Gettin' A Little Crafty & Erin Condren FINALLY!!

So, over than being completely overwhelmed since basically August 1st... I have gotten a little crafty since school started. Although I probably could have been a little craftier but I've been wearing out my cowboy boots like it's my job. Anyone in the south looking for a roomie? Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Chris Cagle, Craig Morgan, Josh Turner, Joe Nichols, Thompson Square have all seen my cowboy boots lately. Oh, don't worry Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan have seen them twice ;) Justin Moore will see them this upcoming weekend as well!! So needless to say country music has distracted me a bit, as has college football which started this weekend. Go Gators!! Anyway onto the craftiness...

Quite a few people asked me about the magnets seen here:

To be honest, I'm not sure how ya'll even noticed those little glittery guys. So I needed another set, and I knew my teammate was eyeing them up, so I decided to make another set. I have to say in advance, I forgot to take after pictures, so this will be an updated post tomorrow after I take pictures at school :)

Here's my wonderful (winky, awful face) tutorial :)

 {1: gather supplies}

{mod podge} 

{glass marbles w/flat bottom} 

{some kind of glitter}

{2: spread out supplies, grab marble with flat side up}

{3: spread a THIN (thick takes forever to dry) layer of glue on flat bottom}

note: i have tried brushes of all kinds, my finger worked best, it's messy, but that's okay!!

{4: lay out to dry on scrap paper}

{lay out as many as you want of one color on a piece of paper}

{5: once finished with one set, get glitter ready}

{6: apply glitter generously, remember you can save excess glitter}

{7: repeat steps 2-6 over for each color you want to do}

{8: let them dry overnight}

 {9: you shouldn't see any white glue left when you turn them over}

{10: either use a glue gun, or these fab-o glue dots!}

{11: and these wonderful magnets... the thin ones don't work well}

{12: place the glue dot carefully on the glitter, then stick and press the magnet on that}

{13: write the numbers on! woot!}
*if they fall, the magnet may fall off, just reapply another glue dot!*

Onto other crafty things... I gained 2 new teammates this year which is fabulous!! I am loving both of them! Plus I love my other teammate who I plan and do all of my projects with. I decided to make them something to start their year off :) 

 {outside of their box - minus this one's name}

 {inside of one of the boxes - all items we all need!}

{all 3 of the boxes in different colors}

Sometimes we all have kiddos that need charts, papers, or things and I needed somewhere to keep that stuff. He loves basketball so I thought this would be a bit of encouragement, and a little less girly than the zebra one I was storing the stuff on.

 {front and back of the basketball clipboard - i love those textured sports ball papers!!}

I kept on fighting the whole "Where Are We" chart so students could put a magnet or whatever for where they are. I've never really needed it, because I've only really had kiddos that go to the bathroom, occasionally another teacher, or occasionally the nurse. Well I have quite a few kiddos that leave and go to numerous other places on different days all throughout the day. I can barely keep track of things. So I broke down and made my own version of "Where Are We" It hangs right on the window near the door so as they leave they remember. Once I made myself one, my teammate wanted one as well, so here they are:

 {obviously mine is the black one, I only wish bathroom wasn't so long, but I guess I can't be too picky!!}

{this is also why I made yet another set of the magnets above}

That's all of my craftiness... then came along Erin Condren. FINALLY!! OMG!! In case you can't tell, I was excited (still am). I checked my phone every 2 minutes to see if my order had shipped. The day I knew it came, I'm surprised I didn't get a speeding ticket. I got home so fast! I wanted to rip it open, I even started to, but then I thought I should share my joy with you. So here it goes:

 Now here she is tonight:

And yes, it would have been well worth the speeding ticket had I have gotten one on the way home. I'm so in love with it. She goes everywhere with me, back and fourth, between home and school. It has the gradebook part, the calendar part, the weekly lesson plan pages, and.... drumroll please... STICKERS with all of the important things (like drill, iep meeting, staff meeting, etc.).

If you don't have one, I highly recommend it. It's SO WORTH it!! I promise. I kept putting it off because I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend all that money on one, when school gives up both planners and gradebooks (I should mention they are the most boring planners/gradebooks known to man though). I actually wish I wouldn't have put it off all summer, because then I would have had it before school started. She had a sale in August where you got free pens and stuff so that finally made me do it!! (And I should note, in no way did I get this as a giveaway or did she ask me to post this or anything, I just needed to brag about it! LOL! I also thought someone may have been hesitant like me, and needed a real opinion!!)

If you want to check it out, here's where you can find it on her page:

{teacher's planner}

That's the stuff I have now, but there are about 5 million other things I want to share with you. A few new things I've been making and implementing in my classroom. I promise I'll get on that this week. I also noticed I have over 1500 visitors on both here and facebook, so I'm in the process of coming up with a giveaway! If I can get over this cold I'll do it ASAP :) I hope ya'll had a great weekend!! Football starts Wednesday, if that doesn't get you excited I don't know what will!! :)

Back to School Papers

Now I know the last thing I should be worried about right now is my papers I need for back to school, but my main goal for this summer was to bring home all of my binders to organize. I honestly don't have that many. I have my messy tendencies and I can be a temporary hoarder... like for instance throughout the year at some point there will become a huge pile of masters for different things we did. It looks horrible, but by the time the last day of school rolls around the majority of them are recycled. This is why my file cabinet sits empty year round just looking ugly and taking up space. I do not believe in using file folders for papers, not do I believe in keeping things just because "one day I'll need it." I know I'm probably in the small percentage, probably like the -1%... yea I said negative... that does this. Most teachers I know keep things, everything just in case. I have become a thrower-outter. My wordage is fantastic tonight!! ;-)

So anyway, aside from trying to convince you to join my thrower-outter club, I thought I'd share the major papers I use at the beginning of the year. I keep a binder just for these specific papers, each master in it's own sheet protector, along with the forms the school gives us (food form, library form, internet form, 3rd grade district goals, etc.) that way I just take it to the copy room, copy what I need and tah-dah I'm done!! :) There are only a few, but here they are:

{back to school forms}

On a totally side note, anyone else live in the Chicago area? It was like 8 million degrees today? The boy and I went on an adventure because this girl was determined to find a specific bathing suit from VS. Yes, he went on the adventure with me, his idea. Amazing. We managed to find the smallest VS ever, combined with the Semi Annual and the 100 degree heat... made for a miserable Christie!! But anyway to add to it, it hasn't rained in like, I dunno, forever. It's supposed to continue to be miserable for like ever. Thanks for listening to my rant :) Hopefully you're nice and cool somewhere! Nighty lovelies!!

Classroom Binders

I started my first year teaching with take home folders, just like everyone else I knew. Within about 2 months those folders looked AWFUL!! I wish I would have taken a picture of some of them... but come on... you know what I mean!! So I asked the parents to donate a binder or 2 bucks for a binder. I actually had a parent donate a bizillion of them which worked out great. They weren't a big deal, just a great replacement in my frantic first year. (Note: if you're a new follower or don't know much about me, I was thrown into a 1st grade classroom fresh out of college 2 weeks into the school year. I had 1/2 day to set up a classroom and meet my new 30 smiling face. Survival was the word that sums up my first year!) My second year I turned them into a much bigger deal, and by last year I perfected them a bit more. I HIGHLY suggest you use this system of organization, or at least one similar, as it is a lifesaver!! Here's all the basics:

Binders: I usually go to Sam's Club and buy the 6 pack of 1 inch binders. I think they're usually about $10-11. They are the binders that have the see through pockets on the front, back, and spine. This is key for me because I can put the covers on and label the spines. I always let the kids make a picture for their back cover. It gives them a sense of ownership. This is one of those many things I splurge on for my classroom, but you could always find ways to use classroom money, ask parents, get donations, etc. *I should note my OCD doesn't allow most of those options because I need all of them to match! ;-)

Pouch: Around back to school time you can usually go to Target, Walmart, etc. and find pencil pouches that have the 3 hole punch for a decent price. I think I should them for 15 cents or something last year. I'm sure bargain hunters can find them for even cheaper. I put these inside of the binder at the very front for money, notes, etc.

Labels: I use address size labels to label the different parts. I usually put one of the spine with the number or name of the students. I also put one on each of the pockets that say "take home" and "stay at home" or similar. I also put one on the pouch that says "money and notes."

Storage: I buy file folder storage crates (see below). I usually get 3 of them and that takes care of a class of 25, barely! If you have more, or you need a little more storage room get more. I put hanging file folders inside of these storage crates and then the students place their binders (spines up) in the folders. The kids place any papers that need to go home in the files and at the end of the day students just grab the whole folder, bring it to their seat, empty it, organize, then bring the folder back. It works phenomenal, way better than mailboxes. Here's a post that has more of a description on that: Binder Storage.

So those are the basic tools I get to organize them. Then I print out the covers and the inserts to go inside of them. I usually print the covers in color at Office Max, then laminate them just for extra durability. It seemed to work really well this last year. I have a table of contents as well as rule page, and cover pages for each of the major sections. I organize all of these at home, usually putting my parents or friends to work ;-)

I have made some covers in the past, as well as insert pages and such. I have made some for this year as well. There are many different acronyms you could use, but I have STRIPE (to go with the zebra theme last year) and DOT (to go with the polka dots or just in general because it's simple and easy to the point). I am thinking of doing a DOT Binder or possibly a BRIGHT Book. I have made some different versions of covers, but I've kept the cover pages and contents more basic. This way they can work for almost anyone with most themes. I'm trying to go for bright and simple this year. Here's what I have so far. Feel free to request things... I can't promise I'll make them, but I'll add to it my ever growing notebook!!

{dark dot covers}

{light dot covers}

{chevron stripe covers} 

 {zebra stripe covers}

{dot binder inserts} 

{stripe binder inserts}

I hope that helps! I'm really thinking I'm going to do this whole BRIGHT Binder things, just because I'm going to have a load of kids I had 2 years ago with the DOT Binder and I'd like them to have something new. If and when I complete that I will post that as well. A few tips for google docs. Make sure you download and save the document to your computer. Often, backgrounds and fonts don't show up correctly or even at all on the direct page. Also, please don't request for me to share with others. Just send the link to anyone you want to share the document with and they'll be able to download and print away. If you share with others please credit back to me! :)

** I know the pictures only show one grade, but if you click on the link each file has a cover for grades 1-5!! :) I have had kinder requests... I guess I didn't think kinder teachers would use folders or binders, but they do!! I'm in the process of making them as well :) **

Classroom Jobs

I'm thoroughly convinced as I've gotten in my mid to later twenties (what exactly is 27 considered these days?) I've developed ADHD. I never remember having it when I was younger, but I'm confident I have it now. What got me thinking about it is how I have about 45 tabs open in Google Chrome right now and somehow I stopped all of those to post about classroom jobs. I got a message the other day about someone who was looking at a post about jobs, but wasn't sure what most of them were, so here's my description of the classroom jobs I have narrowed mine down to.

Line Leaders – My class always have secret agent numbers (just their number where they are in ABC order). They line up in their 2 lines (boys and girls) in number order. My line leaders obviously get to be at the front of the line for the week. These students are also my bathroom monitors. They make sure the kids are silent in the bathroom and make sure the kids are moving in and out so we’re not at the bathroom for 5 hours. They also make sure everyone is out, and when I see them at the end of the lines waiting outside the bathroom I know we’re done. So I suppose when we leave the bathroom they are technically line enders. I’ve seen teachers do bathroom monitors right behind line leaders as well.

Line Enders – Obviously the opposite of a line leader, they are at the end of the line. They make sure everyone is out of the classroom and everyone in front of them in line is behaving how they should in the hallway. I am very strict in the hallway and I expect them on their absolute best behavior. They also should close the door or turn off the lights off if I need them too. They don’t always like being at the end, but for me it’s a huge responsibility because they’re watching the whole class.

Paper Passers – These students pass out papers when we’re doing classwork, or help passing out any other tools/manipulatives. You must teach them how to pass out papers, especially if you rearrange the room. It took me 3 years to realize this. It’s a disaster if you don’t really remind them constantly how to pass out papers. Don’t forget to reteach them if you change the way your classroom is arranged. They also must know where to put the extras. I know give me a speech about saving paper! But you need extras! They always lose things or do them wrong.

Homework Helper s– These students check in the homework from the night before. I also have them do miscellaneous other things depending on what was for homework. Last year I was lucky enough to have math workbooks so one would check the homework in, the other would pass them back. I may have one put stars on the homework if it’s all done, or sometimes there are more than one assignment so they’ll take turns. I DO NOT take grades on homework. I always thought that was common sense, but apparently it’s not. That’s why as long as it looks done I’ll have students put a star on it.

Substitute – These students fill in for anyone that’s not at school that has a job. They also may do miscellaneous other jobs for me if other students are busy. I am also not afraid to fire students if they aren’t doing their job, in that case the substitute would take their place.

Behavior Patrol – I have a clip board next to our clip chart that has the students down the left side and dates colors or dates at the top (I don’t remember! Oops!). Anyway the behavior patrol goes to the clipboard at the end of the day and makes sure that all of the students who moved a clip/magnet are marked on the clipboard. It’s also their responsibility to call over students who changed colors to check their behavior logs. This is another job for responsible, very trustworthy students who you know will tell the truth and do their job everyday.

 Insurance Officer – This person is there as insurance, just like the job says! If someone has a messy desk, this person helps them out. If they spill something, they help them out. This is a great job for that student that loves helping others out. It’s also comforting for students to know that if they have a messy desk, can’t find something, spill something, or don’t know how to do something they can go to the insurance officer and ask them for help. Some weeks this person doesn’t do much, other weeks they are the busiest person in class!!

Librarian – This person/people take the library books down in the morning to the library. I also have these students occasionally organize the library bins and students book baggies/bins. They are also responsible for making sure the room is cleaned up (no books, bean bags, pillows) around after we have had independent work/reading time.

Absence Insurer – This is another job for responsible students. This student is responsible for writing down the assignments/activities that occurred during the day for any students that were not there that day of class. I have sheets that students fill out, and then they make sure at the end of the day they organize all of the papers into the absent folder for them. This job is key in 3^rd grade, as we have grades in our district and absent work needs to be made up.

Messenger/Reporter – This student takes any messages to other teachers as well as their more important job of taking down things to the office in the morning. In our district we take a hot lunch count and collect lunch money, as well as any other money that comes in and send it straight to the office. They count how many kids have moved their numbers to hot lunch and take any money or notes down to the office in the morning.

Clean Up Patrol – These students check the floor everyday at the end of the day. They check to make sure all scraps are cleaned up. I am very strict about this. We talk about how this classroom is ours and it’s like a 2^nd home/bedroom and how we have to be responsible as a family to clean up our classroom. They also make sure the tops of desks are cleaned and on Fridays the chairs are stacked so the custodians can clean the room up. They also make sure cubbies (our cabinets where backpacks and stuff are stored) are closed during and at the end of the day.

*These jobs are more used in a classroom that has an economy. Unfortunately because of the fact that our district had accelerated and general classes this year, which therefore meant kids switching classes (think middle school/junior high), I wasn’t able to keep the economy*

Banker – The banker cashes checks that students have. They run the cash register as well as the store. They make sure they are giving the correct amount of cash out, as well as making change when students buy things in the classroom store. They have to make sure they stamp cashed checks as well so students cannot use them again.

Payroll – This person writes down who had what job so I can write checks out to students on Thursday nights. This person then passes out paychecks on Friday so they can be cashed later by the banker. They also can assist the banker in the classroom store.

I hope this helps someone come up with classroom jobs!! If you still have questions let me know! I'll be creating new job spot posters/labels for this year, so watch out for them! If you're looking for the old ones, search 'Jobs' on the right side under topics and you will find the older ones!!

I am in the process of writing some posts related to classroom management... I've always felt it's my stronger suite, so I'll try to share the things I do. I know new teachers can use any tricks and tools they can find. Plus I am a firm believer that if you are strict/firm with your classroom management you get through things easier, leaving more time for fun educational things. Just keep an eye out at the top for more posts.

Just Admit It...

...you just got finished watching the Jersey Shore.

I can't help it. It brings me such pain joy to watch the Jersey Shore and Teen Mom. It's actually more like background noise, but I do stop my work every once in a while to watch.

I'm been spending some time off the computer getting together all of my stuff. I'm sneaking into school tomorrow so I can bring some of my stuff back, measure my desk, measure my chairs, and move everything so I can figure out how much room I have.

I normally am super picky and crazy about things I see, or ideas I hear about. Normally I have to change them up and really make them my own, but I just couldn't help but be inspired by this post by Create-Teach-Share. Omiword, I love it. I'm already scrapbooking my drawers, but this took it to a whole other level. Funny thing is I've been looking for a cute and useful set of drawers just like this. Every store I've been to has not had one I like, until I found the one in her post. I used pink, green, and yes, you guessed it... Zebra Print!! I pretty much LOVE it!!

Over at my store I posted a new Class Information Set full of goodies to use in your binder. I also posted, per request of one of my wonderful readers, a voice level chart. It's a fabulous idea that I've thought about using in the past, but I haven't ever had a problem with noise. Honestly, it ended up so adorable that I might just have to use it. There are a few other things I'm posting based off some inspirations from my FABULOUS readers!!

Ms. Wendy wanted a blank place for her kids to write their names, depending on what stage of CAFE they are on. So she's going to put this right below the posters, and they'll write on it with a dry erase marker! A new take on the idea of putting post it's under each strategy.

{Find it on Google Docs}

Ms. Tiffany used my book labels, but wanted a sign for the place where her kids return the books. I don't do a checkout system, and I have kids put the books back on their own, but I will use this for the bin where the kids bring their library (school library) books back. So sparkly... 

{Find it on Google Docs}

The class information set that took forever. I don't know why, but in order to perfect it, it took forever. These are all sheets I use constantly. There's a zebra information sheet like the one I posted a while back to hand out to your parents to write down the kiddos information.

{Find it on Teacher's Notebook}

Here is Ms. Laura's request for a voice chart. I love it to the max. It's all kinds of colorful! 

{Find it on Teacher's Notebook}

I've been really slow about getting to bigger customized items, so please stay with me if you're waiting for something. Patience is SOO appreciated. Especially while I get my stuff ready. Depending on how tomorrow and Monday go, I may have to take a customizing break. Eekk... I've been getting overwhelmed though. If you really need something quickly {like one of my bloggy friends who was up at midnight the day before school started and needed nametags} let me know and I'll do my best. Alright my bloggy peeps, I'm away to laminate some stuff while I'm deliriously falling asleep. My 400 follower giveaway is finally coming tomorrow. 

Polka Dots & Signs

I went to the teacher's store today and got way too much. Mi mama is fab-u-lous!! I think she feels so bad for me because she sees how much I spend (probably because her whole front room has been filled with the majority of my stuff since early June!!). She always find the greatest stuff from stores or magazines!! Anyway she treated me to my teacher's store spree today so that was all kinds of amazing. After I do some more shopping tomorrow I'll post the haul so you can see all the goodies I hope I find!! 

 

I'm going to the boy's hometown this weekend, small town for this city girl ;-) so I'm contemplating whether or not I'll be bringing this little ol' laptop of mine (but in all seriousness ya'll know I can't stay away from my bloggy ladies).

I've had quite a few custom questions/orders. I have a few things customized so I figured I'd post some things I've been doing. I'm too exhausted to find new pictures, so look closely cuz I'm using the old pictures, but with new links :)

 

 {Bright Color Polka Dots Poster}

{Primary Color Polka Dots Poster}

{Polka Dot Problem Solving Posters}

@Teacher's Notebook

{Boy Good Reader Posters}

{Previously Posted Girl Good Reader Posters}

A few other things that I've created... my pictures are so icky.

I've been too lazy to find my camera, so I've been using my phone.

I already have my Christmas list... I want a GOOD camera, more than a regular ol' point and shoot!

{This one's so not finished... I ran out of the ribbon color I needed!}

{The pictures make it hard to see! Wah! I'm going to hand it somewhere!!}

That's all for now... I'm sure I'll come up with something while my brain is hard at work tonight.