Snap It Up Saturday! Our Government may be shut down...But we're still learning!

Yep...our Government is still shut down. The ridiculousness is touching the folks in our area like never before. I have several coworkers who are already feeling the strain due to having husbands who work in government offices. If they would hurry up and get those political panties out of a wad, we would all be in much better shape. 

But even with the shutdowns, we are pressing right on through and have jumped into our unit on American government feet first. This is such an abstract concept for third graders and we REALLY struggle to keep things organized. No matter how many Brainpop videos and SchoolHouse Rock tunes we learn, it still just doesn't click for them. But we teach it anyway, and we are trying something new this year. We are working on a lapbook activity that I created for class and the kids are really enjoying all of the foldables and things we are adding. Want to see what I'm talking about?  Below are pictures of a completed lapbook that I made to show my kids before we started. 

 So far it is going well...But again, government is a really abstract concept. Sometimes I wonder if it is developmentally appropriate for third graders, but hey...who I am I to create a curriculum. Anyway, for this week's Snap It Up Saturday! post, I've decided to give away this little foldable pack to all of my fantastic followers! I hope it is something that you find useful and your kids find a little more fun than traditional note-taking. Click on the picture below to head over to my TPT store and Snap It Up!

 I've also been working on other materials for my classroom, a few clipart sets, and a couple of bundles to add to the store as well. And I still have lots of work to do! Below you will find some of my most recent additions. There might be something you can use!

It has been a very busy week and I'm positive next week is going to be much the same. It's hard to believe I'm getting ready to write my first set of report cards already. The year is in motion and it is flying by. But now, I'm off to take the little girl fishing for the day. The weather here is beautiful and I'm going to take advantage of it!

Have a great weekend!

Snap It Up Saturday! Who Spilled the Paint? and a Classroom Update!

Howdy everyone! It's a bit past my bedtime so bear with me for a bit. I just had to make an eleven-o-clock trip to my husband's workplace to bring him some money. I just love it when debit cards decide they don't want to work...don't you? And on top of that, I worked ALL day in my classroom getting ready for the new school year. I've made a little bit of progress and I might be nearing the finish line. I'll share a few quick ideas from my room and then I'll head straight for the goodies!

Math Fact Mastery Board- When my students pass one of their levels of Multiplication facts, they get to move their button (the round things up top) to the area below the fact set that they are in. This helps to motivate them, as well as keeping track of things for me. I made the buttons by painting over some 1 3/4 inch wooden circles and glueing push pins to the back! Then I stuck on 1 inch round labels so I can write their names on them.

Behavior Chart and Magnets- The chart I've discussed before and the magnets were created in the same manner as my math fact buttons. I used red masking tape to block off the sections on my board and trimmed it all out in zebra print. Can you guess the theme in my room? (oh yeah, sorry about the crooked cellphone pictures)

Looking for a quick and easy table storage solution? Crates! I got these at Walmart for about three dollars apiece. They are zip-tied together so they don't fall over, and every table has one. I plan on putting our reading and writing journals in these as well.

Behavior Bucks Storage Chart- I bought these from Vistaprint! They are business cards that I personalized to say Mrs. Smith's Behavior Bucks! Each student will have a behavior bucks card, and can earn punches (I have a star-shaped one) for moving UPWARD on our behavior chart. Once they reach 15 punches, they will receive a special treat! (homework pass, snack from the teacher, lunch bunch, etc)

And now, it's back to Snap it Up Saturday! These week I'm giving away a little sampling of a brand new digital paper pack that I posted in my TPT store this week. It has had a few purchases and the buyers have all been happy. Once again, inspired by my daughter and her love for all things paint related, this little set is called "Who Spilled the Paint?" And they look just like that..somebody dumped out the paint cups and swirled them all together!  Click on the image below to SNAP THEM UP!

BUT WAIT!

Don't leave yet! If you've been following along, you know that I am a member of a brand new collaborative blog called "The Teaching Tribune." We are right in the middle of a BIG giveaway and there is still time to enter to win several fantastic prizes. We've already given away TPT gift certificates, a basket valued at $200, a laminator, and a Quiet Classroom Pencil Sharpener. But the best is yet to come! We still have a brand new Google Nexus Tablet, a custom blog design, and more left to give away! Click below to stop in, read all about it, and enter for your chance to win!

Thanks for stopping in! I hope you enjoy your freebie and wish you luck on winning one of the fantastic prizes from the new blog!
Have a great weekend!

My Teacher Stash! Well...The Part my Husband Knows about...

Hey ya'll..as I've said before.. I love ALL things school supply related. I could spend hours trekking around to all the different supply stores scooping up all of that fabulousness. I've been that way since I was a kid tagging along behind my daddy picking out Lisa Frank folders, fancy pencils, and sparkly notebooks. Now that I'm a teacher, I bypass all that stuff and head straight for what's useful! And that's where this post comes in...what do I buy for my classroom? Here you go...

First off, composition books! I have a deep seated hatred for spiral notebooks. They fall apart, pages come out, the wire coil comes loose and stabs you every time you pick it up. Last year, I switched to marble composition books and never looked back. Our reading journals lasted the ENTIRE year. If you want to see how I use them, check out this post.

I label them first as to what they are going to be used for. Then on the first day of school, I break out my sticker collection and let my kids decorate them. These will also get a red label on the spine that has each kid's name and number on it. 

Next up, something I buy every single year when they go on sale. Yeah, the kids bring them in, but they are never the same colors, or you end up with Lisa Frank or Spiderman. FOLDERS! We use these for morning work. I'll stuff them with some looseleaf paper and my kids will use them every single day. To see what I use for morning work (that I don't have to copy), click here. I always buy at least 25 of a couple of different colors, that way I can make extras at the beginning for those newbies that filter in throughout the year.

A couple more common necessities you will currently find in my stockpile are below. I teach in a low income district and many of my kids do not arrive with school supplies. I pre-stock four supply bins (one for each table group) with everything you see below, plus scissors and glue bottles.

The index cards we use for practicing multiplication facts. I cut them in half and the kids use them to make their own flash cards for the fact set they are working on. TONS of gluesticks, markers, and crayons also inhabit my one solitary cabinet. Oh, and by the way, that big pack of gluesticks---$2.00 at Big Lots. Score! I promise I didn't buy them all.

Some other things, I purchased especially for this year. I'm redoing my classroom theme. My previous themes were Clutter, More Clutter, and Clutter with a Dash of Crazy. So I switched over to some zebra print with a pop of red for all of my trim and I'm waiting on a couple of fun things to come in the mail. I did get one package today that I have to share!

It's my new behavior clip chart! I created the individual sections in PowerPoint, saved them as images, and then uploaded them to this website's Custom Banner Builder and Voila! I have a 1 foot by 4 foot Canvas clip chart/banner that matches! The price was reasonable--$21.25, but it's great because it is so durable!  Now I just have to paint my clothespins! 

It's almost time folks! Those school bells will be ringing in no time!

And a quick reminder about our current event! 

I am a contributor to a fantastic new blog called The Teaching Tribune. Right now, we have a MASSIVE Blog hop and giveaway running. If you hop through, you'll download 20 fantastic teaching resources and then have the opportunity to enter to win one of ten FANTASTIC prizes! Want to know more? Click on the image below to stop in! Feel free to share the love with your friends and coworkers as well.

As always, thanks for stopping in! Best of luck getting ready for back to school!

Took a day off...to go to work!

Hello again everyone! Yes, you read that header correctly.. I took a day off today, so that I could go to work. The truth is.. I took a day off of Mommy duty and went someplace quiet, where I can think, plan, and create. Many people would assume I went to a spa, or relaxed by the pool. But no, I went to my classroom..In an empty building, with nothing but a little eighties music blasting out of my iPad speakers..I was ready for a little dose of heaven. Until I walked into my classroom, and was met with this...

Somehow, the contents of my bookshelves and cabinets were vomited onto the floor in this manner. I believe the cleaning fairy is a bit disgruntled. Maybe the dust in her work environment or the constant attacks of feline sized cockroaches that seem to only visit in the summer have caused her to be less interested in her work. 

It was a task, but I got it all put back where it was supposed to go and got started arranging and decorating. My favorite part of the school year is this time. I get to take a shell of a room and turn it into a kid-and-teacher friendly workspace that serves our day to day instructional needs. I'm not finished yet, as I have some purchases to make (Don't tell Mr. Smith!) but I thought I would share with you what I've gotten to so far. Maybe you can pull some ideas for your own room. Ready?? Here goes!

View from the Door

I rarely use my desk and spend a lot of time on the floor with my kids so I keep it against the wall. It's really only there to house my Laptop, Document Camera, and VCR (Yes...I have a VCR! My DVD player died and wasn't replaced so I had to have something to connect to closed-circuit TV). It also houses four drawers of JUNK...pens, band-aids, and the random junk I pick up. That's on the bill for the next trip. That is an Activeboard on the wall and I'm replacing the shoddy black shelf beneath it. 

From Door--Left Corner

Over in the corner is my reading nook/classroom library. I really need to level out my books or sort them in some manner. I just don't have the ability to focus long enough to take it on. I have sixteen large baskets of books--packed in so tight that not even Calista Flockhart could fit in there. :-) I also store our indoor recess stuff under the shelves as well. (blocks,puzzles,games). And yes, third graders still like to play with blocks.

The stoplight chart was for behavior, but I'm changing it up this year to a clip chart. I'm so happy that my desks match--there's nothing I hate worse than mismatched desks... it's kind of like Madea with her disdain for wire hangers. I'm also getting some groovy new curtains as well. I can't wait to get them!

If you are looking for some fun curtains, you should check out Kangaroo Closet, a fun little shop that I found on Etsy.

Rear corner, to the left of the door

All of my computers are in the corner..where they have to stay because of internet cables/etc. I have four desktops, two laptops, and two netbooks in my room. I was very lucky to have a netbook donated to my room last year from a parent, as well as having one funded by DonorsChoose.org. I get it this year! I just have to find somewhere to put them! My guided reading table is here as well, and I have a rolling cart that will house our needed materials for that group. The crate shelving houses all of our writing binders and writing supply bins. (pens, dictionaries, thesauruses/or is it thesauri?)  My plans for the board are a content vocabulary board in the large section, Math Master's Multiplication Fact Completion Chart/Tracker in the middle, and my calendar is down on the end. I made  the headers and cards all by myself! I wish I could find a red calendar pocket chart though...

And finally, the bane of my classroom existence. Overhead storage! At one point, we had six third grade teachers. Now, we have three. So that leaves three roomfuls of classroom clutter that has to be distributed into our rooms. That shelf up there drives me insane! I've finally decided to buy some colorful totes and just box it all up. It has been there four years and I'm tired of looking at it.

Whew! That was a long post! I'm not nearly finished with it, but I did get a good start on it and I'm looking forward to the next "day off" to work on it a bit more. Maybe I can call upon one of  the Grandmas to give me a day off next week. 

In the words of my dear friend Bugs Bunny,

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Thanks for visiting and taking a walk through my corner of the world..Check back soon for something big! You won't be disappointed!

The Sun will come out...Maybe next week...

If the sun doesn't come out soon I am going to go completely insane! It has rained every day for the past week and I am sick and tired of being cooped up at home. My six year old is too. We have tried it all to keep ourselves sane and I thought I would share a little of what we've been doing. 

Summer is a great time to work on all of those fun little crafty things that you've been meaning to get around to. I've done a few new things to my home office, made a couple of things for my school desk, and painted my ears off with my daughter. She loves to paint, despite my avid dislike for the medium. Here are just a few of our little projects.

This is a little gumball machine-ish paper clip holder that I made for my desk at school. It doesn't match my home office, but it will match my red and black at school. It was really easy to make and pretty cheap...Only $3.00! I grabbed my coupons and headed to Joann's (in the rain) and picked up the smallest clay pot and lid that they had ($1.49) and the smallest glass fishbowl they had ($1.49). The rest of the stuff I had on hand--Acrylic paint, large wooden bead, and E6000 heavy duty glue. I brought it all home, and despite my husband's strange looks at my creation, it turned out kind of cute! I've got to get a black paint pen and add a few decorative accents to it to really tie it in to my classroom theme.. GO DAWGS!

 My home office is still under redecoration. If this weather would cooperate, I could finish it up by painting my existing bookshelves. But alas, Mother Nature has plotted against me and that won't be happening any time soon. So I resorted to doing the little things. I wanted some bulletin board space on the walls for photos and such, but I didn't want to spend the money on cork tiles, scrapbook paper, and such. But I went to the Dollar Tree on a whim and found a roll of contact paper and some thick foam sheets and put them to work in my office. All I had to do was cover the foam in the contact paper and hang! I used Sticky Tack to hang them because they are so lightweight.

I actually found a bulletin board in my office, while I was cleaning out my office. I had no idea it was even there, and it was brand new--never even unwrapped the thing. So I used the same contact paper to cover the cork and added some ribbon and fabric. I'm not really happy with the blue ribbon but it's all I had at the time. I may change it out after my next trip to the store. I may also paint the frame black one of these days.

The cabin fever has gotten so bad that I actually emailed my administrator asking when I could get into the building to work. Yeah..it was bad. But, my daughter and I decided to brave the rain today and headed out with a teacher-friend and her son to visit an awesome museum in our area. If you live in North Georgia and have never visited the Tellus Science Museum, you must go! And if you are a third grade teacher in Georgia, this place will teach EVERY science standard you have. It was fantastic! My daughter is six and was completely enthralled the entire time. Dinosaur bones, fossils, magnets, light and sound displays, it had it all. We had a blast and it couldn't have come at a better time. And to top it off, the sun decided to shine for about five minutes as we were leaving. Then the bottom fell out and it POURED rain the whole way home. 

I've also been burning the midnight oil working on some new products for my classroom and  TPT store. There's something really relaxing about sitting in a quiet house, listening to the hum of the refrigerator, and thinking about nothing but what I can do for my kids next year. My most recent products have all been sets of task cards! I love using them...Scoot Games, Workstations, Independent math practice, they're so versatile. I've also sent them home with parents asking for additional practice. Here are my newest sets in case you'd like to take a peek. 

      

As always, thanks for visiting and following my wee little blog. I hope you continue to stop in from time to time and see what's happening in my neck of the North Georgia woods. And keep your eyes peeled, something big is coming!

Have a great week!

Randi

800 Follower Sale-abration! Your chance to stock up!

Hey Everybody!

It's that time of year. I'm sneaking up on my 30th birthday and not really feeling it so far. I'm far more excited about something that happened in my TPT store yesterday! I finally rolled over to 800 followers! I'm super excited that there are that many of you that put your trust in me and my products. I absolutely love teaching and I also love creating one-of-a-kind resources for my students and other teachers as well. As a big THANK YOU to all of my followers, I am throwing a big sale this weekend! Starting tomorrow, all of my products will be marked at 20% off  until Tuesday! I hope you all will take a minute to pop in and stock up on items that you may need for your classroom. 

Click the image to visit my store.

And once again, THANK YOU!

Have a great week everyone!

Randi

Classroom Upcycling-DVD Dry Erase Offices

Wow! What a week it has been here in North Georgia...All I can say is that I'm super excited about having the next week off of work. It will give me time to get housework done, schoolwork done, and spend some quality time with my little one. I just love lazy days at home. Before I left on Friday, I managed to snap a couple of quick shots of a handy little tool that I use in my classroom. I thought I would share!

Back at the beginning of the school year, as I was passing out my seven year old (showerboard) dry erase marker boards, I noticed they were uber crusty. The edges were chipping where my not so perfect sawing attempts were made, they were stained and dark, and some of them wouldn't erase anymore. I was getting ready to head back to the old Depot to buy more showerboard. Lo and behold, as I grab my keys I notice my husband taking our DVD movies out of there cases for storage in a binder. And it hit me like a TON of bricks..THOSE THINGS ARE DRY ERASE!! The cases I mean...you know, the plastic kind with the cover insert on them. I grabbed those babies away from him as fast as I could and went to work. 

To get started, I removed all of the movie title inserts. I thought I would have to cut new paper to fit them but... What! They are white on the backside! I flipped them all around and I was set!

Once I had all twenty five of them swapped out to their pretty white covers, I had to decide what to put in them. Standard dry erase markers wouldn't fit, but the thinner ones did so I chose to purchase those with my back to school supply money. And then I had to find erasers...socks were too bulky, paper towels just shredded, tissues...forget about it. But guess what I found...DRYER SHEETS! They erase cleanly every time, don't leave a residue, and freshen the inside of a student desk like nobody's business.

Once the dryer sheet epiphany had passed, I decided to put other things in the mini-offices that my students would use regularly. I use a lot of quick response questions to check understanding on a whim during my lessons, so I chose to put in a set of my quick response cards. 

And about a half stack of mini sticky notes...for ticket out the door activities, etc. I would've liked to have had room in there for one of those small legal pads but they were a bit too big. The thing I like is that the clips hold the response cards and dryer sheet eraser in place. The sticky notes are well...sticky so they stayed in place. Then I stuck a tiny piece of velcro to the pen and the inside of the case so that the marker wouldn't pop out every time it was opened. 

Once I had completed all 25 of them, I vowed to never again touch another piece of velcro or dryer sheet. They weren't too difficult to make..and my kids were extremely excited to get their mini-dry-erase offices. They keep them in their desks and we use them just about every day for one thing or another. They have held up nicely and I've only had one get broken this year..when one of my Messy Marvins stepped on his.

Overall, they have been awesome to have this year. It has kept me sane by helping my students keep up with their materials. Most of them are ready to go within five seconds of being told to get out their dry erase kits. If you've got a pile of empty DVD cases, all you've got to do is grab em up and run with it.

Hope everyone has a great week!

The Best Pencil Sharpener EVER!

Just like any other teacher, the classroom pencil sharpener has evolved into the bane of my existence. I despised the thought of kiddoes lined up at the sharpener, trying to sharpen pencils, over..and over..and over again. Ugh..so much time wasted! I have bought about ten sharpeners over the years (Ive only been teaching for seven) and every single one lasts a couple of months and then magically, on a day when Im absent..they tear up. I was on the prowl for something sturdy and economical and then I ran across this little gem.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this sharpener. The kids learned to use it in no time flat, and it sharpens to a perfect point EVERY SINGLE TIMe!! Ive only had mine for a little over a week and it has probably sharpened 500 pencils..most of them by me! Just because I like to use it! These sharpeners were created by a TEACHER, so they are definitely designed for classroom use. You can get one over at www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com for only $24.99..with Free shipping too!! You will not be disappointed!