Currently: November

It's here! It's here! November is here!! I'm linking up with Farley for her Currently link-up!

Listening: I'm a BIG fan of T.Swift's new album! She and I were on the outs for a little while, but I'm digging the new stuff! I'm also listening to and LOVING the new Christmas album from Pentatonix! 

Loving: THIS SEASON!  The November - December holiday season is my absolute favorite time of year. I LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas. LOVE THEM. I love every single little bit of it from the colors and the weather to the shopping to the family to the thankful and joyful feelings. I love teaching about the season and building it into the curriculum. So when November 1 rolls around (I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween) I'm happy as a clam!

Thinking: My class website needs a re-vamp! It's time.

Wanting: iWeb to download faster! My hard drive crashed two weeks ago (and I lost a TON of stuff regardless of backups) so I've been spending a lot of time getting everything back in order. iWeb got lost, and I found a way to get it back, but now it's taking forever!! I just want to get started on previously mentioned class website revamp!

Needing: more hours in the day. Don't we all?

Reading: Leaving Time, by Jodi Picoult. I've only gotten a chapter in, but she is a word craftsman. I love her books. The Storyteller is my most recent favorite by her, but I also loved Handle with Care and Change of Heart. To the munchkins, I'm reading a Polk Street School Kids book (The Candy Corn Contest) and The Boxcar Children is next up on the docket!

Thanks for hosting, Farley!!

4

Me on the Map!!

I am *particularly proud* of this post. I've been working on this for a while, and I finally got to putting it up on TpT toady! Withour further ado...

My kiddos are learning about communities and the scope of the ones that they are a part of! This flip book is SUPER easy to assemble (you can do it before the kids, OR you can have the kids do all the dirty work!! Score!) and my kids loved it!

Click on the image or click here to head to my TpT store to check it out! On sale until Monday morning!

We talked a little bit about different communities last week, but they did this booklet with a sub!! That's how easy it is!!! They did it (and very successfully, I might add) with a SUB!! 

Check out my Instagram for a chance to win one!!

OH! And while you're heading over to my Instagram to check it out, head over to Frampton's Fundamentals to check out her Quietest Classroom Pencil Sharpener giveaway! She's got a super-amazing-fabulous-incredible-allofthepositiveadjectives pencil sharpener to giveaway (I have one. It's really that good.), plus some goodies from me and some other bloggy friends!

2

Awareness, Acceptance and Love

You might know that this month is a month of awareness – for many causes. One of these is very near and dear to my heart. For the kiddos who have to work a little harder to learn. For the kiddos who might need a little extra help getting there. They WILL get there. On their own time. For the kiddos who just happened to be born with an extra chromosome. It’s Down syndrome awareness month!

I’ve written about camp before. I love my camp. It’s the happiest place on earth - Even over Disney :o) At camp, I’ve been blessed to work with so many kids who have a wide variety of needs. I’ve been blessed to work with, to know, to love a number of kiddos who are – chromosomally enhanced. They are some of the most incredible little people that I know.

For E, who pretends to be a tough guy, but is really just a big softie. Whose hugs are once in a blue moon, but are the best kind. For F, who’s sass is unprecedented, and who’s joy is contagious. For M, who plays a mean game of Duck, Duck, Goose and who can turn on the charm like no other. For M, who’s progress awes and inspires me. For Y, who has taught me so much, and who’s little voice I’ll always love to hear sing Frozen. For R, who’s impressions of Cookie Monster are on point, and who’s got some killer dance moves for the Hokey Pokey.

For K. My buddy. Sweet, spunky, sassy, STRONG, K. Who’s little voice told me, “I love you more!” just this morning. Who is one of the kindest kids I’ve ever met. Who is one of the best helpers (seriously) that I’ve ever had. Who’s loyalty amazes me. Who’s love I’m lucky to have. Who is finding her voice. Who’s hard work and perseverance is untouchable. Who’s stubbornness is nearly as such. Who’s got the best Elsa voice I’ve ever heard. Who’s long hugs (with the pat on the back) can turn my day around. Who amazes and inspires me more than she’ll ever know.

October is about awareness and acceptance. Because friends don’t let friends count chromosomes.

(Image via Pinterest)

0

And We're Back!

Today. Today was our first day with munchkins and I'm still standing! Well...sitting. My feet are too tired to stand anymore. Plus, I still have about 823509223489 things to do. Give or take.

Just a couple of snapshots from our day!

I already love my sixteen sweet new littles! Well...I only had fifteen of them today, one was out. Who misses the first day of school?! Honestly?!

We barely got anything done today. I talked. so. much. We did a lot of procedural stuff, wrote a little, launched Read to Self, and did one of my favorite first day activities for the 7 days of creation. I'll show that next week once our laminator is fixed!

I'm seeing TONS of people are going back to school this week/already have gone back to school, so good luck if you haven't! For those of you who are chugging along - it's almost Friday! We're over the hump! Happy First Week! :o)

0

Teacher Week - Why Wednesday

Today's link up for Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week is WHY - all about organization!! Like every teacher, I know that setting yourself up for a great year means setting yourself up to be organized. Here's a peek into how I keep myself organized in my classroom!

The center of my teacher-organization world is the cubby behind my desk. There's an upper half and a lower half. Here's the upper half.

There's actually another shelf above that stores my binders - curriculum standards, student data files, testing materials, etc. Bo-ring!

Anywhoodles. This is the main part. There's my Trusty Teacher Toolbox, various markers and folders, pencils like crazy (the neon ones are mine, the glitter ones are fancy pencils for my kiddos, only to be used for fancy writing! They only come out on special writing occasions.) and my sticker box. More on the white set of drawers in a minute.

I would lose my head without this toolbox. Lose my head, I tell you! I chose not to put labels on the drawers, because I like to see everything in them. 

I've had various different versions of this over the years, and I like this one best. Three drawers. Things to Copy. Things to File. Things to Prep. Easy peasy. I like to try and use the first 5 - 10 minutes of my specials to deal with the stuff in here. That way, the stuff doesn't get too overwhelming!

This is where all the copies go. Once it's copied, it goes into a drawer for it's particular day of the week. (There's also a drawer labeled "Next Week" for when I'm REALLY ahead of myself! :oP)

When I file things, they go in my file cabinet. My reading files are filed by unit, but math/science/social studies/religion are all filed by skill. I have a few theme folders too for holidays, etc. I keep my centers and activities in here, stored with all their components, in plastic baggies and labeled. I go to start Unit 3.4, I pull out the centers for that unit on Monday morning and I'm golden.

Although I'm starting a new reading series this year, so this system could be thrown way off. We'll see!

Now, this is the bottom half of my teacher cubby. It's dedicated to my planning.

Teacher's manuals and master copy booklets go in the blue bin labeled "manuals." The green "planning" basket holds all the current Teacher Editions of the books I need - it's currently housing Unit 1 for reading, the first half of our math book, our religion book, and penmanship. To the left of the blue manuals bin sit the other teacher editions that I'm not currently using.

Bottom shelf - baggies in the white bin (easy access), all my cardstock in a file box, (filed by color) and the blue basket with the "Teaching trade texts" in it - various different books that I like to teach with and have at my fingertips, like The Amazing Pop Up Grammar Book! 

This bottom half of my teacher cubby helps my planning time A LOT. Everything I need is at my fingertips, and I don't have to go looking for it.

The top half keeps my messes at bay and helps me have all my materials on hand at all times - I don't have to tell you how much easier it makes life in a classroom!!

I can't wait to see what everyone else has in store for Why Wednesday!! :o) Thanks for stopping by!

2

Tuesday: Where?

Linking up with Blog Hoppin' today for my not-so-grand classroom reveal! My room is pretty much all done, but it's not DONE done, you know? Anyway, here's what I have!

This is my big chalkboard/whiteboard. The far side of the white board is where the week's spelling words will go, the middle section is my in-progress focus wall where our "We can" statements will go, and the blank one is for writing! I'll hang anchor charts in the empty chalkboard space. I LOVE my birthday wall too, just above it all!

Our Math focus wall/door and our "command center" with mailboxes, the pencil sharpener and the lost and found box!

Computer area. Table and rug courtesy of IKEA!

Book bin cubbies - again, shelf courtesy of IKEA/classroom hand-me-down from Mom's classroom.

My back wall with my Daily 5 board and library.

Love. My. Library.

Front of the room with the SMART board and my religion board.

My mystery book envelope, our cubby labels, my desk and my bathroom passes near the door...little odds 'n ends!

My teacher cubby right behind my desk.

Our class mascot, Squirt! His speech bubble is cut from the GoWrite dry erase stick-on vinyl.

My religion board. My Instagram followers got a sneak preview of this...it's possibly my FAVORITE place in the room! Our collection of crosses, prayer ring and our school's motto. The Jesus is from Melonheadz - I projected Him onto my SMART board, traced, cut, colored, and laminated! The quote is inspired from the one Babbling Abby made for her son's room. 

Storage in the back - not too bad! Love the labels :)

In all reality, this is what I'm seeing when I look at the whole room - I'm not in bad shape, but it's not 100% where I want to be. Not to worry though - kiddos don't come until Wednesday the 27th!

5

Meet the Teacher!

Linking up today with Blog Hoppin' and Stephanie from Falling into First to Meet the Teacher!

My name is Emily, and I'm a twenty-something teacher-blogger from Connecticut!! I teach second grade at a teeny Catholic school in my hometown and I el. oh. vee. ee. it! LOVE. I'm a 4th year teacher - I taught PreK for 2 years, but was moved up to grade 2 last year and I found my happy place! I'm REALLY looking forward to this year because I'll get to have some of my kiddos that were in my very first class! They were 4 years old in PreK with me, and now they're coming into 2nd grade!! Woohoooo!

I work at this amazing day camp for kids with special needs in the summer called Camp Happiness. It has formed who I am as a person and has had an enormous influence on me as a teacher.

Onto a little bit more than just the teaching though....

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...
Target. Harry Potter. My friends. Going to country concerts. Shopping. Photography. Reading. My family. Zumba. Mozzarella cheese. Music. Singing. Organizing. Planners. Teaching. My students. Being a camp counselor. My campers and my camp staff. Crafting and craft stores. Emojis (you know, those little smiley faces in your phone...if I could use one right now it would be the smiley face with the heart-eyes!) Summer time. Pumpkin spice everything. A good burrito.

 IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?
I've always wanted to be a teacher. Always. For about three seconds in college, I thought I wanted to teach secondary ed/history, but then did one observation and laughed at myself for thinking I could be anywhere but primary. Anyway. If I were doing a job in which I was not working with children, I would DEFINITELY be doing something with forensics. SO COOL!

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Creative. Organized. Loyal.

 
 FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"
"No, we don't need more recess time!" said no teacher ever. 

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?
Definitely my boyfriend Justin Timberlake, my girl J.K. Rowling (I have a lot of questions,) Harry Potter + co. (can I invite fictional characters?) and obviously my friends and family! It's not a party without them!

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

 Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?
 Teleporting (or apparition, for all the rest of you Potterheads out there). It would really just make life a LOT easier!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?
"I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it." - Maya Angelou
 
Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 
 Killing Me Softly. I sang it for my audition for my a cappella group in college and it boded well for me then! :oP
 
 Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?
DEFINITELY a night owl. My mother can attest to that - she's been trying to change it for YEARS!

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

Probably my newest one - my monthly reading logs! I have a few more resources in the works too, but right now this is my favorite!!

Well...that's me! Link up with Stephanie and Blog Hoppin'!

2

A Jumbo-Pack of Five For Friday

My blogging has NOT been up to par. I blame it on camp craziness. And summer making me feel lazy. And the fact that since camp has ended, I've been in my classroom FAR too much, coming home and crashing. Alas! Here I am! I have a few other posts to catch up on so here they are, all inside this Mega-Stuffed Five for Friday...on Saturday!

My LONG OVERDUE Slant box reveal!!

I was paired up to give to Beth from Morrow In The Middle and I had such find finding bright, sunshine-y things to send her! 

I was paired to receive from Jennifer from Stories and Songs in Second and she sent me the. best. slant box. EVER. Seriously! She spoiled me! :o)  Take a peek!

I opened my box up to find this...

Fun post-its and notepads and SCENTOS!! PEOPLE! I can NEVER find Scentos and after reading so much and hearing people gush about them, I've been dying to try them! THANK YOU JENNIFER!

She also put these things in two of those awesome lime green mini-crates that go PERFECTLY in my library! You rock, Jennifer!

This sweet little chalkboard was included with some paint pens so I whipped this up! :o) There's a silver clothespin I have we'll clip to the side!

This sweet little cup with one of my favorite sayings on it!

PETE!! Jennifer and I share a love for Pete the Cat, as I'm sure most teachers do, but these made my day!

And this sweet little bit of sunshine which is sitting in my bedroom as I type! :o)

THANK YOU JENNIFER! for an AWESOME Slant box! I hope Beth loves hers as much as I loved yours!

It was so great getting to know these lovely ladies and I'll definitely be participating in SLANT boxes in the future!

My monthly reading logs are up in my TpT store! Click here to go grab them for $1.00 til the end of the weekend!

Anyone else HATE chalk? I hate it. It's dusty, it's messy and it gets all over everything. Sadly, we only have chalkboards in my school. BUT! I asked my principal if I could take matters into my own hand and he agreed! Thursday, I took a foam roller to my chalkboard and upgraded this baby to a whiteboard! I used Rustoleum's White Board paint kit, and so far, I LOVE how it turned out! Now, I can't write on it til Monday morning, so that will be the moment of truth, but doesn't it look great?!

I've been working like a dog in my classroom. Here are some sneak peeks! Full reveal will come on Tuesday during Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week!

I think I've mentioned my half brother and sister before. They're twins. They're *almost* 18 and they graduated from high school in June. On Thursday, I hugged 'em, and squeezed 'em and gave them older sisterly advice as my dad and stepmom took them down to South Carolina, where they will be freshman at Coastal Carolina University!

A 7 year age gap between us is pretty big, but I'm close with them, especially my sister! I miss them already!!

That's all for now!! I've got a big weekend - going to see a Keith Urban concert tonight and heading to see Fiddler on the Roof tomorrow. A "last hurrah" weekend I suppose - teachers at my school go back on Thursday!! Say it ain't so!

2