End of the Year Gifts

Sooo I haven't blogged in a whole week since my last Monday Made It with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics! Ahh I have to get better at blogging more ;) But I sure do love my girl Tara! She is so creative so you will have to go check out what she made this week... so cute (and I love organization and anything crafty!)

So how are all of my friends?? Enjoying summer vacay? Did you have a good weekend? I did, but it sure went by fast... I am in the middle of reorganizing my apartment.. it's pretty small, but perfect!

This is my last "full" week with my kids.. we have a half day Friday, but it's full enough to be Mon-Fri! These are my end of the year gifts to my children... if any of you are looking at my blog now, do not read any further because I don't want your surprise ruined! XOXO

I thought and thought about what I could get my children.... and I came up with a trophy idea.  They are all my little rockstars, some of them I have had for 2 years... and I have to admit, I am not ready for the year to end.  I love each and every one of them.. I have 7 cuties, and I know everyone probably thinks my job is so easy with 7 kids, but my parents and the kids probably know how much work I put into them and the school. 

It's been a wonderfully smooth year though and I feel like my 3rd and 4th graders have grown and made so much progress.  I am pretty sure we are parting ways next year, but I do have to say, that there is something wonderfully special about looping up with kids.  I had 3 of them for 2 years and let me tell you... an incredible difference since the day I had met them.  They have blossomed from scared and quiet caterpillars to social, happy butterflies.  I am a very blessed teacher to have taught 7 amazing individuals!

 Besides the trophies, I also have some candy treats, sidewalk chalk, and a few other summer fun things to give to them.  Below is another treat that I am giving my kids, and also the 2nd teacher (Miss Mound)'s kids at the end of the year.. I bought some swirly straws at Michaels Craft Store, and got some packets of Kool-aid! Aren't the tags so cute? Guess what... They are FREE from "I Love My Classroom!" I hope you can check them out by clicking HERE :)

Are you already thinking about Back to School like I am? If so, check out my Apple Themed Word Wall Letters and Words!! I have made a Kindergarten one and a 3rd grade one :] If you would like another grade level or theme, I definitely take requests!! Clipart is from the adorable Ashley Hughes.  

 

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Fall Giveaway and Photos

Hello all! SoOoO I have decided I am going to stop asking for followers for my blog and just go with it.. I know I will get 200 someday, but it is just not happening right now and that is so okay :) I am changing my giveaway to "The first day of fall giveaway".. this is will be on the first day of Autumn (September 22nd) and will run for 6 days.  I can't wait!! I have the BEST teachers teaming up with me, and I am so very, very grateful!

Fall is my absolute favorite season, not only because of the beautiful falling leaves and crisp weather, but also because my birthday is November 10th and my anniversary is November 7th :) The holidays are amazing too! For my anniversary, my boyfriend and I will have been together 3 years (but it will continue through forever). I am excited to do something special!

Here is my CAFE and Daily 5 Chart.. we are going through it like crazy! As fourth graders, they are definitely understanding all the concepts and accepting responsibility for their reading and writing. 

 My word wall has words on it!! My kids helped me pick out the best words to put up that are difficult sometimes, but also interesting :) They could've gone on and on all day!

 A parent gave me a care package of crayons, markers, glue, scissors, index cards, etc. I was so excited!! It's so funny how we teachers get so excited over things like this.  It definitely is the little things, and my parents this year are the sweetest!!! :)

Two days ago we were in the middle of recess and an idea popped into my head for a bulletin board "We are a TEAM, Hands down!" with our hand prints.. so we went with it.  A lot of my lessons come from my head and creativity rather than right from the book.  We had a little more down time than usual so I had them working quietly and then coming over to participate in this poster.  They loved it, and we do so much every day to make us feel like a true team community.

 Here is just a silly picture of me during my break :) I am so happy it is the weekend!!

My Grade 3/4 Classroom

Hi everyone! It has been such a busy summer (not really a vacation for me!) but thank you for being patient with me since I have not been blogging much. How is everyone doing? I hope your enjoying teaching and your kiddos.. I start back next Wednesday :)

I wanted to show you a few pictures of my classroom. I have the same room as last year, but less kids.  I had 10 rambunctious crazy kiddos last year for Grades 2/3, but this year I have 4 new ones, and 3 students I have already taught.  How do you feel about looping up? I am excited to have another year with my 3 because I know I can help them continue to succeed and enjoy learning!

Smaller room, but I made the best out of it and I hope the students will find it warm and inviting. I love my "Welcome" sign that you see displayed in my first picture. I found it on TPT from Cathy Hutchinson - I LOVE polka dots, and it was just too cute to pass up.. .and free!

Here are my book bins, posters, desk, and charts.  We also display the values for each month (respect, love, caring, responsibility, etc.)

My word wall :) Covers almost my whole wall on the side, but it will be needed for tons of 4th grade words!

I decorated my math bins with very cute labels.  I found these from Ashley Reed on TPT.. another amazing freebie!! I am an organizational freak so these helped me out a lot!

I found this picture frame at Michael's for 2 bucks! I was super excited to be able to put fun classroom pictures in it (once school begins) but for now, I just printed out pictures that I liked off google. 

This is where I will keep my math centers (1-2-3-4) and my students daily 5 bins and writing materials.  I even kept a bin for me for my calendar pieces and vocabulary cards.  I know that the math centers should be in all red, but I only had 2 red and 2 blue... I am sure it'll bother me enough that I change it out during the year ;)

I love these book bins from Target! Only 2.50 each and they are so durable.. my only wish was that I bought more of them before they became sold out.  The labels I used were just my organizational labels that are available on TPT and TN :)

I found this at Michael's and it was on clearance for 1 or 2 dollars.  I use it as my "Tattle Bin" for my kids to write down their tattles/feelings for me to look at later.  This has helped so much last year with less disruptions from teaching.  I was going to get a "T" for Tattle Bin, but I decided on a "B" for my last name (and if I ever wanted to use it for something else)

 

I hope you enjoyed a little insight into my classroom! I will have more pictures, products, and more coming this year.  I haven't slept well in a few days so I am off to bed.  I hope everyone is doing well... thank you for your talent and resources that I am getting so much use out of for my classroom!!

Trying to become inspired..

I am contemplating moving apartments, and it is such a big decision (with lots of time consuming packing and organizing)... but I am pretty sure we are going to be making that move in the near future :)

My big question for the night: How do you organize your teaching materials?  I have my bookbins, and 3 drawer bin, shelves, and labels, but sometimes it still bothers me that my classroom doesn't look like this:

This is just BEAUTIFULLY organized, and with the limited space in my classroom, I would never be able to make it look like this... especially on the budget I'm on... so how do you organize your classroom?

Here are a few pictures I have recently took of my classroom: I try to continue to add new vocabulary to our math/science vocabulary wall, and I am so proud of my students for understanding inferencing, and coming up with tons of examples.

APRIL BREAK..

Does anyone else get a lot of vacay time for Easter? Our school sure does! I'm so excited my boyfriend is able to take time off as well for his job.  I'll have to plan something special. I am counting down the days already.


Any comment is welcome :) Hope to get to 55 followers soon to have a fantastic giveaway!!

Classroom pictures

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the start to their weekend.  I feel so tired, I am sure I will be falling asleep early!

I wanted to post some of my pictures of my classroom... it is small with only 10 students, but I have managed to stay organized and get my job done :) I definitely want to make a lot of changes for next year, but I think that's what we always do - try to make it better!

My CAFE Chart which correlates with Daily 5 :) Also notice the stamina graph in the right corner.
I found these printables on TPT... LOVE these freebies!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Polka-Dot-CAFE-Posters-Freebie

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Daily-5-Stamina-Graphs

My second/third graders LOVE Geronimo Stilton!  It is one of their favorite authors, so if you teach around my age group, definitely check these books out :)

My word wall towards the beginning of the year :)

Does anyone love Vista print? I sure do!  I get my homework passes from there, sticky notes, stationery, and more!  I am on a tight budget with school supplies, but some of this stuff is just too darn cute.  The big sign with my name on it is a magnet that clings to my filing cabinet.  It was FREE with one of my Vista Print orders :)  www.vistaprint.com

Our classroom rules and signatures

I am going to be posting a geography unit on TPT and Teacher's Notebook soon.. I am still seeing if there is anymore creativity in me before I post it. 

<3 I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!!