{Editable} Binder Covers

Getting ready for school is a crazy time of the year!  My days consist of planning and prepping, and my nights are a time when my mind keeps on thinking of exciting ideas.  Even eating has become a time when I am getting ready for school! 

One of the first things I do to get ready for school is getting my binders ready.  Now, most teachers keep the same binders from year to year, but I have an obsession with getting some new ones!  What teacher doesn't love to walk down the Target School aisles and pick up some new binders!?

This year, I wanted to go with bright binders, so I made new binder covers that were black and white.  This will go great with my classroom {matching is a must for me}!

 I wanted to make this product editable for everyone to add their own pages--very helpful I would say!  Also, the product includes binder spines, section dividers and section tabs!  Take a peek!

 

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR {EDITABLE} BINDER COVERS

Meet the Teacher

Today was Meet the Teacher! It was great meeting my new littles and getting all their stuff organized.  As you can see above, everyone organized their supplies into bins to add to our community containers [classroom reveal post coming soon]. 

  Above are a few pictures of the 'Parents Table'.  Here they signed up to volunteer and fill out transportation information.  Also, the class wish list items were here.  Many parents liked being able to grab one item on a bright slip help out the class! These forms and the class wish list are included in the Meet the Teacher packet found [HERE].

My teammate and I had a flip book to discuss important information about our classrooms (flip book not included).  Also, the student gift is a free printable you can find [HERE].

This Welcome page was displayed on my SmartBoard to help parents and students work through Meet the Teacher by themselves, which left me free to greet and get to know everyone!

You can get your Meet the Teacher packet [HERE].

Also, start following me for some upcoming FREEBIES!

Common Core Statements & Student Journals

If you want a great resource to help your students achieve the Common Core Math and Common Core Language Arts standards, this is the product that will be a valuable addition to your classroom.

Included in this wonderful product is every standard written in 'I Can' statements. Also, you will get the headings to display the standards nicely in your classroom. But wait--there is more! In order for your students to track their learning, they will need to journal/reflect on the objectives they can complete. Create these journals with the fun, easy to read tabs and a fun Learning Goals cover to glue to any notebook.

Click here to get your Awesome Common Core Resource!

2nd Grade Common Core "I Can" Statements

I created these "I Can" Statements that correlate with the 2nd Grade Common Core for ELA and Math.  These are a perfect way to introduce and display learning objectives for lessons/units.  Click the links below to get your "I Can" Statements.

 2nd Grade ELA Common Core "I Can" Statements

2nd Grade Math Common Core "I Can" Statements

Class Dojo

As a first year teacher, I came into the school year with great ideas for classroom management.  However, like all great ideas, mine failed for my current students.  Telling one of my 2nd graders to 'Take a Break' was anything but successful.  I was desperate after the first few weeks of school and all my ideas were failing.  Then, I came across one of the best discoveries since peanut butter (or put in your choice of guilty pleasure)...

Class Dojo

(Click Above for Link)

This is a great management tool that will allow you to track not only misbehavior, but students' positive choices.  Below is a informational video:

Here are a couple supplementary items I created to help my classroom become more motivated about earning points.

Click Here to Get the Classroom Management Pack!

         

I use the above rewards to show appreciation for the kids that work hard.  Also, in my classroom, we work as a team, so I wanted to reward team work monthly.  To track student points, I use the Dojo Tracker.

Every day, I announce who had the most points and how they received the points.  This special person gets their name on the Dojo Master Board and gets to sit in a special chair the next day as the Dojo Master.

Finally, I created Dojo Dollars.  If you rather hand out money than track points, here is a link to a FREEBIE printable money that I created.

One Dollar

Click Here to get this Classroom Management Pack!

Thanks for stopping!  Happy Managing!

New Classroom Reveal!

It has been awhile since my last post, but things have changed!  I am now a proud 2nd grade teacher.  I am excited, nervous, and every other emotion that goes on during back to school, but I know one thing...year is going to be amazing!

I have been busy getting my classroom ready for my lovely children, and here is how it ended up looking just before the meet the teacher!

Group Rug:

Calendar:

Classroom Library:

 Writing Center and Word Wall:

Math Board/Listening Center/Word Work Area:

Teacher Desk (I hope to get rid of my desk next year, but for now it is put against the wall to take up less space):

Book Boxes (Gotta Love Ikea):

Guided Reading/Math Table (Looks empty, but will fill up quickly with kids work):

Student Mailboxes and Turn In Basket:

Desk at Meet the Teacher (The Kids LOVED the Cookies!):

Bucket Filling Project

One of my favorite ways to teach kids about helping others and making others feel good is to read the book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

I decided to make a bucket filling board for my students to have a concrete example of the concept.  First, we must gather our materials...

Small Plastic Cups (I found these at Target in the dollar section...4/$1)

Foam Board

Butterfly Clips

Labels

Small Drill



1. Drill a small hole into the back of each cup.

2. Evenly poke holes into the foam board, then use the butterfly clips to secure the cups.
3. Add Labels and names.

4. Hang up in your classroom for your students to enjoy.  Use a bucket on the side to hold hearts, pom poms, or other ways for students to fill buckets.

Morning Message

This week has been crazy and busy, so I have not been able to post; however, I thought I would share my morning message.  It is a great way to expose the kids to print and soon have them reading it aloud with me.  If you use the same words everyday, they will feel confident to join in a shared reading experience. 

I like to include all of the teachers/adults in the classroom at the bottom of the morning message, instead of just my name.  This shows the students that they are just as important in the classroom.

Soon you will be able to write the message with blank spots, starting with the leader names.  Have the leader names displayed in another spot in the classroom, and when they come in they are able to participate in writing the morning message by putting in their own names. 

I will be adding pictures of the completed classroom next week.  The room is going to get a paint job!  New paint for new beginnings!

Schedule Cards

These are what I use to communicate the day's events.  I also made smaller cards to use with an individual student who has a difficult time with transitions. 

Schedule Cards 1

Schedule Cards 2

Schedule Cards 3

Planning Sheets

These are my planning sheets for our days.  I put them into a binder and write important information for myself and any other person who needs to know what is happening in our classroom.  I will be adding more pages that will go into the binder later!  I have the links to these pages below...Enjoy!

Note Sheet
Example Daily Plan

Weather

I just finished creating these weather tags to use during our morning meetings.  Feel free to print, share, and use them!  Happy forcasting!

Weather Tags

Lunch Count

Here is a fun way to track attendence and lunch count.  Label containers with the lunch choices and have kids put their 'lunch stick' in which choice they want to make.  

There are different types of sticks or ways to create personalized sticks.  The following are some neat ideas to try depending on your classroom age or your resources:

1. These are popsicle sticks shaped as people from Lakeshore.  They are on sale for $3.16/12 or $8.76/36. 

Jumbo People Sticks



2. Take pictures of the kids and put them on the tops of the popsicle sticks.  It would be a good idead to laminate the pictures and use a glue gun to attach them. This will just make them last longer.

3.  I found this idea on another blog (Cravings{The Journal}).  She made colorful people sticks with paint.