TPT Teachers Are Heroes SALE!

Hey, y'all!

The Teachers Pay Teachers: Teachers Are Heroes SALE started today!  Hop on over to snag any item in my store for 20% and check out some of the other AMAZING deals! Click the banner below by Jillian Starr of The Starr Spangled Planner to take you directly to my store.

Happy shopping!

Getting Started

Today is our district's 3rd snow day this week and I just learned we will be off tomorrow as well.  Our main roads are cleared but low temperatures are freezing over what snow there is left on side roads and in neighborhoods.  If any northerners saw what our area currently looks like y'all would laugh at us for still being shut down.  However, with a whole week off I have had time to relax, think, and make lengthy to do lists.  

This is my 2nd year of teaching but my 1st year in second grade.  With the grade level and building change I sometimes feel like a first year teacher again.  So here is a question for all of you veteran teachers: What is something you wish you knew within your first few years of teaching?

Please comment below with your feedback!  I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks, y'all.  

I'm Having A Sale!

We have two back-to-back staff days in our district this week.  AMAZING!  We had Monday to finish up grades for report cards and Tuesday is used for whatever your school decides.  My principal has given us the second day to use however we would like.  How perfect is that?!  Time to work in my classroom and get paid for it?  What a thought!   Yesterday, while typing up my report card comments, I was finding myself a bit flustered.  How can I help my parents help their kids?  This is only my 2nd year teaching, my 1st year teaching second grade, but I just needed to figure out something!  I often put together take-home reader folders for my struggling readers.  I put 1-2 leveled books in the folder with a correlating organizer.  The student is to read the book each night for a week and fill out the organizer.  When it returns on Friday I listen to them reading to make sure they have been practicing their fluency at home.  This has been WONDERFUL for some of my little friends, but some parents need more.  When I taught Kindergarten last year I had found a bookmark to send home with parents to assist them in their discussions about the texts read at home, but the one I had used was too basic for my second graders.  

That's the back story of how my newest product was made.  I am looking forward to putting these together at school today and sending them home on Wednesday.  We have 1/2 of the year left so it's time to hustle!  This product, as well as my addition scoots bundle, is on SALE in my TPT store until TONIGHT! Go and grab yours today!

 *PLEASE respect my property that I have spent time to create and do not manipulate.*  Click on any picture to take you to my store to purchase!

Math At Home

This year our district was chosen to test out a program, First In Math.  If it is received well then we will purchase it for next year.  I have read a little bit about it and tried to teach myself the ins and outs by myself, but quite honestly I just don't have the time to become an expert on it on top of everything else I need to do.  Our Math Specialist spoke pretty highly of it so I decided to introduce it to my kids.  I have been quite impressed with how much they enjoy logging on.  
The students earn stickers instead of points for their completion of different games and benchmarks which seems to interest my highly competitive class.  As the team leader I am able to see each students' last log in date and the amour of stickers they have earned.  On my homepage it displays the Top 5 Players as well as a Player of the Day.  I have started to incorporate First in Math into my Dojo behavior management system since I allow them to log in after they practice their fact fluency on FASTT Math during Math Centers.  The Player of the Day receives 1 weighted point which is actually worth 2 points, each Top 5 Player receives 1 Dojo point, and students can receive 1-2 points for logging on over the weekend.  I slapped together a cute little button for the Player of the Day to wear so they can proudly brag as they walk around the building (pictures to follow).  This incentive is new to our room so I am excited to see how this impacts them.  
In addition to being able to see how many stickers each student is earning I am able to see the Top 3 teams in our building.  My kids often ask if I can log on throughout the week and show them the Top 3 teams.  First In Math does not display teacher or student names so we are not quite sure which classes are in the lead, but we know our team name so we check for it.  
First In Math has a place on the site where they break down how the activities correlate with the Common Core Standards.  Virginia is not a Common Core state, but the standards that our district teaches to are similar in some ways.  In my attempts to really understand what my kids are learning and practicing when they log on I went to this page to check it out.  I love being able to see how the activities correlate with what the students are learning in the classroom.  (Click the picture to check it out!)
What at-home computer programs do you or your district use?  

Keeping Them Engaged

As I prepare to head back to school on Monday I found myself thinking about two things; 1. Where did our two week break go?  2. What's an easy what that I can keep my early finishers engaged?  I have a few students who F L Y through assignments during our LA block and they usually just grab a book.  This is great, but sometimes I wonder if they are actually reading or if they are staring at the pages and flipping through.  TPT and Pinterest are always my go to for ideas for my classroom and most of the time I see GREAT ideas.  At times it's not just about how wonderful the ideas are but also if they are practical for me in my classroom.  I found myself, during a period of boredom, creating task cards for my early finishers.  I have a font addiction and find making things myself, although time consuming, makes me happier.

My set of task cards have 20 included LA activities and are numbered.  I am going to have my kids write the number card at the top of their paper to keep track of the activities they have already done.  This is also useful to me so I can determine which activity they completed if it is done on a loose leaf sheet of paper that I would look over.

I have also included a blank template with information on a separate slide with fonts used so you can add your own activities and make the appearance of your added cards identical.  Click here or any of the images to purchase this product in my TPT store!

Writing Process Clip Chart

Well... here goes nothing.  This is my first blog post!  I am so excited, nervous, anxious, etc.

Last week we started our third writing piece of the year, a letter to Santa.  The kids have to give Santa three reasons why they deserve the gift they want instead of explaining why they want the gift.  This has proven to be more difficult than I originally anticipated.

We don't have "Writer's Workshop" time built into our day so when we do formal pieces I find myself moving my schedule around to make my own time.  I have found it to be difficult to keep track of who I still need to meet with without them all writing on the Promethean Board when they are done.  This can become distracting and somewhat chaotic for my kids.  I went all over TPT to find a writing process clip chart that I liked in hopes of making my life a little easier... no such luck.  There were some REALLY great options, but I am a little OCD about what I put on my walls.  Ok... maybe not "a little."  Long story short is you can thank my OCD for this product.

Click here to purchase it at my TPT store!

Just print, laminate, and connect together.  You can use clothespins with the students' names or numbers on them so they can track their progress throughout the process.  Personally, I like to use numbers so I am able to use them again next year.  If I can avoid making something small from year to year I do at all costs. 

Here are some more pictures of the product.  I am a Melonheadz fanatic and just a little bit obsessed with anything bright or chevron.  

I hope you enjoy the product.  Make sure to leave a positive review if you're satisfied.