I Saw It On Pinterest {Of Course}

Remember the disaster that is my classroom?  If you have forgotten or missed that post, just take a look at this picture...Yes, that is my room (half of it anyway) with all of my stuff supposedly moved upstairs...I do believe a few tables are missing, but we can deal with that later! :)  And if you were wondering, that is an old copier that was left in my room...Obviously I have a lot to do!  And one of my biggest unpacking goals is to organize my classroom as I go!  So, where to turn?  Pinterest, of course!

Amber at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher is hosting a pinterest inspired linky party, and I'm joining in!  Click on the link or picture to see her pinterest inspiration and link up your post!

These are some of my top pins that I hope to get accomplished to make my classroom a better, brighter place! {Click the picture to go to the pin}

Keep reading and learning more about the Daily 5 and maybe implement it into my classroom and our literacy block!

Get my classroom organized - files, supplies, everything!  Hopefully....

Make myself a cute, organized teacher binder!

I will no longer have a teacher's desk starting this year, so I want to join everybody else and buy & decorate one of these great organizers!

And just for fun...

I want to make these little tie-dye treat bags to welcome my kids back to school with our retro theme!

Come on over and find me on pinterest!  Click on the link or my pinterest button in the sidebar.  You're welcome to follow any or all of my boards, and if you still aren't "on" pinterest send me an email and I'll invite you!

And don't forget to enter these great giveaways!

Courtney at Miss Third Grade is giving away a $10 TPT gift certificate for her blogging birthday!

Heidi at My (not so) Elementary Life is having a giveaway to celebrate 100 followers!

Both of these giveaways end soon so hurry over to enter if you haven't yet!  And check back soon for my 100 followers giveaway too!

The Daily 5 - Chapter 1

I've heard so many great things about the Daily 5 that I had to jump on board with this summer's book studies.  I thought that it may be just the push I need to read and research and try something new!

I'm linking up today with Nicole at Teaching With Style who is hosting the chapter 1 book study.

As I read the first chapter, the introduction, I thought to myself this sounds great...but could it really happen in my classroom?  Reading others' thoughts, it seems I'm not alone.  Mel D at Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations who is also hosting a chapter 1 book study (for first grade) said that she felt the same.  But her 1st graders proved her wrong, and she realized it was after all realistic.  I hope I find the same thing to be true!

One of my highlights from the first chapter was this quote.  "The first weeks of school are dedicated to launching the Daily Five and instilling literacy habits that allow for independent work with little or no teacher supervision."  My kiddos cannot work independently.  Well, they can work independently, but then they have to ask me if it's okay and if they're doing it right after they've done their work...634 times a day it seems like!  When I'm helping others this can be a serious problem!!  When I'm not helping others it can be a problem too :)  They lack the confidence it seems to trust their own work and their own ideas.  So I love the idea of fostering independent, confident readers!

I grabbed Nicole's freebie and thought about how I would like to see my own classroom change.  Take a look!

What changes have you seen in your classroom if you use the Daily 5?  What changes would you like to see if you're studying along with me?

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

I can't say it enough.....THANK YOU!

Okay...so I know I'm not supposed to post twice in a day, but I am just TOO EXCITED to wait!!  I posted about oo.com and their efforts to fund Donors Choose technology related projects on June 5 and shared my project, and in less than a week my project got enough votes to be funded!  Yay!!  Again, I can't thank everyone who voted enough!  And I have to think there were a lot of you considering how quickly it got the needed votes!  My new class in the fall (and many classes after) will have a SMART wireless slate to use!  I am sooo excited and so, so grateful!

Source

If you don't have a project on Donors Choose, what are you waiting for??  It is so wonderful for teachers who need classroom supplies and other materials to enrich their class...and isn't that all of us?  If you're a little hesitant, feel free to email me and I'll help you in any way I can!  Katie at Dirty Hands and Lesson Plans blogged about Donors Choose and gave her readers some great tips too!  I found it helpful to look at other projects when I submitted my first few, and Katie shared the link to her page to take a peek at hers.  You can click on the picture below to look at mine!

UPDATE: I found another blog post with tips for grant writing (on Donors Choose and elsewhere)!  This is a guest post on The Organized Classroom Blog.  Just click on the link to check it out!

And another big thank you...thank you for following me and listening to my rambling!  I have reached 100 followers, and I'm planning a big giveaway to celebrate!  If any of you wonderful bloggers are interested in joining in by giving away a TPT/TN item email me! <---- Just click here :)  If you do want to take part, I'll put your blog button and product in my giveaway post!

Thanks again for voting and for following my little ol' blog!  You've made me a very happy teacher over the past couple of days!

I Shouldn't be THIS Excited!

There's no denying you're a teacher when you get as excited as I have over a pencil sharpener...yes, a pencil sharpener!  But not just any pencil sharpener...this little gem!  I had the awesome opportunity to review "the quietest classroom pencil sharpener" from Classroom Friendly Supplies!  This sharpener was designed by a primary school teacher who nows how we struggle with all of those dull pencils!  I didn't get to try it out with my kiddos, but I'll recruit a few soon!

In my classroom, we have one old manual sharpener (that doesn't work well) and one electric sharpener.  I bought this electric sharpener - I guess my school didn't want to buy another one for me after my kids wore out a couple!  This pencil sharpener will keep me sane next year!

There are sooo many things to love about this pencil sharpener!

• It's easy to turn the handle when you want to sharpen your pencil!  I think it will be easy even for little hands and arms!
• It stops sharpening when you get that perfect point, and it's easy to know when to stop!
• It's pretty quiet and quick - no more standing for 5 minutes and still ending up with a dull pencil!
• Emptying the shavings is super easy too!  Kids will be able to do it without a mess...all you have to do is push to slide the clear tray out!
• I've even tried out writing with the freshly sharpened pencils!  As my kids do, I pressed down hard when I wrote to test it out...they're always breaking pencils right after sharpening them.  But guess what...even pressing down hard, my pencil didn't break!  

I think I might be in love!

Before and After (excuse the blurry pictures, please)

So, if you want to spend a few bucks (well, 25) get yourself a great pencil sharpener...and if you have a couple of friends that want one, order together and get them for 18 bucks each!  You get free shipping and you have 90 days to decide if you like it!  I don't think there's any doubt though, I love mine!  Just head over to Classroom Friendly Supplies to check them out  (and see photos and videos too)!

Now, just one final note to all of my lovely followers!  I need your help!  Is there anybody out there who would like to look over my new "Multiplication Madness" unit for timed multiplication tests?  It's great for third grade and learning to "fluently" multiply within 100. {hi, common core!}  So, if you want to be my editor for a day, leave me a comment with your email address, and you'll get my newest product for free!

Big News!

Big news for me at least!  I finished my "really groovy class pack" that I blogged about last week and uploaded it to TPT...but I decided it was time to open a Teacher's Notebook store as well!  So I got down to business this morning and set up my store!  I uploaded a couple of freebies and my new retro themed class pack!  Click on the picture to check it out in my TN store or click on my new Teacher's Notebook button in my sidebar to make your way to my shop!

To celebrate the opening of my new TN store I'm running a giveaway on Teacher's Notebook.  It only lasts until Wednesday at midnight, so hurry over to enter!  One person will win this class pack!

Don't forget, you can sample my class pack with a freebie!  Click on the picture below to download!

Be sure to check out more freebies at Classroom Freebies' Manic Monday!

More news...I am ready for the Daily 5 and CAFE book studies that are coming up!  And I am excited!!  A book study for grades 1-3 is being hosted through linky parties on a lot of lovely blogs, and a book study for upper elementary grades is being hosted at "We Read, We Blog, We Teach"!  I got the kindle version of the books for $9.99 each to read on my iPad!  I've heard great things about the Daily 5, and hopefully I'll see great things for myself this year in my classroom!  

Now, have you met Amber?  (I feel like Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" haha)  She blogs at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher, and she is having a giveaway to celebrate summer!  You have the chance to win $25 worth of items from her shop {which is great!} so be sure to stop by!  Just click on her button to go to her blog!


I'll be having a giveaway of my own soon to celebrate 100 followers!  I'm almost there!

A Day Off

Vacation Bible School is finished, and we had a great week! A tiring week for this teacher...but worth it if we can spread the word to kids and their families!

So today, I'm taking a day off! My "Really Groovy Class Pack" should be up on TPT tomorrow or Monday. I'll be making a few additions and changing a couple of things to get it just right for you! Special thanks to my two followers who reviewed it for me!

Everyone enjoy your weekend!

Peace, Love, & Summer

You might have seen in a couple of my past posts that our theme for next year is peace, love, & dogs.  Even though it's summer, that new theme is what has been on my mind!  I've been looking for ideas and working on a bit of a classroom makeover so far this summer, and I'm back today with a few more of my updates!

This week is vacation bible school at my church, and they have worn me out!  I don't know why!  I have only had 9 to 11 kids each night, and they have been sooo well behaved!  Some of them just finished second grade at my school...fingers crossed that I get them next year!  So, I have been trying to squeeze in some school stuff here and there this week!  I stopped by my "new" classroom Monday to pick up a few sharpies, and this is what I found...

OH. MY. GOODNESS. 

I got my markers and got out! 

I found this cute picture frame at Wal-Mart on clearance.  I'll put a picture of my class in it, and change the photos throughout the year!

I took a few minutes to doll up my clipboard with some retro paper, a big flower, and of course a monogram! {I love anything personalized!}

And I finally finished (I think) my "Really Groovy Class Pack"!  This is my first big product for TPT, so I'd love to have a couple of my followers look over it!  Is anybody else out there using a retro theme next year?  Leave me a comment with your email address, and I'll send a copy to the first two people that agree to give me some feedback!  This pack has lots of documents to help you organize your classroom and start off your school year.

For everyone else I have a freebie for you!  Click on the picture to download a preview of my "Really Groovy Class Pack"!  You get a few job cards and subject cards, a to-do list, a classroom expectations poster, and a certificate for a "hip helper"!  If you download, all I ask is that you please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!    

And finally I'll leave you with a little sneak peek of one of my next projects for my classroom!  We're off to the lake tomorrow, but hopefully I'll get to this soon!