Monday Made It #6

Whew! I'm FINALLY linking up this summer for Monday Made It from Tara at Fourth Grade Frolics. I have been making things all summer, but with two little ones and a husband that works quite often, it's hard to get one project completed in one week's time. 

Does everyone else out there look forward to MMI like I do? The summer before my first year as a teacher (a few years ago) I found this linky and it helped me connect with other teachers and get ideas and freebies for my classroom. It also helps hold me accountable for getting some work done while relaxing in the summer. In the words of Sally O'Malley "I looooove it!"

My #1 would be those great whisper phones you've seen all over Pinterest! Are you following me on there? Here's a link to my page. I love Pinterest and all the amazing classroom ideas and resources I find on there. Who doesn't? 

I'm calling these Fluency Phones, because that's what my big kids will be using them for in 5th grade. A colleague let me borrow her set last year in 4th and my kids LOVED THEM. Hey, they like hearing themselves talk. They are MY students after all. :)

I used the tutorial found here, got all of my supplies from Home Depot and finally got these puppies finished. 

Next up was that amazing Mini Anchor Chart Stand that I've been seeing everywhere. I found a couple of different options for them out there, and in the end, the one I made ended up being slightly different than all of the others. You can really do your own thing here. Here is the one I liked most from Head Over Heels for Teaching and here are some pictures of the two I made! I love how they turned out, but I love what I'll use them for even more! 

Nicole Shelby makes these amazing CCSS Notebooks that we started this past year in 4th grade. My kids LOVED them and I picked up the 5th grade set to do this year. I kept a teacher binder filled with my pre-made journal pages for the students to reference all year. I will still do that this year, but I'm planning on taking it to the next level by storing our weeks pages on the stand for students to reference during class. I may even use both of the stands for this... We had a lot of frequently absent students last year. I'm hoping this will help cut back on notebook make-up traffic!

The notebooks in action this past year:

I can't wait to use these notebooks again this year. Right now I am planning out daily {possibly weekly} mini lessons using picture books: to teach the concept, then a hands-on portion and then these notebooks for independent practice. I'm hoping that it will transform them and make them even more meaningful this year!

This last one is actually available as a FREEBIE in my store! Have you read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate? I have and I LOVED it! There are so many great quotes from the story and I have quite a few written out to display in my classroom this year. This one is one of the quotes from Callie Vee that really stuck with me. If you like this quote too {I'm sure you will} then head to my shop and become a follower, download the freebie & be sure to leave feedback! It's just polite to leave some nice feedback on free products {on all products... for that matter!}

Head over to my TPT store to get the nice looking version without the "preview" written over it.

Remember, don't forget to leave me some love.

That's it for me, folks! Thanks for stopping by!

{Currently}

So, my Currently is just a smidgen late!

Here it goes!

Goosebumps has 13 episodes that just popped up on Netflix.

We've watched half already.

I just loved Goosebumps as a kid, and these shows are the super cheese, but I still love them anyways.

Instagram is fun. It has become even cooler now that I'm connecting with so many teachers. I mean, Sarah Cooley follows me. I almost DIED. She is one of my teaching idols.

Before I got my first job last year (there was a possibility of me being in first) I bought so many items in her shop and still find ways to use them in third or with my daughter. She is seriously the coolest. Follow me on IG: riedmillersroom

I signed up for this week long training session for the new Third Grade Guarantee.

I'm actually really glad that I'm on board. I'll learn about all the new things that are going on with legislation and I know it will be useful!

I'm wanting some sleep. Having to be in that training all day today (after my body has been in summer mode for almost two weeks) killed me. I came home exhausted. Tomorrow I'm planning a nap afterwards!

Is it October yet? The Walking Dead returns and I cannot wait to see what's going on at the prison. I'll leave it at that so there's no spoilers.

Anyone else out there having walker withdrawls???

Three essentials for vacation. Vacation that I'm NOT going on this year... would be flip flops, maxi dresses and shades. Maxis have been my summer go to. I need some new summer shades. BAD!

{Teacher Talk Tuesday & Some News!}

I noticed that just recently I started seeing a lot of teaching blogs pop up on Instagram.

Little did I know, this little linky was floating around. So, I'm linking up with What the Teacher Wants! and Apples and ABC's.

Sign me up!

I love Instagram, I had an account when the app first came around and then started a new one for my Thirty-One business with some classroom photos here and there. I'm so excited to see so many classroom pictures on Instagram. I'm looking forward to linking up each week, even though we only have FOUR TUESDAYS LEFT. FOUR!!!

Go over and follow me: @riedmillersroom

Also... I am 99% sure that next year I will be a second grade teacher!

I am beyond excited. I love third grade, and really wish I could stay, but alas, I must move. I was the last one in! I'm headed down to second (same hallway FTW), so this summer I will be moving my classroom, working with a new team and getting into second grade mode.

I hope 2nd graders can handle me. 

One of my girls told me this week that I was one hard pickle. HA!

So... Michelle, be kind with those class lists. I'm a little worried about my experiences with first grade recess duty this year. :X

What are you all up to?

How are you getting ready for the end of the year?

Any advice for a new second grade teacher? I'm looking for awesome second grade blogs.

{Currently: March}

Linking up with Farley for another edition of Currently!

Wow, that pink is not so easy to read :(

Listening to Cinderella:

My three year old is obsessed with Cinderella. That was her movie of choice tonight!

Loving:

My new class door! We're doing something totally awesome and I wish I could take all of the credit for it, but it was something that I found on Pinterest. If we don't have a snow day tomorrow (we will!) then I will post pictures after I finish before Thursday... I'm so excited for it. It looks so cute!

Thinking:

I have so many ideas of how to use Thirty-One in my classroom and I'm really excited to get started. Mainly, it will be better for this summer and preparing my class for next school year. I don't want to get too crazy when we literally have TWO MONTHS OF SCHOOL LEFT. Did you all hear that?! Two months.

Wanting:

That's right guys, no snow day in two years. We had a delay two weeks ago and that was rare... Everyone is telling me not to get my hopes up, but they are forecasting 4-6 inches of snow for tonight. I will riot if the weather does not deliver. I need another day to avoid Aims Web and Progress Monitoring :X

Needing:

I keep seeing all of these cute nails on Pinterest and I really want to get on the bandwagon. I'm thinking a solid color and then super solid glitter on my ring finger. Ya dig?

Like, Love, Hate:

Liking Reese's Eggs and the fact that they're back! Anyone else notice how they taste so much better than those stinkin' trees they put out at Christmas?!

Loving that now there is such a thing as REESE'S EGGS ICE CREAM. WHATTTT????

We just found out tonight and I'll will stalking down some in Kroger tomorrow... On my day off! HA!

Hating that it's not Spring Break yet. I have two more weeks and I know the school year will flash by when we come back. It already has gone by so quickly. It has been my first year teaching (after one full year subbing and one full year as an aide for a student with special needs).. and I cannot believe that it's almost over. Where has the time gone?

Enjoy your night darlings...

Put those jammies on inside out and drop two ice cubes in the toilet, flush and think of me!

<3

{Five for Friday!}

Whew! This week is over and I cannot wait to sleep in tomorrow.

We're watching Charlotte's Web after a very long Read Across America Day.

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for my second Five for Friday!

Weee!

{One}

I'm proud of my Cat in the Hat Cat Hats that I made for my guys today to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday (it's tomorrow!)

The kids loved them, except for one who asked if he could have watermelon on his. LOL.

{Two}

Wondering how I got those AND twenty Kool-Aid Jammers to school?

That would be my amazing thermal that I received for hosting my first Thirty-One party.

This sucker is a hostess exclusive and you would not believe how many people have parties just to get this one item. It holds two large Pyrex dishes. Stop. I know.

{Three}

We enjoyed our snacks while reading some Dr. Seuss favorites and working on a reading passport. Today was super laid back and I wish that's how all of our Fridays were. My grading is all finished and now I just have to put those grades in PB and I'm all caught up!

{Four}

My hunny and I got to go to the movies together last weekend. We saw Snitch with The Rock. We love Dwayne Johnson and his movies so it was a must see. We were really impressed with the story and loved seeing him in a role where he wasn't whipping tail the whole time. His shirt stayed on, and that was the worst part. HA!

{Five}

Any Duck Dynasty fans out there?

If you don't like DD, just leave this blog now and we'll pretend like this never happened.

I love me some Uncle Si.

Hey! That's rule #1, if you wanna be my friend, you have to love Uncle Si.

My BFF Kristin gets it.

Hope you all have a great weekend. 

I'm headed to our school Fun Fest tomorrow and I am determined to come home with some great door prizes.

<3

{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}

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!

{Show Us What You Bought!}

{Blog Hoppin'}

{Sunny Days in Second Grade}

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??

{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 ;)