ABC Behavior Log

Hey y'all!

While I am loving the Olympics, I have to say I am kind of peeved at NBC.  They wait and show things during Primetime, but the results are all over the web.  It is currently 9:45 and they have yet to show any gymnastics.  I feel like since it's a Sunday, they should show the events live.  Please tell me I'm not the only one that feels this way?  I know some events happen at the same time, but it's just frustrating.  Oh, and don't even get me started on the long James Bond segment they showed!

Okay, vent over.

I finally kicked my butt into gear and cleaned our bedroom.  Gross doesn't even begin to describe it.  I found an entire bag full of things from school.  Because clearly my bedroom is where they belong...

Anyways, I found a crumpled up well taken care of ABC Checklist.  Do you use these?  For those of you that don't, here's what it means:

A:  Antecedent:  What was happening before the student misbehaved
B:  Behavior:  What did the student do?
C:  Consequence:  What was the consequence?

I brought it home so I could retyped it and cutesify it (DUH!).  Okay, it's not that cute, but it has much better fonts.

ABC Chart

I had to keep these on one of my special friends last year and am sure it will come in handy this year.  I'll also be working on my time out sheet for when I send kiddos to other teachers.  Hopefully someone can use this.

I'm off to begrudgingly watch NBC...

Sunday Blues & Parent Communication

Waaahhh...

I don't want to go back!

Spring Break has been such a tease for summer.  I did not do a lot, which is kind of what I wanted.  Although yesterday I went to Carolina's Spring Game.  Here are some pics :)

Marcus Lattimore.  I am definitely obsessed!

With George Roger's Heisman Trophy & SEC Eastern Championship Trophy

With the trophy the winner of the Carolina/Clemson game gets. 

With the Capital One Bowl Trophy

It was a lot of fun, but I missed my hubby!  He didn't go but took care of lots of things around the house which I am super thankful for!

Today, I'm getting ready for heading back to work tomorrow.  In all actuality, there is not a lot of time until summer.  When we get back, we have only THREE weeks until the PASS test.  That is not a lot of time.  It will definitely be a busy and stressful three weeks. 

While avoiding doing work, I noticed that Lorraine from Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies is having a linky party for parent communication!

I've posted a little bit before about how I communicate with parents. 

In the beginning of the school year, I send home a parent information sheet that I keep in my room with parent information.  I found this a couple of years ago and don't know where I got it from.

Student Information Sheet

This way I always have the information at hand.  A lot of the stuff we send home goes to the office and instead of having to copy that, I just send this.  What's one more piece of paper to fill out, right?!

I keep it in a binder with this on the cover:

Communication Log

Inside the binder, I keep this as my documentation for contacting parents (although I do admit I'm not very good about recording the information).

Communication Log Form

In our communication log, I print this out and glue it in there.  Next year, I will probably change it to reflect Class Dojo points since I don't really use my clip chart anymore.

I also send home a weekly newsletter.  I started off using the template provided by Education World.  Here's our most recent one:

April 2

I'm not sure why it shows up so funky in the preview.  I also include a picture of the student with the highest number of points (for reading and exercising) next to the calendar, but I removed it since I'm sharing it on the blog.  I send the newsletter home every Monday.

That's how I communicate with parents.  How do you?  Head over and link up!

Spring Break & New Goodies!

Today starts my glorious week off!  I am SO excited!

I have BIG plans. 

Unfortunately...I've done nothing yet. 

Aside from sleep in of course.  Thank goodness the pup let me sleep!  We are constantly trying new things to help him (and us) at night.  Yesterday, after Easter dinner with my family, we stopped off at Petsmart and got him these:

This is supposed to help him relax.  We had some pills we gave him before, but they didn't have melatonin in them (we've read online that melatonin is supposed to help dogs relax).

 Gizmo has been peeing a lot in our upstairs hallway.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before.  Well, two nights in a row he peed in our bedroom.  We're hoping this helps, but when I woke up this morning I saw that he had peed (again!) in the hallway.  In a way, the hallway is better because we're going to have to get that carpet replaced when we replace what he tore up.

A Thundershirt.  Yep.  Giz feels all safe and secure now (hopefully).  In fact, he still wearing it now and is sleeping in my lap as I type this. 

Hey, does that mean I can use it as an excuse for why I haven't really done anything around the house today?!

You may have noticed (or maybe not), but I updated my blog button to coordinate with my header.  I realized I better do it quick before picnik shuts down since that's what I used to help create my header.  I'm excited!  I think it turned out pretty good!

I also have started My Fitness Pal again.  If you are looking to lose weight, I strongly recommend it.  It helped me lose about 10 pounds last summer.  I kind of stopped once school started, but I realized I need to go back to it.  I think it's pretty similar to Weight Watchers, but best of all...it's FREE!  I started it back up last Monday and lost about 3 pounds (even though it says 5, that's based on my weight from when I first signed up last summer).  I won't lie...Monday was HARD!   I was starving pretty much all day!  I could've eaten a lot more though because I got this message when I completed my food diary:

One of my favorite things to eat is an ice cream bar that is only 45 calories!  I've seen these on Pinterest, but I've known about them for a long time.  I remember my sister telling me about them back when I was in college.  Wanna know how to make it? 

Here's what you need:  Graham Crackers & Cool Whip.

Lay out your graham crackers.  You could use a full sheet if you wanted.

Put about a tablespoon of cool whip onto half of the crackers.  It does not have to be pretty!

Take the other half and gently press on top of the cool whip.  Place in freezer for several hours or until frozen.

After it has set, wrap individually in plastic wrap.

They are really yummy and a nice sweet treat (for very few calories).

I also made a shopping list for the hubby and I to use.  I was inspired by the one featured over at IHeart Organizing. 

Here's ours:

Grocery List

Much thanks to Kristen over at Ladybug's Teacher Files for the tutorial about the font!

Also, I got tagged again by Run!  Miss Nelson's Got The Camera.

I've been tagged before, so I'll just answer her questions :)

1.  Which do you prefer teaching:  Reading or Math?  Hmm, that's a toughie.  In the intervention program I teach, I chose to teach Reading over Math.  I guess overall it would be reading.

2.  Where's your favorite place to find clip art?  Okay, I am a total clip art newbie.  I like any place that has cheap (or preferably free) clip art!  Some of my favorite places are:  The 3AM Teacher, Scrap Ems, & I also have some Thistlegirl clip art.  I have lots saved on my flash drive though that I'm not sure where it came from...

3.  Do you count spelling tests as a reading or writing grade?  We actually do not do spelling tests this year (gasp...I know).  But when I did, I counted it as writing.

4.  What is your favorite website for your students?  My students have access to VMath Online & Ticket to Read through the intervention program I teach.  I love it!

5.  Do you have a Point and Shoot camera or a DSLR?  I have a point and shoot.  This is the camera I have.  It was on sale at Target around Christmastime for only $99. 

6.  Do you arrive to school early or stay late?  I am no early bird, but I actually get to school early.  Teacher's don't have to be there until 7:00, but I get to work around 6:30 (more like 6:40 recently).

7.  Coke or Pepsi?  Cherry Coke Zero or Diet Dr. Pepper!

8.  Michael's or Hobby Lobby?  Ugh, there are NO Hobby Lobby's here!  I wish there were though!

9.  What is your favorite read aloud?  Probably The Lorax!  I love the message behind it :)

10.  Winter Break or Spring Break?  I'm obviously loving Spring Break now, but I love that Winter Break is 2 whole weeks (except next year...they shortened our break by two days...boo!)

5

Okay, I'm off to go lay out!  

Lattice & Plants

2 days.

2 days.
 
I think I can, I think I can.

In all honesty, my kids have not really been to bad this week.  Except for one. 

I'm not really sure what else I can do for this kid.  I'm (and my associate teacher) running out of ideas. 

At one point a couple of weeks ago I had to freeze him out.  I tried to have a private conversation with him about his math (ie: he does nothing).  He proceeded to cross his arms, turn away from me, and humph and haw.  So I froze him out.  I totally ignored him for the next hour or so.  He tried to participate and I just didn't respond.  He seemed to get the hint because when they came back from special area he was a lot better. 

He just can't get along with others.  Any tips?  I use Class Dojo and this kid gets negative points pretty much every single day.

Anyways, onto some school stuff.

We've been working on seeds lately.  Last night we had a Science Fair.  We were supposed to do an endangered species project, but we just made a poster of what we'd done in class.  I will forwarn you, it is definitely kid made :) 

Okay never mind.  I thought I had a picture.  Trust me, you're not missing much.

Anyways, we experimented with if you could grow seeds without soil.  A lot of the kids said no.  Well, you can!

Our sunflower seeds never grew though (whomp whomp whomp).

Today our FOSS kit said we needed to compare the germinated seeds to what we started off with.  I've kind of realized I can move away from the FOSS kit and create my own things.  So instead of using their response sheet, I made this one. 

My Changing Seed

Here are some pics of them working hard today.  Some of them really take pride in their work!

My friend who doesn't really listen or follow directions?  Here's his page.  You'll notice lots of mistakes and erasures.

In Math, we're working on lattice multiplication.  I've been really impressed with their multi-digit by one-digit multiplication and a lot of them really like lattice.  I couldn't really find any blank lattice sheets this morning, so I made these up real quick.  I left them blank so I could use them as a master copy for them.  Today they solved 4 problems and my more advanced students could make their own up. 

Blank Lattice

I'm off to sadly clean out our freezer.  I went to take my lunch out this morning and realized the door hadn't been shut all the way.  Pretty sure everything in there is ruined.  Ugh!

Happy Thursday!! :)

April Currently

It's that time again!  Farley has her April Currently up!

This weekend has been glorious!  I've gotten lots of sleep and yesterday I went with my mom and sister to the Flowertown Festival.  There's one booth we go to every year that has the best necklaces for cheap.  I'll post a picture of the new ones I bought but here's the first one I ever bought from them:

They come with earrings all for like $16.  I always get tons of compliments on them so I am obsessed to say the least.

I also saw The Hunger Games again today.  It was just as good the second time!  I also found this video with some behind the scenes action for all of you fans out there! 

One hand.

That's how many days until Spring Break.  I am SO excited! 

I found out a couple of weeks ago that the program I teach will not be around next year as we know it.  It's good and bad:  Good because 3rd grade will take the PASS Writing next year and I have NO time to formally teach writing now.  Bad because it means a huge increase in class size.  I currently only have 9 kiddos (I know, I know), and next year I could have up to 20.  It's nothing compared to when I started as a first year teacher:  I had 25 fifth graders in a very high needs school.  Can I blame that stress for my weight gain?!  Hahaha

I have lots of things I've been doing with my kiddos, but I always forget to take pictures!  Here is one activity we did where we learned about things that cause heat:  the sun, rubbing, burning, & electricity.  After we discussed it and made a bubble map, I gave my kiddos this and they had to sort it based on whether or not it produced heat or not.  Overall, they did really good on it and ALL of my IEP kids got a 100!

Heat

Sorry, I don't have pictures of any of the completed ones, but they basically just cut these out, folded a piece of construction paper in half, and labeled it as Produces Heat & Doesn't Produce Heat.  Maybe this can help some of you, if you teach about heat!

I'm off to watch the OC and cook dinner.  Only 5 more days!

Antonym Match-Up & More Geometry

I've done it again.

I've waited until Sunday to do everything on my To Do list, including laundry and school work.  Blahhh

This post will be super quick because I need to iron all my crap.  Ugh...

I had to come up with a word study to do this week, so I thought I would work on synonyms and antonyms.  I had a Synonym Match-Up that someone so kindly shared (no clue who...if it was you, puh-lease let me know!).  So, I based my Antonym Match-up after that:

Antonym Match Up 1

So, if you shared a Synonym Match-Up that looks just like this (and even has a lot of the same words!), please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

As I type this, I'm pretty sure I downloaded Teeny's Antonym Sort a while ago and am thinking I should totally use that with my lower group.  Well rats...now that I look at it, I already have.  I wonder if they would remember...

We're incorporating this into our S.S. because I don't have enough ELA minutes so I have to have an ELA component in S.S. (reading and writing is not enough).  Soooo, we either have Word Work, Writing, or Fluency.  Okay, let's be honest, the fluency component hasn't been too prevalent.
Let's switch gears to Geometry.  How many of you are EDM users?  I really liked it a while ago, but I am so over it.  I am tired of it not applying to our state standards.  My kiddos will finish Chapter 6 this week. 
What? 

Oh yes, of course I have taught every single lesson in Chapter 6.  riiiiight.... 

I looked at the test and am so annoyed.  Our district is big on only testing standards...so why should I use the EDM test that includes solid figures and decimals, which they don't have to know.

So, I'm not.  I made a review for their test and it looks like I'll be making it myself (which might be frowned on by the EDM lovers out there).  I know, I know...you're supposed to teach each lesson for exposure purposes.  But I need my kiddos to know what they have to know for the state test. Yes, I am one of those teachers...it's the sad truth.  I feel like I have to be.  

On a side note, we take our MAP tests this week.  I may feel slightly close to hyperventilating every time I think of it...

Anyways, here's the review sheet I'm using (for their HW).  I'll share the test with you when I make it.  Let's see...the test is on Thursday so I'll probably be scrambling to make it Wednesday night!

Chapter 6 Test Review

Yeah, there's one random division question in there.  It was on the EDM test which I thought I would use until I went on to page 2.  Hopefully you can use it...I know some of you mentioned that you'd be teaching geometry soon!

Okay, I'm off to be a good girl and iron all of my crap professional clothes and finish the laundry....ugh, gag me!

P.S.  Anyone watching the Drew Peterson movie on Lifetime tonight?  I enjoyed a long day of Lifetime watching which is probably why its almost 8:30 and I'm just getting done with all my work.  Procrastination at its finest :)

OH, P.S.S.  Have y'all heard of Google Friend Connect ending?!  I couldn't believe it when I saw it on another blog and sure enough...confirmed by Wikipedia.  I also got an email about picnik closing...what is happening?!  I don't know how this new Google+ works... :(  For those of you wondering, Google Friend Connect is what most (if not all?) of us use when we follow a blog. 

Anyone have any information to share? 

The "B" Word {and a geometry freebie}

There's been lots of talk in the W household lately about the B word. 

No, not the bad word...although that definitely escapes my lips on occasion from time to time frequently.

Nope, not babies either, although we have been talking about that.  I think I'm a little more eager to talk about them than the hubster :)

The B word I'm talking about friends is the one we ladies don't like to hear...

Budget.

Yep.  The hubsters is on a money/investing kick and wants to discuss a budget.  Well, he said not really a budget per se, but more of a "let's pay ourselves first (by saving) and then we can spend the rest how we'd like."

So, our goal is to save at least 12% (although he wants 15%) a month, including our retirement savings.  Currently, I'm saving about 8-9% in retirement.  I do need to make sure I send some money over to my Ally Savings Account each month.  I normally only do it if I have extra money left over.  Also, I think since we're so young (25) we're going to put more of our money into stocks than just sitting in a savings account. 

Plus, I think we're going to start putting some money aside specifically for our kids' college fund.  Yeah, no kiddos, but we want to be ready.  The hubster was really lucky in that his parents saved enough to cover all of his college.  My parents had pretty much none saved so I have student loan debt.  Thank the lord I was a smarty pants and got loads of scholarships, otherwise I'd be in some real big debt!  We'd like to be able to pay for our kids college so they won't be in debt (like me).  Luckily, I've been in school the past year so I haven't had to pay anything and I should be able to cut $5,000 off for teaching in a Title I, or high needs school (I believe you have to teach 5 years in a school like this...I'm on my 4th year of teaching).
He's on a big kick because of a book he read that we got from Goodwill. 

Sidenote:  I ♥ Goodwill!  I got lots of books for me and my classroom.  Check it out!

(The Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul is for my friend)

All of these books plus 2 for the hubby for only $7.99 (we had a 10% off coupon since we donated to them)

So, that's what's going on with us.  I remind him that we probably have a lot more saved up than most people our age and that (contrary to what he thinks), I am quite frugal.  I mean, I LOVE these places:

1. The dollar bins at Target (seriously took so much willpower to not buy anything when I swung in there on Sunday for a B-Day card).
2. The Dollar Store
3. Goodwill
4. Ross (even though I do NOT like that they limit you to 8 items in the fitting room.  I mean really, who takes in less than 8 items?  My size fluctuates from brand to brand so I normally have at least 2 of each item in different sizes.  I hate having to get dressed in my clothes and come back out and trade...ugh!)
5. Gap Outlet (Their sale in the summer is awesome!  I spent an average of $4 this past summer for all of the things I bought!)
6. Plus, pretty much everything I ever buy is on sale

I have really enjoyed reading what everyone's days are like.  Isn't it amazing how everything, like start times and duties required, varies from place to place? 

So, in math, we've been talking about Geometry.  Lines, rays, points, intersecting, parallel, triangles, etc.  Tomorrow, we're going to make some anchor charts (which will be nowhere near as cute as all of you peeps out there) to help us remember these and then we're going to review using our dry erase boards.  Do you use dry erase boards in your room?  My kids L-O-V-E them, but I do not love dealing with dried out markers, "he has my marker," etc.  However, they know I am all out of care and if there's a problem, they'll just have to use paper. 

Before I left Friday, I was looking around for a good review sheet for my kiddos to do for homework.  Well I'll be darned, but I couldn't find anything!  So, I made this little baby up.  Feel free to grab it!

Geometry

Yeah, see #20?  I was kinda running out of ideas!  I usually put 'D. None of the above' as an answer choice, so I just had to say 'Not a line.'  Let me know what you think and if you grab it.

I have been watching Wife Swap all freakin day and I love it!  There has been a marathon on all day and I'm loving seeing some episodes I've never seen before.  The announcer just cracked me up.  There's a squeaky clean family and he said in order to not cuss, a boy in the family replaces bad words with vegetables so the announcer said "What the squash?!"  Ohmiword, LOVE it!  What have you done today?

I can't believe some of you had to work today...that's insane!  Hope you have a great day tomorrow...we've already made it to Tuesday!

First Day Back & a Freebie

Well, I did it.  I survived the first day back.

Okay, I'm only kidding.  It really wasn't bad.  I was glad to see my kiddos and enjoyed hearing about all the goodies they got for Christmas. 

I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be.  Well, let me rephrase that.  I wasn't as tired this morning as I thought I would be, because I can do one night of minimal sleep.  I didn't get tired until I came home and sat down to check facebook check pinterest blog stalk do lesson plans.  Yes, I've gotten lots of lesson planning done...sure.

Something notable that happened today was I found out I'm losing one of my kiddos.  Tomorrow.  It kills me.  This particular student had a rough year in 2nd grade.  This kiddo is so bright and so sweet and I was just really sad.  I had an all boys class today since both of my girls were out, although I'm pretty sure one of them is also gone permanently.  Again, another sweetheart.  Plus, these two students are two of my higher students so that's another reason I hate to see them go.  I know they would do well on the state test and make our school proud.

Okay, off of that soapbox, I just had to share. 

Thanks to those of you for your comments on my last post.  Chrissy B, you literally had me laughing out loud.  My things do the same "whee" trip from school and back.

It was freezing here today.  I refused to go outside.  My kiddos were thrilled to find out we would have indoor recess.  Do your kids like indoor recess?  Mine love it for some strange reason.  I like it because I can sit and try to get organized while they're playing.  I allow two kids to play on the SMART Board and this was an interaction I heard today between them:
A:  It's my turn!
B.  No, it's still my turn.  You gotta give a brother a minute!
Then, they accidentally hit the orientation button, and of course just randomly hit a few of the centers.  It was nowhere near oriented and I had a good laugh watching them try to navigate writing and erasing.  SO funny.

The hubsters loves the show Storage Wars.  It has been on pretty much since we got home.  Have y'all seen this show?  It is kind of addicting. 

I feel like I should share something with you, since you had to deal with my rambling.  Not sure if it would be helpful, but it would probably only be to those of you who have a bathroom in your classroom.  This is what I used.  It seems to work and the kiddos know if they yell the issue out then they have to take care of it.  Maybe this is helpful?  I don't know.  Hope you're doing well!


Bathroom Sign In

Field Trip and Word Work

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Charles Town Landing.  My kids LOVED it!  It tied in nicely with what we're studying now and was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed it a lot more than our field trip to the aquarium, because everything was so spread out and it was easier to keep my kiddos with me.  I may have had some kids try to take off escape really excited, but it was fun.

A few weeks ago, the director of the intervention program I teach visited my classroom for a full morning because they were concerned my students weren't getting enough ELA minutes.  It's incorporated into Science & SS, but she said I really needed to incorporate the components of reading during S.S., like word works, vocabulary, & fluency.  She is so sweet and kept saying "I know everything I'm telling you is more work."  Well, yes, it is.  But, I want my kids to get what they need.  Plus, this is SO much better than what I was worried she might say which was:  You need an ELA block and won't be able to teach both Science and S.S. every day.

So this week, we started our new S.S. block.  My kids really like it (so far).  I split them into two groups:  a low group and a high group (blue and red groups to them).  My high group always starts with word work.  This week, they sorted based on sounds (ea and oo), sorted vce and non-vce words (they also had to write why the e was important), and filled in the blanks on sentences with oa words.  My low group worked on matching words to picture (ee, oo, & oa words) and sorting vce and non-vce words.  So far, they are going well.  When they worked with me, we worked on our Native Americans assessment and discussed how we can use a piece of text (our book) to help answer questions.  We also reenacted (with raffle tickets and M & Ms) how trade went with the Native Americans and Europeans.  Then, they wrote about how the Native Americans felt in their S.C. History Journal.  Next week, we're going to be using a rebus to learn about the different groups of settlers in S.C.  We only have 2 days of school, so I'm hoping we'll be able to finish this rebus because I'm pretty sure we're behind in S.S. so we've got to move it!

Here are the documents I made.  I had a different font, but it won't show up on scribd for some reason.  I used Pea Heather Michele and smiley monster from Nick and Amanda of course.  Well, I fixed that problem by saving it as a PDF, but now it shows up all funky on the preview, but it should download correctly.  I'm not sure if this is something you could use, but it might be helpful!

Ea Word Sort

ea

oa

Oo Word Sort

oo

Picture Word Match for Journal

Vce Word Sort

vce

Congrats to those of you who have next week off!  We have Monday and Tuesday so it shouldn't be too bad! 

P.S.  Can you believe this Clemson game!  LOVE IT!  I just hope we can whip up on them next week and make it 3 years in a row!

A Field Trip, a Lockdown, and a Poetry Unit

So this past Friday, we had our first field trip to the aquarium.  I like field trips, but am I the only one who thinks they are WAY more exhausting than a day of teaching?  Especially on a Friday because Fridays are my (somewhat) relaxing days.  My kids really liked it and asked a lot "Is that a real animal?"  I had to keep telling them over and and over that the aquarium does not have fake animals!  I was glad to get back to school as my kids were literally running all over the aquarium on our field trip.

When we got back, I had them write a paragraph about our trip and illustrate.  It was nice and quiet and gave me a chance to sign their communication logs.  I know I've posted them before, but here's the communication log I use in PDF.  I like how I can just circle the positive and negative behaviors. 

Conduct Calendar #2

So it's time for dismissal and one of our buses wasn't there yet so I was walking one of my bus riders outside and say cop cars speeding by on the road in front of our school.  There was a lot of talk among the adults that something was going on.  A few minutes later, we were on Code Yellow: Administrative Lock D and had to bring all students inside.  In came all of the car riders and they took all of the kids on the bus off so we had pretty much everyone in the cafeteria.  This was of course the one day that everyone (teachers) planned to leave right after school!  It didn't last long and I was still able to leave before 3, but it was kind of scary!  I'm still not sure what went on, but there were a ton of cop cars I passed on my way home.

Next week, I am going to start a figurative language and poetry unit.  On Monday, I am going to give them a pre-test to see what they know.  The students are going to have a poetry folder where they put their poetry and a sheet listing the figurative language they need to know.  I called it Perfect Poetry Possesses (how do you like that use of alliteration?!).  Here it is for ya!

Perfect Poetry Possesses

I have been working on all of this grad school stuff and I cannot WAIT until this semester is done!  I hope everyone has been doing well!  I am super excited about this week because Friday is a teacher workday/PD.  Whoop whoop!  I consider that not even having to work because I can TCB :)

Portable Word Wall With Test Taking Privacy

Whew, I am so glad tomorrow today is Friday!  My hubby said something about 4 day work weeks being just as hard as 5 day work weeks and I was trying to figure out what he was talking about!  It took me a few seconds before I realized we had Monday off!  This week has been eventful to say the least.  I found out yesterday we are losing an amazing teacher due to our 10 day count being short :(.  I am so sad!  That also means that one of the other third grade teachers will be going back down to 2nd grade, where she was last year.  I will also be getting about 5 more students so I'm a little overwhelmed trying to make sure I have everything set up and ready to go for Monday.  In fact, I stayed at school until 5:40 this afternoon!  I am looking forward to resting this weekend and the USC vs. Georgia game!  I love that some of you are also big college football fans!  I am slightly obsessed, which I'm sure you can't tell :)

So anyways, back to what this post is about.  I can take no credit for this because I got all of the sheets and ideas from the current 3rd grade chair who has been teaching 3rd grade for about 6 years.  Just wanted to share that disclaimer :)

In the beginning of the year (and likely next week for all my new friends who are joining my room), I give my students these sheets to decorate (including stamping their coins):

Word Wall[1]

  Now last year, I learned my lesson.  First, let me show you what they look like assembled so you get what I'm saying.  Here it is (notice...still not laminated...arg!)

So last year, I laminated the file folders first.  Then, when the students finished coloring in their pages, I stapled every little page on (including the word wall part on the inside, which was blank mind you).  Well, since most of you are teachers I'm sure you know where I'm going with this...staples were coming out, poking kids left and right.  So this year, I knew something had to change. 

I had the kids color the pages like they normally do.  Then, I glued the pages on the outside of the file folders.  Then, I had to decide...would the kids write the word wall words or should I just give them the lists already printed out.  I'm sure you can guess which one I went with.  So now, I'm just waiting for these babies to be laminated so we can use them.

I love these word walls because:

• They offer privacy during test taking
• They have all sight words/common spelling words students always ask how to spell
• They have some common words, like months and days of the week for students to know how to spell

So anywhos, I hope you like this and hopefully you can use them in your classroom!  This is one of the first times I've used scribd so I'm not sure if you can access it.  Let me know if not! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  I'm gearing up for the battle between the hedges... USC vs. Georgia!  Whoop whoop!

P.S.  I thought I'd mention I sat down so excited to write this last night and got to typing and then of course I didn't have the pdf saved on my flash drive!  And my school e-mail wasn't working...so now I'm wondering why I felt the need to share this tidbit of info...I blame it on my sleep deprived self!  Oh that's right...I'm seeing it now..because the beginning of my post is all about tomorrow being Friday...guess I should change that :)

MAP Data Analysis

Yesterday I went to a refresher training for the Voyager program I teach.  Last year I was unable to teach the Math part in small groups and I really hope to do that this year.  I'm thinking of having an hour and half block to teach the Voyager program.  During the hour and a half, the students would rotate to three stations:  Reading, Math, and Computer.  Both the reading and math have an online component so they would be using Ticket to Read or VMath Live on the computer.  However, I do not know when we'll be going to special area, lunch, and recess so the schedule I mapped out yesterday may not happen, but as a teacher, we all know we have to remain flexible! 

I thought I would share with you what I used to track my student's MAP data last year.  I just modified it so that it's up to date for this school year.  I left off a year so that it can be used year after year. 

Math MAP Analysis:  Click here to view this.
Reading MAP Analysis:  Click here to view this.

These are great for determining small group instruction.  I plan to use this to group my students for differentiated math group instruction on Fridays.  I will also look at where my students fall for Reading to determine mini lessons with guided reading.  I hope you find this helpful!

UPDATE:  I found a picture of one that I filled out for one of my students last year.  This one also has their MAP scores from the previous grade.  The ones I attached are cuter (I think!).  Hopefully this is helpful :) 

I am off to lay out for my last day of summer then I have big plans to paint my nails!  Whoo hoo...I am kind of excited about going back.  I know I'll be regretting this in a few months though.  I'm also loving that college football is around the corner!  On a totally random note, we just bought this (not exact brand) for my husband to wear to the games we go to.  I'd love to find a girls version.  I have a jersey (as you can see in my header), but Alshon Jeffrey signed it!  I went to Steve Spurrier's Ladies Clinic this year and he signed my jersey, so my hubby says I can no longer wear it!

Wow, this is sad how quickly I got off topic.  This just goes to show how spaztastic my brain is lately.  Yes, I totally believe in spaztastic being a real word.  I will continue to use it :)  Hope everyone is enjoying their summer or start to the school year.  See you soon!

Busy Creating

As much as I am dying to get to my school today (minus practically having to wear a gas mask...read more about that here), I decided against it.  First of all, it's raining all day.  Second, I have totally neglected my house recently.  It's not good when your husband looks at you and asks, "What happened to our house?"  I have a huge pile of laundry that needs to be ironed.  Tons of things to take care of here.  Plus, I have class tomorrow so I'll already be out.  I don't live very close to where I work.  My school is on the way home from my class, so I'll just make one big trip tomorrow.  I'm hoping my husband will come home pleasantly surprised that the house looks liveable nice.

Anyways, I have been busy updating some things I've used in the past, but never thought to make them all pretty!  I am really excited about these.  Feel free to use them and if you would like me to personalize one for you, just leave a comment and I'll be happy to.  I'm not sure how to put my gadget for you to e-mail me on the blog yet...I'm trying to get there!

Data Notebook Cover.  I store the following things in my data notebook:  Running records, MAP scores, placement tests, writing samples, etc.

Sunshine Notebook Cover.  This is my notebook that has all of my sweet notes from students, parents, and colleagues. 

POD Notebook Cover.  This is what I got the binder for I showed you yesterday.  I still can't find where I got the original idea for.  I will have dividers with folders inside with labels like Fill Out & Return, To File, Important Information, etc.  This will house the papers I accumulate throughout the day

DOG Folder:  We use folders for our students to take home every day.  This will go in the folder cover.

Here's a preview of what they look like.  The above links are for PDF files.  I also included the spine for the Sunshine Notebook.  I reused a binder from college so the spine currently says Teaching S.S.  I got kind of tired of that!











Like I said, the links are PDFs so the fonts are a little cuter.  Hope you can use these!  I'm off to keep doing some housework!

I'm Back!

Wondering where I've been?  Well, I have still been stalking reading blogs, but have had to resist the urge to do a big post because I had to get my butt in gear with grad school.  I've taken classes all summer and I think I used up all of my motivation during Summer I.  I just had no motivation during Summer II.  It also does not help that I discovered all of these wonderful blogs during Summer II and would literally spend hours perusing the internet and not working on my papers.  The next thing I know, my husband is calling to tell me he's on his way home and I've gotten nothing accomplished!  I also just took the PRAXIS II: Teaching Reading this past Saturday so I was busy studying for that as well.  Anyways, I am pretty much done now, so I feel I have some freedom. 

I am beyond all kinds of excited to find out that I can (possibly...fingers crossed!) get into my classroom tomorrow.  I have been by here and there to drop off my multiple thrifty shopping finds.  HOWEVER, and this is a big one...my room stinks.  Like, smells terrible.  I could barely stomach being in there to drop off my stuff and don't know how I'll be able to work in there for hours upon hours.  The problem is most of the room is carpeted.  It used to be a TMD classroom with lots of, er, accidents.  The AC has been off a while.  Get my drift?  They were supposed to shampoo the carpets, but true to what I heard, that is not happening.  So I plan to go in armed with spray good smells, my Shark Vacuum Cleaner (LOVE!), and some Arm & Hammer Carpet Deodorizer.  We'll see how it goes.  I do have a few awesome buys to show you.  Keep in mind, most of it is already at my school.  This is just what I had here and what I might have bought today ;)

First up, Target.  Can I just say how much I love Target.  I know I'm not alone in my obsession love for  the Bullseye.

Here's what you see:

• 3 Finger Pointers----> Dollar Bin!
• 5 Storage Boxes.  Regularly $5.99;  on sale for $5.00
• Blue Storage Box.  Don't even get me started.  I have looked everywhere for a blue or green.  I got 5 a long time ago, but had to get 2 yellows.  I finally came to grips with the fact that I would just have to spray paint one of the yellow ones.  Anyways, I finally found this and was in heaven!  I plan to do this with them.  I know some of you have pictures of this on your blog of how you've done this in your classroom.  I of course cannot seem to remember whose blog I saw this on so please let me know if it was yours :)
• Pom-Poms and pipe cleaners (also dollar bin!)
• 4 small pencil sharpeners (one for each group)
• Googly eyes (I want to create a Mr. Spacer)
• Fabric book covers.  I got one of each size because I'd also like to do this.  I'm just not sure which size I'll need.

Next, Staples.  Can I just say how much I love Staples back to school sales?  This is what I picked up today:

Here's what I got:

• Avery Tabs (pre-numbered!).  I will use these either for my communication log or data notebook.  I have a very transient population so it's much easier for me to assign numbers and organize information and data that way.
• 10 folders for $.10 each
• 2 packs of erasers for $.10 each
• 2 packs of white out for $.50 each
• 2 packs of black sharpies for $.25 each
• 2 packs of paper clips for $.50 each
• Bright poster markers (can't remember how much)

I also used my 15% off card...sweet!

Wal-Mart...I consider it a necessary evil.  This is what I picked up

The blue tub was only $3!  I was pretty excited about that.  I'd like to do something like this with it (scroll down to clipboard storage).  The binder I got to put on my desk to organize papers I get throughout the day.  I swear, I have GOT to start pinning all of these ideas.  I got this idea from a fabulous blogger.  I'll try to find the source later.

Ikea:  I was super excited to go there.  It was my first time and I picked these up for my classroom:

I'm not sure what I'll do with the plastic bins yet, but I'm SURE they'll find a home in my classroom.  In the back are book/magazine bins that my students will use as their book baskets.

I've also been going through my files and have some things you might like.  Check them out and hopefully you can use them!

This is what I keep on my clipboard.  It is extremely helpful for the end of the day when it comes time to write down why little Johnny is on Think About It instead of Outstanding. :)

Update:  I changed the following into PDFs.  For those of you who use the clip chart in your classroom, this is a chart I glue in their communication logs every week.  I reduce the size to about 80% so it will fit in their journal

• Conduct Calendar with positive and negative behaviors (good for a rushed end of the day)
• Conduct Calendar plain
• Conduct Calendar plain and in Spanish

I apologize in advance if these links don't work.  I've been having a lot of trouble with Google Docs this afternoon.  If you would like for me to email you a copy customized with your name & class at the top, leave a comment and let me know! 

Okay, I have already written WAY too much, but it feels good to be back!  Please feel free to comment or e-mail me with any questions or comments you have!  Thanks for sticking with me! :)