Extreme Classroom Makeover - Back to School Edition

I think if they had a show on television about extreme classroom make-overs, I would be the perfect host.  I am addicted to watching HGTV and DIY home makeover shows.  Since, I actually live in an itty-bitty apartment, this is a true suck of my time.  But, I can't help it.  You should see me running around my apartment trying out all the cute ideas I see on the episodes.  I am DYING to paint the cabinets in my bathroom and kitchen.  My Pinterest obsession doesn't help either.  I'm embarrassed to say how many Pinterest fails I have tallied up.  OMG, if I actually owned a house, I would to totally be rocking a sledge hammer every summer.


This year I'm kind of bummed because I won't have a classroom of my own to organize and decorate. This is killing me!  I'm so obsessed that I've offered to help set up other teachers' classes this year. I might be coming to a classroom near you...haha!  I might need an intervention...

Here are some helpful tips in setting up your classroom...

1 - Start with a color scheme - select a few basic colors

2 - Zone Your Room - make sure you have a place for everything and everything has a place

3 - Sketch it Out - put it on paper before you move anything

4 - Container R Us - make sure you have everything accessible and labeled.

5 - Hide the rest - if it's not needed daily find a creative way to hide what you're not using

Sit back and enjoy a classroom that partners with you in teaching and reaching kids!

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On the blog again, I just can't wait to get on the blog again...

Wow! I can't believe summer is more than half over.

I've ALMOST forgotten how tired I was from last year and I'm beginning to bubble with excitement about the new faces I'll meet. I've even more excited about getting to set up my classroom. Yup, I'm one of THOSE teachers.I love setting up my classroom each year and I would start in July if I could. It kills me to have to wait for the custodians to finish waxing the floor and then have to literally wait for the wax to dry.Ugggh!!! It kills me every year!

This year, I am taking on a new position as a "Specials" teacher.  I am truly excited because I'll be getting to teach technology to kids at a STEM academy.  I will also get to serve as a mentor teacher on my new campus.  This means I also get to do what I love by helping teachers.  I almost want to pinch myself.  I get to work with K-5 teachers in their classrooms developing engaging academic lessons.  I'm so excited to work with so many teachers and their different instructional styles.  I want my passion for teaching kids to be contagious.

What are you planning to do before the summer ends?

Vegas Here I Come!

Well my bags are packed and I'm almost ready to go.  I can hardly wait, I'm so excited!!! I'm still working on my notebook but I now have business cards, labels and a button.  Phew!!! This is my first TPT Conference and I'll know better next year.  I even made a T-shirt. Look out Vegas here I come!

Las FREAKIN' Vegas in less than a week!!!

Okay am I the only one freaking out about the Teachers Pay Teachers Conference in Vegas?

Oh, wait... Hi everyone!  It's been a minute since I've blogged and you probably thought I was retired somewhere on a beach sipping margaritas (Ahhhh....to dream).  Unfortunately I have been swimming in loads of paperwork, emptying the nest and holding 3 different positions since you last heard from me.  I have been one busy chica!

With that all said, I going to try to get back to my blog and posting freebies and products on TPT (fingers crossed).   Believe it or not I have quite a few almost finished.  It is my hope that I will get motivated at the TPT Conference and meet some awesome teachers who love what they do as much as I do!  I am a first timer to the TPT Conference and in my regular fashion I'm just now finalizing my trip.

I am FREAKING OUT!!!! All of the rooms at the Venetian are gone.... Found that out a week ago but that's not what has me on the verge of an anxiety attack. As I am dutifully printing out pages for my "TPT Conference Binder"  and I'm seeing that people have buttons, T-shirts, bags and business cards for their stores!!!! What do I have---NADA!!!   Now I am in a frenzy of activity, trying to figure out how I can get these in time for the TPT Conference.   I haven't even packed.  I don't even know where to begin!  (me in almost tears).  I need your help!

Does anyone know where I can get buttons made in the DFW area?
Would it be tacky if I made my own shirt?
How many business cards do I need?
Will anybody know me?  Will I know anyone????
Any suggestions would be helpful!!!

12 (Random) Days of Freebilicousness - Day 1

It's been almost a year since my last post.  All I can say is ...life happens.   I feel like I have lived through 10 years in this short months.  But enough of that... I've been working tirelessly on several projects that I plan to put in my TPT store.  I am determined to finish working on a few and putting them in my TPT and TN stores.  Originally, I planned on doing 12 days of Christmas, but, I know me.  Instead I'm doing 12 days of Product Freebies Posts between now and Christmas. You get to see new products first and the first 3 people to respond to each post will get the product free!!!

Enjoy the your weekend!

Drumroll Please....

Well, its been a long time but I'm back! You wouldn't believe the year I've had.  I missed you guys and I'm here to take on new projects and ideas.  Look for new freebies and products in August!

The Tw-elf Days of Christmas - Days 10-12

Here's the last three days....

Day Ten: Gingy Boys and Girls

We bought mini gingerbread men from the store and "decorated" them with icing, m&ms, jimmies, and sprinkles.  I gave each student a dab of icing and a toothpick to decorate their cookies.

Day Eleven:  Reindeer Food

Pinterest strikes again.... I found the recipe and idea on Pinterest. We told the kids that  I received a box from the North Pole that had the magic sprinkles that we would add to our reindeer food.  Santa sent the box to make sure that the reindeer could take a rest stop at our homes.

Day Twelve: The Polar Express/Farewell

Last year my school went ALL out and had a whole section of the building transformed in to a train complete with a conductor and waitresses that served hot cocoa.

The Tw"elf" Days of Christmas - Days 7 - 9

So maybe I didn't post all 12 days during the Thanksgiving Break but here is the next installment of days 7-9.  

Day Seven: Grumpy Grinch Alert

We read the Night before Christmas and had Grinch pills at the end of the day

Day Eight: The Perfect Gift

Another Pinterest find on BusyLittleBugs.  We read Olive the Other Reindeer and
they received Ziploc bags with whoppers and a cherry sour.

Day Nine: Snow Bear Poop

We made Santa Claus graham crackers from a recipe that Chalk Talk posted from Pinterest.

The Tw-elf Days of Christmas -Days 4-6

I'm determined to post all 12 days during the Thanksgiving Break. Here is the next installment of days 4-6.

Day Four: Reindeer Poop

Well, if there's anything that peaks student's attention, it's poop and boogers.  I had a good laugh because one of my parents told me that her child would be traumatized by the amount of "poop" I sent home.We read the story "Olive the Other Reindeer" by Vivian Walsh and talked about drawing conclusions.

Day Five: Donut You Know...

We read "Snowmen at Christmas"  and found the Rhyming Words, personification. metaphors and similes.  At the end of the day, students made donut snowmen.  The donut inspiration came from Pinterest and we just used chocolate icing and candy corn to make our snowmen come to life   

Day Six: Elf Kisses

Yet another Pinterest inspired idea.  The elf kisses idea came from anna and blue paperie?  We had weekly assessments this day so the kids just enjoyed the kisses at the end of the day if they were on the nice list.


Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving!!!

The Tw-elf Days of Christmas Revisited

I have so fallen off the earth with my blog.  I have been struggling with being the "new" teacher at a new grade level, new school and new district....not to mention a tough group of kiddos.  I've been trying so hard to learn the new curriculum, teach a rough group and learn the dos and don'ts.   I'm EXHAUSTED. I love doing cute projects with the kids but I have so little time to incorporate anything additional to our curriculum. This is the first time in 8 years that I have not done anything for Thanksgiving.  Where's the fun in that?

Since I have a few minutes over Thanksgiving break to breathe, I'm finishing my post about the Tw-elf days of  Christmas.  I want the kids to enjoy school and learning, so I'm going to make sure we enjoy the days before Christmas Break. One of my favorite activities is Elf on the Shelf.  So here's 12 days of elfish fun:

Day One: Meet the Elf

Day Two: Twiz the Season

Day Three: Little Tree, Little Tree

The Elf left a clue for day three but not before "decorating" our Christmas Tree. We read the poem "Little Tree" by EE Cummings, used context clues to figure out words like spangles and we also made inferences about the figurative language in the poem . Students then made Christmas ornaments to hang on our little tree at the end of the day. Finally, the kids enjoyed cookies and milk because Santa had so many left over from all the boys and girls who left Santa treats by their Christmas trees. 

Enjoy your break!

Off into the sunset? Maybe not...

I almost threw in my hat, called it quits and rode off into the sunset.  Moving to a new school is stressful enough without added drama.  My life has been a CIRCUS!  Since I first interviewed with my new school, I've had 4 different job titles - yup FOUR!!!  This is a big deal to someone who is borderline OCD.  I would no longer be self-contained and had to take 30 more students into my classroom (although now I would be team-teaching). We'd only been in school 3 weeks and I was about to lose it. I'm used to change and working with transient students, but this was pushing it.  I figured that I could sub for a year and find a job that was better suited to my sanity.

I talked to my principal and she was very understanding and agreed to get me help re-organizing my room to accommodate the changes.  She sent a retired teacher/principal to help me prepare all my student notebooks, journals, book boxes and etc.  She was a Godsend and knew just what to say to comfort my frantic mind.  Now I think I might just be able to do this...with God's help!

Well now that I have to switch classes with another teacher, I need a way to keep my classroom management under-control.  I send my students to my partner teacher with a clipboard that tracks students.  I use this weekly behavior sheet to track who has turned in homework and has broken classroom rules.  It's very handy tool at the end of the day when I send home behavior sheets to parents because they know exactly why their student has had a color change.

 I'm putting a copy of this tracking tool in my TPT and TN store.  The first five people to comment on my page can have it as a FREEBIE!!!

Death by Pinterest and Classroom Reveal

***WARNING PHOTO OVERLOAD***Okay, so I am obsessed with Pinterest. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?  I spend hours on projects that I think will take a "few" minutes. I've spent the last two weeks working like a madwoman trying to get my room ready.  If you know me, this is no small feat.  I am the teacher who is ususally the first one in the building unpacking and the last one at the end of the year.  My new class wasn't ready for move-in until 2 weeks ago, so I'm still "adding" to it daily.  Almost every corner has "pinteresting" feature.

This is the view as you enter thedoor.  Even though I'm not Dual Language, I like to split my room up into 4 quadrants: Math, Literacy, Science and Social Studies. I also like having a student generated word wall with vocabulary.

Another pinspiration idea from April at ChalkTalk, but I still need to add a few vowels and graphic for each letter.

I lurve Ladybug Teacher Files.  I still need to decide on an alphabet but I'm loving her genre dots.

My leveled library in progess...

Recognize those dry-erase spots?  Yup, pinterest!  I also have my brownie points, birthday balloons, homework club, rainbow polka dot storage carts and teacher papers organizer below all from Pinterest. 

My small group area has 5 gallon bucket seats and my "stop" sign per Debbie Diller inspiration.

How can I forget the inspiration from Sarah Cooley and her awesome writing station. I'm working on getting my "writer's eye" together as well.

I also have my whole brain rules from GingerSnaps and my very own classroom rules freebie!

I am in awe of all the truly fantastic teacher resouces available made by teachers for teachers.  I'm sure I failed to give credit where credit was due for all the wonderful inspiration, ideas and work from fellow teachers  Thanks ya'll and have a great year!