August Currently

So I've been working ALL day on Common Core stuff for a presentation on Friday.  My brain is common cored out for the day.  I decided I should take a break and blog.... and probably sleep!  I decided to link up with Farley over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for her August Currently!

It was super hard to only choose 3 back to school must haves.  A new hot glue gun could probably be added to this list. My is really squeaky and in not so great shape.  And new colorful pens... because honestly there is nothing like a package of brand new colorful pens. :)

It's a big week in my family.  My little (and only) sister moves to college tomorrow.  Oh boy.  I don't feel old enough for her to go to college that's for sure.  Hopefully I won't cry.  The college is 20 minutes from my apartment and 45 minutes from mom's house so I will probably see her more now than I did before but it's still really hard.  When did she get so old??

I loaded some new things into both stores today (during breaks from CC madness).  Go check them out.  I'm having a sale in both :)

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

Classroom Pictures :)

Well the classroom is pretty much complete (minus organizing some cabinets and nametags on desks).  I've had a lot of help between my boyfriend, my mom, and my boyfriend's mom and sister.  I'm a lucky girl, for sure!  My goal was to have it done before Teacher Workdays start on Tuesday... goal accomplished! :)  After a week of Common Core classes and then presenting in 6 days, I've been super busy but I feel like I'm finally getting back into the routine of things.  My sticky note to-do list is still ridiculously long though.

Here are some pictures of what I've been doing...

My classroom library.  This is a GREAT improvement from what it was.

Their cubbies... I put up my zebra numbers that turned out pretty cute.

A little motivational section.  Love the subway art quotes from Hope at 2nd Grade Shenanigans!

I'm really liking the zebra pennant banners I got from Target.  It had pink ribbon but I switched it out with black ribbon.

 My owl door.. .All I need to add it "Look whooo's in our class."  I got the patten HERE.  My boyfriend's mom and sister made the tree branches and leaves.  The leaves have my kiddos' names on them.

My writing wall...  The posters came from Teaching in Flip Flops

 My calendar wall with birthdays (clipart from Digiweb Studios.. .the hats have their names and bdays written on them) and my job chart.  I put the velcro dots on the chart so that I can easily change out the jobs.  The clocks have been chilling in my filing cabinet for 2 years so I decided to bring them out for the 4th graders.

My Student of the Month bulletin board that will go out in my hallway!

     The circles are from Teaching in Flip Flops again.  The paper is from Michael's... it was left over from my hallway.  I jumped up and down when I found it.  The lady at the cash register was laughing at my excitement.  Plus teachers get a discount at Michael's.  Gotta love it.

Speaking of hallway...  There's that paper that I'm madly in love with.  The animals came from clipart from DigiWeb Studios.  Tarzan came from Scrappin' Doodles. :)

My favorite part... :)

 And I'm having a sale in my Teacher's Notebook store.  Make sure to stop by and grab a few things for your classroom this year! :)

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney Long

25% off! WHAAAAT!

School is right around the corner!  Do you have a plan for Writing instruction this year? 

For one week, and one week only you can grab a copy of my 160 Days of Writing for $37.50 instead of $50 in my Teachers Notebook store!  :)

 Go get yours HERE!

This 86 page packet is a 160 day Common Core aligned Writing Curriculum that I will be using in my 4^thgrade classroom but it also covers MANY Common Core standards for other grades as well.  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!

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

Giveaway Winner!

So when I set the giveaway to end on August 1st I didn't think it would get here this fast.  I mean, seriously, it's already August!  Oh. my. word.  I decided that I need to just make a to-do list each day or I'll never get stuff done. 

Today's To-Do List:

Finish custom orders

Add a new item to my TN and TPT stores

Figure out the layout of Daily 5 for this year

Do some cleaning

Date night with the boyfriend

Announce the giveaway winner

Why don't I go ahead and scratch one of these off of the list... the giveaway winner!  DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Congratulations Nesli! I'll be emailing your items over later today!

School's right around the corner so if you didn't win, make sure to still stop by our TPT stores and grab the items that you wanted!

Ok, off to finish some things from my to-do list! :)

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

Tell Me More! Linky Party and Giveaway Reminder!

Well I'm at the beach right now.  It has been a wonderful and relaxing few days and I can't wait for the rest of the week.  I'm such a beach junkie.  Well Amy over at Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons is having a linky party.  She wants us to share things about ourselves.  You can check out the linky party HERE.

1.       I have OCD in my classroom but my room in my apartment is a WRECK.  If only my OCD would pour over into my “everyday life.”  I’m sure my roommates would appreciate it!

2.       I am absolutely obsessed with nutella and peanut butter mixed together in a bowl.  Seriously.  You need to try it.

3.       Sometimes when I cook, I pretend I’m on my own cooking show.  Weird, I know.

4.       I LOVE paying my bills the old fashioned way (mail, not online).  There is just something so satisfying about putting a stamp on that sucker and being done with it.

5.       I make checklists… lots of them.  And sometimes I write things that I’ve already done so that I can go ahead and cross something off.

6.       I check my email and Pinterest on my phone before I get out of bed each morning.

7.       My boyfriend is a tall, lanky redhead whom I LOVE.  I’m gonna marry that boy some day.

8.       I have an obsession with fireworks.  I don’t want to shoot them off but I love watching them.  There is something so magical about them.

9.       I am BAD about starting a book and never finishing it.

10.   I love Big Brother and Survivor.  I’ve seen EVERY single episode of both.

11.   I am TERRIFIED of frogs… really, really terrified.

Don't forget about my giveaway!  It ends on August 1st so get your entries in :)

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney



Giveaway!!!!!!

Oh man I'm excited!  Not only do we go back to school in less than one month but I finally got my boyfriend's sister (she calls me her girlfriend-in-law :) ) to open her own TPT store.  She's amazing... and has been teaching for 16 or so years.  I have always seen all of this super cute stuff that she has had for her classroom over the years and she just HAD to open her store.  No need to keep all of that cuteness to herself! :)  So in honor of Andrea opening her TPT store and creating some SUPER awesome items, I have decided to do a giveway. 

Yep, fellow bloggers, my first blogger giveway!

Here's the link to Andrea's TPT Store!

Here's the link to my TPT store!

Make sure to follow my blog, leave a comment, and tell us which product you would want to receive (from each of our stores) if you won.  *Please leave your email with your comment!!!!*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney

Grammar Woes

The #1 thing that I heard this summer during my Writing class was that they weren't sure how to teach grammar.  How much time do we spend on it?  How do I even go about teaching it?  The concern was that when we were in elementary school, we were given a grammar textbook and that's about it.  I remember doing pages and pages and pages and pages of correcting sentences.. all of which my teachers probably never even checked.  So what's the best way to do it?  For me, grammar minilessons come about when I'm modeling writing with my students or conferencing with them about their own writing.  I also wanted to create something that would be quick and efficient but would help me practice grammar with my students.  I came up with "Daily Fix-It Sentences." I have bound the forms (one for each week) and we will use them for morning work.  I have one sentence on each page that can easily be displayed and students can correct it.  The minilesson comes when you go over this with them.  I also included a review for each 9 weeks and an assessment for each 9 weeks.  I designed it around my writing curriculum that is also in my store! You can grab the "Daily Fix-it Sentences" HERE or HERE.  

 Here are some pictures of what's included....

Smiles and Snapshots,

Courtney