BTS in a Flash! Week 1: Teacher Faves

This summer has been positively refreshing!  After the past transitional year, I finally have had some time to surf the web, and I am glad to report that I have enjoyed reading several blogs.  I was so excited to come across Fancy Free in 4th and am eager to participate in the Back to School In a Flash Link Up!  It is a 4 week linky party hosted by three fabulous bloggers:  Layla from Fancy Free in 4th, Courtney from Ramona Recommends, and Jamie from Diary of a Not So Wimpy Teacher!

Here are my top 5 absolute favorites....

 Magic Erasers- I love these guys!  I use them for cleaning just about everything, but I also use them daily as my whiteboard erasers instead of the old fashioned black felt block erasers!-  As a matter of fact, I was able to use the same two magic erasers all year long and never replaced them!!! -You can use them wet or dry, I prefer to use them dry!

Sprayway World's Best Glass Cleaner- Yes, another cleaning product, but I love this cleaner.  It does such a wonderful job with my weekly whiteboard upkeep!  You know how after a week's worth of writing on the whiteboard you have a tint of blue, black, or whatever color your dry erase marker makes?  Well this cleaner "whitens" it back up in a flash!-  It works just as well on the student desk whiteboards. 

 Labels- My nickname is "The Label Queen."  I'm a label fanatic.  I especially love the file folder labels!-

 Table Top Laminator- Like many of you, I love my laminator!  I didn't have one until two years ago! It has saved the day many times over. 

Ticonderoga Pencils- Again, like many of you, I think these are the BEST pencils ever! 

 

Thanks for stopping by, I had fun! Hop on over to one of the hostesses at:

 Fancy Free in 4th,  Ramona Recommends, and Diary of a Not So Wimpy Teacher

to join the linky party!



Monday Made It Link Up

Time seems to have fast forwarded to a new week, and it's Monday again!  I am so glad to link up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics to share my made its. I only have two to share this week, but here they are:

I made letters, to match my color theme,  for a fun WELCOME message for my upcoming class! 

I laid them out on the coffee table to get an idea of how much space they would cover.  The table measures 3'x8"W and 2'x2"H.  (If you like it, click here for a freebie.)  In addition to 4th grade, I also made it printable for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades.

After I cut them all out, they fit nicely in a quart size zippy bag!

 

 This year our entire school is using a "Dr. Seuss" theme, so I have to be creative and mix it in with my fourth grade class.  I made these for the hallway bulletin board....

 

 Well that's all for today!- (I'm headed out to my last summer workshop.  I hope to learn some new ideas!) Don't forget to go check out all the other fabulous blogger link ups with 4th Grade Frolics!

Have a Blessed Week!

 

Updated Blog Look and Monday Made It

Happy Monday Folks! I'm happy to be  linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics to post a couple of Monday Made Its! I'll start with the first project I worked on all week....

I updated by blog with a few changes.  I changed the background, redesigned the header, created new sidebar labels, redesigned the favicon, changed the post divider, and finally, revamped my post signature!

Here's a quick pic of the old one....

 

and a comparison of the new one.......

 

 

What do you think? I like it a whole lot better!

The next project I have to share was for my neice's "His and Her" wedding shower.  It was a fun shower, totally didn't know what to expect. I'd never been to a couple's shower before! I was one of the hostesses and helped decorate.  I wrote on these chalkboard signs for the party. 

( I also made some yummy ranch tortilla roll ups!- I'm not a fan of cooking, so I was proud of myself!)

(Click Here for Freebie)

 

The chalkboard signs influenced my third project... I remade some new Editable Ice Bucket Book Bin Labels for my classroom.  The label piece resembles a chalkboard, so I'll add white chalkboard font when I add them to my library.  It was time they match the rest of the theme.  I had made some for my first grade classroom....they looked like this....

I still had my primary color labels on them last year so they needed to be changed!  When I get back into my classroom, I'll show you what they look like with the new ones!-

And finally a project that's actually two weeks old, but I'm super proud of them!  My mother-in-law is a fabulous seamstress, and she taught me to sew pillowcases!  

My three-year old finally got a big boy bed, and I integrated his nursery items into the "new" room. The only thing I was having trouble with was finding a suitable lime green shade of pillowcases! So I made them!

 

(I also made the picture frames with C.J.B. out of scrapbook paper, but that was before we welcomed my little guy! I just wasn't ready to box everything!- I think this decor will work for another year or two!)

We go back to school August 14th, and school starts the 24th.  I still have a lot to do, but I'm looking forward to next week's link up! Don't forget to check out all the great ideas from the great bloggers linked with 4th Grade Frolics!  

Have a blessed week!

Getting Motivated and Monday Made It Link Up

Well, it's official, my brain is in "Classroom Mode." At the end of the school year our principal passed out grade specific and subject specific books to read over the summer.  She also provided everyone with a copy of the "Teacher Bible," Harry Wong's The First Days of School.  Now the last time I read The First Days of School, cover to cover, was prior to my first teaching year, which was only, (And.... I say only to make myself feel young...) 17 years ago! Well I'm in the middle of its latest edition, and must ask, "Why haven't I read this every summer since?"  I'm so glad that I am rereading it!- As I am sure you have either read it before or currently rereading yourself, it is definitely the motivator I need to get the school ball rolling!-So with that in mind, I am linking up with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics Monday Made It.

Last Year I changed my classroom color scheme to an Aqua, Yellow, and Gray theme. I'm going to continue with that theme, but I am adding some black to it.  I had a Birthday Chart that seemed too dull, so this year I am going to integrate these small birthday pennants. If you like them, please download them for free. (Just click on the picture below!)  I made them editable, to add student names!- I'm going to wait until I have a class roster before I print them out.

This past week I also made the familiar Mod Podge clipboards. It's my first time to ever use Mod Podge, and I think I'm hooked! It's so easy.  I made a clipboard for each of my fourth grade team members as their beginning of school gift.  I'll add a pencil pal to hold a pen or pencil to it, and on the back side will be a large STOP sign.  What is the purpose? Well, we have to have a dismissal chart to log how our students leave at the end of every day. We pass out clothes pins to each student at dismissal and as they leave they return the pin to us and we write down how they went home. I don't know who thought of this idea, but it has definitely helped with making sure our kiddos left safely.  This clipboard will hold the dismissal chart, the clothes pins, and a handy dandy writing pen.  However, last year, there were times when we had to act as a Crossing Guard.- You know all about school zone drivers...- So hopefully, the STOP sign behind the clipboard will help us multi-task. I'll let you know how it works out!



Another thing I created for my class this year is a new calendar.  I was walking down the endless aisles at Hobby Lobby and came across this Dry Erase Magnetic Calendar...

I loved it, so I made some aqua, yellow, and gray patterned calendar numbers and monthly headers to match my room!  I can't wait to hang it in the classroom!-

Click on the picture to see the file on TPT.

 

 

The big box store has school supplies out, and I'm excited! The stockers and cashiers can always spot us coming.  We're the ones trudging through the cardboard box filled aisles while they're trying to stock the notebook paper and crayons.  We're also the ones buying 24 of every color two pocket folders you can find. You always get the same look when the cashier has to stop the conveyor belt to count them all out, followed with..."Are you a teacher?" Yup, that's us...and proud of it!

Well I saw these matchy, matchy binders and could not resist...

 

I created front and back cover pages and a spine label for my Lesson Plan and Data Notebooks! 

 

 

That's all I have for today, but look forward to sharing in next week's link up.  Don't forget to check out all the bloggers linked up with 4th Grade Frolics!

Have a Blessed Week! 

July Currently

Well half the summer break is over!  I have enjoyed it so far, but like most teachers, the day after school is out, we already have all these ideas in our heads! 
This past school year was a whirlwind of newness.  I survived!-  I honestly felt like a first year teacher!  I made a move from first grade to fourth, and boy was it challenging!  All in all, I learned a lot and I realized that I love fourth grade!-  I was not the best blogger, more like not a blogger at all this past school year, but I'm not calling it quits yet!-  So here I go again.....
I am linking up with Farley from Oh Boy, Fourth Grade, for the first time. 

Listening: I'm actually sitting in silence while my little guy is napping.  It's so quiet, all I hear is the hum of the ceiling fan whirling and the occasional clicks of the keyboard.-

 

Loving: I am loving the time I am spending with my son.  He is three years old and this is the first summer he has stayed home from daycare.  During the school year, I feel guilty, because I feel like I am not spending enough time with him.  I am sure many of you feel the same.  I think that's the hardest part about being a teacher, finding a balance that satisfies the different roles we carry.

 

Thinking:  I am thinking about all the things I need to prepare for next year.  Now "I know what I'm doing," but I have so much to actually do!- Does that make sense?  Last year was like a first year for me.  I took notes along the way and hope that I can do more than just "survive" this upcoming school year.

 

Wanting: I desperately want to make it outside to trim the overgrown shrubs!-  If you know me, then you know, I am not an "outside" person.  I'm the teacher that brings an umbrella to recess to shade myself from the sun! However, it is the summer, and I want to help my hubby with the yard work, also he doesn't have the patience to trim the shrubs the way I like them! 

 

Needing:  I need to delve in and finally wrap up my organizational frenzy this summer. It started with my son's closet as we prepared to move in some "big boy" furntiture....it looked something like this after I pulled everything out and started....

  

and then after organizing, purging, and donating....

I still need to wrap the other U-Haul Boxes and then label all the toys....

 

 I believe everything has a place and if it has a label, it's that much better off! LOL (One of my nicknames is The Label Queen.) I have been de-cluttering the entire house this summer, and I am down to 2 closets.  I have been organizing, labeling, and cleaning along the way. 

 

All Star: I love to plan parties and consider myself a pretty great party planner.  I love to create the invitations, banners, thank you cards, centerpieces, etc.  The last party I planned was for my son's 3rd birthday party; the theme was Superheroes.-

 

 

 

I've never hosted a brunch before, but I'd like to host a Back-to-School brunch for my co-workers/friends.  We'll see if time allows for that!-

 

Don't forget to visit Farley at

and all the other bloggers who have linked their July Currently.

Have a blessed day!