10 Things I've Learned from Teaching...

I'm excited to link up with Miss Kindergarten for this fun linky!
I've been reading everyone's posts and have loved to get to know more about my favorite bloggers.

Always treat the secretary and custodian with respect and courtesy. Manners go a long way when dealing with people you work with and in this case when you need something, chances are you will need help from one of these two people. Stay on their good sides and life will be MUCH better. Robyn and I always go in together on gifts for our secretary and custodian for Christmas and End of School. We also bring the secretary flowers for the start of the school year, every year. We both love her and she is definitely one of my school moms. She loves our kids, knows what is going on in our lives, and gives us a ton of motherly advice. 

Start each day with a smile because your attitude will reflect your student's attitude. What I mean is that when you greet your students in the hallway each morning do it with a smile. Even if you had no sleep because your infant was up all night, you had a horrible ride into school, or you realize your shoes don't match, let the students know you are happy to be at school and you are happy THEY are at school with you. Sometimes you are the only positive person in his/her life and you need to make them feel safe, secure, and welcome.

Get to know the parents right away. Start off the year right by introducing yourself to parents; whether it be through open house, parent night, a note home, or a phone call. Parents talk and you'd rather have them talk about how smart, welcoming, and nice you were than what a stranger you've been. This year I am considering a class Facebook page for parent/teacher communication. I would have the parents sign a waver to allow pictures of their students up and have only parents allowed as "followers" to the page. I could post pictures, videos, and update it regularly. Our school has teacher websites, but they are a PITA. There is no space to upload pictures or videos and it takes forever to load. Has anyone tried a Facebook parent page? Likes? Dislikes?

Take risks! How are you going to know what your students can do if you don't push them to the limits? How will you know your limits if you don't push yourself? This is one of the million reasons why I love to read and collaborate with teachers through blogging. I love the ideas I find because I am constantly learning and trying new things. I love trying out new apps, technology, ways of teaching, and assessing ideas. Everyone learns differently so getting feedback from students is a must.

It's okay to fail. Robyn and I start a lot of crazy projects, but do they always work? Nope. One of my favorite things about planning with her is that I am usually behind, while she is one or two days ahead of me. When she messes up, goes back and reflects, and thinks of changes she would have made...I get to try out the lesson the new way. Since we both only teach Reading & Writing we teach the same lesson 2X a day, obviously the second time it is usually better. When I see low test scores on a topic I thought I covered completely, I don't give up, I just reteach in a different way. Like I mentioned before, everyone learns differently.

 Ask for help! Robyn says, "Asking for help saved her career." That's probably cause it lead her to me...obviously I am her savior. hahaha :) Really though, there are four 4th grade Reading/Writing teachers in our school and we meet and collaborate regularly. Three of us have been teaching for the same amout of time, while the other has been teaching for 30+ years. What we have learned from the veteran teacher is immeasurable! She offers to help anytime we ask and is truly an amazing teacher!

Be flexible...period...the end!
I can't even begin to tell you how many times in a year assemblies popped up, snow storms and hurricanes hit us, students were out sick, surprise observations happened, or one of our kids were sick and we had to stay home with them. Things happen...write your plans in pencil.

You gotta make time to laugh and joke around. I am cooped up in the room all day teaching the same topic twice in a row with a short prep and ever shorter lunch, so I need the laugh just as much as they do. Laughing relieves stress, builds bonds, confidence, and makes life much more enjoyable.

Eat fast! My husband is a teacher as well. We chow down during dinner before our three year old even gets one piece in her mouth. She doesn't understand why we eat so fast. When you have thirty minutes to walk to the cafe, heat your food, chat, eat your food, use the bathroom, make last minute copies, return phone calls to parents or doctors, and make it out to recess duty before getting yelled at by the lunch ladies for being late, you learn to swallow food whole!

Love your job! Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. I got my job mid year after the teacher before me was forced to resign. I was lucky to fall into the job and have been lucky ever since. If you don't love what you do, the kids will eat you alive. People can tell you love your job through your classroom, your lessons, your smile, they way you dress, and the passion in your voice. When you get down on yourself for something not going right, getting a bad review, colliding with a negative parent, having a tough student in your class, or having a problem with administration...think about why you took the job and what led you to be a teacher. Think about how lucky you are to have a job and be working with kids who worship you. That should put things back into perspective for you!

If you made it to the end...I will leave you with a funny ha ha :) 

Overwhelmed! Monday Made it!

So I went to school today to check out my classroom! I wasn't going to, but Robyn guilted me into it. Plus, I knew I could grab my class list (that will probably change 100 times before the first day of school)! My husband has one more week of summer school left so the kiddos tagged along. We got dressed, ate breakfast, got dressed again because my son dumped his cereal on himself and went to leave. While carrying 100 things out the door, my husband's iPad fell on the driveway and the screen cracked up! He is going to FREAK out when he gets home! :( So I drove an angry 40 minutes to school and got into my messy classroom, that was about 90 degrees (no AC in our school). This kids tried to stay busy while I overwhelmed myself. Before long, we were all sweaty messes and needed a water break. I gave up after two hours and took the kids to lunch and then home for nap time. I will wait until I can go back to school solo before I go back. I started some bulletin boards, but don't like how uneven they are, I'm a perfectionist, and will redo them when I go back! I also started a few crafts and hung up some projects. 

I saw a pin a while back about gluing pom poms on expo markers to use as erasers! I thought it was a great idea and tried a few... Then the bag of pom poms were confiscated by my kids, but the ones I managed to make today, should  work out great. Sorry about the cheesy Monday Made it: I had a rough day! Look at my post below to see the awesome wreath I made. I have many more projects in store. I am going to tackle some clip boards this week and we will see what else! 

I love my magnetic boarder for my white board! 

My room was a mess...I grabbed the vacuum from the closet and vacuumed myself. Although we still have six weeks of summer vacation left, I feel better now that I at least started.  I wanted to get some laminating done...but with the heat wave and the crazy humidity, the closet is completely STUCK SHUT. This might be a problem!

 

I have a problem. How are six bulletin boards in my classrooms not enough? I made too many cute and useful bulletin board sets for TpT. I split my accountable talk board in half to make room for our synonym board. The synonym word still needs a title and the accountable talk board needs actual content. Jameson was obsessed with my Scentos markers. He had them all over his face and mouth from "smelling" them. 

 

This is the close reading bulletin board set we sell in our TpT store. I made myself a special zebra print version that I AM LOVING! Due to so many requests and zebra lovers...this is the set I'm using. I just posted to TpT!

I am going to move these posters closer together and separate this bulletin board into another section to make room for... 

homophone, synonym, and antonym of the week... we used this last year and the results were awesome! Can't wait to use it again! :)

 

I need to make some new clothes pins for my zebra "How am I Getting Home" list.

 

 

My room is nowhere close to being done, but it will get there. I have big plans of what it will look like soon though!

That black bulletin board is going to be my "Wild Word Wall" and I am going to put up the new 4th grade fluency word wall I created. I am going to make this an editable document because although these are the 4th grade Fry words, some are ridiculously easy for a word wall. I'd like to put some more challenging words up as well and I'm sure other teachers will. 

Now that I have my class lists, I am going to spend the night typing up zebra name tags and labels for notebooks and folders! :)

Super School Shopping Saturday!!!

Who doesn't like to go shopping with the girlfriends?! This fun linky party gives you a sneaky peeky into everyone else's shopping cart. 




Here's how it works: 

• Snap some pictures of your back to school finds. 
• Blog about your school supplies. 
• Put the image above on your post and link it back to this blog.
• Then come back and add your blog to our linky party. 
  
  
  Wait...there's more! You can link up today and for the next two Saturdays. At that time, the store will close. We'll draw names to select one shopper as the winner! If you win, you'll get to pick an item from each of stores as our thank you for joining.

Hosts are....yours truly (Pinkadots Elementary):

And...

So here's my Super Saturday share...

I love a good deal. Seriously, when I see something on sale that I can use now... or...eventually, I buy it. Not good for my lack of organization. My classroom closet looked like a hoarders dream until I made myself purge in June and organize it. The Dollar Tree is my weakness. My classroom is a zebra print theme with hot pink, lime green, and turquoise accents. Basically anytime I see something in those colors that I could use for school, I buy it. I happened to be at the Dollar Tree when they were stocking the shelves with BINS! Like every other teacher, I LOVE organizational bins. I use them for everything...homework, notes, paper, mail, books, magazines, unfinished work, pencils, pens, highlighters, rulers...you get the idea. For $1 a piece and some for 2 for $1 and 3 for $1, I scored big! :)

Did you know there is a $1.00 section at Michael's Craft Store? I don't know if it's always there or if it was my lucky day...but I scored. I plan on creating a homework club in my classroom this year and when students survive a month of homework, I will give them these super cute (Super Job) cards to take home. I also got some bookmarks to add to the student's survival kits I give out on the first day of school AND some Scentos markers, highlighters, and pens (.49/ea). I bought some zebra duct tape to fix up my mail boxes too. 

Got some new pens because I am a pen klepto...lol These colors will go nicely with my *new* Erin Condren planner too! (Robyn got one too, but since I'm writing the post, you get to see my pictures!)

I wanted to do some DIY crafts for my room this year and started with a classroom wreath.  I bought a wreath, pins, and seven rolls of ribbon at the store and got to work. I ended up adding some mustache ribbon to the wreath too...so there were 8 spools actually.

 This project was not kid friendly and was difficult to do with a 1 & 3 year old running around the house, but I managed. Thank you to Instagram for giving me the push on this project. I pinned it last year and my friend, Robin, over at The Bomb-Diggity Classroom, posted her completed wreath on Instagram along with specific instructions on her blog. It inspired me. 

Can you believe there are 627 pieces of ribbon (and pins) on this wreath? I actually ran out of pins and had to go back to the store to grab more. I had a Facebook contest to guess the correct about of pins used and someone guessed 626! She won an item from our TpT store. If you aren't our "friend" on Facebook, come like us! :)
I am NOT completely done with it yet, I still have something exciting to ADD to this. I will update you with a NEW picture when finished.

Silly Instagram ALSO clued me in on this amazing sale at Vera Bradley...where I purchased my new laptop/teacher bag in a pretty lime green color WITH a gift card!! Wohoo!

And on Instagram, I heard about the sale at School Outfitters for these AWESOME classroom stools! I can't wait to place these around my classroom so kids can get comfy during reading time. They were actually $8.88 each! Awesome price, if you ask me! I am still contemplating wrapping the legs in the zebra duct tape...what do you think?

Last, but not least, I received an email from Smile Makers offering me something from their website to review on the blog. They have SO much on their site, it took me forever to pick something out. I decided on something useful for everyone. Since pencils disappear in my classroom daily, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to stock up! I was overjoyed to find a giant pencil kit full of fun pencils the kids are going to LOVE. 

This is seriously going to help out SO much. After sharpening one of the pencils I realized they are great, they aren't the type that crumble in the sharpener, they actually sharpen, write, and erase without smudges all over the paper. This will make one happy teacher and a ton of happy fourth graders!

I am considering purchasing a giant container of fun erasers to go with these pencils when I save up some money. 

Smile Makers is definitely the place to go back to school supplies. They have a teacher perk program too!

Check out their website and you will be shocked at how much they offer!  

Thanks for looking at my recent purchases. Am I done? Absolutely no...I just started! We still have six weeks of summer left, so I have plenty of time. :) I can't wait to see what you are buying and what great sales you are finding, so link up!

Tunes Tuesday, Teaching Grammar through Music Linky!

I have waited a good week to link up with Nick from Sweet Rhyme & Pure Reason with his Tunes Tuesday. Thank you Nick for this wonderful link up. I love that I found him on Instagram along with a bunch of other great blogs. His blog, teaching, and creativity is amazing. There is something about male teachers, that just makes them extra awesome (I should know, I married one)! ;) 

Anyways,  after being on blogger since January, I've made a ton of blog friends, but by being on Instagram, I cannot believe on how many blogs, teachers, and linky parties I've been missing out on. If you know me, you know I love to link up with friends to share ideas. I also love to host linky parties with other blogs. Be prepared for an awesome linky coming Saturday! You'll need some school supplies, a picture, and a blog post... ;)

I have chosen the song  "Firework" by Katy Perry to link up with Tunes Tuesday today. If you haven't heard this song, which I'm sure you have by now, it's great and my 4th graders always love it.  Not only are they familiar with it, but they love Katy Perry too. It is usually stuck in everyone head, by the time we leave school. We practiced finding similes, metaphors, personification, and onomatopoeia using this song. I've created a freebie so you can try it out too!  Head over to Sweet Rhyme & Pure Reason to see all the wonderful link ups and get all the free songs to make grammar more fun in your classroom this year! Let me know what you think! :)

 Click on the preview to download the file for FREE! :)

I am co-hosting a fun school supplies linky starting Saturday so be sure to check back. I am off to Michael's today to grab some supplies for a craft that I've been meaning to make! Stay tuned for pictures! It involves zebra print, mustaches, hot pink, and lime green! Wohoo! :)

Back to school "Secret Santa" Blogger Exchange!

I am just stopping in quick, before my husbands surprise birthday party, to make sure you all have heard about the "Back to School Blogger Exchange" going on right now. It is kinda like a Secret Santa, but better because it involves SCHOOL SUPPLIES! Wohoo! 

Be sure to check out Covered in Glitter and Glue and sign up. Robyn and I are both signing up separate so we will both give and get goodies! Can't wait! 

Fun Thursday! PIN IT TO WIN IT! Blog Award!

Hello Everyone,

Today was a great day of vacation. Robyn and I had our kids together for a play date, we ate pancakes for lunch, had a great thunderstorm that cooled down the heatwave, did 5 loads of laundry, finished some TpT products and now it is time to relax! Robyn and I were having fun on Facebook tonight with our Facebook friends, posting flash freebies and playing games...if you aren't a fan yet, you might want to check it out. There is also a super cool fan only freebie on the page!

Today we posted some NEW items in our TpT store!

We are hosting a PIN IT TO WIN IT game on our Facebook Page tomorrow, Thursday (but you can start tonight). Choose any product you'd like to win from our TpT Store, pin it, and paste the link on the thread on our Facebook page for a chance to win the product. Winners will be chosen through random.org. Each pin is a new entry, so take a peak at our store for your favorite items!  Contest will close Thursday night at 8pm. Have fun! :) 

First we updated our Owl Classroom Decor, by adding clock numbers (:00, :05, :10...ect) and an alphabet (2 letters per page). It came out SOOOO cute! I need to make the clock numbers in zebra print for my room now (Robyn's room is the owl theme).

We also redid our door hangers that we handed out last year. They were such a huge hit with parents and kids that I wanted to give them out at the start of the year! We made more color options and more phrases for the hangers. I cannot wait to print, laminate, and surprise my new students with them! 

When I went into my email today I had the sweetest note from Jess over at Literacy Spark saying that she nominated Robyn and I for the Liebster Blogger Award! How cool is that!!?? It's our first award and we couldn't be more excited about it!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Liebster Award, it is for new blogs. I feel like I've gotten to know so many bloggers and we haven't even be around for a year! :)

Liebster means “beloved, cute, lovely, dearest and welcome!” 

Here are the "rules" for accepting this nomination: 
 

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you.
2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 250 followers.
3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator.
4. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Create 11 questions for your nominees.
6. Contact your nominees by commenting on their blog or sending them an email to communicate the nomination. 

Here are Jess's questions to us:

1.  What made you start blogging?

I was a huge blog stalker and loved finding ideas on the internet. I always wanted to start my own blog, but never found the time. When I was home for winter break last year, I bit the bullet and started. I absolutely love it and enjoy learning HTML code and graphic design on my own. I love the friendships I've made with the other bloggers and the fun that I have getting to know them!

2.  Name one talent you have. 

Cooking? I love to cook, but hate to clean!


3.  What is your favorite subject to teach and why?

Writing. I love creative writing and I absolutely love turning children afraid of writing into student authors. 

4.  If you could go on vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you choose?

Hawaii (childless) or Disney (with the kids) 

5.  Name one book that has inspired you.

The Book Whisperer - We were lucky enough to have Donalyn in our school last Fall for a PD. Not only was she uplifting and AMAZING, but ridiculously inspiring.

6.  What is your favorite TV show?

The Big Bang Theory :) 

7.  Do you use a Mac or a PC?

Mac (but it is the school's so it is going in for updates in August) :( 

8.  What is your most favorite place to shop for clothes?

Kohls ? lol I'd rather shop for my kids than myself  

9.  What is one thing you need to learn to become a better blogger?

How to plan out my posts DAILY and be consistent.  

10. If you weren't a teacher, what career path might you have chosen?

I'd love to be a nurse or a graphic designer. Some days when I am having a tough teacher day...I often want to work in a cubical, alone, in front of a computer...lol I know I wouldn't be happy there though.  

11. What chore do you hate doing the most? 

I absolutely HATE putting laundry away. I wouldn't mind folding it so much if I knew I had a place to put it. My husband has two dressers and they both overflow! His clothes are GIANT so he needs a dresser made for a giant! GRRR. 


Here are the blogs I've nominated. Be sure to check out their blogs for some fun info about them! :)

11 Random Facts About Me:

1.  I played the clarinet for 8 years. I even taught lessons to kids when I was in HS. 
 
2.  I always smile. :)

3.  I was born in Connecticut and have lived in CT my whole life.

4.  I LOVE eating fresh food from our garden.
 
5.  My husband is the gardener, not me. I kill all plants! :(
 
6.  I have 0 pets and am not looking to get any soon. Two kids are enough to keep me busy!

7.  My husband is a teacher as well. (Middle School P.E. & Health). We met while I was an intern and he was the teacher. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. I went home the day I met him, called my parents, and said "Mom, I met my husband today!" From then on my friends would talk about his as "my husband" before we even started dating :)

8.  I started dated my husband on 6/21, we closed on our house on 6/21, we got married on 6/21 and both of our kids were born on 12/6...all different years. CRAZY, huh!? Apparently I should play 6, 1, 2 for lucky numbers.

9.  My husband is a hunter and I love it. We eat venison all year.

10. I am a kid at heart.

11. I hate house work...but do it because I hate a messy house. 

11 Questions for my Nominees: 
1. What made you start blogging? 
2. Name one talent you have. 
3. What is your favorite subject to teach and why? 
4. If you could go on vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you choose? 
5. Name one book that has inspired you and explain why. 
6. What is your favorite TV show? 
7. Do you use a Mac or a PC? 
8. What is your most favorite place to shop for clothes? 
9. What is one thing you need to learn to become a better blogger? 
10. If you weren't a teacher, what career path might you have chosen?
11. What chore do you hate doing the most?

Thanks for reading and have a great night! :) 

Tried it Tuesday/Guest Blogging!

Hi Friends,

While Jivey is away with her toes in the sand, I am sitting in my children's kiddie pool playing tea party with my daughter and having squirt gun fights with my son. Unfortunately, I am too wide to fit down the slide, but I bet when Robyn comes over on Wednesday, she will be flying down the slide with the kids. Oh well, at least I'm cooling down in this crazy heat wave!

Anyways, I am guest blogging for Jivey over on her amazing blog. Come check out what I have to say today on Ideas By Jivey! On Jivey's blog, I am also linking up with Tried it Tuesday! :)

I'm not going anywhere for vacation this year. I think it's tough with an 18 month old, a 3 year old and the hubby teaching summer school.  I am certainly not brave enough to fly anywhere with the kiddos, they can't even handle themselves in the car! Hopefully we will be lucky enough to hit up Disney in Fall 2014! :) My summer won't be a total bore since I WILL be going on day trips with my partner in crime, Robyn, and her 2 year old.

I also have a gazillion crafts to complete and my Pinterest list is piling up! I will be sure to take pictures if I get started on any.

Anyone have any awesome vacation plans that I can live vicariously through?