Please help!

1.

I have been searching and searching am determined to find graphic sets like the ones used here: 

If you click on the Common Core button on my right side you can see the full effects. I am presently designing work for the PTO at my school and need these colors/graphics. 

2.  How do you make handwriting lines (the primary style) with solid top/bottom and dotted middle? I am trying to make some activities for the beginning of school.

Now some good news: Toys R Us has 4 boxes of the Crayola crayons for $1. Cool price!

Office Depot has 1 cent folders (limit of ten).

What deals have you found? I really really need glue but haven't seen it anywhere on sale. Our district doesn't allow asking parents for supplies. No supply list at all. So, I really try to catch the best deals!

Target "Practice"

It means it is school time when the dollar spot at Target calls my name. I really hit the jackpot today. If I had wanted plastic book baskets I could have had those too. It had everything!!!

Those little bins will hold pencils. I can use the chalkboard area to label--sharpened and dull.

I really don't have a function just yet but they sure match my border in the room so I just had to pick up two.

Poly folders WITH brads and pockets were a steal for 50 cents each. I have some already so only picked up eight.

I love these dry erase boards with handwriting lines. I picked up five to use for word work station or guided reading work with me.

Of course--I picked up a couple more pocket charts. They had FOUR colors--green, blue, red, and purple. I don't really have a shortage but may need two of course.  (I think there is a two problem for me!)

A new trash can for me by the guided reading table. It was in the "college" section but was only $2. 

My greatest find--buy two HP cartridges and get one free. So I racked up a savings of $15 by Target's good deal. I was a happy shopper.

On to Dollar Tree to pick up three more of these babies. I have five of these so one for each table group. I recently attended a Math workshop and want to use an idea I gained. When we are using Math manipulatives put five different types of manipulatives so the kids have a choice. I tend to use those double sided red/yellow circles most of the time. But this year we will have a variety to choose from.

Well, since I now have printer cartridges I better get busy printing, laminating, and cutting out!

Table Spot Labels

I am wanting to easily identify students in a group of desks. Recently I set the desks in groups of four.

Now that the tables are in groups of four I am going to laminate five of the polka dot sheets to lay on the center of each group. Since I only need five I can decide which colors to use.


Polka Dot Table Numbers


I plan to use them to identify table helpers such as kids that will pass out papers or collect papers or have a restroom break. Lots of different ways to quickly call or identify students.

Let me know of ways that you think of utilizing them in your classrooms. Comments are good.

Classroom Tour

I'm leaving for two weeks. When I return there will be two weeks before staff development. My carpet hasn't been cleaned. Maybe it will. Maybe it won't.

In order for me to rest my mind during our vacation--taking care of mother in law during surgery maybe but mostly checking on her health. That run on sentence really shows my present state of mind. 

So I actually feel more myself in my classroom. Here are a few pics I took with my phone today. Not the greatest $1000 view. Not crisp. Not quality. But you have to admit that they are pictures.

This is the view from the doorway. I changed the set of desks to five groups of desks with four kids in each group. (I learned something new from inservice/workshop today that I intend on trying. I plan to make a freebie and will share--while on my vacation that really isn't a vacation. But you already know that!)

This is the view I will see quite a bit! It is from the front of the room next to the whiteboard/Smartboard which is a whiteboard with projector with SmartSlate. Another run on sentence but it will suffice! I am proud to have it! These are the three groups of desks on my middle/right.

My view looking toward the two groups on my left.

This is looking toward the front of the room. My chart stand/reading area where I display our anchor charts. 

This is looking toward the front of the class/Smartboard area. I have my desk in the front and I use it only to place my lesson plans, Thirty-One basket with files for daily activities/work, and the SmartSlate. I sit in the chair to use the remote for displaying. Above the board I have two word walls. I need to take the words down but the words above are the Dolch words and the math words are below the alphabet.

You can move a little and see my desk, mailboxes, and classroom door. The two metal cabinets show the rules and behavior clip chart.

My board surrounded by dotted border and lights above. 

The student computers are placed in front of our long bulletin board. I covered it with fabric (which looks wrinkled but once it is full of "stuff" it will be fine. I think. Maybe. Oh--well, it will do!

My first board is when the kids make their faces and hold their favorite books. See the ones from last year. The kids begged to take them home but I enjoyed looking at them. I delayed. I hedged. I followed Reading With Meaning. But...finally...I caved and let them take them home. (Wonder how many are still living and not in the trash?)

So. good-bye. Off to Florida.  Vacation or not!

Blogging 100 Followers

Mrs. Shelton has reached 100 followers! You can visit her blog to take a look at her fan--tas--tic giveaway from fellow Tennessee bloggers! She has had some super ideas that she has blogged about. It is great to actually know some fellow bloggers from my district. So be sure to enter for some great and fun prizes.

Classroom Setup 101/2012I

I have begun. The fun part of getting ready for a new year. The silent, calm classroom. No. one. in. the. hall.

I just went in to do a couple little of straightening and organizing. But, you know, one thing leads to another leads to another.

I decided to make a couple more banners to label the reading anchor charts and the weekly words. Which led to moving the calendar and the set of lights.

I don't have a picture of the lights because, well, someone may have forgotten to charge the batteries for the camera. ('That is another story).  

The one little project I thought I could accomplish in no time at all was to finish labeling and leveling the fiction /author/section of my library. I started this project while my student teacher was teaching. Which may have been a few minutes here and there project that wasn't successful. I do have excuses--one being that my color cartridge was out on my school printer. And since those babies cost $40 I kept putting it off and off and off. I found out by reading a blog that Amazon has some reasonable prices so I managed to purchase two for $5 each., Total with shipping was $15 and I received them. Back to my story--I did finish one section but it took longer than I expected.

A return address label is placed on each book with a picture that matches the one on the basket. The color dot is the AR level we use. I'm also going through each basket and getting rid of  donating extra copies of books to a new teacher. The baskets were so full the kids couldn't even tell what we had.

I use yellow baskets for fiction, aqua baskets for non-fiction, and blue for author sets. I moved the author's set below the READ banner. (On top will be learning stations.)

So, step one! 

Tonight is relaxing time. Our power has been off not one but two nights this week. We had a horrible storm about 3 p.m. yesterday. It knocked down three huge trees and a power pole in our neighborhood. We didn't realize it was this bad. But the power company worked all night --yes all night--to get our power on by around nine this morning. My Kindle was not fully charged. My cell phone wasn't charged. The two things that I could have used to weather the storm weren't much help. So, tonight I have a date with my Kindle!

July????

O.K. It seems like June has disappeared for this year. Where did it vanish to? (HMMM I think I ended that question with a preposition.)

Farley has set up her July linky party. I've never participated but maybe July is the new second half of the year. 

I even went so far as reading the rules. And it is July...And I am finished with teaching as of tomorrow (well for a month anyway!)

It is really hot. Steaming hot. I think it is on a lot of people's minds. When all you hear is talk about the weather it is really a dull day or the weather is top priority--almost like will we have a snow day tomorrow???

It is dry. Grass--brown. Garden--so sad!  Flowers--trying to save.  Newly planted azaleas--I think dying.

So, I will pray for rain!