Preparing for Year #5

Hello all!

 As July 4th has come and gone, so has the freedom that my teaching brain has had. Every year I always say that after July 4th, I will go back in the classroom and start working. Well, this year had to be a little different for me...my school won't be open to teachers until the last week in July which leaves me with (wait for it) just 12 weekdays to get my classroom ready for the kids to come back to school on August 10th! Ugh! There is so much to do! Luckily, the principal that I work for knew that I would have a ton of professional development in late July and early August so my time would be limited so she opened up my room for me at the beginning of June and let me come in a few days a week to clean and organize, and decorate to the best of my ability with the limited time I had. So after we returned from Disney, I came in and took 5 of the longest days I could manage and cleaned, bulletin boarded, organized and moved furniture as much as I could before they shut the door on me. While I'm being forced to stay at home, I have been trying to laminate (you can find mine here the pouches here), print, and put together as much as I possibly can before I go back. Here are some of the products that I've been loving as I put stuff together and additionally some things that I have sitting in my TPT cart waiting for the sale. 


1) Freebie Motivational Posters
These FREE and ADORABLE motivational posters are so cute! They will look adorable when I put them up in my classroom. I can't decide if I should laminate them or just leave them be and put them up in my room the old fashioned way. Even though I teach 2nd, I thought I would leave the link to the blog as well just in case you wanted some more inspiration!
A Burst of First Blog

2) Back to School Flipbook 
I'm pretty sure that at this point, Maribell Sheehan should just grab a direct deposit slip into my back account. I've bought so much of her stuff but this is by far my favorite product! It's an editable flip book that you can put together easily for parents with all the information they need about your classroom! I'm in LOVE with how easy and simple it is. I also saw Pocketful of Primary talk about this product, but I started using it two years ago (?) and won't go back. Astrobrights+Adorable Fonts=Impressed Parents!

Maribell's Blog

3) Teach Create Motivate-Class Slides with Timers 
I bought these at the end of the year last year with the intention of using them this August. I'm hoping that it will help my 2nd graders with their self management skills. I'm listing this as a favorite because 12,000 people can't be wrong! I've heard so many people on instagram about this! I can't wait to use it. While I'm at it here is the link to the blog coordinating with the product!

Ashleigh's Blog

So there you have it! Those are the three products that I've been working on this week preparing for school to start in August. Until next time, I leave ya'll with my husband and I's 1st anniversary pictures. We ate our topper and strolled through NOLA while eating Snowballs. We had a fabulous shoot with our photographer!











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It's Summer!

Dear Other Teachers,

Its SUMMER! Sleeping late. Working out when nobody is at the gym. Drinks (sweet tea) by the pool. Lets get it started!

Whew! Now that I’ve told you my summer plans, I am so excited to announce that I’ve accepted a new position in 2nd grade at a public school in Louisiana beginning this August. Of course we all know I won’t be stepping foot into that room for the first time in August. I’ve already emailed my new principal about getting my keys and seeing my new room. Hopefully she won’t think I’m crazy. I know ya’ll have to be thinking about next school year too!


Speaking of next school year, is anyone else as in love with new classroom books as I am? In my house right now I have a huge tub full of nothing but children's books. As I've been making my rounds through the kids section at Barnes's and Noble I discovered this book called She Persisted, 13 American Women Who Changed the World written by Chelsea Clinton (no political connotation intended). If you have young girls in your classroom, you NEED this book. The theme of the book is of course She Persisted and frequently you hear it repeated through the book as the stories of girls changing America is told. Just a few stories included are Ruby Bridges, Claudette Colvin, Virginia Apgar, Sonia Sotomayer, Sally Ride, Oprah Winfrey. Here is the amazon link (I'm receiving no compensastion for the link...)


Once I started taking a look at that book, I was inspired to buy a few more books that celebrate women and girls in my library. Here are a few books that I purchased. Some may stay on my read aloud shelf for reference and others will be put into my library for students to read at will. One of my hopes is that young boys in my class see this and think of their female peers as equals

1.Women in Science:50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World 
2. The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with Chimps
3. Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote 
4. Amazing Grace (remember this classic?)
5. Catching the Moon 





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DISNEY!

Hi everyone!

Much love from New Orleans. We’ve made it through the Mardi Gras season without too much trauma, and lots of King Cake. We’ve also completely immersed ourselves in spring (which oddly enough is like summer here80 degrees most of March), and my students can tell that we only have 38 school days remaining. I mean, it’s full on jungle madness at my all-boy catholic school. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, so my rain boots will be coming out while still trying to dress in a cute way for mass.

Two updates

WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! Yes, we have officially booked our anniversary trip in June to go to Disney. We decided to splurge on a nicer hotel and are staying at the Polynesian Resort. We will be there for a full 5 days! I’m so excited! Just not about the airplane ride over there. It’s only an hour or so from here by plane, but oh my goodness, I’m terrified. Just ask Elijah, who had to hold my hand and let me cry into his shoulder the entire way from Alabama to California last year. Not a fun plane ride. SighI suppose I’ll have to talk to a doctor of some sort about what to do to make this a little more of a fun ride. iPad fully loaded with Disney movies and Bose Headphones I suppose.


Starting the week right tomorrow with some Starbucks!
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