Tweet Me!

Every September we charge into our classrooms armed with brand new ideas we are convinced will change everything.  Some of them don't work out as we planned, but some do.  And they do... change. Everything.

I made this bulletin board in hopes of helping my closure of lessons.  It has done that and more.  At the end of lessons, or during independent work time, I tell students to "Tweet me!"  Depending on my direction, they can tweet anything from one math problem to a question they still have about the lesson or something they learned and are excited about.  They stick their post it note to the board and I can check at a later time (or right then) to see who needs extra help or who still has questions.  It is a great informal assessment and helps me to make sure I am checking on all 27 students in the room.

Tour My Room

I know how much I love seeing pictures of other people's classrooms, so I figured I'd post a few of my own.

For The Love of Reading

I pride myself on creating a classroom of kids that love to read. Nothing makes me happier than when I see my students carrying books with them everywhere. We get excited about books... and want everyone to else to feel the same way.  I made this poster of one of my favorite sayings to use in the center of my Journey to 40 Books interactive bulletin board. Enjoy!

The Seven Habits: Subway Art

Since I've been on a subway art kick, I thought I would make one of my own inspired by Laundry is My Nemsis.

Birthday Bouquet... For the Lazy Teachers Like Me

I fell in love with the idea of the Birthday Bouquet.  It's adorable and something I think the kids would really remember.  I saw this idea originally on More Time 2 Teach.   I love creating things for my classroom... once.  I am not one to have to do it every single year, especially something like that that requires this much cutting.  Yes, I'm lazy.  Hats off to all the teachers who do it, you are much more ambitious than me! 

So I modified the system a bit to make it a little less labor intensive for me.  (Did I mention I'm lazy?) 

I made my own flowers that I cut out and will have laminated.  The students will pick a pencil and attach it on the first days of school.  They will write their name and birthday in wipe off marker on the back of the flower they choose. 

Then on their birthday they will turn their flower in for a little certificate that they take home.  

I realize the point was not to have to give a certificate, but to me, it is a fair trade off to not have to cut these bloody flowers every August! Want them? Click here!

Inspired: Subway Art

So spraining my ankle feels a lot like a death sentence. So much of what I love to do revolves around dancing, and so I'm out of commission.  Luckily, all it takes is a great computer project and I'm completely occupied and engrossed. Still in pajamas at 4pm engrossed.  

I found a few posts on subway art and decided to have a go at it.   I absolutely love them!  A special thanks to Eighteen25 and RemarkableHomes for their inspiration. 

Here is a sample of the collages I made.  The reading and Harry Potter ones are for my classroom.  As you can tell, I love to share. If you'd like any of them, just shoot me an email or comment and I will send them along.  Maybe you'd even think about following my blog too?  Thanks!

I made them square and got 8x8 frames at Michael's to make them look extra trendy. :-)

Nothing Like Accountability

Each night my students are required to read for twenty minutes at home.  This reading log helps me monitor what they are reading and how much progress they are (or aren't) making on their books. As you can see, I like to make my stuff look a bit edgy.  Click here to download. 

Kid Fitness 101

I've been on a fitness kick.  I want to make healthier choices when it comes to diet and exercise.  I've been reading a lot and making some great changes to the way I eat.  There are simple things we can do that allow us to live healthier lifestyles.  I know many of us have Healthy Snack policies in our classrooms, and as part of that I hope to pass on some of the rules I've been living by to my students next year. 


I found a great website for kids to learn about making healthier choices called KidsHealth.org It is likely more geared towards middle school, but it was enough information to help me create my Kid Fitness Cards.  One challenge a week, for eight weeks. Feel free to download the cards below to share with your students or their parents. 

Thanks Pinterest: One Fabulous Bookshelf!

There Are Few Greater Moments Than The Ones Where You Surprise Yourself


So I'm not crafty.  At all.  I am convinced I have a spatial disability (the theory of multiple intelligences says so) and I rarely have any vision to create things, other than on the computer.  So when I saw this book shelf on Pinterest I repinned it... a girl can dream right?  At the end of the school year I realized that I could put a bookshelf on a counter in my room near some dead space.  So I was on a quest.  I refused to pay too much money and as always, Walmart comes to the rescue.  My room has a black theme so I decided to go with a black bookcase. 

And that's when I remembered that fabulous bookshelf I saw on Pinterest.  I have been warned by my fourth grade boys before to make sure I don't decorate the room with anything too girly so I had to switch it up a bit, but in the end... I am in LOVE!  I guess the moral of this story is that there's nothing a girl can't do with her pretty pink toolkit. 

The Journey To 40 Books... One Book Closer

After reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, I was so motivated to ensure my students were reading every day.  We can teach the best minilessons in the world, but if the kids don't have time to practice those strategies, they will never become the readers we strive for them to be.  


For next year, the students will be filling out a card every time they complete a book. They will hang them on a ring on a bulletin board in the classroom. At the end of the year, they will tie the cards together with a ribbon and take home their finished books from fourth grade.   The file can be downloaded below.

Notebooking: Dress Rehearsal

My big goal for next year is to start notebooking.  I absolutely loved the idea so I decided to try it out on my kids before the year was over.  They did an amazing job and it allowed me to start setting up some of the templates for next year.   Here is a sneak peak and there will definitely be more to come. 

This idea was inspired by one of my favorite literacy blogs: A Literate Life.

Because Teachers are People Too: Beauty Arsenal

Too Faced? Both Had Better Be Gorgeous...


So I've been dying to jump into the beauty balm craze but I am very picky about what I put on my face.  But this stuff is a miracle worker.  It is great to put under makeup and most importantly, has sun protection. 

     

Thanks Pinterest: Those Darn Magazines!

If ever there was a thorn in my side...  it was the various magazines and periodicals that I try to house in my classroom library.  I have been saving them for as long as I've been in fourth grade to hopefully stumble upon a way to display them that works.  After seeing this idea on Pinterest, I knew that idea had finally come. 

Oh happy day!

Original idea/source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36644422@N04/5465144996/in/photostream/

Teaching 2.0

When I first came into the field, reinventing the wheel was an everyday task.  Since then, we've got Twitter, Facebook, and of course, Pinterest. Sharing and collaborating with other teachers has become easier than ever, and our teaching is better for it.   I've had my website up and running for eight years now, and I've always loved to share my resources with other people.  After being on Pinterest I realized the way I was sharing has become outdated.  So many teachers that I've met along the way have helped my teaching and my classroom that I want to give back in return.  


As for me, I love technology, literacy and making things look fabulous. Teaching is a lot like advertising these days, we sell knowledge to kids who are hopefully willing to buy it. Here's to the best profession in the world. 


Teaching never looked so good.