Teacher Week {Therapeutic Thursday}

 
Today is Therapeutic Thursday over at Blog Hoppin'! It's a chance to share what you do to unwind/relax after a really stressful day. I'll be the first to admit it... I am the type to overly stress about things. I like everything to be organized and perfect and hold myself to high expectations, so stressful days probably come more often for me than need be! But I am working on taking on less and making sure to leave time for the things that make me smile. 

Here's what helps me...

My BF and I just bought bikes this past spring and we're loving them! It's nice to be able to just go for a quick ride and clear my head. We've also been to a couple rail trails that have had amazing views that couldn't help but make you feel come, like the view below:

These two cuties always help me feel better after a difficult day! There's nothing better than walking in the door and seeing the two of them waiting for me. :) They also are good partners in crime for my next favorite therapeutic activity...

A nap! Either that, or go to bed early. I love being curled up under the covers with my two loves at my feet. And if I can't fall asleep, I'll usually resort to watching some of my favorites, such as...

          

These three shows can always make me smile! And then there's my favorite guilty pleasure...

Finally, my all-time favorite way to unwind is to settle in with a good book. I absolutely LOVE to read and, since I'm a pretty fast reader, I tend to go through books pretty quickly. Over the summer, when I have more time on my hands, I have been known to read two-three books a week! I also rarely listen to the radio in the car but listen to books on CD instead! Right now I'm listening to Criminal by Karin Slaughter... I just started it but am hooked already! My all-time favorite books on CD are Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah and Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. The last great book I read on my own was The Likeness by Tana French. 

Oh, and how could I forget... getting to spend some quality time with my one and only can always help brighten my mood! 

So that's how I unwind and keep myself sane when things aren't going perfectly. How do you cope with the busy life of being a teacher? Link up and let us know!

Teacher Week {Technology Tuesday}

Today on the Teacher Week agenda... Technology! Head on over to Blog Hoppin' to see all the great technology tips teachers are leaving over there!

Here are my technology tips for the week!

#1. CTRL PRTSC - Ok, this one is most likely a "duh!" tip for most of you, but I seriously had never heard of using "control printscreen" before this past year! A friend in my masters class told me about it and now I use it almost daily! Basically, you hold down ctrl and prtsc at the same time and voila! You have captured a photo of whatever is currently on your computer screen! See the example below:

You can then simply crop whatever it is you need. I find this especially useful when I want to explain something on the web to parents on parent night via powerpoint. I can just paste the image of what the screen they will see looks like!

#2. XtraMath! - I LOVE XtraMath and so do the kids! It is a free online program where kids practice math facts. The beauty of this program is it records which math facts students are fluent with and which ones they aren't. AND students, parents, and teachers alike can all see the results, so it is a great tool to use to guide a fact fluency discussion at parent-teacher conferences.

#3. I know I've already talked about him, but I love Mr. Smith over at www.teachertipster.com! I've used many of his ideas and the kids always love the stuff I get from him.

#4. This one is brand new to me (thanks to Miss Nelson for this find!) and I haven't played around with it too much yet but am excited to incorporate it with my kiddos this year! It is a website where students go to practice all the Common Core standards for reading and math and it looks great! I'm hoping this will be a great new tool for my classroom!

Well, that's all I've got for now! So go link up and share your techy tips as well!

Teacher Week {Must Haves Monday}

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week! I haven't had much to blog about lately because I've been spending ALL my free time trying to get my classroom organized and set up. I spent today organizing all of my picture and chapter books and setting up my bulletin board displays. I hope to post pics (and be finished!) soon!

Until then, here are my "Teacher Must Haves" for the year:

#1. My Scotch Thermal Laminator - I just purchased this little beauty this summer and have been using it non-stop for the last month and I a*b*s*o*l*u*t*e*l*y love it! I haven't had anything get crinkled or messed up yet and I've gone through almost 100 sheets! Our school laminator is constantly destroying stuff so I'm lovin' my new Scotch Laminator!

#2. My laptop - I create almost everything I use in my classroom (unless it was purchased at TPT!) and therefore have a very close relationship with my laptop!

#3. Dry Erase Boards and Markers - My kiddos and I LOVE dry erase! We use dry erase sentence strip boards in reading and writing, dry erase sleeves for math, and our dry erase paddles for almost everything else! There is not a day that goes by that I don't use this stuff!

           

#4. My Ipad and Iphone - I use both almost daily in the classroom and definitely both a TON at home! A simple thing I've found I use my Iphone for a lot in the classroom is music... I just find a good kid-friendly channel on Pandora and voila! The kids are happily working {quietly} while listening to music.

#5. Books for Pleasure - I love, LoVe, LOVE reading to my kiddos at school but also find that when I have my own book waiting for me at home each night I feel a little better. :) I love settling down to a good book. I might even give in to the Fifty Shades of Gray madness and give the trilogy a try this fall!

#6. Diet Pepsi - I MUST have a Diet Pepsi each day with lunch. Otherwise, I can get cranky. I look forward to this little pleasure each day! :)

So, what are your must-haves for the classroom??? 

What's Your Style? {Teacher Fashion Linky Party!}

Well, I had every intention of getting a LOT done today, but woke up with a touch of something and have spent most of the day on the couch. :/ The bad news... I didn't get much accomplished. The good news... I got to do lots of blog hopping! I stumbled across the blog From Blood to Books, where Jess is hosting a Teacher Fashion Linky Party. Since I plan on going shopping for some B2S teacher clothes tomorrow, I thought it was the perfect time to link up! So here goes:

Here are the guidelines...

1. Tell me your favorite store(s) that you like to get your "teacher's fashion".

My absolute favorite store to shop would be New York and Co. However, this summer I've also become a big fan of the Banana Republic Outlet and have had some success at Target as well. :) I also like to shop Kohls for shoes, accessories, and they sell my all-time favorite comfy leggings!

2. What are some of your favorite accessories?

Flower hair accessories - hands down! I love to clip flowers into my hair and can even be found rocking a floral-adorned headband from time to time. I also CANNOT go a day without wearing earrings (I keep a simple neutral pair in my purse in case I ever suddenly realize I forgot to put them in!). I am one of those people who need to have their jewelry match their outfit, so I have earrings in every color! This also tends to be the gift I get most often from my students. 

Are these not adorable! Need to have them!

3. What type of shoes do you teach in? (i.e. heels, flats, wedges, etc.)

I will admit I mostly wear flats or boots to school however I LOVE heels! Here are the heels I bought just this summer alone:

4. Do you have a "go-to" item in your closet? (i.e. sweater you wear weekly, shoes you wear daily, etc.)

Hmmm.... not so much. I think my "go-to" outfits for when I am crunched for time are dresses. They are easy to just through on and go. Here are some of my "pin-spirations" for my shopping trip tomorrow:

5. Have you ever had a fashion "uh-oh" at school? (i.e. heel broke, button popped off of blouse)

I'm sure many but one that sticks out in my mind was the first all-school family picnic I attended at my school. It was my first year and I wore a nice white skirt and white short sleeved blazer with a pop of color underneath. It was very spring and very cute (I thought). I was walking in with my food - Annie's Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips {check it out - it is seriously to die for!} and wasn't paying attention. I put the dip down on the table, looked down and realized I had red strawberry juice ALL OVER MY WHITE OUTFIT. :( And, of course, there was no time to run home and change. Just so embarrassing...

Well, I am now sufficiently pumped for my B2S shopping spree tomorrow! Link up with Jess and share your A+ teacher style!

Getting Organized and Making It Pretty {Part 1}

I've decided to link up with Mandy at Mandy's Tips for Teachers for her Organized and Pretty Blog Hop! 

Her first post was about organizing supplies. I won't be getting into my classroom until this weekend, so I didn't have any supply tips or tricks to share BUT I did get started on all my student folders. I have found that what works best for me in terms of keeping my students organized is having a separate folder for each subject area (plus a binder for reading). 

So for my first Organized and Pretty Mission: 

{Student Folders}

I typed up labels for [almost] all my students' subject area folders
and they are ready to go! 

(I still need to create my Writing Folders, which I will get done this weekend at school because they are slightly different. Check back next week to see what I mean!)

I also put together my students' Bee Folders (you might remember the labels from this post). I think they are super cute! I love them. :)

Our BEE Folders have four plastic sleeves:

[1] Best Bee-havior log/Caught Being Good Chart  
[2] Student & School Info/Lunch Menu

[3] Specials Schedule/Calendar  
[4] Weekly Newsletters

I have about 300 other projects "in-progress" right now but am missing all sorts of odds and ends to really get anything finished! I plan to do a massive shopping trip this weekend to get everything else I need.
My weekend "finish it!" goals include:

* My Teacher Toolbox

* Writing Folders

* Literacy Notebooks

* Jazz up our first science unit of the year - Monarch Butterflies

Classroom Set-Up Goals:

* Desk arrangement - just finalize it already!

* Bulletin boards and calendar area

* Math and Reading Center Storage - how? where?

Don't forget to hop on over to Mandy's blog and check out the Blog Hop! I look forward to seeing all the other ideas people share! Oh, and if you stop by, make sure to download her free labels she posted to her blog. :)

New {School} Year Resolutions Linky Party

Being that school is just three weeks away (!!!) I decided it is the perfect time to link up with Amanda at Teaching Maddenness for a great new school year resolutions linky party! I actually did very well with my New Year's Resolutions last January, so I'm determined to stick to these new {school} year resolutions as well!

Resolution #1: Stay Organized! 
    I know I typically start off every year with this goal but never stick to it. This year I want to MAKE SURE I get as organized as possible. I plan to assign a certain task to each day (for example, every Tuesday after school I go through my desk/make sure its organized). I also want to make sure that when I make copies, I put an extra in each subject binder along with the unit plans so I'm ready to go the following year.

Resolution #2: Plan Ahead!
    I always have my full units planned out before I begin, including projects and assessments. However, this year my goal is to have yearly plans at a glance for every subject down to the week. In the past, I have tended to let a unit run too long and push the next thing back, which works until you get to May and still have so much to cover! This is especially true with science/social studies. So this year I've mapped out EVERYTHING and will do my best to stick with the plan!

Resolution #3: Do More At School/Less At Home
    I am one of those teachers who brings two-three bags full of stuff home to work on over the weekend and at least one bag daily. Part of the reason is I'm more comfortable working on my couch at home in some sweats but I think it starts to take its toll, bringing it all home. Instead I plan to use my time more wisely in school and stay after longer each day to get as much done AT school as I can.

Resolution #4: Stay Positive!
    I think it's very easy to get caught up in the negativity of others and I often find myself dwelling on things that upset or irritate me more than needed. This year I hope to let things go and not stress myself over the actions of others. And most importantly, not to let any negativity seep into my classroom. There were times last year when I'd find my mood carried into the classroom and the kiddos noticed. Not this year!!!

Resolution #5: Don't Take On As Much!
    I am the type of person that always gives in and helps others, no matter how overwhelmed I might already be. I think I just don't want to disappoint people, but then I end up stressed out because I am doing too much. This year, I'm going to worry less about pleasing everyone and think more about what is best for me and my students.

So there ya go! Those are my resolutions for this school year! What are yours? Link up with Teaching Maddenness and let us know!

Subway Art... For the Classroom!

Recently, thanks to my obsession with Pinterest, I have stumbled upon "subway art"... which I have become obsessed with as well! I have printed out and framed quite a few examples for my own home, however today I found a great website chock full of adorable signs for the classroom! Shannon at Technology Rocks. Seriously. does a GREAT job making inspirational and fun signs you can use in the classroom (and at home, too!). Go check her out! Here is a sample of just some of the signs I downloaded and plan to use in my room this year:

There are a ton more signs to download (FOR FREE!!) on Shannon's site, so go check it out! I think I downloaded about 15! 

I was then inspired to make one of my own. I had seen a super cute sign with a Dr. Seuss quote and pinned it a bit ago. Low and behold, I can no longer find the pin. So I decided to make my own! I've attached the freebie below for anyone who'd like to use it in their classroom! Here's a pic of it framed:

Click here to download your own copy!

I plan to purchase a bunch of frames in different sizes from the dollar store, then spray paint them to match the color scheme in my room. I also hope to add some cute decals, like flowers and bows, to the frames as well. I think they will add a nice "homey" touch to our classroom, while also inspiring my students!

I have a TON of other projects in progress right now and need to kick it into high gear because school is just three weeks away! I plan to get into my classroom and start setting up next week, so check back soon to see my progress and how I end up using all the adorable signs!