I am honored...

I am so honored to have been nominated for the Really Good Stuff Best Blog Contest.  Here's the link to vote for me or to view the other blogs up for nomination... Voting starts July 1st

http://blog.reallygoodstuff.com/?p=7173

Trash to Treasure Linky Par-Tay!

I'm really lovin' these linky parties.  I did not plan on posting a second time today, but I wanted to share my trash to treasure final product!  Oh Boy! 4th Grade is on my list now!

Here is my trash ( it was however, my husband's tresure).  It hung in our apartment for a long time, didn't quite get "lost in the move", but has yet to find a home in our new home...until I stumbled upon a home-maker's blog (see previous post here).

So, I thought and thought and thought and decided to turn this into a classroom calendar/dry erase board.

TA-DAH!

I will go back and add in our classroom's schedule when it is determined in the fall.  I've also decided to put a lunch section above the calendar.  I will have a calendar manager that will change our special area and lunch choice daily.  SO SUPER EXCITED!!

The designs and text are written in sharpie on the wrong side of the glass.  I printed what I wanted on the computer and held it up to the light.  The little designs around the calendar are a leaf, a snowflake, and a flower...all found online and traced.  The blog I got the idea from used vinyl stickers, but I don't have one of those awesome machines.  

File Organization Linky Party

Angelia at Extra Special Teaching is having a linky party about how you store your files on the computer.

Here is how I do it...1st of all, I have a MAC computer at my school hooked up to an activ board.  That means that my computer desktop is essentially a large part of my class decor.  I keep my desktop clean of all files except for what I need for instruction that week.

I also keep all my files on a jump drive.  Being a new teacher, I've unfortunately shifted around a lot in the last 3 years.  Having everything set up on my jump drive makes changing schools and computers very easy.

So here's how its set up.

The dated folders contain anything that has my student's names on it, and also sub plans for that year.  Basically anything that is made for a specific class or day during that year.  

There are a lot of folders from my intern year (i.e. portfolio items, behavoir management, and articles).

The 2 most important are the lesson plans folder and the newsletter folder.

As you can see, I've made my lesson plan files similar to a filing cabinet.  There are folders within the "drawer" that tell me the subject.  I've got some filing to do to the reading folder, but this really helps me plan.  I look at the standards for that week, go to that folder and have several activities or flip-charts (fancy powerpoints) to choose from.

I Need Some HELP!!

So I've been blog stalking and I came across a great home making blog.  brown paper packages has some great home projects complete with before and after pictures...so I loved an idea she posted about how to make a home calendar using a frame and glass as a dry erase marker board.

Click here to visit this post.  She goes through step by step of how she made the calendar...

Now you can see hers is focused on a home, but I want something similar in my classroom.  

My frame is more rectangular than this one.  I'm going to put a calendar in the corner like hers.  I think the whole right hand side will be a daily schedule area.

BUT WHAT SHOULD I PUT ABOVE THE CALENDAR ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE???

I'm thinking I want it to be a student interactive calendar so...what should I put there???

1,2,3...GO!

Wish List Linky Party

Really Roper is hosting a linky party about classroom wish lists...what would I like to have in my classroom??

1.  Itunes Money - I love using audio books in my classroom...here's the problem - our library only has picture book sets of books and cds.  Over the years, I've collected some from Wendy's KidsMeals so I've got about 15 novels on cd.  I wrote a grant last year and got a class set of personal cd players and my students had a blast reading longer novels.  I used up the last of my classroom money to buy 2 more on Itunes, but I would love to have more!

2. Personal White Boards...I know, I know...Lowes will cut down the shower board for you and it is so cheap.  THe problem is that I go every year to buy the shower board and have it cut...AND THEY WONT DO IT!!!!!  It is so frustrating because it appears everyone else accomplishes this task with ease, but not me!  I've been to all the home stores in my area, and they all refuse!!!!! Never fear, I just found these at the dollar tree and when my paycheck gets deposited, they will be mine.  

3.  Ideas for this organizer.  I was fortunate enough to be the first one to claim this prize...although in the 10 minutes it took me to put down my lunch and round up students to carry it, someone tried to sneak off with it...

mine is actually bigger than this one...16 total boxes

Joys of Pandora...Part 2

So I recently attended an inservice that fell closer to the waste of time on the spectrum of "boring" to "down right ridiculous".  However, always trying to find the silver lining I did come away with some new ways to use my FAVORITE online radio.

#1 - Game-Quiz/Quiz Switch...this game is where you have some type of flashcards (vocab, math facts, etc...)  Each student has a card and they mill around the room while the music is playing.  When the music stops (musical chairs, anyone?), the students ask their question to the person closest.  The other student asks their question and then they switch.  Music starts and the game continues.

#2 - We were asked to participate in an activity and the "teacher" asked that we complete it during one song.  Good way to control time...

ahh...all the reasons I love pandora radio...

Organized Bulletin Board Letters

I was fortunate to have a mentor teacher during my internship that taught me a lot of practical lessons.  This one was a favorite and something you wouldn't think about until it was a huge messy junk drawer.

She used a large index card file box and set of alphabetized cards like this.

Then like any other file system, she would place the letters behind the appropriate card.  This keeps the cards all contained and in order.  I took the W, and MC and relabeled it to be numbers and symbols.

Love this!!