Oh, Snap! It's Almost August! Linky Party

I'm linking up with Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals today to share products that are perfect for the month of August.  My school year actually starts July27th, but I know many of you will be beginning your school year in August, so I've included LOTS of B2S items! WARNING!  This is a product heavy post!! First up, classroom decor items! A freebie first!  This Year is Going to Be A-MAZE-ING! Cards to put with mini mazes from the party section at Target.  Perfect for Meet The Teacher/Open House night!

You know your kiddos want personalized name tags with their own Melonheadz kiddo!  There are 76 different Melonheadz kiddos included in this set!

Do your kiddos have to wear uniforms?  Mine do!  This Uniform Check poster hangs on my classroom door as a gentle reminder to them of our school's uniform expectations.  There are 2 versions and they're editable so you can add your own uniform expectations!

I like to add the color words to my writing wall - one less set of words the kids have to ask me to spell!

The iPad Files! I am very blessed to have a class set of iPads for my kiddos to use and we use them all the time!  This set includes iPad Rules posters, an iPad contract, certificates, and Numbered iPad Backgrounds #1-25 - in LOTS of colors!

Losing teeth is a big deal for the little kids - whether it be traumatic or exciting!  This set includes a Lost Tooth Club Poster file (I printed mine poster size from Snapfish), Lost Tooth Certificate, Lost Tooth Class Journal, and Lost Tooth Brag Tags.

A Freebie!!  Does your school collect Box Tops and Campbell's Labels?  This label is perfect for the large cascade dish packs containers and storing all those Box Tops and Campbell's Labels to earn money for your school.

Birthdays are also a big deal for those little kiddos!  I love cupcakes and being able to display my classroom birthdays - so Melonheadz made me an awesome birthday set!

Do you have an Erin Condren Lesson Planner and also have OCD like I do and just feel the need to type your lesson plans?!?!  Please tell me I'm not the only one!  This editable Erin Condren Lesson Plan template will keep your EC planner pretty just like Erin intended for it to be as well as allow you to type and print your lesson plans.

Does your school want you to begin promoting college preparedness, even in Kindergarten?  We have a fairly large focus on going to college even in the primary grades.  So, I have a display area in my classroom where I have made Melonheadz kiddos holding college signs to colleges in my state.  This set will allow you to do the same by adding your own college logos of your choosing.  I've also included our COLLEGE binder cover that my grade level uses.  This binder goes to and from school every day and is where my kiddos keep their homework, behavior graphs, etc.  COLLEGE stands for Children Organzing, Learning, and Leading Everyday for a Great Education.

Next Up - Classroom Management!

How do you manage classroom jobs?  I have done it a variety of ways, and may even come up with a new display next year.  I currently have 2 class jobs items in my store.  This year, I'm using the t-shirts and hanging them on my bulletin board like they are hanging on a clothesline.  I can't wait to see it all together - it's going to be TOO cute!

How do you manage classroom management/behavior?  In years past, I've used the 7-layered clip chart, as I like to call it, along with Class Dojo.

But, as of last February, I went totally Class Dojo and ditched the clip chart!

So, now that your classroom is all cute, and you've got your kiddos under control and taking care of your classroom, you obviously need something to teach them - that's why they're there, right?!?!

This first one was a MAJOR job!  180 Days of 2nd Grade morning work that you can PROJECT on your whiteboard/smartboard/etc.  Hear me now - NO MORE COPYING MORNING WORK!!!  Just project each day's slide on the board and your kiddos do all the work in a marble composition notebook.  Save the trees!!  It's also a spiral review, so concepts are going to keep coming back around about every 10 days and gradually get more difficult throughout the year.

What are your plans for the first week of school, especially for Language Arts?  Lots of getting to know you activities, learning expectations, that kind of thing?  Well this character education set is perfect for the first week of school and teaching all of those classroom expectations.  There are 5 books that this set accompanies and I got all the books from Amazon.  Topics include interrupting, using a social filter, staying on task, voice volume, and tattling.

And the last product I'm going to share with you for this linky party is my August math centers.  I have created math centers for the entire school year, August-May.  Each set has 10-15 math centers included, with task cards, recording sheets, and answer keys!

The August set is all about back to school with a little fairytale twist!

I do have a few other products in my store that are great for decorating your classroom, in an educational way.  Be sure to keep an eye out for them in my TPT store.

Now, if you stayed all the way until the end of this post - you are in luck!  All of the products listed in this post are going to be on sale through Thursday night - so 2 days only!  If you've had some of these items on your wishlist, or you are wish listing them now - be sure to go ahead and check-out while they are on sale!

And come back in a couple days for an updated post about Class Dojo and there may just be a giveaway!!

Viva Las Vegas! A TPT Conference Linky Party

Hey y'all!  I'm linking up with the Elementary Entourage for Viva Las Vegas - a TPT Conference Linky Party!
I got back Saturday night after a whirlwind week in Las Vegas at SDE's I Teach 2nd and TPT's Super Seller conferences!  I am currently on a #tptvegas15 teacher high - to be around my "tribe" - people who have a passion for teaching and love to create things for their classroom/kiddos and then share it with the world.  We, TpTers that is, have the opportunity to create so many memorable experiences for children all over the world and that is just a powerful thought! Be ready for picture overload! I stayed in the Palazzo and boy, was it gorgeous!  I don't think I've ever stayed somewhere so fancy and the view didn't disappoint!

Tuesday and Wednesday I attended sessions at SDE's first annual I Teach 2nd national conference.  

My first session was all about the first 30 days of school with Kathy Griffin.  This quote from her session stuck with me.  Sometimes we forget how far we go with our kiddos throughout the year.

I attended a few other sessions on Tuesday about writing, differentiation, and the Lego Math curriculum and finished my day off with a GoNoodle Dance party...

followed up by some sweets at Carlo's Bakery...

and a stroll around the Grand Canal Shoppes...

Wednesday was a super busy day from start to finish!

I started my day off with Jazzercise with Rachelle from What The Teacher Wants.  I wish I could start every day with her!  She is so much fun to be around probably just what I need each morning!

No - this picture was not taken after we were all sweaty from Jazzercise - it was the next day!

After a quick run back to my room to change, I found myself sitting on the front row of both of Hope King from Elementary Shenanigans sessions and I could have probably stayed right there listening to her the rest of the day.  These were the BEST sessions I attended during I Teach 2nd - hands down!  I was so inspired to make be a better teacher for my kiddos through uncommon experiences, a fun and positive attitude, songs and dances, and more!

Wednesday night was the BIG teacher blogger meet-up with over 1100 teachers!  I got to meet some of my favorite teacher "idols" and hope that some of their awesomeness would rub off on me!

Deanna Jump

Amy Lemons

2nd Grade Teachers are the BEST - duh!

My roommate, Shelly from Smiling and Shining in 2nd Grade, and I even hit up the GoNoodle photo booth for some fun photos with our favorite GoNoodle champs!

Thursday morning, I was able to do some networking with other 1st and 2nd grade teachers and was able to meet some of my Instagram friends in real life!

Thursday night we decided to take in a show and decided on Human Nature's Motown Show - and it was AWESOME! 

Friday was Day 2, and the last day (tear!), of the TPT conference.

The TPT Keynote surely didn't disappoint - I almost cried at the thought of the impact that all of the awesomeness in that room could have on the world of education!

Paul Edelman - the man that started it all - on Craigslist!

This quote almost made me cry - "My teacher thought I was smarter than I was - so I was."  That is what it is all about my friends.

Erin Cobb, from Lovin' Lit, did a great session about going from a teacher to a teacherentrepeneur and it definitely made me think about how I'm going to take my TPT store to the next level and how I'm going to do it.  She is so funny!  She said, when someone asks us what we do, it can be so difficult to explain (to a non-educator), what we as TPTers do - this is often the look that we give the asker of that question...

So many people think we are in some type of scheme that is illegal or can't be real, but it is definitely a real thing and is having a huge impact in classrooms all over the world!

Friday evening we celebrated our "adult summer camp" with TPT closing remarks and happy hour complete with pictures, networking, more photo booths, and friend-making!

Friday night we kicked back with the Primary Pack at the Bourbon Room, made some more teacher friends and even set up some collaboration connections, before we packed up and hit the sack!  I had an early flight Saturday morning and we were exhausted!

Saturday morning came and I couldn't believe what a week I had had.  To be surrounded by such teacher greatness, to make all these new friends that have the same passion that I do was just awesome.  I was ready to go home, but I longed to stay so I could stay on this teacher-high.  Luckily, I start school in 2 weeks, so I'm hoping all I brought home with me can go right into my classroom.

By Vegas, I'm hoping I'll see ya' next year!

Monday Made-It: July 6th

Today's the day!!!  I'm off to Vegas around 12:30 EST!  I've got a layover in Nashville and then I'll leave Nashville for Vegas.  Landing just before 4 PM PST.  If you're going to Vegas, will you be landing around the same time - if you are - you probably aren't reading my blog today! But, before I'm off, I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made-It!

First up, my new Ikea Expedit drawer unit and my super awesome cushion my mom made for the top!  Around January, I decided I wanted one of these units for my classroom, so I've had all these materials sitting in our spare bedroom in boxes and bags since January.  I put the Expedit unit together a couple weeks ago and my mom has almost finished the cushion cover.

I got a big foam pad at Joann's as well as the fabric - which matches all the fabric in my room - curtains, bucket seat covers, chair pockets - it all is in the same fabric "family".  The only thing left to do to finish is get some velcro to add to the straps so they can attach and hold the cushion on top of the unit.  Can't wait to see it put together in my classroom at the end of next week!

I'll share a picture once my classroom is all put together.  I have green and white bins to go on the tracks - but they are at school already.

Don't mind all my school stuff sitting in it and all around it!  You know we all have an area where we keep all our goodies we brought home or bought during the summer!

Next up, personalizing my carpool board.  Since we are a charter school, and have no buses, all kids, K-12, go home through carpool.  Now, we do have 2 carpool lanes - one is just for high school students (and their siblings) and the other one is for elementary and/or middle school students.  Anyways, all of our elementary students go to the gym and sit in nice, neat (ha - yeah, right!) rows and wait for their number to come up on the whiteboard at the front of the gym.  Carpool runs like a well-oiled machine, even despite all our construction right in the middle of campus, we still keep it rolling day in and day out.

So, every teacher has some sort of carpool board.  Our grade level chooses to have all 2nd grade students on our sheets that we have on the front.  The sheets are laminated and kiddos or parent volunteers mark the names/numbers off on the board as a kiddo leaves using a Expo marker.  Every year my board ends up all dinged up, so I end up getting a new board each summer.

A little vinyl - and voila! I have a new personalized carpool board - should it ever get left on the floor of the gym at the end of carpool - the finder will know who to return it to!

Last up, last week I shared with you my kiddo's work folders that I put together.  This week, I got the labels added so that they will know where to put their papers.  Organized teacher means that I have to train my kiddos to be organized too!

Have a great week!  If you're in Vegas, I hope to meet you!!