TPT SALE!!!

I am excited to say that I am having a Big sale on TPT this weekend for 3 reasons:
1. Columbus Day Weekend
2. TPT Facebook got 100,000 followers
3. I sold 500 Units!!!

Because TPT reached 100K followers they are offering an extra 10% off on top of my 20% off using code FB100K!! That means everything in my store is 28% off!!  Click the link below to see my products and if you like what you see please follow my store.

Behavior management please. ..

So it's a month and a half into my first year teaching and I have added and implemented many different behavior plans.  At first I had the expectations that I wouldn't really need a classroom management plan besides the one the whole school uses. Boy was I wrong! Our grade has a tough group and behavior is out of control.  I feel like I barely get to teach because they talk soooo much. I started with a "Wow Jar" where if the class behaved as a class they would get "Wow Gems" in a jar and when they fill the jar then the class earns a"Wow" party.  I am still using it and they are loving it., but I needed something for individual behaviors.

 

 

  At first I was taking away their "Eagle Bucks" which the whole school uses, but some of my kids didn't care after a while and would give me 2 if I asked for 1 because they could care less. So I started doing some research, or should I say "pinteresting", on classroom management.  I'm extremely addicted to Pinterest!! I then implemented a clip chart which the kids love. If they were misbehaving they would move their clothes pin down a color but if they were able to change their behavior move it back up.  I then started sending slips home to parents if their child was on a lower color and why they were asked to move down.  The parents liked this method because they were able to speak with their children about their behavior.  The only problem with this was remembering to write the slips up and went they were asked to move down. 

 

Then I remembered a management system the county showed us at an orientation before school started called class dojo. I implemented it Monday and the kids and parents love it! The system is ran on the computer and even had an app for your phone! Students are given positive points for specified good behavior and given negative points for specified bad behavior. There is even a sound linked to positive points and negative points so the kids hear the points being given. The BEST part is the parents can sign on with a code and see their child's behavior!! Just what I needed.  Have to love technology!!  If a parent doesn't have a computer I can print their child's report and send it home. So far it's working great and I am still using the clip chart but they have to earn certain amount of positive points to move up.  Our school being I.B. I created a clip chart based on the attitudes of I.B. This reinforces how they should act and think.

 

                                              

 

Lastly I'm noticing bullying going on in my room.  Kids are very mean and angry for only being in 2nd grade.   So I have decided that starting Tuesday I will start doing "bucket filling." This weekend I will try to get everything together and hopefully it will help all the negativity in my classroom.

 

I surly hope that my kids will stay to mature a little more and allow me to teach them.

FIRST YEAR TEACHER!

 

So yes it is official I am a first year teacher finally!! I have only been out of college with a masters for 5 years. Not only am I a first year teacher I also moved 10 hours away to North Carolina. As you can imagine I will be blogging a lot about my new experiences.

Let's start with my classroom which I love!! I am all about making my room bright and colorful.


Before...


View from door entry

Front of classroom

Back corner of room

 

After....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to say I do love my room. As you can see I have garbage pails at each group of desk with a box of tissues which eliminates the hundreds of times the kids would get up out of their seat. It has worked amazing this year so far.

 

 

 

Here is my Alphabet and Number Posters I created with an apple theme. My room is covered in apples that I have been collecting over the past 5 years. The kids love how colorful they are and refer to them on a daily basis. The best thing about the alphabet posters is I made each letter have a picture of something the would find in a school/classroom that starts with that letter! I have these for sale in my TPT store and an Animal version as well.

 

 

 

 

 My school is an International Baccalaureate School and each grade learns about a different continent, and as you can see 2nd grade is focusing on Asia. I will get more into what an I.B. School is in another entry.



 

 

 

I am so excited to share all the new and fun things I am doing in my classroom and promise to post more frequently. I am finally settling into the postion and my new home so I have time to get back to blogging and TPTing!

 

 

 

Oklahoma donation on Teacher's Notebook

Teacher Appreciation Sale on TN!!

I have been slaking on my Teacher's Notebook Store since I have been doing so well on TPT I kind of forget about it. My teacher told me she has been doing the new Daily Deals and it has increased her sales by a lot. I am def. going to start doing them if it will bring traffic. But why not start off with a HUGE sale!! I am part of the HUGE Teacher Appreciation Sale starting tomorrow until the 10th! I will have 40% off everything plus an additional 10% that TN is giving so that HALF OFF EVERYTHING!!! How could you not want to check out the sale starting tomorrow!! Click the picture below to take a look.

Where Did April Go???!!!

So I have MIA for a while....my teacher was out for 2 1/2 weeks with pneumonia. :(  Luckily she is feeling better and is back because then I got sick!  This NY weather always gets me sick when it cant make up its mind if its 40 degrees or 70 degrees. It plays with my immune system! I cant complain too much, I finally finished my MONEY UNIT!!
We were working on money a few weeks ago and thought I would make a unit with some skills we have been working on. My new unit has many activities that can be done as a whole class, small groups or even in math centers. I tried to use lots of color and pictures, but of course if you cant print in color it all prints in black and white fine. I should know I don't have a color printer at home. Haha  It is all aligned to CCSS.

If you click on the picture it will bring you to my store. Please make sure to take a closer look at the preview. And since you are such a fan and reading my blog why not surprise you with a FREEBIE from my unit!!!! Why not right???  Here is my mini book I created that is a review of all the skills we worked on.

Click on the title page to download your FREEBIE!!! Above is a sample of the a couple pages from the mini book.  You could use this book as a review at the end of your money unit or use it as you teach each concept.
What else happened in April??...Oh yeah it was my BIRTHDAY! My kids are the best, they all made me cards and two of my girls brought me in flowers!!! My mother sent me into school with goodie bags and a crown for me to wear. :) Gotta love my mom!!!  Yes I wore it all day!! Why NOT!

It was a busy month which is why I haven't blogged in a LONG time. I'm back for good I promise.


Now we are working on TIME. I had to get observed by my Assistant Principal so I did a lesson on a.m.  and p.m. and created a cute mini book for my lesson as well!! And since you read down this far and didn't just stop at the first FREEBIE why not give you another FREEBIE!!!  This mini book will be part of a Time Unit I haven't started on yet but will in the near future.

Click the picture above to download your FREEBIE!! How to use this mini book?? The first page is a short review on  the parts of the clock and what kinds of clocks. Then there are 3 groups of 2 pages. Each set of two pages they pick 2 things they do in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 2 in the evening. Then they show the time on the analog and digital clock and underneath write if its a.m. or p.m. Then they write a sentence of what they do at that time and draw a picture. This connects time to their lives. When printing just make sure to flip page 3 and 5 the opposite way so they all print the same way. This is what the inside looks like...

 HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES FROM MY STUDENTS:

 One of my girls even decorated the cover page more. I thought it was cute!

Oh right and one more thing that happened during April....WE GOT PAID!!! OMG I was soooooo excited!! I did amazing for my first quarter and I have to say I am super excited that they are now going to pay monthly!! This will help out a great deal. Why you may ask?? Well I have officially applied to over 30 jobs in North and South Carolina combined!! I plan on moving south this summer and this extra money will be a huge help with the bills. So yes I am actually saving my money for now. I actually haven't even put it in the bank yet lol.        I even printed the emails of my first sales in TPT and TN.

Thanks so much for catching up on my busy April. Hope everyone did well on this past quarter.

4 more days!!

So excited that the first of my quarters is ending in 4 days!! I'm $54 away from my goal!! Hopefully I can make it. How close is everyone to their goals?