterest to make little edible earths for my kiddos. They loved them! Just use regular cake mix (I reccomend white) and blue and green food coloring. Layer the two together (do not mix or swirl) and bake away! I also suggest using lots of food coloring to make the colors really stand out ;)

 2. Last Day Fun! After spending most of the day performing our fairy tales puppet shows (which were awesome), my second graders teamed up with their teacher to throw a little goodbye party for me on Friday. They were so excited about surprising me. We ate ice cream and partied by watching Magic School Bus. My kinda afternoon ;)

3. My kiddos and teacher also surprised me with a basket full of teaching goodies for my classroom! It was full of stickers, posters, supplies, and other fun stuff! I am so set to get a job and get to teaching ;) Big thanks to my class for their sweet gifts, hugs, and memories. 

 4. Last Day Letters. My kids all wrote me letters for my last day. They wanted to read them to me, but I waited until I got home so I could cry in peace ;) They were so sweet and thoughtful. I resisted (somewhat) the urge to correct their spelling/grammar/letter writing skills and just cherished their adorable words.

5. Weekend Fun! After a crazy last week of school, I celebrated being done with my husband and little sister. We rented Les Miserable, ate lots of cookie dough, and spent the weekend being incredibly lazy. Perfect end to an awesome week! :)

Anddddd those are my five!

hannah

Five For Friday Linky Party...On Saturday ;)

five for friday

1. We finished up studying the continents this week in second grade. I have LOVED this unit. Seriously. When we started, the kids had no idea what the difference was between a continent and a country. And now, they know all about the world! Well sort of ;) Grab my Learning the Continents Packet and teach your littles too!

2. Antarctica. When we first started this unit, I was kind of dreading Antarctica, honestly. I saved it for last on purpose. How do you explain this place to second graders?? BUT this website saved my life, which I posted the other day: www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk. Seriously. It is a British site, so it is a little more "out there" for second grade, but the vidoes/pictures are awesome. 

3. "The Job of a Lifetime". I am SO SO SO excited about this. I was inspired by some of the activities on the website above to make this extension packet for studying Antarctica. Suddenly, I am loving the place ;) In this packet, students learn all about what it's like to be a researcher living on this frozen continent! It includes a "Do you have what it takes?" checklist, a reading passage, comprehension questions, a writing prompt/printable, and even a pretend job application to be a junior researcher! I LOVE that. They never get to fill out "grown up" forms ;) I cannot wait to do this with my kids next week! Check it out here.

4. Yesterday we had our big Easter egg hunt with the kiddos! I was kind of dreading this day...crazy second graders, candy, egg hunts, meltdowns, bus rides...seems like a bad combo, right? It's so easy to get caught up in the stress of field trips like this that I miss out on the good stuff. Like my kids playing for an hour outside...completely free of technology/screens. They were climbing trees, swinging, running- I loved just watching them play with one another. And they were being so sweet! One of the students showed up late and missed the egg hunt. Five minutes later, his basket was completely full. The kids had shared their eggs with him- without being asked or prompted to at all! I love moments like that :)

 

5. And finally, Happy Easter! The hubs and I are in Texarkana for the weekend with my fam and I am loving it! But most of all, I am loving this time to remember the true importance of Easter- what my amazing Savior did for me and you. I am so overwhelmed by His sacrifice and His never-ending love. I am so undeserving. Take time to remember that during this special weekend :)

hannah