Teacher Week 2015: 5 Facts About Me

It's Monday!!! Today marks Day 5 of kindergarten for me! My Dragons started last Tuesday and they have been rocking it!!

I'm still very much in the healing process so I have come home each day completely wiped out and end up falling asleep on the couch before I head up to bed for the night!! I can't wait until I'm all better and back to normal!

Since I've been so exhausted every day my poor blog has suffered! However, I am excited to be linking up with Blog Hoppin' for their awesome #teacherweek15 link up!!

For each day this week we are given a different topic to blog about. Today is the very first day of the link up, and it's all about ME!! :-)

Five Fun Facts about me!! Here goes!!

I am the proud mommy of an American Pit Bull Terrier. She is what they call a blue brindle, due to the unusual color of her fur. She is my very best friend and loves me so unconditionally!

I can't imagine my life without this incredibly sweet cuddle bug, and I'm so glad she loves snuggling up with me at night. She's the best dog ever and I love her so very much!!

I am a HUGE Baltimore Ravens fan!! Every Friday during the post-season is Purple Friday, and I proudly sport my Ravens gear!

Win or loose, I back the Birds!! Go Purple or Go Home!! :-)

I am a lover of all things Dragon. I have created a whole classroom theme around that love. I tell my kids that dragons work extra hard to solve their problems and that each dragon is different and special in their own way. I tell them that dragons don't worry about getting to the finish line first, they focus on the journey and not the destination.

Here are some of the ways I decorate my classroom each year.

Alphabet line with the vowels in red and two different images for each vowel sound (as well as two different images for the hard and soft sounds for /c/ and /g/.

Labels for their Daily 5 Book Boxes. The label shows them that they can keep books and journals in their book bins, but nothing else!

Schedule tags that incorporate real photographs so my Dragons know what to look for and when.

Number line for 0-20 with sparkly gems representing each number.

Name tags for the hallway work display.

Dragon eggs for the behavior clip chart!!

The list goes on and on!! I love creating new things for my classroom, and I especially love how original and creative I get to be!

I am the proud aunt of a ten-year-old nephew and a 15-month-old niece!

I love them both so much, and my favorite things to do are spend time with them doing all sorts of incredibly fun things! I only have one sister, and we're about five years apart, and I'm so very luck y to call her best friend!!

I was lucky enough to attend a conference where Eric Litwin was presenting. Not only did we all have a wonderful time singing our favorite Pete the Cat songs, but he signed my book!!

It was so much fun watching him sing and dance on stage, and introduce us to his newest characters!

He is an incredibly funny man, and his stories has us all laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes!! If you ever get the chance, I would definitely recommend checking him out live!!

Well, those are five fun facts about me! Swing on over to Blog Hoppin' to see who else has linked up to share!

You can still link up for Spotlight Saturday! I would love for you to participate in this Teacher's Show and Tell!

Five for Friday

This is my very last Friday of summer vacation. I head back to school on Monday for a fun-filled three days of meetings and PD.

I'm just hoping for some time in my classroom!! Since I'm still 'on the injured list' I'll need help with the moving and the climbing and the hanging, and it's stressing me out a bit. However, I've decided that what gets done is what gets done, and the rest of it will come along throughout the year as I heal more!

Since it's Friday, that means I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her super-fun 5 for Friday link up! This linky is where we get to share 5 random things from our week. 

Please enjoy some randomness from my week, and then make sure to head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and see who else linked up!!

I am working with some incredibly fabulous ladies to bring you an Early Childhood Education AARRGGHH You Read for Back to School? blog hop and giveaway!!

These awesome educators have provided some incredible resources that you can use during the first few weeks and months of school. I know that many of you are already back in the swing of things, but you can still enter to win some incredible resources you can use over the next few weeks! There are 15 different giveaways you can enter!

These are just some of the resources that are being raffled off! There is something here for every level of Early Childhood Education! I hope you are able to join us this weekend for the blog hop and enter all of the different giveaways!! The fun starts HERE on my blog tomorrow! Check back tomorrow so you can start your giveaway hop!!

I have been trying to get things together to bring to my classroom next week. My doctor's note said I could return on the first day, so I haven't been able to get into my classroom yet. If I had realized I wouldn't be allowed in the building until the date on my doctor's note, I totally would have asked the doctor to write an earlier date! 

Since I can't work in my classroom yet, I decided to start a few projects at home. One of these projects is something I've been wanting to do all summer. Check this out!

I started with a pack of 24 Sharpies and 5 Oh-Snap Bins from Thirty-one. These bins are perfect for holding all sorts of items that can be found on a teacher's desk, and they even snap together to form a circle! Here's how I transformed the Oh-Snap Bins.

I have been using the Sharpies to color in all of the white patterns on the bins. How awesome are they turning out?? If I didn't know they were colored in, I wouldn't be able to tell! I am having SO MUCH FUN coloring these bins in, even though the marker fumes are filling up the house!! I can't wait to finish coloring all 5 and get them set up in my classroom. I'm hoping to hang them on my bulletin board and use them to hold all my writing utensils!

I've also been working on some of my classroom decor. Did you know there's no dragon-themed classroom decor out there? Guess dragons aren't a popular classroom theme!!
That means that I've been responsible for making everything my classroom could need. I'm okay with that, actually. It's like scrapbooking for me and I find it really fun!! Here are some of the things I've created!
Shape Posters!

How cute are these posters? I wanted to include the shape as well as the shape's name and some real-world objects that were the matching shape!

Alphabet Line!

I wanted to have the vowels in red and consonants in blue, and for the vowel sounds I tried to include images that represented the short and long sounds. I also included images to represent the hard and soft sounds of 'c' and 'g'.

Number Line!

Each number is represented with a numeral as well as a number word, plus a set of gems in a ten-frame. Dragons LOVE gems and jewels!!

Birthday Wall!

Each month is represented by a different cupcake. How much fun are these?

I have SO MUCH MORE that I've made, but I'll save it for a later post!

Have you heard of the #teachertribe movement? It started after Lucky Little Learners and Schroeder's Shenanigans in Second heard about it at the TPT conference and shared it on a Periscope broadcast. Since then, teachers all over the world have been forming their own tribes as a way to show solidarity and support! There are tribes for every grade level, for regular ed and for special ed, even teacher tribes by state and country!
I am a proud member of #kindertribe, which has its own Facebook page and blog.
I thought we needed a tribe that was open to all members of Early Childhood Education, since we have similar experiences. We build the foundation of student learning and are the first school exposure for many kiddos. We deal with everything from potty training to learning and play centers to teaching social emotional skills. I wanted a place where ECE folks could get together, share ideas, and offer support.
Enter the Early Childhood Education Tribe!

This tribe is open to all pre-school, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten peeps! So far we have a Facebook page, which you can find here! I am hoping to have a lot more pre-school and pre-k members, so if you are a teacher of one of those grades PLEASE come join our tribe!

I am still hard at work on my Freebie Feedback Challenge! I've been working all summer on leaving feedback on the hundreds of freebies I have downloaded from TPT. I'm so close to reaching my goal!!

I'm really hoping to leave feedback on my remaining 75 freebies before next week's Five for Friday! I think I can do it!! Oh my gosh, what an amazing feeling it will be to finally get all caught up!!!

Well, that's my 5 for Friday! Swing over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and see who else linked up!

#2getherWeAreBetter August Link Up: Bulletin Boards

Have you heard about all the social media movements that have been created by Lucky Little Learners and Schroeder's Shenanigans in Second? They have definitely created some awesome ways for us to come together as teachers and help each other out!

On the second of every month they host a 2getherwearebetter link up where teachers share ideas on different topics. This linky goes live the second day of every month, with a new topic each time. It is August 2nd, and this month's topic is Bulletin Boards!

I think bulletin boards are something every teacher has to deal with, even if it's just one board. Some teacher's have HUGE boards, and others have multiple boards in their classroom.
In my classroom, we each have 3-4 large square and 2-3 long rectangular bulletin boards already put on the walls. If you don't have 4 square boards, it's because one of them is a white board.
In my room, I don't have a white board so I have 4 square bulletin boards around the room.

This is a picture of the front of my classroom. My SMART Board is mounted on the chalkboard (though not evenly in the middle, if you'll notice...). There are two large boards on each side and one rectangular board at the top.
I cover my boards with fabric, since the fabric doesn't fade and can be used year after year. I choose solid primary colors so that they didn't detract from anything on the boards. This was last year, and I might change it up this year. Haven't decided yet.

The back of my classroom has another two large square bulletin boards with a rectangular one on top.

You can see my last bulletin board on the left hand side of this photo, it's covered in yellow fabric.

We also have cork strips in the hallway that we use to turn into a bulletin board of student work. This is a pic from a few years ago, I can't find a pic of my Dragon board....

Did you know that you can make your own bulletin board if your classroom doesn't have one? Last year I made several additional boards in my room, and while it was time consuming it was definitely worth it.

First I outlined the space I wanted using Painter's Tape. See, we have lots of rules about what can go on the walls. Painter's Tape comes off without leaving a residue, so it's okay to use. Once I have the Painter's Tape frame up, I then put hot glue ON TOP OF the Painter's Tape. Then I quickly add the bulletin board paper and border.

The blue 'Math' board is one that I created using Painter's Tape. It stayed up there all year long.

Another of my walls isn't cinder block, so it was easier to get this bulletin board up. I used a fabric that resembled the sky and outlined it with a rainbow border. I love being able to turn empty wall space into a new bulletin board!

These are all pictures from a few years ago, and I can't wait to change things up this year!
How do you create bulletin boards in your classroom? What's your favorite way to put up border? Do you use fabric or bulletin board paper? I'd love to hear about your classroom bulletin boards! Leave me some comments or link up with Lucky Little Learners and Schroeder's Shenanigans in Second to share how you handle bulletin boards!

Don't forget that you can still link up for Spotlight Saturday! This link up is a Teacher's Show and Tell where you can share your favorite activity, resource, product, tip, idea, trick, or anything else that makes classroom life even more awesome!!