5 Donations Every Classroom Needs

It's almost time for back to school, and many teachers are already busy shopping and setting up their classrooms in preparation for greeting their new students very soon. Recently, one of my friends asked for a list of donations that teachers would appreciate receiving during back to school time, and I thought that was so thoughtful of her to want to donate supplies to her son's teacher. Did you know that most teachers spend over $500 of their OWN MONEY every year on materials for their classrooms?? Wow!! I certainly didn't realize it until I became a teacher! Anyway, with that in mind, I decided to share my “top five” list of items I always ask for, along with a few other suggestions that many teachers always appreciate receiving. Be sure to read all the way through for a little bulletin board idea at the end :)

1. Tissue

In my welcome packet, I actually say "if your child has a nose, they will need a box of tissue at school!" Kids go through tissue like candy. Sometimes I think it is just the novelty of getting out of their seat more than the need to blow their nose, but oh my gosh, we go through tissue SO FAST every single year. And I always feel a bit sad and pathetic/embarrassed when I have to tell my students to go to the bathroom to blow their nose when we have run out of tissue.

2. Bandaids

Bandaids are right up there with tissue, the slightest little paper cut needs IMMEDIATE attention in the form of a bandaid. I quickly learned to NOT supply the cute Disney bandaids, because we went through those even faster than a box of tissue! Lol!! I had students picking their scabs to get a Disney bandaid. Live and learn, then buy the plain old Bandaids!

3. Hand sanitizer / soap

This should go without saying. Kids are germy. Classrooms are germy. I made my students use hand sanitizer before using the computers, and every time they used a tissue to blow their nose. I was also fortunate enough to have a sink in my classroom, so hand soap was also used frequently. Some teachers don't have a sink in their classroom, so hand sanitizer is their only option to prevent the spreading of germs in their classroom.

4.  Pencils / erasers

Plain old yellow #2 pencils are the best - kids don't fight over colors or designs, and there's no plastic wrap on them that the kids can peel off or that can jam an electric pencil sharpener. Pink pearl erasers are also great because kids tend to go through the small eraser tips very quickly. And, if you want to earn some bonus points with your new teacher, open the box and sharpen the pencils first... I promise your teacher will immediately LOVE you for this small act of kindness.

5. Clorox wipes

Classrooms are filled with germs! I like to wash down all my desks, tables, and counters frequently, and the students love to help clean their desks! They are often amazed at how dirty the wipe gets just from cleaning their own desk (EWWW!) 

Other suggestions: crayons (16 or 24 packs are awesome!) glue sticks, paper towels, napkins, cups, straws, paper products (for class parties, etc.), copy paper (teachers always need more copy paper!), ziploc baggies (all sizes), notebooks, two-pocket folders, file folders, dry erase markers, sharpies, and gift cards -- check out this darling back to school gift card freebie from my friend Tauni at SNAP Creativity!  As a technology specialist, I would love an APP gift card :)

While working on this post, I came across the cutest bulletin board idea that I wanted to share with all of you. Michelle from Apples and ABCs made a popcorn themed "wishlist" to help parents know what items she needed in her classroom. With her permission, I have created a little freebie that you can download and use at your own back to school open house. I have included some popcorn kernels with school supplies already on them, and also included a page of blank kernels to write your own items on as well. I hope this is something you can use as you prepare for back to school.  Click on the photo below to download the bulletin board set.  Enjoy!

Top 5 Ways to Use GoNoodle in the Classroom!

I am so excited to be participating in GoNoodle’s Back to School Blogger Blitz today. GoNoodle is definitely one of my favorite websites and it is always a big hit with my students too!

Today I'm going to share with you my Top 5 favorite reasons to use GoNoodle in the classroom:

1. Brain breaks: when the day gets long and we've been sitting too long, I like to get my kids up and moving. Zumba kids and ultimate champ training are some of my favorite "get up and get active" videos.

2. Calming / de-stressing: we've all had days where our kids seem to have ants in their pants and can't sit still to save their lives. Maximo yoga style videos and airtime are great calming activities to help the kids settle down and focus again.

3. Test prep / motivation: Flow is one of my absolute favorites for a lot of reasons.... it is the perfect combination of calm and motivation that my students often need.  There are two categories in flow: attitude and stress.  Within each of these categories, there are three videos to choose from.  My personal favorite is found in the attitude category, called "Victorious".  I love the message of this video. Seriously, go listen to what it says. Such a simple yet powerful message for students as they prepare for a test.

4. Indoor recess: one of the greatest features GoNoodle added last year was the "indoor recess mega mix" videos. These videos are like a pre-made playlist: a variety of fun GoNoodle videos with different lengths of time already set to accommodate different recess lengths (you can choose from as little as 7 minutes up to as many as 19 minutes! Woot woot!) These videos came in handy when it was snowy and the kids couldn't go out to recess. I especially appreciated that I didn't have to keep starting new videos every 2-3 minutes - the mega mix just keeps going!

5. Being silly: sometimes, you just need to take a break for no other reason than to laugh. When it's time for a good laugh, my students and I LOVE LOVE LOVE pop-see-ko. Seriously, how can you not be in a good mood when the kids are doing this?!

So tell me, what do YOU love about GoNoodle? Comment below with what you love about GoNoodle and a random winner will be chosen to win a free pencil pouch from GoNoodle! (Be sure to include an email address so I can contact you if you win!!) How cool is that?!

But wait - there's more!!If you're interested in picking up some GoNoodle swag for your classroom, you can save15% off your purchase in the GoNoodle shop! Use the code: BTSwithGoNoodle - this code is valid until September 11th.

** And the winner is....

Congrats Breanne!!

3 new products - just in time for the SALE!!

Hi friends! Hope you've been having a GREAT summer... I know I have, which explains my lack of blogging and creating.  Oh well! August has arrived, and like it or not, school is just around the corner (or it has already started for some of you... oy!)  So in case you haven't heard, TPT is having their HUGE Back to School sale right now! My store is on sale for 20% off, and if you use the code BTS15 at checkout, you will save an extra 10% off the already discounted prices, for a total of 28% savings! AMAZINGNESS, right?!

After taking a nice little break from creating and blogging, I am hoping to be better this year. I have recently added THREE new products to my store, and have a whole list of things that are in progress from the past school year that just need to be polished a bit, so hopefully I can continue to be productive and get more things finished :)  In the meantime, I'm just going to quickly highlight the new items I've uploaded to TPT... be sure to snag them now while they are on sale!

The first item is actually TWO items, and you can purchase them individually or as a bundle.  Last year when I switched to third grade, I made a set of objective posters for my classroom, and the first grade teachers in my building saw them and asked if I could make something similar for them.  I am happy to present to you my first grade MATH and LANGUAGE ARTS posters.  Take a closer look at the objectives by looking at the photos below:       

Click on the picture above to go to the bundle listing in my TPT shop

Sample of the math posters

Sample of the Language Arts posters

posters at a glance

Bonus student and teacher checklists make data tracking a breeze!

This next product is quite possibly my favorite creation ever!!  One of my teacher friends asked me to make a student planner for her last summer, and I ended up needing to use it myself after switching grades, so this planner has been tested in my classroom and it's awesome!!  The best part is, this planner is about 99.9% editable.  There's a few things (such as graphics) that are secured and can't be modified, but it comes in both PDF and PowerPoint format, so you can open it up and type until your heart's content! Take a peek inside:

Click on the picture above to see the complete listing in my TPT shop.

two different planner cover options - kidlettes or space!

my students had so much fun coloring their cover pages - notice the batman themed cover in the top corner! Love their creativity!

 The planner has a variety of pages for you to choose from, and you can use all or just some of them.  The pages include a monthly behavior tracking calendar; monthly "notes" calendar (I used this page for announcement and weekly reading minutes);  communication log - parents can write you a note, or you can write a note to them :); and finally, daily homework pages - this is great for upper-grades when daily homework becomes a more regular thing.  There's a few other goodies included in the download, and if you scroll to the bottom, you might just find a little freebie for you ;)

Click here for an exclusive freebie from the new student planner set! Happy Back to School, friends!

New vocabulary set, product updates, and more!!

 First thing's first -- in case you haven't already heard, the big back to school sale starts today!! It seems so early to be thinking about back to school, but the first day will be here before I know it! I'm actually going to go into school today to switch some bulletin boards, so stay tuned for some pictures when it's all done!

Speaking of the sale, I've been hard at work the last few days trying to get one last product finished in time for the sale. A sweet teacher from Texas contacted me recently, and asked if I would be willing to make some language arts vocabulary cards similar to my math ones. I was both flattered and overwhelmed at the request, but set out to work on it and hoped for the best. Let me just say, I think I outdid myself!! Even I couldn't have dreamed that it would turn out as well as it did. Because the request came from Texas, I wanted to make sure that all the TEKS specific words were included in the packet (along with all the CCSS words since that's what I teach with.) What started out as a simple request turned into a 50 page, 134 word download with all the words necessary to teach language arts in the primary classroom. Unlike my math words walls, which are grade level specific, this pack is made for first, second, AND third grade classrooms. So many of the words overlap that it would have been very hard to narrow them down by grade level without having a great deal of overlap, so I have bundled it all into one big packet of awesomeness!  Click on the picture below to check it out in my TPT store :)

In addition to making this new packet, I also updated all of my math word wall packs to include an editable PowerPoint template in case you need to make your own cards for words that might not have been included in the packet. This template is included in the new ELA pack as well :) The second grade word wall pack also got a big makeover, so if you already own it, you can download the update in your "my purchases" tab on TPT, and if you don't own it, you can click on the picture below to check it out on TPT. This was the first word wall set that I made, and a thicker version of the font was released AFTER I made this packet.... So I tried it on my first and third grade word walls and really liked the style, so I finally updated the second grade pack.  I think the bold font really makes the words POP!  These are also available for first grade HERE, and third grade HERE.

And finally, here are the winners of the Math Mania packet from Third Grade Tidbits. Congrats ladies! Check your email and be sure to tell Gina thanks :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Okay, it's time for me to start focusing on school. As I've mentioned before, I am switching grades this year, so I can't promise how often I will be checking in here or making new things... (I do have a few things up my sleeve), but I love posting on facebook and Instagram, so make sure you're following me there so we can stay connected throughout the year!!

2 Stars and a Wish {a back-to-school blog hop!}

Hi Everyone! I'm so excited to be participating in a fun back-to-school blog-hop this week... though it makes me sad to think that school starts in less than a month *sniff*.  I'm going to keep this short and to the point today.... the purpose of this hop is to share with you two tried-and-true "star ideas" that have worked well in my classroom, along with one "wish", or something I "wish" I were better at.

Numbering your students for a successful year:
This picture shows my mailboxes and cubbies with
their numbers printed in vinyl.

My first star idea, although definitely not my own original idea, is to always number your students!  I know it seems so simple, but it's AMAZING what a difference it makes to number your students.  Example: as a brand new teacher, I had a student get sick during recess, and was being checked out.  The secretary called into my room and asked me to send his backpack down to the office.  Ummm, seems easy enough, right? Well, his name was not written on his backpack! I had 29 students and many of the hooks on my coat rack were broken...so I had coats and backpacks EVERYWHERE. It was such a hassle to figure out which backpack belonged to him (and of course, EVERY student wants to help out, which only makes it worse)... fast forward to the end of my most recent school year... one of my students broke his arm at recess.  The secretary came to me and said she needed his backpack... I walked over to hook #8, grabbed his backpack and all the papers out of his mailbox, and just like that, he was on his way.  No classroom disruption, no scavenger hunt, just a few quick seconds and I'm back to teaching.  Numbering your students is also helpful for things like lining up for lunch, recesses, dismissal, assemblies, or anytime you need them in a line.  I got so tired of my boys fighting to be the LAST one in line almost as much as I got tired of girls fighting to be first... there's no more pushing and shoving when they are lining up, and no more scraped knees as they all race to get the coveted spots in line (I also rotate "line leaders" and "door closers" so that everyone gets a chance to stand in both places in line throughout the year, but that is the only exception to my number rule).  In first and second grade, I would also do things like "even numbers line up" or "numbers between 10 and 20 line up".... great basic number skills reviews as we get in line (and a quick way for me to see who understands even/odd and who doesn't!). Also, my students know that they are to write both their name AND number on every assignment, and I organize the papers in number order before correcting them... then the papers are in order as I enter scores in my gradebook.  The possibilities are really endless when you number your students, these are just a few of my favorite reasons to number them! (ALSO, I don't give my students their "official" number until around the 2nd week of school, especially if a few kiddos that are on my list haven't shown up yet... it never fails that a child will move in or out the day AFTER I number them, so I usually wait a week or so while the dust settles on the new school year).

My second star idea is to let the students grade themselves.  This is especially great for meet-the-teacher day, back-to-school night, or whatever you have at the beginning of the year.  I have blogged about my student-friendly reports before, and you can read more about them {HERE}, but seriously.... this is one of those things that after 9 years in the classroom, I wondered "why didn't I think of this before now?!"  This has been a great help throughout the year, and my students think it's soooo fun to make their own report card every time they come to a parent-teacher conference.  The parents also like that their child has to fill it out themselves, and set goals that they want to work on during the upcoming term.  This product is my featured freebie on TPT, so click on the picture to check it out in my store.

 My wish right now is to be more organized..... seeing as I am switching grades, I have NOTHING prepared... Denise @Sunny Days recently posted her long-range plans for the year, and I was green with envy!  I NEED to get more organized... I NEED to figure out some long-range plans... or any plans at all for that matter!!  If you click on the picture below, you can go read all about her awesome organization for the upcoming year, and even download a free template to get you started.... here's to hoping I can someday be as organized as she is!

If you enjoyed this star idea, please consider joining me on Facebook and Instagram for more great ideas.

For more star ideas more than 40 different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic that interests you. Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Ikea-style classroom makeover

Oh. My. Goodness. I am SO tired!!  Why is the beginning of the year ALWAYS so exhausting?!?!  Every year I think it will get easier... it never does... *sigh*.... so, sorry this post is about a MONTH late...but better late than never!  So this summer, I had the awesome opportunity to go to Ikea and participate in a special catalog launch party for bloggers... I called up 2 of my teacher friends and we headed to ikea for breakfast and shopping!

Ikea breakfast... yum! Much better than the muffins or slimfast I end up taking to school for breakfast each day.

 I had been busy blogstalking other teachers all summer, and had already planned on getting some things at Ikea, so I was super excited to explore {confession: I've only been to Ikea once or twice before with friends... and the store OVERWHELMS me! So I've never *really* explored it!!}

My main Ikea inspiration came from the lovely Tracy @ Creekside Teacher Tales... I saw this storage bin and was in LOVE:

Click on the picture to visit Tracy's blog and learn more about her writing centers!

And yet... as I am working on this post... I just realized I don't have a picture of this in my classroom! LOL... mine is not NEARLY as cute as Tracy's, so maybe it's better that I don't have a picture... I haven't had time to get the cushion made to put on top of it... and I am using mine to store all sorts of different random things... I am already thinking about buying another one!  I love it!!

RUGS! I've been teaching for 9 years and have never had a rug! One of the teachers bought the orange one, then another teacher saw my pictures and bought the black one! Can't beat it for $20!

This button rug was love at first sight... but by the time we got to the rugs, I already had SO MUCH stuff in my cart.... so I took a picture and just kept drooling over it.... This rug was $40, and I knew I would need two... so I didn't buy it :(

Some of our loot! Obviously this picture doesn't do it justice since everything is in boxes... notice, all the PINK stuff is mine :)

Ok, so once our field trip was over, it was back to reality... time to set up my classroom!  I moved to a brand new school in my hometown and this is the beginning of the 3rd school year that we have been open.  My darling little 2nd graders love that they are the first group who has been in the school since Kindergarten... I don't really have "before" pictures (didn't really think of that back in June)... so just use your imagination with the plain "before" that the classroom was.

Oh, before I show you the classroom, here's some of my new school supplies... I think I could be on an episode of Hoarders for the insane amount of school supplies I buy every year!


Dry erase pockets, washi tape, duct tape, pocket charts, magnets, planner, calendar, supply totes, command strips, name tags, post-it notes, advil, Dr. Pepper {not pictured, but equally important!!}

I got most of my supplies at Target's dollar spot, and picked up a few items at Lakeshore as well.  That store is DANGEROUS! LOL!

Ok, enough rambling... time for the classroom tour!



This is the view as you enter my room... I hate the color red almost as much as I love the color pink... these desks are a total eye sore!!  Our principal decided to order all our school furniture in our school colors, red and black. *cringe*

Here's another view from my desk, opposite of the door.  I have my desk in the back of the room (and there is purposely no picture of my desk because it always looks like a bomb just exploded!)

 

my lunch basket... SO CUTE! I smile every time I see this!!  I took a plain toy basket and added some cute vinyl to it! {I won't mention the tragedy of my previous lunch basket.... let's just say that one child's bum was probably sore after he somehow managed to land in it and break it into pieces! I still don't know how it happened - and I was NOT the teacher in charge when it broke... but that's another story for another day}.

 

Computer Station / College Bulletin Board: We are supposed to encourage our students to think about college... so naturally I want them to know about the BEST college in Utah! Go USU!!

 

My favorite part of my classroom - my teacher table area!! I LOVE my new pink chair from Ikea... all I've had was one of the student (hard plastic) chairs, so this chair is a little piece of heaven! I might have to buy one for my house too. I love it that much!!

 Here's a few more pictures of my teacher table area.  Another teacher and I went to observe the darling Rachelle from "What the Teacher Wants" this summer, and she had the most adorable crate chairs... so of course we had to make them too... here's her tutorial if you're interested in making them too. (and if you're like me and don't have a husband to help you with the project, I suggest making the other teacher's husband do all the work, and buy them a gift card for dinner at their favorite restaurant.... yes, I'm shameless!!)  Prior to my makeover, all I had was plain black plastic chairs, and NO teacher chair... yup, I was chilling on a student chair too!



SWOON! I just love how these turned out!!  I got the cute fabric at Wal-Mart, ribbon at JoAnn's, and the totes at Wal-Mart and Target.... and I also learned the hard way that Target's crates are 1 inch shorter than Wal-Mart's (which makes NO sense considering that they are made by the SAME manufacturer... whatever)... so some of my cushions are a little too short... oh well!

 

I *love* my chair and whiteboard from Ikea.... these whiteboards are hundreds of dollars in teacher supply catalogs... At Ikea, they are under $20! Score!!

 

another picture.... just because it's so cute!

Also, now that we are using the crate seats, I just have to say again how much I love them! My students love that they can sit OR kneel on these and not get in trouble for tipping their chairs (I have tripped more than once when they are tipping their chairs to kneel or sit in some other random position). I love my new small group area :)



This is right behind my table... student coatracks / mailboxes. I LOVE Fancy Nancy and received the doll as a going away gift when I left my previous school.  The Cabbage Patch is dubbed my "favorite student" haha! She's adorable!

 

Listening center... the cart is from Ikea... this is one of the items that I went back for later on.... I love that it has wheels so I can roll it around easily.  I think I need to add some vinyl to the sides and jazz it up a  bit!



Remember the cute button rug I was in love with?! Yeah, totally went back and bought one... then another one!!  I love it! My students are very protective of it and take really good care of it! I'm sure it will get dirty in the winter, but it is SO CUTE! Definitely worth the cost because it makes me smile every time I see it :)



I don't have a lot of practical bulletin board space in my room, so I use one corner of my whiteboard for vocabulary. I found these cute magnetic border pieces at Lakeshore this summer and HAD to have them!! I got the pocket charts at Target, and cut the words out with a vinyl cutter (we have a professional vinyl machine at school)

These last 2 pictures are just to show how I organize my supplies at each table... the labels came from this pack made by the darling Cara Carroll.  I used washi tape to label the pens, pencils, scissors, and glue sticks at each table, so when things end up on the floor, I can quickly put them back where they go... sadly, I have already had to confiscate the scissors since a few students decided to give themselves haircuts one day... *sigh*... It's going to be a long year.

 

 Ok, that's all for now... I have a few more posts I need to get finished... I also have a cool freebie for you (I was going to include it today, but totally forgot to take pictures at school today, so I'll take a picture next week and get it posted!!) and I think there's another giveaway right around the corner.... so stay tuned!!

 

Giveaway week 5: Common Core Goodies Galore

Welcome to week 5 of giveaways... this is the last week of the big giveaways... but don't worry, there will be more fun in the future! Today I am blogging from beautiful St. George, Utah, so I'm going to keep this brief so I can get back to relaxing before I head back into the classroom to get ready for a new bunch of kiddos!

Today's giveaways are all about common core! Tons of great resources to make the first month of school easier for you! Check out the descriptions and enter the giveaways you like :)

Up first, the Applicious teacher is giving away 2 sets of her classroom management and center time packets. These will help you get off to a great start this year in any grade level! (I don't know about you, but centers / small group is always such a challenge at the beginning of the year in 2nd grade!)

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Next up is a self-start, fast finisher, or center activity designed just for kindergartners!  The littlest scholars are giving away 2 sets of their beginning sound practice "color, cut, & glue" activities! These are perfect for those darling little kinders :)

 



 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Next up is one of my personal favorites (sadly, it is a FIRST grade prize, *sniff*). How cute are these common core posters to display in your classroom?!  One lucky first grade teacher will win these from Daina at Sticky Notes & Glitter.

 



 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next is another awesome 1st grade packet... Lisa at Growing Firsties has made the most amazing year-long resource called "Common Core Crunch" - this packet is AMAZING! Take a peek for yourself and see why I'm drooling. Even though I teach 2nd, I am excited to use this as a review with some of my lower kiddos... you never can have too many things on hand at the beginning of the year!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

This next product is probably the one that I am most excited about!! Halle at Across the hall in 2nd grade has been hard at work ALL YEAR making her reading comprehension packets... have you seen these before?  They are AMAZING!! Not only are they great for comprehension, but I also have my 2nd graders practice fluency and retell with these! We do a timed reading then turn the paper over and see how much we can remember about the story... after that, we read the entire passage carefully and answer all of the comprehension questions... as we go through our answers, you can see the light bulbs going off in their heads... they suddenly understand that these questions are asking them the important details that the should be re-telling when they do their DIBELS tests. 3 lucky 2nd grade teachers will win this stellar pack!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Remember Gina, from third grade tidbits, who was having a birthday bash last week?  Now it's my turn to give away one of her products. Why oh why must this be for 3rd grade teachers?  I told Gina I might have to copy her idea and make a set for 2nd grade!!  This is a peek into her CCSS organization kit for 3rd grade reading & language arts. She has a very detailed post on her blog that you can check out here... she can explain it far better than I can!  Needless to say, I am green with envy over this awesome packet!!  3 lucky teachers will win this!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And finally... for the grand finale... 8 sellers have come together to create some amazing bundles!! The math stuff is mostly beginning of the year 3rd grade, so one lucky 3rd grade teacher will win an awesome math bundle!  The language arts bundle is all common core aligned for both 1st and 2nd grade, and again it will be given to just ONE lucky winner!  Check out each seller's store links in the rafflecopter below.

 



 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

But wait... I might have one more surprise up my sleeve... make sure you're following me on facebook to find out about another special giveaway that will start after I get back from vacation :)