Wow oh WOW I am Wiped...but you are going to love this freebie!

I am absolutely love, love, love teaching second grade! The students are so much more independent and the days seem to go so much more smoothly. We have wonderful classroom discussions and they are really applying what they are learning in my ELAR class. It is FAB.U.LOUS!!!


Next week will be our Fall Open House. My teammate and I were thinking of a fun way to have the students share the second grade experiences so far this year. We created this super cute brochure for them to complete for their parents. I can't wait to make the connection to informational text!! Woohoo!!


I have created a first and second grade brochure for you all! If you need another grade, please feel free to let me know and I will be happy to create it for you.

First Grade Open House Brochure  

Second Grade Open House Brochure

 

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Oh! I also have not forgotten about the clipboard labels....stay tuned (I promise to post soon those as soon as they are done!)

Education Nation on MSNBC

I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone to tune in to MSNBC and the Education Nation Town Hall meeting that they are having today in New York City, New York!

Check it out :

 

Here is a new site where you can discuss and share your thoughts as well. It is sponsored by Donorschoose.org, Scholastic and the Bill Gates Foundation....I just signed up!



We can advocate for our students.
It starts by getting others to hear our message.

My Cup Runneth Over!

There are so many wonderful bloggers and I am so very grateful to all of you for your support.

I am so humbled and want to send my most sincere thanks to the following bloggers for inspiring me to continue to work diligently on my blog for all of you:

                 

                    

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

These are AMAZING blogs and to be nominated by them is such an honor! Please check out their blogs, become followers and show them some bloggie love!

I wear my button with great pride!!

Labor Day Weekend and a VERY Special Request

I am so excited that this is a long weekend!!

I really needed the extra day and the 4 day week ahead.

It has been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks!

I wanted to take a moment to ask a very special favor from all my wonderful blogging friends. With the Labor Day weekend, a very serious disease is brought to our attention. As you know, the Muscular Dystrophy Association has a marathon that is shown each year on this weekend.

A few years ago, I had the honor of meeting one of the sweetest young men I know. Austin was in my daughter's kindergarten class and I was so excited to know that he would be in my first grade. Austin was a wonderful student with a great sense of humor. I adored his stories and his zest for learning about subjects outside of the four walls of my classroom. Austin and I became great friends and he opened my eyes to the everyday struggles of a child with Muscular Dystrophy.

It has broken my heart to see what this disease can do to such a young and vibrant little boy. He has made the simple everyday activities so difficult for him in just a couple of short years but it has never broken his spirit. I am so blessed and honored to have been his teacher and to be able to learn from Austin's amaing strength everyday.

So, because my daughter, my family, my school and my community love Austin so dearly....I need your help. Austin has set a goal to raise $6,600 for 90 minutes of research.

If we all give just one dollar, just one dollar, we can come together to raise over $700.

Another great way to help is to share this post through your blog, facebook and twitter. Help me bring attention to the chance to help find a cure for kids like Austin.

Here is a video of Austin from last year,  when he was chosen as a MDA Ambassador. Are they not the most amazing family?

Just click

to link directly to Austin's fundraising page!

A most sincere thank you to those of you that have taken the time to share this post and donate. It means more than you could ever know.

A little something that I think that you will LOVE!

Happy Sunday!! I am so glad to have the had a very successful first week of school!! I would love to have just one more day to stretch the weekend out but I am ready for another great week with my new second graders!

I wanted to share something that makes organizing all the folders and spirals that can be found in my ELAR classroom. Using the adorable graphics from Thistle Girl Designs, I created labels for each of the folders and spirals that my second graders use during our ELAR block.

These are the folders that we use:

Work Folder

Writing Folder

and we use the following spirals:

Treasure Book (personal journal)

Writer's Notebook

Reader's Response

Now, I went around and around thinking about how to organize their supplies and decided that I would use a numbering system. This way they know their numbers, it corresponds with my gradebook, and I know when I have everyone's supplies (or if someone's is missing).

So I made generic name labels to use with my kiddos that I can but on anything I pass out.

When I created the files, I used the Avery label number in the file name and I hope that all the labels print out beautifully for you. Please feel free to let me know if anything needs to be tweaked :)

looking for a few more ideas?
I shared this on:

One Extra Degree

Three for Thursday at Blog Hoppin'

Happy Thursday!! The first week of school is going well and I am LOVING second grade!!

For this post, I get to mention some of my favorite addictions things...FONTS, BLOGS and RESOURCES!!

I love fonts. Adore them. Can't live with out them....ok, maybe I could but things just wouldn't be as cute!!

Here is a link to some of my favorite fonts:

I also have a sqwrol with lots of fabulous font websites:



One of my favorite blogs (which is hard to say because there are so many wonderful blogs that I follow and I am sure have yet to discover)  is Lesson Plans SoS. I was lucky enough to win a $25 gift card to their shop and WOW are their products are A.MAZ.ING.

And last, resources! What would a teacher do without all the great resources that are out there created by other teachers! I love blogging and think it is one of the best kept secrets ever! I tell all the teachers that I come across to check out the blogging world to find a whole new group of sensational teachers to collaborate with and to share ideas....and definitely borrow a few.

Another great resource that I have come to love this summmer is Pinterest. If you haven't checked this out....oh.my.word... you are going to love it! It is like a visual file cabinet of all the great ideas that you find on the internet. Come and check mine out and become a follower. I am pinning all the time and love to share new ideas through this website.

Enjoy!!!

 

Teacher Talk Tuesday- Advice to New Teachers

Tonight, I am giving advice. The funny thing is that I am having some of those new teacher feelings! I taught first grade for 11 years and am now teaching second grade (which I am LOVING!!). The last few days have been a whirlwind and I am definitely on a learning curve!

 My advice to new teachers would be:

Study your lessons and know what you are teaching BEFORE you teach the lesson. There is a lot of studying that needs to happen so that you feel prepared.

Ask questions....lots and lots of questions.

Find a friend on campus that will make you laugh, wants to hear about your day and can give sound advice.

Beg, borrow and steal (fabulous ideas)!

Be willing to learn from the wonderful and experienced teachers around you. The best teachers always learn something new everyday.

Breathe.

To all the new teachers, welcome to one of the most amazing professions that exists. Teaching is a calling. Listen to your heart and remember that everyday is an opportunity to touch the life of a child. You DO make a difference.

Are you Blog Hoppin'?
Check it out for more fabulous words of wisdom!