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!