tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67703332090111919742023-11-16T08:03:25.024-08:00Middle School MinionsAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-49187297803113899992013-11-01T17:22:00.003-07:002013-11-01T17:23:01.327-07:00MIA<div style="text-align: left;">
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Sorry I have been MIA for far longer than I wanted to be. To be honest, I've been a little overwhelmed lately.</div>
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I love teaching. I can't imagine being in any other profession and I take a lot of pride in my work. However, I am a bit of a perfectionist and so when I do something I have to give it 110% every day all the time. As an introvert, this leaves me feeling exhausted and I end up needing a lot of "me" time to recharge my batteries.</div>
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I am loving teaching the reading workshop this year. I am having so many moments with my students where they finally have found a book that they are in love with. This month I had two students that discovered a book that they actually liked and read cover to cover for the first time...ever! I am beyond proud of them. Their passion in their book talk was obvious to the audience and I could have burst with tears at how proud I was of them! It was truly inspiring!</div>
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I think that the hardest part about teaching for me is trying to be an extrovert. It really wears me out. I am so over stimulated from 8 AM until I get home at 4:30 PM I just crash on the couch. Many of my planning periods I am in my classroom trying to steal some "me" time, however there is another class in there and sometimes I have to rush off to meetings. I know my fellow teachers understand what I am talking about when I say we really don't have a spare moment in our day. During hall duty my kids want to give me a hug or talk to me. Lunch time is our team time and it is only 24 minutes (not counting the time it takes to get them down to the cafeteria and back).</div>
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Please understand, I do not mean to sound as though I am complaining. I won't change my job for anything, but I hope that explains why I don't get to blog as often as I would like right now. My batteries are drained and I'm trying to just recharge.</div>
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Here's a little more I found out about myself after taking the Carl Jung personality test. I was shocked that this is really spot on with my personality. Maybe you have a similar personality: <a href="http://eclecticemily.com/2008/11/21/discovering-my-personality-type-according-to-carl-jung/">http://eclecticemily.com/2008/11/21/discovering-my-personality-type-according-to-carl-jung/</a></div>
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Hopefully I will be back soon...and with more minion stories. :)</div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-80168098269814756612013-09-14T19:07:00.000-07:002013-09-14T19:07:24.186-07:00Inspiring Readers<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My kids are really loving reading workshop! It was a thing of beauty to finally roll it out this past week and see them all so excited about their books. After explaining how it was going to work one of my students' said, "Wait, you are giving us time to read?" I said, "Yes!" I could feel their excitement in the room (this was a class of mostly readers already). The few students in this classroom that had previously told me they did not like to read or did not have time for reading are changing already. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I noted on Friday that after asking the students to go ahead and put up their journals, post-it notes and books that two of my reluctant readers were still engrossed in their books. I let them continue and did not bother them. The bell rang to switch classes and it wasn't until then that they put their books down and scrambled to pack up! :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One other happy story to share. On Friday's we give a character ed. presentation to our 6th hour class. The theme of the month is friendship and we are e-mailed a PowerPoint to teach and discuss with the students. My mom, who teaches Spanish at my school, had popped in to ask me a question and asked if she could stay to observe. She took a seat and I continued to teach and talk to the students and get them involved with the lesson. One of my students from 3rd hour had asked if he could check out a book from me earlier in the day and said he really liked it. Of course I told him yes. In class he was engrossed with the book during the whole lesson. When my mom brought it up later I was a little sheepish and said, "I know, I should have asked him to put the book away and pay attention, however he is a reluctant reader and I don't want to discourage him at this point. Also, it was a character ed. lesson, so although it is important I felt like it wasn't vital to his doing well in class." She too agreed and said she couldn't believe how engrossed he was in his book--she noted that he didn't even look up once. SUCCESS!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think reading workshop will really change the way I teach forever. My advanced students love having time to read and cozy up with a book. Meanwhile, they are still proving to me that they can grasp the concepts through their journal entries and through small-group lessons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am sorry I am not updating more--between lesson planning, grading assignments, responding to e-mails and keeping up with my school blog for parents I feel like I have not had a chance to keep you all in the loop. Hopefully I can find some balance as the school year continues.</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-34919636115755177032013-09-01T08:43:00.002-07:002013-09-01T08:44:03.220-07:00The Book Whisperer<div style="text-align: left;">
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My mind is completely blown. How can everything that we are taught in college be so drastically different and yet still get test results? I have spent this summer pouring over Laura Robb's <i>Teaching Reading: A Differentiated Approach</i> and <i>Strategies That Work</i> by Stephanie Harvey. I have been reading so many research based articles on reading I think my mind can't handle any more.</div>
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Last night I finally picked up <i>The Book Whisperer</i> by Donalynn Miller which has sat on my coffee table for 6 weeks now. I dusted off the title and grabbed my pad of paper ready to read.</div>
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I couldn't put it down. Just like everything else I have read this summer she talks about the exact same things. Her book is an easy read--I stayed up until 5am to finish it. She doesn't give you a bunch of research and methods practices like most of the other books but instead gives us a window into her classroom to peek into as she tells us about books and conversations with her students.</div>
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I love Laura Robb, Stephanie Harvey and Nancie Atwell because they DO give you the research support to differentiate this kind of reading in your own classroom. However, Donalynn Miller practices all of these same concepts.</div>
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I still have a few questions to help wrap my mind around some of this thinking. How is it possible that this will not only make my students readers who enjoy reading but also get the test results on standardized tests? I have to say, it <u>will</u> take time to implement.</div>
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Laura Robb stresses that you do not have to read the same books at the same time as your kids. You can tell when they know what they are talking about or not..I like that Donalynn Miller does read many of the same books. It helps to get the "reading bug" and to make it contagious.</div>
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I talked to my students one day last week about how we are going to do book talks this year and they will be reading different genres of books.</div>
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"But I don't have time to read. I have football practice after school and then homework for other classes," complained one of my students."</div>
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"I promise, I will give you time in class to read your book. However, you will have to do some of the reading at home too," I said.</div>
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He looked at me like he thought I was crazy. He was an advanced Language Arts student that was not reading?</div>
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"I'm just going to read Dr. Seuss," I heard him mumble.</div>
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I came home and poured over my students reading/interest surveys. A few things stood out to me about my kids. One was that they DO have time to read, they are just too busy doing "other" things. The student mentioned above was spending 3 hours a day watching TV because "I'm bored" he wrote.</div>
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I was just the start of my "ah-ha" moment. I made my students some guidelines for our book talks in our classroom, just some basic ones that Laura Robb has shared and a combination of some of my other reading this past summer.</div>
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I spent hours this past week looking for books that fit into the Realistic Fiction genre. I put them together into a PowerPoint even finding some awesome book trailers.</div>
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The kids seemed a little stumped when I told them our first book talk was on Realistic Fiction and I noticed they were looking at me like I was just adding more onto their plates. The student that said he wanted to just read Dr. Seuss looked like he was even defeated trying to figure out how he could get out of my project and reading every day since he was so busy doing other important things.</div>
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How could they go through 7 years of school and not find reading enjoyable <i>at all? </i></div>
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The next day at school I gave my students a paper to keep track of titles of books they wanted to read in the future. I called this the To Be Read "TBR" list. I told them that today all we were going to do was discuss books and they needed their TBR lists.</div>
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I then started discussing books with them going through my PowerPoint where I had collected "cool" books that fit into the Realistic genre category. They quickly scribbled down all the books they wanted to read.</div>
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At the end of the day I looked at the same student who told me he didn't have time for reading due to football, other homework, etc. He wrote down <u>every</u> book I mentioned in class as one he wanted to read!</div>
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I had an ah-ha moment. It is not that my students <u>do not </u> want to read, it is that they don't know <i>how</i> to find books on their own. No one has taught them this before.</div>
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If I can get them to first trust me and trust that I can help them find "cool" books I feel that when I do recommend other books that will be more "classic" or harder in complexity they will be more willing to give it a try.</div>
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On Friday, I had five students tell me they went out and purchased one of the books they saw in my PowerPoint because they wanted to read it so bad. One even shared he was almost done with the book! Lucky me, most of the books that I showed them are part of a series so they will have to read the next one to find out what happens. :)</div>
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To put the icing on the cake I got an e-mail from a student Friday night. "Mrs. Finley, my dad is going to get me _______ book this weekend. Is it okay to read it for my realistic fiction book talk? What do you think about the book?" I quickly responded back that it was absolutely okay to read the book and left off with a comment that said, "Happy reading!"</div>
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I think I've already got my high kids hooked--even those that were maybe a little reluctant or needed some high interest books to show them that reading<i> is</i> cool.</div>
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I'm about to flip my classroom upside down.</div>
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Stay tuned...</div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-11596537179195032802013-08-30T19:36:00.004-07:002013-08-30T19:36:40.234-07:00ISN's<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lot of great ISN covers and papers to share my kids have been doing in class!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">First up, the boys........</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Food and animals!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Dr. Oz made an appearance!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lots of cars...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This one cracks me up! I love that the student cut out each letter to spell his own sentence! I also love the dog on the window of the convertible!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />Inside page of the notebook....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I also had them fill-out the fakebook page that I created. This item is free on Teachers Pay Teachers! It let me learn a lot about my kids!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is a student I had last year that I'm so lucky to have this year! I love that one of her favorite things about Language Arts is me! SO sweet!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Great to know what makes them enjoy a class too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I also loved looking at their dreams for the future... I have some future doctors, engineers and even a musician!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStP9ggVJizpbN2DPDfBxHFfrUzhkXfJ2-yJocakfVrNMJlGSWrATVhkaYtHnqXcMprcGyoIuGEvOvvsKAFoi49jlKXXZrwlmap0lteiHrteOWbO7zhmpBwaGFy6lx1alY7ZbpatXY0a4/s1600/Facebook+Page+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStP9ggVJizpbN2DPDfBxHFfrUzhkXfJ2-yJocakfVrNMJlGSWrATVhkaYtHnqXcMprcGyoIuGEvOvvsKAFoi49jlKXXZrwlmap0lteiHrteOWbO7zhmpBwaGFy6lx1alY7ZbpatXY0a4/s320/Facebook+Page+7.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">THIS STUDENT MADE MY DAY! He had said one thing he disliked about Language Arts was "Reading." Look at his TBR list! It is full of almost every book I have discussed with the kids this year! He wants to read them all! :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is a new student who is clearly trying to butter me up! :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is an overview of the different genres and the definition of each genre. I used a lot of the ideas I found online, however I tweaked some things and added horror to the list!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now time for the covers decorated by my girls! These are a lot more elaborate!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_qhYG2DtT_47M7JwlD-UJwdJI-Ax9skg_M0zBZvFyYyn-7QbPhb_zVqG4L3irc2rtaOoavHe8rcKRte7o16NUIHeMB529I1MHE-NwP1YDargocEStXbxxjFOqESQysB_GxoxspKhH_M/s1600/Girl+Cover+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_qhYG2DtT_47M7JwlD-UJwdJI-Ax9skg_M0zBZvFyYyn-7QbPhb_zVqG4L3irc2rtaOoavHe8rcKRte7o16NUIHeMB529I1MHE-NwP1YDargocEStXbxxjFOqESQysB_GxoxspKhH_M/s320/Girl+Cover+1.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lots of make-up and fashion....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb61KNd66vJHYUqhyphenhyphen1e-z6cIj9bBdj475JQcPpSC2aHDtuh5w5NfNesLrgBjtfnIfq7To6pof06I0VgjdmlJNpkTrKhZC688QkENrq8jxCMNd4Up1f_efOg23mRZQN1NKWZezJAH8JNs/s1600/Girl+Cover+2+Inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb61KNd66vJHYUqhyphenhyphen1e-z6cIj9bBdj475JQcPpSC2aHDtuh5w5NfNesLrgBjtfnIfq7To6pof06I0VgjdmlJNpkTrKhZC688QkENrq8jxCMNd4Up1f_efOg23mRZQN1NKWZezJAH8JNs/s320/Girl+Cover+2+Inside.JPG" width="253" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">and pets.....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWNdnfykf07QTRhSaFQ5J7IT0kae7ThbMS-nY-gx-DsyU-tRmtXCzGjMQHUK2-X_cggWH-nAuGZZoAfflBks_QyjsscYvsImSvFumB6aMwDLKIk6PNmrzkdncaQrLUpCqtd9A4M0ZGgU/s1600/Girl+Cover+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWNdnfykf07QTRhSaFQ5J7IT0kae7ThbMS-nY-gx-DsyU-tRmtXCzGjMQHUK2-X_cggWH-nAuGZZoAfflBks_QyjsscYvsImSvFumB6aMwDLKIk6PNmrzkdncaQrLUpCqtd9A4M0ZGgU/s320/Girl+Cover+2.JPG" width="270" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIux5lTL-LIOysKxBYyZaWUmkXkCMME6rbGuCtsvlUuuqCEGp1Kh5s6XpFzdG584vKnN6q3T4u0m9wBIWqwcrdN935NKx3QcR-8zkqlGneMwBtLo4gfr0UCcnEGi-DgdvspunTcAjN9U/s1600/Girl+Cover+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIux5lTL-LIOysKxBYyZaWUmkXkCMME6rbGuCtsvlUuuqCEGp1Kh5s6XpFzdG584vKnN6q3T4u0m9wBIWqwcrdN935NKx3QcR-8zkqlGneMwBtLo4gfr0UCcnEGi-DgdvspunTcAjN9U/s320/Girl+Cover+3.JPG" width="214" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6u4AnHX7igCWvMd0vxY4unqxaiZb1sYgh081zWNPwxMY1H7GqW17frp4m5IVgJU9FzKn-DthXcB7YzXQ7wLekvjtFWeb0_oSM5LXdycfmhoXClFrBB6eGZBoNGWBy1djZFvCU-TGFmks/s1600/Girl+Cover+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6u4AnHX7igCWvMd0vxY4unqxaiZb1sYgh081zWNPwxMY1H7GqW17frp4m5IVgJU9FzKn-DthXcB7YzXQ7wLekvjtFWeb0_oSM5LXdycfmhoXClFrBB6eGZBoNGWBy1djZFvCU-TGFmks/s320/Girl+Cover+4.JPG" width="221" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nt__glVkg3A5WUX7NWYh0a3LYUY6Zx_-iMK46ocRBsPzH2sFi_RSjrXb-5JE8Yl_6xCw4iRtQ2T50EvwUzAR7DuNGwZchjdJOgEb5wcWdBeT4O0_R8KEFna-ZxQScfzfwKoZVZRsD3U/s1600/Girl+Cover+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nt__glVkg3A5WUX7NWYh0a3LYUY6Zx_-iMK46ocRBsPzH2sFi_RSjrXb-5JE8Yl_6xCw4iRtQ2T50EvwUzAR7DuNGwZchjdJOgEb5wcWdBeT4O0_R8KEFna-ZxQScfzfwKoZVZRsD3U/s320/Girl+Cover+5.JPG" width="227" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LV8CcaOOTsYj4myKoWOFzZgrFbU4eKfbUswP3wYJvOcKJXfqDO4-oKNPuj4oU7H1UxPK7Yd8SGLzeYd-e7xhPOcCYzcJC3dJOpja1tUQfzSzE9wy4qG_-cV49NWLShD4FJufsQzSzpY/s1600/Girl+Cover+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LV8CcaOOTsYj4myKoWOFzZgrFbU4eKfbUswP3wYJvOcKJXfqDO4-oKNPuj4oU7H1UxPK7Yd8SGLzeYd-e7xhPOcCYzcJC3dJOpja1tUQfzSzE9wy4qG_-cV49NWLShD4FJufsQzSzpY/s320/Girl+Cover+6.JPG" width="254" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The "Funkytown Exit" cracked me up as well as the lady from the viral video "Ain't nobody got time for that!"</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59hrKBj5nvbAfXhUT9BE8FXhMlrQYKLWN18RCEdd5j-7cJu5xeEJNGYSMQo2poIv8_rgpzzYrhWNNAqDQfodQJo8BJaaIvexGhyphenhyphentvv5-BGAjdemy-8UNT_3BZoSs1kM_2rNYdvjjycAA/s1600/Girl+Cover+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59hrKBj5nvbAfXhUT9BE8FXhMlrQYKLWN18RCEdd5j-7cJu5xeEJNGYSMQo2poIv8_rgpzzYrhWNNAqDQfodQJo8BJaaIvexGhyphenhyphentvv5-BGAjdemy-8UNT_3BZoSs1kM_2rNYdvjjycAA/s320/Girl+Cover+7.JPG" width="238" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I blurred out the student's name, however she had a really cute diagonal of her name!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUL4OvU0GXmHtjT5ZvUiQSNtMHdBYnnCnlbmFrAfDlhAueqmjRXL2TtNIaFkBm4QTsN0aNpeksQFI4spZTl7hzzcZwWhNfEMM-G6owy-daFP4UAmZNc9qJMGQ3V8E8YL4coKEfo6zjA74/s1600/Girl+Cover+8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUL4OvU0GXmHtjT5ZvUiQSNtMHdBYnnCnlbmFrAfDlhAueqmjRXL2TtNIaFkBm4QTsN0aNpeksQFI4spZTl7hzzcZwWhNfEMM-G6owy-daFP4UAmZNc9qJMGQ3V8E8YL4coKEfo6zjA74/s320/Girl+Cover+8.JPG" width="233" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This student spelled out Honey Boo Boo, her favorite show, because she couldn't find the words!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBFfIDRjwLaiXsVA4WmsHT3U6HznAAjnyfQjiCekPJeSvAcQre-Ea_bzRc5lOVP34veGDjVXSvyNOomXk1FqtTW3h0clplfXFK99MN0LvWaYon8m7iQIPND3KDMku4Di-6JP8WzmJ36E/s1600/Girl+Cover+9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBFfIDRjwLaiXsVA4WmsHT3U6HznAAjnyfQjiCekPJeSvAcQre-Ea_bzRc5lOVP34veGDjVXSvyNOomXk1FqtTW3h0clplfXFK99MN0LvWaYon8m7iQIPND3KDMku4Di-6JP8WzmJ36E/s320/Girl+Cover+9.JPG" width="245" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A quote written out in cut out letters.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSBgLRLx-SWoVALepRjf23Rb53ukyvXpWmqW5jRs8rw4Xi96RYsfvM1R7jQBxQ1mYtYzplEZhpjixVwCt2FRoKmFtRJ0fqe90EWi3Wkss-kn3hufZxIC_lNxbqJ1fvoviEyvzlaM6bDg/s1600/Girl+Cover+10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSBgLRLx-SWoVALepRjf23Rb53ukyvXpWmqW5jRs8rw4Xi96RYsfvM1R7jQBxQ1mYtYzplEZhpjixVwCt2FRoKmFtRJ0fqe90EWi3Wkss-kn3hufZxIC_lNxbqJ1fvoviEyvzlaM6bDg/s320/Girl+Cover+10.JPG" width="235" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsGqxBPxDSYhiFHQI8cDlr89JUEy81rDE7OEWAT92skEoXt34nZlsIxfqA4tvyeLo9p4oRiZzz2-bvGYkuStxUf8KuZj-P2683n4AHD3-ndv3irUA8rOStKlymh1twqex1lyPpXD6v78/s1600/Girl+Cover+11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsGqxBPxDSYhiFHQI8cDlr89JUEy81rDE7OEWAT92skEoXt34nZlsIxfqA4tvyeLo9p4oRiZzz2-bvGYkuStxUf8KuZj-P2683n4AHD3-ndv3irUA8rOStKlymh1twqex1lyPpXD6v78/s320/Girl+Cover+11.JPG" width="234" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cats were on this composition notebook already so this student gave them sunglasses. HAHA!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Dz2kwb7QC6fVMyc03VTL_Q7eMtHu0lQ_VW6bN0pJQsx1e_J0w6lxyl-iC8TcZ4boQvEbzISimrOUpuK2t5eFzeBQvaptz9ZepE3WL_voABZC8nhfqVZgSCBd3_ydDZkqXgVdracZoeY/s1600/Girl+Cover+Inside+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Dz2kwb7QC6fVMyc03VTL_Q7eMtHu0lQ_VW6bN0pJQsx1e_J0w6lxyl-iC8TcZ4boQvEbzISimrOUpuK2t5eFzeBQvaptz9ZepE3WL_voABZC8nhfqVZgSCBd3_ydDZkqXgVdracZoeY/s320/Girl+Cover+Inside+1.JPG" width="237" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The inside of the notebooks...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtiX3FFgvOQGyj8UdNud-xpjFjWtpI8dh-6D4amAhuGBXtD6uD2L-EWeqCWURdPeeCjgQCngWFrQJHF8cp9-VlSkHx3kd76slTgB4XPawOKN6WFq55OxwbEnYyWxM1SeooI4QFzvI3WI/s1600/Girl+Cover+Inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtiX3FFgvOQGyj8UdNud-xpjFjWtpI8dh-6D4amAhuGBXtD6uD2L-EWeqCWURdPeeCjgQCngWFrQJHF8cp9-VlSkHx3kd76slTgB4XPawOKN6WFq55OxwbEnYyWxM1SeooI4QFzvI3WI/s320/Girl+Cover+Inside.JPG" width="288" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAPYhZf613QewTAVCI9sdepq9wibZci77Ocp1wuqkJNdFZ-OKP2RHOtRSPWtkYuIdpdQg_wjHNpOP-HBYe4m7nmdq8Vz55kZa7_ijQNizC2MqcOZzR3NY0gjNtkdYibDpTpSxLW7z-lI/s1600/Girl+Cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAPYhZf613QewTAVCI9sdepq9wibZci77Ocp1wuqkJNdFZ-OKP2RHOtRSPWtkYuIdpdQg_wjHNpOP-HBYe4m7nmdq8Vz55kZa7_ijQNizC2MqcOZzR3NY0gjNtkdYibDpTpSxLW7z-lI/s320/Girl+Cover.JPG" width="279" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bV1IB-SLRzBjjDZ5zz_HW7NDTgYUnGytLH1OetgCzNWdNy3jWXnLNdoKOJiWJckZSdWpgbbviXNXfRkiBC69dXh24gviTj5JUxWT_JFUWTZxCpM6grdO8cCzNQzrs8vnJI9RJUlR79A/s1600/Just+Right+Books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bV1IB-SLRzBjjDZ5zz_HW7NDTgYUnGytLH1OetgCzNWdNy3jWXnLNdoKOJiWJckZSdWpgbbviXNXfRkiBC69dXh24gviTj5JUxWT_JFUWTZxCpM6grdO8cCzNQzrs8vnJI9RJUlR79A/s320/Just+Right+Books.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We discussed how to find a "just right" book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">These are some of our notes. I'm not picky with the left and right side rule because they will be doing so much journaling.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcBQ1SOyWIyJGlCjX1Y9DfxRF6RnLrCJLkn9LPzrxTrDP_Wx_MQjdETd9CGnWvlM6e9pFJocdQoDOYMuFqrIKeeHIj8Dk_6Y-3U90942DCJigpytnyat4nFaHi9QN8AiSUaaTYKNggK4/s1600/TBR+List+Open.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcBQ1SOyWIyJGlCjX1Y9DfxRF6RnLrCJLkn9LPzrxTrDP_Wx_MQjdETd9CGnWvlM6e9pFJocdQoDOYMuFqrIKeeHIj8Dk_6Y-3U90942DCJigpytnyat4nFaHi9QN8AiSUaaTYKNggK4/s320/TBR+List+Open.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">TBR list is taped to the back of the notebook.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RNcKELrUCRhxq57_TOjH_gqylQDxNlRkGZDSgg1dTsqhKKvqApFTItcM487zLgOwbeiQ6NSIZUiyrrud7PD_udedtokQI8xnnhfRz3yOVNF_s0RLEsUuXOeRqtjDLzcpSc-p55bTRDw/s1600/TBR+List+Student.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RNcKELrUCRhxq57_TOjH_gqylQDxNlRkGZDSgg1dTsqhKKvqApFTItcM487zLgOwbeiQ6NSIZUiyrrud7PD_udedtokQI8xnnhfRz3yOVNF_s0RLEsUuXOeRqtjDLzcpSc-p55bTRDw/s320/TBR+List+Student.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmhqUx693wtVtuuL9tPoH2prso_avRogKJEg6DiGF00R4V5FQ4QO4PG_IChNoXJwB91hqP6iDoE4h-iXFs9AuWaMlDc0QDIlw88YhSMVYBmbgb8AqmM2lGhe2MyECmaPsoIvKMKogg-Q/s1600/TBR+List.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmhqUx693wtVtuuL9tPoH2prso_avRogKJEg6DiGF00R4V5FQ4QO4PG_IChNoXJwB91hqP6iDoE4h-iXFs9AuWaMlDc0QDIlw88YhSMVYBmbgb8AqmM2lGhe2MyECmaPsoIvKMKogg-Q/s320/TBR+List.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is the TBR list closed and the genre overview with definitions on the last page of the notebook!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Just a reminder to please donate to our classroom library through donorschoose.org!</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-18520860950818325562013-08-27T17:07:00.001-07:002013-08-27T17:09:16.201-07:00A Beautiful Moment<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I live for moments like these...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Today we were discussing narratives in class. I was really just going over the elements of a narrative because my minions will be working on a narrative throughout our unit on mythology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am really trying to work more Laura Robb read alouds in class this year. Sometimes for a purpose, like today, and sometimes just for the enjoyment of reading to them for 5 minutes to share a good book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Today after discussing the elements of a narrative I shared one of my favorite narratives that I recently read with my minions. The book is called, "A Child Called It." This is a true story that is heartbreaking, but has a happy ending eventually which is good to know. It is about a boy who is abused by his mother, but it talks about all that he went through and how he overcame it all in the end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yes, this is probably a bit controversial of a book. I do not have any students this year that have ever experienced any kind of harm in the way that David does in the book, therefore I thought it was safe to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As a reader, I had to find out what happened to David. From page 1 I was hooked...and guess what? The same thing happened to my kids today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The bell rang after one of my hardest classes was about to leave for their next hour and the kids said, "Please, can you read more tomorrow?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Can't wait to share my next read aloud! I live for these little moments.</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-33253873747717355482013-08-25T08:19:00.001-07:002013-08-25T08:19:02.653-07:00Reader's/Writer's Workshop Middle School Style<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It has been a busy 7 days of school for my minions! As I mentioned before, I am moving up from 6th grade to 7th grade this year. I have about 1/3 of the same kids from last year and the other 80 minions are new to me! I have spent some time the past few days getting to know my classes better and setting up procedures to make sure this year runs effortlessly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I don't think I've ever taken this much time to go over everything...usually I am already onto content by now and am freaking out about how to fit it all in for the whole school year! For some reason, this isn't on my mind this year. It has taken me five years to chill out and realize, the content will come, but if I have chaos the learning won't happen. They need to understand my rules and procedures to make this year run flawlessly and they need to know my expectations for this year since things are going to be very different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I had mentioned that this school year I wanted to do more centers. After reading the past two weeks <i>Strategies that Work</i> and going back over my Laura Robb binder <i>Teaching Reading: A Differentiated Approach</i> I have decided to run with more of the "idea" of Reading Workshop. My collaborating teacher, Andrea, also attended a PD on this this summer, although hers was more on Writer's Workshop. We are going to merge these ideas together for the classroom this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One thing I did this week was play a game with my kids called "Survival Game." The kids had so much fun with it and really enjoyed this activity. While they thought they were playing a game discussions were getting heated! I actually had an observation during this game by my principal and one comment that was made was that this was a hard assignment that led to conflict and that I needed to go over my expectations with my students for group work. This was actually the exact point I was making to my students. I wanted them to get passionate about this and make it personal. I also wanted to put them in a situation where they were going to have to work together and compromise with one another. When the game ended towards the end of class I let the groups share out and then I dropped the bomb on them...I explained that there were no right or wrong answers for our activity, but that I was actually looking at the groups working together. We then came up with group rules so that we could work well together throughout the school year. I explained that sometimes you are going to be adamant about your opinion and feel that you are right, however you are going to have to compromise with one another. I jotted down notes as they talked and made notes of really passionate and argumentative students. Students who just sat back and were more "agreeable" and students who really took leadership. I wanted to make sure I broke these students up into groups next time. I also wanted my agreeable students together to sort of make them made a decision instead of sitting back so much. This was a really fun activity and I got to see a lot of personality! It told me a lot about my new students in a very short period of time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ok, back on to the daily agenda for class....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I like Laura's model for 45 minute classes in her binder for Reader's & Writer's Workshop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Monday, Wednesday & Friday will be Reader's Workshop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tuesday & Thursday will be Writer's Workshop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Every day we will begin the same way. We will share a five minute read aloud for enjoyment with the kids. This allows them to see and hear good reading, enhance their vocabulary and, hopefully, get them hooked into a new book! I have lots of books in my classroom library to use for this activity, however I have no where near the 1,000 classroom library books that are recommended. I am planning on continuing to grow my classroom library for many years to get close to this one day. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm only at 200+ (which is really sad since I have approximately 120 kids in my classroom every day).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After the read aloud we will go over the agenda for the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On Reader's Workshop days I will be meeting with groups (and the class that my collaborating teacher is in the room she too will meet with groups). We will discuss their book, teach mini lessons on strategies that they need or teach a new skill to them, and then they will practice it using their book. Laura recommends two groups a day--each for approximately 20 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At the end of class we will all come back together for five minutes to go over what we learned, share what we are practicing, etc. This is more of a wrap-up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The only difference between reader's and writer's workshop days are that after the read aloud and agenda we then go over a grammar lesson and teach a mini-writing lesson. The students will then work on this in their journals or on their writing piece. We will also regroup at the end of class.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I really love this model because the minions are reading books that are appropriate for their reading ability. Now, for this first time through I have pulled appropriate books for them. It is not a perfect science yet for me and I think this will be a learning process as I go through this. Our first unit is focused on greek mythology while we teach inferences, symbolism, etc. I have done so much research on different lexile levels of greek mythology books and kept a huge spreadsheet. I've then looked into each one to read reviews and see if other people liked them, age appropriateness, length, etc. This really took up a lot of time. I then pulled a list together from all over my district of what school libraries in my district have these books. My amazing school librarian is now contacting schools to gather these books for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hopefully the students will enjoy them or else I will get feedback on these books for next year. I have some that are as low as 200 lexiles and as high as 1,300 lexiles. This is my first time doing this, therefore I am going to have 3-4 copies of each book and the students will pick the book as a group they want to read. They are grouped based on their lexile levels. They will come up with a reading schedule together, however they will be reading independently--not sitting in a group reading to one another. They will regroup to discuss the book with me twice a week. They will also be journaling about their book in their Interactive Student Notebook (ISN).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Laura's binder has some very specific journaling ideas to teach the standards. My students will be using many of these, although I may have to alter some of them as I teach these lessons or scaffold them for my lower kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The area I have really been working on this week is my mini lesson books to teach the strategies. For example, I need to teach the students about symbolism. I would like to find a mythology book to use since that is our unit of study, however I don't have time to go sit at the public library and read through all of these and the internet has been lacking in a greek mythology book with symbolism. If push comes to shove I may just use a symbolism book, such as <i>Fly Away Home</i> and then just have the kids apply the symbolism to their greek mythology book. :( I wish I had a greek mythology picture book for this though to really make the unit tight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This past weekend I was also working on my other favorite part of reader/writer workshop....the independent reading! Laura says that each kid should have a book that they chose to read for when they finish the class read. So, after they have read their assigned page length (determined by the groups) and journaled they will be reading their independent book. My favorite part of this is the monthly BOOK TALKS! It is similar to a book project, however they just have to read the book and share out about their book--it is like a T.V. commercial for a book. Each book talk lasts 2 to 4 minutes. I have been working on a rubric for this using some I found online as well as some of the guidelines from Laura Robb.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I found a really neat book talk that someone else had made and the recommendation was a different genre each month. Kids can pick the book they want to read from that genre, however it should still be age appropriate and reading ability appropriate for them. (I will be talking to my students more this week about "just right" books to help with this.) For example, September I am choosing the genre of Realistic Fiction, October will be Mystery (perfect for Halloween!), November they must read Science Fiction or Fantasy (we will be getting ready to read Hunger Games), etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is a big reason why I have been M.I.A. I have just really immersed myself into learning as much as I can about reader's/writer's workshop to make sure this year runs smoothly. It also takes time when you are a control freak like myself and want the kids to be on task all the time...I have that personality that has to research everything to the ends of the earth before I implement it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Anyone else have experience doing this with middle schoolers? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas! I'm going to need all the help I can get! :)</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-49902936170912040802013-08-16T18:01:00.002-07:002013-08-16T18:01:53.978-07:00Still HereI'm still here, I promise. I just have been swamped with the first week of school starting and have not really had much to share yet that could be that helpful.<br />
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School started on Wednesday. I teach 5 class periods: 4 of them are Language Arts and 1 of them is an elective Language Arts class where I get to teach something I want but still meet the language arts standards.<br />
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Of my 4 Language Arts classes that I teach 1 is a collaborative class, 1 is a core class and 2 are advanced class. I would even prefer to say that 1 of my advanced is really crazy advanced and the other is just slightly above my core, if that makes sense. My really advanced kids are going to give me a run for my money! They are crazy fun but eat up material like crazy! They are just like giant sponges wanting more and more literature. Ha! Great analogy, I know.<br />
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I have briefly mentioned my mom before but I haven't really told you too much about her. My mom teaches Spanish at my school! She floats from room to room and teaches it as an exploratory class. She has two 7th grade classes and uses my classroom when she teaches those classes.<br />
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My mom and I are really close. When I was little we moved around a lot because my dad was in the automotive industry, so you go where the plants are and where the companies need you. He did a lot of consulting work for these companies so some of it was more short term and some was long term. By the time I was 7 I had moved 6 different times. So say that my mom was my rock was an understatement. When you growing up moving on an almost yearly basis your family really is your everything. My mom and I are a lot alike and I can tell her just about anything. I think because I was so close to her when I was young it just really helped our mother-daughter relationship. She is one of my best friends. So no, for me it is not weird teaching with her at the same school, I love it! I love sharing my classroom with her too because it is not some unfamiliar person using my room and I don't feel like I have to give her space or leave all the time. I can just tell her that I have stuff I need to work on and that I need to use my computer and she gets it.<br />
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We also carpool in the morning to work. I live close to my parents (about a 10 minute walk) so it makes sense that we just save on gas. My mom prefer to drive and I prefer to ride passenger so it just works for us. I am also NOT a morning person so it gives me lots of time to wake up. HA!<br />
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So the first three days of school have been really busy. I have gone over all of my classroom rules and procedures as well as a summer reading project. I have also been talking to the kids about the ISN notebooks that we will use in class this year.<br />
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I think next week will be quite a bit more of the same as we just get into the routines of school. Monday is our very first library day for the new school year. I also plan on playing a game with the kids to see how they work in groups, see who my leaders are, my followers, etc.<br />
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So even though I'm not blogging very much right now, I promise, just bear with me during the first few days of craziness and I will be back. I am just exhausted from getting back into the school routine and these mundane but important things that we have to do to prepare us for a successful year of school.<br />
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-28497378030306764522013-08-12T20:40:00.003-07:002013-08-12T20:40:50.075-07:00Product Review: Easy Canvas Prints<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I had a blond moment! I just realized one of my posts didn't get submitted and was saved as a draft last week. Better late than never! :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was contacted by Easy Canvas Prints and they were interested in having me do a product review for their canvas prints. They gave me a free 8 x 10 canvas which I have included pictures of below. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Obviously, I was very excited to do this because I was already really excited to incorporate more artwork to brighten up the room. One thing that is really important to me is to include pictures of my family because the kids really seem to like it and it is a great way to share with them a little about myself. It has also sparked a lot of conversation with the kids and so I have even been able to get to know them better! I have found that if I take the time to get to know my kids then they tend to work harder in class and I have less classroom problems. It makes the whole classroom environment a lot more fun and relaxing overall for everyone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I decided to get a copy of one of our wedding pictures put on the canvas. It was so easy to do! I just had to upload the picture and realized I can even upload right from facebook (it doesn't get any easier than that folks!) to their website: <a href="http://www.easycanvasprints.com/">http://www.easycanvasprints.com/</a> It was a really quick process and so easy to do! Within minutes I had submitted my order and was excited to wait and see how it turned out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here are a few photos of my delivery:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErmbotuup5KkgIy18NGLHRTeclflyWHyxfoZcCJGQ11gqIQKRwZma-AVJpTddE7le496oKTkKnyW2C_Vlhm-GwKP-pN0HWMAfHGBYzU9us4wCXKgJJJX28Y9-OPqMaZBQ9bfBNprPUBE/s1600/DSCN0747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErmbotuup5KkgIy18NGLHRTeclflyWHyxfoZcCJGQ11gqIQKRwZma-AVJpTddE7le496oKTkKnyW2C_Vlhm-GwKP-pN0HWMAfHGBYzU9us4wCXKgJJJX28Y9-OPqMaZBQ9bfBNprPUBE/s320/DSCN0747.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Izzy sees a box and she has to sit on it.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4r2zZ9LSQWEmwVFdy9w2wEkTDyPt2mvWuZEy74BNm09sNpFctGwmA1RTHZc50rMiqu5tGisbfLL_jcfHzK8PQTsUWw9KfzP6TcBXJB-UmYzfD3N4sDA7Pdc5A-J1E03rlEd76wAjOCh4/s1600/DSCN0749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4r2zZ9LSQWEmwVFdy9w2wEkTDyPt2mvWuZEy74BNm09sNpFctGwmA1RTHZc50rMiqu5tGisbfLL_jcfHzK8PQTsUWw9KfzP6TcBXJB-UmYzfD3N4sDA7Pdc5A-J1E03rlEd76wAjOCh4/s320/DSCN0749.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And when she sees the camera it is time to pose!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVLNJuQEdx3qHW39rCe10islxh0eKYv_w5WiTTU3IKvX92HPX7q8DiPGlF4sT92NuoteriJcHMvzDWgvQbSB4Dzk6z8a0Dq5XOYOheBGISjB2bUfK00atHyg2UMHqGf7mY6MMhUponDA/s1600/DSCN0752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVLNJuQEdx3qHW39rCe10islxh0eKYv_w5WiTTU3IKvX92HPX7q8DiPGlF4sT92NuoteriJcHMvzDWgvQbSB4Dzk6z8a0Dq5XOYOheBGISjB2bUfK00atHyg2UMHqGf7mY6MMhUponDA/s320/DSCN0752.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Packaging inside to prevent sliding around of the canvas.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMQB9Ye7d5SJcQHvhzrNWglzVVkI10tfRL5l0m4708R5ILsw1AjQXTnt3uiW2DJ2gz1UNwYWleHQtCQxrQmQGihSHclxI1_A7r-SC4u990KOnBRyuwKnZK-gN0dEKAWx55bGOtwrJghc/s1600/DSCN0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMQB9Ye7d5SJcQHvhzrNWglzVVkI10tfRL5l0m4708R5ILsw1AjQXTnt3uiW2DJ2gz1UNwYWleHQtCQxrQmQGihSHclxI1_A7r-SC4u990KOnBRyuwKnZK-gN0dEKAWx55bGOtwrJghc/s640/DSCN0755.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It was a little difficult to photograph because of the lighting and my camera flash not wanting to cooperate.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTR4XKUFaQ2V6SCKcxB4Y5h09fXqbVRyUr1qHW2I74GsNJTMj3JArZK8rMM6iTRq1IuqjY57aHFW1F1KrlPNWNauER2EXfGBY9xIcFIwy0_p17lhrbHmTEkV8Stl5vzvpuUdNRoUW46oY/s1600/DSCN0756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTR4XKUFaQ2V6SCKcxB4Y5h09fXqbVRyUr1qHW2I74GsNJTMj3JArZK8rMM6iTRq1IuqjY57aHFW1F1KrlPNWNauER2EXfGBY9xIcFIwy0_p17lhrbHmTEkV8Stl5vzvpuUdNRoUW46oY/s400/DSCN0756.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Side of the canvas is wrapped beautifully!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was really happy with the quality of the print! The canvas seemed to be of really high quality and the image seemed to transfer well to the canvas for the most par. I did notice that there were some issues with the picture being somewhat blurry on the canvas, however it was only minor blurring and it was probably due to the size and quality of the picture I submitted from facebook (i.e. low resolution). </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I would suggest to you if you have a canvas made make sure to use a higher resolution picture so ensure the best quality! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Overall, I am really happy with the canvas and I think it will be a great addition to my classroom to share with my students and to personalize my desk area! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ps. Another great thing about the company is the frequent deals they are offering on their canvas products! I have received several e-mail offers for 40% or 50% and even 60% off canvases!</span><br />
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-60163693426576696762013-08-10T20:37:00.005-07:002013-08-10T20:37:47.095-07:00Laura Robb<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hi there! Do you remember me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'm sorry for being such a bad blogger this week. I have really jumped back in to school mode 100%. Students are coming on Wednesday and I am pulling my hair out tweaking my units and thinking about some ideas for this coming year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My mom jokes that I just need to have a baby so I will settle down because right now, teaching is my life. I'm not going to lie, I'm sure I will not spend hours thinking about lesson plans whenever the hubs and I do have kids, but I love teaching and I love coming up (and finding) new ideas to share with my kids. It keeps class interesting and fun for both them and me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So yesterday I enjoyed staying at home and not going anywhere for my last official day of summer. However, I spent the day doing some research and pouring over my Laura Robb binder. I finally feel ready to really implement the ideas she teaches in her own classroom. I love that everything she practices has all been backed up by research and she shares all of that with you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here is why I love her teaching methods:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I LOVE that you are meeting the kids on their instructional level! Research shows that you can teach the grade level standards but by having the kids apply it to a book on their level they will continue to grow and make progress. If I teach them the grade level standards and they are reading a book that is too hard for them (above their instructional level) then research shows they will move backward (aka not make progress). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> I can't decide if I want to start small and have only 6-7 books with 3/4 kids each reading the same book so that I can talk to them more about their book and so that they can talk to one another OR if I completely want to jump in head first and let each kid read their own book. I'm thinking groups of 3/4 right now so that the kids can discuss the books with one another too! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Where do I get the books? Oh, this is actually an easy question. I'm looking into the books my school library already has. I'm also looking at the local public library and pulling books off their shelves. These books are going to stay in my classroom, not go home. If they want to take the book home they will have to check the book out themselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am still toying with this idea so hopefully I will be able to figure out the logistics by tomorrow. I think I have them roughly done and am just now into the research process of the specific books for groups. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So why haven't I done this in the past:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My first year teaching I was just so overwhelmed with learning the standards and teaching 6th grade. I thought I was going to be teaching high school (which is where I student taught) so the standards were new to me.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My second year teaching Kentucky unrolled the common core standards! Woo hoo!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My third year teaching I switched grade levels. Time to get used to some different standards!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Last year I switched schools and went back to 6th grade. I didn't want to flip the boat until I got a handle on what was usually taught.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This year, I feel ready! I'm ready to tackle things a little differently. I feel really good about my knowledge of the standards and how I'm going to teach them to my students. I am also really excited about implementing these strategies!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Wish me luck as I tackle this new territory!</span></div>
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-1315597248977190532013-08-08T16:21:00.000-07:002013-08-08T16:21:02.054-07:00Getting Ready to Head Back to School!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I can't believe summer is almost over. Please no, not yet!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This week has been a whirlwind and I am sorry for not updating more. I have been so busy working at school and attending PD's time just got away from me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I also had to get back to school ready:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Love my hair, don't you? HA! This <u>had</u> to happen yesterday after my morning collaborating with my colleagues on our first unit of the year. I had it done last in MAY! It was wayyy overdue! :) I have the best hairdresser in the world! Love him!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Have you all found any great back-to-school deals?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have been on the hunt for some more scissors for my ISN supply buckets and I need some more marker packs. I saw that Tarjay had markers for $0.75 but they were the really skinny ones. I was also being cheap and thought that if I hold out a little longer I might be able to really steal a snag! After all, I want every kid to have their own so that means 30 of them. </span></div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-91806832201051353272013-08-06T20:07:00.000-07:002013-08-06T20:07:09.253-07:00Comprehension Strategies<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have been so busy this week! Monday was the last Language Arts department professional development day. We spent a lot of time looking at one another's rubrics for assignments and giving one another advice on changes to make. We also spent some time as a department looking at the content vocabulary that we taught to make sure that we were teaching the same definitions to avoid confusion in the kids across grade levels. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This morning was rather uneventful. I woke up with a headache so I spent a lot of this morning lying around. Blah! After lunch I even went back upstairs and got in bed for awhile to try to sleep some of it off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This evening we had our back to school night. Every year my school has a night for parents and students before school starts. Sixth grade actually meets all of the incoming students in their classrooms and goes through a PowerPoint of what to expect in middle school and what the first few days will be like. This helps ease a lot of the transition and first day jitters for those incoming "babies."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The team leaders in 7th and 8th grade also met with the new students to our school and went through their own PowerPoint. At 7pm everyone is moved outside for the back to school bash. We have giant inflatables that the kids enjoy jumping on and sliding down. Every team has a tent set-up to meet with parents. We just check off who stopped by, sell team t-shirts, let them know about supply lists for the year and fundraising events. The kids also get a ticket for a free hot dog or hamburger, chips and a drink. It is great to see the kids and meet the parents in such an informal setting. We also have a DJ that plays music, cotton candy being sold, cheerleaders selling magnets with the school logo, dance team students doing face paint, etc. It is a huge event and a lot of former students even come back to say hello! The whole bash is held out back from 7-9pm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So I just got home from this and am busy reading up on some mentor texts. I have been pouring over the book <u>Strategies That Work</u> by Harvey & Goudvis looking at ways to help teach comprehension to some of my kids that really struggle with reading. I read through the book my first year teaching, but to be honest I was so overwhelmed with being a first year teacher and going through KTIP (this is a program they do in Kentucky for first year teachers) that I didn't have enough time to really implement the strategies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The book was given to me by the reading specialist who was phenomenal! A newer book had just come out and so she passed down this book to me. Now that I am reading it I am also interested in seeing what changes were made to the newer book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What are some of your favorite books that you have read to help you teach your students?</span><br />
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-46522418771476724352013-08-04T23:00:00.000-07:002013-08-05T14:57:11.196-07:00Teacher Getting A Lesson<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I absolutely love my husband! With a <i>little</i> persuasion I have managed to talk him into creating a history lesson for <i>moi</i>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A little background information about Sam. Yes, he does have a name other than "hubs!" Ha! I met him back in undergrad at UK. It was our senior year and we were introduced by his sister and my mom who worked together. It was a total set-up. I had no idea that he was going to be there and he said he didn't have a clue either. I thought I was meeting with my mom and a friend for dinner and to go over some information about joining the local Junior League. I also had to babysit right after dinner. So I met mom and her friend at the restaurant and we were chatting and eating an appetizer when Sam walks in with his sister to join us. I had no idea and was so mad that my mom had done this! At the time I had a boyfriend I was seeing that my mom was not really a fan of, so you can understand my surprise and shock at what I was living in that moment. I just remember being really frazzled. He sat diagonal from me and was pretty quiet, until...my mom mentioned that one of my classes was always getting cancelled and she mentioned, jokingly, that she couldn't believe it was cancelled all the time and wondered if it was true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I remember that very moment as he stopped eating and met my eyes dead on and said, "What's the class?" I told him it was this silly history class all about the Roman Empire. The professor was constantly cancelling after we had already arrived to class. That is when he said he was in the SAME class!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Folks, it was a class of like 25 people because it was a 500+ level class. I have a history minor and he was a history major. He sat in the back of the classroom and I sat in the middle (literally just two tables ahead of him).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That was it for us! We chatted a lot about the class and the frustration with the professor (who continued to cancel classes AFTER I had already arrived to class an was at my desk--thanks TA's for putting a sign on the door AFTER we were all seated and not telling anyone in the room). He said he told his sister he was going to marry me one day that same evening on the phone. He said he vividly remembers it and she thought he was crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The next day when I showed up for class he was waiting for me sitting outside of the classroom on the couch. I knew he was waiting for me (girl intuition and all) but also had a boyfriend and didn't want to even go there. I think I knew he was something special then. I just recall him standing up when he saw me and I gave a wave and went in the classroom to my normal seat next to another boy. The whole time I was chatting with my other friends (who were pretty much all guys) I felt eyes on my back and could see him in my peripheral vision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You'll never believe what the professor did that fateful day...yep, class was cancelled! As I walked out of the classroom AFTER he had already left he caught me in the hallway. I continued to make my way out of the building as he continued to talk to me. He asked for my number and I gave it to him while also mentioning I had a boyfriend. Apparently that didn't deter him as much as I thought it might.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He called two days later (he said it was a good thing to wait because he didn't want me to think he was too stalkerish) and asked me out for coffee. The funniest thing about this is that I don't drink coffee. Well, I do, I drink the cold "fake" coffee drinks like frappachinos, etc. but this was a local coffee shop, they didn't have any of that. So we both got a coke and talked a lot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The rest is history! I broke up with my boyfriend a week after I met Sam. We dated for 9 months and then were engaged. We were married in 2009.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It is a pretty crazy story to tell. I had always heard of the whole love at first sight, but never really experienced it. I knew when I met him he was something special. He says he knew that night I was going to be his wife.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Okay, enough of my sappy story. The reasoning I was telling you all this is because my history major husband (who went to law school and is an attorney now) is OBSESSED with the Roman Empire. That was his specialty in college. He doesn't even read "fun books" y'all! All he reads are history books, most of them about this time period. He loves it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I did manage to persuade him to read The Hunger Games last year. It took a lot of persuading but he relented and really enjoyed all three of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One of the units that my 7th grade colleagues taught last year was Hunger Games. They taught the novel and looked at how history was altered. When I met with them this past week they mentioned wanting to go into some more of the Roman Empire with the kids so that they could really see the allusions that the book draws from and make those connections. So little 'ol me mentioned that hubs loves this stuff and I could see if he might be able to help. Needless to say, we were all really excited.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So Sam has agreed to create a historical PowerPoint for me to draw comparisons between Hunger Games and the Roman Empire. Because he has also read the book he started getting really excited and telling me even more connections that he had found when he was reading the books last year that he thought the kids would enjoy. There are a few things that are not middle school appropriate and more suitable for high school discussions, however he has completely agree to help me out!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am stoked!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We do not plan on teaching this unit until December but I have his creative juices flowing and I want to also pull a lot of informational texts to go along with this historical information.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I probably don't even have to say it, but our Saturday Night Movie was Hunger Games.</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-17469735781271478542013-08-03T17:30:00.000-07:002013-08-03T17:30:38.581-07:00Sweatin' It Out<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Well, I'm </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">almost</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> done with my classroom! For </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">reals</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">! You wouldn't believe how much work I did today. I was sweating buckets...seriously, it was gross! I don't think I've ever been more disgusting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I should probably back up first and tell you about yesterday!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yesterday we had our second Language Arts department meeting. It was really great and I no longer felt as overwhelmed as I did on Thursday. It is amazing what a good night's sleep can do for the body and mind! :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We talked as a department about the Common Core standards and about deconstructing them more than what our district had already provided us with so that we could ensure that we were all teaching what needed to be taught. We also agreed that we needed to be on the same page with definitions of terms so that the kids knew what to expect from us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our principal, who is a former Language Arts teacher, also shared a lot of insight into writing rubrics that were effective for the kids and for ourselves. We then spent some time developing a rubric that we intend to implement into our unit. My colleagues and I agreed that the first writing piece the kids will do is writing their own myth about a god or goddess. So we looked at the big picture of our unit, our essential questions and the unit outcomes and then worked on our rubric. It took about 3 hours to get it all done perfectly but I think it will be really effective! We tried to think of any and all loopholes that we could find for consistency in grading. We also tried to make sure that we wrote the rubric in kid friendly language and precise language so that they would know what was expected from them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We also discussed implementing more informational texts and trying to pull away from so much literary. This has been a big change on the Common Core and on our K-PREP test. I love to teach novels, however I find that kids are able to grasp concepts better when I use excerpts from novels and include additional short stories and informational texts to help teach the standards. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I understand that we are not supposed to teach the standards in isolation, however sometimes I feel like it is necessary for my kids based on their needs. If they don't know how to make an inference short readings how can I expect them to do it when reading a novel? I feel like sometimes I have to back it up and teach them these important skills and then let them apply them to their readings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My colleagues and I also spent some time mapping out our units and looking at the whole year and planning how much time we hoped to spend on each unit. Right now we intend to have 2 weeks before testing to review everything that we have taught throughout the school year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">One thing we discussed was including more literacy centers. This was something that I did a lot more at my old school, however it was not done on a daily basis. Last year I didn't do centers at all! I think I was just a little overwhelmed being at a new school and moving back to 6th grade, etc. This year I really want to go back to implementing more centers for my students. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I read about an easy way to begin centers is to start with just Fridays. You can call them, "Fun Fridays" and the kids will know that every Friday are their center day. I really love this idea! I'm going to talk to my colleagues about it next week and see if they want to jump on board too! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This was a practice similar to what we had in place at my old school, however it wasn't just for centers. On Fridays we called them "Review Day Fridays." It was the day of the week when we were not supposed to teach new content and were instead told to revisit standards the kids struggled with or maybe even something that they might have forgotten. I loved the concept and I think it helped the kids a lot!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After the meeting hubs and I went to Home Depot and rented their truck to take my futon over to school. Remember when I mentioned earlier in the month that I bought a futon from an acquaintance at her garage sale? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They were the only owners and it was in great condition! I wanted chairs or bean bags for in my reading area and decided I couldn't pass up this deal! Futons can be expensive and this one is cherry and looks to be over $400 from what I saw online. They asked $40 for it! Steal! Anyways, we rented a truck and dropped it off at school and then returned the truck. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The principal sent out an e-mail that the school would be open today from 9am to 9pm if any teachers wanted to work in their classrooms. Did I want to work? NO! But I had so much to do! Remember that desk I showed you a few days ago?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I needed to weed through all of that paper work and figure out what I wanted to keep and what was garbage. I also needed to put everything away neatly instead of just jamming it in my cabinet (like I usually do) so that I could easily find whatever I needed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I worked for 6 hours y'all! I didn't even stop for a lunch break. I was so gross by the time I finished. I had dust on me, my finger was bleeding, my face was glistening (ewww!) and I just felt disgusting!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thankfully, I feel so prepared and so organized this year! I'm not ready to reveal just yet--I have a few things I need to laminate and put up on the walls first. I also noticed that my desks and chairs hadn't been Cloroxed so I have to do that. The student computers also need a wipe down with a Clorox wipe--then I will do the big reveal!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here is a sneak peek:</span></div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-15624500555830806762013-08-01T20:00:00.004-07:002013-08-01T20:02:07.601-07:00Common Core<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Can I have a moment here for a second?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">*phew*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It has been an overwhelming day today to say the least. To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. Today we met as a Language Arts department to begin our back-to-school work. We spent the first half of the morning just looking at the standards and focusing on what we felt like the kids were having a difficult time grasping, what they felt like they had mastered, and what we felt like they completely flopped on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It was interesting to see that across the grade levels we had some of the same thoughts on some of the standards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">First off, I really love the Common Core. I think it is fantastic that almost all of the states are now using the same standards to help prepare our kids for college. I guess my only complaint <i>in my opinion</i> is that sometimes you look at the standard and have to ask yourself <u>exactly what do they mean by that?</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What do they mean by credible AND accurate sources? When they say I'm supposed to teach prefixes, suffixes, etc. <b>exactly</b> what should I be teaching and where does the next grade level pick up?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It is still a little overwhelming to me. This is my third year teaching the new Common Core standards and I feel that I have a better grasp on them than ever before, <i>however</i> I am switching grade levels and that can be a different challenge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let me give you a bit of background information:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My first year teaching, I taught 6th grade at a Title 1 school where I had students for 50 minute classes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My second year teaching, I taught 6th grade at the same title one school but shared the same set of 150 kids with another Language Arts teacher (so the kids got like 1 1/2 hours of Language Arts).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My third year teaching, I moved up to 7th grade and had about 110 of the 150 kids for a second time. I also taught the new Common Core standards for the first time. My colleague was a brand new teacher who had never taught before and I was considered the expert! Gah!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Last year, my fourth year teaching, I switched schools and taught 6th grade Common Core. I had 115 students but worked with two other Language Arts teachers and a <i>fabulous</i> special ed. collaborative teacher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This year, my fifth year teaching, I am moving up to 7th grade with my kids. I will had 115 students about 1/3 of them I will have again. I have two new Language Arts teachers to work with and a new special ed. collaborative teacher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So this is where I am currently at. I am looking forward to having my kids again and I really like my colleagues. However, I do feel overwhelmed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It is really difficult moving up with kids when you might have them again. I feel like after five years of teaching I have slowly mastered some really fantastic lesson plans--some of which I used last year. It's not that I feel that I can't use them again but sometimes I feel like I have to reinvent the wheel again to present the material in a different way to still keep them interested. Does that make sense?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am really thankful that my 7th grade colleagues have had 3 years to get a good handle on the new Common Core standards too! The first time I did this was the first year they were rolled out and since I was the "veteran" teacher I struggled a little bit. I had a great support system at school, reading coach, instructional coach, etc. that helped develop some great lessons too. I am hoping to use some of these same resources again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sorry for the bummer post--I think I felt a little overwhelmed after our meeting today. We meet again tomorrow and on Monday so hopefully I will buckle down, take a breather, and get it together. I am a little too OCD sometimes. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In other news, I bought a staple gun! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Boom! I feel like a true crafty girl, or at least I think I am...HAHA I am trying to make a second bulletin board for in my room and had to get one to get the fabric to go through the insulation board. I didn't realize until this morning that the staples I bought for my staple gun weren't long enough! *gasp* I just got back from the store where I bought some super long ones. Keep your fingers crossed as I give this another whirl tomorrow.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I also have a new can of spray paint. I think I personally keep Krylon in business. ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">13 days until the first day with students!!!!!!</span></div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-86996728831884143522013-07-31T19:48:00.001-07:002013-07-31T19:48:29.033-07:00Classroom Progress...<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So today was the day I had <i>hoped</i> I would be done with my classroom, but it hasn't turned out that way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I literally start working on something and then can't work on it any longer because I need X and I don't have X so then I work on something else until the same things happens. Ugh!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My wonderful husband came back after work again today to help me out. I wanted to make a second bulletin board for in my classroom this year since I only have one. I am teaching the book <u>Warriors Don't Cry</u> by Melba Patillo Beals this year and needed a place to put up pictures of the events that occurred so that the kids can refer to them. I am teaching the book to a different set of kids every 9 weeks so it really is a permanent bulletin board that will stay up all year. I bought one of those foam insulation boards from Home Depot and covered it in a flat bed sheet. My husband stapled it together but the staples kept popping back up after time...aka we need a heavy duty staple gun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He also helped me laminate and cut out all the laminated stuff. I love to laminate, but it is SO tedious to cut it all apart. I swear it took a good hour or two just to cut everything apart. So I am pretty much ready to go with the bulletin board as soon as I can staple it all together...*breathe*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Surprisingly, this is getting smaller...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That is literally the last of the junk I need to sort through. I have 3 piles of posters: The heck yes, the maybe, and then the hmmm I don't think so, but if I need something to fill space it is okay. I also have my cut out laminated items. The garbage can is full of extra copies that I had lingering around over the past 5 years. I had kept them in the filing cabinet "just in case" and decided to get rid of the filing cabinets. I'm going to bring ONE copy of each of these papers home and scan them and stick them on my USB drive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So if you have visited my Pinterest page you have seen my OCD boards which are subcategorized...my USB looks like this too. I have a folder for everything! It is beautiful and so easy to find every document I need quickly. It actually looks pretty similar to a Pinterest page in terms of titles for my folders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The next three "school" days (Thursday, Friday & Monday) I am at a Language Arts PD all day so I don't anticipate too much work getting done in this room. I might be able to put an extra hour or two in after the meeting so I am hoping to have this room put together soon. Parents come on Tuesday so it has to be presentable by then! :)</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-83703444102450311972013-07-30T18:26:00.000-07:002013-07-30T18:26:21.170-07:00Classroom in the Works<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am worn out y'all! Today was a busy day but a lot (thankfully!) was accomplished. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I did have a few minions at my service--adult minions that is...my fabulous and fantastic husband stopped by after work and my mom even popped over after her professional development meeting. It takes a village to make a classroom look cute, am I right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is my sneak peek:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefmE7izKYCNYKPwExoYyh38sCphKfYPr1iQFu5IzreRyFW_YfPk7R9zLH-jKN8Z4k3oAKs8SLyLgGn4fcopnG-Hydz-Si1OrLF4mobSeMPn712TGIC-pcbsKDwAhdVybrTk99LzSLauU/s1600/Contact+Paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefmE7izKYCNYKPwExoYyh38sCphKfYPr1iQFu5IzreRyFW_YfPk7R9zLH-jKN8Z4k3oAKs8SLyLgGn4fcopnG-Hydz-Si1OrLF4mobSeMPn712TGIC-pcbsKDwAhdVybrTk99LzSLauU/s400/Contact+Paper.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ha! There is my handsome husband helping me decorate my desk. Yes, he is wearing a contact paper unibrow! He was going for the Anthony Davis look--we love Kentucky basketball in this house! :) He always keeps me laughing and we have a lot of fun together. I just had to take this picture for my black book. Thankfully he approved it for the post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I have a question for y'all. See those horrible desk legs that are all smudged up and not shiny? Any advice? I'm not sure what to use to clean them with or if I should just cover them with something. What do you do? HELP! I will be forever grateful!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ugh, and please ignore my messy desk right now. I literally have crap thrown everywhere as I try to get it all cleaned up. And of course, my McDonald's Diet Coke...I live off this stuff! (On a funny note, one of my kids was asked something about drawing a picture of a teacher (I think it was supposed to be a comparison between two teachers or a teacher and a student) and he had drawn a picture that resembled me and had a Diet Coke McDonald's cup! LOL!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm hoping to post pics soon. Keep your fingers crossed--tomorrow will be a full classroom day!</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-661050417770890412013-07-29T05:06:00.001-07:002013-07-29T05:06:16.699-07:00Monday Made It! (Freebie!)<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was a lazy bum this weekend and plan on making up for it this week. I have completely gotten off my sleep schedule and am having problems falling asleep before 3 or 4am and then getting up around 11am. This morning I made myself get up at 6 even though I think I didn't fall asleep until 4ish. I have got to get back on schedule.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I always find it a little difficult to get back in the routine for school. It seems like my body is trained that unless I am exhausted it is hard for me to fall and stay asleep. Anyways, wish me luck tonight that I can get to bed at a reasonable time after my zombie-like state today. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So after seeing Amy's post at <a href="http://thetnd.blogspot.com/2013/07/getting-creative-and-more-giveaways.html" target="_blank">The Teacher Next Door</a> I came up with today's Monday Made It! I loved her post on creating a sign to display that shares with the kids what I am currently reading and how many books I have read throughout the school year. It reminded me that we did this at my old school too! We had a sign outside <u>every</u> classroom with what the teacher was reading and the author of the book. It didn't matter what subject you taught. It just reinforced that we are all readers. It was also not limited to just kid books. If I was reading John Grisham's latest book I put that up on my sign. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, y'all have learned I read a lot of romance books. Did I put up "Fifty Shades of Gray?" NO WAY! Sometimes I will put up a book that I just read over the summer that I can still talk to the kids about, etc. Maybe that is bad, but some things don't need to be shared. HA!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/2013/07/monday-made-it-july-29.html" target="_blank">4th Grade Frolics</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So here is what I made for myself using the paper from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Hazel-Owl" target="_blank">The Hazel Owl</a> which was completely free. I should note, I didn't see my classroom colors so I edited her design to fit my needs. I hope this was OK but it didn't say anywhere that I couldn't do this and since they were free already I didn't feel as bad doing this. Since my room theme is blue and green I used her blue and gray patterned paper and overlapped the gray circles with green ones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is what mine looks like:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPB1pht7ui3c5acyxNWvptaAUmwKfGepZGm0J68LP4LBkdZ9lSdKJN8LY6-hPbxi5o5pR7DRgG16TZHLMW54IvnJCuI5nhttjwawfFVeLSBRicG51XGCrDBBKMmf1jJ6zEUUUYPFTsOIc/s1600/Reading+Poster+for+Door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPB1pht7ui3c5acyxNWvptaAUmwKfGepZGm0J68LP4LBkdZ9lSdKJN8LY6-hPbxi5o5pR7DRgG16TZHLMW54IvnJCuI5nhttjwawfFVeLSBRicG51XGCrDBBKMmf1jJ6zEUUUYPFTsOIc/s400/Reading+Poster+for+Door.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Available here for free: <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Sign-for-Door-797284" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Teachers Pay Teachers</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Feel free to edit it to work for you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I plan on framing it in a Dollar Store Frame and posting this outside my classroom. Another inexpensive option is to just laminate it and maybe put a cute colored piece of paper on the back. I'm just going to write on the frame with an Expo Marker. Maybe I can get some of my colleagues on board to post one outside their rooms too! It was such a neat thing to see what everyone was reading and for the kids to take notice of this too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While I was at it I also decided to make some reward passes. My fabulous collaborating teacher last year, Heidi, had lots of different reward ideas for our kids throughout the year. It was a great incentive and the kids loved getting rewarded! We used QR codes for awhile and did a random draw at the end of class using Class Dojo. She gave out all sorts of different codes. Some said, "Wear a hat in class today," "10 points towards a class party," or even "10 minutes of computer time." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I really wanted to continue this with my other classes. I liked the idea that someone had shared about giving out a card at the end of class and kids enter a weekly raffle. At the end of the week you draw names from each class to win some of these awesome passes! I also really like this post: <a href="http://interactivenotebooks.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/passes/" target="_blank">Reward Passes</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I <b>especially</b> like the "grumpy pass." This might be happening soon! Hey, even middle schoolers have bad days and sometimes just need a break. This is a great way to use the grumpy pass! I think it is important that they realize they don't necessarily get out of work for the day. If it is a test/quiz day they can't use it--or maybe if it was a real kind of emergency grumpy day I'd rather let them use it and make it up later. Not sure... I think you'd have to use teacher discretion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is what I made:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHWEIsMRv-luhheCD-jMG80jeOQMsuh3T_wH8iP2h0AkACjuXjkcpH3ZrpuhPg9AtE5-5scQi4awsnTzZIrrn3kXIp-g5lVTVM8dBoa6ZX84XlE__chBCBW_564Rve0y0LLu32AbWvzw/s1600/Computer+Reward+Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHWEIsMRv-luhheCD-jMG80jeOQMsuh3T_wH8iP2h0AkACjuXjkcpH3ZrpuhPg9AtE5-5scQi4awsnTzZIrrn3kXIp-g5lVTVM8dBoa6ZX84XlE__chBCBW_564Rve0y0LLu32AbWvzw/s400/Computer+Reward+Pass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRo4w-g1UUPq-cCa4XujU2u5URnQezYDbUDrZWaHoBFHbMIpdXvqy2g_R-1HgBQ4MzGjtJsptEzIsKEWzRZZbScsyKEFroJgXkcAawm3ij5ZyiMwdZtz_SsHfVBkbW2IS0KpRKQsP0Ls/s1600/Electronic+Reward+Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRo4w-g1UUPq-cCa4XujU2u5URnQezYDbUDrZWaHoBFHbMIpdXvqy2g_R-1HgBQ4MzGjtJsptEzIsKEWzRZZbScsyKEFroJgXkcAawm3ij5ZyiMwdZtz_SsHfVBkbW2IS0KpRKQsP0Ls/s400/Electronic+Reward+Pass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PL5f5pWgZ6yD9ebzk-szBljAlwG-H249JcBpXAR5rX6luxrIYx3sxYnLQ9JeF9pg_Um_i7eXyQoyWsbyIKIv2qaTxcwy20_0LNNRwmSdGRRrkePXoLRDCck3fiTGyxTHoQnNEQDJnCI/s1600/Seat++Reward+Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PL5f5pWgZ6yD9ebzk-szBljAlwG-H249JcBpXAR5rX6luxrIYx3sxYnLQ9JeF9pg_Um_i7eXyQoyWsbyIKIv2qaTxcwy20_0LNNRwmSdGRRrkePXoLRDCck3fiTGyxTHoQnNEQDJnCI/s400/Seat++Reward+Pass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JFmx7vCzwOFI0LoPeVTthzZ0dulH5RQChTyMv9U1AgTO6D2GaoFlLa5KBkuTs4yfzT7Io_vaXQQvBhLLChNP9zqQoPzBOcMVcrK4dK3plIi0phpJdsBHqsVykLf0YmqDBnQwQshNqLA/s1600/Snack+Reward+Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JFmx7vCzwOFI0LoPeVTthzZ0dulH5RQChTyMv9U1AgTO6D2GaoFlLa5KBkuTs4yfzT7Io_vaXQQvBhLLChNP9zqQoPzBOcMVcrK4dK3plIi0phpJdsBHqsVykLf0YmqDBnQwQshNqLA/s400/Snack+Reward+Pass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't remember whose blog I read about all these different passes on! Please let me know if it was you or if you know who it was! I usually write this down somewhere but I can't find where I wrote it down! :( </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I also posted these for free on <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Reward-Passes-793788" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Teachers Pay Teachers</span></a> if you want them! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some other people use gum passes, no shoes passes, etc. I didn't make these for a few reasons. First, we have a no gum rule for the whole school. I don't feel that I should go against that. Second, I ask my students to take their shoes off when they are in the reading area to prevent dirt from getting on the nice carpet or, in last year's case, the foam flooring. This makes me feel that it is at least a little cleaner for kids to lay on their stomachs or sit on the floor with a good book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We do have a school policy on electronics, however I did not feel as bad about bending this one a little. Our school is pretty awesome in that our principal is very open-minded and with teacher discretion I think he would be OK with this. Also, we allow the kids to use electronics at lunch. My principal liked the idea that kids should know that electronics have a time and a place and at lunch is okay--I LOVE THIS! :) After so many years of babysiting (17+, but who is counting? LOL), I also realized that more and more of my kids were reading on their devices. Hey, if they want to read on their tiny iPod screen I'm not going to stop them! So I allow them to use them in my classroom with permission. Yes, they must ask me <u>every</u> time so that I know exactly what their intent is and so they have told me as well. I have let them know up front that <b>if</b> I catch them <u>not</u> reading and playing games, etc. then they lose the privilage. Simple as that. Don't ask me again if you are caught. I don't go looking if the kids have lied to me about this either. I believe them. I mean reading on an electronic device looks completely different than playing a game, right? So far I have not had anyone violate this rule. I think they find it fair. Because this is also <i>their</i> personal reading time I don't care what they read--they can read comics, sports, magazines, etc. Just enjoy it! :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The last thing I made was name plates for my desks. Harry Wong always said to start off the first day of school assigning students seats. It lets them know your expectation from day one. I haven't always done this. In fact, last year was the first year I gave it a shot and assigned seats. I just tell kids to find their name when they walk in to class. I didn't know the kids last year so I put them into alphabetical order. This year, since I am moving up a grade level and will have about 1/3 of the same kids again, I intend to mix them up. I know a lot of them and so if they are a talker I'll try to find them the best seat possible for them--maybe close to me or maybe near some people who I know are not talkers. There are 7 class periods at my school--2 I do not teach but share my room with an exploratory teacher. I went ahead and included all 7. I will explain more about why I did that in another post. :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't mind sharing these, but I wasn't sure if these would be appropriate to put up on Teachers Pay Teachers since they are specific to 1st-7th hours. If you all are interested I can put them up too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That's it for my Monday Made It! I am off to the Teacher Resource Center for an hour or two. I have a few things I need to finish making for my bulletin board and I need to print a few things in color. I plan on working in my classroom afterwards. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hope you have a fabulous Monday!</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-82152749265924949262013-07-27T21:52:00.002-07:002013-07-27T21:52:56.717-07:00Snapshots of the Week<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZrS3MIEWRj6GjrPBt9iwdDP_hBh5s-WZ6OZXVuECq2Bz4NXnECH-GuyZQyVU7tZwZ122-ZDsgaGsr3g9mglJSGgyODTzaIcPymSQCu1q3JuTJ6oXkXmxnRNfK0D9zti6XBLM25hxLMM/s1600/Snapshots.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZrS3MIEWRj6GjrPBt9iwdDP_hBh5s-WZ6OZXVuECq2Bz4NXnECH-GuyZQyVU7tZwZ122-ZDsgaGsr3g9mglJSGgyODTzaIcPymSQCu1q3JuTJ6oXkXmxnRNfK0D9zti6XBLM25hxLMM/s640/Snapshots.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?post=1319756191&group=0&frame_type=a&blog=3654071&link=aHR0cDovL2Nyb3VzZWFsbHN0YXJzLmJsb2dzcG90LmNvbS8yMDEzLzA3L3NhdHVyZGF5LXNuYXBzaG90cy5odG1s&frame=1&click=0&user=0" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I decided to jump in to Mrs. Nelson's Saturday Snapshots...and other photos from the week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since I've never shared photos of my "babies" I thought I would show you a few. Hubs and I have only been married 4 years and don't have any children yet, but we do have "fur babies." I had an adorable kitten, Izzy, when we started dating. Why yes, she got her name from the one and only Grey's Anatomy Isabelle Stevens but I shortened it to Izzy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Shortly after we started dating hubs got an adorable pup from the pound. Unfortunately, she was very ill and needed a liver shunt, daily injections, etc. and was only 4 months old! The vet told us he had never seen a dog so sick at such a young age in his 30+ years of practice. There was no way hubs (my boyfriend at the time) could keep her and so we had to take her back so they could put her down. We had adoringly named her Lucy--a nickname my family has always called me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He really wanted a pup and was so sad that this sweet one was so ill and it just about broke my heart. I found the other cutest pup in the world at the Kentucky Humane Society and we traveled to see/purchase her the next day! We named her Ethel--to pay homage to our Lucy--and call her Ellie.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhiHQYuP40V_Tt9XIJxpcwlgKw-b8WKm3a-vaLHh7tXvSKbL0G3X4xoKG0Xg99uB85U4FT61TD8hOjDrzlnFcLo16t_hb4Gq9fgQ-EaubjzCleWAka2w2gRxpEQ0LY01fwGwOtZCPAHk/s1600/baby+ellie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhiHQYuP40V_Tt9XIJxpcwlgKw-b8WKm3a-vaLHh7tXvSKbL0G3X4xoKG0Xg99uB85U4FT61TD8hOjDrzlnFcLo16t_hb4Gq9fgQ-EaubjzCleWAka2w2gRxpEQ0LY01fwGwOtZCPAHk/s640/baby+ellie.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is baby Ellie. Her ear stuck up for a day or two and then went back down for a button-ear look. She is in the garage at my parent's house on the day we graduated from undergrad.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We got married a year later and combined our lovely pets into one household. They have a love/hate relationship that is quite humorous for us to watch. Also known as the dog who wants the cat to love her but the cat who wants nothing to do with the dog. HA!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hubs also has a slight obsession with Ms. Izzy. He has never had a cat before and acts like a five-year-old with her because she doesn't really like anyone but me and likes to do her own thing. It is quite humorous!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are some fun pics (and a few oldies!)...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKHlDRzkiYfYS2HAwHFeIdwikZKakmzvPyTF9B0RN8gYZq_kHMguXzrA9GP_3Z8vYSICdIADqyWupthkGbQWQ0bgMGVKdxG49-W0FbKA-dvkmKuQJDuSaMrdoXEA4rj_6KLTQxtDSWcKg/s1600/Ellie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKHlDRzkiYfYS2HAwHFeIdwikZKakmzvPyTF9B0RN8gYZq_kHMguXzrA9GP_3Z8vYSICdIADqyWupthkGbQWQ0bgMGVKdxG49-W0FbKA-dvkmKuQJDuSaMrdoXEA4rj_6KLTQxtDSWcKg/s640/Ellie.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing like coming home to hubs and Ellie...dressed up? Hubs likes to mess with her too sometimes. ;)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKMUol-0Z6UFNaFIKgg1_WwkzjTr8kGiJUoMg3Pdhf2-H5pRuKkbo7-YS0lPFjP-pKPc6uixPTAswWM94SFvDd0kqLGDxLbMp2wbB9GGECJQdShoJimYGxWOezDq-KtFuJ0r1FxXO0po/s1600/cat+in+a+tunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKMUol-0Z6UFNaFIKgg1_WwkzjTr8kGiJUoMg3Pdhf2-H5pRuKkbo7-YS0lPFjP-pKPc6uixPTAswWM94SFvDd0kqLGDxLbMp2wbB9GGECJQdShoJimYGxWOezDq-KtFuJ0r1FxXO0po/s640/cat+in+a+tunnel.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty typical Izzy. She loves her cat tunnel! She also LOVES plastic bags but I am way too worried she would strangle herself so I have to put them up. This tunnel makes that nice crinkle sound that she loves. It's a compromise! HA!<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkGptpD19N_uB6eRKN6AFqiQzac3KAACK0RuoMI-HtK0bR_mdrK1UGSJC9M4Cb7pt8mR5elRETi4odYQ6e0FBszi6UMFHmCTIDtuTzrqFC-YwSCnMxMx813JRUeduHgJw0zFZBPvaIMU/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkGptpD19N_uB6eRKN6AFqiQzac3KAACK0RuoMI-HtK0bR_mdrK1UGSJC9M4Cb7pt8mR5elRETi4odYQ6e0FBszi6UMFHmCTIDtuTzrqFC-YwSCnMxMx813JRUeduHgJw0zFZBPvaIMU/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"If I fits, I sits!"<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoaKddAVeMacl2dknsFt59o3e1vy9gDPTK0hYzE-fLYJf0yLGRrgSRB4TOGUuGtH2qm4l_2nQEfYDUZ2qInjrXXdJe8rwmBnhM6zRb2F7V5mt6GJZh47kXL-bpsbF2lP7o753qy2q3a4/s1600/cat+in+a+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPoaKddAVeMacl2dknsFt59o3e1vy9gDPTK0hYzE-fLYJf0yLGRrgSRB4TOGUuGtH2qm4l_2nQEfYDUZ2qInjrXXdJe8rwmBnhM6zRb2F7V5mt6GJZh47kXL-bpsbF2lP7o753qy2q3a4/s640/cat+in+a+box.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last week I had a lovely little shipment from The Container Store with a pristine box. This was the perfect size and it was love at first sight!<br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1RLnU_nPfUPdNcJCz2MfZmo0jbtM75TbLST5WJyF-4iIkYa5Bxo3skOirp8BAepJ9KQoUJhbpZoox491MP-Tf-PWNOR3IqGM7qMGAqPSFu272jwFQv7MlADGgVKMJ8yHACKtd07OUfA/s1600/Box+Design.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1RLnU_nPfUPdNcJCz2MfZmo0jbtM75TbLST5WJyF-4iIkYa5Bxo3skOirp8BAepJ9KQoUJhbpZoox491MP-Tf-PWNOR3IqGM7qMGAqPSFu272jwFQv7MlADGgVKMJ8yHACKtd07OUfA/s640/Box+Design.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So I made a joke to the hubs the night before that I might "bling" out her box since I was trying to be more crafty this summer. So this happened...<br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s2zgfg0eUGl6MPYDb3WHIJkLKDlQSvNJv_9RquL7l_HcM-2G9QJA6MWQ3xOJxzdbwsWRWHTt7-ZrcJ2ac-vi7LqZTzXcgrHVcBjmGoHpza-VFiFSgoYs0mRItOMRrPOYMZ5yyoQyTcQ/s1600/Izzy's+Box+Decorated+by+Sam.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s2zgfg0eUGl6MPYDb3WHIJkLKDlQSvNJv_9RquL7l_HcM-2G9QJA6MWQ3xOJxzdbwsWRWHTt7-ZrcJ2ac-vi7LqZTzXcgrHVcBjmGoHpza-VFiFSgoYs0mRItOMRrPOYMZ5yyoQyTcQ/s640/Izzy's+Box+Decorated+by+Sam.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hubs took over my job. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Izzy liked it so much. She sort of stopped playing with it as much. Needless to say on cleaning day we ended up pitching it out. It was fun while it lasted.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Which leads me to the fun we had this weekend. We are obviously huge party people on the weekend. Last night Izzy kept trying to grab my hair tie off of the coffee table (she has a weird obsession with these and we find them all over the floor! I swear I pick them up!). So hubs decided to have some more fun...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVk8aWu7HVWgtWR6G0SFp9l_47GXqP9HtDIPijADq-YJgE6xsGH8P2Vye1rPMGwTQWXwTmDcFmxOBsWl2N-ENlNb7EgkR7PmRhyphenhyphenbmTkHI4ZtPuaVIKU5lyJIyKtqwzSk2R5m8rqIiSl_s/s1600/Izzy+Hair+Tie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVk8aWu7HVWgtWR6G0SFp9l_47GXqP9HtDIPijADq-YJgE6xsGH8P2Vye1rPMGwTQWXwTmDcFmxOBsWl2N-ENlNb7EgkR7PmRhyphenhyphenbmTkHI4ZtPuaVIKU5lyJIyKtqwzSk2R5m8rqIiSl_s/s640/Izzy+Hair+Tie.JPG" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He thinks he is so crafty after watching me all summer... nothing like some ribbon hanging from my family room ceiling with one of her jingle balls on the end and... at last! The amazing hair tie!<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPsTuICiycQEZnk5SCNMOo5lGzNNrlSD1daaNc8Nx3pFR-8qtuqtE8lTcSvtdXPbzwI-4j67BpgfAP-kDmcDcBzfZZMHPI2_7kakfQoJ8ek-ahjI5Xw0SwkUZX1pBmhJTRjCW8iLogUE/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPsTuICiycQEZnk5SCNMOo5lGzNNrlSD1daaNc8Nx3pFR-8qtuqtE8lTcSvtdXPbzwI-4j67BpgfAP-kDmcDcBzfZZMHPI2_7kakfQoJ8ek-ahjI5Xw0SwkUZX1pBmhJTRjCW8iLogUE/s640/image.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard to see it but she has hit it and it's swinging!<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfThk_vnNCkHK0BhcWr_0DlRmrOpmp-_yLRIBZ0AP2eNpDklxDnZ21g9NiFZJrBJ5wXNfYDq0IqMDv5T8-Pxl_j3S6qxNIXHyFLj7DAB7PFXFUNp6mpiIy0uZnqGctC0K9yo-btNhhWE/s1600/Izzy+Hair+Tie+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfThk_vnNCkHK0BhcWr_0DlRmrOpmp-_yLRIBZ0AP2eNpDklxDnZ21g9NiFZJrBJ5wXNfYDq0IqMDv5T8-Pxl_j3S6qxNIXHyFLj7DAB7PFXFUNp6mpiIy0uZnqGctC0K9yo-btNhhWE/s640/Izzy+Hair+Tie+2.JPG" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hours of fun! We eventually added a second hair tie and then she attacked my bobby pins so one was added. She tired out soon after.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg27Stgu2_BV1sfVPbMlja-Rqppq8QvuAqm8uGm-F51wLvB-RPUTyqAYEQCXnX-PSdn66ug0zNdW4i6UYS8pAHZUGLHApSHmYALrnz_4gPmFF79PYTq0_ZguVeW0DAerIJ4qa0kUws6Yg/s1600/Picture+Frames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg27Stgu2_BV1sfVPbMlja-Rqppq8QvuAqm8uGm-F51wLvB-RPUTyqAYEQCXnX-PSdn66ug0zNdW4i6UYS8pAHZUGLHApSHmYALrnz_4gPmFF79PYTq0_ZguVeW0DAerIJ4qa0kUws6Yg/s640/Picture+Frames.jpg" width="546" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was my creation over the weekend! I took some quotes I loved and typed them up over a fun background. I bought cheap Dollar store frames, spray painted them and voila! Cute pictures frames for my classroom. Izzy enjoyed them too!<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuI-AcpYANkMqmFD0Giq88C9QJqdAglsXmJM5rV8N2KeuuUd_kO538CdSJopk7TzerC8kqTGfkYJrWzBpfXxhE8dWIybmAuv1M16icjmTH8_hDd-dX1n2xWH-J83mZa4gf6Qh8jCf8i4/s1600/Izzy+Cries.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDuI-AcpYANkMqmFD0Giq88C9QJqdAglsXmJM5rV8N2KeuuUd_kO538CdSJopk7TzerC8kqTGfkYJrWzBpfXxhE8dWIybmAuv1M16icjmTH8_hDd-dX1n2xWH-J83mZa4gf6Qh8jCf8i4/s640/Izzy+Cries.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She may look angry but this is her begging me to pet her. :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now you probably know way more than you wanted to about our little obsession with Izzy & Ellie. Hopefully I'll have some real pics next week to share with you with a few less animal pics. :) </span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-65438325859859027192013-07-26T18:03:00.000-07:002013-07-26T18:03:24.617-07:00Favorite Pins Friday!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Friday! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sorry about not blogging yesterday. I have been trying to make an effort to blog every week day, however yesterday turned out to be an eventful day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I met with my new fabulous team of teachers to go over some notes about the new school year. I left and decided to stop at the Dollar Tree so see if they had any cute bins for my ISN supplies. I'm worried my bins may be a bit too small. While there my husband called me as he was leaving his annual doctor's appointment (which I urge him to attend even though it is just a check-up). We had just started talking when I heard screeching tires and he said, "I've just been hit. I was just hit." You could tell he was in complete shock. I said, "Call 911 babe, ok?" I didn't hear anything else but the call ended.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was sort of freaking out. I wasn't sure how OK he was. Was he just in shock and was really hurt? He has a small car so I was concerned about how badly he was hurt and how much damage was done to his car. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I immediately left and called him again after about 5 minutes (enough time for him to call 911 if needed). He picked up and told me he was fine. The police were on their way and they got the cars off the road. I told him I was nearby and was on my way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm sure that was over doing it but I just had to make sure he was okay. It actually turned out to be a good thing because his car was not driveable. The lady who accidentally hit him was turning left across five lanes of traffic and didn't see my husband. She hit him right at the front of driver's side bumper and even bent the hub cab of the front tire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I arrived the police officer was calling in all of the information from his vehicle and had called a tow truck for my husband's car. We then had to wait for the tow truck and followed it to the dealership. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What was supposed to be a simple day turned into a few hours. I also had to drive him to work this morning so that I could have a car for the day. He managed to get in touch with her insurance agent and she had already filed the claim so they were able to get hubs a rental car--I just had to take him to pick it up this afternoon. They said that the appraiser would not get to look at his car until Monday. Ugh!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Neither one of us has ever been in an accident where work had to be done on a car before. I was hit once but my dad took care of all of that so I honestly don't even remember how the process worked. LOL!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyways...today has been a better day! Now hubs has his rental car and so I am no longer a professional chauffer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My mom met me at school today and I worked a little bit on my bulletin board. It's not finished yet so I won't put up pictures.... :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On to the main part of this post...it is Favorite Pins Friday! Woo hoo!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPbCrDBAAT7836MqJZ2ZIjDcw33lbb6be2cHPIa-6KsBt1a4v-AQBBuE5oiZuD6GVSpFBICdUOCawQ-Qj4WP-iWsrXbkB_hCzp1maupSlP4SMFc7YoslEUuhHgNNVdfF-aqpsCczO1IQ/s1600/Favorite+Pins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPbCrDBAAT7836MqJZ2ZIjDcw33lbb6be2cHPIa-6KsBt1a4v-AQBBuE5oiZuD6GVSpFBICdUOCawQ-Qj4WP-iWsrXbkB_hCzp1maupSlP4SMFc7YoslEUuhHgNNVdfF-aqpsCczO1IQ/s640/Favorite+Pins.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">First, let's start with some totally awesome school pins!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidy2SrpHDxd1fHrG5W5SmLVu6LnngJljQM6Fsc8yK7HisLMIfohv-Vvw4vZyzvg3qTNXvYHmNTtw9nBIjlUFU52m6mnhzfNera1LuB4BlfRJa-p5nUmH8V-XHp-K3z_7z-DhYp9bLL264/s1600/Boxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidy2SrpHDxd1fHrG5W5SmLVu6LnngJljQM6Fsc8yK7HisLMIfohv-Vvw4vZyzvg3qTNXvYHmNTtw9nBIjlUFU52m6mnhzfNera1LuB4BlfRJa-p5nUmH8V-XHp-K3z_7z-DhYp9bLL264/s640/Boxes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://fun-n-first.blogspot.com/2012/08/silhouette-cameo-giveaway-linky-party.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I really like the Grade, Copy, File box, but I also would love to add the "Laminate" box to it! I don't think I need any of these others but it just gave me that extra idea. Sometimes I have stuff I need to laminate that sits on my desk for awhile so it would be great to just be able to put it all in one place and pull the drawer when needed.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicok8brws876QEWf66KBBzt4AHJVD8D0H_9lAR7n-yDkQ9a-bJPtz2ZDbj60OMmgB0rVhA8ryrARym7bH5APyYSABNkSe5b7ctI9tKYXmsV5DPSmUB8qoiCkUeMg6RcOZLk0CUHahPU-k/s1600/homophones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicok8brws876QEWf66KBBzt4AHJVD8D0H_9lAR7n-yDkQ9a-bJPtz2ZDbj60OMmgB0rVhA8ryrARym7bH5APyYSABNkSe5b7ctI9tKYXmsV5DPSmUB8qoiCkUeMg6RcOZLk0CUHahPU-k/s640/homophones.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://adventuresofastudentteacher.tumblr.com/post/52810640714/homophones-non-example-letter" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love this letter to students! Even middle schoolers still make these common mistakes so I think this is a really sweet reminder for them to proofread their own work. My kids hate looking over their own work for some reason. They have it in their minds that after they type it they are done. This is a very sweet and subtle reminder.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfC3c27H5k24CZzxTVHAbZnW-GXi2477CKz-uUWmV3bpxr4SC9VomR2i8BhKKs24PsfjOHyRui6ySouRqJq7jNaYYkju-ewpCWHXF-0ofhu5LULSSSkbm_cSbt740ynUl6wyu8k6xudf0/s1600/Magazines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfC3c27H5k24CZzxTVHAbZnW-GXi2477CKz-uUWmV3bpxr4SC9VomR2i8BhKKs24PsfjOHyRui6ySouRqJq7jNaYYkju-ewpCWHXF-0ofhu5LULSSSkbm_cSbt740ynUl6wyu8k6xudf0/s640/Magazines.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://margdteachingphotos.weebly.com/classroom-libraries.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I want this so bad for my classroom! My kids love reading magazines too and so I like to put out a variety. This is probably going to be my next classroom splurge!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErwLFWw8WOZDFHnOOOKi-_DjTyrErvmI76FgQ7FiMG2ATN88U6SlZsK5tkFOsRSHkiahaSPaDRKt3h_pgw4X0xC0A8yHRni3fqiY2_O2LAJ5heWNpAK9dz8kC46MV4vpMgGeA6d5miOY/s1600/Bulletin+Board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErwLFWw8WOZDFHnOOOKi-_DjTyrErvmI76FgQ7FiMG2ATN88U6SlZsK5tkFOsRSHkiahaSPaDRKt3h_pgw4X0xC0A8yHRni3fqiY2_O2LAJ5heWNpAK9dz8kC46MV4vpMgGeA6d5miOY/s640/Bulletin+Board.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mrswhite1103.blogspot.com/2013/04/bulletin-boards-for-8th-grade.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love this bulletin board for multiple reasons. First off, I don't get to teach the holocaust in 7th grade because it is taught in 8th grade at our school. However, that quote is amazing! I also love that she included lots of pictures from the holocaust for the kids to reference. I am working on my bulletin board on segregation to go with the memoir that I teach. I'm using this as my inspiration!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13nvRIaU2GHm3Qdc8JoMg8mGRFsPSeWfGQzFxzQJnksucrt-ECi8KWl8pE5-6ITu2KNRbelSzr8q-YcwAn2tKuxAuRj1r0eWpmCC4mqicLndITxXKwK0GAhHzL-eOi63IrgadYgPisEc/s1600/Reference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13nvRIaU2GHm3Qdc8JoMg8mGRFsPSeWfGQzFxzQJnksucrt-ECi8KWl8pE5-6ITu2KNRbelSzr8q-YcwAn2tKuxAuRj1r0eWpmCC4mqicLndITxXKwK0GAhHzL-eOi63IrgadYgPisEc/s640/Reference.jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://littlestlearners.blogspot.com/search/label/3:%20Whatever%20Wedensday-%20A%20Hodge%20Podge%20of%20Goodness" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I adore this classroom info station! I am using this to inspire me to make those ugly, but necessary classroom documents a little more attractive near the door.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f3n-yvcKmOE4SoXt512hOzCWUFZrDVs4H-9Jzt1hhKmxXa6DJpdpPJh4bY-m6gtIRq8ooEj00rhs3zJvGCuiJYrQ2KJ4ifJW5KYJ2Emfp8pt6j0E7XEQb4BlmKG4xTg4_dpbco80sy4/s1600/black+posterboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f3n-yvcKmOE4SoXt512hOzCWUFZrDVs4H-9Jzt1hhKmxXa6DJpdpPJh4bY-m6gtIRq8ooEj00rhs3zJvGCuiJYrQ2KJ4ifJW5KYJ2Emfp8pt6j0E7XEQb4BlmKG4xTg4_dpbco80sy4/s640/black+posterboard.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/07/creating-display-areas-classroom-360.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love the extra bulletin board in this room! Not only does this look really clean and neat but it would be great to use this to add a fun quote or a little extra decor to the room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok, on to a few personal pins now...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgwS3_pyMgMsZXdmFNY-veitZnbsMP2wZ2Rlxhsat3NB0V9jGCoie5Dlcvkg3NRq5u_w21H0IsbRcoZ4p3qojqTUampidxzeybdPodYxbCzqZqH59i1167ndztb7Yz5CJDiLUsSTKiKg/s1600/Dessert+Pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgwS3_pyMgMsZXdmFNY-veitZnbsMP2wZ2Rlxhsat3NB0V9jGCoie5Dlcvkg3NRq5u_w21H0IsbRcoZ4p3qojqTUampidxzeybdPodYxbCzqZqH59i1167ndztb7Yz5CJDiLUsSTKiKg/s640/Dessert+Pizza.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lessordinarydesigns.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fruit pizza is probably one of my favorite desserts! I have never thought to make mini versions...duh! I can't wait to make these in the near future.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRw3UUegYFHFuwT9UUG2DqMvd22_LrDgxl3BSxiYBunumYCPmqEOdLUHGjdkBwm_RoJIDA8LSLC1kw28G95uUo8TxBq8bSwLZtm1Q6Qg4aVMGfrcRh69eT6Ywt11h9OdQrsB7PMQ1KTSw/s1600/Ledges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRw3UUegYFHFuwT9UUG2DqMvd22_LrDgxl3BSxiYBunumYCPmqEOdLUHGjdkBwm_RoJIDA8LSLC1kw28G95uUo8TxBq8bSwLZtm1Q6Qg4aVMGfrcRh69eT6Ywt11h9OdQrsB7PMQ1KTSw/s640/Ledges.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chiclittlehouse.com/2010/08/inviting-entryway-updated.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have been eyeing Pottery Barn ledges FOR EVER y'all! I just couldn't get over the price to purchase three of them. So over the weekend I searched Pinterest for Pottery Barn knock off ledges and low and behold I found these! Not only do they look super easy to make but they were $20 total! SCORE! I see this in my near future. ;) </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBchX6DSpp0_zUNJ3jGHGr1Vizm9aKTwUp_oIC9TSqbtUsoY-rDg4NcjrTTUe5A9-4b_rFADdNa7eQhh3i-HWPd41ayoCz2mM69K-l2IPmpbQnxqNd9lFL2etz9Q_Z2cKZBnkbUsyh4A4/s1600/Vinyl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBchX6DSpp0_zUNJ3jGHGr1Vizm9aKTwUp_oIC9TSqbtUsoY-rDg4NcjrTTUe5A9-4b_rFADdNa7eQhh3i-HWPd41ayoCz2mM69K-l2IPmpbQnxqNd9lFL2etz9Q_Z2cKZBnkbUsyh4A4/s640/Vinyl.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/62229024/large-personalized-monogrammed-decal" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I also love this monogram on a picture frame! I am hoping to make a copycat version soon for our home.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuPzYT28KxGKS8T3jMiH5M6WT34t3DZv-7sGITYT8hJs63q2YHDPzBj6gvWxdGCqoTkzY9pbwxfjsot5kS6CUd3-9udfptOFNwH917uWlbEciS2WosNoTSYIrix-kDp9IUGLThnZNT0s/s1600/Quotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuPzYT28KxGKS8T3jMiH5M6WT34t3DZv-7sGITYT8hJs63q2YHDPzBj6gvWxdGCqoTkzY9pbwxfjsot5kS6CUd3-9udfptOFNwH917uWlbEciS2WosNoTSYIrix-kDp9IUGLThnZNT0s/s640/Quotes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My last one is a little personal but I love this as a daily reminder. Sometimes it is easy for us to judge others decisions and part of my journey on being a better Christian is to remember not to judge people on their own journey. Even if you are not a Christian I think that this is just good advice on being a better person.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's it for me folks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and I would post more classroom pics but it looks like a giant tornado swept through. My mom even commented today that it looks more disorganized. That's what happens when I open more and more boxes and try to organize the madness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pics coming soon...I promise!</span></div>
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<a href="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" /></a></div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-73823173226737422512013-07-24T20:23:00.006-07:002013-07-24T20:23:55.752-07:0010 Things I've Learned from Teaching<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I decided to hop on the bandwagon and join in on the 10 Things I've Learned from Teaching that was started by Miss Kindergarten.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMXC0Gs16X7pf3exkJppQWz1XKejeo957tIVFlH5nMmbSJxq8czTiS_24rT8gWb3rkxlpNFmuwp5sirdwfMl6ETLmuPX0onrmoAmzBLuAvPF4eMqAGgmgvio1D-8n-Ej3nwp3wNHaC3M/s1600/10+Things+I've+Learned+from+Teaching.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.miss-kindergarten.com/2013/07/10-things-ive-learned-from-teaching.html" border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMXC0Gs16X7pf3exkJppQWz1XKejeo957tIVFlH5nMmbSJxq8czTiS_24rT8gWb3rkxlpNFmuwp5sirdwfMl6ETLmuPX0onrmoAmzBLuAvPF4eMqAGgmgvio1D-8n-Ej3nwp3wNHaC3M/s640/10+Things+I've+Learned+from+Teaching.png" title="Miss-Kindergarten 10 Things" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm sure some of these will be redundant from other bloggers...here we go....</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. <u>Be passionate about what you do and have fun! </u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am so thankful to be in a job that I love! I absolutely get a thrill out of finding a cool lesson plan and can't wait to share it with my kids. Chances are if I am excited and passionate about what I teach it rubs off on my kids. I try to incorporate a few fun daily activities into my lessons as well. I don't do powerpoint notes very often, but when I do I try to make it fun! Add in some crazy funny pictures throughout that you think the kids will enjoy. They love the little things too like slide transitions and sound effects.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGO2oZ2AbGH3psLdWMrziaZpBF3V-Glq2TCRGpT_nWHKGti3iD4zDuD2BsrtVw23LAdEO51sQWYRy2KLQOCRBhHWbkdZNHj2mWtFnAy8yTdV_EI1gOUtuGkkxFXwY27iuFZ6Sk3wckYc/s1600/pick+a+partner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGO2oZ2AbGH3psLdWMrziaZpBF3V-Glq2TCRGpT_nWHKGti3iD4zDuD2BsrtVw23LAdEO51sQWYRy2KLQOCRBhHWbkdZNHj2mWtFnAy8yTdV_EI1gOUtuGkkxFXwY27iuFZ6Sk3wckYc/s640/pick+a+partner.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't wait to use this one when we have a group activity this year!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They also love pictures and clipart to go along with the information they are learning. I am a visual learner so I always try to incorporate pictures of things we are talking about in class. Sometimes I just walk over to my computer and pull up a google image and show it to the class of what I am talking about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the end of the class period we almost always have Youtube time! This was an idea I got at the beginning of the year when I started Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) and saw that kids wanted to earn some "fun" time! As the year went on I got bad about not doing the WBT ideas every day so they kind of fizzled out. However, Youtube time remained. The kids knew that they could pick a video IF they stayed on task and we got our lesson done. Sometimes I had to stop class for the last 2 minutes just to pop a video up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This one was a huge hit this year!:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I let the kids pick the videos and they have to promise it is school appropriate. If I found the video is not because of a cuss word, etc. I stop the video right there and that student loses the privilage of picking a video for awhile. Students know the rules and this has only happened a handful of times--let's be honest, some are honest mistakes. Kids watch more PG-13 stuff at home. My rule is G and PG for the classroom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. <u>Be flexible!</u> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I know this is really hard because I feel so much pressure, especially as a Language Arts teacher whose content is tested every year, but you really have to go with the flow sometimes. There will be interruptions. Sometimes the kids will get called out of class and you had no idea this would happen--football meeting after the announcements ran a little too long, etc. It will be ok, I promise. On days like these I try to just relax. If I was planning on introducing new content and I feel that I have too many kids out I'll do a review activity instead. It will be OK. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. <u>Don't lose your cool!</u> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have been blessed in my past with over 15+ years of babysitting experiences thanks to starting at the age of 11. When a kid offends you or challenges you in class I know what you want to do--you want to put the kid in his place or maybe even go off. Take a deep breath. Sometimes just giving them "the look" or, the "I can't believe you just said/did that" face will get them to stop. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93uIvaqVOFKGIXH1xArqoebW8NCLZ6GACPlXmIT6MG3tuMLhvFeuWnLxefhfAqWb4hwQtFmTpYX-zmMf48Ua6pbumbgVYFn2Tmz6-ziJWXtDYZydOjpw9n-hTFJBxVifrGCJWhKWX6aE/s1600/grumpy+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93uIvaqVOFKGIXH1xArqoebW8NCLZ6GACPlXmIT6MG3tuMLhvFeuWnLxefhfAqWb4hwQtFmTpYX-zmMf48Ua6pbumbgVYFn2Tmz6-ziJWXtDYZydOjpw9n-hTFJBxVifrGCJWhKWX6aE/s640/grumpy+cat.jpg" width="572" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have also learned a secret power....</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This past year (as has happened for the past couple of years) the kids finally come around to an Ah-Ha moment. One student eneviatably will say to me, "Mrs. Finley--you never yell at us or raise your voice." To which I reply, "Why would I? There is no point in yelling at you all or having a temper tantrum." My kids have actually picked up this tidbit about me. If they don't get quite after I have already asked them to I simply stand in the front of the room and wait. Within 3 seconds my fellow minions will turn on one another and say, "Shhh Mrs. Finley is waiting!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The same thing happens when a student says something that he/she shouldn't. Not only does "the look" come in handy, but my minions turn on the student quick. Nothing works better than a little peer pressure, am I right? They will say things like, "Why would you say that to Mrs. Finley? She is the nicest teacher ever!" etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So try not to lose your cool--the kids are watching. Also, remember they make talk like adults, but they are still kids. Most of mine are 12. I try not to stoop to their level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. <u>Don't be afraid of parents/guardians.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Parents want to be involved in their child's life. Now, do I <i>enjoy</i> making bad phone calls home? Absolutely not! However, it helps to build a rapport with them <u>before</u> you ever have to call home to tell them that Little Johnny did something in class.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before I taught at my current school I taught at a school with REALLY high poverty and was classified as Title 1 because of the population of student's on free/reduced lunch for three years. I learned so much about teaching working at this school that is invaluable to me now!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I know sometimes it seems like parents may not care, but they do, I promise! Many of my parents at my Title 1 school were single women or even a grandparent raising the student. Many were juggling multiple children and many even had difficult job hours (lots of parents that worked night shifts). So although they may not make it to open house or always return your phone call promptly they DO care! I promise!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Build your relationships with parents and you will see a change in your classroom. It makes a world of difference if you ever encounter a problem because you have built that rapport. The parents have a face and know a little about what kind of a teacher you are--they know you sincerely care about their child and his/her education.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQQed1w1mREsniHC5s5WBtM7SRGpQuHjUfsBHXwOq1BsHRP3UAJSYRMKPDK2_H0EPu_hWx1uFG2g_jS0v31RDepW9eD21Ph81GKGaM7iaUbC_14wfZbQP83f9V-Tmz2KvymXudPTU_tY/s1600/Parent+and+Teacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQQed1w1mREsniHC5s5WBtM7SRGpQuHjUfsBHXwOq1BsHRP3UAJSYRMKPDK2_H0EPu_hWx1uFG2g_jS0v31RDepW9eD21Ph81GKGaM7iaUbC_14wfZbQP83f9V-Tmz2KvymXudPTU_tY/s640/Parent+and+Teacher.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last note, I mentioned that I call home on every kid in my classes within the first month of school. If you notice one or two kids who might be more difficult right off the bat call home as soon as possible to get that first touch of positive contact made. They say it takes 3 positive phone calls for every 1 negative phone call. Try to keep that in mind when talking to parents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. <u>Avoid the water cooler and gossip mill.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">No matter where you work you know who these people are. Steer clear. I'm not saying be unkind, just know that if you share something be comfortable that it may (and probably will) get out to the whole school. If you are new to a school and don't know who these people are yet just don't share anything with anybody you wouldn't want out until it is made clear to you who you can trust.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ANDQaQjOdtksaxPpoRdtKsJhZF01D2_Oh3hXJGK3wSZjlojGc-zfKdM1-r_KWUWS9ylRMJRSHWJ8qqy-FjCiQN8Xu5KWB4aua4aEYxZE0BO_Wgd-5XahRmtNsrAN_aF4hXaCaa4Cky4/s1600/mind+your+own+business.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ANDQaQjOdtksaxPpoRdtKsJhZF01D2_Oh3hXJGK3wSZjlojGc-zfKdM1-r_KWUWS9ylRMJRSHWJ8qqy-FjCiQN8Xu5KWB4aua4aEYxZE0BO_Wgd-5XahRmtNsrAN_aF4hXaCaa4Cky4/s640/mind+your+own+business.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I try hard to avoid this...let's be honest, we all get sucked in at times. Just try to make the best choices every day! :) </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I try to be studious at school anyway. If I have a planning period without a meeting I am busy working in my classroom lesson planning, grading, making copies, touching base with parents, etc. I am so overly socialized sometimes by my kids that I need this time anyways to unwind and get back in my groove--this also usually means less work for me to take home. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. <u>Continu</u></span><span style="font-size: large;"><u>e your own professional development.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am so thankful for my wonderful school district and all of the opportunities that are available to me through them. They offer so many opportunities for Language Arts teachers and give out some GREAT free resources! That Laura Robb binder I mentioned earlier:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_3_ds8TWJOXtyLkAPlvkLhM-oh0eRBQOKClRfy4CrsMHcURavejxMU97XxbwMv8lzdjnZlVFKD6uLmr9QkRS8dy6_rdjrYhNI8Tn2iYcZRR8dpImFkXK-BbJMQ3T_HxxxMhsc7Qx1rc/s1600/laura+robb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_3_ds8TWJOXtyLkAPlvkLhM-oh0eRBQOKClRfy4CrsMHcURavejxMU97XxbwMv8lzdjnZlVFKD6uLmr9QkRS8dy6_rdjrYhNI8Tn2iYcZRR8dpImFkXK-BbJMQ3T_HxxxMhsc7Qx1rc/s640/laura+robb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got it completely FREE! It has been one of my trusty best friends in the past year and a half that I have had it. I promised that I would attend the 5 meetings in my district (approx. 1 a month) on how to use the binder in my classroom and I got to keep the binder until I retire for my personal use! Not only did they walk us through the binder and point out great resources for us but it was refreshing to hear from someone that used it and why they loved it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If I could stay in college forever, I think I would! I absolutely love English and love teaching! I think I mentioned I recently finished my 30+ hours beyond my M.A. and got my Gifted and Talented endorsement. If money grew on trees I would love to get my ELL endorsement, reading speciality degree, etc. I just feel that knowledge is invlauable and the more I know the better I can help my students. So take advantage of all of the free resources that you can!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9lppxoQwIHkv_13KCIY-jWTOoFIPL8N3urj0zb3cHhYKx1zvrDGKFI6U0VN35HpibXquK5QPvVHURuVGu3sBQMhRrsVjeoaf7ERAbyLIFg56I6pjc-XP0i0G0fRDMvzm8vKZqmQxYO4/s1600/pinning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9lppxoQwIHkv_13KCIY-jWTOoFIPL8N3urj0zb3cHhYKx1zvrDGKFI6U0VN35HpibXquK5QPvVHURuVGu3sBQMhRrsVjeoaf7ERAbyLIFg56I6pjc-XP0i0G0fRDMvzm8vKZqmQxYO4/s640/pinning.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wish! I learn so much sometimes being able to read about my fellow amazing blogger friends and find some great teachers and resources through pinterest!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One last thing, if you live in a college town or near a college town see what they offer! I just recently learned that the University of Kentucky (near where I live) has some great resources for teachers and links up to school districts all over the state. I signed up for their listserv e-mails and now I get updates about other PD's going on all over Kentucky! If I find one that inspire me I can attend and if not--> delete! :)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIS71lGxEv1nBLbqTFsdxBR-Id9ZK66f6326PnnmfCZbj4d7KvJklfDTHsvqgbsPTyPE7oIT-ShYGf2aPCnyKZWL65X6HQLDM-kKj0Vwg7TFZ8NXVXv031FWMCcK6Q96dAkZWxgVl_FU/s1600/pd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIS71lGxEv1nBLbqTFsdxBR-Id9ZK66f6326PnnmfCZbj4d7KvJklfDTHsvqgbsPTyPE7oIT-ShYGf2aPCnyKZWL65X6HQLDM-kKj0Vwg7TFZ8NXVXv031FWMCcK6Q96dAkZWxgVl_FU/s640/pd.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why thank you Mr. Gosling! ;)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. <u>Take time for yourself.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Remember to relax and try to have some "me" time. There are days when I feel like I have so much to do and need to grade papers, etc. but I have to tell myself to stop. I have done all I can do for today. Taking that hot bubble bath and reading that book before bed is a must. Don't let yourself get burnt out....and when you need to, use those personal days and enjoy it!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzoR_XMxUAD7vk5VmASYXWsOFMyVamWHt_erAIkz2xdB7rUfw2rLX55w_3KCZRORMyEmFmJurNFy7Z7IvE2YHwN8knzn3xyx9SQxjTxAJqtmxJUnzedAV2NVgehb-pOKl1M03XdEr1Quk/s1600/bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzoR_XMxUAD7vk5VmASYXWsOFMyVamWHt_erAIkz2xdB7rUfw2rLX55w_3KCZRORMyEmFmJurNFy7Z7IvE2YHwN8knzn3xyx9SQxjTxAJqtmxJUnzedAV2NVgehb-pOKl1M03XdEr1Quk/s640/bed.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok, not EVERY night. But at least an hour or so before bed. :)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">8. <u>Don't grade everything.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sure, I may tell the kids I'm going to take up their papers and grade them, but if it is really something not that important or I just don't have time then don't! It will be ok! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEh49ysB7HrInveJBXMXpsthRq5qt-O2C78kUkF0yYa0AgzHBgSTmI7fTemNuMqUlSPewXM6r5reCiIQWe8oNZB9TdxqP1a2bP_FhIx0Xtk43H5zEtLbw0dJPOIzjFZnYwL1BmJXwqKpg/s1600/you+shall+not+pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEh49ysB7HrInveJBXMXpsthRq5qt-O2C78kUkF0yYa0AgzHBgSTmI7fTemNuMqUlSPewXM6r5reCiIQWe8oNZB9TdxqP1a2bP_FhIx0Xtk43H5zEtLbw0dJPOIzjFZnYwL1BmJXwqKpg/s640/you+shall+not+pass.jpg" width="586" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HA! Thanks Gandalf!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">9. <u>Teach from your heart.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This really goes back to #1 as well but it is so important. It is how you love what you are doing and stay engaged and the kids can tell and pick up on your energy... I promise!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUDZ27W-8xbN6BQuTvajtZXO3B07co8EdnFOq1IoH58XH-cyF-UqusjEvNNGUa3oszB6aVIKL_Cb5tPxhTFDYyuvVVqqnQEPKn3iTDYQk0veXjF1usWMBq2djBI7SWCj5dj8zP1A-j2E/s1600/robin+williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUDZ27W-8xbN6BQuTvajtZXO3B07co8EdnFOq1IoH58XH-cyF-UqusjEvNNGUa3oszB6aVIKL_Cb5tPxhTFDYyuvVVqqnQEPKn3iTDYQk0veXjF1usWMBq2djBI7SWCj5dj8zP1A-j2E/s640/robin+williams.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably one of my favorite teacher movies ever...Dead Poet's Society! I love when the kids stand on their desks! *chills*</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">10. <u>Get to know your kids.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All of your kids have a story. The kids that sleeps in class--there is a reason for why that happens. Find out about your kids. Invest in them. They are our future and they deserve a caring and kind teacher. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have called home several times for sleepy kids in class concerned. I call home <u>before</u> that D or F even shows up on a midterm. I call home when I am concerned about my kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I also talk to the counselors. You are the student's best advocate! If you feel like something is going on...chances are it probably is! If the student doesn't want to talk to you see if they will open up to a counselor, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you can't get in touch with parents, talk to the social work. Make a home visit with him/her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If a parent isn't returning phone calls or e-mails call the next number listed--sometimes this is a friend, sometimes it is a grandparent. Let them know you need to talk to the parent. See if they have a new phone number or a way of getting in touch with the parent so that the two of you can talk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Schedule a parent conference. Sometimes you also need to invite the student in towards the end to figure out what is going on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just don't give up! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nobody said that teaching was easy, but you will love it so long as you teach from your heart.</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-7746221367673574642013-07-23T19:44:00.000-07:002013-07-23T19:48:08.602-07:00Classroom Work Begins!<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">So yesterday turned out to be a bit uneventful which is why there was not a post. I was suffering from a book hangover and had to finish it. I was also waiting on my husband to call me and let me know he was on his way home from work so we could go work on my classroom and he could hook up the computers for me and move some of the larger items around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately, hubs didn't get out of a meeting until after 4pm and was worn out so we decided to postpone our adventure for the day. So the only progress that was made was that I finished my book! HA! I have a guilty pleasure in reading romance books. They are just such an easy read and I don't have to really think--I can just relax. So if you are a romance fan, I highly recommend <u>Collide</u> by Gail McHugh. It does have some graphic scenes so it may not be for everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today, however, lots of progress was made!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You may have remembered my room looked like this Day 1 after it was cleaned by the custodians:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Notice that there are still some items left up on the walls...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1A30wMJh9viH1s7PoWJkw-O1kWAHOb-WBwnrtxhbtNXyqJFQUYqAzJTx6hfRauCSM7ZJsXQFrakCgYCW7G8m7D8T6srPhFHcc_9EhnjkMVVBqkkD_REvpDv5Gb2K1G54pSC0fZCVmps/s1600/Day+1+Window.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1A30wMJh9viH1s7PoWJkw-O1kWAHOb-WBwnrtxhbtNXyqJFQUYqAzJTx6hfRauCSM7ZJsXQFrakCgYCW7G8m7D8T6srPhFHcc_9EhnjkMVVBqkkD_REvpDv5Gb2K1G54pSC0fZCVmps/s640/Day+1+Window.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can't really see it in these pictures but there was a lot of little scraps of paper all over the wall from lots of former posters, velcro, sticky tack, and hot glue.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">So today I got to work......</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back of the classroom. I have 10 student computers that I got set-up and ready to run! I also went ahead and moved my tables for groups of 6, however they are really sloppy still and not in place. I also need to have the custodians level them all out since some are taller than others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I cleaned off the bulletin board because last school year's things were still left up. I also mounted a full length mirror. I got tired last year of the girls (and some boys) wanting to go check themselves out in the bathroom mirror for random reasons (do I have pen on my face? is my hair straight? etc.) so I bought a cheapo mirror from Target and some 3M mounting tape and slapped it up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the view from my door. I finally got my curtains back up! I bought them last year at Walmart and they are both blackout AND thermal (keep out the heat but keeps in the a/c!). I also have another whiteboard on this wall that I use for notes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHDBr-9NXa_i9YwGmOXQuKncIBQZp9RvGa_Fh33fYNfkYdTo3JcBTpQNN6VRZZWs1GB7m9-F-zF63GKjDwKzfAk81nLFy5mgfR1QDlweNX2Wf2nrhQnni9CFKmne2Lf04bKVtPM496jY/s1600/Day+2+Front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHDBr-9NXa_i9YwGmOXQuKncIBQZp9RvGa_Fh33fYNfkYdTo3JcBTpQNN6VRZZWs1GB7m9-F-zF63GKjDwKzfAk81nLFy5mgfR1QDlweNX2Wf2nrhQnni9CFKmne2Lf04bKVtPM496jY/s640/Day+2+Front.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This whiteboard is in the center of my room. It also become an interactive board thanks to my digipen! My school also has a TV program that we run through our computers so it is also my classroom TV for the school news in the morning and for lessons. Therefore, I try to just keep it squeaky clean. :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is my FAVORITE new thing! I bought carpet for my reading area! I wanted super plush carpet in a neutral color. This was the softest carpet they had and I really love the color! My kids know that I have a no shoes rule for the carpet area (last year I used those foam squares and had that same rule). I surrounded it with bookshelves that I have started to fill with my student books. I am hoping to move my futon in to this area in the next few days and the stand on the far right I plan on using as an end table to hold some magazines on. I also have a ton of pillows to recover and put around the perimeter for the kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the reading area from farther away. The floating bookshelf will go on the carpet after I put the futon in so it is just randomly sitting there until I figure out all the configurations. I also put up my READ letters. Love them!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWN0ZH74lnus3jhRNKbQFbtw7ErQLU3whU4ejoxx1nwRvH9eXfFFSc1dCIyzl6Du592NgwMTR0rZum43HM0Q_IK1XqZ1DuCY1KmNFRxvYUIvU22sOAduFRMlvXRKfFnkeEB3dtY1BiHs/s1600/Day+2+Teacher+Area.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWN0ZH74lnus3jhRNKbQFbtw7ErQLU3whU4ejoxx1nwRvH9eXfFFSc1dCIyzl6Du592NgwMTR0rZum43HM0Q_IK1XqZ1DuCY1KmNFRxvYUIvU22sOAduFRMlvXRKfFnkeEB3dtY1BiHs/s640/Day+2+Teacher+Area.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is my desk area. The gray cabinets are so nice and built-in!!! The large black shelf with crates sitting on it was purchased by the school and was in another teacher's classroom but she told me I could have it this past year when she retired! I love my crates and find it totally ironic that I had purchased these green and blue ones 3 years ago not even thinking of a color theme but liking them. The blue and green theme has continued.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I love the crates and the shelf unit and plan on using it for my writing folders! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don't know what the rules are in the different states but in Kentucky we have a writing portfolio that begins in kindergarten and is passed up all the way through 12th grade. Every year 3 pieces of evidence must be added to these portfolios (narrative, expository, etc.)</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Please pardon my mess!!! As I unpack boxes I have to lay it all out and then organize it so it is getting crazy messy.</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFLQTgqw-nyna1eoEpU02ZG9cdbH_LQjNaGrNKa6fqCWwOyLP-aNMlMbF-1y87oy_NE-SBcTtZAlUQsZ5F-0wHAf9lOynug9NE2GjAS4igIOCVAitO_ZhZEAUeJKaMNox33LWkT7134I/s1600/Day+2+Window.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFLQTgqw-nyna1eoEpU02ZG9cdbH_LQjNaGrNKa6fqCWwOyLP-aNMlMbF-1y87oy_NE-SBcTtZAlUQsZ5F-0wHAf9lOynug9NE2GjAS4igIOCVAitO_ZhZEAUeJKaMNox33LWkT7134I/s640/Day+2+Window.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's it for today! I am hoping to get back in there tomorrow and continue to work on my room. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll be back tomorrow with hopefully some more pics! </span></div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-20586123577980189272013-07-19T19:32:00.003-07:002013-07-21T16:35:46.681-07:00Friday Pins (Freebie!)<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Happy Friday!</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMXb6kuQsOF54qfWTfdwKAOZZFfMdOBCqO75-y_mGpfXdfYF127Hsva7b-x4dSE7BSM-d1-FdkD_EmkoneozYEXrbrtc4gf4zeVMwtufdirqj4GcCVlc2pgYIJJsvYfdsn4OT6UQGFmA/s1600/Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMXb6kuQsOF54qfWTfdwKAOZZFfMdOBCqO75-y_mGpfXdfYF127Hsva7b-x4dSE7BSM-d1-FdkD_EmkoneozYEXrbrtc4gf4zeVMwtufdirqj4GcCVlc2pgYIJJsvYfdsn4OT6UQGFmA/s320/Friday.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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That has been me today...except with a laptop computer instead of the TV remote. Oh, I did clean and organize some, but I mostly worked on school stuff today. </div>
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I had so many worksheets I wanted to make for my ISN...things I saw on other blogs and websites and I culminated those ideas together. I took some graphics I found on the internet and recreated them in paint.</div>
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Here is what I have created and you are welcome to download it and use it too!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwAaO8wtUANcb1MtDTylMVTdT3grMgYC8qI22OlNYPlpzPB1PU0ydkAx-rUw1-eWMpySsFxMZBS1KzMbXYJejZriGVSQ9O0ES8rtc0zgrL57bll-S1qGQtAZdwgw3x5OXHCB546hh75U/s1600/Fakebook.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwAaO8wtUANcb1MtDTylMVTdT3grMgYC8qI22OlNYPlpzPB1PU0ydkAx-rUw1-eWMpySsFxMZBS1KzMbXYJejZriGVSQ9O0ES8rtc0zgrL57bll-S1qGQtAZdwgw3x5OXHCB546hh75U/s200/Fakebook.png" width="153" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fakebook-2013-2014-783468" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Fakebook Free on Teachers Pay Teachers</span></a></div>
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I also made some other ISN worksheets that I plan on using with my minions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHmZllCfh46AdLOrV07r7y5TTRBlV5lqygYXOCzVMRo3sjqf-T9Qz7ASxazjFIfFUE5KkU_rMwBwD4X6od03GKf5kE-JNMZif7qz0JvvtmR95OA-Hl3ngQXm_VVWQJ6qG3btgAuC6y8Q/s1600/Favorite+Pins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHmZllCfh46AdLOrV07r7y5TTRBlV5lqygYXOCzVMRo3sjqf-T9Qz7ASxazjFIfFUE5KkU_rMwBwD4X6od03GKf5kE-JNMZif7qz0JvvtmR95OA-Hl3ngQXm_VVWQJ6qG3btgAuC6y8Q/s320/Favorite+Pins.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love the idea of Friday Favorite Pins! Especially because <u>it doesn't have to be school related.</u> Here is what I am loving:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaAb65Ov5EJzK4fEqF91tJJmmt9IO8zDHspVGvP_cMM2UfhWCvuLMXgYE-sIrc29olkB_hTudMESkeswYskEIelmRkt3VE0dRnOOA5w0AVqxCQZ7J6rgDNoZ_5L8hsF0cO9kClNeRidI/s1600/Smore+Bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaAb65Ov5EJzK4fEqF91tJJmmt9IO8zDHspVGvP_cMM2UfhWCvuLMXgYE-sIrc29olkB_hTudMESkeswYskEIelmRkt3VE0dRnOOA5w0AVqxCQZ7J6rgDNoZ_5L8hsF0cO9kClNeRidI/s400/Smore+Bars.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Does this not look amazing? They are called S'mores Cookie Bars. They are made from Graham Cracker, Hershey's Chocolate and marshmallows. YUM! I decided I could not follow her blog because I would seriously gain a million pounds and I am still trying to work off the past 4 years of teaching. I wonder what Cookie Monster would say about these cookies....num num nummmm!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkVaJ6YDOb0Bhv_t4cMzZt1Ay7zC5mCwEgttCWZfEk3PQgTwSCiXxHmc6VRfeOEeZI2CiLabItLZ0FaqI_rqaWCM1fCWcVQdfTPnTIHjyDlk8k9n7RgpMlwES4N32r3JDRfVt0epyKUw/s1600/Sliding+Door+Cleaning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkVaJ6YDOb0Bhv_t4cMzZt1Ay7zC5mCwEgttCWZfEk3PQgTwSCiXxHmc6VRfeOEeZI2CiLabItLZ0FaqI_rqaWCM1fCWcVQdfTPnTIHjyDlk8k9n7RgpMlwES4N32r3JDRfVt0epyKUw/s400/Sliding+Door+Cleaning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Totally ewww but I need to do this before school starts. Our sliding glass door tracks are so dirty. I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about scooping up a bug in a paper towel though. Maybe I'll let the hubs have the first go at cleaning this!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflHbAtAPz7qsWI8jp2EMzVQH0Gvw6B0resXq5RAkrE-siFnBiHhpB-Hhrwv_HFK6RZnVSWmC1LDxfJbX41Q4gi2tZ0DDrUCL6GJxxHNsbyfGMpqspxpqY88q-kQV5RxhyabdQqIsTgpQ/s1600/Shelf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflHbAtAPz7qsWI8jp2EMzVQH0Gvw6B0resXq5RAkrE-siFnBiHhpB-Hhrwv_HFK6RZnVSWmC1LDxfJbX41Q4gi2tZ0DDrUCL6GJxxHNsbyfGMpqspxpqY88q-kQV5RxhyabdQqIsTgpQ/s400/Shelf.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
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Why didn't I think of this? Contact paper + foam board = Perfect for wire shelves! This is the solution to our bathroom closet. Yay!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithszp6TUxhwqVo5xJvBFrDosBpk4jmPulQ5lAZJvovAOVqhKSYURKRsVfzXEqZmJmy92M-zdSWHYMBDmdFi4IuBLk038BWi-vS9wehjcCy1AjyFRamVePDn6hWhZfaTFu3-OKecF-kzY/s1600/Quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithszp6TUxhwqVo5xJvBFrDosBpk4jmPulQ5lAZJvovAOVqhKSYURKRsVfzXEqZmJmy92M-zdSWHYMBDmdFi4IuBLk038BWi-vS9wehjcCy1AjyFRamVePDn6hWhZfaTFu3-OKecF-kzY/s400/Quote.jpg" width="383" /></a></div>
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I really love this quote. I don't think I have to explain it...but I do have to remember that even though someone may let me down I shouldn't change how I behave towards them or change my willingness because they are unwilling.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNJusCnRaH90Xvh4S5QYbIv-dzt7vNa9MvbH6CV5FL_v2shHhbvGqqStzVUdH0xyvhH2WAQJipxmw0omaSbDnCEhZpXoo1bDbOpy5-_GkDqUrjbZ6n_2T7XSTtLaxDCycL4HYgpMYNIs/s1600/Monogram+Stool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNJusCnRaH90Xvh4S5QYbIv-dzt7vNa9MvbH6CV5FL_v2shHhbvGqqStzVUdH0xyvhH2WAQJipxmw0omaSbDnCEhZpXoo1bDbOpy5-_GkDqUrjbZ6n_2T7XSTtLaxDCycL4HYgpMYNIs/s400/Monogram+Stool.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I really wish I had a stool to paint! I'm not going to lie...I may have been searching craigslist last night for a stool or rocking chair for my classroom. I have leftover spray paint and everything! Don't worry...I would never go by myself to get something. Plus, I have already gone over budget for my classroom so.... no tengo dinero.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRuqCwHhuEqoyzNZp4ye_Xm3lp01Br_HF5fjRa8jAYpCfn58cV1pcsqRVV6ooN8FwRQqZzkz-ois7eYk75pYLqx8ql67X1Z-ouTd_l0p97GWKkoJWOu5a5fo6edIYFGjXDW8Dwub8ns0/s1600/character.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRuqCwHhuEqoyzNZp4ye_Xm3lp01Br_HF5fjRa8jAYpCfn58cV1pcsqRVV6ooN8FwRQqZzkz-ois7eYk75pYLqx8ql67X1Z-ouTd_l0p97GWKkoJWOu5a5fo6edIYFGjXDW8Dwub8ns0/s400/character.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is my favorite classroom quote right now and I have already made a print that I just need to take to Tarjay to get printed for my classroom frames.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gBnemscmKZcyBhlxDc-CaTHIsQ1TkOm0FoslhopaamvPqBtOL5fi3twd78rmy9UGlQC5_1Oq0M8rK1kalw-NxJG_rFTW94YQeT83YsgLEQ8XVQnHZ6j7YL-IbHv3K5mDEBkKjW5py6c/s1600/desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gBnemscmKZcyBhlxDc-CaTHIsQ1TkOm0FoslhopaamvPqBtOL5fi3twd78rmy9UGlQC5_1Oq0M8rK1kalw-NxJG_rFTW94YQeT83YsgLEQ8XVQnHZ6j7YL-IbHv3K5mDEBkKjW5py6c/s400/desk.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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I also love the idea of wrapping my desk this year and decorating it! I have a hideous brown metal desk so I think this is a must!</div>
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Can't wait to see what you all pin! Also, thanks so much for the phone prison lovin' yesterday! :)</div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-26574602965260094732013-07-18T19:43:00.001-07:002013-07-18T19:45:35.282-07:00My Classroom, Teacher Resource Center, and New Craft (Pics!)<div style="text-align: left;">
Get ready for the motherload of pics y'all!</div>
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I went to the Teacher Resource Center yesterday and got lots of items laminated for my classroom. As promised, I took my handy camera (I'm not cool enough to have a smartphone yet) and snapped some pics for y'all. I did wait until the two other teachers had left because I felt a bit dorky asking them if they were cool with me taking pics for my blog.</div>
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This is the cute little computer area that they have set-up. You can print 10 color copies and 25 black and white copies each visit.</div>
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This is the beautiful Variquest area. It can print posters on the right and cut outs on the left.</div>
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Here is a close-up of this beautiful machine. Can you tell that it is love y'all? The computer is also touch screen!</div>
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This is the paper area next to the Variquest. You can get 10 sheets per day to use. The big manila envelopes on the bottom are there to help you take the items home.</div>
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This is a large working area. They also allow teachers to check-out this area for meetings and such so that you can work while you are planning. This is where I like to sit and get my stuff all together before taking it to the laminator. Yep...that's my junk on the table.</div>
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This is the view from the table over to the far wall. You can see two laminators set-up. They also have a poster maker over there. The big tables are for cutting the laminating film off using a slider thingy (like my technical terminology).</div>
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The bookshelves contain the teacher resources that are available for check-out. Most of it is really elementary age. They have lots of center resources. I have checked out the buzzer system before for jeopardy games and the kids loved it. They are starting to get more middle school items in now and trying to build up their middle/high school supply. They have book-sets you can check-out to use with your students. The great thing about this is that they send it through the courier in our school district so you don't even have to drive over to pick-up or drop-off!</div>
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This is the newest area that was being set-up last week. These are all theme bags...again, mostly for the elementary school teachers. Through the door is their little storage area.</div>
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That is the end of my tour on the Teacher Resource Center. I am really in love with it and love the plushy new building they are in! It is so cozy that you don't even feel like you are doing work! The wonderful ladies that run this place are so sweet too! I'm really grateful that our school district provides such an awesome place for us to use for FREE!</div>
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Moving on.........here is my classroom! Day #1...</div>
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This is the view when you walk in the door. It is going to need a lot of work. There is still some stuff up on the walls, bulletin board, etc. from the teacher before me. I also need to scrape some of the poster leftovers off of the wall before I put anything up. I am really puzzled on the best layout for this room...</div>
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This is my view from the windows going across the opposite side of the room. I have 3 whiteboards total...however the one in the front of the room is connected to my Epson Projector and my Digipen (aka a Smartboard).</div>
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This is what the hubs and I accomplished in about 45 minutes. I wanted my desk moved across the classroom because I have a pretty good size classroom library and since the room is more of a rectangle the kids complain they can't see if their tables are by the door. Sooooo my plan was to make the reading area over there and move my desk. However, I might not be able to do this if I can't find the right long cords for my computer so that I can still use the smartboard, TV (which runs through our computers), etc.</div>
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Here is a close-up of where I will hopefully *fingers crossed* be keeping my desk. All of the bags have school supplies in them, etc. It is a mess!</div>
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I have so many ideas for this space, but these tables are HUGE and when you put 30 kids in this room it is cramped. I didn't take a pic of it but I have 10 student computers and bulletin board on the back wall (near the windows) so they take up some space too.</div>
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Alright............that ends the classroom tour for now.</div>
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So this was my project last night and today. (Please ignore the mess in the background. My cat loves this box and I can't get rid of it. That is also her chair in the window which has amused me this summer watching her chirp at people (we have a walking path behind our house)). I found a similar pin on Pinterest and knew I HAD to have this on my teacher desk. The kids are going to love it! Do I really intend to use it? No, not really. I think I only took away 3 cell phones last year. I am pretty lenient with them and a lot of my kids have books on them so I'll let them read on their devices. I just tell them that if they are caught not reading they lose this privilege. I am working on fixing up the lines using my Xacto knife so that the bars are straight.</div>
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This is one of my favorite! My dad has taken to eating McDonald's Happy Meals for me again to help me collect some minions for behind my desk! They are so stinkin' cute! He ate like a bazillion Happy Meals for me when I was little for Beanie Babies so I asked for him to bring it back for minions. LOL!</div>
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That's it for me folks! Hopefully I didn't overload you on pictures.</div>
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I gotta get back to the hubs. We are celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary today! YAY!</div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-42259526092037155572013-07-17T07:40:00.000-07:002013-07-17T07:41:25.404-07:00Need Some Help/Advice<div style="text-align: left;">
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Bloggers I need your help!</div>
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I am trying to find a solution to my magazine madness that happens in my classroom library. I am not really sure what to do...</div>
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I have some flimsy magazines that the kids really enjoy, such as People Magazine. My only issue is that the pages seem to fall out after a few kids have looked through them and the cover almost always falls off.</div>
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What should I do?</div>
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I was wanting to invest in some kind of magazine protector that could not be taken off. Something that would protect the cover and reinforce the "stapling" that is used to put it all together. I just can't seem to find a lot of information on the internet and have not found it on any blogs yet.</div>
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Would love all the ideas you can think of to help me out with this problem. I am open to all suggestions. :) </div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6770333209011191974.post-86491040833838126062013-07-16T17:44:00.002-07:002013-07-17T07:41:09.009-07:00Tuesday Made It (Freebie!)<div style="text-align: left;">
It has been such a busy day for me today as I try to get as much stuff done before school starts as I can. We do not have students until August 14, however as of August 1 I have to be back at school for Language Arts meetings. I would really like to just get everything created, laminated, etc. before then so that it is all ready to go up in my classroom. :)</div>
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So yesterday I made some table numbers to hang from the ceiling over my desks. I liked the blue but thought that they might not be the exact blue that matches my other classroom stuff. Therefore, I also made the green and linked them up in my last post.</div>
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At my school we have to post our starter, exit slip, outcome, agenda, etc. We also have to have CHAMPS posted on our board. So I made these quickly last night:</div>
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These will be cut out on cardstock, laminated and then I put magnets on the back for on my whiteboard. </div>
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The blue Moroccan tile CHAMP cards can be downloaded free <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Champ-Cards-Moroccan-Tile-Middle-School-Minions-775080" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">HERE</span></a></div>
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The green Moroccan tile daily starter, agenda, exit slip, outcome and date can be downloaded for free <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Green-Moroccan-Tile-Daily-Set-Middle-School-Minions-775094" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Here.</span></a></div>
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I have also been getting some images and quotes ready for my bulletin board on the memoir <u>Warriors Don't Cry.</u> This is my exploratory class that I am teaching this year. I will teach the unit 4 times to 4 different classes this school year. I thought having one bulletin board up all year with pictures about the Little Rock Nine will be great to have as a reference for the kids. I also have purchased a few books to display in the front of the classroom so that they can look through them whenever they have some free time to get a sense of what life was like in 1957 and during segregation. I absolutely love teaching this book and my class I taught it to loved it in the past. I am super excited to be teaching this again! </div>
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The last thing I have been working on today is finding some uplifting quotes to put in my dollar store frames that I purchased. I have spray painted the frames to match my classroom colors and now I just need the quotes to pop in them. I'll keep you posted on what I finally decided on using.</div>
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Tomorrow will probably be another Teacher Resource Center day so I can laminate my many items. I'm hoping to take some pictures (if I remember) so that I can share this fabulous place with y'all.</div>
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<img alt=" photo Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" border="0" src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y438/finley718/Signature_zps4b51f1c7.png" />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15855775886254286381noreply@blogger.com0