7/31 Five for Friday: Moving 101, EC Planner & More

It's another summer Friday gone by, which means linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching again for a Five for Friday post! There have been so many wonderful, fabulous, crazy things that has happened this week that I don't even know where to get started!

The best start would probably be to talk about my NEW teaching position! EEeeek! I'm very excited by this move for multiple reasons (a) administration is amazing (b) I'm liking my new team- they're going to be a blast to work with and (c) it's much less of a commute for me! The extra bonus to this move is that I still get to teach 5th Grade ELA! The first three days of my week have been filled with moving classrooms. My previous commute took me forty minutes to drive just one way. I made two of these drives on Monday alone! Luckily on many of these trips I had some extra help, my sisters!

This was my favorite pic we took during the week, their faces say it all and they wondered aloud why I couldn't have been the math teacher. We had an extremely large amount of books to move. I am beyond blessed to have their help! This upcoming week they get to look forward to painting. When we finally got everything moved over the new classroom kind of looked like this:

Okay, so it really did look like this (not kind of), but I'm hoping to get this craziness sorted out this upcoming week. My best moving advice is to stuff as much as you can in the space you have! No empty spaces when moving. So the girls even had stuff on their lap when we drove to the new school to deliver! In case you were wondering the answer to my IG essential question I posted earlier in the week, it takes four trips in a Scion TC to move my classroom with the side help of a truck to get the bookshelves moved!

During the middle of all the move craziness, my favorite teaching item came in the mail...my Erin Condren Planner. I can't wait to fill this planner up with awesomeness! I've already started with mapping out my classroom design.

Let's just slow down from all this teacher talk for a quick second and talk Big Brother. Teachers LOVE this show because it is our summer jam and I don't know why it is so addicting because I'm just watching a bunch of people live under the same roof together. However, it is addicting and I get caught up in it every summer (the first year of Jeff and Jordan is still the best BB ever though)! This is the time when I get a little sad about not being able to watch BB as much as I usually do. Work life and classroom set up is starting to take over. However, I'm really sad that Jason has left and it wasn't Austin leaving. Okay, BB rant over.

Today just so happens to be the LAST day of July! I'm still wondering where the month went, but I always try to post my July reading wrap-up. I will be honest and say I'm a little saddened that I didn't get more read, but a few is better than none, right?!

Two of these books were completely outside of my comfort zone, Echo and Chains. I don't usually read historical fiction books, but maybe I should more often because I loved them both! Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess has me energized and ready for the school year! If you are lacking motivation for this upcoming year, stop everything that you are doing now and visit your local bookstore to snag this amazing book!

In case you haven't heard already, my second favorite time of the year is coming up...the TeachersPayTeacher Back to School Sale. (I way overspent last year, this year may be even more...Ha)!

I love this graphic Lindsey from Miss Johnston's Journey shared will all of us! Make sure you give feedback to all of your previous purchases to earn TPT credit and get your wish list ready so all you have to do is move your items over to your cart! Happy TPT shopping next week!

Assess Me! [Week 1]

Joining in the get to know you fun with The Tattooed Teacher! I'm loving this linky for multiple reasons... A.) Learning about others is always fun B.) It's quick (This is fabulous for me since I'm moving to a NEW school right now, yipee!) C.) The question are random and if you ask me...the more random the better! D.) See all of the above
So here's my assessment results for this first week...

P.S. By the way I said...
A.) I have a sign in my classroom warning my kiddos that I often talk to myself. B.) The Deadliest Catch is currently on my TV C.) Going to Disney should be a Florida requirement- I mean it's right there!
I hope you all are having a great week getting ready for the year ahead!

Ashley

Starting Our Interactive Notebooks

   I don't know about you all, but I am a HUGE fan of Interactive Notebooks. They are a staple in my classroom! We are continually adding to them throughout the entire year as we learn new skills and need to put more of our thoughts down on paper. I started using the Interactive Notebook two years ago and each year it seems I continually improve upon them, making them better. This last year I discovered the usefulness of putting a cover on our composition notebooks. This is honestly an idea that originated from Pinterest somewhere or I saw on something else in another way and decided to adapted it to fit our notebooks. Basically, I for the life of me cannot remember where this idea originated from, but I HAVE to share what I did with you all!

The Items You Will Need:
Composition Notebook
Crayons, Markers, or Colored Pencils
(To Make Your Cover Colorful)
Scissors
Scotch Ultra Clear Mailing Tape
Sharpie
(To Personalize with Your Name)
    The first thing to get done on creating your masterpiece notebook cover is putting some color on it! I usually let my kids do this the first day, while they are filling out a Reading Interest Survey of some sort!

    After coloring and cutting out your cover around the border, you are ready to tape it down. Place your cover in the middle of the composition notebook, there is no need to glue it down as the tape will keep it in place. If you feel more comfortable gluing it down first, you may. I would pre-measure your tape to a little longer than the length of your notebook so you can fold the tape over on the inside flap. I have found it easier to do this than measuring as you pull with the tape dispenser. It will take about five or six pieces total.

   Continue this until the notebook is covered with the Scotch tape. These covers last the entire year and because they are folded over on the inside the kids are less likely to pick at them! This is an extra bonus to me because the picking of the tape will drive me crazy!
    When I first attempted this, I messed up my first notebook which made me want to cry because I loved the coloring! I say this to warn you that there may be some trial and error in this process, but you get better at the process as you go along. I also want to warn that completing this for an entire class will take some time, but I find it worth the effort, especially if students are going to have more than one composition notebook hanging out in their desk. I have compiled a compilation of notebook covers for ALL primary subject areas that is for sale here in my TPT store. I hope this helps you get your year started off on the right foot with your notebooks!

Five for Friday {My First!}

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for my first EVER Five for Friday! Geez louise, this has been a crazy, whirlwind, busy kind of week (I wish I could tell you about every little bit of it, but then we'd be here for a whhhhhile), so I'm going to share my top 5 highlights of the week with you...

Can I just say...
(1)I'm loving my to do list I created for my Purple Editable Teacher Binder you can find in my store and (2)whew that is a lot of stuff to get done...work on my teacher portfolio, remodel a bathroom, read two books, get to creating, work on my Pinterest, blog, and more. I would say I definitely created an overly ambitious to do list! Anyone else out there guilty of that too?!

After getting my hair did Sunday (did y'all see that crazy IG pic I posted-gotta keep it real for y'all folks), I spent the rest of Sunday getting a portfolio together for an interviews during the week (okay specifically Monday). What can I say? My procrastination is a difficult habit to change? BUT I got it done. Considering what my portfolio looked like before, I have grown in leaps and bounds (bye-bye to the days of using Microsoft Word)!

After surviving one or maybe three interviews by Tuesday night, I participated in my first Periscope hop! It was sooo nerve-wrecking and scary, but I DID IT! Still working on my B2S Get to Know You Flash Freebie, but it will be coming at you soon! PrimaryPolkaDots is hosting another B2S hop this Tuesday again, so make sure you are following her on Instagram to get the reminder!

One of my ABSOLUTE favorite activities this week was the Shania Twain concert! Sadly, I forgot how much I loved her music. I've seen many concerts, but her show went to the top of my list!

This CD of hers, Come on Over was my jam! So very thankful my little sister talked me into buying the tickets as her birthday present!

What teacher doesn't love a good Target find???

They have some of the most ADORABLE stuff in their dollar spot right now and so many things that can be used in the classroom! Go peruse their dollar section; you have little chance of being disappointed with what you may find! I'm beyond ready to be in my classroom decorating for the year! Who else is with me?

Hey y'all! I wanted to take the time to recognize the fabulous people who have inspired, encouraged, and been along with me on this TPT Sellers Challenge Journey, thus far. They don't realize the BIG part they have played in my LITTLE TPT journey so far. For those who don't know I did take the plunge this past summer into the world of Teacher Pay Teachers. I have been a buyer for many years, but this previous summer I started to make materials for my classroom and discovered that I really enjoyed the creative process! After a year of learning and improving on my tech skills I decided to dive even deeper and become a seller! I'm extremely excited to see where this path leads. Enough about me and my journey let me tell you about these awesome ladies you NEED to go follow...

     Starting with the superb lady on the left Charlotte from Charlotte's Web is a terrific proof editor! I always looked forward to her emails, chit chatting and learning from her! P.S. She's also a wife and mommy to two adorable little boys (I have so much respect for you teacher moms out there and am amazed by how you get it all done)! Mai from Diary of a Grumpy Teacher was the first to comment on my blog and her words were so thoughtful and encouraging! I'm excited to continually connect with her through our blogs and Instagram! I have "known" (Instagram known) Cherrie from Mrs.Harrison's Hive for the past year now. She was one of the first people I followed on there and she is really starting to dive into her TPT/Blog journey this year too, so go say "Aloha" to her! Katie at Sprout Classrooms has an energetic, contagious enthusiasm that I adore. She has helped a few of us find our teacher tribe with the Upper Elementary group! To these fabulous ladies I say 'thank you" for being the wonderful, amazing teachers you are! I can't wait to continue to grow and learn with you all.
     Starting something new is ALWAYS scary because you are diving into an unknown, but I'm beyond grateful for this TPT Sellers Challenge that Amber , Ashley , Jen , and Emily created (go follow these amazing ladies too)! It has been an amazing experience that has allowed me to learn and grow soooo much (hello I'm blogging to you guys)!

Make Your Masterpiece

Excited to join up with these fabulous ladies for another week of the TPT Seller Challenge:

   As a teacher summertime gives you an opportunity to think and reflect on EVERYTHING! When we received the TPT Seller Challenge Make your Masterpiece, I sat down to think about what I would need to make this upcoming year even better- and it hit me! I would need better organization (you can never have too much right?).  I disposed of my teacher desk at the beginning of the year and when I did that I felt a little lost throughout the year. My solution was to create an absolutely epic teacher binder that can get me through the year, which this is what I came up with...

It includes everything I could think of to make the year successful...Planing sheets, Calendars, Student Information sheets and charts, Meeting information sheets, Standards checklists, Binder covers, a Password Keeper sheet, and so much more! The best thing about this is it is a growing binder, as the year goes along I will continue to add more of what I need. My hopes is to be able to find everything necessary in one spot with this binder (I'd better get a big binder)!  I was so excited to have this piece completed, and wanted to share one of my favorite pages with you, so I have added a To Do List Freebie in my TPT store! Go check it out and leave some Feedback!

Hey y'all! Welcome to my little corner of the world! I'm a fifth grade ELA and Social Studies teacher from Florida. Sometimes I like to throw a little math and science into my curriculum to keep the kiddos on their toes, but my greatest passion is books! I LOVE to read! It's a daily habit that just won't go away (who would want that, anyways?)! I am a fur mommy to my ShihTzu Bessie, I have a large, loving family, and am also a Disney admirer! I started my TPT store recently and became overwhelmed by the amazingness of the teacher blogging world that I had to join in the fun! Stay tuned for lots more to come from me in the future...