Assessments Already ?!?

That's right, we are starting the second week of school tomorrow and on Tuesday my county starts our benchmark testing, mClass Reading 3D. Now if any of you teach first grade, you know that having those babies sit and work independently at the beginning of the year is a stretch and this is where the problem arises! I completely forgot how needy first graders are at the beginning of the year., this is only my second year in first grade as it is!  I went into this year thinking about how much last years babies could do, that was a HUGE mistake! 

I have been stressing out ALL weekend about what my firsties can do independently while I being testing all 21 of them! Now don't get me wrong, I will be glad to have the testing out of the way and to get all that wonderful data for those lovelies, BUT ... WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSE TO DO WITH THEM ?!?! 

I need advice, help, answers, resources, reassurance, anything that you think may be beneficial!!! 

Better Late Than Never - Classroom Reveal

I can't believe it's time to get back into the daily grind of the school year! I feel like Summer just started! I guess that could be since I spent the first half of vacation at school! Open House went well on Wednesday night and my room is all ready for those bright smiling faces tomorrow morning! We had to make a last minute change, my teammate will now be doing a combo class, again, and I gained three more kiddos!!! I'm trying to stay positive and make the best of it though :) 

I never got around to posting pictures of my classroom before Open House, so here are a few before the days of learning take over and it doesn't look so new and clean anymore. 

**I just realized/remembered I'm going to have to have another table, more chairs, and another bookshelf! Not to mention, I'm not sure if that carpet will hold 21 firsties! 

 Super Improvers Wall as you walk in the door. 

 View from the doorway- The back of the bookcase is chalk and normally has a welcome message for my students. 

 Classroom view from the door. 

 Looking left from the door. Student cubbies and tables

 Front of the room from a side angle

 Front/Side area- behind the chair is our calendar and Letterland area. 

 View from the front of the classroom. 

WARNING! This next image has nothing to do with this blog post :) 

This weekend, the hubby and I, went to the NASCAR race in Bristol, TN. While there I made a new friend with this Praying Mantis! He sat on my boot for 30-45 minutes just looking around! The people sitting around us thought it was the coolest thing! 

If you are already back in school, I hope your first week went well! If you are starting back tomorrow with me, I'll be thinking about you :) 

Five For Friday

It seems I am always a day late when it comes time for Five for Friday! I just can't even get it done on time! Late is better than never though right? 

I spent all week at a Reading Foundations training and I learned so much! It was an amazing week filled with lots of new knowledge and ideas about teaching reading. We discussed how all the parts [phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension] all fit together to made a solid reader. We also discussed ways that we can help our students be successful in al those areas, plus ways to identify areas a student may be struggling. Parts of the training were reassurance that we were already doing the right things in our classrooms! 

Before training each morning, I went to school to work in my classroom! We received our calendar for the teacher workdays next week and everyone went into panic mode. Not only do we have 9,000,000 meetings, they also moved Open House to a Wednesday instead of Thursday. Losing that whole day makes HUGE difference on my stress load! 

After working on my room for about an hour each morning this week, I also went to school today to work from 8:00 - 3:00. I accomplished so much today and am feeling a little bit better about my classroom. 

 Word Wall is up! Just have to add the Kindergarten words for the beginning of the year! 

Calendar and Letterland is up and ready to go :) 

Just tonight, I submitted a Donors Choose project for MP3 players in my classroom. Currently, I only have 1 old tape player. It only sometimes works, and my students struggle to get the tapes in. I'm hoping that having 10 MP3 players will give my students wonderful opportunities to sit back and enjoy listening to a good book. 

This year, I am incorporating Whole Brain Teaching into my classroom and I am SO excited about it! Here is my Super Improvers Wall, just waiting for a title :) 

What did YOU do this week? 

August Currently... A few days late

Good Morning to all you wonderful people reading this little blog of mine! I'm linkin' up with Farley, at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the August Currently! 

Right now I am listening to the sweet sound of NOTHING. The TV is off, the Hubby is sleeping, the pups are curled up sleeping. It's just me and the blog this morning :) 

I am loving these last few days I have to curl up on the couch with a good book and the pups. Next week is a Reading Foundations training, followed by teachers workdays the next week. 

I CANNOT believe I finally sold a product on TpT! I am so excited!! Its crazy to think someone actually wants my stuff!! 

With that being said, I want my creative strike to hit again so I can make even more things! Maybe this afternoon ;)

I just came back from a 10 day vacation with my grandma! (more on that later) and I really need to do laundry. Lucky for me, I get to spend the morning at the eye doctor, so that will have to wait also! 

B2S RAK: I'm planning to make notes of encouragement to all the teachers at my school and leave them with little candies in their boxes. I am always the first person to get to school, other than the janitor of course, so I should have no problem keeping it a secret! 

If you haven't already, go link up with Farley now! For those of you already starting back, I hope your first few days are wonderful! If you're like me, enjoy the last few days of summer! 

Quick Update :)

As many of you know, I am vacationing with my grandma right now in St. Louis, MO. We have been having a blast and I will have a lot to share a little later. I just wanted to pop on and say that the word wall cards that match my Bright Chevron Header Cards are now ready in my TpT store.

These would be the perfect addition of a bright pop of color for any K-1 class. Right now, all of Kindergarten and first grade is included, but second grade will be added soon. Click below to check them out :)

 I'm so very new at this whole TpT thing. Any advice would be greatly welcomed :) :)

Five for Friday and TpT

Hey there! Linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for: 

I have finally jumped off the ledge and posted my product(s) on TpT !!!! The first product was my Word Wall Header Cards that I had made for my classroom. 

I also posted an excel file I have been working on for awhile. I used the first grade version last school year to help me keep all my student data, for mClass, in one spot. It was nice being able to glance down and see who needed what. I also took this to data meetings and to planning. It is SO much easier than having to log onto the website, find the child, and then find the area you are looking for. 

This is my actual data from last year! I had all of the Exceptional Children, and most of the students who were below level coming into first grade. My teammate had a 1/2 combo class so it was only fair, or so they say. This year we will both be teaching ONLY first, so I am looking forward to it!

Just another look. Each worksheet has the grade specific benchmark outpoints at the top. Each is also set to turn red, yellow, or green based on the student data. 

If you use mClass, I know you would love to have all your data in one spot. Click below to go check it out in my store :) 

I haven't been able to get into my classroom at all this week! I have been going stir crazy sitting inside the house. However, I have been obsessing over Whole Brain Teaching! I have been reading blog post, watching periscopes and youtube videos! I am going to do my best to incorporate as much as possible this year! I think this will make a huge improvement in my classroom environment this year! I also have a few more teachers at my school on board! 

I have been packing like crazy! This weekend I leave for a 10 day vacation to my "second home" I haven't been to in over 4 years! I remember in middle school spending all summer in Missouri; having some of the best times of my life. I finally get the chance to go back for 10 days! Needless to say, I cannot wait !! 

To be completely honest, I have been so lazy this week, I have NOTHING for number 5. My couch and I have become best friends this week since I haven't been able to be at school. I'm sure my pups are loving it though! They are curled up at my feet as I type :) 

Cricut Classroom

A while back I posted a picture of Mother's Day cards I have created with my Cricut Explore Air. At the time, I had recently purchased this wonderful machine for card making and scrapbooking type stuff. 

Then, as I was cutting circle for my word wall headers by hand, a light bulb went off. This Cricut has a "Print then Cut" feature! This means that I can design the items on the Cricut software, print them on my regular printer, and have the circuit cut them out for me! 

 I had all of these done it a matter of minutes! The best part is they are all perfectly cut and the EXACT same size! 

New colors meant new word wall cards too! I had all of these typed up ready to print, dreading cutting them all out. What did I do? Moved them over to the Cricut Design Studio, made sure they were the size I wanted, printed and cut! All the Kindergarten sight words ready to be put on clothes pins and hung up! 

The last thing I made were these header cards. I LOVED this idea from Third Grade Thoughts. I had already changed the colors and the fonts to semi match my classroom this year. Instead of cutting them out by hand, I uploaded them to the Cricut, printed and cut, and then all I had to do was tape them down into my planner. 

I can see LOTS of classroom items coming from the Cricut Explore Air before this school year is over!