Back to School and Prizes Galore

In New York, we go back to school in September but I am thinking about my classroom all summer long (in between teaching summer school!) I love to find new and exciting products for my second graders.

Disclaimer: This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience. I was provided the sample free of charge or paid a small fee by the company or PR agency and I provided my honest opinion.

 

I was excited to find this "Welcome" sign that I will hang outside my classroom after summer school ends :) It goes great with my black accents around my classroom. Definitely large and pops!  I think it'll look nice to invite my students in on the first day of school.

Who doesn't love pom poms? I have adorable white and gray ones already, so I thought hey - why not try black?  These are so reasonably priced, but I was a little careless with assembly.  A few of the corners ripped since there's so many sections to make it look full.  The finished product came out cute (not like the photo), but I should have had more patience with unfolding them ;)  Would I purchase again? For the price yes, but I may have someone more crafty put them together! 

I will buy these pencils year after year for my second graders.  They hold up nicely and I always want to make their birthdays special.  Also, second grade pencils (or Kindergarten, 1st, or 3rd grade pencils!) are perfect for the first day of school and to get them excited for the year. 

Do you do Star Student in your class? I do for one full rotation of the class.  I have a special day of the week where they will share items, read books, and receive a book at the end of the week that has compliments and notes from his/her classmates.  These stickers are so cute and at a wonderful price! 

Click HERE to download the star student cut outs that I hand out to each star student to fill out at home and share on our poster.

Roly Poly stuffed pets and Roly Poly stuffed Easter-themed animals will be so cute for my kiddos for end of the year gifts (shhh - don't ruin the surprise!) I know it says "Easter themed" but who doesn't love chicks, bunnies, and lambs always?  In second grade, we hatch chicks too so I thought it was appropriate! 

Slap bracelets are definitely making a come back since my childhood... but DIY ones? My creative kids will LOVE designing these! For 13$ you get 48 in a pack so I will be able to use these with next years class too! 

Penguin bendables! Ok yes, I know it's July - but I couldn't pass these up and I'll have something to give them around the holidays.  They are really cute for the price and I would purchase again, but a couple had some paint chipping off - not too bad though and I know my sweeties won't care! 

Thanks for reading!

Also - there are still 3 more days left in the Back to School giveaway!!! Don't forget to enter! :) $250 you could get sooooo many wonderful things!  Best of luck!

$250 Oriental Trading Gift Card Giveaway

Back to School Oriental Trading Giveaway

Are you ready for an Oriental Trading GIVEAWAY? To win 250$ to spend on amazing products for your classroom?!

Perfect time to start thinking about Back to School goodies - and Oriental Trading has it all.  If you have read my blog posts before, you know that I am a big fan of their supplies from bins for organization to cute pencil toppers and prizes for my students.

Here are some of the fun products I have gotten in the past from Oriental Trading:

Giveaway begins July 16 and runs through July 30 - Good luck and happy shopping! 

$250 Oriental Trading Gift Card Giveaway

Back to School 2017

I am so excited to show you my second grade classroom.  I am moving from the upstairs in fourth grade to a downstairs classroom in second grade.  I am very excited - what a perfect age!

I love incorporating the Daily 5 in my literacy block.  Here is my Daily 5 and CAFE posters that you can find on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Click HERE to check out the cutest CAFE headers and strategy cards.

Oriental Trading has a new addition to their website - Learning365 for all of your teaching supplies and other great educational resources. 

[[Disclaimer: Oriental Trading sent me products in exchange for a blog post, but all opinions in this post are mine.]]

The photo below is my calendar area.  I love me some Georgia Grown Kiddos xo her calendar set are the best out there on TPT! Equally just as awesome, Good Enough Teacher has the best calendar pieces that fit perfectly in my calendar pocket chart.

To the right of my calendar area is my "I Can" learning objectives chart.  I LOVE this... there is actually more sections but I pinned it off to only have 3 sections.  It twists to hang perfectly straight and I can't wait to use my I can statements here.  You can use dry erase or cards!

[If you are looking for 3rd grade I can statements, check mine out HERE]

Looking for a little gift for your students? Mine are going to love these second grade pencils!  I love whenever it's personalized by grade level.

These magnetic dry erase owls are on SALE (under $5 for a dozen!) and they can work for table numbers, groups, reminders, or just cute BTS decor.  I have these located right now in my math area and I hope to find new ideas throughout the year to use them.  I already got a few compliments ;)

I also love these posters from Sneaking into Second.  So cute!

Magnetic alphabet squares are a must for me working in a primary classroom.  It's such a fun way to add practice to spelling and word work.  Incorporating the Daily 5 into my classroom I always try to find new ways for learning.

Something else that is perfect for my literacy groups are these highlighting reading strips.  For the primary grades sometimes it's tricky for kiddos to keep track of where they are with reading, especially when the print gets smaller and smaller with the more difficult books.  My sweeties will love using these during reading :) 

A fun, exciting part of second grade is learning about life cycles.  At my school, we will hatch chicks and monarch butterflies.  This 4 poster life cycle set is only $6.49.  You cannot find a better price for these quality posters!  This is one of the best deals for high quality posters I have seen out there. A MUST HAVE for a second grade teacher!

The last photo I'll end my blog post with is my cookie bulletin board.  While I was browsing through

Pinterest and TPT, I decided to create my own with cute clipart and personalize them with my kids names.  I used counting cookies from Classroom Chitchat.

I hope you all have the best school year.  Thinking of you all - for the ones that already have your routine down and for those of you just starting out and getting your classroom as ready as you can before back to school... Never forget - you are wonderful and we all make mistakes and learn from them.

Have a fantastic year! xo

Second grade starts my new journey.

Classroom Setup 2016-2017

I will be going into my 8th year of teaching in September.  I am at a new school and a new grade level.  This summer has been full of hard work and continuous effort.  I have worked with many wonderful children in a literacy summer program and tutoring.  I can't believe that summer is coming to a close and I haven't had a day to relax, but to be in the wonderful district I am, made all worth the hard work!  My journey and teaching path are no accident.  I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

So I will be teaching fourth grade for the 2016-2017 school year.  I haven't taught 4th grade in some years, but I can't wait to provide care and authentic experiences for my fourth graders!

What do you think? There is still time to jazz it up a little more, but this is the basic gist  :) 

Can we say books?! Holy moly.  After many hours of work, all of the books are now categorized with specific labels and ready for the children to read.  Lots of choices! :)  

 Our daily subject board and jobs.  You can find this adorable "Pencil me in" job chart HERE! I am going to be laminating and rotating names for the jobs.

 

Below are some of my subject bulletin boards that I will be adding to and changing throughout the year.  Crayfish and Geography are two of the first units that I will teach for Science and Social Studies.  I am excited to have lots of wall space for each subject area!

 Here are my Genre posters from Really Good Stuff and I LOVED these motivational posters.  This TPT freebie can be found HERE from Teaches Third in Georgia!

 My reading nook is one of my favorite areas in my classroom.  I love my 6 Traits of Writing Posters, my RACE sign from Fourth Grade Flipper, and my Text Evidence freebie I found that would look awesome in color (but I printed in black and white.)

My classroom won't be on Pinterest and all of my bins do not match.  I don't have the latest and greatest bulletin boards, but as the years continue and I develop more of a supply for décor, this is what it'll look like.  And I like it.  Sure I would love to have the chalkboard designs and all black bulletin boards matching and all of my bins to be labeled.  But for right now, it's all good!

I wish you all a wonderful 2016-2017 school year.  Make it the best year ever. :)

My 2015-2016 Classroom

Oh my goodness, it has been such a long time since I have blogged... over the past few months, I have worked so hard to make sure I was all ready for my first graders in September.  It has been a crazy, hard-working, and tiring summer but I would not change it for anything.  I got engaged in August and got my dream job teaching first grade :)

Here are some pictures of my classroom, before and after:

 I can remember taking the "before" picture and wanting my classroom to be finished, rushing to buy EVERYTHING I could, print on TPT and laminate, but there was so little time to make it exactly the way I wanted it.  I knew after taking that picture that I would see the progress over the months,  and make it my sweet children's second home.  (And by the way, my kids really are so sweet!)

These photos were taking just before our Back to School Open House night.  I am proud of the organized classroom it has become!

My calendar/reading/meeting area :) 

 Just a few different angles!  You will see in my writing area that I have A Cupcake for the Teacher's wonderful Writing Center Kit! Such a wonderful resource for the kids.

 My job chart has been a huge hit with my students.  I love this template from Primarily Au-Some on TPT - check it out! It also comes in different themes :)

 One of our first units was teaching all about apples.  We read apple books, made apple sauce, and discovered all about the life cycle of an apple tree.

Here are some amazing apple freebies for first grade!

Apple Unit from Khrys Bosland

Johnny Appleseed Freebie from Jungle Learners

 

Seasons of an Apple Tree with Mrs. Hoffer's Spot 

 

Enjoy! Have a wonderful school year and happy fall!