Storage Containers Linky Party!

I've mentioned the awesomeness that is the blog Clutter-Free Classroom a few times before and how it's a great resource for those of us who aspire to have wonderfully organized classrooms.  I really don't think my classroom is particularly spectacular in this area, but I do get a lot of comments on how organized it looks.  (I guess it looks better than I perceive it...)

Anyway, Clutter-Free Classroom has been running a series with some linky parties for people to share their own photos.  I'm a little behind on linking up (this one is from about a month ago), but I wanted to link up to share some of my favorite organization tools in my classroom.  This is supposed to be my favorite storage container, but I'm doing my top few because it's hard to choose just one!

This awesome cart was found in the hallway when a teacher retired last year and the new one didn't want it.  I gladly snatched it up!  This is pretty much our community supply command center where the kids know they can grab things that they need.  I love how well it worked for my needs and fit the baskets and bins I already had laying around!

I snatched these book bins at Target about 4 years ago when they first carried them.  They were only $1 each that year, so I pretty much cleaned out every Target in town to get enough for a class set, plus a few extras.  They run $2.50 now (what a price hike!), so I'm happy I bought them then.  I use these for the students' extra supplies so that they don't have as much clutter in their desks.  It doesn't keep their desks in pristine condition, but it does make things better.  Really Good Stuff has some similar bins in some super fun colors, but of course they cost more.  I'd love to get some different colors, but for now, these do the job just fine!

(These pictures were all taken back before school started, so I don't really have supplies in any of these containers...  Oh well...)

I also really love my pink file organizer from Mardel.  I have it hanging on my closet door and keep extra papers that the kids need easy access to:  Reading logs, work station sheets, fluency logs, etc.  It works out really well to have these things in an easy access point for the kids.  I have a smaller black one that I use for my teacher papers and folders that I need to keep handy.  You can find some other colors and patterns here on Mardel's website.

Okay, now it's time to check out all of the other cool organization ideas over at Clutter-Free Classroom!  Click on the icon and follow the link over there!  If you have any of your own awesome organization tools or ideas that you'd like to share, link up with the rest of us and show us what you've got!

Go on!  Click it!  Check out the other awesome links!  :)

 

Getting Ready for Next Year?!?

Yes, that's right.  It's not even spring break and I'm getting ready for next year.  I think once we get over the assessment season hump I pretty much go in the this mental state where I decide that the current school year is over.  Of course, we have nine weeks still remaining, but in my mind our biggest hurdle has been jumped over and we're just coasting the rest of the way.  In all honesty, I love this time of the year because I feel the freedom to do more of the things that I enjoy and aren't so driven by prepping for state assessments.  Novel studies, social studies projects, science units, and field trips are in our very near future. 

The other part of my prepping for next year has to do with the fact that I have a student teacher right now.  She's not taking over everything until after spring break, but I'm really only teaching math right now, so that gives me a lot of extra time to work on other things throughout the day.  Our district started a copy center this year so I've been taking all sorts of cool blog and Pinterest finds and sending them over to be copied and laminated.  Since this is the first year, we weren't really given a budget, so I'm feeling pretty free to get stuff made.  I'm all about doing things in packets or having it bound into books so there are less paper all over the place.  I've already had first semester morning work and blank vocab organizers copied and spiral-bound into books.  I've also sent over some posters, folder games, task cards, and a few other random goodies.  I always seem to be here 'til 7 or 8 p.m. some night before school starts just making tons of copies, so it's going to be great to not have to worry about it! (Especially since without fail, the copier here in the building always dies at a detrimental time.)

Our staff decided to not do much of a theme next year and just let the teachers do things on our own.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with my Poppin' Patterns decor since I've already dropped a lot of money on getting a lot of matching items from that collection.  I'd like to get change a few things in my room, so I'm trying to figure out what I can get done this year so that I'm not stressing about getting it done next year.  

(I've mentioned I'm going to be moving this summer and that's also a factor...  I'm not sure where I'm going to live yet, but I'm 99% sure I'm going to be downsizing for a while and so I'm really not looking to take any school projects home for the summer until I get settled!)

My district is working on finalizing next year's calendar and it appears that school will probably be starting on August 14 or 15.  That seems super early, but it's about the same time as the past few years.  I'm hoping that getting some stuff done now will cut off a day of working at the school beforehand.


Is anyone else out there really crazy like me and is already prepping for next year?  What kinds of things do you try to get accomplished before you head back in August?

Testing Tuesday: Almost. Done.

I somehow landed a pretty sweet testing schedule this year and was one of only two classes that got to test during the first two weeks at our school.  We have 3 days of reading and 3 days of math, so tomorrow will be my last day of assessments for this year.  (Well, except for a couple students who were in separate settings or that were absent last week.)  I'm super happy to get it over with.  Does anyone else just get to the point where you feel like there's nothing more you can do to help prep the kids?  I usually get to that point about 2/3 of the way through February.  Thankfully, this year the schedule worked in my favor and I don't have to worry about any testing after Spring Break.  I totally prefer it that way!

I don't really have anything much to share with you testing wise this Tuesday.  Like I said, I'm pretty much over it.  I'll probably take a break from sharing testing stuff for a while and maybe come back with another (semi) clever weekly theme.  

To all of you that have students testing over the coming days, weeks, and months I wish you and your students the very best!  I hope everyone's hard work pays off!  

Birchbox (I just signed up!)

I'm quite a big fan of hair, makeup, and pretty much any beauty item in general.  I'd read about Birchbox on a couple blogs and was interested in giving it a try.  Basically, you get a box each month of various beauty samples to try.  I had to get on a waiting list, but I'm pretty sure I joined that just a few weeks ago.  I got an e-mail today saying that I could now join!  I filled out a survey telling about my hair type, skin type, and what kinds of products I'm interested in.  It's $10 a month (that's the total cost, nothing extra for shipping) and from what I've read a lot of people have been happy with their Birchboxes.  I searched for "Birchbox" on Google and got to see plenty of reviews and pictures of the items people have received.  My first box will ship on the 15th, so I'm excited to see what kinds of goodies I receive.  I figure for $10 a month (I can cancel anytime) I'll give it a try for 3 months or so and decide if it's worth continuing with.  I love trying new products and from what I've seen they have some pretty nice stuff.  

www.birchbox.com

On a tangent...  I went to Sephora a while back seeking a new face scrub / exfoliator.  The sales guy that helped me told me not to spend money on anything I hadn't yet tested.  He proceeded to find me samples of products that fit my criteria (skin type and budget) and I ended up with 8 different samples!  It took me over 2 weeks to get through all of my samples, but I did have success in finding one I wanted to purchase.  Anyway, I say this because I thought he made a really good point about not buying something I haven't tried.  Especially with more high-end products, I don't want to feel buyer's remorse and regret spending money on something.  I think the whole idea of letting customers sample products at home is great customer service.  I mean, think about it, this sales guy encouraged me NOT to buy anything that day.  He was definitely confident I would find something I loved and would come back for it...  And I did!

Anyway, this isn't really related to teaching at all, but I wanted to share anyway.  I feel like I work hard and like to pamper myself in little ways every now and then.  So many teachers work hard and deal with a lot of stress and this is just one little thing that I thought would be a fun way to reward myself.  I'm not really one to spend a lot of money getting my hair done or my nails done or whatever, but I do love little things I can enjoy at home.  I'll be sure to post pics of my first Birchbox when it arrives and giving you my own input on how I like it.  

In the meantime, here are a few other reviews of Birchbox:

http://www.thestylishhousewife.com/2012/02/february-birchbox-review/  

(She actually has a lot of reviews, but this is just the most recent.)

http://www.birchboxreviews.com/ 

(This is a whole blog dedicated to reviews of products.  It's really good to see what kinds of things they send out!)

http://www.lipstickmusings.com/search/label/Birchbox

(A couple good reviews and pictures of items.)

http://www.haute-lunch.com/search/label/Birchbox

(More good reviews and pictures!)

To Theme or Not To Theme?

Yes, it's getting to be that time of year when I'm kind of over the current school year and am already making plans for next year.  It's not that I'm giving up on this year or anything like that...  I'm just already looking forward to a fresh start.  I love that I'm in a career where I get a fresh start each August.  I'm not completely stuck doing everything the same year after year.  If you know me, you know I like change in my home, my wardrobe, and my classroom.  I can't keep things to same for too long before I get bored.

We've done school-wide themes the past 4 years...  Western, stars / space, jungle, and sports.  I like this, but only to a point.  Our new principal, who's been around for years before this as a teacher, has been surveying our staff about themes.  It sounds like we're leaning towards not having a school-wide theme next year.  I try not to spend a lot of money on theme decorations, but I do still have boxes of theme items I probably won't use ever again.  (Uh, western?  I may live in Kansas, but I am about as far from a cowgirl as you get.)  Ideas were thrown out to let teachers just do whatever they want or maybe select a grade level theme.

I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, I want to do with my classroom next year.  Why am I thinking about this already?  I like planning ahead and knowing what I'm looking for when I'm out shopping.  If I spot something on an amazing sale, I can snatch it at a good price.  I can also be lurking around on Pinterest and the blogs gathering up ideas as well.  Let's just admit, Pinterest has put me into idea overload and I need some time to just work on those projects!

Here are some of my ideas and "themes" so far and links to give you visuals:

• Poppin' Patterns - This isn't really a theme, but it's totally my decor scheme right now.  It's from Creative Teaching Press and I'm pretty sure this line came out right around the time I started teaching and has just grown since then.  I was attracted to this collection because it's pretty versatile and I can make it work with most other themes.  The advantage is I already own TONS of stuff from this line.  In fact, when I Google'd "Poppin' Patterns classroom" pics of my room came up in the images!
• http://www.creativeteaching.com/c-68-poppin-patterns.aspx
• http://betterbulletinboards.blogspot.com/2011/03/polka-dot-word-wall.html
• http://www.creativeteaching.com/t-photo-contest.aspx
• http://bulletinboardideas.org/2769/best-of-the-bunch-apple-themed-welcome-display/
• Zebra / Hot Pink / Lime Green - This is super tempting, but I know that I would end up costing me a lot of money.  I've found a lot of cute ideas on Pinterest and I think this would be super cute, but I'm not really sure I want to take on the task of a COMPLETE classroom makeover.  I'm still trying to keep my school spending to a minimum and I know my OCD everything must match brain would go into overdrive.  Still, it's super cute and there's a lot out there to go with this theme.  (And where was all this cute stuff last year when it was "Wild About Learning"?  Nowhere to be found...)
• http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Zebra-Zone
• http://www.mardel.com/store/group.aspx?groupid=151
• http://flipflopteacher.blogspot.com/2011/08/2011-2012-classroom-still-under.html
• Black & White w/ Some Brights - CTP has a new collection of black and white items that is super cute.  Tommie over at Tommie's Tools has a couple great posts that I linked to below on decorating a classroom with black and white.  She showed tons of other accessories that you can get to coordinate with the CTP items.  I definitely have the black and white thing going on in my classroom already, so it wouldn't necessarily be as much of a dramatic change if I wanted to go this route.  
• http://tommiestools.blogspot.com/2012/02/black-and-white-designer-collection.html
• http://tommiestools.blogspot.com/2012/02/celebrate-birthdays-in-black-and-white.html
• http://www.creativeteaching.com/ctp-search.aspx?catId=523

If you haven't been able to tell already I'm not really into cutesy little animal or character decor schemes.  (Nothing against that kinda stuff...  It's just not my thing.)  I'm more of a pattern and color scheme girl.  

So, friends, help me make some decisions!  

What do you think I should do in my classroom next year?  

Please give me your vote in the comments below!  

Fashion Friday: New Goodies

Yes, I know it's not Friday, it's Saturday...  I'm getting caught up!

I've really been trying not to buy as much in the clothing and accessories department in the last few months.  I've still picked up plenty of new goodies, but it's all been within budget!  I'm not one of those people that couple just completely stop shopping.  (Okay, I did that a few years ago in motivation of losing some weight...  It was motivational, but only to a point.)  I've been quite a bit pickier about what I spend my money on and have been trying to only buy items that I truly love and that I feel are flattering.  I've passed up quite a few "eh" items that were just okay.  I'm trying to not buy things just because they're on sale or because I have a coupon.  

My mom and I took a little road trip a few weeks ago to hit up a new outlet mall.  I allowed myself some "fun money" from my tax return to get some new goodies and sent the rest of the money into my savings.  

I love the pleating and the simple Coach logo!

This purse is my biggest purchase.  I'd really wanted a brown purse, but there just aren't any that I really love right now.  My current go-to black purse is about 3 years old and is starting to show some age, so I decided to invest in a classic black purse at the Coach Factory store.  (I saved more than 65% off the ticketed price!)

I had a little fun with the settings on my new camera!  

I love the clean lines and simplicity of this purse.  This style is called Ashley and if I recall, it's been around for a few years.  They had it in two sizes, but I really loved the black leather which was only available at this location in the larger size.  I'd have preferred the smaller one, but in all honesty it wasn't a big enough size difference (or price difference) for me keep me from making the purchase.  Love it!  

How awesome is Target?!?

These two are from one of my favorite places on Earth...  TARGET!  I picked up the pink and burlap purse back in January as soon as I spotted it.  I've been cutting back on my purse purchases in the last few years as I've been drawn to nicer brands and quality.  I couldn't pass this one up and even better I had some gift cards from Christmas to use!  The clutch is another super cute Target find.  It was actually a birthday gift from one of my best friends.  She knows me so well!  I love the colors and the size.  It's perfect for putting in your purse or for going out!

Loft and J.Crew Factory finds.

Two of my favorite stores are Loft and J.Crew / J.Crew Factory.  We don't have them locally, but I pretty much always hit them up when I'm out of town.  I'd had some reservations about this striped top from Loft, but when I tried it on I really loved the way it looked.  (Plus the President's Day weekend sale extra 30% off sealed the deal.)  The ivory tank in the middle is a from the J.Crew Factory.  I actually have the retail version of this tank from last year (in sage with the ivory lace) and I'd wanted the all ivory version, but never managed to snag it on sale.  I was super happy to find it at the Factory store.  It's perfect for layering or alone during the summer.  Finally, the pink sweater is the Thandie sweater in shocking pink, also from J.Crew Factory.  This picture doesn't do it any justice.  It really is an awesome bright pink and is perfect for spring.  It's also an almost exact replica of J.Crew's Tippi sweater.  I have two Tippi sweaters that I love and the Thandie is pretty much the exact same fit.  It's a teensy bit lighter weight, but I like that for wearing in slightly warmer weather.

Yesterday's AE finds.

AE is usually one of my go-to stores, but they've fallen victim to the nasty cropped and boxy trend that Gap just got rid of.  It's probably a good thing, because despite many trips there, I have not found very much at all.  I love these solid boyfriend tanks for layering, though, and found a couple colors not already represented in my closet.  I love wearing simple knit tank dresses in the summer and I like to layer them with  fun colors to brighten them up.  The one on the right is "neon coral" and I think will be a super fun pop of color under some of my dresses and tanks.  I also picked up a new headband and some cute earrings while I was in there as well.  Both the tanks and the accessories were buy one, get one half plus I had a coupon!

New accessories!  

I recently started following Rachel, Really and saw her rocking this pink and gold necklace from Forever 21 in this post.  I ended up having some time to kill later that day and wandered over to the mall to pop into F21.  I was (amazingly) able to find the exact necklace as well as the cute floral headband.  I have a love / hate relationship with that stores.  I love their prices (especially for trendy items I don't want to drop big bucks on), but I hate that their clothes are small and aren't made for people with boobs or hips!  I don't get a lot clothing wise, but I do enjoy their accessories.  My other hate is that my F21 has a very sad accessory selection.  Other locations have entire rooms for accessories and mine has just two little tables!  Fail.  The bracelet in the middle is from a local boutique and I purchased it with a gift certificate from a super sweet coworker.  I'd never been into the shop before and I loved it!  They had all sorts of cute accessories and home decor items.  I'm sure I'll be stopping in again in the future.

So, there you have it...  My recent spring purchases!  I've actually stayed within my budget and have been really happy with the things I've picked up.  In the coming months I'm going to be on the hunt for some new shoes / sandals (I have some really great old pairs that need to go to sandal heaven) and some dresses for weddings, showers, and just running around!

Testing Tuesday (A Few Days Late): Goodies!

 Happy Tuesday Friday  SATURDAY!  It's been a very busy week with testing, so I'm a little behind on my posts.  I've been trying to work off stress (and make up for going out to eat too much in the last few weeks) by working out each evening, so my computer and blogging time has been a little less.

Well, reading assessments have come and gone and I have to brag on my class...  They totally rocked!  I was pretty confident that they'd all do just fine, but I was really surprised at how well they did as a whole.  They're my highest scoring class in my five years of teaching!  I hope that they're ready to do this well on math assessments next week!

Anyway, I mentioned the other day that I had a lot to prep for assessments.  I've taken over a lot of the testing coordinator responsibilities this year, so I've been in charge of getting goodies together for all of the students.  

(You might recall my post on motivating students.)  

I wanted to share some of the treats and goodies that we have for the kids during testing weeks.  

I might also add that we combine our assessment kickoff with Dr. Suess Week for the lower grades.  Pre-K through second grade has themes each day based on a Dr. Seuss book.  Ours are pretty much the same, but ours are tied with testing:

Monday - Dress for Success (Wear nice clothes.)

Tuesday - Anti-Bullying shirts (This is every Tuesday.)

Wednesday - Ready, Set, GO!  (Wear green shirts.)

Thursday - Step Up to the Test (Wear silly socks.)

Friday - Hats Off to Testing (Wear hats.)

In addition, our principal comes around to each classroom and gives a motivational speech.  He's been doing this for several years (as a teacher) and we all insisted that he continue this tradition.  He usually finds a video clip about someone who has overcome challenges and encourages the kids to overcome their fear and challenges with testing.  He then passes out a special paper with an encouraging phrase that many of the students take with them during testing.

Finally, the little kids in the lower grades write letters to the kids before testing.  My aunt is a first grade teacher in my building, so her class wrote letters to us and gave out some little treats.  My class loved getting letters from the first graders!  Many of them took those letters with them during testing too!

Does your school do anything special to get the kids pumped up for assessments?  I'd love to hear some ideas and suggestions that I could use for next year!  :)