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The Start of Something New

It has been a long time since I last posted on this here blog. This year has been an amazing year. I love my students and I couldn’t have asked for a better year. Something else that happened this year was getting my Early Childhood endorsement. That means that I can now add preschool and kindergarten to my teaching opportunities. Well, I decided to use my new endorsement and try out a grade that I’ve been interested in teaching since I was a little girl and that is… KINDERGARTEN!!! I have two more months as a 2nd grade teacher and I am going to savor all of those wonderful moments. That doesn’t mean I can’t start preparing for kindergarten though!! What are your suggestions, tips, tricks, blogs, videos, curriculum, products, etc. that you recommend?

Monday Made It #1

It’s time for another summer of weekly Monday Made It!! I love getting organized and ready for a new school year. This summer is very important for me. Not only am I moving from 2nd grade to Kindergarten, I’m also moving schools. I have a lot planned for this summer and I’m hoping that Monday Made It will allow me to be prepared and ready for those 5 year olds.

First of all, I just want to say how much I am LOVING these new pictures Tara has included on her blog. So for my first project, I created my own decal for my MacBook Pro. I have seen so many cute and clever ideas and I decided to liven up my computer since I use it everyday for so many things, including writing this post. Yoshi is by far my favorite Nintendo character and when I saw this image on Pinterest I knew I wanted it too. Instead of spending money and wait for shipping, I made it myself. All I had to do was create an SVG image of Yoshi and import it into my Silhouette Studio software and cut it out of vinyl. It adds a nice little touch to my “boring” laptop.


As I mentioned earlier in this post, I am moving to Kindergarten. That means that I will be focusing a lot more on letter names and sounds. As soon as Cara Carroll released this file I purchased it right away. I finally got around to printing, cutting, laminating, and cutting them again. I can’t wait to get into my classroom and display them for my kinders.


This may seem like a strange Monday Made It, but it is, I swear! Since I am moving schools I am between schools. Everything is packed and moved out of my old classroom, but I can’t move into my new classroom until they are finished cleaning mid-July. That means that my classroom stuff is living in my house. It was in my garage, hallways, spare room, and craft room. Today I was finally able to condense it all into a corner of my craft room and free up the rest of my house. I am glad that it is all in one spot, but I can’t wait until I can start setting up my classroom.  When do you guys get to start setting up your rooms. Do you have to wait until summer is almost over or do you get the entire break?

Make sure to head on over to Tara’s blog and share your projects with everyone!

Books I'm Reading This Summer

I am linking up with Sugar and Spice to participate in her Wordless Wednesday link up. This Wednesday she shared what she will be reading this summer and I decided to share this with you as well. There are quite a few things I want to read this summer, but the two that I am definitely reading right away are these four books.

The first book is by Lucy Calkins. My district has been trying to put together a new writing program. This is not the first year using it, but it will be my first year launching it as a literacy lead as well as a kindergarten teacher. I need to be ready to not only train other teachers in this program, but also be able to implement it into my own classroom. There are a total of 4 books, but I want to make sure that I at least get through this first one.

The second book I will be reading is a crafty book. I love teaching, but it’s so nice to be able to go home after a long day and relax by creating something pretty! This book is definietly full of VERY pretty projects. I was walking through Michales when I saw it and I knew I had to have it.

The third book I will be reading ASAP is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I have been a John Green fan for such a long time. I was even lucky enough to meet him! I am definitely a Nerd Fighter for life (if you don’t know what that is… look it up!) With his movie coming out in just days, I need to finish this book!

The fourth book is not pictured, but it is my text book for my masters class. Being able to relax and not have school work for very long is something I look forward to. I plan on using this summer to get ahead on some of my school work for the year.

What are you reading this summer? I would love to know! Make sure to head on over to Sugar and Spice and share some of your reading treasures!

Monday Made It #2

I love Monday Made it because it brings my two loves together, crafting and teaching. I must admit that I did more crafting this week and not as much teacher preparation. I am still trying to enjoy my summer before preparing for next school year. I know once that starts I won’t be able to stop.

I created a new clip chart about a month ago. My old clip chart was working just fine, but it had a misspelling so I decided to remake it. Last time I made my clip chart using my Cricut and it took forever. This time I decided to design it on my computer. So much easier. I still have to laminate it and put it together. I can’t wait to add a little color to my room with this clip chart.

For my second project I have been making hair accessories. I went to my local Comicon last week and I decided to make a few pieces to wear. I then decided to create a few more accessories. After seeing all of the cute outfits teachers have been sharing on Instagram last school year I realized that I want to add a bit more special touches to my everyday outfits.

 

  

Hopefully this week I get a little more made for my classroom. I have a ton of stuff to do, but it’s been really nice just relaxing and enjoying my break. Make sure to head on over to Tara’s blog and link up for Monday Made it. Even if you don’t have anything to share, it’s a great place to get new ideas of things that you may want to make yourself.

It's Time for Kindergarten

Moving to kindergarten has been in the works for 4 months. I knew back in March that I would not only be moving from second grade to kindergarten, but also moving schools. I was moving from the first school I had ever worked at. It was a scary and sad decision at first, but I am so glad that I made it. I have many reasons for making this change, but the biggest reason is that fact that I have always wanted to teach kindergarten. I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I, myself, was in kindergarten. My love for school was planted like a seed and has been blossoming ever since. Now I get to teach the grade that made me fall in love with learning.

Waiting to move for 4 months was hard!! I had to pack up my old room that had been my home for 6 years and say goodbye. There were many tears on those last days of school. Summer had come, but I was busy. Many summer committee meetings to occupy my time. Then yesterday I heard I could go into my classroom! Seriously?! I was so excited. I think I only slept 5 hours last night. Luckily, I am only a 3 minute car drive away from my new school.

When I walked in all of the furniture was in the middle of the room, as it usually is during the summer. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to move it since they will be cleaning the floors in 2 weeks. THEN I can fully set up my room *fingers crossed*. I got the okay to set up my walls and work in my room though. Only downside was that the previous teacher still hadn’t packed. Here are the before pictures.

Despite only being able to do a few things, I actually got quite a bit accomplished. I started by cleaning out all of the cabinets and wiping them down with Clorox wipes. I was able to clear out all of the cabinets on one wall and move some of my stuff into a locking cabinet.

I was even able to set up a few walls. The one pictured below is a nice little corner right next to the door. This is where I will display some of my students’ work as well as their picture frames. I love this corner because this took up so much space in my old classroom and this room it’s nicely hidden in a corner, but since it’s right by the door it’s also very visible.

I was also able to clear a corner of my room. I have a CORNER!! I have ALWAYS wanted a corner!! I put up the border, but didn’t take a picture of that yet. This is where I plan on having my calendar and morning meeting. Not sure if I’m going to be getting a classroom carpet, but this is the perfect place for it. I also heard that we are getting Smart boards, so that is another reason why I didn’t do much decorating yet.

The last place that I worked on was the bathroom. I have always had a bathroom in my room so it’s nice that I don’t have to experience it for the first time with kinders. It’s also nice to have a little “bathroom knowledge” and a few Do’s and Don’t’s. I’ve shared a bathroom with the teacher next door and our 50+ 2nd graders. Now it will just be my bathroom which is also exciting. I made these posters back in 2010 and they don’t really fit in my classroom anymore, but they went perfectly in the bathroom! Hopefully Viola Swamp isn’t too scary for the bathroom :-/

I am pretty impressed for 5 hours of work. 1 of those hours was moving things into my room and the rest was everything I shared with you. I still have quite a lot to move out of my house and into my classroom. Unfortunately it will be close to 3 weeks until I can get back in there. Hopefully, that will give me a chance to enjoy the rest of my summer. It has been flying by so quickly!! I will definitely be sharing more photos as this process goes on.

Start of a New Chapter

It has been a long time since I last posted on this here blog. This year has been an amazing year. I love my students and I couldn't have asked for a better year. Something else that happened this year was getting my Early Childhood endorsement. That means that I can now add preschool and kindergarten to my teaching opportunities. Well, I decided to use my new endorsement and try out a grade that I've been interested in teaching since I was a little girl and that is... KINDERGARTEN!!! I have two more months as a 2nd grade teacher and I am going to savor all of those wonderful moments. That doesn't mean I can't start preparing for kindergarten though!! What are your suggestions, tips, tricks, blogs, videos, curriculum, products, etc. that you recommend?

Five for Friday {09.13.13}

This week started with a lot of craziness, but was a lot of fun. 

1. Monday was a rainy day, and by rainy I mean it was pouring BUCKETS. Here is Arizona, we don't get much rain, but when we do it POURS. The poor kids had no clue what was coming. Only a few had jackets and even fewer had umbrellas. Let's just say that by the end of lunch, they were soaked from head to toe. Luckily, they went home dry and the sun was shining by the time the bell rang. My kids were so amazing even through out the rain, I was extremely proud of them.

2. That brings me to number 2. My class finally filled up their compliment (gumball jar). 

We earned our last compliment on Monday and by Tuesday it was time to celebrate. I wasn't too sure how I wanted to celebrate. Eventually I would like to create different incentive charts and the reward will match the chart. (ex. gumball chart= bubblegum themed reward) That takes advanced planning and I obviously didn't plan for that. :-) Since I didn't have a reward planned, I "borrowed" an idea from my teaching BFF. I had recently purchased THIS file and wasn't sure when to bring it out. Her class also filled up their compliment jar and she used it as part of their celebration. The kids LOVED it!!! Definitely bringing this craft back next year.

3. We have been learning about American symbols this week. So far we have learned about the American flag, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the bald eagle. The students find it all fascinating and have been so excited to learn all about their country.

4. I cannot believe I just completed my 6th week of teaching. I love my class so much this year and they make me laugh every day. If I could have a class like this every year, I would take them again in a heart beat. I couldn't ask for a better group of kids.

5. Even though I LOVE my job and I can't believe that I get paid to educate kids all day, it's still very exciting to know that fall break is in 4 weeks. That means conferences are coming up soon. It also means vacation time!!! My husband and I usually plan a little vacation during fall break and this year we are going to... DISNEYLAND!!!! I have always wanted to go to Disneyland in the fall to see all of the Halloween decorations. It has been one of my dreams ever since I was a little kid. It's also been my dream to stay in a Disneyland Resort and since it will be a shorter vacation than we usually take, it will be nice to stay in a beautiful hotel on the Disney property!!

I hope everyone else has been having a great school year. By now everyone has meet their class and I wish you and your students a great school year!!!

It's a Craft Party!!!

I love crafting and I love teaching. I love the fact that I am able to bring both together into the classroom. I always try to bring crafting into my classroom to add a little extra interest into the content we are learning. This year I decided to create more display areas to showcase my students' work. The first is with these DIY Display Clips.

Video Tutorial

A second display option is by displaying work on the whiteboard. I am able to share amazing pieces of work with other students, just by hanging up these adorable little glitter magnets.

Video Tutorial

Finally, I wanted a nice way to make their work stand out so i created custom borders to go along with my decor.

 Video Tutorial

Here is the final product...

My students love being able to share their work with everyone that visits our classroom. It creates a personal touch to that the students can be proud of. I hope you enjoyed my most recent classroom crafts. Definitely check back often to see what new things I have to share with you. If you want to get some more great ideas for getting crafty in the classroom, make sure to link up over at A Modern Teacher, A Cupcake for the Teacher, or Miss Kindergarten. Not only is it a lot of fun, but Jo-Ann is sponsoring a giveaway. If you know me, I am at Jo-Ann almost EVERY weekend picking up some more crafting supplies. Make sure to link up and I can't wait to see what you have to share!!!

Me on the Map

We learned about the seven continents. Here is the video that we used to learn the names of the continents.



After we learned about the continents we read the book Me on the Map.

Afterwards, we created this activity...

 We started out by identifying the planet that we live on. Then we talked about our continent, country, state, and city. They enjoyed seeing how big our planet really is and where they live.