Monday, July 30, 2012

Freebie Behavior Charts for Parents

Well, summer break is officially over as of tomorrow... Teachers (in my school anyway) have to go back tomorrow for PD. Three days this week, three days next week... Then kids come on August 13th. Summer FLEW by (maybe having a baby and getting no sleep has contributed to that... Ha!).

Soooo... My to-do list has 183,672 items on it, and this was one of them... Behavior charts that match my clip charts!

My plan for these is to print them on white cardstock each month. I will probably print in color (since it's not that much color... the squares are tiny), although the file includes all the same pages in black and white that the students can color in if you desire. We have hard plastic homework folders with prongs, and I typically put three or four page protectors in the prongs to hold the school-distributed calendar, prep schedule, and other important info. (Side note: I also put in a zipper binder pouch to hold notes and money for book orders, field trips, etc... It works wonderfully!)

When I go to Lakeshore this weekend, I'm going to pick up these:


Here's my thinking: At the end of the day, as students are writing homework and packing up, I'll call kids by table (or maybe by color they end on?) to meet me for a stamp (using the Do-A-Dot stamper) on their calendar. You'll see on my behavior chart I've included reasons why a student may have clipped down... I'll mark those on the chart before stamping. The paint/ink dries fast, so I don't think I'll have much of a problem. Bonus: The pink is in a separate pack that is allegedly glittery - so fancy for my kiddos who reach the top of the chart!

Interested in grabbing the behavior charts for yourself? Click {HERE}.


I linked up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Spreadin' Some Blog Love :)

I'm so happy to be able to have a teeny tiny bit of time to blog this summer and also to check out other teachers' awesome ideas on their blogs. I want to send a big thanks to First Grade and Fearless for awarding me the Versatile Blogger Award!


Now it's my turn to nominate some great blogs!

Versatile Blogger 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 5 - 10 other bloggers, include their link,  and let them know.
 7 Random Facts About Me!
  1. Before I entered teaching, I actually wanted to be a doctor and had been in physical therapy school. After a trimester I got my act together and started taking education courses. Best. Decision. Ever!
  2. I have never been west of St. Louis, with the exception of Hawaii. Maybe I should add traveling to my bucket list!
  3. I love to read young adult lit. My absolute favorite series ever is The Hunger Games. Divergent is a great book that is much like HG if anyone is interested!
  4. My first year of teaching, I taught 8th grade science. Not quite my cup of tea. I'm going into my sixth year of teaching first and I'm SO happy with the young ones!
  5. When I was in kindergarten, my dream job was being a magician. 
  6. I love me some cupcakes. We have a lot of great cupcake shops around here, which is both a blessing and a curse! I like 'em plain, too... Vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting!
  7. Seven is my lucky number... I was born March 7 at 7:07am!
Who else should receive this award??
Teaching in a Nutshell

Go check 'em out!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

More black and white stuff - a {FREE} clip chart!

So, I know I posted another clip chart previously, but I thought I'd make one in black and white to coordinate with those of you who do a black and white theme.

I also made the top two and bottom two levels smaller to make a shorter chart.



Just click {HERE} to download for free!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Newbie Blog Hop

Grade Three is the Place for Me! is hosting a Newbie Blog Hop! I'm just getting started on this whole teacher blogging thing so I thought I'd join in!



    1.  what state you are in  Illinois

    2.  your current teaching position I teach first grade and love it!
    3.  your teaching experience My first year of teaching, I taught 8th grade science (GULP!) in a middle school (YIKES!). I am now going into my sixth year of teaching firsties and I LOVE it!
    4.  when you started blogging I had VERY casually tried out blogging last year, but started getting into it more just this April.
    5.  share a blogging tip / blogging resource PINTEREST! Okay, I'm mildly obsessed, but you can search for teacher blogs there and also follow some fave bloggers as well.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

MORE {FREE!} Binder Covers and Spines!

I've gone through and added some more binder covers and spines in the black and white theme. They're two separate FREE downloads in my TpT Store.

The covers/spines include:
Lesson Plans
Gradebook
Teacher Binder
Substitute Binder
Student Data
RtI Documentation
Parent Contact
IEP Information
Common Core


Just click {HERE} for the the lesson plan, gradebook, and teacher binder covers/spines. Click {HERE} for the sub binder, student data, common core, RtI, parent contact, and IEP covers/spines.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

{FREE!} Black and white binder covers

Just a quick update... I have made new binder covers! In the past I've had a teacher binder that contained ALL my important info (calendar, unit plans, lesson plans, gradebook, meeting notes, etc.), but it was ENORMOUS! This year, I'm moving to three separate binders (lesson plans, for unit and daily plans; gradebook; and a teacher binder for meeting notes, grade level forms, IEP info, student data, and other important info).

So I redid my binder covers. Here they are! I've also made a page with spines that you can trim to fit the size binder you'll be using.


The PDF you download won't have the annoying spelling squiggly line!


Go to my TpT store {HERE} to download your free copy!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

FREE Classroom library bin labels

Just a quick post to share my classroom library bin labels!

Last year I changed my book baskets to the large, clear bins from School Specialty (although Lakeshore and other stores carry similar ones), to better show the covers of some of my larger picture books. Therefore, I redid my labels to the ones you see in this post.

I printed and glued each label to black cardstock, then attached a colored sticker (I buy mine from Demco.com, which is a library supply store) with a number for each bin to the right side of the label. All the books that belong in that basket have the matching color/number sticker in the top corner. (I'll update this post later once I'm back in my classroom and can take some pictures of my book bins and books!) Fiction books have yellow stickers, series/author books have green stickers, nonfiction books have blue stickers, and chapter books have pink stickers. You can see my library organization below (I have this sign posted in the classroom library area):

Click {HERE} to download my library organization list.

My library bin labels are in two downloads due to size:

Click to download:
Library Book Bin Labels Set 1
Library Book Bin Labels Set 2

Enjoy!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Ending the nameplate dilemma

Over the years, I've struggled with the best way to label kids' desk spots. I love those huge 18" nameplates that have space for the name plus all the reference information (letters/pictures, number grid, shape words, blah blah blah). So I usually would go buy something like this:




In a feeble attempt to get it to stick down for more than two seconds, I tried masking tape, contact paper, packing tape... You know the drill. But at least the kids were stuck with their own peeling nametag if they chose to destroy it.

Then a couple years ago, we got tables. They are FABULOUS! No room for my hoarders to stuff random papers. However, NOTHING stuck to them, until I found these at Lakeshore:

(So apparently, they're discontinued now... Oh well!)

They worked okay... They stuck down alright, but the kids would peel up the top clear plastic layer. You could slide nametags out, which was nice for moving kids at tables, but then kids who destroyed their nametag sleeve left behind a peely mess for the next kid.

I racked my brain for what to do for next year. Then I realized, why not make PLACEMATS, not nameplates, that could a) have the kid's name and b) all the important reference info but c) be moveable - kids could grab it if they need it, put it away if they don't, and - get this - keep the tables NEAT, CLEAN, and PEELY-FREE!

So I made this:


(Okay, so ignore my lame-o fake name... I didn't want to use a real name of a kiddo. I am so uncreative!)

The file is two pages. On the left, there's a nametag-looking space for the kid's name and number (if you use that). There's also an alphabet chart with letters and sounds.

On the right, there's a page with basic key info... Color words, number grid to 120 (love Common Core!), left/right hands, 2-D shapes, days of the week, months of the year, and number words 1-10.
I used a file folder, but you could also use 12x18" construction paper. Because I am a little Type A, I trimmed down the margins on the paper a tad so that each page would fit entirely into the folder. I also put a blank address label on the tab for the kid's name. I'll laminate these without a name written on them, then write the names on them after the fact with Sharpie. That way I can hopefully reuse them year after year by just using dry erase marker over the Sharpie to erase the permanent marker (love that trick!). My plan is to have a small file bin with one hanging folder per table. The table captain will pull those out at the beginning of the day, and kids can get them/put them back in their table's hanging file folder as needed.

If you want a copy of this for yourself, go ahead and click {HERE}. It's only $1.50 in my TPT store! But because I want to spread the love, the first two comments on this post (with email addresses) will get a free copy!

Have a great night!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

It's award time!

So I know this is a humble ol' blog... But I got a little boost from Nikki over at Teaching in Progress in the form of an award!


Woo hoo!

Thank you, Nikki, for brightening up my week!

So, to spread the love, here are the 3 steps to follow:
1. Follow the person who gave you the award. (Done!)
2. Link back to the person who gave you the award. (Done!)
3. Share the love! Pass the word along to 15 new bloggers. (Drumroll please...)

 First on the list... Over the 1st Grade Rainbow. Check out her awesome idea for recycling a good ol' Panda Express plate! (Too smart!)



Next - KinderKids Fun. Check out her behavior calendars for all of you who use clip charts!


Check out Blissful Days in 2nd Grade. Her basketball themed unit is too cute!


Bright Concepts 4 Teachers has some AWESOME common core math vocab cards in her TpT store. Check her out!

I know she's already gotten this award, but I wanted to give a shout out to From Blood to Books! She started out in healthcare and switched to education... Much like I did!


I'm continuing to blog stalk this summer and will add more to the list. But for now, my littler munchkin calls! Have a great one!
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