for me friday: job interviewing.

As a recent graduate desperately searching for a teaching job, I can agonize with other newbies in my position.  It is ROUGH out there.  Not only are we trying to navigate through this new world of completely electronic applications and dealing with hundreds of documents we will never even though, but we are also trying to figure out what interviews will be like and how we will survive them and shine through to really show the teachers that we are!

Well… there is no one right answer or guidebook.  Except that there is.  Follow the link below to teacher interviewee heaven.  Of course it does not have every answer and things will need to be modified and expanded upon based upon your teaching style, experiences, etc., but at least it gives us some sort of idea of what to expect so we don’t walk in to the principal’s office wide-eyed and dry-mouthed, hitting ourselves later for not showcasing how great we really are.

http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/free-resources/professional-development/job-interview-tips

Good luck to everyone, myself included!! Hopefully we can look back on all this in two months from the cluttered mess of our new classrooms! 🙂

thoughtful thursday: kiss your brain.

KISS YOUR BRAIN!

I’m a sucker for little cliche things like this, so obviously one of these jars will be sitting on my desk come August.  I am still working out where I stand on giving rewards for things (I am set on solely intrinsic motivation in my classroom, but that is clearly spoken from someone who has never had a classroom).  Even though I don’t plan on using a reward system, I would like to have these to encourage everyone in my class!! I think there is a fine line between reward and encouragement, and I hope I can see it and carefully stay on the encouragement side.

But I just think this is so cute.  Every child loves candy, and it is nice to have a little break or treat to suck on while doing your work… something a little unexpected.

Now them needing to put a lock on it to stop me from constantly grabbing one is a whole other story…

wonder wednesday: sponge jenga.

Who doesn’t love Jenga?  I sure do.  But we all know how when it comes time for the tower to topple, we lean back, close our eyes, and brace ourselves for the loud crashing.

Well… not anymore, my friends.  I introduce to you: SPONGE JENGA!

Now I have seen ideas where sight words are printed on the sponges or math facts or what-have-you, and that is all fine and dandy.  But you know, sometimes kids just need to have a little fun!  I think this would be great for something as simple as an indoor recess activity.  Don’t get me wrong, I will most likely definitely use it for other activities as well (such as the sight words and the math facts), but I also love the idea of kids just playing a good ‘ole game of Jenga… minus the noise, of course!

Making this is simple.  Buy sponges (dollar store, hello?) and cut them in to two or three slices depending on how big the sponges are.  You’re finished.  Easy enough, right?!

tidy tuesday: organization drawers.

yes, please!!!!  These are genius.  It is needless to say that I am a huge fan of these organization drawers.  I know I will probably post 85 million ways to store stuff for lessons for the week, but I really think we are on to something here.  Folders are great for storing lesson plans, but DRAWERS, drawers can hold most of your materials as well!  You can already have pieces cut for crafts or dice divvied out or pipe cleaners with beads made of what have you and just store them for the right day!  That way if you get to something sooner or later than expected, you still know exactly where to find them or they can be moved to a different day!

I know this is a lot of work ahead of time, but wouldn’t you rather work for a big chunk of six hours after school one day and have the rest of your afternoons free than work for an hour or two every day?  I know I would.  Trust me, though, I know how easily this can backfire, and I haven’t even started teaching, yet!  I know depending on how some things go, you might change your lesson plans all together and late as the morning of, and then you will think you wasted all that time preparing for nothing.  Chances are, though, even if you don’t use that stuff, you will think of another use for that material OR it could be used in small groups… regardless of what plan you created it for, I’m sure it is good, helpful material that will still benefit students in the future.

And unexpected sick day?  Family emergency?  WAH-LA!  It is all there together for the substitute.  That will cut your time in half for writing directions for the sub.

You can bet these drawers are going to at least make an appearance in my first classroom!

make it monday:

I am all about showcasing student work when and wherever I can.  I know we are limited on wall space and our students create so many great things that we can’t possibly show it all, but I still like to rotate things frequently and display as much as possible.  That being said, we have enough to do without staying after school for an extra two hours just switching out student work.  That is why when I saw the following picture, I smacked myself on the head.  Why didn’t I think of this?!

This clipboard display is so genius!!  Not only does each child have his or her own spot where it is not jammed on to a bulletin board cluttered with twenty other pieces, but it also is simple enough that the children can change out the work themselves (or the teacher can easily and quickly switch displays).

I know it is not the most visually enticing thing to look at, which is why I fully intend to have other boards displaying work in the more traditional style.  But I really love this because I know all students will have a piece of work they are proud of up for display at all times.  We will have a time in our weekly routine where children will select what they want to go up for the following week.  That way, it is unique each week, the children have a say in it, and it is something they want displayed because they are proud of it.  I am sure it will serve as motivation, as well, for several students.

for me friday: firsts and lasts.

So I know almost every parent takes the traditional “first day of school” picture at the beginning of each school year.  Take a look at the extremely cute idea below before I continue on…

Adorable, righttttt?  Right. But seeing as I have no kids, I immediately began thinking about how I could use this with students.

I would LOVE to do this on the first day of school with each and every student.  Then, and here’s the kick, I want to do it again with each student on the last day of that school year.  Depending on the age of the student, they could write a letter to go with the first day of school picture and read it again on the last day or draw a picture or something of that sort.  Not only would it be a great reflection for the students, but it would also serve as a great keepsake/momento for parents.

Again, this is one of those ideas where I am not sure quite how realistic it is.  If you don’t have help in your classroom, it would be a very difficult thing to get done.  But hey, be creative.  You could knock a lot out of the way by having parents do it with their child when they come to open house.  Or borrow a student teacher or the media specialist or take on another teacher’s class and let her do it with your students.  It’s too cute of an idea not to do!

thoughtful thursday: important six points.

enough said.

wonder wednesday: playdoh balloons.

I don’t care how old your students are… nobody is going to say “no” to playing with a balloon filled with playdoh.  I am in my twenties and will still jump at that opportunity… who doesn’t love something to do with their hands?!

Whether these are used as a center for younger kids, a way to keep hands busy but minds focused on lessons for older kids, or an anger management tool for upset students, balloons filled with playdoh are on point.

Can’t wait to give them a try!

tidy tuesday: marker ice trays.

Oh, ho, ho, wouldn’t ya know?!  Markers fit PERFECTLY in the ice trays that are used to make cubes to go in water bottles.  And there just happen to be eight rows (enough to nicely house a full set of Crayola markers… three times!).  I’m not sure how practical this would be since it would only hold enough for three students and only  holds markers, but you can bet it caught my eye and got me excited.  I love things that fit perfectly, and in addition, it allows you to easily survey the scene and find out what is wrong if one is missing.

An idea to remember, anyway.

make it monday: sentence cubes.

Okay, so here is the deal with these little guys.  You print six different incorrectly written sentences and paste them on the different sides of a tissue box.  Students roll and write whichever sentence they land on correctly on a different piece of paper.

This idea alone is genius enough.  But y’all know me, and I cannot just leave the idea alone to be what it is.  I love, love, love centers, and this idea can be adapted to  have jumbled sight words, lists to put in ABC order, math facts, and fill in the blanks just to name a few.  

Plus, save your tissue boxes from your first year teaching (or ask other teachers for theirs… I am sure they are giving them away), use masking tape to cover the boxes/papers, and the whole thing is pretty much free (and durable)!