January Currently

It's time for another currently with Farley over at Oh Boy 4th grade.

Here's my January Currently...

Listening:  I watch waaaaaaaaaaaay too much Law and Order.  I would like to that USA's marathons that they often have.  Not really watching it but it's just background noise today.
Loving:  I am currently reading the book Rump by Liesl Shurtliff.  

It's the "true story" of Rumpelstiltskin and the journey he goes on to find the rest of his name.  It involves many other fairy tale characters along the way.  I am determined to finish it before we go back to school on Monday so I can make it my next book talk with my 3rd graders.  I've got a post coming up on book talks in the classroom so be looking forward to that!
Thinking:  Ok seriously... I feel like 2015 just started.  I'm not sure where it went.  Are you following me on instagram? If you are, you saw my best 9 of 2015.  If you aren't... then what are you waiting for?!  The link is at the top of this blog.
Wanting: I've made several new products in the past month.  I have a notebook of ideas that is currently overflowing.  I need to get going on some these.   Here's a look at some of the new ones in my TPT store:

 

 

I even included a sample of my New Years activies.  Are you following my facebook page?  Make sure you grab the link there!

Needing:  Oh man!  I have enjoyed my Christmas decorations so much this year.  But I like to have them down before we start back to school ... on Monday.  

One Little Word:  My word for 2016 is "me!"  I actually did an instagram post about it this morning.  I'm a mission for ME this year. Here's a peek at what I said on instagram:

"

longc2013Thanks to @literacyforbigkidsI'm thinking about my one little word for 2016! This year's word is ME! Taking control of my weight, taking control of my health, doing what is best for MY classroom, taking time for myself, taking time for more exercise, taking time to do what I want to do. This is the year of ME! :) #olw #olw2016#classroomsnapshots

Well I'm pumped for 2016.  Head on over to Farley and fill out your currently. 

Smiles and Snapshots!

Courtney

TPT Wishlist Linky

Hello there!   :) 

I’m linking up with Teaching in the Tongass for a linky describing my top wish listed items in my TPT store.

             

I’m so excited about the sitewide TPT sale that starts tomorrow and this linky is the perfect way to fill my cart even more than it already is.  YIKES!  Seriously... it's out of control.  My ENTIRE store is on sale tomorrow and don't forget to use that wonderful promo code.

So, let's get this started.  Shall we?

My #1 top wish listed item is by far my 160 writing curriculum!

 

This bundle is a 160 day Common Core Aligned Writing Curriculum. Minilesson and independent work descriptions are included as well as graphic organizers, forms, and graded sheets. It has everything you will need to have a successful writing time each day of the school year!

Students will be writing....
Narrative
Friendly letter
Fairy tales
Readers theatre
Blending fiction and nonfiction
Expository writing
Magazine
fable
Persuasive letter
Persuasive essay
Advertisement flyer and commercial
Book review
Choice writing
Newspaper

This bundle is a culmination of the individual writing units that I have but, of course, the bundle is cheaper.  

You can purchase my Writing Curriculum HERE.

My #2 top wish listed item is Jungle Themed Beginning of the Year Pack!

 

This beginning of the year packet with a jungle theme will have you ready to begin the school year off with a bang!

It includes:
6 teacher binder covers
Student information sheets(k5 to 5th grade)
Parent volunteer form
Communication log
Transportation list
Postcards(K5 to 5th Grade)
Candy Bar Wrappers (k5 to 5th grade)
Open House Sign in Sheet
Jungle Bingo
"Welcome!" Flag Banner



I will also customize any of the items with sayings of your choice (your name, school name, etc).

You can purchase this pack HERE.

My #3 top wish listed item is Editable Chalkboard Classroom Job Chart.

This classroom job chart has easy-to-post signs for you to display. Cut them apart, laminate for durability, or put them in a pocket chart. The ideas for job display are endless. The jobs that I chose to include are: line leader, door holder, boy monitor, girl monitor, hand sanitizer, water counter, lunch choices, messenger, lunch trays, and "on vacation." On vacation means that they do not have a job for the week. It also includes a "classroom jobs" sign and a blank label for any jobs that you need to add. Includes lettering in white, yellow, blue, and green.

You can purchase the editable job chart HERE.

What’s on your wish list tomorrow?  Go grab some more ideas when you read the other posts linked with Teaching in the Tongas...

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

Back to School Bash Week #2

I'm back for Week #2 of the Back to School Bash with some of my friends..

Week #2 is ALL about Meet the Teacher!

I'm going to be honest with ya.  Meet the Teacher freaks me out.  Seriously.

A whole bunch of brand new 3rd graders are coming to my new (and not even decorated.. yet) classroom with their parents and/or guardians to meet me.  I've never been good with small talk of any sorts, much less with a person I don't know.  I do much better speaking with 8 years olds than I do adults anyways.  Yikes.

I knew that I needed to simplify this night for myself, to at least decrease anxiety somewhat.

I tried to picture what my perfect Meet the Teacher experience would look like and then went from there.  My dream was for it to be fun, informative, and self-guided.

So how in the world do I make THAT happen?

The first thing was to take care of the self-guided part.  I bought these frames from Amazon.  They are actually from Ikea.  They were super cheap and came in packs of 3.

I decided to make signs to guide parents and students around my classroom for various things that had to be done.  I  figured I can also reuse these signs for table numbers after Meet the Teacher!  I used Neon Paper to match my theme and I love the way they turned out.  Simple, yet effective.

To increase my self-guided MtT extravaganza, I made the parents and students a "To-do List."

This lists everything that has to be done while they are there!  They can use the signs to guide them as to where everything is!  

Now to make the night informative, I display a PowerPoint on the board with everything that will happen in 3rd grade. 

I also set out a Meet the Teacher book with information all about me!

Parents leave with a contact card that can be placed on the fridge for easy access.

I also use a flipbook that I purchased from Heidi Neels (Flipping for First) that you can purchase HERE.   It is awesome!  I have already entered all of my information and it will be ready to go for MtT.

So on to the FUN!  If you follow Classroom Snapshots on Facebook (which you should, by the way!), then you saw my purchase of my fabulous new Selfie Stick.  I swore up and down that I would NEVER buy one.  Well, jokes on me.  We take LOTS of pictures in my classroom so this was a necessary item to have.  I am putting that bad boy to work on Meet the Teacher with a fabulous selfie station!   I have props that I bought off of Etsy a few years ago that I am going to include.  

I will also give them a goody bag or (this year) a goody CUP!  I bought dome cups like this for super cheap on Amazon.  I have enough now for next year too!

 I am going to fill them with shredded paper, a red tootsie pop, candy, an eraser cap, and a neon pencil to top it off.  I can't lie.  I did't make up this idea.  I saw it on Instagram.

*I CAN'T REMEMBER FOR THE LIFE OF ME WHO THIS CAME FROM. IF YOU KNOW, PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO THAT I CAN GIVE THEM A SHOUTOUT!*

So I guess with simplifying this for myself, I am getting more excited for Meet the Teacher.  I feel super prepared and am really looking forward to meeting my new kiddos.  I guess now that everything is in order, it will help me relax.

How do you feel about it?  Are you prepared?  Do you need help getting your Meet the Teacher night off the ground?  Meet my Meet the Teacher Pack!  Seriously.  It has everything you need to hold a successful Meet the Teacher!   Postcards, Contact Cards, the Signs for the Frames, the PowerPoint, the Meet the Teacher book, Sign in Sheets, Volunteer Forms, a Banner, the To-Do List...And it is compeletely EDITABLE! WOOHOO!

You can grab it HERE!

Well that wraps up my Meet the Teacher ideas.  Why don't you link up with us and give us your ideas?  We would love to have you.

An InLinkz Link-up

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I am also participating in a Blog Hop this week with Heidi at Droppin' Knowledge.

We have 4 giveaways and they are pretty awesome!  Enter the Rafflecopters for each Prize Pack to win some pretty cool stuff!

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Back to School Bash Linky Weekly Series AND Giveaway

I am so excited to be co-hosting the Back to School Bash.  We have 4 weeks of Back to School topics to discuss.  This week is Classroom Set-Up and Organization! 

 I am moving from fourth to third grade this year and I cannot wait to get in my classroom.  I left it looking like this... 

  

When I moved rooms, I just put things in places to get it off the floor.  There's just stuff EVERYWHERE!  I have to-do lists upon to-do lists of things that I need to tackle as soon as I step foot in this room.

Here's a picture of my classroom from the past 2 years.  It is a LOT smaller than my new room but I did my best to use the space wisely!  [Did I mention my new room has a bathroom?!  WOOHOO!]  These black 3-drawer carts that you see in each table group have been a life saver for the past 2 years.  

I taught 2 classes of 4th grade every day (ELA and SS) so group A left their Reading and Writing notebooks in the top drawer and the second drawer was filled with group B's notebooks.  The bottom drawer contained dry erase board made of page protectors and socks (for erasers).  The tub on top of the cart held the class supplies.  Each group was responsible for making sure the tub was organized before they left my room.

These seats have been a wonderful addition to my room!  They are what my students sit on when they come to my Guided Reading table.  

I spray painted paint buckets from Lowes.   The seats are made from padding that I bought in the Walmart craft section.  I used zebra bandanas from Hobby Lobby and duck taped them on.  They are super glue to the lid of the paint buckets.  They are a wonderful source of storage.

So apparently I should have purchased stock in Target a long time ago.  Seriously.  But that's where I picked up 7 of these cubes, expect mine are black.  

They are called "Itso KD Cube" and are $8.99.  Four of these fit so perfectly on my back counter.  I also have one under my desk and two by the door when you step into my classroom.  Coupled with the shelf ($4.99) in black and the storage trays (2.99) in clear, these are perfect for keeping track of classroom supplies.  

Each cube will hold four of the storage trays! This is where I keep all of the highlighters, post-it notes, index cards, scisssors, glue bottles, glue sticks, and the list continues.  
Here's a picture of what they looked like on my back counter last year.  As you can see, I slowly added to my itso KD cube collection throughout the year.  

  
I love to make copies at least a week in advance.  Then with all of those copies, I had a hard time remembering what copy went with what day, etc.  Especially doing interactive notebooks (IANs as we call them in my class), I would go crazy-town if I didn't have a way to organize that hot mess.  I bought 2 of the sterlite drawer containers and put daily labels in the front of them.  

These buddies make my life a WHOLE lot simpler.  Did you know they are a freebie in my TPT store?  Go grab them HERE.


And of course, I couldn't be organized without my handy-dandy Teacher Binder!  Every form I need is right at my fingertips. And did I mention that it's completely editable?! You can get this guy HERE!

 

What are some of your best classroom organization and set-up suggestions?  I can't wait to hear them!  Link up with us and make sure to enter our giveaway.

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July Currently

I’m blogging two days in a row.  It’s got to be some miracle…. Or rather, SUMMER!

Today I’m linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4thGrade to bring you July’s Currently.

*Listening:  Yep, I’m in a classroom.  I’ve been doing summer school for about 3 weeks now.  3 down, 1 to go!  I have been enjoying it, however, I am completely ready for a few days of doing absolutely nothing. {like stay in my pajamas all day… nothing!}

*Loving: I LOVE the 4^th of July!  There is something so spectacular about fireworks!  We plan to head over to my mom’s house this weekend and doing some BBQing, firework watching, and spending some time on the lake.  YAY!

*Thinking: So I’ll be honest.  I have been seriously lacking inspiration for my TPT store lately.  But this TPT Sellers Challenge has really kicked my tail into high gear.  As I was creating my product for this week’s challenge, I really thought of some great ideas that I plan to get rolling soon.  I talked about my latest product for this week’s challenge in my last post HERE.

Click on the picture to purchase this fully editable Ultimate Teacher Binder!

*Wanting: So Vegas is right around the corner and I am seriously jealous of everyone that’s going.  I’ve already told my husband that I WILL be going next year! 

*Needing:  Although I’m not going to Vegas, I WILL be going on a cruise in August RIGHT before those teacher workdays start.  I am SOOOOOO excited!  I haven’t been on a cruise in about 9 years. Oh gosh.  33 days and I can’t wait!

*All-Star: I would say I’m pretty good at listening and giving advice.  I’ve always been the type of person who people spill all of their problems to… even people I DON’T know.  Seriously.  Mom says I must have that “face.”  Lord help.

So what’s going on in your world?  Link up with Farley so I can see what is “currently” happening with you!

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney