Accelerated Reader Poster and Bookmarks Freebie

Today was my last day of summer school!!!!  HOORAY!  Now I can enjoy the rest of my summer.  We went on a field trip today to the Natural Science Museum, the Planetarium, and to McDonalds.  I had a blast!  We decided to take the bull horn on the bus and it is really fun to use.  Kim and I pretended to be tour guides as we were riding the bus in the 100 degree weather.  It was really hot!

I created these AR posters and book marks tonight.  Not sure if anyone else codes their books the way we do.  If you can't use them, maybe you can get some inspiration.  Click on the picture to snag them!

Edited to add:  If these colors do not match your school's system, you can print the posters and cover the circles with colored dot stickers.

One Lovely Blog Award X 2.

I thought I was excited when I learned that I had received the One Lovely Blog Award from Second Grade Smarty Pants.  I was super-duper excited tonight when I learned that I also received this award from one project at a time!!!!!  WOW is all I can say.  

Second Grade Smarty Pants is a blog by two teachers from Kansas.

one project at a time is a blog written by a fellow 2nd grade teacher who loves to create projects. 

Check out their blogs and follow them please!

Rules of acceptance:*Thank the person/people who nominated you and link back to them in your post.

*Share seven possibly unknown things about yourself.
*Nominate fifteen or so bloggers you admire.
*Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know and link back to them.

Seven Possibly Unknown Things About Me

1.  I have two dogs;  a Black Lab & a Black Mouth Curr

2.  I love to bow hunt!

3.  I  hate to paint, cut, trim my finger nails.  I am always unmanicured!

4.  I love to hold babies for hours at a time.

5.  I fell out of the car and was almost run over by my mother as a child.

This is really hard, I am grasping at straws here.

6.  I have only highlighted my hair once and will never do so again until I am gray headed.

7.  I failed skipping in kindergarten (I am still very uncoordinated)

Blogs I Nominate

1.  Learnings a Hoot

2.  a year of many "firsts"

3.  Simply Second Grade

4.  Peace, Love & First Grade

5.  Reaching for the Top

6.  Stories by Storie

7. The Frugal Teacher

8.  Buzzing About Second Grade

9.  I (Heart) Teaching

10.  Sweet Seconds

11.  The Grade Two Zoo

12.  2nd Grade Ponderings

13.  Sweet Tea Classroom

14.  Simply Inspired To Teach

15.  The Teacher's Backpack

Rocking Responsibilities

I finally got a chance to work on this tonight.  I know that it is very plain.  This is just the  job description and job application.  I plan on running them off front-to-back on brightly colored paper and sending them home for homework that first week of school.  I included address and phone number so they could have practice with learning this information.  

I will try to decide how I want to display my jobs in the classroom soon and share that also.  I hope someone can use this.  I got my inspiration from Hope King.  I really love her document but really wanted to include a first-aid helper to give out band-aids.  I do not like doing that myself.  We can only send our kids to the nurse if they are really sick. 

First Award

We are having a great time at Orange Beach. Just look at this cutie! The waves are really big. I think I came close to death today as my boogie board was swept toward the shore without me. I had the wrist strap attached and was drug behind it. As in my head was under water while I was being dragged!! As I came to sit for a spell, I checked my email and found that I HAD WON MY VERY FIRST AWARD!!!! I'm so excited.    Yes those are screamy caps. I'm excited!!!  It is the Lovely Blog Award and Second Grade Smarty Pants awarded it to me.   I am blogging from my iPhone now with my new blogger app. I will grab my award when I get home to my computer.

Math Poster Freebie

Sorry I haven't gotten the jobs chart started  completed yet.  Tomorrow will wrap up my third week of summer school with one left to go.  I have been working every afternoon in my classroom.  I am trying to get my room ready by the time summer school is over so that I don't have to step foot in school during July.  Yeah right, who am I kidding.  I really do plan on spending 99% of my time, at the pool, with my kids in July.  I will take my laptop or iPad with  me to design some things for next year.  So hopefully I will have some more freebies in July.  I created this for Kim tonight.  I hope you enjoy.  I plan on creating one in red, black & white to match my room also. 

I am off to go pack for a short trip to the beach this weekend with my sister-in-law and nieces.  I love spur-of-the-moment trips like this.  My boys and I are really excited. 

From Trash to Treasure and a few other projects

Here is the trash!

Here are the tools!

Here is the treasure!!!!

Isn't it precious?  Thanks to my good friend Kim.  She is actually the one who went exploring yesterday.  She came in my room all out of breath.  I believe she said something along the lines of, "YOU HAVE GOT TO COME LOOK AT THIS!!  I have been pilfering (spelling) and I found the perfect thing for your room."

  I had to adjust the screws so the seat would stay on.  I also covered the table in the middle with contact paper and used leftover material from my benches to recover the seat.  This thing was covered in paint.  I just love it and it is now my favorite part of my room.  I love Kim!!  I just know my kids are going to love to read in these next year!

Here are a few more things I have worked on this week.

Got this idea from Pinterst!

I found these clear stones sitting on my principal's desk and took them.  I just put ABC stickers on the top.  I plan on using them for word work. 

This is also an idea from Pinterst.  I will take pictures of the kids to add to each month.

This is my behavior chart that I stole from Abby.  I love that the kids can move up and not just down.

Our school theme next year is Rock and Roll.  You can grab lots of cute stuff from Abby here.

I made these whisper phones to use during Read to Self.  I am also going to use them for Word Work.  The kids can spell their words to themselves.  This will be great for auditory learners.

I used my sizzex to make these for word work. 

These are cut out of foam.

I spray painted the block baskets on top and this red basket.  I couldn't find a red one so I bought a lime green one and painted it with fusion paint.

These giant stars may or may not be missing from the prom room this year. Shhhh!

Here is my next project.  My classroom library.  I think I am going to spray paint all of the colored baskets black except for the red ones, since my room theme this year is red, white, & black.  What do  you think?  I am thinking I could use black baskets for fiction books and red baskets for nonfiction books.  Please leave me a comment and let me know what  you think.  My books are in those boxes and I dread sorting them.

I will leave you with a tip and an inspiration for the night.

Here is the tip.  Keep carpet square samples in your classroom so that you can move furniture around without scratching the floor.

And last, an inspiration.  I have had this poster on my frig for 14 years.  It was one of my best friends who is now in heaven.  She was my assistant for several years until she got her teaching degree.  She had Cystic Fibrosis and was one of the sweetest people on earth.  This sums my life up perfectly.

50 Followers and Rambling

I have been busy for the last 2 weeks.  I am working at summer school (8-12) and then I have worked in my classroom every afternoon.  I am about to get it half-way ready.  I have been taking pictures, but I left my camera at school.  I will post pictures as soon as I have it ready.  I went rummaging with a co-worker today in the room above our old gym.  I found a piece of trash treasure (it will be when I fix it up).  I can't wait to post pictures of it. 

This weekend I will be busy creating a Daily 5/Reading Street/CAFE planner for 1st and 3rd grades per request.  I hope to have them posted in my TPT store by Monday. 

I am excited to see that I now have 50 followers!!!!  I plan on working on a freebie in celebration of my 50 followers this weekend.  It will be a job helper chart.  I know there are a lot of them out there already, but I  am really excited about creating an appliction for the students to fill out.  I am going to make them apply for their jobs!!

My benedryll has kicked in so I am going to bed.  Good  night!

Reading Street Planner Now Available

Edited on 6/27/12 to add that this planner is now available for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd grades in my teachers pay teachers store.

I have posted this planner in my teachers pay teachers store.  You can grab it here.  I am offering this in Word format so that you can change it to fit your needs if you do not use Reading Street.  I hope someone can use it.  Thanks!

My Cleaning List Freebie

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as I am.  I was inspired by this pin today.  I created this cleaning list and laminated it.  I then hung it on my frig to use with a dry-erase marker.  You could just slip it inside a page protector.  I hope someone else can use it.

You can grab this for free here.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Benches and Stools

This will be quick because my hubby is waiting on me to come outside and help him wash my car.  I have been busy this week, along with some other great teachers, working on a pinterest project.  I finally finished up this afternoon and took them to my classroom.

I made this bench out of milk crates zip-tied together.  I then
added a bench seat to the top.  It is also zip-tied on.  I bought
the red crates at Lowes for @ $7.

I also made this 3 crate one.  I am thinking about arranging
these 2 benches in an L-shape in the corner.  Not sure yet.

I made the stools with my teacher friends Tuesday.
The lids lift up for storage inside.  These will be placed
around the rug in my meeting area probably.  I may
make a few more.

Here are the next pinterest projects I plan on making.  I went by Lowes and picked up the material to make these whisper phones today.  I also picked up some tissue paper at Wal-Mart to make these.  I also have an empty Crystal Light container and popsicle sticks to make these writing prompts with.  What pinterst projects are you working on this summer?  I just love getting things ready for my room!

Reading Streets Planning Guide

I have been working my fingers off to put together a little booklet that I plan on using to help me plan my lessons this year.

I have done this for all 6 units of the 2nd grade Reading Street Common Core edition of our series.  I plan on putting this up in my teachers pay teachers store (as a word document) as soon as it has been proofread and edited.  If this looks like something you could use I will email it to the first 3 people to comment for free in exchange for  you to proofread it and let me know if you see any mistakes.

All of the skills covered in the text book are listed at the top.  I plan on using those and the skills that my students need to highlight the strategies I will teach each week.  I am going to print the entire document out and bind it with our binding machine at school.  Please let me know if you think of anything else that would be helpful to add to this.

Pinterest, Sugar, & Spice

Pinterest

Sugar

Spice

I have been out of school for 2 weeks!!  This  is my schedule so far:

wake up
empty dishwasher
clean sink with comet
sweep floor mop floor
do a load of laundry
go outside water flowers
come inside <kids up now>
put breakfast dishes in dishwasher
clean sink again
sweep floor again
pinterest & blogstalk
do another load of laundry
put more dishes in dishwasher
sweep floor again
you get the idea

I have 2 boys who are in and out all day.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

My boys got a snow cone machine for their birthday.  Their birthdays are May 26 and June 6.  So for the last week and next week we have had cupcakes, cake, ice cream, and snow cones.  We are all running on sugar rushes around my house.  As for the spice, I am addicted to the Jalapeno Poppers.  I can only find them at the local Dollar General.

My new big school bag for next year came in today!!!

These are the books I am in the process of reading this summer!

I might be OCD.  These are my binders that I
am working on at home this summer.

My latest pinterest project.  A milk crate seat.  I got the original idea here.

I know mine is not really like the pin.  I'm not really a follow-the-directions kinda gal.  I am getting together with a few other teachers next Tuesday so we can all make these and this was kind of a test.  I might actually read and see how to do it so that the seat sits inside the crate.  I don't think it will work on these milk crates though.

I have also been busy spray painting.  I spray painted a bookshelf and some plastic storage baskets.  While I was outside spray painting my kids and husband were busy building a cage for the 2 turtles they caught.

My 14 year old - Kyle

My soon-to-be 12 year old- Hunter 

Newest unnamed turtle

Was Tiny Tim until we discovered he
was a she.  Now her name is Tiffany.

My husband is a carpenter so nothing is built around my house
unless it is built right. (Unless I build it!)

One last random thing.  Can someone please tell me what is up with the Hey Girl pictures?  Where do they come from and what do they mean?

Thanks!  I am off to change the date on my camera because it is not January of 2007!