Five for Friday

It's Friday!! Today is Day 5 of my official back to school year. My kiddos come on Tuesday. 

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday link up! This is a link up where we get to share five random things from our week. Ready for my randomness?

My doctor's note said I could come back to work on Monday, so I was finally able to get into my classroom. I hadn't been inside since the accident in January. When it was time to pack rooms up at the end of the year, I was still unable to walk. Luckily my long-term sub was given a whole day to pack up my room for me. I'm so grateful for all her hard work...but I don't know where anything is!! 

Here's what my room looked like when I got in on Monday. My storage closet was cleaned during the summer, so everything from my closet came out and onto the tables. 

I am SO INCREDIBLY LUCKY to have had the help of an amazing lady, the para educator for a student in grade 2. She was so wonderful and pretty much did all of the hard work in my room! Since I still can't climb or lift, she did all of the hard work! She got all of that stuff back into the closet and moved all of the furniture AND covered the bulletin boards!!! How amazing is that??? She is one incredible lady, and I am so lucky to call her friend!! 

On Tuesday we had a county-wide professional development day. Monday night I cleaned out my 'teacher bag', since I'd need it for the PD session. I was a bit surprised at what I found.

In the large outer pocket of my bag I found some glass shards from the windows of my car. I'm glad I looked inside before I just stuck my hand in the pocket!

On Wednesday we had some school-wide meetings and got to meet with our team for some planning. My team and I spent time getting ready for our kindergarten entry conferences. We got all of the various papers copied and sorted, ready to sit down with parents/guardians and explain various county, school, and classroom policies. 

Here's the table where I meet with the parents. I have everything sorted and ready to go! 

While I talk to my kiddos' parents, they will be working on an activity where they're tearing up bits of construction paper to fill up an outline of their name. I got this idea AND editable name tag templates from the incredibly creative Jackie at Pocket of Preschool!! This comes from her incredible FREEBIE in her TPT store, Editable Name Cards!

Our school has a Social Committee, which is responsible for for planning different teacher get-togethers as well as plenty of other amazing things for the teachers and staff of the school. One of the things they do every year is host a Secret Pal Exchange.

We fill out a simple form and then after everyone has signed up we pull names. That person becomes our Secret Pal for the year, and we use the information sheet to plan out different little surprises and gifts throughout the year. Little things to remind each other how awesome we are and that we're doing a great job. I love this, and can't wait to participate again this year!!

I managed to get a bit more accomplished with my Feedback Freebie Challenge!!

I am so close to getting down to zero!! I was honestly hoping to get done to zero before school started, because I knew things were going to get crazy hectic and I wouldn't have as much time! However, I will get it down to zero in the next few weeks!!

How has your week been? Have you headed back to school yet or are you enjoying summer still? I'd love to hear what you are up to in the comments!

You can check out who else has linked up for Five for Friday, and you can link up too!

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!

Five for Friday

Happy Friday everyone!! I know many of you are really excited about today, since you've been with kiddos this week and need the break! I hope you're able to get lots of rest and prepare you for next week!

Since it's Friday, that means I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her awesome 5 for Friday linky party!

This link up is a chance to share 5 random things from our week. I haven't headed back to school yet so I've been working on creating and relaxing!!

I created these three activities to use during the beginning of the year with BINGO daubers. My kinders LOVE using BINGO daubers, and these packets have them practicing very important skills while having fun!

You can find Dot-A-Letter Pack here.

Click here for Dot-A-Number Pack.

Find Dot-a-Color Pack here.

I was inspired by a favorite activity I used to do with my mom. I wanted to create some really simple crossword puzzles my kinders could work on, and I think I nailed it with these CVC crosswords!!

Students look at the picture clue and fill in the corresponding CVC word on their paper.

Grab a copy of these activities here!

Laser treatment #8 happened this week. I am able to walk better and have even been trying to walk using just a cane. The bummer is my lower back seizes up so quickly and I feel like I'm about to break in two! If I could get past that incredible lower back pain, I'd be able to walk so much better. Guess I'll just have to keep practicing walking up and down the hallways!

I added a new Dragon to my collection this week. Isn't she so cute!! I'm loving all the shimmery purple she has! She's the perfect addition to my Reading Buddy Basket! Bonus for me: She's a Webkinz!!! Lots of extra fun!

Things are coming along nicely with my Freebie Feedback Challenge! I am well on my way to meeting my goal of leaving feedback for all of the freebies I've downloaded! Thanks so much for all of your sweet words of encouragement and support, that really means a lot to me!!

Make sure to head back over Doodle Bugs Teaching and see who else has linked up for 5 for Five! You can link up too and share 5 bits of randomness from your week!

Five for Friday 7-31-15

Happy Friday!! Many of you are headed back to or already back in the classroom. I hope your beginning of the year goes as smoothly as it possibly can!!

It's Friday, so that means I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her amazing linky party 5 for Friday!

This link up gives us a chance to share 5 random things from our week! It's neat to get a chance to see what everyone has been up to!! Here's my 5 for Friday!!

If you are a kindergarten teacher you really need to join the Facebook group Simply Kinder!  This is a really great group run by the blog of the same name. Jennifer Kadar is an amazing kindergarten teacher with so many awesome tips and tricks to share!!

Besides all of the advice and idea-sharing between kindergarten teachers that this page offers, Jennifer puts together some really amazing ways we can connect and help each other!

Recently she created an event called 'My Favorite Things' where she paired up kindergarten teachers, and each teacher was given the name of another teacher and their address. We put together a package of our very favorite things to help us with teaching, either at school or home, and sent it to our partner. 

My package came!!!!!

The teacher who sent me this package is also named 'Erin', how crazy is that?? She sent my package from Minnesota, and I've never gotten any mail from there before!! She found some really adorable sticky note pads. I love the ones that look like loose-leaf paper. There is also a notepad in the shape of an 'E' and star stickers that say "_____ is a Kindergartener!". They are going to be so cute to send home with my Dragons on their first day!

There have been a lot of amazing packages being shared on the Simply Kinder Facebook page, it's been really neat to look at all the pictures! I loved getting my package, but I had even more fun putting it together! There are rumors another exchange like this will happen around Christmas time, and I really hope that happens!!

If you've been involved with social media lately, chances are you have heard of the organization NAEIR. This organization offers many products to teachers/schools and other non-profit organizations at some seriously low prices. I mean, like ridiculously low.

If you haven't checked out their site, you really need to. You have to apply,  and to my knowledge they'll check your school's website to see if you're listed as a teacher in the school you say you are. If they can verify it, they will probably approve your application.

Once approved, you can then order different supplies from their site. Sometimes in a single quantity, other times with multiple of the same to a box (like pens). 

I just got approved to become a member, and I have no idea what to order. I've been looking at their site and picked out a few things, but I haven't met the $25.00 minimum for shipping yet. If this is something you're a part of, what are some things you have ordered? (I already have a laminator)

I need your help, teacher friends!!! This year, for the very first time ever, I have purchased an Erin Condren Teacher Planner.

I debated with myself for two years on whether or not to invest in one of these, because it is an investment. These babies aren't cheap!! I had been looking at them online and stalking different bloggers who had them, but still wasn't sure if I wanted to make the investment or not. Then one of the first grade teachers at my school got one and showed it to me, as well as how she used it. She said it helped to keep her organized and on track, and it was so pretty too!!

After getting to see one up close and personal, I was hooked. I ordered mine during the Teacher Appreciation Sale, and have been excited to use it ever since!!

I ordered a few extras with my planner, like the band and a laminated To-Do List divider. I had so much fun shopping around on her site, and getting to choose my own cover was awesome!!

For those of you out there who are EC Planner Veterans or Newbies like myself, I'd LOVE for you to tell me how you best use this awesome organizer! Leave me some tips in the comments, I'll be ever so grateful!! :-)

I have been bit HARD by the creative bug!! I keep getting all these ideas, which I then furiously jot down on lists everywhere. I have been trying to compile everything and get some new activities created. I am having a great time working on new resources that I can use with my kinders. 

I used to work on crossword puzzles with my mom, and those memories were the inspiration for my newest creation!!

I created simple crossword puzzles for the different CVC word family words we work on throughout the year. There are several different puzzles for each medial vowel sound, and a set of puzzles where the medial vowels are all mixed up in one puzzle.

I had a really fun time creating these, and I think my kinders are going to have a great time using them!!

If you're interested, you can go to my blog post HERE and enter my Rafflecopter drawing to win one.

OR you can head to my TPT Store and get the pack for 50% OFF until midnight EST tonight!!! It's the cheapest price it will ever be!

Each week I share with you how I am doing with my self-appointed Freebie Feedback Challenge. A few months ago I challenged myself to leave feedback on all of the freebies I had downloaded from TPT. I have sporadically left feedback on freebies, but challenged myself to do better. I needed something to hold myself accountable, so I created a fun graphic that I share with you all each week!

I'm on a roll friends!! I'm getting closer and closer to reaching my goal of feedback for all my freebies!!

Well, that's my week! What happened with you this week? Tell me in the comments or link up below!

Don't forget that tomorrow is Spotlight Saturday! You can link up for a Teacher's Show and Tell where you can share with us your favorite resources, products, activities, tips, tricks, ideas, and anything else that makes classroom life easier or more fun!!