Calling All Ohio Teachers! Plus a little giveaway ;)

Ug, another late night.  I have GOT to start going to bed earlier.  But I guess it's who I am...

So those of you who live in Ohio (and other states if this applies) - let's talk about this 3rd grade reading guarantee.  Not that I want to, but I'm so stressed and perplexed about some of this crazy law.  So how many of you have been implementing this new reading intervention class (outside if Title I/Reading Recovery)?  Meaning it has to be taught by a classroom teacher and teaching the lowest kiddos.  Please tell me someone knows what I'm talking about?!?!?  If you don't, that will stress me out more.  :P  What I want to know is how your school is doing this.  We are implementing this extra reading intervention class K-2 (3rd and up departmentalize, so they have it covered in a different way).  What I'm struggling with is the lack of time I have to teach what I'm supposed to teach.  I have stressed, gotten angry, and cried over the ridiculouslessness (if that's a word...auto-correct says it's not...oh well, it's SO a word to me! :P).  I can IMMEDIATELY feel my blood pressure rise when I think about this.  I need to let it go.  I just wish the state understood what they're doing to the kids who AREN'T low.  Between Title I pull-outs, speech, and now intervention, I have half an hour to teach math, half an hour to teach writing, and an hour and a half to teach reading/language arts.  Um, 2 1/2 hours?  Are you serious?  I struggle everyday.  Majorly.  Add in lunch, 2 recesses, and bathroom breaks, and out of the 6 hours we're at school, I get 2.5.  2.5.  2.5.  I'm MAJORLY bothered by that.  And I'm the teacher that's teaching 1st grade intervention, so there's that.  Not that I mind.  I like reading and I'd rather teach intervention than science/social studies any day...

How does your school do it?!?!?  Please, we need ideas.  We have done intervention the past few years, so that piece isn't new, but the scheduling and now the REQUIREMENT of it is really getting us.  In past years 1st grade has done it 3 days a week, not 5.  That really did help because Monday is the busiest day introducing lots of new concepts.  So that extra half hour was golden.

I truly apologize for venting, but this has been on my mind so much since the beginning of the year and I'm overwhelmed to the max on how to fit it in and teach it all.  I promise I love my job more than anything (sometimes too much), but as we all know there's a lot of stress involved!  Once I can figure out how to maneuver my schedule I'll be fine.  But I've rearranged it 3 times.  Ugggg.  I do reading groups/Daily 5 during Title I time, but you can't really introduce anything new while other kids are out of the room.  Between Speech, Title I, and Intervention, I lose an hour a day.  Ok...enough venting.  Just tell me what you do.  Please.  Pretty please?  :)

If you comment and leave your thoughts, please leave your e-mail address because I'm going to give away my October Math Centers to one lucky person!  Even if you have nothing to say because you have no idea what I'm talking about, I want to know that, too.  I need info from every realm.  And if you don't want a chance to win the centers but would still like to leave a comment, please do, just omit your e-mail address.  :)  I realize I could get comments from upper-elementary bloggy friends, and these centers are appropriate for K-2, so it might not do you any good.  :P

As a sidenote about the October Math Centers, I'm going to put them on sale for TOMORROW (10-1) ONLY!  You can pick them up for only $4!  :)  And if you just can't wait to see if you've won and you want to pick them up tonight, I'm having a 15% off sale tonight...you've only got 25 more minutes, but you can snag them real quick!  :)

Thanks, guys!  :)

Fact and Fun Fridays

I have really taken a liking to math in the past year or so.  I was NOT good at math once I hit about 5th grade.  That's why I teach 1st.  ;)  Just kidding...kind of...

Every year I kind of change how I do math in my classroom.  As with everything else, so much to do, so little time!  I loved the idea of math centers and games and all of that fun stuff, but I just couldn't fit it in on a normal day.  We use Everyday Math in our district, so if you're familiar with it, you know that there's a lot, and there's not.  I have mixed feelings about EM...but that's a story for another day.  ;)

I don't like to introduce anything new on Friday.  At that point, our brains are fried and the last thing any of them can do is sit still and learn something brand new when they know the weekend starts in a matter of hours.  Plus, I assess like CRAZY on Fridays, so I need time to pull kids individually.  It's a nice little break to have a good time practicing skills in a laid-back sort of way.  :)

The idea of "Fact and Fun Friday" came into my head this summer.  I purchased Gumball Math to help my firsties with learning their math facts.  SO. PUMPED. about this program.  My kiddos already love it.  It's sooooo much more age-appropriate for them.  You should absolutely check it out.  So we do our fact practice the first part of our math block.  It doesn't take long at all.  We do a quick recap on adding and subtracting, might do some Around the World or quick fact practice together, then they take a 3-minute test to try and complete 50 problems.  That whole ordeal only takes about 5-10 minutes.

Then the kids pair up to do centers!  I have started creating my own monthly math centers that are Common Core based.  I pull the standards, come up with a quick game/activity, print, laminate, and put them in labeled drawers.  I put velcro on the back of my labels, that way I can easily change them out each month.

The first Friday we spend time going over how to play each game or what to do for each activity.  I made assessment sheets for each one to hold them accountable.  They turn them in when they're done and I do a quick check to see how they did.

Let's just say they LOVED IT.  They were really into it and had a blast.  I can't wait for Fun and Fact Friday this coming week!

If you're interested in my monthly math centers, check out my TpT store.  They are based on Kindergarten and First Grade standards, but I know that it would've worked great in my 2nd grade classroom last year, especially if you have a lower 2nd grade math class.  The September Centers are up and for sale!  I'm getting ready to start the October math centers tonight, so they should be up in the next week or so.

September Math Centers

Here are the kiddos picking out their centers.  I pull sticks to determine the order of how they get to pick.

I have GOT to start remembering my camera!  The iPhone is nice, but the quality of pics just isn't great...oh well..c'est la vie...

Off to paint our laundry room!  Enjoy the weekend, friends!  :)

Focus Wall and a Freebie!

Hey bloggy friends!  Long time, no see!  Let me tell you, getting into the groove of this year has been C-R-A-Z-Y!  After 3 weeks of gathering baseline data from a boatload of assessments (Metropolitan, Reading Street Baseline Test, Fluency checks, 18-page math assessment, Houghton-Mifflin word checks, and AIMSWeb), I think I'm finally ready to roll and get this year started!  Baseline data is so important (like, uber-important!), but I'm SO glad when it's all over and I get to actually TEACH!  I feel like I know so much about my students now and know where to go.

By the way, I was going to update my blog one night a couple weeks ago, but right as I sat down to start (literally...not joking...) my dog bit me!!!!  She's a chiweenie and the sweetest thing ever.  I think between my 15-month-old, moving into a new home, and me going back to work, the poor thing was depressed and lashed out.  It was my fault because she guarding a toy and I went in behind her (big no-no) and tried to grab it.  She bit my forearm.  It bruised immediately and she gave me a nice little puncture wound that bled for 4 hours.  The next day I made a trip to Urgent Care to get a tetanus shot and get it cleaned up.  Fun stuff.  The health department came to our home last week to check on her and she's in the clear!  :)  Soooo....there's been my last 2 weeks....on top of starting school!  :P

I wanted to share a couple pictures of my focus wall this year.  This is the first year I've done one.  I put up our spelling words, vocabulary words, high-frequency words (in addition to on our word wall), amazing words, reading comprehension skill, and reading strategy skill.  It's SO helpful to have those things in plain view for the students to reference.  I purposely do NOT have the actual comprehension skill answered on my posters because I like the students to come to those conclusions on their own or through discussion, instead of seeing it on a poster already given to them.  For example, for 3rd grade, the main idea of "Penguin Chick" is that penguins do a lot to take care of their young.  I won't put that on my "Main Idea" poster.  Instead, I'll give another example that's completely clear of the story.  Then they can see an example and apply it to what their reading.  I hope that makes sense.  So if you're one who uses my Reading Street packets and ever wondered why I do that, there's your answer.  :)

Ok, here are some pics.  I honestly don't have a lot of bulletin boards, so I have to squeeze stuff in all over the place.  :P  This is actually a blackboard/marker board that I covered with material.  My pocket chart and Job Jar have large magnets on the back, so they just stick right up there.  I hot-glued vinyl sleeve pockets for my Focus Wall posters.  Each week I can just slide the new papers in and out!  It's so much better than using sticky-tack every week.  So much quicker!

Here's a close-up of my posters.

This is a great pocket chart I got from Really Good Stuff.  It's magnetic and the perfect size!

Last, but not least, I created a little freebie for you!  I made these to include in one of my 3rd grade Reading Street packets and thought I'd share them.  :)  They're Character Profiles.  I made a boy and girl one, so enjoy!  :)  Just click on them to download and print.

Have a GREAT week!  :) :) :)

The Big Reveal (and a HUGE sale, in case you haven't heard)

I'm alive!  We finally were able to move and we were without internet for a couple weeks.  That and I've been living in my classroom trying to get it ready.  I'm sure you all know how that goes!  ;)

So before I get to the fun part of sharing my room, let me mention that Teachers Pay Teachers is having a HUGE Back-to-School sale on Sunday and Monday!  I'm putting everything in my store on sale.  Be sure to stock up on tons of goodies from the site!  I know I will be.  I can hardly wait!

Now for the room reveal!  I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE taking a peek through the doors of fellow teachers to see how they set up their rooms for the upcoming year.  It's honestly one of my favorite times of the year!  There's still a little bit to be done, but here we go.  I'll add a little description here and there.  I know when I SEE something I like, I want to know more!  Now I have to tell you, most of these ideas are inspired/provided by blogs, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Pinterest.  I also have to tell you that my owl theme came from SchoolGirlStyle.  I already had the clipart she used and needed some bigger items this year, so my budget was a little tight.  I went ahead and did everything myself (even thought it did NOT turn out NEARLY as cute as hers!).  You should check out her blog and be majorly inspired.  Wow is all I can say about that woman!  Anyways....

Welcome to 1A!!!!

The sparkly letter outside my room (found at Meijer).

The view when you walk in.

To the left.

Classroom library...

Here's my little desk area...and yes, I have TWO Scentsy warmers in my very large room!  It makes my room smell SOOOOO good!

Birthday treats....I found the straws at Party City.  The lamp and plate are from Hobby Lobby.

Outside bulletin board.

This is my Squiggles area.  I first heard of Squiggles during student teaching.  Then I heard about them again at a 1st grade conference.  You give the students a "squiggle" on a piece of paper, they turn it into a picture, and then write about it.  It's AMAZING to see what they come up with.  You can order the book HERE.

Here is my "desk space" again.  I decided to get rid of my desk.  Crazy, I know.  :P  I constantly have students at my desk to work with them and I was toting things back and forth to my desk and guided reading table.  So I made my guided reading table my desk!  I only have my computer on it in the corner (well, except for the moment...it's covered in papers and projects).  This allows me to constantly have students with me to work in either guided reading groups or individual help.  And now I have everything RIGHT THERE.  I absolutely love it this way.  I'm not a woman of clutter, so for me it works well since I know I won't have stacks of things piled up with no room for kids.  I do have another desk behind me in this photo where I store materials, papers, and other things.

Look familiar?  Yep, it's my Pinterest project! :P

Here is our classroom Data Dashboard.  We track fluency, extended response, math facts, and sight words in our classroom.

I made cute little labels for our specials materials!  The green crate was  bought at Wal-Mart several years ago and the blue tote was found at The Dollar Tree a couple years ago.

This year I decided to put their name tags on their CHAIRS instead of on their desks.  That way I can zip-tie the desks together (saw that on Pinterest!).  If they ever need to move desks, they just move their chair and belongings instead of the whole desk.  It gives them a good excuse to clean out their desk, too, if they ever have to move.  ;)

Daily 5 posters (Ginger Snaps), owl decals (found at Hobby Lobby), and pennant banner that I made.

A bit of a closeup of the pennant banner.  I made one for each window by printing it on white card stock and then stringing it onto yarn.

Table signs.  I found the hanging decorations at Party City and printed the middle part.

CAFE board.  Once again, thanks to Ginger Snaps!

Phonics Dance board/Data Dashboard.  Monster Words are above and the colored drawers will house my Centers materials (word work on left, math on right).

The numbers for the clock are from Amy Lemons.  Then we have the Daily Schedule and Job Jar.

That cute number line is from Hope King!  It matches my room so well.  Here is my Focus Wall, pocket chart for spelling words, mailboxes, and writing table.  My next post will be all about Writing Workshop!  Oooo...sorry it's a little blurry.

I ordered these CUTE, COLORFUL bins from Really Good Stuff.  They are PERFECT for our book boxes for the Daily 5!  They're also going to keep their Data Folders in them, simply because I'm out of room to store them anywhere else.  :/  Oh, and my listening center is on the left there.  Still some tweaking to do.

Name tags above coat hooks!

Bucket Filling Area

Math Area.  I'm pumped about using Gumball Math this year!  I think the kids will really enjoy it.  I have math manipulatives on the table and in some of the boxes underneath.  The drawers hold all their Math Homelinks (for Everyday Math) and materials for each unit.  Each unit has its own drawer.

Well friends, there's my sneak peak for now!  Hope you enjoy!  I'm starting to really get excited about heading back to school.  :)

A little about me...

Whew...heading into mid-July.  If you saw my last post, you know that I'm changing grade levels next  year again.  And let me tell you what...I am starting to get in panic mode!  It's like I can't work fast enough.  Someone asked what I'm doing to get ready.  The biggest thing is math flipcharts for the Promethean Board.  I'm insanely OCD (self-diagnosis here!  ;)) and have to have everything organized and ready to go.  Being unprepared drives me crazy, even though sometimes it's inevitable as a teacher.  Things come up, plans change, you have to roll with the punches.  But by golly, I'm going to try my hardest to be prepared in every way possible!  We also use Reading Street and I've come up with resource packets that I use every week.  It just makes the week easier.  If you use RS, too, you can check out my TPT store because I put all of my packets on there.  :)  I'm 2/3 of the way done with first grade stories.  I'm also going to start to implement the Daily 5 next year.  If any of you use that, I would LOVE some feedback!  I'm worried about how to fit in a "daily" 5.  With our schedule, I just don't think it's possible.  It will be more like a Daily 3.

**Sidenote: Does anyone feel kind of...alone, if you will....if you're not at I Teach K in Vegas this week?  Ha!  I feel like all of blogging land is out there.  Maybe one of these days I can go to a huge blog meet-up in a fabulous place.  But for now, I'm stuck here in central Ohio working on school stuff.  :P  

  So last week I received a welcome surprise from...

   awarded me the...

  Thank you so, so much, friend!  Hop on over to her blog and check it out!

Now there are a few rules to follow when receiving this award.

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you. 

2. Include a link to their site. 

3. Include the award image in your post

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself. 

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award. 

6. When nominating, include a link to their site. 

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.



So 7 random facts about myself...hmmm....


1.  I have a 1-year old named Rowan.  He is the sweetest little guy I've ever met!  Everyone says he's the cutest kid they've ever seen.  I have to agree, since I'm his mom.  ;)  This picture is from Easter, but it's one of my favorites!

2.  I graduated from Ole Miss with my Bachelor's in Elementary Education and my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction.  Hotty Toddy!  :)

3.  I LOVE to workout.  I just wish I had more time to do it.  :/

4.  I have taken a nap almost everyday this summer with my son.  I love it and hate it.  I feel like I should be getting stuff done (*cough*laundry*cough*), but then again, summer is for relaxing, right?

5.  My favorite sound is cicadas.  My hubby thinks I'm weird, but it reminds me of living down South.  Don't get me wrong, they're creepy little bugs.  The sound is just so refreshing, though! 

6.  I have a secret passion for weather!  I am sorta like a weather-stalker.  I check it CONSTANTLY.  And if we're supposed to get storms, I'm standing out on my back deck watching it roll in!  My mom was struck by lightning when I was in 5th grade, so she HATES my passion for storms.  ;)

7.  I LOOOOOVVVEEEE grilled asparagus!  Um, hello, why did I just find this out about 5 years ago?!?!?  I was in my roommate's wedding down South and we had grilled asparagus at the rehearsal and reception.  It was the most divine food I've ever hated when I was little.  So I started growing my own in our backyard.  :)

So there ya have it!  A few fun tidbits about myself.

Ok, 15 is a lot of blogs...so I'm only going to do 9.  ;)  There are SO many fabulous blogs out there, but these are the ones I follow the closet.

http://sweetiesinsecond.blogspot.com/

Back to creating!  :)