Warning: not a "teacher" post!

You've been warned! There ain't a thing about teaching in this post! :)

I was planning on posting all about what the "Daily 5" (which is really more like the "Daily 3" for me...) looks like in my classroom.  I was going to try to make it very informative and detailed and all that good stuff. I really was.

But then...something happened.

I went out to the mailbox and saw that my awesome photographer, Mary, had emailed me a CD of our engagement pictures...and I haven't been able to stop looking through them all evening trying to pick out my favorites.  Mary made it hard.

If you're local, you must check her out.

http://www.merrystudios.com/

If you're not local...she loves to travel.  Just sayin'...

She is adorable, a joy to be around, and ridiculously talented.

My fiance's family has a farm in Giles County that has been in their family for generations. We got all dressed up, packed up the dog one Sunday evening, and drove the hour to get there to do our pictures, and when we got there....crash, boom, drip, drop...gush. (That's thunder and lightning and rain if you couldn't tell.) Lots of rain. Lots and lots.  It rained like it hadn't rained all summer.

 Seriously monsoon-ish.

  I was a tad bit sad...but Mary decided we should take pictures anyway. Her exact words were, "OK...this will work!" Really??

We thought she was crazy(ish) ...but it turns out she's just THAT good. ;)

I loved her attitude and I love that we didn't let a little rain ruin our photos (even if my hair was matted to my face by the end of the evening).

I think I need to have more of her attitude...in my teaching...and in my life.

Because a lot of times "it will work" even if it's not ideal, or in the lesson plan, or on the list of state standards...or if it's raining.  And sometimes it works pretty darn well!

I apologize for the very non-teacher-ish post on my teacher blog.  I PROMISE to do a post about my reading block VERY soon. 

But tonight, I am looking at pictures of me and my favorite guys and feeling pretty blessed.

Sawyer could NOT resist being left out of a "kissy" picture.  Lovin' this family kiss shot instead.

 

If anyone  wants to see the rest, feel free to click here.

PS - I am going to be on a little vacation with my boys next week but I'm still going to try to link up with Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week as much as I can. :)

 I am super duper excited to see everyone's stuff!

Back to School Organization & Free Labels

A friend of mine told me about this sweet little blog the other day and she happenw to be linking up with some other teachers to share some classroom ideas.  I am pretty excited to see what everyone comes up with.  It can be curriculum based or an organization tip, anything goes!  I just love finding little, simple things that make me say "why didn't I think of that?".

Since I have "back to school" on the brain I thought of just a couple easy things that make my life easier as the school year gets under way.

First - New student bags! 

 Last year I had the most transient class I've ever had.  I think I lost 6 six students during the school year and got 7 new ones.  That is crazy! (it made me crazy anyway)

I am hoping to have less of a shuffle this year, but anytime a new student came...it creates a whirlwind of labels...and folders...and workbooks...and nametags...and lists that have to be made and remade.  And you know you always find out about these darlings joining your class about 5 minutes before they arrive!  As much as it stresses me out, I try so hard to be welcoming because I can't even imagine how those babies are feeling walking into a classroom where everyone already knows each other and knows what's going on.  It has to be overwhelming!  One thing that helps with the shock and chaos are new student bags! 

1. I am not in my classroom to take a picture unfortunately, but I just get one of the ginormous ziploc bags:

2. Slap a "New Student" Label on there

Get a cute one here if you need one!

(print on 2x4 labels...Avery 8163)

3. Add an extra "everything" into the bag when you are preparing for your students.  I put nametags, parent paperwork, folders, workbooks, journals, etc.  I even put a pencil pouch, crayons, and scissors in there because usually when my new students get registered they come mid-morning when we have already started math and sometimes they just bring whatever they used at their old school which doesn't always match up.

4.  When a new student comes, you have everything at your fingertips ready to put their name on and put in their desk!

Next idea - Sticker Books!

I am extremely picky about my students' desks.  I like to teach them organization and make sure their desks stay tidy all year.  Of course, the desk fairy visits quite often (when she remembers...) so it's always a good idea to have your desk in tip top shape.  I use these small sterilite baskets as "drawers"  in their desks (fits perfectly!) to keep supplies (scissors, pencil pouch, crayons, "tickets", sorts, etc.)

Then, on the other side...they stack up their folders, notebooks etc.  One of the folders we keep in our desk is our "sticker book" which serves a couple purposes. I like to get the plastic folders because they will last all year.

 First of all, it is a place to store stickers that they collect from me during the year.  They like to keep them and it helps cut down on stickers being stuck to furniture and foreheads.  :)

Sorry for the yucky pictures! I snapped them quickly with my phone. :)

Finished & Unfinished sides

Our "sticker book" also is a place to store any loose papers that we are still working on.  We have a "finished" side and an "unfinished" side.  Sometimes I'm not ready to collect something, or we  start something and don't have a chance to finish before lunch, etc....so instead of shoving papers in their desk, we put it in our sticker book so it's nice and neat when it's time to get it back out. 

It makes it nice to be able to say "check your sticker book to see if you have anything to catch up on" when they finish something early or have been absent. 

My kiddos know that if they don't have anything to do, they should always check their sticker book first for unfinished work...then they can get their book box and read.

And if you don't use your sticker book properly and there are loose papers from last week jammed in your desk...and that "clean desk fairy" shows up...there will not be a starburst and glitter on your desk the next day.

'Cause the "clean desk fairy" is OCD. Trust me. I know her.

If you would like the labels to make your own sticker books...you can grab them here.

(Sticker Book labels:  2x4 Avery 8163)

(Finished labels: 1 x 2 5/8  Avery 8160)
(Unfinished labels: 1 x 2 5/8 Avery 8160)

I'll be back to share more as soon as I can see the floor of my spare bedroom. It is currently covered with manila folders, laminating film, and math games!! 

Here's a sneak peek at my giant bulletin board outside my room.

Unfortunately...the inside looks like this...

\

Yikes.

Linky Party: My Favorite Back to School TPT Purchases!



Blog Hoppin' is hosting a linky party showcasing everyone's fabulous finds from the back to school sale!

I was so excited to get some things I've had my eye on for a while now...and I've been busy printing ever since! I

Here are some of my favorite purchases:

Click the links to head to their TPT stores.



Cara's Chevron Megapack of cuteness!

And my favorite back to school pack of all time is "Ready, Set, Learn Math & Literacy Activities" by Mrs. Cara too!!




I'll be honest...haven't had time to dive into this yet but am sooo excited to check it out! I have been wanting a more organized approach to tackling writing skills.



Awesome resource from Rachelle!

I finally invested in some labeling packs from Jennifer over at First Grade Blue Skies.  I think these will be a great resource to encourage some of my reluctant writers to get their pencils on paper.



Lots of fun ideas!



Love this math resource from Kristin at "A Teeny Tiny Teacher."  And I love Kristin...she cracks me up!



 Link up over at blog hoppin' to share your favorite purchases, too!

Pencil Sharpener Bliss

Is there anything that makes a teacher happier than a brand new pencil sharpener that WORKS and a big ol' box of ticonderoga pencils?? I think not. 

UPS man made me very happy today.  He made Sawyer nuts again.

It is a "Bostitch Quiet Sharp 6."  It was on sale and had good reviews on Amazon....and I'm a sucker for a good sale.  I hope it can handle the workload I'm about to put on it. I swear I think my last group of first graders ATE pencils for snack.  I couldn't keep enough sharpened. 

It seems to work great right now....I will let you know how it holds up once it starts working overtime.





Math Game Freebie!

So happy that Kristin won my gift card giveaway to do some back to school schopping!!

I also wanted to do a little something for everyone who has stopped by, too! 

Here is one of the games from my Super Simple Back to School Math Games on TPT.  If you haven't gotten a copy...it's still on sale for one dollar for one more day!

Just click on one of the pictures to download it for FREE from TPT. :)

It's called Roll it to the Top and all you need to play is dice! (My favorite place to stock up on those is Dollar Tree...they usually have all different colors...packs of 6 for a dollar!)

It requires very little explanation and EVERYONE can play.  This would be a great game to introduce playing with a partner for the first time.  A lot of my kids choose to play this over LOTS of other games later in the year when we've learned new skills....because they just like it!

I hope your kids love it, too!

Happy teaching to you!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Sorry I'm running late! 

The UPS man arrived at 4:59 and the UPS man/truck is a major event around our house...or Sawyer thinks so anyway.  Good grief.  He also happened to be bringing weights Andy ordered so each box weighed over 100 pounds.  He looked like he'd had a hard day...so we also had to give him a bottle of water.  He took it, but I think he mostly just wanted to get away from Sawyer.



Sawyer apologizes for the delay. That brown truck is just so stinkin' scary, guys.

Anyways...

I was planning to get one of those fancy online gadgets to do a random number selector but...I didn't.  :)  

No particular reason why except that I looked up how to do it and it looked slightly complicated...so we're kickin' it old school instead with a mixing bowl and some paper slips!  Don't worry...Sawyer witnessed the drawing to make sure it was legit.

 

The good news is we do have a winner....Kristin Flora!!!! 
I will email you your gift card momentarily!!

Kristin is a kindergarten teacher and will be able to stock up on some things from TPT to get started this year.  Yay!  Congrats Kristin!

The TPT sale is going on through tonight at midnight (code: BTS12) but a lot of my favorite bloggers are extending their sales for a few more days.  Have fun shopping!!!

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. :) Check back soon for back to school FREEBIES!

I promised classroom pictures today but my phone was dying so it will have to wait until the next time I head in.....sorry!

I did get pretty excited today when I was putting up my outside bulletin board and remembered I'd be needing to change my name in a few months...I put the replacement letters in a plastic bag, labeled it Mrs. Johnston with a sharpie, and put it in the top drawer of my desk.  And it made me very, very excited!

I don't even have to replace that many letters! Meant to be? I think so.

Last chance to "follow" before gift card giveaway...

Sawyer and I are anxiously waiting for 5:00 to get here so we can give away a gift card!  If you haven't followed the blog...do it now...you have a great chance of winning! :)