Five for Friday - Back to School Style!

Hello friends! Boy, that whole week of blogging really took something out of me because I went MIA for two weeks!!!

But I'm back today for some Five for Friday action! 

I'm hoping that I will be able to get back into the blogging mode soon!

This Five for Friday is all about Back to School since that's what I've been working on these last two weeks.

Monday and Tuesday was all about supplies shopping! On Monday I hit Office Depot, Staples, Walmart, and Target. On Tuesday I went to teacher specialty stores. Let's just say, don't ever do major shopping all in two days. You will definitely feel the money impact right away. But it's all worth it of course!

Since I have two classes rotating through my room every day, desks have to be shared between two students, which also means less desk space for each kid. I used to do pencil boxes in the past but with this new scenario, I decided to try pencil pouches instead since they can just fit nicely on top of each kid's stack on their side of the desk. Hopefully this idea works!

Some creating happened this week!

Pinterest inspired. Love these frames from Ikea!

Always need to create something on Vistaprint! Made myself a new tote bag, a notebook for student notes, magnets with my school and contact info to give out at Back to School Night, and another mousepad for the classroom.

Binder clip labels for the students' mailboxes! This was also Pinterest/blog inspired. Since I have two classes I decided to go for a bird "theme". My homeroom class will be the owls while my other class will be the birds. So things around the classroom are labeled by owls or birds to differentiate which class it belongs to. I've already created the owl labels which can be downloaded for free in my TpT store. Needed bird ones so I decided to go ahead and make them!

I printed the labels on cardstock and just taped them on the binder clips. Halfway through, I realized I should've printed the labels on those Avery® White Full-Sheet Labels (affiliate link), cut them out, and directly stick them onto the binder clips to keep them from falling off. Oh well, next year!

Just a look at the owl ones in action. 

Who else purchased tons of products during the TpT Back to School sale????

Yep, the shopping didn't end with physical stores!

Online shopping had to happen too!

Below are some of my purchases. Click on the images to check them out on TpT!

Posters

 

ELA Interactive Notebooks

     

For Homework

  

      

Quite a haul since this is my first year teaching third. 

I can't wait to use them all!

Since I am new to the district this year, I had to attend the district's new teacher orientation. 

Meet all the district people, along with our union who provided us lunch and gave us these goodie bags with supplies and awesome merchant discount cards.

Orientation was also the time for me to pick up my work laptop. 

Are you ready to see what it is?

What for it...

A giant chunky Dell! 

Now I don't know about you, but I was a PC user before I started teaching. 

Once I began teaching I slowly got converted to a Mac user because everything was Mac. Even bought myself a Macbook Air this summer.

Four years of teaching later and apparently I am back to using a PC. Have to start remembering how to navigate through Windows again!

The main reason I've been MIA for so long is that I've been working hard in my classroom and getting it ready for school!

I spent the entire last week moving into my new classroom and getting it set up. 

It is ALMOST ready for a classroom reveal (still some decorating left to do!) but it definitely has to be ready by Wednesday since that's when school starts!

I will have a classroom reveal post next week.

Here's a sneak peek for now!

Alright, it's my last weekend before school officially starts!

Have to make it worthwhile! :D

Back to School Series: Teacher Planner

We are now on our final post for the Back to School Series!

Today's post is on something that is VERY important and pretty much a necessity for all teachers!!

What do you use for your teacher planner?

There are so many options out there that sometimes it's really hard to decide!

When I first started teaching, I used Lakeshore Learning's teacher's plan book. 

The book is always free during their Back to School sale with a purchase of $20 or more. And let me tell you, it is VERY easy to spend $20 at that store!

I used this planner for two years. 

During my third year of teaching, something horrible happened....Lakeshore changed the weekly layout of their planner!!! Instead of the days of the week going in rows, they made them into columns! I know...end of the world for people like me who just HAVE to have the days of the week in rows. 

So...I had to go searching for a different planner to use. 

My school back then used to order planners for their teachers. They had stopped doing that when I joined them, but there were still some extra ones in storage. I was asked if I wanted one and after looking through it, I immediately said yes. 

This was my new planner.

[affiliate: click on image to purchase on Amazon]

It had everything I wanted except for one thing...it was HUGE!

If you look at the dimensions on Amazon it says 12.8 by 10.8 inches. 

GIANT I tell you.

So of course it was always sticking out of my teacher bag and somewhat of a hassle to carry around.

So the next year (last school year), I started my search again. 

I think Lakeshore had figured out that teachers like me wanted the old layout back so they had switched their weekly layout back to days of the week being in rows again. 

However, I had seen lots of posts about Erin Condren's teacher planners floating around online. 

Definitely peaked my interest so I nicely convinced the boyfriend to order one for me as our anniversary gift. (silly teacher!)

Well...let me tell you...once you start Erin Condren-ing, you sort of can't go back.

It had everything I wanted in a planner and more. 

One of the best part was...it was so colorful!

(Ask any of my students, they will tell you that Ms. Wu loves colors!)

So when it came to deciding on a planner for this coming school year...

I ended up purchasing another Erin Condren planner. 

Mind you, I did want to try some of the other planners that I've seen floating around on the interwebs like the ones from Modern Teacher or Plum Paper Design but both those planners had their days of the week in columns and not rows. You know me, I just can't have that so I went with Erin Condren again.

And I'm super excited to share that it arrived yesterday!!!

I'm super excited to start filling it out!

What teacher planner do you get?

Thank you, also, for making it through this week and following me along as I blab about back to school!

Just a quick shameless plug...I now have facebook fan page and it needs some fans!

If you enjoyed what you have read so far, please become like my facebook page to get updates when new posts arrive! I will also share posts from other blogs that I find interesting on my facebook fan page too!

Back to School Series: Back to School Shopping

Can't believe you're back for day 4 of the Back to School Series! 

Today we are talking about...back to school shopping!!!

Can I share a secret?

I actually love back to school shopping!

My bank account doesn't of course. 

But it's just a once a year event (yea, right!) so it can handle it. ;)

I just wanted to share some of the things I usually buy every year during back to school shopping. 

I will include prices in red if I happen to know them off the top of my head.

[Disclaimer: all links to Amazon are affliate links.]

Composition Books

Last year, I decided to try using interactive notebooks for Math. 

Boy, were they a hit! The kids absolutely loved having a math notebook so I'm definitely going to do it again this year. Some people use spiral notebooks for interactive notebooks, but I liked using composition books. Composition books are just sturdier and you don't have to worry about a metal spiral coming undone.

I bought my composition books from Staples for 50 cents each. (limit 30)

You can also get them from Target or Walmart for the same price.

Poly Folders

I buy these every year for my homework/communication folder, which I talked about in yesterday's post. Poly folders last way longer than paper folders.

I usually get mine at Office Depot. They are currently on sale for 60 cents each (in store only, not sure about limit). 

I've seen them at Target for 50 cents each but the Office Depot ones seem a little sturdier so I'm okay with paying the extra 10 cents for each.

**I usually also go buy a box of sheet protectors from Costco to put in the folders. Don't have to buy them this year since my new school has already ordered them for me.**

Writing Supplies

(click on image to purchase on Amazon)

For anchor charts....

For the planner...

For writing on papers projected by the document camera...

These are some of the things I always find myself buying every year. 

One last thing...

Plastic Folder w/ Clasp

This is not an every year buy. Just a one time buy that can last for many years.

I use these as my "first week" folders. 

Since my homework folders are personalized during the first week of school, they aren't ready to start going home yet. 

However, the first week of school is one of the busiest in terms of things getting sent home and coming back to school so I use these "homework" folders from Really Good Stuff as a substitute. Each folder is labeled "first week" and with a number (written on with Sharpie). 

My students are all assigned a student number on the first day of school so they get whichever folder corresponds with that number. After the first week is over and homework folders are ready to go to their owners, the first week folders are returned to me. Having the numbers on the folders definitely help because if you find yourself missing any you know exactly who to go ask. I've used the same set of folders for the past three years and they are still going strong!

What are some things you find yourself buying every year during Back to School shopping?

Back to School Series: Homework/Communication Folder

So you're back for day 3 eh? Glad you came back!

Today's post is on...

This is something that you can work on putting together before the school year starts. I've actually blogged about this before so I'm not going recreate the wheel and write a brand new entry again. Below is literally a copy and paste from my entry in 2012.

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Before I begin, I must give all credit to the original idea to, Ms. Stienstra, my Master Teacher in second grade. She taught me well and really prepared me for my first year of teaching.

Last year, we were the first grade Superstars so we had S.T.A.R. folders. This year, we are the first grade Marvelous Monkeys so of course we need M.O.N.K.E.Y. folders this year!

I know some teachers use binders and other use folders. My master teacher (the Outstanding Owls) used those poly three-prong folders (the plastic kind). I really like them because they are very durable and don't get destroyed easily so I definitely wanted to use it for my own classroom. They definitely survived the entire year of first grade last year!

Here is the cover to our M.O.N.K.E.Y. folders:

Personalized by and for each student! This was one of the first things the students saw when they reached their desks on the first day of school. They got to color this along with their name card that I use for attendance. I collected them, laminated them, and then taped them onto the covers of each folder. In case you were wondering, the students don't receive their MONKEY folders until the second week of school (since I need to you know...apply their personalized cover). During the first week we used first week folders (which I will talk about tomorrow!) which I collected the second week of school to never be seen again until the first week of the next school year.

And now...inside the folder! (in order)

1. empty page protector - for decodables and anything small that might get lost easily.

2. M.O.N.K.E.Y. Rules - picture below

3. Monthly progressing monitoring calendar picture below. I use a clip chart in my classroom and at the end of the day the kids color the color their clip is on in the corresponding day on the calendar. This template was taken from a third grade teacher at my school and then revised for my own classroom.

4. A list of sight words, divided into three sections (we test the kids on sight words every trimester for report cards).
5. A page with all the OCR sound/spelling cards on it which I received at my district's new teacher OCR training. The purpose is for the students to refer to them for spelling help once we have flipped all the cards (around mid-year).
6. Penmanship Chart of uppercase and lowercase letters.
7. The 100 number chart - Mainly for students to use at home when completing their homework but some students like to use this during math lessons.
8. Book Bingo - An optional reading "program". Students get prizes for completing different parts of the bingo card. They have a whole year to complete the card if they want to. And they get a new card once they complete one.
9. Binder paper - Parent communication section if parents want to write notes to me.

The pockets in the folder are also labeled "Return to School" and "Leave at Home".

And that's my class's MONKEY folder! I really love using this sort of homework/communication folder because it really instills a sense of responsibility in my students. Plus I also like how each one is personalized for its owner. When I passed these folders out I pointed out to my students that their names are on the folder and emphasized how the folder belongs to them and not their parents so it is their job to be responsible of it.  During the first couple of weeks when a student doesn't bring his/her MONKEY folder to school and comes to me and tells me their parent forgot it, all I need to do is ask them if the folder belongs to their parent. That's all the reminder they need. And they have been doing a wonderful job being responsible with their MONKEY folder so far!

Quick story to share. One of my five year olds forgot her MONKEY folder at home which also happened to be the same day homework was due. She came to me and took full responsibility and told me that she forgot her folder at home. Her mom emailed me later that morning telling me that she had taken the folder out to sign the homework packet but forgot to put it back into her daughter's backpack.  So even though technically it wasn't my student's fault for not having her MONKEY folder, she still took full responsibility of it because, as she told her mom, the homework and folder belong to her! I think they really get it! :)

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What do you use for your homework and/or communication folder?

How do you organize it?

Back to School Series: First Day Letter

Welcome back for day 2 of the "Back to School Series" posts. Today's entry is going to be on...

The first day of school is always a hectic one. You can't wait to meet your students. Your students can't wait to meet you. And of course, the parents can't wait to meet you too. 

Besides spending a day (or half day in my case this year) with your new students, you probably also receive a packet of stuff to send home from the school. That packet of stuff is very important, but the one thing that most parents are probably looking forward to reading the most is your first day letter. It's not only your first piece of communication with the families of your students, it also gives the parents an idea of what to expect for the upcoming school year. This is a very important piece of document, my friend. It must be thought out well!

Here are some of the things I include in my first day letter:

*Introduce Myself

*School Schedule

*Attendance

*Necessary Supplies (and Wishlist)

*Homework

*Food Allergies

*Class Website

*Volunteering

*Upcoming Important Dates

*Contact Information

I also include a mini permission slip that allows me to post student pictures and videos on my class website, and a quick volunteering survey for parents to fill out so that I can get an idea of what my volunteer pool will be like when I decide on my volunteer roles for the year.

I know it's all really logistics and stuff, but what you include in your first day letter shows the parents what is most important to you in order to make the year a successful year. Sure, a lot of it is in a parent or school handbook, but when the teacher puts it in his/her own letter, it just emphasizes how important those topics really are and how much the parents should pay attention to them.

The nice thing about the first day letter is that once you create one, you are pretty much set for every year as long as you don't change schools. And this is also a piece of document that you can have done in the summer before the school year even starts. You will probably have to change small tidbits in your letter every year, but you don't have to create from scratch again. In fact, what I end up changing the most every year are the images I use in my letter so that it matches with my classroom theme. 

Unfortunately for me, I am at a new school this year, so there are still pieces of my letter that are not done yet since I need to wait to find out what the school policies are. But I am sharing my first day letter from 2012 below for you to download and use as a reference to help you get started on your own. Click the screenshot below to see it!

Hope this information was helpful! 

Do you include the same topics in your first day letter?

Do you think there are any other topics that should be included in the letter?

I would love to hear your thoughts! :)