Hall Pass Linky

I am linking up with Reagan from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits for her fun Hall Pass Linky Party!! What a lovely talented lady Reagan is :] Read below for what needs to be included and join in on the fun!

MY PRODUCT: Okay, so this was really difficult for me.. I have just improved many of my products, so I am unsure of which is my favorite.  I went back and forth with my weather unit, government unit, and my common core units... but I decided (for the moment) my favorite is my Teacher Guide Unit.  And I only say this because it is 50 pages of posters, lists, organization, and excitement for a new teacher.  I want to revise this unit as well hopefully in the near future and make it more pages and even more fun printables for teachers.  Being a teacher is very difficult for those of us with a small paycheck or subbing and looking for that perfect placement.  But we all know how rewarding it is, and I love my Teacher Guide Unit because I think it can get teachers excited to be organized about teaching :]

MY AREA: My classroom is very, very small.  But me and my wonderful kiddos make it work.  My favorite area is our rug and book bins.  I am happy to call myself a bargain shopper and did my best to find pillows and books that my kids could enjoy.  The rug is a hand-me-down from K-2 is Splendid.. Love her!

MY SIGNAL: I feel that we probably have a lot of signals that we use in the classroom, and I do not even realize it.  A few of them that come to mind are the sign language sign for listening:

 

We also have different signals for Daily 5 that I have actually just made up as I go along.  For example, for Read to Someone I have my students hold up 2 fingers to signal that they need a buddy to read with, and then a student that would like to read with them, holds up 2 fingers and they nod at each other to confirm it.  I read about different strategies for this, and that just worked for my kids. 



Also after the kids make their choices, they will not start their work until I say, "Aaaaand BREAK!" and it's so cute because we feel like a team and we are getting ready to work together.  When I forget to do it, they will wait for me (and they had to remind me a couple of times!)

                       

 

MY SANITY: Sometimes I do not know how I get through the long days after teaching, tutoring, teaching piano, cooking dinner, and cleaning.  It's a lot. And I am often tired!

These are the things that keep me sane:

-working out [keeps my stress down]

-treating myself to a sweet treat or chinese food on the weekend [hey a girl can't stick to her diet all the time!]

-hugs and kisses from my honey [and I get a massage once in a while!]

-constantly blogging, talking to you lovelies and putting new activities on tn/tpt.. it helps me to think I am being productive! It DOES keep me sane ;]

-shopping!! I haven't bought myself anything in a long time, but when I lose some more weight, it'll make me feel great to go shopping.. I am hoping by April-ish!

 

Summer updates

Hello fellow bloggers! Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged... I have had a lot on my mind, and I have been working 50+ hours a week.  It's been a good summer, but a stressful one.

I am very happy with my new apartment.  I continue to decorate it and add little touches.. I just bought this vase and tree lights at Christmas Tree Shop.  I saw some fancy tree lights at Lake George for 40-50 dollars, and these lights were only 10 dollars a set! So much cheaper and work just as great (LED lights)

I have had time to do some babysitting, which is always fun for me.  We have shopped, go-karted, mini golfed, swam, and so many fun things.  This picture is of me and two of my boys on a walk.  The summer time is so beautiful for walks.

And I have been on a kick with doing crafts.. me and one of my girls love to do new crafts and I am always looking for new ideas! We used the fabric paint and did T shirts last week, and the other day we had fun with sand art - I used to do that all the time as a kid and missed it!  The picture shows my T shirt that I decorated.. I made it a summer theme!

Who loves fairs?  In Upstate New York we have a lot of them and Mike and I went to the Saratoga County Fair last night.  It was a lot of fun (and I can't help but love fair food).  Here is a picture of me petting a donkey :)

I am announcing to you, that next year I will be teaching a mixed grade level once again, but I will be teaching a 3/4 classroom.  I will probably keep my facebook name "Love to Teach Third Grade" but I might add the fourth to it :) You never know where you are going to end up as a teacher, which is why my blog name is so generic.  I am so happy for my colleague Second Grade is Splendid - she is moving on to Kindergarten at a new school.  I wish her all the best-Check out her blog page because she has another cute setup done by Ladybug Teacher Files (Kristen) :)

I am so sorry I have neglected blogging.. I will try to be much better at it.  I am going to be making some sort of Common Core 4th grade package I believe to get me started for the school year.  I was also trying to think of some Back to School ideas that are always fun.
Don't forget to check out my Teacher Guide Unit, especially if you are a first year teacher :) it has forms, organization labels, information sheets, and other ideas that you may need.

And also my Organization labels if you only need those.. I can't wait to print these and laminate them for my classroom!

I hope you are all enjoying your summers.  Miss talking to you all and I can't wait to reconnect. I've been in a "funk" lately but I'm starting to return back to my old self and be less stressed about things :) Let me know if anyone needs anything! And if you know of any fourth grade materials that have been really helpful in your classroom, please let me know! Thank you!!

New Unit on TPT/Teacher's Notebook

Since money has been tight, I've been working even harder on my teacher stores :) I wish money wasn't so hard to come by! I better start putting in for the Megamillions ;)

My newest unit is 43 pages, and contains a lot of basic information/forms/printables for new teachers :) It is very basic, cute and simple, but is great for first year teachers and for teachers that are new and could maybe use some more ideas.  I am obsessed with scrappin doodles and graphics from the pond so those are what I used as well.  Check it out HERE on Teacher's Pay Teacher's and HERE on Teacher's Notebook.

My sale is still going on at both stores until tomorrow!! 20% off!!

Also, I almost forgot! I just redid my Weather Unit on TPT and Teacher's Notebook.. I wanted to add 2 activities and make it more crisp and bold.  It's my best seller and if you have already purchased it, please re-download for a better product.  Thanks :)