Product

One of my favorite products is my Common Core Math Journal for First Grade. This Math Journal features a “Number of the Day” journal page where my students practice representing numbers, place value (hundreds, tens, ones), counting on, comparing numbers (greater than, less than, equal to), ten more, ten less, and skip counting by twos, fives, and tens. They also complete problem solving each day where they use various strategies for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. This Math Journal has helped my students love to problem solve! They are always excited to find out the “number of the day” and they even enjoy creating their own story problems!

Sample Math Journal Cover

Number of the Day worksheet

Story Problem worksheet

Sample story problems

Area

A favorite area within our classroom is our “square” carpet. This is the area where we meet for read alouds, SmartBoard lessons, reading, writing, and anything else we choose!

Our meeting area

Signal

During transition times I use what we call the “magic wand.” I found this chime at the I Teach First conference a few years ago. The students take turns getting to sound the chime. I love it because it is a softer signal and encourages quieter transition times.

The Magic Wand

Sanity

A time that I look forward to each day at school is Daily 5. At the beginning of the school year, my students and I worked really hard to build stamina with independent reading and writing. Even though I have 25 students in my class, this is the time of day when they are most quiet and on task. As I work with small groups, I love to look around the classroom and see (and hear!) the learning going on.

Kymali at Work on Writing

Kilee and Kiyrah at Read to Someone

Paul at Read to Self

What’s your Hall Pass? Link up at Tunstall’s Teaching Tidbits!

The TeachersPayTeachers Super Sale is finally here! All products in my shop are 20% off today. You can enter coupon code SUPER at checkout for up to 28% off your total order. Here are a few of my favorite and best-selling products to use in your classroom. Happy shopping! {You can also find all of my products on Teachers Notebook!}

Classroom Awards -
Available in Chevron, Stripes, & Polka Dots

Literacy Centers for Parents

Common Core Math Journal
& Number of the Day – 1st Grade

Common Core Standards for 1st Grade -
Available in Chevron, Stripes, & Polka Dots

Science & Social Studies Standards for 1st Grade – Georgia – Available in Chevron, Stripes, & Polka Dots

Student Behavior Chart for RTI & Special Education

The ABCs of Harriet Tubman -
A Reader’s Theater Script

Where Are We? Cards – Beach Theme

Transportation Signs and Student Labels

National Board Certification was always an endeavor that I knew I wanted to achieve. After much research on what I would be expected to do to complete the process, I took a leap of faith in April 2011. I signed up, paid the fees, got organized, and then had no idea where to begin! Luckily I came across ECGEN.org and it was there that I met my “e-mentors” Kelly, Bobbie, and Kathleen! I spent countless hours each week posting questions, receiving feedback, second-guessing myself, video-taping, video-taping again, and reminding myself why I wanted to one day become a National Board Certified Teacher.

When I asked myself why I wanted to become a National Board Certified Teacher I always came back to the same answer… I knew many NBCTs during my college years and during my 1st and 2nd years of teaching in Auburn City Schools. These teachers showed such passion and love for teaching children and were often the teacher-leaders of the school. These teachers were the ones you went to if you needed help in reaching certain students, as they always knew the most up-to-date information and strategies on child development. I wanted to strive to be just like them someday. During the process, I discovered even more reasons why I wanted to someday become a NBCT. NBCTs have a refreshing way of thinking about education. They are advocates for children, teaching, and learning – no matter what mandates their district or state may push down on them. I have learned that the National Board process not only changes the way you think about teaching and learning, but it sets a higher standard for not only yourself as a teacher but for your students as well.

After many months of waiting for the big score release date, I woke up in the middle of the night on November 17th to find out that…

National Board Results!

Most of the day I was in complete shock that I was an “official” National Board Certified Teacher. A part of me felt like “now it’s [the process] over… now what?” A part of the National Board process is getting to know yourself as a teacher in a way that you have never imagined. During the process I learned that I also have a passion for helping others learn more about teaching and learning. In the future, I would love to be a mentor to more university students and to other National Board candidates. I am planning to complete the training to become a National Board Candidate Support Provider. This training will allow me to help others who are going through the National Board process. A long-term goal that I’ve contemplated is one day getting my Ph.D. in Elementary Education so that I can teach methods courses to university students. That goal is a long way off and right now just a thought… but what I’ve learned this past year is if you have a dream, you should go for it!

If National Board Certification is something that you would like to achieve, I encourage you to research more about the process. I can definitely say that it has not only made me a stronger teacher, but also provided me with a renewed love for continuing to learn about our profession.

One of my favorite things is when I get home and I have a package waiting on my doorstep! My husband says I *might* be a little obsessed with online shopping… So, it’s a good thing I have my own web boutique! You can follow it on Facebook! When I opened my web store  almost 3 years ago, I wanted to offer my customers some of my favorite things. One of my all-time favorite companies is PSA Essentials. I LOVE their products. If you’ve never heard of PSA, they sell THE.BEST. personalized stampers. One of my on-going projects this year is organizing my classroom library, so I ordered a stamp to personalize all of my books. I love how it turned out!

McKay Personalized Stamp

I also ordered a few more goodies for my classroom… I got an alignment tool for changing out the stamp body, a black & lime ink cartridge, and a few Peel & Stick packs. The Peel & Stick packs are awesome because you can mix-and-match your stamp design!

I ordered the Vanilla Alphabet, Anchor’s Aweigh, and Life’s a Beach Peel & Stick Packs. I plan to use the beach packs to match my classroom theme… on student work, folders, etc., and I want to use the Vanilla alphabet to label my books on the inside Levels A-Z.

Anchors Aweigh Peel & Stick Pack

Life’s a Beach Peel & Stick Pack

Vanilla A-I Peel & Stick Pack

I want to give away a stamp to a lucky reader once my Facebook page hits 200 fans! In the meantime, here are some photos of my sweet kiddo’s with their windsocks! We’ve been learning about weather instruments and the students had a blast creating and testing their own windsock!

Emilie showing the temperature on a thermometer.

Gabe with our rain gauge.

{Fun with Windsocks} Aren, Denilson, Gabe, Skyla, and Kilee

{Fun with Windsocks} Dawson, Paul, Emilie, and Jesse

{Fun with Windsocks} Mariana, Kiyrah, Cooper, and Kayla

{Fun with Windsocks} McKaden, Nathaniel, Dennis, and Nazir

{Fun with Windsocks} Kymali, Malachi, Adrian, Tanner, and Cornelius

Wow! It has been SUCH a busy month! I’ve been working 12-14 hour days and I STILL cannot get everything done! One of these days, maybe I’ll be caught up… I’ve been thinking that for 8 years though!

We are going into our 5th week of school. My students are finally beginning to settle in to our daily routine and we are all able to find our way around our new school. The “little red doors” of old Mableton came down last week… so it feels like the old school is officially gone. We are loving our new school though and are SO looking forward to finally having a parking lot! I’ll be back to post some pictures from our first few weeks of school and I’ve also got some freebies planned! In the meantime, here’s one last look at our sweet, little, school…

Old Mableton…

I’d like to thank Stacey from Piles of Pencils for giving my blog the Liebster Award! This award is named for the German word “Liebster,” which translates to “beloved” or “favorite.” It is awarded to new, up and coming bloggers with 200 followers or less. Thank you for the award Stacey! Be sure to visit her blog here.

Since it’s September it’s time to link up with my September Currently with Farley at Oh’ Boy Fourth Grade!

Wow! It’s been a LONG and BUSY week! I had my first day of school last Monday and spent my week with 22 sweet, new students. We are all still settling into our new building and getting used to everything that is new. It has been sad to watch old Mableton being torn down right before our eyes. I looked out one day last week and saw the bright green walls of my old classroom… the next day it was gone. Very bittersweet. Our new building is beautiful and we are truly lucky to have it… Our students deserve only the best! I am working on putting the finishing touches on my new classroom and will post some pictures of it soon!

On another note… Teacher friends, look who I got to meet this weekend! THE SISTERS! They brought the Daily 5/Cafe Workshop to Atlanta and I have been SO EXCITED about going to this since February! I learned so much from them this weekend and can’t wait to post about how the implementation of Daily 5/Cafe works out in my classroom! Hope you all have a great week!

Me with the Sisters!

Chapter 5 was all about Read to Someone and Listen to Reading. **Please note that the following is only my opinion and thoughts on how I implement D5 in my classroom. These thoughts and ideas are not endorsed by the 2 sisters or their publisher Stenhouse.

I am learning so much from our book study! I have implemented D5 for two years in my classroom, however this year I want to follow the format exactly. I have had several DonorsChoose projects funded that aid my students in implementing the following portions of Daily 5.

The sisters begin this chapter by laying out the framework of lessons for Read to Someone. These lessons consist of:

• EEKK, Voice, Check
• I Read, You Read
• How to choose books
• Choosing your classroom spot
• How to choose a partner
• Coaching or Time

I love the idea of having the students use “check marks” for Check for Understanding. I have never had my students check for understanding before, but I can see the benefits. If we spend time teaching reading strategies to children, why not hold them accountable for using these strategies when reading independently or with a partner? I also love the idea of using a Coaching sheet with the students. I think this would hold each of them accountable for peer teaching and add meaning to the task of Read to Someone.

All of my students know their independent reading level, so they become very good at choosing “good fit” books. I have spent all summer organizing my books by level {A-Z}. I have a book bin for each level and each book has a sticker label on it so the students can easily return the book to it’s proper bin. I had these bins and books for levels A-J donated from a DonorsChoose project!

I’ll be adding the book bin labels and sticker labels to my TpT store soon! I hope to have them posted by this weekend!

I have always had a listening center in my classroom. There are several ways that I implement this and many of these items are projects that I’ve funded through DonorsChoose or by other classroom donors.

Listening Center for Books on Tape

My students listen to books on tape. I also have a CD player that my students use with headphones.

Starfall

ABCya!

Storyline Online

Cookie Games for Kids

Tumble Books for Kids

Many of these websites have books that will read stories aloud to the students. You can use these websites on computers or iPads!

Listen to Reading using Leapsters

My students also listen to reading on Leap Pads, Leapsters, and TAG Pens from LeapFrog.

Listen to Reading using TAG Pens

I can see how Listen to Reading is the part of D5 where students are easily engaged! When I first received my Leap Pads, I remember sitting in the floor of my classroom playing the games for at least 30 minutes! There are so many ways to incorporate this into any classroom! What are some things that you do?

Thank you to Melissa at Dilly Dabbles, Mechele at Barrow’s Hodgepodge, and Kelli at Castles and Crayons for hosting this chapter! Please leave a comment or link up with your thoughts on Chapter 5 below!

Kimberlee from Two Fulbright Hugs and Kristen from A Day in First Grade awarded me with the Versatile Blogger award! I was so excited to receive this! Thank you both SO much for thinking of me and for following my blog! Upon accepting this award, I must abide by the rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

A BIG THANKS to Kimberlee and Kristen!

2. Include a link to their site.

Click here for Kimberlee’s blog! Click here for Kristen’s blog!

3. Include the award image in your post.

Posted above and on my sidebar!

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

I’ve included these below!

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

Work in progress!

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

Work in progress!

7. Let other bloggers know they’ve been nominated.

Work in progress!

Random Facts

1. When I was in 7th grade, I won an essay contest sponsored by Coca-Cola. I was selected to be a torch bearer in my hometown of Clanton, Alabama for the 1996 Olympics!

“Olympic Spirit” essay

2. I was a cheerleader in high school. This is a photo of me and one of my best friends, Hannah in 2000.

Hannah and Me

3. I’m training for a half-marathon! My ultimate running goal is to run the Kauai Marathon someday… Most of you probably know that one of my favorite places is the Hawaiian island, Kauai. I can’t imagine a better place to run a marathon!

4. I have seen every episode of Days of Our Lives since 6th grade!

5. I am still very close to my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Renee’ Powers! She has always been a big part of my life… through notes in the mail, phone calls, and emails. I bought my condo in Auburn from her and when I got engaged, she hosted our engagement party!

Me with my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Powers

6. I have donated my hair to Locks of Love multiple times! I am currently growing it back out so I can donate again!

My 2nd donation to Locks of Love

7. I have been an Atlanta Braves fan for as long as I can remember! I will be super sad when Chipper Jones retires at the end of this season!

Chipper Jones

I’m participating in the 500 follower giveaway at Miss Nelson’s blog! I will be giving away $15 to my web store, Polka Dot Parlor! There are other bloggers giving away TpT packets, gift cards, and much more! Click on the picture below to check it out! Don’t forget to follow my blog on Facebook! I’ll be having a giveaway of my own when I reach 100 fans!

Some of my favorite items from my web store include:

PSA Essentials personalized stampers! These are great to use for address stamps, personalizing books or other items, and gifts for friends or family!

Personalized tumblers! If you love monograms, this is the tumbler for you!

Personalized cell phone case! These cases are very durable and can be personalized any way you choose!