Almost time!

Good afternoon everyone!

It's almost time for the first day of school! I am so excited! I have added some updates to my classroom, my lesson plans are ready, and we had our first professional development day today. Sunday is our Meet and Greet. I'm looking forward to meeting all my new kiddos!

Next year I really want to make these valances for my classroom!

I also added my pet GloFish and Tetras! Thanks to my wonderful friend Emily for giving me the tank and Tetras! There is also a little sucker fish in there, but he's dark and hard to see.

The GloFish are named Percy (yellow) and Annabeth (pink. The Tetras are named Harry, Ronald, and Hermoine, and my suckerfish is Dobby. :)

I'll post pictures from our Meet and Greet soon!

Why Organization- Blog Hop

I am not naturally organized. I had to train myself to be in order to function in the world. I have ADHD. Lists and organization saved my life. Here are a few of my organization tips!

#1 Keep a Planner

Just like I tell my kiddos, it is so important to write down what you need to do in a planner. It keeps things organized. Not to mention, it feels fantastic when you can cross it off the list! If I didn't write things down, I would be so lost. I have to write everything down! :)

#2 Binders!

I keep everything in binders! Some examples include: Lesson Plans, Data, Novel Studies, Interactive Notebooks, Graphic Organizers, Writing Prompts etc.

#3 Hanging Files

I use crates to organize my students' work by class period. They are color coded by class. Homeroom is red. Second period is yellow. Third is blue.

#4 Tubs

I use tubs and other boxes to store supplies. The students have blue tubs in each group that have all the necessary supplies for the day (high lighters, dry erase markers, erasers, think pads, etc).

#5 Folders

These folders are for students who missed work. As you can see they are also color coordinated like the crates. :)

#6 Turn-In Trays

I'm waiting on this fabulousness to arrive in the mail in 3 days! I ordered these hanging "turn-in" trays. They are going to be perfect for my different class periods! The colors will match each class period! I'll take a picture after it arrives! I'll be adding cute labels with Melonheadz like my folders above! :)

Meet and Greet and Find Your Gator Seat

Meet and Greet night was a huge success! The 5th grade team had a great turn out. I got to meet some amazing students and the sweetest parents. Two students even stayed after to help me pass out some materials for tomorrow. All my nerves about tomorrow have ceased. This will be a great school year! We will all work so hard to achieve our goals! Can't wait until the morning!!!!

There was so much to do before everyone arrived, so I forgot to take a bunch of pictures before hand. I took a few after.

A sweet parent made homemade fig jam for me! How adorable is this!?

I had cookies and candy set out for my students. Thanks to Heather Roan for making these! Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a cook! haha

I had my Contact Information Magnets set out next to a sign in sheet. Parents loved this idea! 

Next year all 3 5th grade teachers will make one big one! 

I'm sorry I don't have more pictures to share with you.

Have a great evening! I will be hitting my pillow early tonight! :)

Monday Made It and Meet Up!

Just popping in to join 4th Grade Frolics' linky!

During my visit in Arkansas Becky and I made this fabulous wreath for my classroom! I'm super excited to hang it up!

Last week I worked some more in my classroom! You can check out what I've done so far {HERE}. :) I'll be doing a few more little things when we come back from the beach!

I'm also linking up with The Teaching Tribune for their Monday Meet Up!

Check out my Beach sale! 20% off my entire store from Today, July 7- Thursday, July 10!

Five for Friday!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs again for my Five for Friday. Check out what I've been doing all week! 

I've been working in my new classroom all this week. I'm pretty much finished organizing and decorating. Although, no teacher is ever finished with her classroom. I'm really excited, because I'm trying a whole new look. All the colors are very cohesive. :) I can't wait to show you all the final product!

These are some of my newest T.Shirt designs for my Teacher's Clothing and Goods store. I'm in love with the first one on the left!

These are some of the books I've been using to plan for next year! I am in love with Writing to Texts! The other books are great too, and have really helped me write my own writing prompts the relate back to the novels we'll be studying. Language Arts 4 Today is also great for morning work. I have some other test-prep and grammar sheets I will use as well. :) They make all of these books for each grade level. You can find them on Amazon. 

Here is another sneak peak of my classroom. This is where I will post all of our objectives. I found these at Target and thought they'd be a stellar addition to my room. They were pretty cheap too! :) 

I'm currently reading this novel. It is so great! I can't wait to teach it! I'll be creating a unit for it soon! :) Even if you don't teach 5th grade, this is a great book! It's an easy read since it is on a 5th grad level, but there's so much history and depth inside. 

I LOVE to read your comments, and I always reply! I look forward to hearing from you. :)

Workin' on it Wednesday!

I'm linking up with Kinder Gals today to share with you what I've been working on this week.

1) I am working on my next novel study unit for The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker. So far I just have a vocabulary list and an image for the cover of the unit. Hopefully I'll have some previews for you soon!
Here is the image for the cover of the unit. The image is of an old-school stethoscope from the 1850's. In the novel, Lucas's family dies of consumption (tuberculosis) and becomes an apprentice for a doctor.
The quote, "Truth is stranger than fiction." is from the novel as well. If you purchase this shirt, you will receive a FREE copy of the unit when I am finished. :)

2) I've been working really hard on my classroom this week. I am at a new school so I've had to go through a lot, organize, and decorate. I'm not even close to finished, but here are some preview pics! (Sorry for the poor lighting. I had my windows opened).

The middle board is for the unit we are working on. The first unit will be "Ideas". We will be studying Einstein, the Wright Brothers, and other inventors.

Lockers

This is my schedule and announcement board. Above it are my classroom rules.

Another view of my back boards.

3) I'm currently running a giveaway on my latest unit that I just finished working on! Check {HERE} for more info! Enter to win below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway