Parent Communication

This year I want to focus of parent communication. I work at a school where most of my parents speak Spanish so many times I am not able to communicate exactly what I want, whenever I want. that doesn't mean that I can't make a better effort not to communicate. I am all about technology and I can see that whenever I see parents or siblings, they always have their phones with them... don't we all? :-)

I came across this website:

It's an easy way for parents to get text message updates from you without giving them your phone number. You know that we all send out important reminders with students only to find it fall out of their backpacks a month later. With this website, you can also send a text reminder. That way you know parents will receive it. The best part is that they can choose to sign up or not. This website has a great flyer that you can print out for Open House or add in a newsletter. That way they can choose to be alerted or not. I also believe that they have an opportunity to sign up for email updates as well.

I forgot to mention another great option. There is a free app that you can download. That way you can create updates straight from your phone. If that doesn't make it even better, how about this... You can schedule reminders. I already have my first reminder scheduled for the day before the first day of school. Just a friendly little reminder about what time school starts and another one about school supplies. If hope you find this website/app useful this year. I'm going to use it sparingly so I don't annoy any subscribers. I am really excited to try it out this year. Let me know if you have ever used this in your classroom and how it works. Or if you plan on using it this year.

Another way That I plan on communicating with parents this year is through a classroom website.

Blogger is a great way to share information with other teachers so I decided to use it with my parents. This will be a great place to share what we are doing daily. I will be able to post pictures, videos, and even have my students write their own blog posts. I have tried a class newsletter, which I still plan on doing with larger updates. This is just a great way to add a little extra. Again, parents choose to look at it whenever they want, so it's convenient for them.

What are some ways you are preparing to communicate with your parents this year?

Monday Made-It

Good morning all and I'm finally back for another Monday Made-It. This week I am formatting my post a little differently. Usually I create stuff throughout the week and then I just cram it all into one post. Unfortunately, I am not able to go into great detail on every project. So I have decided to create separate posts on each project and then give a brief description on my Monday Made-It post.

Project #1

I created these notebooks for my students this year. Perfect for using more than one subject in each notebook. you can find the link to the post HERE.

Project #2

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and made myself a teacher toolbox. You can find the link to the post HERE. If you would like a copy of your own, please visit my TPT store HERE.

**I have two different files available for purchase. One is premade labels and the other is customizable**

Giveaway Time

I am giving away two of my Forest Themed Teacher Toolbox Labels. If you win, you get a chance to pick form the premade labels or the customizable labels. Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teacher Toolbox

With all of these teacher toolboxes floating around on Pinterest, it's hard to really know who started it all. If any of you know who the original creator of the teacher toolbox is, please let me know so I can give proper credit. With that said, I've seen the teacher toolbox floating around the internet and decided it was time to make one. I am constantly searching around my classroom, looking for little odds-and-ends that are no where to be found. I love the fact that now, they will all be in one place. 

This year I am trying to create a theme for my classroom. It started with a rug that I have in my room and then it branched out into a color scheme. I was pretty sure that I was just going to stick to colors and not a full out theme, but I kind of started leaning toward a forest/woodland theme. I have always wanted a nature theme in my room, so I guess this theme was just perfect for me.

If you would like a copy of your own, please visit my TPT store HERE.

**I have two different files available for purchase. One is premade labels and the other is customizable**

Custom Notebooks

 Last year I bought these composition books with the intentions of using them. I knew that I wanted to use them for reading, science, and social studies, but I never knew how to put all three subjects in one notebook. Last year my teaching buddy and BFF added tabs to her notebooks and I thought it was a great idea. She was able to use the notebooks all year. I meant to do it last year, but the time got away from me. I was determined to make time for it this summer.

I love the composition books because they are more sturdy than to spiral notebooks. Spiral notebooks get destroyed and eventually pages are torn and lost. Not to mention the wire starts to get messed up and pokes a student!! To create the tabs I just used a SU! label punch. You can get a newer addition HERE. I am extremely excited to start using these notebooks in my class this year and I already have so many ideas!!!

Classroom Numbers

It's officially July and that means that school starts in a month. I posted a few projects last week that I wanted to work on. The first one was creating some sort of way to display my students' work. Last year I had picture frames for each student. I loved them, but it was such a hassle trying to change them out. I've decided to go with clothes pins. I've used clothes pins in the past, but I wanted something a little more personal, but yet something I wouldn't have to recreate every time I got a new student or from year to year.

I've created a free file for your to download if you'd like. Just click the image...

If you don't have a TPT account, you can also grab your copy HERE.

I am linking up over at Monday Made-It for the first time since last summer. Off to a great start already!!

July Currently

Summer Plans

Hello fellow teachers, it's been a while since my last post. I have been on summer vacation for a month now and I have a month left. What have I been doing this last month? Relaxing!! It's been nice to relax and get some me time in, since it's so hard to come by during the school year. With only a month until school starts back up, I finally feel ready to getting things ready. I have been looking through my Pinterest boards and looking for projects that I never got around to last summer. Even though I love Pinterest, it is hard to manage all those boards. So, in order to keep myself a little more organized and to also share with you some of my summer plans, I figured I could share what I plan on making for the upcoming school year.

Classroom Theme

I have always wanted a theme in my classroom, but I have never really known what I wanted. For the longest time, I wanted a garden theme with little white fences outlining the library. This past year I received a beautiful carpet from DonorsChoose.org that has a lot of blue, green, and brown in it. I automatically thought of this classroom and knew that it would be the perfect theme. My classroom will never look as beautiful as this room, but I would really like to incorporate a few things to tie everything together.



                                                        Displaying Student Work

I have an area high up in my classroom where I display picture frames. I like to display special things in the picture frames, but taking the frames off of the wall, removing the plastic front, and putting the work in has become a hassle. I end up keeping the same things in the frames for months. I think this would be a cute way to display their work.

Classroom Decor

I love this banner and I have been wanting one forever. This banner uses the actual book jackets, but I would probably just scan in the book covers and print them out.

Organization

I am all about getting organized this year. I feel like I am a pretty organized person, but when it comes to looking for little odds-and-ends, I am scrambling all around the classroom. Everything in my classroom has a place, but the places are all over the place. My stapler is stored across the room from my staples and that's just one example. I think it's finally time to make a teacher toolbox.

I just found out about this desk apprentice from Staples and I'm really thinking of getting it. It's $45, pretty steep for an organizer. I like the fact that I can hold the rest of the supplies that my teacher tool box can't. It's also a great place for my lesson plans and any other important information I may need. Not a summer project, but definitely a summer purchase.

Last school year I dove into using anchor charts. I've always used charts in some way, but never  consistently. This year I plan on using anchor charts a lot more. I never know what to do with an anchor chart after I take it down. Creating some sort of binder or folder that I can refer back to with the students or something they can refer back to on their own would be helpful. I'm also thinking of a way for students to store important anchor charts that I may want to copy for them to leave at their seats.

Last year I bought composition notebooks for my students and I had all these great ideas on how I would use them. Did I use them... no. Well, this year my goal is to put them into action. This helpful tip will save me a lot of stress.

Finally, the last thing I want to get completed, or at least start on is my sub tub. I'm hardly ever absent, but if I am, I don't want to be worrying about making lesson plans last minute. Or worse, I wake up sick and I'm having to lesson plan from home and make my team members copy for me. No fun. This sub tub will leave me prepared for anything.

Those are a few projects I want to work on. Of course I have many more that I want to accomplish, so hopefully once these get completed I can start on a few more. Look forward to blog posts as I go through these projects. If you have any projects this summer that you are going to be working on, I would love to hear what they are.