Open House 2016-2017

Hello!  I am so excited about open house this year.  I am enjoying every single moment of setting up my room and getting everything just perfect for my new students and families.  It's a wonderful thing to meet little human beings that you will be spending your days with.

I tried something new this year and I am putting all my classroom information in a flipbook.  In the past, I've done a booklet (which is still available on my classroom website because it was hard to upload the flipbook) but I thought a flipbook would be easy and fun to use.  I also made a poster this year as the students and families enter which I mounted onto my easel.  I made mini ones for the kids tables so they don't have to keep referring back to the larger poster.   Some other items you will see in the pictures include:

• Printed Post-it Notes for Parents (made by me!)
• Open House Cards for the students to fill out with some information (made by me!)
• Names on the desks that I made with my Silhouette Cameo (and dollar store contact paper!)
• Meet the Teacher Autobiography
• How to Survive 4th Grade
• All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant book and Poster
• Power Point with an overview of everything in the flipbook

Enjoy the pics!

A Grading Gem

I am extremely excited about a new purchase!

I created a stamp using VistaPrint to use for grading.  

I had a 25% off coupon so I think in total I paid about $19.  

Not bad considering how much time this will save me.

I couldn't seem to get the picture to work with me today but you can get the idea of what I have on the stamp.  Our report cards are exactly this system, 4, 3+, 3, 2+, 2 and 1.  Then I added some items at the bottom that I have always wanted a stamp for!  

I LOVE my CLASSROOM! 2016-2017 School Year

I have been into this neon theme for a year or so now.  I had to move classrooms last year, so it was hard to find the time to get the room just right because I was focused on unpacking and getting things organized for the first week of school.  This year though, I simply had to put everything back into it's spot and then I was able to focus on getting everything perfect.  Open house is just around over a week away and I can not wait for the kiddos to visit.

My Silhouette was hard at work this summer!  The Dollar Tree has book covers (the sticky kind) that are neon colored.  I stocked up on those and have been using them in my Silhouette.  Cheap hack!  I took a lot of pictures so enjoy!

I am really in love with these cute little bins that I made.  I found them at Target for $3 a piece and then I had some fun with my Silhouette Cameo (best purchase EVER).  I also love my Target cup (Silhouette enhanced!).  

My Day at BrainPop

Recently, I was invited to New York City to the BrainPop headquarters to start the process of working towards my BrainPop Educator Certification.  It was an amazing experience.  It was extremely exciting to visit New York City and then to actually go inside BrainPop!  Wow!

I've been using BrainPop in my classroom for years.  Before my school purchased a district subscription, I was writing grants so I could have a classroom subscription (which I would highly recommend if you do not have BrainPop).  They are constantly updating their features and making this tool easy to work with and great for kids and teachers!  The possibilities are endless!

I have since completed all my certification requirements and am now a BrainPop Certified Educator (CBE).  It is very exciting!  This will allow me to conduct trainings for my school and also have all the benefits of a CBE, which includes a sneak peak at some new products.  I didn't take a lot of pictures while I was there but I have two good ones...

This is the original Moby!  The story of BrainPop is quite a good one.

This is directly outside BrainPop.  The entrance is where the American Flag is.