Tsu... Giveaway!

Hi Y'All!

I jumped on board and am part of the Tsu social media!  You can find my page by clicking on the link:

 CLICK HERE!  

I'm happy to be part of this blog hop to promote it!

A teaching strategy that I like to share with you is a behavior management one.  It's nothing fancy, just simple and effective!  You say...

PUT YOUR FINGER ON YOUR NOSE IF YOU CAN HEAR ME.

I've been teaching for over a decade now AND just started saying that this year!  And, WOW!  It's so simple to say and tells me what I need to know- WHO IS OR IS NOT LISTENING ME?! lol  It's a quick way to let me know who needs a special invitation from me to listen ;).

Thank you for "hoping" to my blog!  I hope you decide to enter the Giveaway.  There is A LOT of great stuff to win!  Check it out...

Before I go, I'd like to thank Celeste, from The Education Highway,  for setting up this blog hop! There you can find a link to enter the Giveaway!

Thanks a bunch for stopping by! 

An InLinkz Link-up

And This is Why I Don't Call off!

Ugh... The dreaded substitute planning has snuck up on me for the first time this year!  How many of you HATE planning for a substitute?  Who would rather come in sick... sick as a dog?  How many of you have pulled off teaching with no voice, absolutely NO VOICE!  I bet many of you have b/c we all know...

IT'S EASIER TO GO TO WORK SICK THAN IT IS TO PLAN FOR A SUBSTITUTE!

Now, what's that on my desk?  Hour and Hours and HOURS of substitute planning!  Ahhh!

Now, I can't complain that much... I'm lucky, VERY lucky!  A lot of times there are two retired 2nd grade teachers (I am 2nd grade) who will come in to sub only for 2nd grade.  So, that means, I have a good chance that I will get one of them AND my day will go on as normal.  Such a good feeling!!  Unfortunately though, my sub plans don't get done with a snap of a finger :(.

Before anybody wishes me back to good health, I am not sick! lol.  I have a training day for iPads tomorrow that I'm actually pretty excited about!  I will get to learn more about how to get kids using iPads during math class.  Hopefully I will learn some fun ideas to share!

Until then, I wish you good health in the months to come b/c like you, it's no fun planning for a substitute teacher... no matter how good they are! :)

Until next time!,

Welcome to my redesigned blog!  I am SO excited to share my new blog with you all!  My last blog, while cute, just wasn't me!  I decided I needed a little bit of sparkle and a little bit of my favorite color purple to jazz it up!  Thanks to Blogs Fit for a Queen for the redesign!  Oh, and I can't forget about my custom made avatar from my FAVORITE clip artist on TPT- Sarah from Educlips!  THANKS SARAH!!

Now that the school year is in full swing and I'm into my routine, I plan to focus more on networking- something I just devoted a little time to and never fully understood.  I just have to tell myself, "This is all a learning process!!"

Please help me get started by connecting with me on the links above!  I'll definitely follow you back!Thanks so much for stopping by!! Have a great week with your class! :)

Giveaway Time!

Another one of my TpT friends is celebrating a birthday by hosting a GIVEAWAY!  Happy Birthday Countless Smart Cookies!  

I'm beginning to think I'm lazy b/c I just had a birthday and NO giveaway!  Well, to tell you the truth, I'm just scared of giveaways!  There's lots to learn, but until I learn, I will participate in others ;)!    Countless Smart Cookies is doing THREE giveaways.  I'm in the 1st to 2nd grade level.  Check it out!:

If you'd like to enter this one or all three, you can visit Countless Smart Cookies blog!

Thanks!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Powerpoint Gaming!

Powerpoint Gaming is hosting a birthday Giveaway (7 in fact!) that I'm so excited to be a part of!  My store is included in Giveaway #3:

There's a lot to win if you enter all the Giveaways or just this one!  Click on Powerpoint Gaming above to enter!

GOOD LUCK!!

Officially Back at School!

So... two days down and 178 to go!  But, who's counting ;-)!

I had a great first two days with my class!  This year I have 22 students in my class.  

I LOVE EVEN NUMBERS!!  

Don't you?!  It makes pairing them off oh so easy!  Not only do I have an even # of kiddos, but I have an even # of boys and an even # of girls.... FOR NOW- life is good! LOL

Anyhow, as you know, lots of work goes into getting your room ready for the first day!  This is a picture I took about a week before the start of the first day.  Kind of looks ready but all the wall decorations weren't up yet and some stuff wasn't put away, but I'm sharing it with you because I know I love to peek into other teachers' classrooms ;-).

PS ON THE PIC:  Take a look at my curtains.  They are cute but they've been hanging there for 10 YEARS.  I need something new... a bright burst of color perhaps?!  I'd also like for them to go all the way across the rod.  Any ideas of where I can find cute curtains...going once, going twice?!  If you can head me in the right direction (That means I decide to purchase them!) of already made ones or a person who can custom make me cute ones, I'll give you any one thing FREE from my shop!  You pick!  I'm SOOOOO desperate! 

Ok, I need to focus now!...

So, the first two days came and went just like that!  I did some fun activities that I got from a purchase from Babbling Abby specifically for 2nd grade.  Check out her back to school products if you haven't started school yet and still need some ideas!

Oh, and I, myself, have a great back-to-school FREEBIE!  I made schedule cards with clipart from my most favorite clip artist- Educlips!  

If you're interested in this FREEBIE go here: Schedule Cards. Don't forget to leave me some sweet feedback if you download.  I'd love to hear from you!!

I'll end this post with the most recent pic of my classroom with some kids having FUN with a getting to know you activity!   Seeing the students so engaged makes spending countless summer hours prepping my room, OH SO WORTH IT!

Thanks for stopping by and GOOD LUCK with back-to-school! :)

Tips and Tools for Back-to-School

I am so excited to join my PA blogger buddies in hosting Tips and Tools for Back-to-School. 

Where did the summer go?!  Some of us have been back already!  Others of us will begin very soon!  If you're like me, you might be stressing a bit.  So much prepping to do to get a primary classroom ready!  To help you with your back to school preparations, we each have a tip to share and a tool for you to use when you return to your classroom.

Establish your classroom management system right away! 

I have been teaching for over a decade now and over the years classroom management had always been something that I wanted to keep improving on!  Last year, I decided that I needed to go in a whole new direction.  I always did a stoplight approach, but I was getting nowhere as the same old kids were always moving their names.  Instead of catching kids doing the wrong thing, I decided to do the opposite.  I decided to catch them doing the RIGHT thing and rewarding them for their positive behavior :).

Since my students always tend to do best when there is a little bit of friendly competition, I decided to cluster desks together into pods and assign each group a color.  Groups work together to earn points for positive behavior.  Since I started this (mid-year last year), transition times have never been so good!  Can you say... less talking ;)!

Group Signs

My FREEBIE tool for you are the signs I use to label each pod of desks.  I label each group with a color.  Groups are usually 4-5 students large.  Depending on the size of your class, you may need to use all the colors provided or just some.

This is an example of a sign hung up in my classroom.  The pod of desks are not shown, but are below the sign.

To snag this FREEBIE, click on the link below.  Feel free to leave me some sweet feedback if you downloaded it.  I'd love to know who you are :)!

Classroom Management FREEBIE Sampler!

If your interested in learning more about my classroom management system, click on the link below!  This download includes a detailed description of the system, a place/way to record points earned, and also a variety of reward coupons for students to choose from!

Behavior Management Plan 101

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!  I hope that you enjoy the FREEBIE!  If you would like to be the first to know about new posts, giveaways, and blog hops, follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the image below

Abc123is4me on Bloglovin'

 Don't stop reading here!  We have more tips and tools for you.  

Just follow the link to visit my blogging buddy Angie at Rulin' the Roost. 

She's one of the top 3 sellers in PA so you know she must have something awesome to share with you!

Have fun hopping!,