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Friday, July 31, 2015

Back to School FREEBIES!

Just a quick post to let you know about a link up with a BUNCH of FREEBIES for Back to School!

Check it out!


Happy Teaching!
Tracy

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Focusing on some new ideas!

I only have a week of summer vacation and then it is OVER!

Where did the summer go?  I ask myself that every year.

Today I finished up a bunch of new things for my kiddos this year!

I didn't do so well with AR last year.  I am ashamed to admit that my kids earned the least number of points in my grade level.....  sad!  I have a board, goals, and prizes but they just weren't into it.  One of my goals this year is to get my kids excited about reading and taking tests.  I looked around on Pinterest and got a few ideas. Then, I turned to my teaching BFF.  Her kids always have a ton of points and....

It's All About AR was BORN!

An easy to use, cute way to keep everyone on track with their AR goals!


It has lots of choices, so it matches anyone's room.  I wanted green, but my BFF had to have red!  So I've included different options.  It even has a parent letter to be signed and returned, so you know they are aware of their child's goal.

I have also finished the final part of my Superhero Math Fact series.  Kids struggle with math facts, so I wanted to find a different system to make them more successful.  It started off with addition and now multiplication is complete.

Each packet follows the same format.  The facts are broken down into 3 different sections (instead of just the 1's or 5's.) and all of the printables look the same.  This way the more advanced kids can move on and my strugglers can take more time.  It has lots of practice pages and the facts come up over and over to give them more practice.  Each section ends with a color page where you solve the math fact and color accordingly.  My kids loved this part!

Superhero Addition


Superhero Subtraction


Superhero Multiplication


Superhero BUNDLE!



I've taken the addition packet and made them into booklets for my kids to start right away!  I don't know why, but kids LOVE things bound together in a booklet!  

Tomorrow I am off to Nashville for a last minute get away with my teaching buddy, her daughter, and my son.  We are taking them back to school shopping....  two teenagers...  wish us LUCK!
  

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Time to get 2015-16 off to a BRIGHT START!

This weekend was devoted to getting ready for 2015-16!  I can't believe that the summer is already over and in 2 short weeks I will be back in school.

Friday my teaching BBF and I made some lists and did that ever popular trip to shop for our new little friends!  I didn't know it was possible to spend almost $100 at the Dollar Tree, but we did just that.  I don't think we are good shopping together because our answer always is....  WE NEED THAT!  We got lots of new plastic bins, stickers, trays, and enough clothes pins to keep everything together.   We also hit Cost Co for new pencil sharpeners (only $15 bucks!), a giant collection of Sharpies ($20), and a case page protectors ($8 for 250).  We hit a bunch of other stores and have lots of new goodies to start the year off!  Best of all we got to giggle and laugh about the year to come!  I love my teaching BBF!

This little shopping trip got me in school spirit and I finally have crossed off something on my TO DO list that has been on there for 2 years!

I have always wanted to organize my "stuff" into specific weeks.  Then all I need to do is pull the folder and my copies, games, homework, and task cards would all be in it!  Sounds like a great idea and I finally made it happen.

I took all of the bins that I had things in from this year and began the sort.  I threw a bunch of stuff away and was left with this mess.   I kept all of the things that I really liked and think the kids got a lot out of.   Here was that "organized" mess and the husband just walked in and said, "Oh no!  Here we go!  I'm going to take the dog for a long walk!"  Can't believe he didn't want to help!


I spent today taking all of that stuff and organizing it into folders for each week of the year.  I wrote the weekly story and all the skills for ELA and math on the outside of the folder.  I put each set of task cards in a ziplock bag.  I did the same thing for games and tracers for projects.

After many hours I am happy to report that I am organized and ready for a GREAT YEAR!  Here are my new files, ready to move into my classroom file cabinet tomorrow!


I have such a feeling of accomplishment!  This was something that I had wanted to do forever and just never made myself do it!  I'm so excited with how much easier things will be this year!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Happy Teaching!
Tracy

Monday, July 13, 2015

Viva Las Vegas! What a GREAT we are having!

I'm still in Vegas...  for a few more days for some family fun!  I've joined up with a ton of other people from the conference to let you take a little look into what we did! 



We arrived a few days early and went to CA!  We saw the ocean and a Dodgers game.  My son is a huge Dodgers fan and even got to meet some of his favorite players before the game.  He smiled for hours!





Even though my husband is a HUGE Pittsburgh Pirate fan, he couldn't resist the urge to wear his teams' shirt to the game....  GEEZ!




We even had some time to see the beach while we were there!  It was beautiful!




Now it was time for some TPT fun!  Nothing is louder than a room full of TPT bloggers when they are giving away $55,000 worth of prizes.  AND NO!  I didn't win anything, but met so many fantastic bloggers and had a great time!




I did have the pleasure to meet a TN blogger, teacher, and TPT author....  Kindergarten Smorgasboard!  He was as wonderful in person as I had thought and I am so glad I was able to find him in this huge room full of people!  He even sent me home with some things to give my teacher friends!

This was my mind during the conference!  Blowing up with new apps, ideas, and excitement.   Just kidding... it was the Bellagio Water Fountain!  But I did feel like this during the conference!


I took tons of notes, pictures, and downloaded new apps as fast as the presenter told us about different things.  Here are my big take aways!

1.  TPT is amazing!  I think you might have already known that!
2.  Continue to make quality products and your business will grow.
3.  Pinterest is still a good way to find new ideas and products. 
4.  Set aside a specific work time for TPT each day.  While it was funny to hear that people do that at 5am before school, I think I will look more at evening hours!  Mornings just aren't for me.
5.  Find your TPT Tribe!  This is a group of TPT authors that you can work with on projects, blog hops, and everything else.  I am making this a priority.  Don't wait for someone to ask you to join them, do the asking! 

The most important thing....

Family is important!  Don't let TPT take over your life! 

So I'm spending the last few days in Vegas doing just that!  Shows, dinners, pool time, and shopping with my boys! 


Totally unforgettable show!  What energy these people have!


Sometimes a kid just doesn't want to shop, but as soon as you buy him something his mood sure changes fast!

 

The conference was incredible and I learned so much.  So many new ideas and products already in the works. 

Click on the link below to read from other TPT conference authors!  

http://new.inlinkz.com/view.php?id=538807
 
Happy Teaching!
Enjoy your family!
Tracy


Friday, July 3, 2015

The next TPT Challenge!

The next TPT Challenge was to complete your masterpiece.  I am always looking for more non-fiction text to use with my class.  In a perfect world the text and writing would come together.   Everything that I have is either the reading or the writing, not together.  So I decided that my masterpiece would be to create a series of packets that does just that!  So let the creation begin....

Animals on the Loose!
Reading with Text Dependent Questions!


Each packet features 5 different animals with reading and writing for each.
The first page is the reading and text dependent questions.
The next two pages help the kids focus in on writing about the animal using information from the text.

Packet #1 is complete and #2 is almost ready.  My thought was that I would use one packet each month with my kiddos.

Here is a preview of the packet.  It will be on SALE in my TPT store for the July 4th weekend!


Well folks....  I am all packed and off for Vegas in the morning!  Time for a little family fun before the TPT conference!  

Have a wonderful weekend!  
Tracy