Back to School Parent Resources, Currently, and the TpT Sale!!

School's starting soon!?  We start tomorrow.  I know, who starts students on a Monday?  Poor Kindergartners will be dragging by Wednesday.

One good thing?  It's time for TpT'S Back to School Sale! Click here to view all of the items in my store. 

Well, to help out, I've created a Parent/Volunteer Communication FREEBIE!  Check out how I set mine up.

1. Pick a binder...I wanted my fun Vera Bradley one I got a long time ago, although a front view would be nice for me to slide a cover into, but oh well!

2. Next, print, and 3 hole punch.  I have the Parent Volunteer Sign-Up Sheet out during Ice Cream Social and Meet the Teacher Night.  Then, I fill out the calendar based on their availability.

3. I use dividers with each student's name to make their own place in the binder. Once I pass out the info sheet (or fill it out myself), I put it in the binder.  This helps me keep track of my communication with parents.  Also, if you see the small black squares at the bottom, that's where I record contacting parents for GOOD things!  I want to make a better effort at that, so I thought if there was a spot for it, it would remind me.  

 4. Finally, one activity I have parents do is called The Story of My Child (included in the freebie!).  This is where parents tell me about their child both from an academic standpoint, but also outside of school.  I keep it in the binder so that I am always reminded of the ins and outs of the child.

Here are some other great Back to School Items you might want!  The first is EDITABLE!  It has a TON of different themed postcards for welcoming students to your class, praising them throughout the year, honoring perfect attendance, or just creating your own personalized note to give to students.  

   

*You decide if you want to mail them or give them to them based on the template you print on the back!*

And here are some resources I use often from the Office perspective, but are great for the classroom, too!

And now to the August Currently by the footloose and fancy free, Farley!  Yes, it's August 3rd, but Friday just was not going to happen!  We were back to school with staff already. :)  

I hope everyone has a terrific Sunday!  Gotta run...and stock up my TpT cart with some good buys!

Mayhem! It's Currently Time then...

Happy Friday to all!  Although it's a bit gloomy here in Indy, it's still Friday!  Can you believe it's May already?  May is always a great month...dad's birthday, Mother's Day (my 1st!), flowers blooming, and the Indy 500!  The month of May is jam packed with great things, and I love it!  To get the month started off right, here is my May Currently from Farley's Linky.

Listening: One of the many perks of staying home with my baby is getting to watch The Today Show! I just love it!

Loving:  Our weather has been pretty hit or miss, but 80 degrees is coming our way!  Can't. Wait!

Thinking: I'm not going to lie...I really enjoy staying in my PJs while at home with my baby!  It is so much fun to stare at him, play with him, and know that I can do it all in my pajamas!

Wanting: I hate cleaning the bathrooms in my house!  I don't know why, because I just love it when I actually do get around to it, but there is minimal motivation to actually do it on a regular basis.  A magic wand would be awesome!

Needing: I haven't had a Frap from Starbucks in over a year and for some reason it's calling my name today!  Friday treat?  I think so!

Surprise: I've had two good friends who have been blogging and TpT motivators for me, and I'm so lucky to call them both friends!  

Krista now lives in California with her family and is Super Mom, Super Blogger, Super everything!  Check her out at Teaching Momster!

Amanda is a dear friend of mine who lives in the Chicagoland area and is a sorority sister of mine.  She writes Learning to the 

On a separate note, I've been working on some 1st grade common core math games this week!  Check out these two at my TpT store.  More to come next week too!  Any specific games you would like to see as you review/wrap up your year? Any grade, any topic.

 

 

Alrighty, well I gotta run!  Have a great weekend!

April Currently and Math Awareness Month Freebie (no joke-it's Free!)!

Happy, happy April!  Man, I've been waiting for this month for a long time.  Well, maybe I've just been waiting for the weather associated with this month for a long time!  I'm starting the month off with Farley's wonderful Currently and celebrating with a math freebie for Math Awareness Month!

I think a lot of people can complain about the weather, but we're finally celebrating warmer temps here in Indy this week!  Woohoo!!  Because of the crazy weather and enormous amount of snow days, our district has actually extended the school day by 14 minutes to make up three snow days.  Teachers now go from 7:56-3:55.  They added 4 minutes to the start of the day and 10 minutes to the end of the day.  Some districts around us actually added 50-60 minutes to the day to make up the hours of 4 or 5 snow days.  Our district will now get out on June 4th, although I'm home until I head back in July!  Love that I get to hang with my baby boy for that long!

And now for the math FREEBIE!  If you've read my blog before, you know that I love math!  What's better than Math Awareness Month then?  I've created a math game for 3D shapes to celebrate the month.  Who knows, maybe if I get motivated, I'll offer a different Freebie each week in celebration!  Any games you'd like to have?

I hope you all enjoy the Freebie!  Don't forget to leave some love if you download it or share with others who you know might be able to use it.

Gotta run...remember, I said I was going to take advantage of the day!  

July Currently, Teach Like a Pirate, and a Giveaway!!

July Currently
Woop Woop!  It's that time again...it's Farley's July (I can't believe I'm saying that!) Currently! Part of the reason I hate saying it is that I go back to school on July 15th!  Ahh!

My tip, trick, or hint is just to be you.  In whatever you are doing, blogging, creating, teaching, or hanging with friends, just remember who YOU are!  You are what make YOU special!!

Don't forget to link up with Farley, and all of her awesomeness, this month!  Never done her Currently? Just dig in and try it...it's super fun and you "meet" lots of super cool people.  Oh, and she's super cool, and will post her Currently to dropbox a bit early so you can be preparing.


Teach Like a PIRATE

Okay, so last week I posted here about how excited I was about my new book purchases, one of which was Teach Like a Pirate.  Well, my order came in, and I've finished the book!  Let me just say, it was very fast read, and I loved every minute of it.  What I love about Dave Burgess, the author, is that he connects all of his theories and topics to real world examples that we have all experienced.  It makes it easy to read, but also easy to connect to.

I have to admit, I also had a rockin' place to read about half of the book (although the back of my legs are not appreciating the lack of reapplying sun screen!).

One of the pieces he writes about are all of the different types of hooks you can use to engage your students.  As I was reading, the one that particularly struck me was the Costume Hook.  Dressing up like a character or a person from history, or making up a character that would fit your content.  I've been cooking up a list of "characters" I might be able to be this school year!  I think this could be fun!

Burgess also has really good quotes in his book...one liners that make you say, huh? or Wow! or Why didn't I think of that?!

A couple of them are:

1.  "I'm suggesting that when delivering first instruction, especially to struggling learners, you need to leave the comfort of the lounge chair or lifeguard tower and jump into the water with your students."
    * This quote came from the Immersion chapter where Burgess talks about being fully present, even    when watching videos in the classroom.

2. "However, one of the big secrets and shortcuts to engagemetn is to spend less time trying to get students interested in what you are presenting and more time making connections between what you are presenting and what they are already interested in."
  * This piece came from the chapter on Rapport.  I love that Burgess explains how to get to know your students and how to build rapport with your students.  He doesn't just say to do it.

This is an EXTREMELY short list of "ah-ha" moments for me in this book, but I thought I'd share just a little bit with you.  If you have the book, pick it up and read it.  Now!  If you don't, order it.  Now!

Bloglovin' Giveaway Reminder!
Just a reminder to join my giveaway and join me on Bloglovin'!  It's pretty easy, and you get 5 of my TPT products!  Woohoo!  My giveaway ends tomorrow night, so hop on over!

Alrighty, gotta run!  Stay tuned for my 4th of July 4.5 mile run with my sister!  We're getting patriotic and decked out for a fun run in our town!

Poetry Month and April Currently

Posting twice in one day is my April Fool's Joke...but really, I'm going to do it!  :)

Welcome April...and Poetry Month
I'll be honest.  I. am. not. a. writer.  When it comes to Poetry, I am especially not a writer!  So when a teacher friend of mine was going on maternity leave, and she needed someone to pick up Poetry club for the year, I was kind of absolutely dreading it.  Instead of planning one club meeting at a time, I decided to do it all at once so that I would feel well-prepared.  My Poetry Unit highlights 7 different types of poetry and can be used for 1st-3rd grade!

The 7 different types of poems you can find here are autobiographical, acrostic, diamante, shape, haiku, cinquain, and couplet poems.  I have found that all of my students can identify with at least a few of these poems, and through modeling the poems during my teaching, I even enjoyed teaching it!  Shhh...don't tell anyone, though!  The unit also includes graphic organizers, publishing pages, and recommendations for picture books to use as mentor texts.

You can also click here to see my post from last year on how I used the unit in my classroom with the Poetry Club.  

Here is the Poe-tree I put up in my room last year.  It's things like this that make me really miss having my own classroom and making the room all about learning and student work.  

April's Currently

Farley has done it again with another great Currently!  She is always so creative, but most of all her posts are real.  I've never met her, but I feel like I know her, Bubs (her son), and her classroom.  If you have some time, hop over, read some other Currently's, and enjoy Farley's posts!  

I also posted a Math Freebie game today on place value, so hop over to grab the review game for free! Click on the image to link to my post!

Alrighty, gotta run!

Week #4: Mini Training, Do's and Don'ts of Gym Workouts, and Currently

Well it's been a while since I've been on here.  The main reason is that my blog went a little funky for a bit, but all the bugs are worked out and we're ready to roll!  Some other reasons include our state testing and coordinating a piece of our accountability measures for that, parents who are hateful, and oh yea, a car accident.  Wah wah!  In the midst of all of that I've been trying to keep up with my training for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon too!

So here is my recap of the last couple of weeks:

Week 2 of training:
- I had a ton of after school commitments and really didn't do so hot with keeping up with Hal's recommendations for my training.  I only ran 3 times that week, but got some good mileage in on the weekend.  Our weather hasn't been so great (until this weekend!) so I've been doing all of my training on the treadmill at the gym.  As stated before, I have a secret love for the gym.  I really do enjoy running next to people and feeling good about walking out of the gym knowing I've accomplished another day of working out.  However, while at the gym I see a lot of things that I love, and don't love as much.  Below is my compilation of Do's and Don'ts at the gym.

Any of you agree or disagree with these?  Feel free to share what you would add to the list...on both sides!  I must say the worst one was the older gentleman walking out of the gym in on his towel and a button down shirt that was not buttoned.  Granted we couldn't see anything, but it was 20 degrees outside!

Week 3 of training:
I had another week of crazy after school meetings, PTO, math family night, etc. so I knew my workouts weren't going to be as regular as I would like, but I did get as many in as possible.  I have realized that sometimes you just have to be real with yourself and read your body and your schedule.  I try not to beat myself up about missing workouts, but it really bugs me that I can't cross it off on my schedule.

Remember how I said earlier that I had a lot of meetings this week?  Well I was on my way from one to another and then this happened...

 Talk about making the week a bit more stressful!  Oh, and in between getting my license and talking to the person I hit, I locked my keys in the car!  Really, I'm not sure it gets much worse than that except that the police officers couldn't get it unlocked!  I sat in the back of a barred police car for about an hour while my husband drove all the way home and then back with the other set of keys.  I have a way of making one problem into many apparently! On the brighter side, no one was injured, so I can count my blessings.  I now have a rockin' rental car (that smells of smoke - yuck!), but it gets some sweet gas mileage, so I'm enjoying that!

...and because of the accident I missed our Family Math Night at school!  I heard it went well, but was definitely bummed to miss it!

Week 4 of training:
Everything kind of went back to normal this week...yee haw!  The only after school commitment was dinner with some friends, so I got all but one workout in this week!  I ran 20+ miles this week and ended today with a great 7 mile run.  This is the longest I have run in a long time, and I was kind of intimidated by it, but I figured I had to get started.  I forgot how good it felt to feel sore...is that weird!?!?  The weather was about 55 degrees and BEAUTIFUL during the run!!  I passed so many other people working out or walking their dogs.  I love this time of year!

Currently
And finally...better late than never, but Farley's Currently!

I really enjoy getting mail (not bills) in the mailbox.  For my love of getting mail, though, I'm not very good at sending it.  Also, my husband has been making some really good milkshakes lately and I love them!  They are a great treat!  I love my dogs, but I hate muddy paws.  Just when I clean up one round on the floor they head out again, and I'm swiffering for the fifth time in one day! Still love 'em!

Can you tell it's been a while!  Hopefully I'm all caught up now.

I gotta run...the mighty Hoosiers are playing in about 1 minute, but I'll be back later this week to post about some great websites I've found recently for my students! :)

Music for the classroom, music for the treadmill, and February Currently!

Music for the Classroom
I recently went to a workshop where the presenter used a music group called The Vitamin String Quartet on Pandora.  It. Is. Awesome!  The quartet plays pop songs with strings instruments, so there are no words.  I love having music in my classroom, and this eliminates any words that might not be appropriate while letting them hear familiar songs.  I really like that it gives orchestra and music a fun spin.  The station on Pandora rotates through other musical groups, but the songs are really fun!  Try it out next week and let me know what you think!

Music for the Treadmill
As many of you know, my winter is filled with a lot of treadmill runs, so I need music.  What you might not know, is that I am extremely cheap.  I refuse to buy songs on iTunes that I can hear on the radio, so Pandora is my go-to.  I came across a station on Pandora called Pop and Hip Hop Power Workout.  What I love about this station is that the music changes so I don't get into a rut, but it's all pretty upbeat.  I need high intensity songs and the factor of the unknown is a great surprise when in the middle of a run!

February Currently
And last, but certainly not least is Farley's February Currently!  Woohoo!  Can you believe it's already February?  We're getting ready to send home Quarter 3 mid-terms!  What happened to this school year!?

Stop by and visit Farley, meet some other bloggers, and learn something along the way!

Super Sunday Sale
My store is already 20% off, but wait until Sunday and you'll get even more!  I borrowed this image from Farley's blog, but get ready to stock up!  From reading activities, poetry, St. Patty's Day, and Student Led Conferences, you won't go wrong! :)

Gotta run...it's Friday night (and yes, I know I blogged twice today...don't tell anyone!)

Shhh...I like running on a treadmill!...and the Currently

Confessions of a competitive-aholic on the treadmill:

Okay, so my husband and I have been trying to work out more regularly (and yes, you can say we joined the New Year's Resolution people, but I'm okay with that).  Many people get annoyed with the mass of people who show up at the gym on January 1 every year.  However, I like LOVE it.  I know...that's kind of a sick, but I really do like all of the people.  See, I'm really competitive when it comes to things like this.  Running is a personal thing, but I get a lot of my motivation from those around me.  The other day this little college chick with her sorority letters, matching shorts, wavy hair perfectly tossed up into a ponytail hopped onto the treadmill next to me.  Here are my thoughts as my time on the treadmill progresses.  I do not recommend this strategy to others, as it does not bring out the best, but thought I'd share!

Me: Yes!  She's going to walk/jog for a couple of miles and I will smoke her!

Perfect college girl: Begins her warm up and does high knees and butt kicks to get ready.

Me: Oh man, she looks like she's going to be serious, but there is no way she can look that cute and actually be a serious runner.

PCG: Begins a slow jog for a minute. (I know this because I was obsessively watching out of the corner of my eye every time she altered the numbers...creepy, I know!)

Me: Why am I worried about what she is doing?  I am trying to run more, and gain my running swag.  Seriously, MB, get your act together.

PCG: Increases her treadmill to the same pace I am running.

Me: Hmm...looks like I need to increase 0.5 mph. Yea, I probably need to push myself anyway, this is good for me. Thank you PCG for running next to me. 

PCG: Moves her feet to the side of the treadmill as it keeps going.

Me: She better not count that distance when she tells her friends how far she went today.  She didn't run that whole time.  MB, get a grip!  Who cares?

PCG: Turns her treadmill to 10 mph (a 6 minute mile) and begins to run for 30 seconds at 10 mph.

Me: Holy cow!  This girl is better than I gave her credit for!  What could she possibly be training for that would require her to do intervals at this speed?  

PCG: Lets the treadmill continue to run as she hops to the side to stretch her quads.

Me: Yep, I bet she's going to count that in her total too. 

PCG: Repeats six more intervals for 30 seconds.

Me: Okay, step it up MB.  Increase by 0.5 mph for another mile. Wow!  While I've been worried about  PCG I've actually run almost 2.5 miles!

PCG: Finishes her workout and leaves.

Me: Oh good!  I can run another half mile at a slower pace and she won't know that I cut back my speed.  Whew!  I am really tired. I finish 3 miles at a faster pace than I've done in a long time!  Thank you PCG for pushing me to run at speeds that I would have never done without you next to me.  Although you had no idea I was competing with you, I was.  Here's to another creepy treadmill run next to you in the near future!

And this is why I like running on a treadmill!  I like to see the numbers, how fast, how far, how many calories, and to find some competition.  To me, the New Year's rush is just an added bonus to my needed external motivation.

I wonder who my treadmill motivation will be tomorrow...

And my January Currently! Thanks Farley for another great layout!  You are so cray cray creative!

Reading Incentive Chart and November Currently

As the ESL teacher in my building, I have always felt that my time is limited with these kids and I'm never able to do everything I want to do with them in just 30 minutes a day.  One large thing I have noticed is that many of my students are not reading at home.  The reason?  Many of their parents can't help them decode words or talk about their understanding.  I have wanted a way to encourage my students (grades 1-4) to read more.  More than the minimum requirement of their classroom.

As I've stepped into this role, there have been many things that I've wanted to go back and change in my previous classrooms, such as minimum reading requirements.  Why would I limit my readers to just 15 or 20 minutes a night if they would have read 30?  Why wouldn't I encourage my reluctant readers through high-interest text selection and work on finding good books for them rather than counting minutes?  So...I've taken one day during the week to talk about books we've read, do a book talk, and go to the library to find good fit books with high-interest levels.  Yes, this is an entire 30 minutes where the mini-lesson is directed toward determining the central message or theme, finding rhythm and rhyme in words, or responding to our reading through writing.

 To encourage reading, I of course, headed to Pinterest and blogs to see what other people had created for reading incentives.  I came across The Teacher Wife's reading incentive chart and liked the concept, but wasn't sure my 3rd and 4th grade boys would want necklaces.  From this, I started thinking what I could do that would visually encourage reading.  I made a tag for each of my ESL kiddos, bought some ribbon, and went to town.  The title of our board?  Real.Hard.Reading.Work.

First of all, they just love to see their name, and they all get their own ribbon.  I lined all of them up on the wall, and each time they get to another 100, they get a new card to put on their ribbon, but they also get a ticket in our school-wide positive behavior system.  Those tickets are like gold, so the kids are really excited!

Can you tell that I ran out of the wide ribbon?  Apparently when you get excited about the wide and thin grosgrain ribbon being the same price, you don't actually get the same length of it. Haha.  Since this picture, I have returned to Hobby Lobby (only of course when their ribbon is 50% off) to get more of the pink and orange.  The title above it looks much better in person, but the laminate doesn't help!

Lastly is my November Currently!  I can't believe it's already November, but then again, I think I say this every month. I hope you all will join Farley's Currently and enjoy the fun.  I love to see what other people are doing!  Click the link above or the image below to link up!

Happy Fall, and enjoy your extra hour of sleep tonight with Daylight Savings Time!