Elf on the Shelf {directed drawing}

It's been a long time since I have posted, and I hope everyone has had a great school year so far! As I mentioned this summer, I made the grade jump from Kindergarten to 3rd grade and I am teaching at a new school. I've been super busy but am loving every minute of it. I thought I would share a couple of ideas to get you through the next week before break. Recently I did a directed drawing of the Elf on the Shelf with my third graders. It was super easy and they turned out so cute! You can find the steps below, Also, if you are having a hard time taming the pre-winter break chaos, here's a great idea for behavior.... I use a clip chart in my room, and if the students get to the top of the chart, I will wrap their desk in wrapping paper. I purchased paper from the dollar store and the kids have been working so hard to get their desk wrapped. It's very cheap, easy, and effective! Have a great Christmas break! My resolution for 2017 is to post more on the blog :)

This is what the gift wrapped desks look like :) so fun! 

Hands on...Math!

Week 2 of the school year is finished and I can finally breathe and say...I think I've got this! New school, new grade level, new kids, new team, new chapter! I was terrified of going into a COMPLETELY different ball game, thinking omg 3rd grade is going to be awful, I'm going to sure miss my Kindergarten babies. And although I do miss my sweet Kinders, I am LOVING 3rd grade. I did not think I would like it as much as I do, and to be honest I believe this might just be where I am supposed to be. I'm really starting to get  in a groove and am excited to start putting my special twist on lesson plans and activities for my class. This week was our first week for Worksheet Free Wednesday, and it was a total success. I thought I would share some of the activities we did with our hands-on math... I dropped the ball and didn't take any pics of our hands on reading! So today, let's talk numbers!

Yes, these are place value cups, I'm sure you've seen them on Pinterest. This is one of the cheapest manipulatives you could ever make. It only took 80 cups for 20 students to have a place value set of their own that included thousands, hundreds, tens and ones.  I used a different color sharpie for each value. What you don't see in the picture (sorry) is the zeros... I actually wrote out how many zeros on each number, so students knew what order to stack the cups.

We also worked on subtracting two digit numbers and regrouping (borrowing)... I wish someone would've taught me, years ago, the meaning behind borrowing... Kids get so hung up on this concept, and get stuck in saying things like "you borrow 1".. "1 what?????" I ask them! I want them to explain to me exactly what they are doing here. That's why I love these new magnetic base ten block we have.. Students are able to actually take ten away from a number and see how it is added to the ones in order to make the number bigger. I'm a visual person, and this is so helpful to those that struggle with the whole concept of borrowing. 

I hope everyone has had a great start to another amazing school year! Can't wait to share more of my third grade adventures and to see what you are doing in your classroom! Happy teaching! 

Target finds and Donors Choose

July is the time where I start getting really giddy about back-to-school! I love seeing supplies getting ready to be out at local stores, I love finding awesome treasures at Target Dollar Spot. I also love filling up my TPT wishlist with lots of back-to-school goodies as well as creating some amazing resources. What I love even more, is getting my classroom ready. I love creating a space fit for a new year. I like to change things up each year just to keep it interested for myself as well as my kiddos. I found lots of goodies this year the dollar spot in Target.. I also caved and got the super cute light box from Michaels. Here are a few of my favorite finds for back-to-school...
 
In this pic you see the clock, but it's more than just a clock.. it's a chalkboard clock, I got a few of these for centers. The students can use the chalk to write the minutes! Also shown in the picture above is felt money sets.. Our third graders are required to make change out of $20! Another great center activity! You also see maps, a calendar set, and sentence strips! Such great finds! I love Target Dollar Spot.

One of my favorites that I found was the infamous Light Box from Michaels. I am in love with this thing... I will be posting more about this later with tons of ideas of how to use it in your classroom! But if I was you I would make a mad dash to your local Michaels as these are flying off the shelves! They are on clearance for half off and you can use your teacher discount on top of that!


This isn't that cool, but I found this awesome spool of colorful clothespins. This spool came with 25 and be used for clip charts or hanging students work.. Not bad for $3.. This was found at Target!

I am in love with these Emoji stamps.. I can't wait to put these on the kiddos work. I just know they will love it! I found them on amazon.



This was my fav Target Dollar Spot find. It's a dry-erase map of the USA. This thing is large, big enough for 3-4 students to work at. This will be great for a center, or something for your early finishers to work on! I love it because for $3 you got the large map, a marker, an eraser, and a small answer key. Way to go Target!


This is just a must have for back-to-school! This is my third year to purchase the Teacher Anchor from Chandra at C.Jayne Teach.. It's amazing, you can see my more thorough review of the product here.

I will definitely be posting more pics of my back-to-school finds as soon as I get moved into my new classroom! Come back to see my new classroom! Before I go... I would love if you would check out my project on Donors Choose! Since I am moving from Kindergarten to Third grade I am lacking books fit for third graders. My Donors Choose project is to help create my classroom library. I would love and appreciate any help and support, if you can't support I would love if you could share my link on Facebook or any other social media!

DONATE HERE

Summer Break + 2016 Teacher Anchor Review

Hi everyone! Summer break is here and I could not be more thrilled! I have taken a break from the blogging world since I've had my little girl, Spencer, in January.  I'm so excited to spend the summer with my baby girl and plan for next year! Speaking of, have you gotten your new Teacher Anchor yet? It truly amazes how these keep getting better and better each year! C. Jayne Teach has the best teacher planner ever! I know that May is a time when teachers are tired and ready to close in on another school year and take a break. BUT nothing gets me pumped up and excited then receiving my new Teacher Anchor each May. This will be my 3rd year using the Teacher Anchor and I love it.... Here's a little review in case you are looking for a planner or considering the Teacher Anchor for yourself.

When I first started teaching, the Teacher Anchor was on my wish list! Now looking back, my first Teacher Anchor is like a diary of my first year teaching. It's full of all my big ideas that I had for Kindergarten, things that went great, things that didn't go so great, and everything in between.. It's worn and tattered, but will always hold those first year memories.. 

As you can see, I definitely took my Anchor everywhere.. It is coffee stained, erased, scribbled, and full of all my first year fun! This Anchor had a paper cover, since then it has been updated to a vinyl type material for durability. 

This is my 2015 Teacher Anchor.. You can tell it has held up a lot better due to the change in cover! I love all of her designs! This thing made planning for my maternity leave so much easier! 

You can see that you have lots of room to jot down your plans... I write rather large and always have plenty of room to get it all down! (this is the 2015) 

Jump forward to the new and improved 2016 Teacher Anchor 

The new Teacher Anchor is bright and cheery and available in polka dots or stripes! (sigh) the colors just make my planning heart happy! 

Here are few highlights from the 2016 Teacher Anchor that I love: 

As always, there is lots of room for  

planning.. I love the little side column to use as a checklist for things to get done. I'm a list girl and feel so accomplished and organized when I can check things off my list!  

 I love this section for IEP goals!! How handy! It is so great to have this for documentation too! 

This is my favorite! The small group section!! I love this for my small group time!! Makes Daily 5/Guided Reading so much more organized! Also, great documentation to have handy for your principal! 

This is really is nice to have for a sub so they know where the kiddos go at the end of the day... It makes it great for having in the planner so it's always with you! 

I love this section for professional development.. I am going to do some PD this Summer and this will be so handy! 

                     

The year-at-a-glance feature is wonderful! Especially since I am teaching a different grade this year. This will help me stay focus on track! I love how she allows you to plan daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly! 

There was a similar note section in the 2015, but not as detailed as this.. I love this! I use this to help me organize my to-do's for Teachers Pay Teachers too. 

(Ha! I look like a collector!) 

So not only does C. Jayne Teach have the best planners, they also have other goodies you need to check out! I can't wait to order the adorable and colorful notepads, clipboards, and many other cute necessities for my classroom. 

I hope everyone has a great summer! I can't wait to do some poolside planning with this cutie :)