1300 Followers Freebie & Sale item!

A HUGE thank you to all of you for following me  throughout the past couple of years. I find joy in creating items for you and want to also thank you for supporting my classroom.

I have been on hiatus for a couple of weeks, as we have had a lot going on at school... busy, busy, busy! I haven't done any creating since then. I finally have a little breathing time today, so I wanted to thank you all by creating a freebie which can get you excited to be thinking ahead to a fresh new year (as some of us think about what next year has to offer... you never know)!! I created this welcome sign, which can be used as a banner (just add ribbon). In addition, I have marked down a newer item in my TpT store (see below). Just a way to say THANK YOU!

{FREEBIE}

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{SALE for one week}

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Back to School Goals #b2s13

Well, it is always good to set some reasonable goals. I am not sure if these are SMART goals, but I have a few more weeks to think it over!! I am linking up with I {heart} Recess for our B2S Goals!!

I have been teaching for 10 years, but there is ALWAYS room to grow, improve, and learn! This is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching :)

Here are some of MY goals for this year (as I embark on a NEW adventure going from Kindergarten to 5th grade... yikes..LOL - this was MY decision after all *what was I thinking*...haha)

Personal - It is always my goal to walk more closely to Christ. Through reading God's word, I am who I am and am very grateful that He saved me!!! I want to read more of the Bible, pray more deeply and walk more closely to my Heavenly Father:)

Organization - Folks tell me I am pretty organized... I am not always so sure..LOL!! Last year, I went through all my Kindergarten files and aligned them to the CCGPS. I now have the lovely job of creating the same thing for 5th grade! It makes sense for me to file things this way!!!

Planning - A colleague and I have met twice and mapped out a good bit of our first unit. My goal is to take "One day at a time"... sweet Jesus (have you ever heard that song?...LOL)!! I am learning a new grade level, so I am not going to stress.. I am simply going to take it slow and learn more and more each day!

Professional - There are a lot of things I would like to do (one of them is going through the Lucy Calkins books - which will be part of my professional learning this year). I want to hold off on going into a lot of detail with that just yet, as I am getting my feet wet this year. I will love to incorporate what I learn this year through the PL into next year's units. For this reason.... I would like to get more familiar with the 5th grade standards, so I plan to use lots of LOTS - Language of the Standards. :)

Students - I pray that I can be a role model for these children. I want to build positive relationships through trust and also make learning as fun as possible!! I want them to know that learning can be a life-long tool!

Motto - I always tell me students that they need to "Be the best YOU, YOU can be!" If nothing else, you need to give something your all, your best... That is all that I can ask of them!!

#teachertourtuesday

Don't forget to take a short clip of one part of your classroom to share. Link up below:)

Here's what to do...

1- create an Instagram Video clip of a section of your classroom
2- post your video on Instagram with hashtag #teachertourtuesday
3- write up a post on your blog about your video (direct them to join your Instagram)
4- in your post, link back to this page with the Teacher Tour Tuesday sign
5- link up your site below ONLY your post link (not your whole blog:)  - this is how others can view your post:)

Sadly, I cannot get into my classroom until next week *panicking* I will join in next week!! If you already have some done, please share a little portion each week by linking up:)

Remind 101 - Student/Parent/Teacher Communication

Need to send a quick message about a homework assignment? or maybe need to remind about an upcoming event...? Remind 101 is a wonderful app/online tool that teachers can use to text their students/parents (without the hassle of giving out your personal contact information). It is also very easy to use.

@Remind101 #R101LOVE 

Back in the Spring, I conducted a Professional Learning session trying to introduce Remind 101 and Class Dojo to our staff. Here is a link to the presentation - PLEASE view the PowerPoint. 

You can use this resource online: https://www.remind101.com/

or through their app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/remind101/id522826277?mt=8

I set my account up online, but truly love using the app to send the quick texts to parents/students. 

What is the BEST feature??? I love how you can set the date/time for the message to send out. I always forget unless I type it right away and set the date/time for it to send out!!!

Please consider trying this teacher tool! 

Businesses Helping Teachers...

Many businesses are trying to give teacher discounts as a way to help out their classrooms. Here is another one of those great opportunities. Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts is providing a Teacher Rewards program to help educators out with creative items to spice up your classroom.

Here are the program details:

Jo-Ann Teacher Rewards � Registration & Benefits

Teachers and educators can register at http://www.joann.com/teach2014 or in-store to receive discounts on classroom craft and sewing projects, classroom d�cor and organization products. Benefits include:

• Free discount card for 15% off every purchase.
• Bonus coupon for 20% off any one total purchase when you enroll or re-enroll in the program.
• More money-saving coupons as a Jo-Ann Preferred Customer.
• Personal notice of the latest sales offers, crafting trends and inspiration.

Please head on over to Jo-Ann's to find some lovely items to make your classroom super organized and ready for back2school! 

Figurative Language Posters

I have so many things, but I have yet to get or make some items for figurative language. I didn't want to do chevron on these, as I don't want EVERYTHING chevron...LOL. I pulled in some of the colors from my other items in hopes it will all blend nicely.

You can get these here!

Oh... and I forgot to post a pic of my new curtains...

I got these (this is a stock photo) at Walmart about a month ago discounted. They are microfiber. They are regularly online for $16.00 -- I got them on clearance for $7.00 :) Yay!

Shopping, shopping, shopping... and fundraisers to get $$

Okay... When I taught Kindergarten last year, we had 2 fundraisers to help teachers earn $ for our classrooms. The first was our freezer pop fundraiser. Students could purchase freezer pops for a quarter each day (if they so choose to). After the year is over, we combined all the sales and split it 4 ways between the teachers. In addition to this, we always had a 50s day on the 50th day of school. On that day, we sold Coke floats for $1.00. Parents donated the items (cokes & ice cream) and McDonald's donated the cups and straws. After all of this, we again split the funds. I ended up with over $400 to spend on classroom supplies, which is nice so I do not have to ask for as many supplies from the children.


What did I spend my $ on this year? I did spend a little of this on painting my room this year, but I bought new 5th grade items/charts/etc. (see pic) there are tons more items that I was unable to show on here like folders, paper, tape, etc. :) Perhaps this kind of fundraiser can work for you. If you have another idea, please share in the comments below!! :) Thanks!


Some of my online/catalog buys:

Bought this with my own $ (so far... still have more to get):

 

WALMART

WALMART

http://www.christianbook.com/