Five for Friday

It was my last week of summer this week. I go back to work on Monday & my new group of kiddos arrive at my door after labor day. In hopes of getting in every last minute of summer's goodness, the Mr. & I headed to Chicago for a few days.  So, this week's five for friday is looking a little more like Chicago's five.

1.

 The Mr. & I hopped on a train Tuesday morning and we made our way to the city.

We spent the day exploring, doing some furniture looking (CB2, West Elm & Design Within Reach, oh my!) & enjoying dinner with friends that live in the city.

2.

We spent some time just sitting on a bench by the beach. Watching the people 

go by & taking in the sights of Lake Michigan.  It was pure relaxation. 

3.

 We visited the bean, we checked out Stefan Sagmeister's The Happy Show 

& we walked around Art Institute.

 4.

We took an architectural boat tour through the Chicago River and out into Lake Michigan, which we loved! It was so cool to see the skyline from out in the lake.

5.

I guess the trip wasn't all play.  I spent the train ride home working on a new place value unit. Spending six hours on a train working on school stuff somewhat helps to transition you back to reality. somewhat. 

Now i'm off to enjoy my last couple days before my work reality sets in.

Happy Weekend!

Reading Response Flap Books

I love when I have a resource that can be used in a variety of ways and can easily be differentiated.  So I just had to share a little something that I have been working on!

These flap books are a fun way for students to demonstrate their understanding of a text and practice different reading comprehension strategies.  I used a few of these in my classroom throughout the year last year and my second graders just loved them! So, I have been busy updating them a bit and adding to the collection. 

 The set now includes 15 different flap books that can be used with both fiction and non-fiction texts! Simply print, fold & cut along the flaps to create these reading responses.

Click here to check them out at my TpT shop. 

& don't forget, my whole shop is on sale for the rest of the day!

Back to School Sale!

Back to School is here! To help you prepare, my whole TPT shop is 20%!

AND don't forget to enter the code BTS13 at the checkout for an additional discount! 

In case you need some ideas of what to buy, 

here are a few of my favorites that I will be using in my classroom this year. . . 

My Chevron Calendar Pack is a great way to add a touch of chevron to any classroom.  

The set includes everything you'll need for your classroom calendar!

 Start out your first week back to school with some fun! This pack includes 6 different activities that will help you get to know your new group of students & engage them during the first week of school.

My Number of the Day Pack is a great tool for ongoing practice with number sense. With this pack, you can differentiate based on the needs of your children!  

Add some punctuation & parts of speech posters to your classroom 

for student reference or teaching tools.

I also just added a new Birthday Bonanza Pack that includes everything you'll need to make birthdays extra special in your classroom!

So, head on over to my shop

& grab everything you'll need to get your year started off right!

Teacher Week: Classroom Digs (a sneak peek!)

 

I just went into my classroom for the first time this week. I spent quite a few hours there yesterday doing a little painting and a whole lot of staring at the space.  I had planned on doing some rearranging this year but I still needed to figure out the specifics.  I left yesterday with a plan in my head. Then I headed straight to Michael's to pick up the necessary supplies. I returned to my classroom this morning ready to roll.  A few hours later & it's beginning to come together.  I still have A LOT to do, but I'm feeling good about it so far. Take a peek...

Teacher Week: Let's Talk About Me

Happy Teacher Week friends!

We're kicking off the week with a bit about me.

Well, to start off, I have been teaching for six years. 

(seriously, where does the time go?) 

 I have spent all six of those years teaching second grade. I just adore those kiddos! 

 I am finishing up my masters in reading this year (yay!) 

& I was just recently certified as a reading specialist. 

I married my best friend in October of 2010. It's hard to believe we'll be celebrating 

3 years in just a few short months. Time sure flies when your heart is full!

Outside of teaching, I love going on adventures near & far: exploring new places in our city, back packing in Northern Michigan, spending time outdoors & taking in the beauty that surrounds us. 

Photography has also become a hobby of mine.  I love toting my camera around on our adventures and capturing the greatness that we come across.

I absolutely love spending time with family.  I have a great big family: 2 brothers and 2 sisters, with 7 nieces & nephews from them. I just love it! 

I also have a really close group of friends, incredible friends that make life happier. 

I also have a passion for interior design.  I have always said that if I had not become a teacher I would have been an interior designer. So while, my heart is in second grade, I use my love for interior design by decorating my home.

So there you have a bit about me. 

 Be sure to check back throughout the week as Teacher Week '13 continues!

Five for Friday

Happy Friday! 

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for another Five for Friday.

1.

This week I met up with some teacher friends for a morning at the farmer's market followed by a delicious lunch (pear & fig pizza - amazing!) I just love days like that. Good friends, adventures around our city & delicious eats - now, that's what summer is all about.

2.

I have been doing some organizing around my house lately, getting it ready for the chaos of back to school time. In doing so, I tossed my little collection of washi tape in a vase and stuck it on a shelf in my office.  I'm kind of in love! 

3.

Speaking of washi tape, I covered a bunch of clothes pins with it this week.  I'm ridiculously excited about these!  The plan is to hot glue them to my chalkboard (that I'm planning to paint bright green!) and use them to display student work. I'm getting really excited to get in my room and start seeing all these ideas come together.

4.

But, before I head into my classroom to start getting it ready, I'm going to soak up these quiet mornings, sipping iced coffee,  & devouring the new IKEA catalog. 

5.

I also spent some time this week adding a few new poster sets to my TpT shop. Each set has eleven posters, including six punctuation posters & five parts of speech posters. You can choose from chevron, polka dot or chalkboard backgrounds to best fit your classroom. Go here to check them out for yourself. 

Monday Made it: Shared Journals

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for another week of Monday Made it!

First up, I found these super cute pencil holders in the Target dollar spot. The colors are just perfect, so I  grabbed a couple of them. As soon as I got home I whipped up these labels, laminated them & hot glued them to the holders. done. & I'm in love!

My second little project is my shared journals.  After seeing a few of these last summer in the teacher blog world I fell in love with the idea. I used them in my classroom last year and they were a hit with my students.  The idea is that anyone can write in these journals and anyone can read them.  My kiddos love sharing their stories and love reading what their friends have written as well.  I grabbed some of these colorful composition books from Target (for 50 cents each!) and created these labels to go on each book. Then, I modge podged them right onto the notebooks.   I love the way these turned out! You can get yourself a free set of the labels here! 

My third "made it" is my Number of the Day pack.  I use this Number of the Day workbook as a part of our morning routine each day.  You can read more about it here or get the pack for yourself here.

Now I'm off to check out more great ideas!

 

Number of the Day

Every morning my students start their day with their morning workbook. 

This is a time for them to get settled and transition into the school day.  The Number of the Day (or Calendar Math) pages are a great tool for ongoing practice with number sense. And the best part is you can differentiate based on what best fits the needs of your children!  You can pick the template that works best for you and your class (there are FOUR to choose from!)  and you get to pick the numbers that you use each day. Maybe they will be related to the date or the number of school days, or maybe you (or your students) will pick a random number each day. Either way, this is completely customizable to best fit what you need!

I also included two different coordinating writing papers with the set.  You may want to use Number of the Day (or Calendar Math) one day and have a writing prompt (or free write) the next.   Or later in the year when your kiddos are becoming such math masters and they breeze through their Number of the Day, they can also have some morning journal time.  Once again, customize it how you need.

Lastly, there are three different covers to choose from, 

once again so it goes with what you need/like/want!

If this interests you, head on over to my TPT shop to get yourself a set!

Five for Friday

Five for Friday is back! So, here I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching 

to share the goodness that happened this week.

1.

This week I laminated all sorts of good stuff (32 feet of lamination - yikes!) I was planning to only make a few changes to my posters this year, but one thing led to another and now it all coordinates! I'm not ready to go back to school yet, but I'm definitely giddy about seeing it all come together.

2.

I picked up this fabric from hobby lobby last week.  I just couldn't pass them up. 

I have big plans for both in my classroom.

3.

On Tuesday a friend and I rode bikes to the farmers market. I came home with two new house plants. I really don't have a green thumb, but I hear these are pretty easy to keep alive. We shall see!

4.

This morning my husband and I attended Creative Mornings.  Creative Mornings is a breakfast lecture series that happens on the first Friday of each month. Each month has a new creative topic that is discussed by a guest speaker in all kinds of different, usually very interesting locations. This morning's was aboard the Detroit Bus Company bus while we toured the city - pretty awesome! I'm going to be so disappointed when the next one rolls around and I have to miss it because I'm back to work.

5.

I very excitedly opened my Teachers Pay Teachers shop this week! I have been creating my own resources and posters for as long as I have been teaching. So I finally built up enough nerves to start sharing them on TPT. There are only a few products there as of yet, but plenty more are on the way!