Wednesday, February 27, 2013

{Popping In!}

Hi girls (probably not any guys out there)!
I am DOG TIRED.
I have six ETR's, some of which have already taken place and some that are coming up, 38 school days until our state test (but who is counting??), and grading out the wazoo. I have many other things going on as well, like after school reading class for some kids that need intervention and Brain Fest which is our twice a week, schedule changing, OAA prep.
Couple all of that with a booming Thirty-One business, keeping with with TpT and not to mention my family, and I am wore out.

I haven't posted in a little while and that is all why. Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here.. barely holding on.

My Guided Reading Packet keeps doing really well!
Click here to check it out in my shop!

And my Spring Fever Writing Pack has finally caught on too. This has eight really great writing prompts and papers for the Spring with some Melonheadz Illustrations!
Check it out here!

Any tips for getting customers to leave feedback? I wish my feedback reflected how many items I've sold.. I'll get there some day, I suppose. I just always put a lot of thought into leaving feedback for other sellers. I wish everyone did the same.

 I have moved up to Senior Consultant recruiting two people within my FIRST month, they give you six months guys... and I did it in one. I already love working for Thirty-One. The customer service is ridiculous and I've met some really cool girls so far. Our next big meeting is the Summer Catalog Reveal at Kings Island.. We get a free product at each meeting, like seriously... a nice item. This is what I got a couple weeks ago just for attending a two hour meeting!
HELLO SUMMER GO TO!

I also have a Hang-Up Family Organizer coming my way. When that comes in I'll show you how I plan on using it in my classroom!

PS 
You all know about these staplers, right?
I will never do A-Z Readers without them again..
LIFE SAVER!


What are you all up to??
My randomness is over!


Saturday, February 9, 2013

{Five for Friday... On Saturday}

I'm linking up over at Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!
It's my first time and I always LOVE reading everyone else's posts.

So.. this is what has been on the mind of a lot of the teachers in my school this week. We had our second training session for the new OTES. It seems really overwhelming and scary, but like many other things that come along, I'm sure everyone will learn how to play the game. At first I was really worried abut the Student Growth Measures, but I realize that I need to just get in there everyday, do my job like I already do, and it will all work out.
A friend and I keep joking that we'll be "developing" forever..

If you don't watch The Walking Dead, you are missing out.
I'm hoping there are some more cool teachers out there {like me} that are truly obsessed with this show and the insane story line. I have always been a lover of horror movies, but this show has turned into something I never imagined it to. You love the characters, you're rooting for them and you literally cannot wait until the next episode. Netflix has Season 1 and 2 on right now, I would highly recommend getting into it. The hype is real.
RICK GRIMES FOR LIFE.

Thirty-One madness...
I'm trying to figure out how to make some of the hanging organizers work in my classroom for next year. It would be a lot easier if I knew what grade I was teaching, but then again, some of the things I thought I'd use in third, I haven't and so on.. Working on this one!

I have been inspired by this picture. I don't know where I originally found it..
I want to make a larger board with chevron for our little office area upstairs and this is the picture that will keep me going until I get it done!

Third Grade Thoughts is probably my favorite blog. I find something useful and meaningful there ALL THE TIME.
Stephanie makes me feel like I don't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to reading instruction. I am kind of obsessed with this teacher time bin and I'm working on making one that would be relevant to my classroom and what we're working on!

That's all folks. Don't forget about my weekend sale!







Friday, February 8, 2013

{Valentine's Day Weekend Sale}

I'm having a 10% off sale this weekend in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop.
Keep that in mind if you have wish listed anything recently :)
I actually have a Valentine's Writing Activity that I will be posting this weekend, and don't forget about my Spring Fever Writing Pack, which has Valentine's activities and more!


Have a great weekend!
TGIF!

{PS}
 I switched around a couple of my groups and I have small pockets of kids working on fluency, phonics and word work. I did it after seeing my Aims score drop off during the Winter Benchmark. If you see anything around that would fall in this category for second or third graders, please send it my way! I'm trying to get together a fluency bin for a couple of my boys. Thanks ahead of time, I know I'll be searching all weekend :)

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

{Show Us What You Bought!}






So, this past Sunday was the big mega sale on Teachers Pay Teachers AND the two minute return of Destiny's Child. WHATTTT???? I almost died when Michelle and Kelly flew out of the stage bottom. I was back in 2003 cruising to Softball practice in my friend's LeBaron.
EMBARRASSING, but we were are bootilicious.

I bought a couple of things that I have been wanting to buy for quite some time but didn't want to come up off the money for them. I'll be honest, sometimes when I see something that I need for just one tiny thing, I think twice about paying so much for it, but that's why this sale was such a great thing. Perfect timing.

I purchased the Story Element fans from Runde's Room.
I can't wait to use them with our guided reading mini-lessons and groups.

Natalie Kay's Literature Circles Pack! 
I started using this Monday of this week while I'm pulling kids to work on fluency. Love it, my kids are liking working independently and at their own pace. I love that includes two rubrics, one for student evaluation and one for the teacher. Perfect!

Common Core Fluency Homework from Second Story Window.
This is probably my favorite thing I purchased. I may be teaching second grade next year and if I do, it will be well worth the $12 I dropped on it Sunday.
I have some lower students in my room and I have been using this (since Monday) to help them build fluency. It's their homework for the week and after reading with them each day, they are already starting to improve. I love that there's a spot where the parents can time them each night, also.

What did you buy??

Monday, February 4, 2013

{Nightly Reading Log}

Do you use reading logs? We use a reading log now and I think we're actually putting in on hold for a month or so to focus more on building fluency, both at home and in the classroom.
This is a Reading Log Pack that I came up with and I really love the format, especially for grades 2-4. Why is a nightly reading log important? I think that's a simple answer... You want your kids reading each night. How better to know they're reading than to actually hold them accountable for it? Imagine that! Holding kids accountable for their learning! ;)

Check out some of the pages in this pack. If you're looking for a reading log, this will be on sale through the rest of today for $4.95

I use this on a clipboard to check logs while my students work on Daily Language.

Parent letter, so they know your expectations!

The actual reading log page. There is also a Super Sentence Starter page so students are constantly saying they didn't have anything to write! It also forces them to not just summarize every stinking night!

Go check it out. I love it and it makes me happy, happy, happy!




{TpT, Snow and Swift}

Wanna know three things that make me really happy?
This album... Really.

The Cha Ching that the TpT app makes when you sell something..

The massive amount of snow I walked out to today. 
We were in a meeting and just noticed that it was COMING DOWN all of a sudden, 
I slipped and slid all over the roads on my way home, but now that I'm here and cozy, I can really appreciate it.

Happy Monday, friends!




Saturday, February 2, 2013

{Currently and a Super Sale!}


Linking up for my first ever Currently!
That's exciting!

I am also linking up with Ashley over at School Supply Addict for the SUPER SUNDAY SALE going on this weekend on TpT. I am pretty excited for this sale. I have about ten things in my cart, ready to go!

If you're interested in any of my items, they will be a total of 18% off when you use the code SUPER on the site before checkout. My sale actually starts today, so if you don't feel like waiting until tomorrow, you'll still get 10% off!
Here are some things worth checking out:
I love my Reading Log Pack!
Looking to put a nightly reading log in place for your classroom? This pack will help get you started and provide you with all the documents needed {and more} to make it run smoothly!

{In this pack}
Teacher Information Sheet
~My tips and tricks for putting pack in place
Parent Letter
~Keep parents informed when it comes to your expectations
Reading Log Weekly Tracker Sheet
~Copy this front to back with SSS for the students to keep
Super Sentence Starters
~Copy this front to back with the Weekly Log so students never
say "I didn't know what to write!"
Teacher Grading Tracker
~I print these and put them on a clipboard for easy and quick
grading each day of the week. Do it this way and you won't be
stuck grading 20 logs with 4 entries each on Friday :)

My Guided Reading Menu Pack is awesome for differentiation!
Looking for a GENERAL item to use in your guided reading groups? Looking for something that will work with any text? Basal or Chapter Books?
Looking for something that challenges your highs AND your lows?

If you answered YES!! This Guided Reading Pack is for you! I made this as an alternative to those huge Comp. packets we used to give with new chapter books. I was finding myself covering all of those Comp. questions during mini lessons, so this is my alternative.

I make this a packet for all of my students. Then, when meeting with different leveled groups, I steer my lower performers to the lower level thinking activities (Character Portrait, Sequencing, Vocabulary or Literary Elements)

When meeting with my high performing students I steer them towards the higher level thinking activities (Alternate Ending, Sequencing (can be used as both), Compare/Contrast, etc.)

My middle guys I would like to see doing a little of both.

You can use this however you'd like. I like to give my students the choice to choose their three and then I also have a spot where they can let me know which one they thought they did their personal best on. DIFFERENTIATION everywhere! :)

My Spring Fever Writing is also a favorite too..
Get this pack now because it covers Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and also has other Spring related writing prompts too. 
There are graphic organizers and final draft paper for each prompt!

So, go check out my store this weekend. I know I can't wait to see what everyone else is having a sale on. It's a good thing I just got paid and I'm snowed in ;)