Blog Hoppin' ~ Day 2

WOW ~ I got to read about some amazing bloggers yesterday!  Who knew!

Well I'm at it again today.  It's Day 2 of Blog Hoppin's Back-to-School 2014 Hop.  Today is all about the WHERE!

Those of you who have been following know I just left Kindergarten for Fifth Grade Special Ed.  BIG JUMP!!!!  Although Kindergarten was great, I am so excited to work with the bigger kids.  I put a lot of thought into making a room that they will enjoy, want to be in, and feel comfortable in.

I also share a room with two other people.  Picture a square room cut in half.  Now cut the bottom of the half off.  That's my room!  We are maxed out at my school so any space is prime real estate! Although I still have a long to-do list, I feel comfortable sharing pictures at this point.  I mean, I'm certainly no Reagan Tunstall, but I aspire to be :)

I work in a suburban school district just outside of Philadelphia, PA.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my school.  My co-workers are some of the best people I've ever worked with.  And my Principal......FAB-U-LOUS!  I'm {insert the most drastic word known to man} that she is leaving at the end of September.  I cannot even tell you how much I will miss her :(  She is by far the best principal I've ever worked for!

This is obviously my area of the room. I tend to work very long after the kiddies have gone so I wanted an area that I can work comfortably in.  Next to my desk, I have an area designated for students.  They will turn in their homework & any assignments into the bins, I keep my Homework Punch Cards in the small yellow container (Click HERE to download.)  I keep tape, a stapler, hand sanitzer, etc. on the table for the students.  In the colored file holder on the wall, I keep all of my copies and materials I'll need for each day of the week.

This is the area behind my desk.  I keep my Teacher's Toolkit and anything I need to access here.  There is an additional shelving unit to the left but you can really see it.  I keep all of my curriculum materials there.  Can you tell I'm not quite done? I still need to change out the drawer covers on that last rolling cart.  I have labels for both carts laminated and ready to go.  I just LOVE my little lamp there.  Nothing like some additional lighting!  And you really can't tell from this picture but I covered the backs of my shelving with contact paper.....ZEBRA contact paper!  You can read about that HERE.

Here's a closer view of that area.  I love the accessories I've been able to find.  And, btw, I am CHEAP!  I look for the bargains and get ridiculously excited when I find them.  The "D" initial was only $3.00 at Michaels.  The Chevron bins....yep, $3.00 at Walmart.  And YES, the picture frame was $3.00 as well!  When you factor in the toolkit, this ENTIRE AREA was less than $12.00!  I had the toolkit from last year.  Read all about how I gave it a make-over HERE.  I love this lil area!  To the left is a fan (a MUST for me, and my radio for when the kiddies leave.)

Well, this picture kinda says it all, huh?  My tables are still loaded up with decorating supplies but honestly, I only have a few more hours of work then it all gets shoved in a closet neatly put away.  This will be my small group workspace.  I have a shelf behind my table, as well as two more rolling carts, to house everything I need for small group work.  This year, everything will have a "designated area."  Those two words are going to be my mantra this year!  Any bets on how long that lasts???

This is my CLIPCHART  (<---- You can download it for FREE) and the ever-popular "READ" sign all over Pinterest.  I still love them though!

I love how the Library area is shaping up.  My Instructional Assistant stored all of her files (black bags) and I don't want to disturb them. She'll be in this week to get those moved.  I'm having to start my classroom library all over again so there isn't too much there yet.  A couple of books each month and it will fill right up!

You can read about how I made those T-Shirt pillows HERE.

Hang in there.....we're almost done!!!

This shelf houses most of my manipulatives.  Most of my kiddos learn better using manipulatives so I have LOTS of them!  This shelf is a gross, ugly district shelf.  I can't do too much to it, so I just took out the shelves and lined the back with black paper.  It helps the bins to really pop with color.

This is my area where students who have been absent can pick up any missed work.  This is a HUGE time saver!  When I'm handing out anything, I simply put the remainder in the designated pocket (Mon-Fri) then at the end of the week, I move them back to the file for next year.  I will also have a handout detailing any missed assignments.  Above that is my "You Forgot to Write Your Name AGAIN?"  "No Name"sign.  This is posted as you leave my area of the room so students can easily identify their work on their way out.

And last but not least.........

These are some posters / rules hanging above my white board.  I don't really have classroom "rules" listed anywhere.  These posters summarize everything I want the kids to follow:

     ~ Take PRIDE in your work!
     ~ We are a TEAM!
     ~ NEVER give up trying!
     ~ Always do your BEST!
     ~ READING is key!
     ~ TRYING is hard work!
     ~ Words are Powerful!

These posters will help to jumpstart conversations about what our room should look like and sound like.

Well, you deserve a medal for hanging in there with me.......but I don't have one to give you.  I can say a big THANK YOU for checking out my blog.  I hope you were able to get some ideas for your own classroom.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Don't forget to "Follow" me while you're here!

Head on back over to Blog Hoppin' to check out some other great ideas!

Meet the Teacher Linky!

I'm so excited to participate in another linky today!  Whoa....I'm going to need a vaca after all this!  I'm hooking up with Falling Into First for her Meet the Teacher link-up.  I hope to meet a lot of great new / old bloggers, so here we goooooo . . . . .

My name is Lori and I live in the suburbs just outside of Philadelphia, PA.  I actually grew up in "Philly" as well like to call it.  I've been blogging now for about 2 years.  I have another blog (The Kindergarten Pod) because up until this year, I taught K.  Now I'm moving to 5th Grade Special Ed. so I decided to add another blog and TpT store.  It's been quite a summer trying to rebuild everything from scratch.  It would just have been too hard to continue on a blog / store with "Kindergarten" in the name.

I have two amazing children, 19 year old daughter & 16 year old son.  They are my world and my proudest accomplishment!  I have two furbabies, Mocha & Sophie.  I just love them to pieces.  I have been re-married for 1 year to my soulmate.  We married last July and have been blissfully happy ever since.  He is truly my best friend.  

Okay, here are the questions for the linky.....

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

My puppies!!!! See my pic of Mocha below (Sophie was not in a picture-taking mood!)  Colored duct tape (I like it too much!)  Spray paint: Something old becomes something new again!  The Beach:  Someplace I did NOT get to enough this summer!  Chevron & polka-dots: You'll see this reflected in most of my products.  Get-aways with my hubs: Something we don't do enough!

 IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

Believe it or not, I'd probably be an accountant.  I like the way numbers work. I like the basic principle of accounting....things need to balance out.  Weird, huh?

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Loyal, Fun, Loving

 

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"I LOVE getting up early every day!"
 

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

My Gram.  I'd love to see her again and I miss our long talks!

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

 Meet the REAL Mrs. Murphy!  

{If it can go wrong, it does go wrong!}

 Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

 Teleporting.  To be anywhere you want, anytime you want.....priceless!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

"You must do the things you think you cannot do." 

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 

 Margaritaville

 Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

I am VERY MUCH a night owl.  It is physically painful for me to wake up early . . . not even joking.  Painful.  All over!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

 I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE "The Ultimate Binder."  I use it myself and it keeps me sooooo organized!

                             

There are SO many templates and forms in this document (over 240) and they are ALL editable!!! It is a unique binder for each person.  Definitely worth checking out.  And I've priced it lower than most on TpT just because I love it so much!  Click on any picture above to check it out!

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU! 

Mmmmm, this is a tough one since I'm pretty open about things.  I guess something the blogging world wouldn't know about me is that I'm 41 years old.  Most people seem to be in their 20's and 30's so I kinda feel old on here.  But trust me, when you get to be this age, you still feel like your 20-/30-something!  

Well I'm so glad I could participate in this.  I'm heading back to check out some other blogger friends.  Definitely head back to the link-up!  Before you leave, I'd love it if you followed my blog!  I get tremendously happy each time I see that number go up.....trust me, I probably get too happy!  Thanks!

Visual Plans / Sneak Peek

 

I am SO excited to hook up with Dee Dee Willis from Mrs. Willis Kindergarten for a sneak peek at lesson plans.  In fact, I learned how to do visual plans from her blog about a year or two ago.  It helps me because I am totally a visual person.  I need things in bright colors and neat, organized rows.   So when I saw her posting visual plans a while back, I was hooked!

If you don't know what visual plans are, here is a glimpse at an old one of mine.

Instead of writing out long, boring, detailed plans, I give myself a visual cue of what we are doing.  It saves me a lot of time to just glance at my book and know what to have on hand.

Each morning in Kindergarten, the kids arrive on a staggered schedule in about a 10 minute window of time.  When the bell rang, we started with work from my Kindergarten Morning Work packet.  It was great because the product starts off with some basic skills then progresses in difficulty as the year went on.  The kids could practice Literacy and Math / Number Concepts all on the same worksheet.  It gave me the necessary time to take attendance, address notes from home, etc.  The kids weren't just doing "busy work" either.  They were practicing the skills we were working on in class.  I included clipart and a border that the "fast finishers" could color while the others were finishing.

We would begin our day with Morning Meeting & Calendar Time, then we would get right into Word Work.  I loved this time of the day.  The kids were fresh and awake and eager to learn.  I would vary different word work activities, especially during the beginning of the year (VERY short attention spans!)  Early on, I would introduce our Sight Word Mini-Books.  We used these to practice concepts of print, letter identification, letter writing, and discrimination.....all in one cute little book! (We use the Dolch Sight Word list but I also made them for the Fry 100.)  I would use the remaining time to do a read aloud to work on Concepts of Print, fluency & comprehension.  The kids would go to Specials then lunch.

For afternoon Math, we'd start with daily routines {counting forwards, backwards, number of the day, question of the day, etc.}  During the first weeks of school, I would use my Number Practice pages.  These really helped the kids master each number: handwriting it and being able to represent it.  It also gave me time to work with struggling students with my RTI Math for Kindergarten program.  I always tried to address any struggling students as early as possible.  These activities really helped "catch-up" those students.

It was right around this point in the day I would start to lose some students.  We had a V.E.R.Y. long afternoon last year.  Most of the kiddies couldn't wait til rest time and would fall asleep!  I tried to keep them up and moving.  We would start our Sight Word Bracelets the first week of school.  The kids LOVE these things!  I would begin with our first three words....a, the, like.  I'd vary who got which bracelet so there were an equal number of each.  Then we'd meet up with our "teams" (the "A" Team, the "The" Team, etc.) and do brain break activities.  Some days we would build numbers using Play-Doh or something fun!

I posted my old schedule below so you could see how I laid out my day.  Like I said, I had to try to cram the learning portions of our day towards the morning since that was when they were at their best!

I hope this has been helpful to you!  I can't wait to get my schedule for this year so I can get busy making those plans!!!!

Head on back to Mrs. Willis Kindergarten to check out more great posts!  Thanks for stopping by!

Last Sale Day & Monthly Newsletters

Well today is the LAST day of the big sale!!!!

Click on picture to go to my store.

.....and just in time, I uploaded my Editable Monthly Newsletters.  This product has 4 different backgrounds for each month.  Every month comes in colored & b/w Chevron and colored & b/w Polka-Dots.  

There are so many options to choose from.  These templates make sharing classroom news a breeze!  Just open the document, type in your information and PRINT!  Voila!  There are standard headers provided including:  "In the News,"  "You're Learning WHAT?," "Reminders," and "Birthdays."  This product is suited mostly for Pre-K-3 with its cute clipart and fun theme.

Hurry on over to my store today to grab your copy........ON SALE for $3.60!  It's a S.T.E.A.L.  

Don't forget to enter the Promo Code: BTS14 to get your savings.  And please take a minute to provide feedback on the product to let me know how I'm doing :)  Click on the preview picture or HERE to see the product on TpT.

Thanks, and have a great day!

2014-15 BTS Blowout S.A.L.E.!

Well I am SUPER excited for tomorrow.  Monday.  And I'm never excited about Monday's!  Trust me on this!

Tomorrow is TpT's Back-to-School Blowout Sale!  

Isn't that button cute? {Insert your YAWN here!}

Those of you following me know I don't have much in my store yet.....I'm working on that.  But I do have two products you can save big on!

$9.00 . . . .  $6.48!

I can't say enough great things about this binder (if I do say so myself!)  I have already gotten mine set up and I'm in love with it!  It's got everything you'll need to get organized this year.  The thing I like best is how bright and colorful it is!  Click on the picture to get it at the bargain price of $9.00  $6.48!!!! Seriously, most lesson plan books cost DOUBLE that.  You'll be getting completely editable pages to customize your binder.  There are over 230 templates and forms to help get you through the year!

My second product is a new one called "Master of the Multiplier."  This is a INSTANT Math Center activity.  Yup, just print-and-go!  Trust me, the kids will be begging you to play this one.....and they'll be mastering their multiplication tables (but don't tell them!)  

$3.00 . . . . $2.16!

All that you'll need for this activity is the game board (each focusing on a different multiplier), two dice and something to color with.  In the two player version, Player 1 rolls the dice, adds to get the sum & multiplies the sum by the multiplier.  Find a box with the product and color it with your color.  Then it's Player 2's turn.  Continue play until all of the boxes are colored (if all of the boxes with your product are already colored, your turn is over.)  Count how many boxes each player colored.  The player with the most boxes wins!

This next product is a must-have for me.  I want to make sure I'm addressing every standards in my teaching.  This helps me stay on track & have a visual of the CC standards I've covered or the ones I can focus on more.

$5.00. . .  $3.60!!!

The Common Core Checklist covers every CC standard for 5th Grade.  Subjects included are Reading, Writing & Math.  There are also mini-posters for each Standard.  This checklist definitely keeps my teaching focused.

You can click on any of the pictures to be take to my store.  As always, thanks for stopping by and HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

The ULTIMATE Teacher’s Binder!

I am bursting with excitement as I type this. Weeks of working on this product, consulting teachers and specialist’s ….. Making the entire product editable…..all to get to this moment!

This product is definitely a labor of love for me!  I was tired of carrying around a lesson plan book, a calendar, and endless files containing intervention notes, committee meeting information, student contact cards, etc. My bag was doing serious damage to my back!  I wanted to create one place for all of that information to be stored.  No more fumbling before a meeting to grab the right file/folder!  This product eliminates the need for all of that!  And the best part is, this product is 100% editable!  I created over 2,000 text fields for you to insert your own information.  Here is a peek at what is included.  Keep in mind, I created both color and b/w versions for all pages to save on color printing. There are also a few pages with multiple template designs for you to customize your binder.

There are templates for multiple fields of education including special educators.  There is an IEP Snapshot template, a caseload template, etc. to address your specific needs.  Anything you don't see here....just e-mail me and I'll put a template together for you! 

This product is a life-long tool.  No more purchasing teacher materials each year for your lesson plans, calendars, etc.  This file will be updated each year to include the most recent academic year.

Now, I know I said the best part was that it was editable but really the best part is that this product is on sale for the next 24hrs!  Yep.....hurry and grab it for $10.00 off!!!!!

If you have any questions at all, please leave me a comment below, on the Q & A section of my TpT store, or e-mail me at abcsandieps@yahoo.com. 

You can click any picture above or click here to check out this product.  As always, thank you for stopping by!

Back-to-School Goals

Better late than never!  I’m hooking up with iHeart Recess to bring you my 2014 – 2015 School Goals.  Enjoy!