Happy Tuesday, y'all! Welcome back for the 2nd day of Teacher Week presented to you by my dear friends at Blog Hoppin'.... Today's post is all about FOOD! My FAVORITE subject :) I know how important it is for teachers to have access to quick and easy meals. The last thing I want to do at the end of an exhausting day is come home, cook an elaborate meal, and clean the aftermath. Inevitably my kitchen always looks like a war zone when it's all said and done. Thanks, but no thanks. I LOVE quick and easy. I love making food that will last me several days. I chose some of my ... Read More
Teacher Week 2015 – 5 Fun Facts About Me (& a Deal of the Day!!!)
Hey y'all! Happy Monday! Have you heard?! It's Teacher Week!!! We're celebrating on Blog Hoppin' and would love for you to link up with us!! Here's what we have planned this week... So let's get started with today's topic... 1. I have taught for 13 years...10 in Kindergarten, 2 in First Grade, and 1 in 2nd Grade. First is my most favorite :) I mean, I loved Kindergarten, but there's just something about the curriculum in first grade that has my heart. This is my second year out of the classroom and while I really do miss it, I sure do love what I'm doing ... Read More
Phonics Friday – The Short Vowel Edition
I know most of my Texas teacher friends started back to school this week. If you're in the same boat, HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU!!!! Whether you started back this week or a few weeks ago, you've definitely earned your weekend!!! FRIYAY !!!! Now let's get on with Phonics Friday, shall we?! One of the first phonics skills I cover at the beginning of the year is vowels. I introduce both short and long, but focus mainly on the short vowel sounds until that concept is mastered. However, I think it's important for our kids to know BOTH sounds since they'll encounter those sounds/vowels in their reading. When I ... Read More
All About Word Walls
If you’re a teacher, there’s a good chance you’ve got a Word Wall in your room {either by desire or demand}. 9 times out of 10, the Word Wall you spent hours planning, setting up, & prepping is just a piece of wall décor. Am I right or am I totally off base?! Maybe I’m just speaking from experience. Hopefully you know what I’m talking about! I’ve always had a bit of an issue with my Word Walls. They’re not conveniently located. At all. And really, that’s all my fault. I could make it more accessible. I would always start out the year with a BANG….like we all do. I would ... Read More
Organizing (& A B2S ONE DAY Sale)
Okay. So I wanted to pop in real quick talk about organization. I'm asked this question often in various forms... "How do you organize your clip art?" "How do you store your center activities?", "What is your favorite planner/organizer?", etc. I figured it would easiest to just lump it all together and tell you a little bit about the different ways I organize just in case some of these ideas are helpful for you, too. I've been using Erin Condren planners (Life Planner) since about 2010. I absolutely LOVE her stuff. I was having a really hard time justifying the price tag because I don't utilize all of the ... Read More
Phonics Friday – Small Group Phonics Activities
These last few weeks have been 50 shades of cray. I'm not sure if I told y'all, but we got a roommate :) She's actually a friend of my niece's and she was starting her first semester of student teaching here in town. She had never been to Texas before and was a little wary of living so far from home (Indiana), so she was going to be staying with us until December. Remember how hard it was to student teach all day & not get paid?? And then rush home, get changed, and wait tables until midnight?? And then wake up at 5:30 the next day and do it all again? Or was that just me?!?! We were excited ... Read More
Building Relationships (The Teacher-Parent Edition)
Today we're talking about something that's near and dear to my heart as both a teacher AND a parent... Establishing and maintaining relationships with parents!!! When I first started teaching about 13 years ago, I was a very timid and insecure 23-year-old. I was unsure of myself as a teacher and I was nervous as all get out about talking to parents. I remember being asked (by several different parents) on meet the teacher night my first year, "how old are you?!?!" I remember thinking how they must have thought I looked too young to be teaching their babies. Oh, how I wish I still had that ... Read More
Writing Center Fast Finishers
Happy Tuesday!!! (Is it Tuesday already?!) I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off today and completely forgot to post. I wanted to talk to y'all about building parent relationships starting at the beginning of the year. I have some great tips and suggestions for you, but I'm going to save those for tomorrow since I have a lot to say about that and I want to give it my full attention. In the meantime, I just wanted to quick tell y'all about my newest addition to the shop....Writing Center Fast Finishers! Eeek!! I've been presenting these ideas at conferences for the last couple of years, but haven't gotten ... Read More
Launching Small Groups & Learning Centers (Literacy)
How many of you have already gone back to school? One question I'm often asked at the beginning of the school year is, "When do you start guided reading?!", so I thought we'd chat about how all that gets started in my classroom today :) The beginning of the year is important not only for establishing rules and routines, but also for assessing our students. We need to know where are babies are so we can determine how and what we need to teach. We're all given grade level objectives and standards to teach, but our kids also need differentiated instruction to meet their individual needs. Where does this ... Read More
B2S Bash 2015 GRAND PRIZE!!!
Have y'all had fun hopping around to all 18 of our Bash Baskets? If you haven't done that yet, please start HERE and make sure you do! You only have until midnight on August 2nd to enter! You may be thinking "Ohhh, I'm not lucky enough to win... I never get picked for prizes...There's just no way that my name will be selected!" But, I would say: YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY! So, go for the gold, folks! Here's what you NEED to do FIRST... like RIGHT NOW! We are doing an Instagram Hop with a secret message. This secret message MUST BE entered on the Rafflecopter below or you will NOT be chosen ... Read More
