Freebie for 100!!

I’d like to be all casual and say something like…”I haven’t been on the computer in the past few days, and now I have 103 followers”, but I would be lying…You see I’m ALWAYS on the computer and ALWAYS checking my blog to see if I have a new follower.  {I'm my own blog stalker--is there such a thing?}  A big “Thank Ya!!”  goes out to Third in Hollywood who was my 100th follower.  Head on over to her Super Duper Blog and follow—You will not be disappointed. 

Along with having 100 followers comes with a bit of stress for me.  Now I’m going to have to have some sort of contest giveaway {to pay it forward to y’all wonderful, supportive new teacher friends who’ve shown me so much love}.  Here lies the “FREAK OUT”.  I am horrible for finding just the right thing.  What am going to give as a giveaway?  As my son use to say when he was a bout 3 and had the CUTEST speech, "Hmmm.  Let me tank."  I’m going to let the ideas simmer for a couple of days before I decide on something.  Until then, here’s a freebie to say "Thanks a Bunch!" 

This freebie isn’t anything really big, but it is an activity my team likes to do at the beginning of the year.  Thanks to Scrappin Doodles and DJ Inkers I’ve cutsied it up a bit.  So, here it is.  If you have any questions about it, please let me know.  If you have any suggestions on how to improve it—let me know. 

You teachers out there are just too darn inspiring and I need you to stop it—You’re making me look bad!  JUST KIDDING—Don’t stop!  You are so inspiring—Keep it up!  Teachers really are the best people.  Thank you all for sharing your wonderful creations and inspiring me to attempt to follow in your footsteps.  You’re opinions of my work really matter to me!

Summer Vacation Writing
Together for Our Kids,
Denise

A Reading Website You NEED to READ!

So, I was browsing the message boards on Second Grade Teachers' Club. {Yes—I know it’s Saturday night and this makes me look very pathetic.}  A wonderfully sweet person posted about this must-see site--ReadWorks.org.  I can’t tell you about all the great stuff you will find on here, but I will tell you this—It’s FREE to join and it aligns the strategy you are teaching with your grade level, state standards, and will offer trade books that go along with the lessons it suggests.  Trust me!  Look at it and play around with it.  You will LOVE it!

                                       

Together for Our Kids,

Denise

Advice for New Teachers

I really like this Linky Party.  Fun In Fourth would like to share advice with new teachers.  As an “old” teacher, I feel like I also learn a lot from a “new” teacher, or maybe I’m just reminded of some things—like the wonderful enthusiasm they bring with them and the “I’m going to turn this whole education system around” attitude.  I remember thinking that this school is not going to know what hit them when they see what I can do.  Well, after day 2 or 3 I was feeling a bit defeated and even more overwhelmed. 

My advice—

1)  Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Don’t freak out if you forget  to send out report cards on Thursday and you send them home a day late, your forget to call a parent, your late for specials—again, or you had to be reminded everyday this week you need to do attendance. 

2)  Make sure you greet each child each morning with a smile.  You will be amazed at how YOU set the pace.

3)  Follow your instincts.

4)  Be VERY nice and make friends with the people who actually run the school—the custodians, the secretary, receptionist, and attendance clerk. 

5)  Don’t give up and KEEP GOING!  At least 22 little people are super excited that you are there!

Good Luck!

Together for Our Kids,

Denise

UGH!!!!

Ever have one of those days when everything seems to be going OK and then--BOOM!--something happens that puts you in the worst mood?  That is how today went. 

Good news is that tonight I have dinner plans.  My grade level team meets a couple of times over the summer just to catch up.  I LOVE my team!  I am the Team Lead and I have the BEST team!  Tonight I am going to laugh, eat, have an adult beverage or two, laugh, talk, laugh with some of my favorite people.  We have 6 on our team, one man, and obviously the rest ladies.  We have so much fun together, I know that the minute I arrive, I will have calmed down over my day’s interruption.  I LOVE, <3, Love, each of them.  Did I mention I love my team?  They really are like my family at school.  I know that if I ever needed anything, I wouldn’t even have to ask, they would just jump in. 

If you LOVE the people you work with.  Show me some love and tell me about them.  I know most of us teach because we love the kids, but tell me about the people that make your job even that much better!

Together for Our Kids,

Denise

Linky Party! Linky Party! Woo Hoo!

My daily routine lately is TRY to get up before 11:00 am (Yes, I have been blog stalking & pinteresting into the wee hours of the night and sleeping till 11).  Back to the story….Getting up around 9, running a couple of errands, stopping by my school, visiting, moving piles of stuff from one spot to another in my classroom, socializing, moving stuff back to the spot I moved it from before, chatting, sighing with an overwhelmed feeling, laughing with some of my teacher friends I see on my way out of school, arriving home and flopping in my computer chair because I’m so exhausted from all this “running around” and wanting to reward myself for getting up so early by checking blogs and pinterest to make sure I’m not missing anything super exciting.  I know, I know.  I am ONE BUSY TEACHER (said with way too much sarcasm).

While relaxing in front of my computer, I came across a really fun linky party that really has nothing to do with school.  Please, click your way over to Oh' Boy Fourth Grade and join in!

Here goes---

Write down what you are currently…

Listening to—My son laughing while watching “Good Luck    Charlie”.  I LOVE hearing my children laugh!

Loving—Next to hearing the laughter, I’m currently loving Sonic Route 44 unsweet tea with lots of lemon and 2 packs of sweet & low.

Thinking—I wonder if my teenage daughter is really going where she says she is?

Wanting—to keep my 3 children little and in our house a little longer (even the 2 teenage ones).

Needing—to relax and stop over thinking EVERYTHING.

Stalking--Quench Your First because Tina and I are great friends and she makes me laugh.                                                   

Second Grade Shenanigans because I just like her blog.

Eighteen25 because it’s Eighteen 25.

And if you must know—I also stalk my own blog hoping for comments or at least 100 followers….Goofy, huh??

Together for Our Kids,

Denise

A Little Classroom Management & Organization

My grade level used to have those cute little behavior ladders that are all over Pinterest.  Last year our principal wanted us to have something that was school wide.  Yes, we could have all used those little ladders all the way from PK to 4th grade, but, the belief was that sometimes one thing doesn’t work for everyone.  So to keep everything “the same” but “different”, we had to come up with a system where PK-K got 7 colors for changes, 1st- six colors, 2nd- five, etc.  The thinking was that the older the student gets, the more they should already know the rules.  So…here is what we use in 2nd grade.  “Wow” of course is going above & beyond.  The students receive positive rewards for staying on green and moving to purple.  We have a school wide ticket system so the students can trade their tickets in for special privileges. (Notice the clips I made—Pinterest.)
                   
Green is “YEA”, yellow-warning, red-10min off recess, blue-call parent.
Those little cards in the holder are “Expectations” (for lack of a better word) cards.  I will choose the expectations before we start each activity.  I added magnets to the back so I obviously won't have them all displayed at once.  They work pretty good.  I also have some for materials they will need—glue, pencil, markers, etc. 

Organization---Here is what I did to SNAZZY up my bins.  This is how I organize my daily lessons.  Each box has just about everything I need for the day.  The other bins hold “JUNK”, which is why I wanted to hide it.  I just cut some of the new border I will be using and taped it on the inside of the drawers.  (LOVE, <3, LOVE Dots on Turquoise).


Hopefully I gave you something you can use. 
Together for Our Kids,
Denise