1st week math: number of the day

I can never figure out what to do for my math plans the first week of school. Do I dive in into the meaty stuff? Or do I start off easy, do more of a review? But then what if it's too easy? As you can tell, math isn't my best subject to teach. However, being surrounded by talented teachers (and splitting the planning with an amazing team) has allowed for me to piggyback and learn from some teachers who have a better grip on math than I do. So this year, we're starting off with reviewing numbers and number sense by doing a "number of the day". I'm sure you've all seen this before; it's nothing original but it's effective to see how much your students know about number concept and works great as an assessment for the individual components involved in completing a number of the day worksheet. I've created a number of the day worksheet that has 6 different components/ways to show the number: numeral, number word, illustrations, tally marks, ten frames, and a number sentence. After modeling doing one myself and one with my students, I'm going to have students complete these individually and then perhaps for homework as well, after I assign a number. 

You can download the freebie by clicking the picture below. Also, don't forget to leave feedback in my store! It's helpful and just makes my day a little bit brighter :)

What are you all doing for your first week math plans?

Classroom 2014 reveal!

Phew, it has been busy this past week! Teacher's institute week officially started Monday and am I glad that I finished most of the work for my classroom early. My other co-teachers are running around getting their classroom's set up and I remember what it was like to be in that position, so thank goodness I was lucky to come in early and get a head start on my room. I've actually been able to be a resource to my fellow teachers, especially the new ones, so I'm really happy that I can help in that way. It's officially finished and I thought I'd share some pictures!

My main teaching spot, which is the front of the room.

The news board is a little empty right now because I'm waiting on administration to pass out some beginning of the year forms/handouts. I have my newsletter up there so far.

View from the door: Here I have my library to the very right, which is the first thing you see when you look in from my door. Then there is my small group table with my instructional materials (since I got rid of my teacher desk, this is where I keep my materials),  a little reading nook to the left of my small group area (there's a rug you can't see) and then my technology center with four computers.

The back of my room: my technology center, my word wall, and my whole group rug area with my calendar to the left.

The left side as soon as you walk into the door: my storage cabinets, my supplies, listening center and cubbies.


A closer look at my library. Hanging in the front are these cute genre posters I got from the awesome Rachel Lamb. You can purchase them here. I totally recommend them. The green and blue bins are from Big Lots.

Hope everyone enjoys their long 3-day weekend! Happy resting, relaxing, and let's be real.. lesson planning ;)

The light's on, the teacher's busy!

Recently I was browsing Pinterest for some classroom ideas and I found this cool idea of using a push light to let students know visually when you are engaged in small groups and how they should not disturb you or your group. It also works when you're conferencing with individuals or administering assessments and need to left alone. Basically the idea is: when the light is on, the teacher is busy!

All you really need is a push light, which you can find at your local Dollar Store. I couldn't get to mine so I found identical lights on Amazon for $6 and they came in a pack of 3. You can find them here. You can use the light itself and stick it on a whiteboard where you write the little reminder to students about how the light works, but I didn't want to keep writing a reminder in my ugly handwriting (really, it's not nice) so I made a cute sign to go with it and I thought I'd share it. Here it is! Just print, laminate, stick the light in the middle, punch 2 holes and tie a string and hang it up around your small group area and viola! You have an easy-peasy way to manage those little munchkins who come up constantly during your small group instructional time.

Click the picture to download the freebie!

What are some ways you manage your small group time?

Weekly Behavior Management Sheet

I'm back with yet another freebie! I wasn't kidding when I said I loved giving freebies :) This one is a weekly behavior management sheet I pass out to my students at the end of the day during our dismissal routine. At our school, we have a 7-color behavior system and at the end of the day, students take a crayon and color/write in their color for the day in the appropriate spot and then I initial it on the side. I thought I'd offer up this freebie and made it editable in case your school has a different color system (I know some places only have 5 colors). Below the weekly chart is the editable part. As a reminder to parents, I describe what each color means and then place a note to parents about how they need to look at the sheet each day, place it back in their child's homework folder and ultimately sign the sheet by the end of the week so I can collect them. It's my way of making sure parents are actively monitoring their child's behavior. Of course, I pair this with phone calls as well, positive and instructional, but I always have parents who want to know what color their child was on and I can't always remember off the top of my head.

Click on the picture below to download your editable chart. 

(It looks fuzzy in the download tab, but I promise it doesn't when you edit and print it out.)

What are some ways you report weekly behavior?

Classroom setup rambles, a sneak peak, and number lines

I've been so busy setting up my classroom and it's slowly, but surely, coming together. But... I can't say I'm as pleased with it this year as I was last year. I had an ocean theme and it was beautiful, if I do say so; I loved being in my class because I had put in so much money and time into making it pleasing, but quite honestly, the decorations got in the way of putting up anchor charts and I regretted putting a third of the decorations up. So this year, I opted for a simple color scheme instead of a full out theme and while things generally match in my classroom, there's so much blank wall space that it bothers me. I keep trying to remind myself that I'll need that space later on, but I'm comparing my room from last year to this year and how much "less," for lack of better words, my room seems. Of course, this is all superficial rambles because everyone knows your classroom decorations do not determine how well students learn, but I already know that and because I've planned in advance for instruction, I can allow myself the energy to lament over these trivial things.

I'm such a visual person that things need to look a certain way for me or I tend to obsess over them and will spend hours drafting and tweaking little things here and there. I've been doing that for the past month or so, especially since being back in the classroom to set up because now I can actually see how things look. Perhaps I need to add more small decorations or something without taking away the wall space that I'll eventually need.. Sigh. On the other hand, I really do need to get over it and let it go just a little. After all, my classroom isn't quite done. It's still a work in progress, and I need to remind myself of that. Deep breaths, Hannah. It'll work out in the end. With that positive thought, here's a sneak peak at some of the highlights of my room.

The library/front area.

 Pom poms ready for hanging.

Fail of the day. (Actually, it's only one of the many fails of that day setting up, but it still makes me laugh).

On the topic of number posters, I spent some time creating a set of primary-colored star-themed number posters, available in my store for purchase. Just click on the picture below.

Hope everyone's set up is going smoothly, and remember: keep calm, breathe, you're amazing, and it'll work out in the end.

Dolch 2nd grade practice freebie sample

Last week I created a sight word practice packet for the 2nd grade Dolch list and I've uploaded a sample of the packet for a freebie, exclusively on my blog (it won't be on TPT!). Grab your copy below by clicking the picture and enjoy!

You can purchase the full, 45-page product with all the words by clicking the picture below.

Also for sale is the primer list practice packet. Grab that here!

Hope you're all having a wonderful night!

The Crayon Box that Talked Activities!

Guys, I found my new love. Brownie Brittle. Brownie brittle, guys. These things are SO addictive. With a glass of milk, they're the perfect snack... to snack on all day. I may have eaten the whole bag in one day (with the help of a hungry sister, of course). They're brownie bits but with a cookie crunch. SO good.

Okay, now onto some slightly more important things. Who's read this amazing book??

Although this book is pretty well known, for those of you who don't know it, it's about a little girl who goes into a store and purchases a box of crayons that dislike each other for no real reason. She begins to draw a picture using each color and the crayons gradually begin to see each other in a new light and realize that by working together, they can be something more: they can create a complete picture, a masterpiece. It's an adorable story that can be used to teach respect, how to get along with others, and the uniqueness of each individual. I read this every year towards the beginning of the year to set the tone for the school year and the kids love it. They really see the message loud and clear because it's so explicit.

After reading the book, I create a writing display with students decorating their own blank crayons with one thing that makes them unique and put the crayons together in a large crayon box picture labeled with our room number and my name. Search "The Crayon Box that Talked" on Pinterest and a ton of examples will show up.

Asides from making the display, I realized that I don't do that much with the book so I created a short activity packet that allows for more engagement with the book through writing and drawing. Included in the packet is:

• I am unique because.. writing piece
• Be the artist! Draw a picture using 5 colors. 
• Story map: characters, setting, problem, solution 
• Retell and illustrate the beginning, middle, and end of the story (RL.1.2 standard)

The product can be found at my store by clicking the link below. 

What are some activities you do with this amazing book? 

Bathroom Break

Let's talk about the dreaded bathroom breaks. Yes, the ones where every student seems to be going every which way, while quietly (or not so quietly) whispering back and forth in the stall that they hope they'll get away with (but not quite). It's definitely one of my least favorite transitions of the day.

I've been on the search for ways to make my bathroom breaks go by faster (or just less painful) and found that using sanitizer, though not quite as sanitary, speeds up the process. My first year of teaching, I had students wash their hands with the soap, but that was always a big hassle and students were flicking soap at each other, sloshing water around, and for some reason, there never seemed to be enough soap in the dispensers so last year I switched over to the sanitizers and it worked great, for a little while. But I made the mistake of using a single, large bottle for all my students (save money), held by a student. This quickly became chaotic because everyone was lining up to get their pump of sanitizer with only one student working furiously to meet their demands. So this year, I bought two smaller bottles, 1 for the girls and 1 for the boys and got to labeling them (because I have a slight obsession).

The one on the left is the front of the bottle and the one on the right is the backside with a quick reminder. Here's to hoping bathroom break just got a little bit less chaotic!

What do you do that works for you? 

Read, Write, Make Freebieeee!

I know it's like a blogging rule not to post twice in a day, but I just felt like giving today and wanted to share a quick document I made. I'm sure most of you have seen these around, but they're basically mats that say, "Read, Write, Make" to practice sight words or spelling words. Just print and laminate and they're ready to use.

I like to tape mine onto cookie sheets so that students can make the words with magnetic letters. You can just leave them by themselves too and have students use letter tiles or even magnetic letters to make the letters (they just won't stick).

I made these with the 1st grade Dolch words, but I also included one blank one so you can include your own words. Click on the picture to get the freebie!

Don't forget to leave feedback! It's much appreciated :)

New Organized Desktop!

I finally did it. 

I revamped my desktop. 

I've had a light gray chevron wallpaper for a while now and had my files gradually multiplying on my desktop, which I hate because of how cluttered it looks even when they're neatly positioned in rows, so I got my butt on TPT to see if there were any good desktop organizers and viola! I came across the cutest wallpaper. So here's what my new desktop looks like:

I generally like my desktop to be completely bare, but let's be real, that's practically impossible. In the least, I try limit what I have on my desktop and this was the perfect wallpaper for that because it doesn't allow for too many files so it helped me to figure out what I really wanted to be easily accessible to me.

You can grab the freebie here, made by Miss Vee's Kinder Kraziness. The awesome part is that it's editable, so it's completely customizable to you and what you want. Pretty cute, eh?

I love looking at the way other people organize, so feel free to post pictures of your desktops in the comments! I'd love to see them :)

Classroom Set up & Freebie Friday??

Yesterday was my first day in the classroom to set up and I loved it. I missed being back in the neighborhood, the school, and my classroom. School doesn't technically start until the last week of August for us teachers and after Labor Day for my students, but I couldn't resist asking my principal if I could come in earlier to start setting up. I want to have most of my classroom decor and set up done before that first week of school for teachers so that I can spend that week lesson planning. So, I texted my principal and she let me come in today.

Here's what I walked into.

Sooo yeah, I had my work cut out for me. On the left side, which you can't see, was more furniture that needed to be moved and sorted. After 4.5 hours, I unboxed everything, organized all curriculum books, finished my word wall, configured and set up half of my library, put fabric on 2/3 of the bulletin boards, arranged the cubbies, sorted the supplies, laminated yards of posters, and cleaned out my cabinets. Oh! And the most exciting news is that I got rid of my teacher desk!! I had one last year but saw that some of my coworkers had so much more room without theirs and thus tried to get rid of mine but there was no space in the school. However, the custodian was awesome enough to find a space to stash mine away this year. Not bad, eh? I'm a little nervous about not having the extra storage space but ultimately excited about the space it opens up in the classroom and how it's going to force me to really keep things organized and neat. Super excited.

Now I can't go in tomorrow since they're rewaxing the floors (yay for shiny floors!), but on Monday I'm going to try to get the following done:

1. Arrange desks and chairs
2. Finish font bulletin boards 
3. Put up number line 
4. Organize the library with labels and bins
5. Make table pom poms

I think that should be enough... Anyways, onto some FREEBIES! So I don't know if freebie Friday is a thing, but I love freebies and love giving them even more, so I thought I'd share a small something to brighten your Friday. Here are 2 binder covers, one for close reading and one for a general teacher binder (it's editable!). I posted a picture on Instagram and a fellow teacher commented on how they should be made available so here they are. Click on the pictures below to download and enjoy!

It's an editable powerpoint file that you can customize with your school name, grade level, and name.

Is anyone else getting ready to or already setting up their classrooms? Isn't it both exhausting and exciting?? 

Mental Math

I've been reading a couple of educational books for some summer reading and one of the books I'm currently reading is Rafe Esquith's Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire.

It's been a very enlightening and encouraging read. Told from Rafe's experiences as a teacher who has mastered creating a classroom culture of trust and high academic achievement, he shares great tips on how to recreate a similar environment and why it's absolutely necessary. I recommend you pick up a copy, especially if you're a new teacher. It helps set you on the right path, gets you in the right mindset and shares some great tips that's easily implementable. 

One of the ideas I've taken away is a mental math warm up activity. I don't know about you, but I confess to not pushing my students enough on practicing mental math because it's often difficult for them but it's a necessary skill that will aid them for the rest of their lives. In chapter 5, "Add It Up", Rafe shares a short activity that he does with his students that caught my attention and I thought I'd share it here for teachers who'd like a quick and easy activity to get them started.

It's simple in setting up and simpler to do. Each student gets number tiles (0-9) that they keep in their desks in a baggie and they pull them out when you pose a mental math problem. 

In gist, that's about it. I've created the following pdf to help you set it up in your classrooms. Included is a little summary about the activity and the number tiles. Just print, cut, laminate and put them in baggies for your students and voila! You're 90% there already. Just teach the routines and procedures around the activity and your students will be on their way to mastering mental math. 

Click on the picture above to get the document!

How do you practice mental math in your classroom? Leave comments below if you implement something similar to this, something different or will be trying it out! 

Here's to new beginnings

I've been meaning to start blogging about my teaching adventures but never seemed to have enough time, or really, never got around to it. However, with things becoming better and more stable (more on that in a later post), I feel like I could actually stick to it this time. I've recently started posting products in my Teacher Pay Teacher store and doing more and more to prepare for the school year, so this might just be the perfect time for me to start my blog. So here goes to documenting my many silly, crazy, and all kinds of wonderful moments to come as a teacher. 

P.S Ignore the very simple template. My custom design template should be coming in September :)