A New Year and a New Room Ready to Go!

Hi Everyone!  Well I am officially back in school.  I can't believe that the summer went so fast!  I have to say the best part of the summer was my vacation to Las Vegas.  We saw lots of shows, ate too much food, and stayed in fantastic hotels.  Of course part of the fun was attending the TPT Conference and then spending eight days with my husband and son.  Here is a picture of my boys....

The beautiful Venetian Hotel....  highly recommend this one!  Well worth the money!  

We finally got to do the one MUST DO on my list....  a gondola ride!  It was so fun.  This is my son Jackson....  only this kid at 12 years old could have a blast in Vegas!

So it might have taken me four days of moving and arranging things over and over, but finally my room came together.  Here are some pictures of my room so far.  It is truly going to be a work in progress this year, but I got enough done that I could welcome my new little ones.

One of my first projects was to make a safari print clock....  couldn't buy one so I turned my old one into one.  I took a regular clock and covered the outside with printed cheetah duct tape and BAM I had a fantastic clock.  One of my grade level partners loved it so much she brought me her clock and owl duct tape....  it looked adorable!  I highly recommend picking up duct tape when it is on sale...  it dresses up everything!

This is a finished project....  FINALLY!  I hate trying to find things fast, so I bought a bunch of tubs and everything from extra pencils, to math centers are organized into bins with labels on them.  I LOVE it and I can't believe how many parents commented how nice it was to see such organization.  If they could only see my closet at home....  HA HA!

This is a picture of my teacher book center.  All of the tradebooks are organized in the green bins by subject and the chapter books are divided by series.  My kids know that these are my special books and they have to ask to read them.

This is one of my book shelves in my student reading area.  It isn't finished yet, but I had to show you the repurposed old shelves.  I couldn't stand all of the old discolored shelves.  I was going to use duct tape, but I knew that would take forever, so I found safari print contact paper.  This was a two person job, but in the end they look fantastic!  I've covered almost all of the shelves.  It really has made the room into the safari theme that I was going for.  The only thing left is to create the giant forest of trees in the reading center.  I'm saving that for the next teacher workday!

This is my conduct chart area.  I was going to make my rules and chart, but I decided to look and see what was already on TPT....  Hotdog!  Not only already made for my theme, but they were FREEBIES!

This is my attempt at solving the NO NAME issue.  I've struggled with this for years.  This year I filled the bucket with highlighters.  After they finish a paper they come to this station and use a highlighter to highlight their name before they turn their work in.  So far so good....  only two no name papers so far!

Well that is the progress I've made so far on my room.

I hope everyone has a wonderful start to the new school year!

Happy Teaching!
Tracy

First Day Back for the 2014-2015

Where did the summer go?  It went by so fast and I can't believe all the things that I didn't have a chance to get done.  Oh well, I guess they can be first on the list for next summer vacation.

One of my goals over the summer was to make more freebies for TPT.  The first freebie is an adorable banner that you can make those first few days of school.  I'm going to put a ribbon clothesline in the hall and attach the banners with clothespins.  I am planning on leaving it up for parent night.  Click on one of the pictures to download it for free.  The packet has a page specifically made for each grade, so make sure that you only print the one for your grade.

The other freebie for back to school is an easy to use conduct report.  I don't know about you, but I really needed a checklist that I could use real fast to get those conduct grades out.  Click on it and go to the file to download it for FREE!  I hope these make life a little easier these first few weeks of school.

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL and HAPPY first few days of school!

Happy Teaching!

Tracy

Hello from Las Vegas!

I have been here since Tuesday enjoying Vegas with my husband and son.  All I can say is....  WOW!

The hotels are amazing!  Staying at the Venetian is something that is hard to even put into words.  It is beautiful.   I can't wait to take a gondola ride with my favorite boys.  We have eaten at some fantastic and fun restaurants.  I have to say one of the most fun for my son was The Heart Attack Grill.  The waitresses are dressed as nurses and everyone who enters must put on a hospital gown and get an ID band.  None of the food was healthy of course, but oh so yummy!  So far my favorite show has to Mystere.  How in the world do all of those stunts and tricks?  Everywhere you look is fantastic shopping and the casino are so much fun.  As of right now I am up almost $100.....  GO ME!  Pretty good for just the penny slots.

Of course, I am so excited for the TPT conference tomorrow.   I've already meet a few people that will be at the events and can't wait to meet some of the people that I have gotten to know over the last year.  To celebrate this first ever event and to thank all of the people who have purchased my products, everything in my store will be 20% off all day Friday and Saturday (July 11th and 12th).  Click on the store banner and it will take you to my store!  HAPPY SHOPPING!

Heading Back to Second - Let's Celebrate with a Back to School Freebie!

Yes, you read it right....  I'm heading back to SECOND GRADE!  I couldn't be more excited to be returning back to second.  I learned a lot this year in third grade and have a serious understanding how "prepared" they really have to be to be successful after they finish second grade.  I have added some must have skills to be list and I'm ready to hit the ground running in August.  It was a great experience this year  and I will surely miss my third grade team!

To celebrate my move to second, I have added a new freebie.  I really love to make banners with the kids.  We did a lot of banners this past year and the kids really enjoyed them.  This is a great activity to use those first days of school to help the kids get to know each other.  They make a great display, so I thought what better way to start off a new year than with a banner project.  This one has a page for each specific grade, so when you download the file make sure that you only print the grade level you need.  It is written for first through fifth, so please pass along to your other teacher friends!

Just click on the pictures and it will take you to TPT so you can download it for FREE!

Please don't forget to leave feedback for this new freebie.  I'm working on several other things, so please check back in the next few weeks.  I've made it a goal to post at least five new freebies over the summer!

I will be in and out the next few weeks.  I am finally heading to visit my parents and in less than a week I will be boarding a plane bound for Las Vegas to attend the first annual Teachers Pay Teachers conference!  I'm so excited to meet all these amazing teachers and learn from them.

So relax and happy planning for a BRIGHT NEW SCHOOL YEAR!

Tracy