Pirate Reading Rotation Board

Hey friends! I'm finishing up my first week of school and honestly, I couldn't be happier! I'm just exhausted and I'm battling allergies on top of it! I lost my voice today which didn't work out too well when I had to repeat procedures over and over:) I also had to attend a training today, and then realized I accidentally threw away an important test my kids need to take!! I remember seeing the box and thinking, "what is all this junk doing together in this box?!." So in the trash it went! Little did I know it was manipulatives and papers I needed. OOPS doesn't begin to describe it:) Luckily I have an amazing teammate who is helping me put it all back together! 

SO hopefully you can feel my pain and understand why I'm ready for the weekend! But before I escape, I wanted to show you guys my pirate-themed reading workshop board:

Last week our laminator, color printer, and copier were all out of commission! This board has yet to be laminated, but I needed to start my rotations soon, so I put it up anyways.

I did a lengthy post on my rotations HERE. This is the same idea, just with a pirate theme! If you are interested in this for your classroom, you can get it in my TpT Store here. 

Wow!!

Whew!! So sorry I've been out of commission the past week (or two:)). Going back to school has really kicked my rear, and I've discovered that switching grade levels is not for the weak! I'm barely able to keep my eyes open long enough at night to spend time with my family, so I'm sad to say blogging ended up on the bottom of my "to-do" list. Did I mention the laminator, copier, and color printer were not working on our teacher workdays last week? It was not fun! Besides all of that, I had a great first day back today, and I'm looking forward to an awesome year! I'm hoping to catch my breath in the next few days and show you in more detail what is happening in my classroom! For now, I uploaded a few more pictures in my classroom to add to the sneak peek:) 

Here are my kiddo's book boxes! I'm hoping to fill these tomorrow with tons of books! I LOVE to watch my kids browse my classroom library for the first time. It's so much fun to see them get excited about new books for the year! 

These are hand signal signs that I bought from Clutter-Free Classroom. They are soooo cute and look great against the black in my room! I had used hand signals before, but I LOVE these posters! It will be a great reference for my kids:) 

So this summer I showed you my job chart I was working on, but decided to scratch that chart at the last minute. I broke it up into two charts that fit nicely on my cabinets! As I said earlier, the laminator is broken at my school, so I haven't been able to do that yet. I'm just taking a risk with it since the chart is pretty high up, and the kids shouldn't be touching it. 

I've also been so busy, I haven't had time to post a new item in my store! I took my reading genre posters and made a horizontal set. I needed them this way so they will fit on cabinets in my room. I don't think they require TOO much of an explanation, but here are some pictures:

All the posters come with this blue background, but I also included some with a white background to fit any color scheme!

Here is the page with all the genres squeezed in. This is great for reading notebooks.

There is also a card-size set of each genre.

If you are interested in purchasing this, you can get it at my TpT store here.

I hope to see you all very soon! 

Sneak Peek

I wanted to show you guys just a quick look at my room so far! I'm not even close to being finished, so you will have to excuse the mess and just bear with me! Again, sorry for the bad iPhone pictures. I have GOT to get our camera fixed! 

My pirate chart

Alphabet Line

As I was taking pictures of things around the room, I heard my one year old saying, "cheee" so I had to take his picture:) Excuse the mess! My teacher area has been one of the more neglected areas so far:)

Got this idea off Pinterest! (where else) I zip-tied two crates together (got those at Target) to create a place for groups to keep journals, markers, crayons, and trash can. I got the trash can at Dollar Tree, and I want the kids to use them when they are working on projects at their desk. I'm hoping this will cut down on paper on the floor, and frequent trips to the large trash can! I'll have a student empty the trash cans everyday for their job.

This is a closer look at one of the bulletin boards. I'm going to dedicate this board to my Objectives/Focus Wall. We have to have our objectives posted each week, so I tried to think of an easier way to do this than writing them out each day. I made these cards, and I will just flip them each week to match the objective for the week! Did I mention I'm moving down to second grade? YES new adventure. Don't worry, I completely plan to keep posting things third grade related! I don't think you can tear that out of me so easily:) So these cards are made with second grade objectives (in Texas). If you need third grade ones, Amanda at One Extra Degree has a great set! She is one of the blogs I follow over on the right.

I can't take any credit for this! My husband is a rockstar!! He did ALL of this for me! What a stud. This is the back wall in my room. I've tried making this a functional wall, but it's so high and SO DIFFICULT to move things around on it that it's better off being a focal piece for the room. 

Unfinished library area. I'll call it "Pirate Cove." I'm also taking down those lanterns, and I'll be using those for group signs.

Well there you have it so far! I still have so much to do, but it's a start!

Take Home Folder Available

Sorry for the lack of posting! I have been working in my classroom every chance I can get! I've been trading the kids with my husband each day so I can get a few hours work done! I almost forgot how EXHAUSTING setting up your classroom is! I think I take a 15  30 minute nap every day when I get home. I'm hoping to have some pictures for you very soon...but I've had to move classrooms this year so my room is a WRECK. There would not be anything to post except junk spread out on the tables:)

I wanted to send a little note to tell you guys that I've made the items for my take home folders available in my TpT store! I didn't realize anyone would want it, but I got a few emails asking where they could get the materials for the folders. SO if you are interested, you can get that HERE.

Take Home Folders and B2S SALE!

I'm sure you have all heard, but TpT is having their annual Back to School Sale beginning tomorrow! Everything in my store will be 20% off, AND you can get an extra 10% off if you use the code BTS12. Happy shopping everyone! I'm so excited to purchase some things that have been sitting on my wish list far too long!

I also wanted to show you guys what I have been working on the past two days...take home folders. Our principal has always given us planners for the kids, so I never had to worry too much about this. I was able to record their behavior for the day and communicate with parents all in one book.  Unfortunately I'm not getting planners this year, so I had to come up with something that will work for me!

Here is what I've decided to do:

I used Deanna Jump's idea for the P.I.R.A.T.E. folder and made a label to go on the front.

Here is what it will look like when they open the folder. On the right is  a yearly calendar (that will be printed on card stock) put in pocket sleeves. I will use the calendar to write down behavior for the day. On the left is the pocket for homework.

The small label shows a picture of the behavior chart (my pirate-themed one) from the classroom, and our classroom rules. I will color (or write the letter) for where the student's clip was that day on the chart. If they broke a rule, I will also write the number for the rule they broke. I want parents to initial the calendar every night.

Here is an example of what the calendar will look like:

This student had great days except on Thursday, the 30th.  I wrote a "1" because they did not follow directions. Parents should initial this every night.

I think I will really like having this visual for several months at a time! On the label I wrote letters next to the behavior chart because I understand that some days I'm in a big hurry and might not have time to mark everyone's calendar with a highlighter/marker.

Behind the calendar will be a pocket sheet with a sign for important papers. This is where I will put permission forms, things to sign, etc. 

Behind that I made pages for parent communication. I like having all of this in one place! 

I'm still trying to decide about this one. I really don't want to go out and buy a class set of pencil bags, so I'll probably use baggies. This is where students will put money and other important items that could easily fall out of the folder. I folded over the bottom of a large baggie and punched holes through it so it wouldn't tear as easily. 

Finally, in the back pocket I will have a place for papers that need to stay home! Flyers, letters, etc. 

So there it is! I plan to make between 25-30 folders so I don't have to worry if one gets lost, or if I get a new student. It's just nice to have those kinds of things ready to go! 

Let the games begin!!!

So I have to update this post with my "awesome" experience today! I had to bring my boys to work with me while I worked in my room. Not the ideal situation, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. They were actually really great! They kept making lots of messes with things in the room, but I was okay with that since they were occupied, and I could get work done. To me, it was worth a few minutes of picking up blocks in exchange for the time I got to work. So there I am thinking how well this is all working out when right in the middle of it all, I pick up my 1 year old and he throws up ALL OVER ME. ALL OVER my carpet. ALL OVER my teacher chair. ALL OVER my rug. *sigh* Luckily my teaching friend was in the room and could run to get paper towels and cleaner. Needless to say, my day abruptly ended...I drove home covered in you-know-what, and I refuse to take my kids with me again!! hahaha. Oh, and did I mention my 1 year old started laughing while I'm in the middle of cleaning it all up? Fun times:) 

Here is a picture of him from dinner a few nights ago. Little stinker:) 

I have a lot of work to do!!

Writing Clubs

Hello all! I wanted to tell you about a WONDERFUL idea I've used in my classroom the past few years! WRITING CLUBS! Seriously. I can't say it enough how great writing clubs are! So here is how I've used writing clubs in my room:

My kids write in their writing notebooks every day. Sometimes they are writing to a prompt, and sometimes it is just random free writing. On Fridays, they take their notebooks with them to their writing club. I assign every group. I usually mix it up based on ability, but I REALLY try to get my higher kids in the same group because they need that support from one another. I also don't want them "running the show" and doing all the work in the group while the other kids just sit and listen.

Writing clubs last about 30-40 minutes depending on how much time we have. Each student in the group gets about 10 minutes to share their favorite piece they wrote that week. First, they read it out loud to the group for enjoyment. When they are finished reading, the kids in the group talk about it. They talk about what they liked, if something didn't make sense, things they could add, things they could fix, etc. It's AWESOME. Many times the kids help with spelling and punctuation mistakes as well. I'm amazed at the wonderful conversations my kids can have. It's a great support group, and the kids love it.

I made up this worksheet to go with the groups to make sure there was some kind of accountability. There will always be that group that just wants to play, and you have to constantly redirect them. This page helps them stay on task. You can get this for FREE in my TpT store HERE.

I hope as you go back to school someone finds this idea helpful! Of course, I had to spend a few weeks really walking them through what writing clubs looked like, rules, etc. But after a few weeks of practice, they basically ran themselves:)

Place Value Olympics!!

I am crazy about the Olympics! Whenever the Olympics are on, you will always know where to find me and my husband....on our couch!! There is not an athletic bone in my body, but I love watching these athletes fulfill their lifelong dreams! Most nights I'm bawling my eyes out in celebration for these people who sacrifice so much for that one special moment!! I just love it!

So while sitting on the couch one day, I decided I MUST create something with an Olympics theme! The first thing that came to my mind was place value. I probably thought of this first because it is usually the first thing I teach, and I thought my kiddos would have the Olympics fresh on their minds!

Sorry these pictures don't have a border around them! I'm not quite sure how to fix that on blogger! 

It is full of activities working through the hundred thousands. It covers expanded form, standard form, word form, comparing numbers, and ordering numbers! These are the posters and sport theme for each one: 

I chose an archery theme for expanded form! The idea is for the kids to "pull back" on the bow to pull apart the number.

 Standard form has a swimming/kayak theme

Word form has a cycling theme

Comparing Numbers has a gymnastics theme

Ordering Numbers has a tennis theme

I'm SO happy with this packet, and I know it's going to be really fun for my kiddos in about a month or so (I can't believe we go back so soon! ah!). I also made a point NOT to make this packet specific to the London Olympics, so it can be used over and over again. I'll even use it next year for a fun Olympics theme:) Here are some of the things in the packet:

Place Value Chart with swimming lanes

This is a class game where the teacher will call out what number belongs in which box (value).

There are several worksheets throughout the packet (at least one for each category). Most of them are with expanded form.

I Have, Who Has game for Word Form

Ordering Numbers practice

In this game, students will each get a card with a number on it. They can tape it to their shirts, or just hold it in their hand. They will order themselves least to greatest or greatest to least! You can switch around the cards each time so students will have a different number each time. 

If you are interested, you can take a look at it in my TpT store HERE

or

You can get this in my Teacher's Notebook store HERE.