Monday, July 30, 2012

YOU MIGHT BE A TEACHER IF…

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….your dining room table has now become the home office,

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you’re stirring your dinner, while watching the laminator to see if its ready for another sheet,

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and your kids ask you where they can sit because your sofa is covered with materials you’re cutting out for the new year! OMG, you can tell exactly where I’ve been plopped down cutting ‘til my little heart’s content, LOL! Do you think I need to pick a different spot? Give the poor chair a break? Does anyone else’s house look like this?  Please tell me that its not just me, lol!

July has come and is almost gone.  It’s time to get down to the nitty gritty folks! I’m so excited to have prepped the “look” of my classroom because now my brain can move on to what we’re going to “do” in the midst of all the cuteness!

AND can I just say that my little rainbow labels turned out so pretty! :-) I know that I’m a little biased, but I just love them!  I can already picture them in place!

Our daily schedule is what drives the how, when, what, and where so I thought I’d share that with you today along with a fantastic find to help begin establishing the routines of The Daily 5.
schedule It took me a little while to wrap my mind around creating our schedule because it changed some from last year, but I finally figured out a good flow for us and am actually looking forward to the change.  Our new schedule allowed for a dedicated time for us to work on writing, another of my loves because its so closely tied to reading success.

As I created our schedule, I was also all smiles to still have my nice lonnnnnnng block of uninterrupted time for literacy.  THAT is my FAVORITE 2 hours of the WHOLE day! One of the things that stood out to me in reading D5 was that students should spend a minimum of one and a half hours a day reading in school (in addition to instructional time). With a dedicated writing time scheduled earlier in the day, we can focus on grammar at that time and leave our reading time strictly to strategies that will help us grow as readers. *LOVE*

As I’ve been preparing for the new year, I’ve also been on the hunt for book boxes.  I never realized how expensive those bad boys are! The cheapest that I found was $45 for a set of 25 and that was for cardboard, not plastic!  Well, you know teachers are all about a bargain….

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…so after talking with my teaching bestie, we’ve been on the hunt! Can you guess where she found some for a whole whopping $1.00 each! You guessed it! Target’s $1 spot to the rescue!

Now, normally, I would want these to all match.  When she called to say that she had found some for a $1, I could’ve cared less what they looked like, lol! They could’ve had purple, polka dotted zebras riding giraffes on them and I would’ve still bought them! Did I mention that she was 2 hours away when she called?  Man! Between her, my sister, and myself, we were scouring every Target within a 2 hour radius to make sure we had complete class sets! Calling, texting, emailing…..we were on a mission!

If you live locally, forget about it….until they restock, lol! They’re all in my living room!  AND (call me) if you find anymore!!! HA!  Thanks, Chicas!

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Though they’ll be mismatched {Yes, I’ll get over it!}, I’ll bring their look together by using matching labels for student numbers.  These labels will also double as the numbers for my calendar from The Rainbow Room set.

Before I go, I wanted to tell you about a little change you might notice.  I had been using the comment pop up box. When I leave a comment on another blogger’s blog, its a nice feature, because, well, the comments come to you!  It keeps you from having to scroll all the way down the screen.  BUT!!!!!!!! I had a ton of returned emails this weekend, after trying to reply via email, so I decided to change my comments to embedded it so that I can jump in and reply in the comments thread.

When you reply via email using the handy dandy iphone, you can’t see whether or not a friend is a no-reply blogger or not, so I made that change to prevent getting so many returned emails.  If you’re interested in changing the settings for your comments so that bloggers can connect with you via email, click here to read a great post by Lori from Teaching With Love and Laughter.

Now! If you stuck around all the way to the end {thanks}….grab the picture below and link up to finish the sentence:  You might be a teacher IF…..  Share how you know it’s that time of year for you! 

you might be a teacher linky

21 comments:

  1. How well does your laminator work? I keep debating on whether or not I want to buy one. It is on my list of things to get before school starts back.

    ~Jenna
    Diving Into Learning

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    1. Definitely get one! It works great! The lamination is thicker and more durable than the big one @ school. I actually prefer to use this one for things that the kids will manipulate because the lamination is so much thicker. You'll love it! :-)

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    2. I gave in and bought one this afternoon :)

      ~Jenna

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  2. What a great idea for a linky party. I wonder what my family will think when I start taking photos of my table mess? :)

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  3. I have that laminator.. I love it!! Do you know that Lakeshore Learning sells the 100 pack sheets for 20 bucks. I think the Scotch brand is around 15 for 50 sheets.

    Target also sells the plastic book bins for 2.50 but you literally have to be in the store when they delivery them because they fly off the shelves. I was able to grab a bunch earlier in the summer.

    Tai Patrice

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    Replies
    1. Those bins are flying off of the shelf everywhere, lol! Thanks for the heads up about the lamination pouches! I bought that packet of 50 and its almost gone already! Thanks, again!

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  4. My dining room table looks exactly like yours! The fire place hearth is covered with school supplies and I can hardly get to my clothes on my side of the closet. School supplies everywhere!

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  5. This is a cute linky!! I definitely have a few to add. I'll be linking up! :)
    Lisa
    Learning Is Something to Treasure

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  6. OMG!!! I love those book boxes!! I always shop the dollar spot, and I never would have known that's what they look like!! I'm so glad you showed a picture. I'm definitely going!! Thanks!

    Angela
    The Daily Alphabet

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  7. Your dining room table = my coffee table. :) I bought some of those book boxes last year at Target, but I need more. Looks like I will be heading to Target tomorrow. Always enjoy reading your posts.

    Heather (heathernnance@yahoo.com)

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    Replies
    1. Hey, Heather! I got the email I've been waiting for! We're getting keys this week! Yay!! Now, I can clear it all out and decorate my little home away from home for the year! {All Smiles} :-)

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  8. well if you are not in ohio i'll be scooping me some $1 goodies at target this week lol ;) great finds!

    you might a teacher if.... you go goo gaa over $1 bins at target lol! ;)

    it ok i had two cart full at the local dollar tree when i found all their teaching stuff and recently spent a large sum at walmart when found .88 cents classroom stuff.

    so i understand. now only if they had shopper aa. for teachers, as long as we dont let it get that bad. ;) lol

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    1. LOL!!! Too cute...Walmart had some REALLY great stuff for under a $1 this year! Thanks for stopping by, Pamela! :-)

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  9. I LOVE it! I am about to link up! I am also one of your newest followers!

    Tonya
    Tonya’s Treats for Teachers
    I’m having a 40% off sale at my TN store! Come check it out!!!

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  10. I love your word wall headers! How can I get them? I looked on TPT can't find them.
    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Katie! I actually just finished prepping those little cuties myself! They're a part of The Rainbow {Classroom Labels} in my store....I've attached the link below! Thanks, again!


      http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Rainbow-Room-Classroom-Labels

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  11. Love the book boxes! How did I miss those? I frequent Target at three times a week! I probably saw them folded up and didn't know what they were! Back to Target tomorrow! I'm not sure if you live near a Sam's Club but they sell a 200 pack of laminating sheets for $20-best deal I've found! I, too, like this lamination better than the one at school, which is why I have two machines! One for home, one for school! I'm your newest follower-love your blog design. I just started blogging Saturday! Come by and visit!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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  12. Oh my goodness! I am so glad to know that my dining room table is not the only one completely covered in school stuff!! I have so many books and papers on the table you can't even see the top! Only a teacher would understand!

    Teresa Williams
    2nd grade Pig Pen

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  13. You'll just LOVE those boxes from target! I found them back in the $ spot back in maybe, February! They held up wonderfully! I saw the ones you got recently and I felt better knowing that if I need more, they will probably get more in at different times if the year :)

    We go back at the end of August, so I have about a week or so before my house is transformed like yours ;). (kids start after labor day....)

    Angie
    www.rulintheroost.blogspot.com

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  14. Love this linky party. :) Just joined. Totally saw those star student seat covers at Target - great find! :)

    Emily
    Tangled with Teaching

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