I'm so excited to share....

  All about my first week of school!

  I'm lucky enough to have stayed in the same classroom AND the same grade level. This is a first for me! That didn't calm my nerves at all. Sleep was my enemy that night!  

    Let me tell you that I was as nervous as the kids. I could see the anxiety in their sweet faces. I hope they couldn't see it in my face!   That Monday morning went well and quickly. We sorted all of our supplies (they get to keep their own things). We even got in some Kagan team building activities. If you walk into my room, you will rarely see my kiddos at their desks. They are always up and moving.  

 
Besides getting to know each other, the procedures, the rules, etc, we also started building our classroom community. We read The Juice Box Bully. We took the Bully Pledge. Each student signed their name and received an adorable card. I used ribbon to hand up the cards. You can find this activity in my ELA Resources for The Juice Box Bully product.

   That Monday ended with everyone smiling and going home the correct way! YES!!!!

Day 2 included the introduction to ELA centers. My ELA Resources for The Juice Box Bully was the perfect way to introduce centers. Everything I needed was there. That includes a technology piece. Students were able to scan the title page and it brought up a video to The Juice Box Bully. My vocabulary cards were also scan-able. This allowed the students to check their work right there and then.

 Centers went smoothly all week! SCORE one for the teacher. 

We also started math. Each day we started math by writing in our math journals. These are from Ashleigh's Education Journey. They are perfectly aligned with what I teach. The kiddos really enjoy writing in them.

I'm a firm believer in building a strong classroom community. I want my students to know they are cared about, not just by me, but by everyone in the classroom. We spent lots of time building classroom community. 
We watched Brave by Sara Bareilles. I didn't tell them why I was showing this video. They discussed the reasons together and then told me. It was eye opening for a lot of them. The lesson was to let the kiddos know that in OUR class, it is okay to be themselves and to show their creativity!
      We also completed activities from my Get Your Kindness On pack.  Included in this pack is a piece about Kid President.
    Never heard of Kid President? Google him and watch his videos. Grab some tissues. Some of his videos are beyond powerful. The kiddos really really really LOVED watching him. They asked each day to watch it. So we did.    All in all, it was the perfect week. I'm blessed with great kiddos that are eager to learn.   How was your first week back? Leave comments below to let me know.    SMILES!  

Meet the Teacher Linky

 

I've linked up with the talented blogger from Falling Into First. She had this amazing idea to get to know one another.

My name is Mary.
I'm 29.
I teach 3rd grade.
This is my 5th year teaching.


Time for a Q and A session:

Q& A Session
 

 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Sticky notes, colorful pens, Crayola Crayons, COFFEE, glitter, anything sparkly.

 IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

I would want to open up a pet rescue center. My dream to is to give unwanted animals a loving home.

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Caring, Optimistic, Devoted

 

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"I love going to meetings after a long day, said no teacher EVER!!"
 

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

My grandparents

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

Merry Mary

 Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

Ability to create peace

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

"SMILE!"
 

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

  Let It Go

 

 Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

Morning Morning Morning

 

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

Get Your Kindness On. It is all about how to be kind. It is something that our world needs a little more.

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU!

I have PCOS and never thought I could have children. I'm so blessed with a happy and healthy little 2 year old.

Bulletin Boards that won't break the bank...

 

 

 

Sadly, weekly Monday Made It has come to an end. Why? Well, there is that little thing we call, Back To School...Dun Dun DUN!

 

I'm officially a teacher again. Summer is done, over, finished, gone.*sigh*. 

 

*Happy Face* Now I get to meet new faces and have a chance to change a life or two! 

 

I have been a busy little bee in my classroom. Let me tell you, that sounds easier then it was. The district likes to save by not turning on the air in the whole school . I live in Florida peeps. It. Was. HOT! I felt like my face was going to melt off. 

I'm blessed to have a wonderful hubby that was there to help me every step of the way. I'm a shorty and putting up bulletin boards and lanterns is impossible for me LOL. 

Here is a quick pic of my hubby in action. 

 

 

 So, I'm a teacher. That means I make tons of money. BAHAHAHA.

However, that little money we do make, usually goes back into the classroom. 

I have a way to make your bank account stay engorged with all of our teacher Cha-Ching. 

 Guess what I used for the background? That expensive bulletin board paper that promises not to fade? NOPE. 

I used a plastic tablecloth from the dollar store. I love the look of it. 

I used left-over paper that I had from a another project for the circles. Yes, that is glitter paper you see. I love to sparkle. The owls were from last year and the tree trunk was paper that was used to cover bookshelves over the summer. I love recycling!

 

Now time to begin this school year. When do you go back? How is your classroom coming along? I'd love to see pics. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

High/Low Linky Party

A First for Everything throws a great linky party each week. 

 

 

 

I love decorating my classroom. Seriously LOVE it. It is so much fun. Here is a little sneak peek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My low for week is that this was my last week of summer. I'm so devastated that I don't get to wake up each morning and snuggle with my princess.  I'm going to miss her so much!!!

Monday Made It- BTS Style and TPT Sale Style

 

    "I love when August starts," said NO teacher ever.    Sadly, August has come and that means the summer is ending. This is my last week of summer. I will be spending it in my classroom, because I'm a teacher and that's just what we do.     

I spent one day in my room last week. I only managed to get one bulletin board done. I really like how it came out. I used a neon green plastic tablecloth from the dollar store. This is my reading strategy wall.  I used my *best selling* Reading Comprehension Posters. This is my Bright Edition. I also have a Chalkboard Edition.    I have A LOT planned for my room. Come back next week to see the premier of it!
   

  This is another one of my best sellers. This is an AR/Reading Counts Clip Chart. This is the BEST way to manage your students' points AND motivate even the most reluctant reader.  I had a student come to me last year. He couldn't read. Yet, he wanted to move his clip up the chart SOOO badly. He started to read and even got help from friends. Then he would go on and take quiz after quiz. Before he knew it, he was able to move his clip again and again!   This is my Bright Edition Clip Chart. I also have a Chalkboard Edition.  I've included the choice of having the chart with OR without clip art. I did this for the older kiddos.   
Have you heard about the giveaway that Mrs. Labrasciano and me created?
  Click here to enter to win Amazon Gift Vouchers (total of $370). If you are a blogger, use the images below and write a blog post of YOUR favorite things for back to school. Then come and link up! The more, the merrier. 

    SALE TIME!!!!    

Do I have your attention now?
My store will be on sale an extra day PAST the sale date. 
Click {here} to visit my TPT store and stock up on all your faves!!!
Here are some great Back-To-School products that are available for 28% off.  

 

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Enjoy your week everyone and remember to smile.

It is HERE! These Are a Few of My Favorite Things Linky Party! Plus $370 in Amazon Gift Cards!

This post contains affiliate links.
    Welcome to our Linky Party. We (Learning Lessons with Mrs. Labrasciano) are SOOO excited to have YOU join us.  This linky party is all about YOUR must haves for Back-To-School.  We want to know what you can't live without during the school year and why. Your tips will help other teachers from all over the world.  Need some $$ to help you buy those MUST have items? We have that covered.  Does up to $370 sound nice? Yup, I said it! You can win up to $370 in Amazon Gift Vouchers. Imagine what you can do with that kind of Cha-Ching!  

 

This linky party with starts now and runs through August 10th.   

 

So what are my MUST haves for the school year?  

This is my #1 thing that I MUST have. I stock up on them. I haven't used the ones with arrows because they are a $1 more than the other ones. I'm cheap lol!

What do I use these for? Well, I use them during my guided reading lessons. Actually, my students use them. They LOVE LOVE LOVE them. It motivates them to read and I get to see what they are thinking as they are reading. 

I assign each color a purpose. For example, blue means, "I've made a connection to the text." If a student is reading and it reminds them of something, then that is a connection. For example, we are reading about apples. A student might make the connection that they just bought apples at the store with their mom. Then I use question to pull more details.

The meanings of the colors changes with the text (fiction or non-fiction). I usually make a quick reference chart for the students to glance at as they read. I also reuse sticky notes. They stick pretty well over and over. 

The next Must have for me are these plastic folders at Walmart. They are only $.50. I attach a 3 ringed plastic sleeve in the middle and their planner behind that. Important notes/ weekly vocabulary words go in the plastic sleeve. These folders are durable and last all year. Perfect!!!

Another MUST have is a rolling suitcase. Not the small ones. I'm talking a real suitcase you would use to go out of town for  week or two. Why? Because I was tired of spending$30 a year on a rolling teacher cart. Those things broke SOOO easily. By using a suitcase, everything is stored safely and it is very durable. I know that it isn't cute, but it is very practical.Yes you will get the comments...Are you moving in or out? But I'm telling you, this is the best way to commute all those school items from home to school. 

Last, but not least, LABELS! Labels for everything. I love using labels from Mabel's Labels .

Have you seen how adorable some of their labels/stickers are? Want durable labels that actually stick and won't peel off in a week? Click the link below to check them out!

So there ya have it folks. Those are my MUST haves for school. Want some more great ideas? Click on the fabulous blogs below. 

Want to link up? Go ahead and write a blog post and include the very first picture in your blog. Have fun!

****Bonus Bonus*****

The TPT sale is going on August 4th-5th Check out my TPT store for 28% savings!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

An InLinkz Link-up