October...CURRENTLY/Sunday Scoop

Happy Fall!!!! It is currently OCTOBER!!!!! I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 3rd Grade for her monthly currently link up and Teaching Trio for their Sunday Scoop link up:) 

Here is goes.....

Listening: Who doesn't love some football on a Sunday?!? This week my NY Jets are in London playing against the Miami Dolphins so I had to wake up extra early for their 9:30 am kickoff!! 

Loving: Since the game was so early this morning I am still in my PJs enjoying snuggling on the couch and catching up on some blogging! #IloveSundays

Thinking: I can't be the only one who dreads putting their clothes away. I have a basket of clothes that has been taunting me since yesterday and I am finding anything else in the world to do rather than put those clothes away :( It is 2015 someone should have invented something to do it for us by now! 

Wanting: I am starting addition properties with my student this week and they LOVE OVE LOVE playing scoot games to review their skills. I started an addition properties October themed scoot game and I want to get it finished before the end of the week so my students can play it on Friday. 

Needing: COFFEE!!! Dunkin Donuts X-large light and sweet with cream to be more specific :) I am addicted and need it daily! 

BOO-tiful- I LOVE all of the colors and decoration for fall. It is my favorite time of year :) 

So excited my hubby planned a trip to New Orleans for our 1 year anniversary!!!!! Anyone from New Orleans or has been to New Orleans what are some must do activities and places that we must eat at?!?!?! I am so excited and would love some advice! 

Well....time to put some clothes away  finish watching the Jets game snuggled up on the couch :) 

Classroom Reveal!!!

WOWW!!! I can't believe that it has been so long since my last post :( This summer I was super busy! I was working TWO jobs while still trying to enjoy my time "off" I am super excited to start my 5th year of teaching! We started school on September 8th.....So without any delay here is my classroom reveal! 

  

This is a view of my classroom from my doorway. I do not use desks and I do not have one myself...I LOVE IT!!! Does anyone else use tables only? I also do not give my students assigned seats. Everyday when they come into school they get to choose where they feel they want to sit that day. I believe in giving my students the choice in how they learn throughout the day.

Above is all some pictures from all angles in my classroom. This was before a few minor changes and additions to my decor :) 

NOW for my FAVORITE space in my room.....OUR BOOK NOOK!!!!! I saw this on Pinterest last year and could not for anything figure out how I was going to make this in my classroom. This past summer I was given the book shelf on the left and immediately knew that I was going to create a Book Nook for my students! They love reading in the Book Nook.....Inside on the left are book bins filled with different levels for all students to enjoy. On the right side (inside) I have picture frames on the filing cabinet and I take pictures of students reading in the Book Nook and put them up for them to see while they are reading :) 

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to visit the other amazing blogs for some more classroom reveals! 

Tell All Tuesday: BUCKET LIST!!!!

Head on over to My Day in K or Teach Talk Inspire to link up with this summer weekly linky party! 

My 'teacher bucket list' is very long but I will only focus on my main goals for the near future :) 

1. I have been talking about going back for my Masters for a long time now....I am struggling between going back for my Masters in Special Education: Autism and Development, or going back to get my BCBA.....what have you gone back to school for? 

2. I am still new (under 1 year) to TPT and I would love to grow my store. Not only get more followers but add products to my store. I differentiate every lesson in my classroom for each of my students and I am constantly creating mew products for them...I have to work on getting them TPT ready so that I can post them! 

3. I would love to attend the TPT Conference in Vegas! I am hoping that next year this will be a real possibility. I love going to workshops and conferences and getting to learn some new techniques to strategies that work for other teachers. What have been some workshops or conferences that you have been to that you feel have been beneficial? I am always looking for great ones to attend! 

Don't forget to head on over to My Day in K or Teach Talk Inspire to link up!

TPT Seller Challenge: Dare to Dream!!

Happy Monday!!!! Today is my FIRST day of summer vacation!!! It is also week 2 of the #TPTSellerChallange :) This week the challenge is to blog about our TPT dreams! I am still so new to TPT and blogging but I have some big dreams! So here it goes......

They said go big...so I went BIG! I have some big dreams when it comes to what I want out of my TPT store...I know that it is going to be a long and slow road but like they say 'go big or go home' :) 

1. My first goal for my TPT store is to be able to pay off my student loans! 

2. Along the lines of paying off my student loans I would also love to pay off the new truck that we just bought :) My husband and I just recently bought a new Kia Sorento and adding that debt onto all of my student loans was a tough one. I would love to be debt free!! 

3. VEGAS!!!! I am hoping that by next summer I will have built up my blog and store enough to help me get to Vegas for the TPT conference!! I wanted to go this year but was not able to swing it and being so new I figured I would give it at least a year of blogging and being on TPT before I could justify going :) (I am looking forward to seeing all of the Instagram pics and posts about Vegas!)

4. I would love to renew my vows in Italy...I wanted a destination wedding in Italy but some of our family members are unable to travel and would not have been able to make it so I would love to be able to renew my vows in Italy one year. 

Make sure to visit Sparkling in Second Grade, Teach Create Motivate, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Third in Hollywood  to link up and check out some other TPT seller dreams!!! 

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Makeover Madness!!!!

So if you have not heard (or joined) the TPT Sellers Challenge make sure you go do it now! This challenge is hosted by some amazing bloggers: Sparkling in Second Grade, Teach Create Motivate, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Third in Hollywood :) 

This weeks challenge was to revamp a product that we had in our store! I chose to revamp the cover page for my teacher toolbox. This is my MOST wish listed item and the cover was very boring!! This was one of my first products that I ever posted and it needed a face lift. Below is what it looked like before and then after :) Still not 100% happy with it but I am closer than I was with the original! 

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE TEACHER TOOLBOX

Make sure to check out the other products that were given a little facelift for the #TPTsellerchallenge 

Tell All Tuesday...REVEAL!

It is time for our big reveal! Keep reading below to find out what our lie was :) 

Becka and I went to the same elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. 

TRUE! Becka and I have been best friends since elementary school! We are so lucky to have gone all the way through college together and now we are partner teachers whose classrooms are NEXT DOOR to each other! How awesome?!?!?

I originally went to college at Fairleigh Dickinson University and after a year and a half transferred to a school closer to home.

LIE! I never went to FDU...I have gone to Montclair State University and finished my degree at Kean University :)  

We get to work everyday with our blogger besties from KNJ ! The lovely ladies from KNJ work upstairs and Becka and I work downstairs in the same school :) 

TRUE!! We get to work everyday with some of our best friends! The lovely ladies from KNJ teach in the same school as Becka and I :) 

No one guessed correctly but we are still going to give one lucky winner the product of their choice!! 

Congratulations Luv My Kinders!!! Please email us at sparklingsped@gmail.com with your product choice from our store :) 

Happy Saturday everyone! 

 

Learn Like a Pirate: Common Concerns about Student-Led Classrooms

(I would like to apologize in advance for the long post!!)

I am joining The Primary Gal the next chapter in Learn Like a Pirate! This week we are discussing some of the common concerns with a student-led classroom. I was excited to read this chapter and see if any of the concerns that Paul Solarz mentioned were concerns that I had myself.....SURPRISE....they were! It was great to read it and know that the concerns that I have are valid concerns and I really enjoyed hearing the response to the concerns. In this chapter 13 different concerns are discussed....I am going to touch on the four concerns that I also had :) 

                                          
                                     

This was a huge concern for me but after reading this chapter I am a bit more at ease with making mistakes. I have always tried to show my students that it is ok to make mistakes and I know that next year I will be making more of an effort to show them how to handle themselves when they make mistakes. I agree with Paul when he says that "failure and mistakes are an important part of the learning process." Students (and teachers!) need to make mistakes and fail every once in a while to learn from those mistakes. 

FALSE!!! This is definitely something that you can do!!! Like Solarz says, "teaching is hard no matter what we do." So why not try something new?!

I don't know about you but I am completely overwhelmed! Even though this will be my 5th year teaching I feel that I am always trying something new and learning new strategies to implement. Paul recommends trying to start out small and allow the students to have permission to interrupt a discussion when they feel that they have something to say. I think that this is an easy way to start and I will definitely be trying this at the beginning of the school year! I think that it is important for the students to feel that their opinions and voices are being heard. 

If your day is anything like mine there isn't a spare minute! I have to jam pack so much material into each day that I was not sure how to begin to implement a student-led classroom. This year I began to integrate science into my guided reading groups and after reading this chapter I am going to continue to try to incorporate other content. Solarz says in this chapter that the student will retain more because the content is not taught in isolation and I believe this statement whole heartedly. 

At the end of the chapter Paul Solarz discusses the benefits of a student-led classroom. Some of the benefits that he discusses are:

• Increased retention
• More time for feedback
• Positive teacher evaluation

This was a great chapter and I am looking forward to learning more about empowering my students and creating the best environment that I can for them :)