A place to share thoughts, ideas, gadgets, and giggles from my classroom. 💜

Spray Painting=Addiction

I'm linking up with Mrs. D and Miss V's Busy Bees to talk a little about my Classroom Decor! 
Oh my gosh! I LOVE spray painting!!! I will try to spray paint anything...just ask my husband;) He hates when I say I need to get some spray paint! ha! Tomorrow is my first day back to the grind stone.. A teacher day full of meetings, getting ready for open house, and getting ready for the students to come on in! I have went a little spray paint crazy this year...I want EVERYTHING to match. It is hard to just step away from the cans...

This is my second batch of stuff to spray paint.. Earlier I did more of the black magazine holders. I am a little spoiled(Thanks babe!) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Tiffany Blue and gold. So Ocean Breeze was the closest Tiffany's color I could find, and it was perfect! I also got the Metallic Brilliant Gold for my gold color! 


Both of the drawer holders are for my counter. I got rid of my desk last year and it has been the best thing that has happened, except now my piles end up on the floor:) Oh well! I have a lot more space in my room now! I can't wait to show off my classroom in the upcoming grade my classroom! It is really coming along awesome! I still have a lot I want to do to make it mine, but it will all happen. I am coming to the realization that it does not all have to happen before Friday! Happy Back to School week for me!




My Beliefs on Education


Hi! I am linking up with The Primary Gal to tell you about my believes on education. This is a very important subject and is the basis for why I teach, learn, and do the things I do in my room. Everything I work for is because I believe in education and the power of a great educator. So here we go!

I became a teacher because I believe...
1. I believe all students can learn. Each student has their own personal way of understanding the material presented. This is why I like to have students make pictures, use manipulatives, talk to each other about the topic, use their classmates as resources to learn, and give students who are quieter their own special attention to make sure they can be comfortable with asking me questions. 
2. I believe the teacher is in the classroom as the facilitator of knowledge. We are in our classrooms to help students rise to their full potential. 
3. Having a safe and positive learning environment is crucial to a successful classroom. I never liked to ask questions. I struggled in math big time because I hated asking questions. I just didn't know how to ask what I needed to know, usually it was everything.  I need my students to feel like they can ask me questions and I try my best to be patient and understanding to their confusion. 
4. I believe in the students using technology inside and outside of my classroom. Students are going to school to become prepared for their future, whatever that may be. Technology is a huge part of today's world, and they need early experience with all different types of technology available. This will help their future teachers build upon their prior knowledge, not have to recreate it all the time. 
So what are your beliefs on education? How do you help your students rise to their full potential? 




Guided Math Book Study Chapter 9


This was the final chapter to our Guided Math Book Study.  I enjoyed reading this book.  It was especially nice to see how others felt about the chapters too.  I gained a lot of knowledge that I didn't have before about math in general.  I learned about the concept of guided math.  


While I do guided reading on a daily basis, I never thought math could be done in such a way.  I guess I was making it harder then it really is (I usually do this)!  Now that I am finished with this book, what professional book should I read next?  Any great ideas?




A lot of changes are going to take place this upcoming school year with my math block.  

1.  First, I will continue to use Envision Math because this is what our school adopted.  However, I will use our daily topic as a mini-lesson that leads into independent work, math stations, and guided math.

2.  I have found math stations centered around Laney's ideas for independent or math station work.  My work stations will be:  math facts, math journals, math investigations, math center activities, math games, problem solving, and technology.

3.  I have taken the above topics and used them with The Primary Gal's Bubble Page



















You can buy these from her teacher pay teacher store here for $1.00.  They are well worth the money if you are looking to differentiate instruction during work time.

4.  I am going to have guided math time with the teacher.  I am going to use many forms of assessments (checklists, rubrics, notes, formal assessments) to keep track of data and progress.  I will provide instruction during these math groups based on the results of the data from the assessments.

5.  I am creating a math bulletin board and focus wall in my classroom.  I can't wait to use it next year.  

6.  I have purchase the book Math Stretches by Laney Sammons to use during my instruction


6.  Finally, I will do more math warm-ups in the morning!  We have great pages with our Envision Series to do just that!  I will make packets for the kids to complete when they come in, in the mornings.

What does your guided math block look like?  What resources do you find helpful for math instruction?  Does anyone reading this use Envision Math?  What are your thoughts about it?  How do you incorporate this series into Guided Math and Math Groups?

I hope you enjoyed all of the posts and blogs related to Guided Math.  Have fun trying out new math ideas, concepts, and teaching methods in your class!  I can't wait to see how it is going!  We will be doing a follow up soon!  Stay tuned.....


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Technology Advice for the Ages

All about balance!
As we are all preparing for back to school, I think it is important for us to remember to integrate all different kinds of activities into our classrooms.  They love getting on the computers or iPads, but wait until their eyes light up when you bring in Legos! 
<3Aimee

How to Make Scrunchy Border

So I had been seeing these cute borders on soooo many bulletin board pictures on Pinterest. I couldn't wait to get to school and try it! I was pretty successful!!  It took a lot more paper than I thought, it actually isn't even done because I ran out of paper! I'm going to get some more and finish it on Monday. 

 


Here is how to make that scrunchy border:
First you need some bulletin board paper. I used what I took down from an old bulletin board! Then you can cut it in to strips that are a little wider than what you would want your border to be.

Second Wad up your strip. That's right, just wad it up! You know, like the kids do before they basketball toss that beautiful worksheet you worked so hard to make and copy into the recycle bin! I felt like making the paper wrinkly already made it much easier to work with. The paper had been up on my board all last school year and may have been a little stiff, but I think it helped!

Third You will want to straighten out your "basketball" before you staple the top of the piece to the board. Now you will start to pinch and staple!

It is kind of like a fan fold, but on your board! You will pinch it together and staple. It doesn't matter how many staples you put in because the next scrunch will hide them!

It takes a lot longer than you think it will. I used the whole pink sheet from the picture above and only got half the board done. Scrunching isn't hard, just a longer process.


In the beginning I was making it too small... too close together. To fix it, I added another, thinner pink strip along the side and it blends right in! So don't freak out if it isn't as think as you wanted! You can always fix it. Making the scrunchy boarder took me a few times of scrunching before I got the hang of it! 

Now it's your turn! I would LOVE to see a picture of your scrunchy border! 





Guided Math Book Study Chapter 8



After taking a break for a week because I was on a family vacation (we didn't have internet and barely any cell service where we were), I am back.  My family and I traveled to Table Rock Lake just outside of Branson, Missouri.  It was a well needed and deserved trip for us.

Now back to the book study.  This week's chapter was all about math assessments.  I'm going to be honest.  The only assessment I use during math is the assessment that comes with our math series.  I give the chapter test at the end and then move on to the next chapter and topic.  This chapter is helpful when listing several other types of assessments that could be used during guided math instruction.

Types of Assessments

  • Checklist
  • Rubric
  • Formative Assessment
No matter what type of assessment is chosen, descriptive feedback should be given to the students promptly.

One issue that the chapter discusses is that there really isn't a way to assess Guided Math Groups.  However, some teachers use checklists and rubrics for the groups as well.  How do you assess work completed in your math groups?  Do you assess or grade work completed in math groups?

Finally, how much assessment do you do during math time?  What types of assessments do you use?

Enjoy Chapter 8!  One more chapter to go.......


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Back 2 School- Behavior Management

This week I am linking up with Mrs. D's Corner and Miss V's Busy Bees for their back to school weekly linky! This week's topic is behavior management. I'm still a newbie on managing more than 20 students at a time. I like to joke that my behavior management stops there.(I have 25 this year so let's hope I can get it together!) Here are some of my tips on managing my classroom.
Whether you are using a clip chart, Class Dojo, coupons, or if you are like me, all three students need a visual. A display of some sort needs to be easily seen inside the classroom. Find out how I use them by clicking my clip chart!
I think seating can make or break your behavior plan. If you place the best, sweetest, quietest girl by her BFF, they WILL talk. Students are social, we just want them to be social at appropriate times! I use Happy Class App to help me in making my seating plan! It is a free program online and is awesome! You can pick which students should never be together, which should be close, which need to be near the front, or back, and if they just need to stay put! For more details, click the Happy Class App button!




This is my favorite(I am so sorry I have been sending you back to old blog posts! I have talked about my behavior management plans alot:) and the kids favorite behavior management tool! There is an app called Too Noisy. It has a free version, but you will want to pay the $2.99 for the full app! It is totally worth it! In the Pro version, when the students get too loud, it makes a horrible, awful, scary noise! (Which can be changed or you can even record your own.) Not only does the screen get black, the " weather" in the app changes and it looks like it is raining! When the alarm sounds, it also "cracks" the screen. 
It keeps track of students quietness (not making it go off) and gives them stars for not making it go off for 8 minutes in a row. The minutes can be changed to whatever you want your class to be. I use it to switch my groups too because it makes a fun noise when the students earn a star! When they get ten stars, it is a BIG deal! It does this ceremony thing that the kids love to watch! In conjunction with the app, when they get to ten stars we add a piece to our potato head. When all the pieces are on, we have a party! If you want more details( I know, another link back..)Click the app below!
Head back to Stephanie or Sara's page to link up your own behavior management tips! 



Techy Tuesday- Ebooks and QR codes

Whew! The day is half way over and I JUST now realized it was Tuesday!! I sure do LOVE summer break;) 
This week I want to tell you how to make a QR code that links to a safe site where students can watch a YouTube video and have NO ads! It is easy, you'll see!
First you have to pick a book you want to create the QR code for. I am going to choose Olivia by Ian Falconer. 
Head over to  and choose type in the book you would like to have students listen to. Find the version you want. Now here comes the not even close to tricky part because it is soooo easy! 

Copy the highlight URL at the top of the page. Then you are going to open a new tab and go to the site safeshare.tv.
Paste the URL you copied into the Safeshare.tv box to create your safe link. Then BAM!
 
You are ready to go to the safe view. What you see there is exactly what the kids will see. You are going to copy the URL again at the top of the safe view. 
You can then go to QRstuff.com and create your QR code from that link! Easy-Peasy!
QR code to Olivia Safe link
If you aren't sure how to use QRstuff.com, don't worry! A few techy Tuesdays ago, I made a post about it! Check it out!

Manic Monday- Freebie!

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday
Click here to check out more great freebies!
This week I finished up a new freebie I wanted to share! It is in my Teachers Pay Teacher's Store but I will save you a trip:)
These cards give students a chose between one thing or another(Would you rather...). This set is awesome for getting to know new students, beginning writing prompts, graphing and collecting data, or just a time filler! Click the cover picture to download!

You Oughta Know About...Binders


Hey there! Today I am linking up with Mrs. McClain over at Buzzing with Mrs. McClain for her monthly You Oughta Know blog hop. Other bloggers and I will be sharing things that you "oughta know" for your classroom.
I'm going to share my attempt to be organized this year with my binders! I will tell you about my teacher binder this time! When I first started teaching, I was already over binders. I have a huge tub of binders from college, I don't want to mess with any more binders or page protectors! Well going on my third year of teaching, I am super proud of my binders where all the pages are in page protectors, of course! 
I have a teacher binder, guided reading binder, blogging binder(which I should have utilized since I am late on this post!) and a couple new house binders! Let me start with my teacher binder first!
I bought Miss Lindsey Haralson's teacher binder from Teachers Pay Teachers. It is super cute and has everything I would want!
Click here to head over to her store!
I want to be able to map out exactly what topics I want to cover that are not in our regular curriculum. I want to do a Roald Dahl author study through out the year. I have to be able to map out what books I want to read and when I want to read them. The very first pages in my teacher binder list the major events and holidays that will happen during the year. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be a great story to read through September and October because Halloween happens, kids are already thinking about candy!
It looks too nice to write in yet...
The next part of my binder is my monthly calendars. I like these because it allows me to write in exactly what I want to cover through the month. Of course I use Planbook  to write out my daily lesson plans and then I can add them in! I can also map out what STEM/Science activities I want to do through the month. This way they can have a theme more than just a random, unconnected activity.
Don't you LOVE the glittery boarder!?!
After my lessons comes my Student Information section. Here I can list birthdays, how students get home, parent contact information, and keep a log of who I have had to contact and why.

Then of course I have those good ol' Academic Standards.. Since Indiana has left the Common Core I was searching and searching for someone to make a cute checklist of our new standards! Luckily, I found them:)
Click here to get your own Indiana Standards!
Heather V. has checklists for Indiana Standards for grades K-8! If you are from Indiana, this is the place to go!
What kinds of things do you include in your Teacher Binder?

Don't forget, I reached my 100 followers goal on Teachers Pay Teachers! I am having a giveaway for $10.00 to my store! Enter my giveaway before you "hop" away!
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