Dollar Spot!!

My family and I were in Kansas this holiday weekend for my husband's family reunion. Thankfully he allowed me time to stop at a nearby Target to scope out their Dollar Spot section! Now, from where I live, it would take me an hour and a half to get to the nearest Target :( But, due to us being in a city that had Target in Kansas, I was HOOKED UP! I was able to find pointers, stickers, pencils, letter stamps, ink pads, name labels, number magnets, etc...

I am hoping to use the pink bag (which you can't see because I packed everything on top of it...duh!) as a chair bag. I need to cut its handle and extend it a little with ribbon so it will fit around my reading table chairs. Thought those would come in handy (and cheap) for my students to put their leveled readers in when they come to group time with me.

Student Book Boxes

This is a picture of a Book Box. My students are required to keep their 'BEE' binders along with their books they are reading in their boxes. This (sometimes) helps them keep their desk cleaned off. Also, our school librarian tries to teach out students to keep their books in a safe place. As you can probably guess, books left on their desks or in their desks become "lost" or "stolen", sometimes even worse, damaged! We usually find those "lost/stolen" books. But it's pretty difficult to repair a book that's been written in by a student's little sister/brother; chewed by their dog; left out in the rain; and who knows what other excuses have been spoken.

Students are allowed to get in their Book Boxes as long as I'm not teaching. They're allowed to update their 'BEE' binder or read on their book(s).

Blog Button??!!

I love seeing everyone's blog buttons. I'll copy their codes and put their buttons on my blog. So...why can't I figure out how to make a blog button of my own? You see the little owl in the right hand corner? Yeah, that's supposed to become my button. But, as you can see, he's missing his code. Any help, tips, tutoring, freebies :) would be so appreciated! I'm still way behind on this blogging business...

Dust Pan Award!!

So to keep my students on track of cleaning their desks, I award the 'Dust Pan Award' at the end of every day (after they've left school). I place the dustpan on their desk along with the Desk Fairy note. I also give them $5 (play money...I use the Economy System in my class). Every morning my students will come in and look to see who got the award.

Books!!!

Just a pic of how I arrange my library. I downloaded these labels from Beth Newingham's website (which is an awesome website...check her out). Then I placed colored dots on each book with a number. That dotted number will match the dotted number I placed on the bin labels. It's easier for my classroom librarian to know where the books go. They just match the color and the number and we're good to go. The only problem I'm coming up with is storage. Some of my bins are breaking because we're forcing too many books in one bin.

...Few of My Favorite Things!!

I have loved exploring other blog sites! It amazes me how talented many blogging teachers are!! I have gotten so many ideas to incorporate into my classroom it's crazy :~} Some of the blogs I've read are listing their favorite things they have in their classroom. So, I've decided to share a few of my favorite things with you as well...if you have any awesome favorites that I should know about, leave me a comment...

First on my list...I have to start every morning with a 44 Dr. Pepper.

Next most awesome thing...

CHARTS!! I can not teach a lick without these puppies! The pink lines on my charts are wikki sticks (hope I spelled that correctly). If you don't have any, get some. I use these to underline vocabulary words we're working on or context clues. I can take them off, move them around, trim them, use different colors, etc...They're like yarn dipped in wax. The nice thing is you can reuse them for a long time.

Then there's my laptop (actually it's "our" laptop)

My students love using this to take Accelerated Reader tests on. Plus, it helps me keep my students in the room instead of being busy bodies and wanting to leave class a lot. This laptop was actually received from a grant from Donor's Choose...awesome!!

And finally...

My label maker. A co-worker of mine had mentioned her having one of these. Thought it was a great way to label files, boxes, and tubs.

Just Beginning...

I've officially started my first blog! Yes, I'm a little slow...had to call my brother who is a computer gooroo for help. I felt pretty foolish!

Summer Break has officially begun for me! Our last day of school was May 19. My students and I were ready for a break from school.

Summer School starts June 6 for me and some others. Summer School is such a relaxed environment. We only have our students for three hours. We go to the school library, public library, and do reading activities in class. Fun times!

I hope to be downloading some activities to share with others. Just have to learn how to do it all. Still learning how to design my blog. Thanks for your patience! Also, any advice is very much appreciated!! :)