Archives for July 2012

Oh, Target. You had me at $1.00.

July 10, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 19 Comments

Our local Target turned over their Dollar Spot today to the back-to-school teacher goodies, so I was able to pick up a few more lightbulb stress-relievers for my classroom, and my husband was able to get some globe stress-relievers for his kiddos. (We also got some wipe-off sleeves, but those aren’t as exciting… clearly.)

I decided that I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to create something surrounding the globe stress-relievers, so I added-on to the lightbulb packet I posted this morning to include a “world of possibilities” version for your kiddos. (Even if your local Target lacks either of these stress-relievers, you can find cheap globe stress-relievers online! Yay, Internet!)

So if you have already downloaded the packet, head back on over to my TPT store to re-download! (Or just click the picture below!)

Monday Made It + a Freebie!

July 9, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 63 Comments

I’m excited about today’s Monday Made It, because it’s something I saw on Pinterest and then had no choice but to complete after finding the perfect materials on my Michaels trip.

Moment of silence y’all, for Dorothy-gingham plates — 12 for $1. Perfect for my bulletin board headers (no purchasing of expensive letters!) and my word wall.

I thought that was going to be my only Monday Made It… but then I found these in the Target Dollar Spot:

What is it? A stress-reliever. And so this was born:

I’ve used stress-relievers before in the classroom to give kiddos a little brain-break and some tactile input, but these were begging to be used as a focal point for kiddos that are stuck.

So I created a little packet with a projectable anchor chart, a reproducible anchor chart, the labels, and some guidance on how I utilize stress-relievers in the classroom and plan on using these. You can find it by clicking on the cover below (it’ll take you to it on TPT)!

I would love to know what you’ve utilized in your classroom to get students “unstuck” and on the path to a lightbulb moment — share in the comments!

So there you have it, my Monday Made Its! I’ll be back later today or tomorrow to share a few things I’ve been working on for my classroom, as well as my plan to tackle creating my language arts curriculum for the first few weeks.

Update: Head on over to this post to see what I added to my “encouraging lightbulb moments” packet and re-download it at my TPT store!

Where do I begin?!

July 8, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 30 Comments

Yesterday both Mr. Plum and I were able to get into our classrooms to take some measurements, poke around a bit, and take pictures. I had seen my classroom briefly on Thursday (when we were in the area to look at daycares — *groan*), but I was too overwhelmed to take it all in. I was too excited. Giddy, even.

So, armed with a camera, I entered and UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, that’s my name beside the door?! Giddy, again, and all focus was lost for about five minutes.

Then I looked at my room number. Y’all, before I even had a job, I knew what my classroom theme was going to be (Wizard of Oz). Therefore — as an affirmation — I started making “teachery” things in that theme, including binder covers. Well, I had to put in a room number in my formatting so that I could change it when I would get my real room number later.

I put room 108.

I’m going to pause here, because you probably know what’s coming.

I’m in room 108. For real. No jokes. My name is under room 108.

After I recovered from that shock, I peeked around the corner, and I saw what appeared to be a closet. I’m just going to lead-off with a homerun here, because I can’t contain my excitement.

Looks like a closet, right? That’s what I assumed. And then I opened it. What’s behind door number one?

A bathroom. Seriously. Pick me up off of the floor!

Once I regained composure, I took photos from all four corners of the room — starting from the door:

After letting it sink in that this was my room, I realized a few things:

I have a ton of resources. In the closet next to the cubbies are book bins. For each kid. I about fell over. Above the student cubbies? Tons of manipulatives and games. On the bookshelves? A classroom library of leveled books… including all of the Magic Treehouse books.
I have a ton of storage. Tons. There isn’t going to be an issue organizing and storing my belongings and resources for the kiddos in a way that is accessible to us both. On the back wall, there is even this:

I have plans for those bins. Big plans. With labels.
I don’t want a “teacher desk.” I didn’t see one — even in the hallway — and even if I somehow missed it… I don’t want one. There’s a nice raised area at the computer station for adult-sized me, and I can store things that I don’t want my kiddos to access in the cabinets above it.
There aren’t many bulletin boards or empty wall-space, so I’m going to have to get creative. The wall above the windows is something I have permission to paint and affix things to, so that could potentially be our word wall. We shall see — it’s going to be like putting a puzzle together, figuring out where all of our focus items should go.
I’m not sure if I have a whiteboard. I thought it was a chalkboard, but I didn’t actually touch it. So… I guess I’ll have to figure that out the next time I’m in my room!

The biggest realization? I felt at home. That room felt like home.

Since I am brand spankin’ new at this — I need some veteran help. What stands out to you looking at these photos of my classroom? Is there something you think I should do (or avoid doing)? Any tips & tricks?

Are you there, Michaels? It’s me, Sarah.

July 6, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 7 Comments

The other day my husband and I took a trip to Michaels to browse around now that we’ve both got our placements and are starting the process of preparing for the upcoming school year. Now, ordinarily I don’t spend much time in Michaels because my brain goes on “crafty overload” and somehow I lose all sense of “do I really need to spend an hour in the scrapbook paper aisle?” So imagine my sheer glee when there’s an approved trip to literally spend an hour slowly walking around the store (and taking pictures of anything and everything)!

Without further commentary about how much-anticipated this outing was, the photographic evidence (that will almost certainly compel you to print a coupon and run to your nearest Michaels!):

These great stamps were only a $1! I’m planning on using both of these as peer-feedback mechanisms, with me stealing the “great idea” stamp once and a while as I’m looking through their interactive notebooks!

I thought of several of my favorite bloggers when I passed by this display! While I’m not a football fan (I know, I know), there are so many of you that have utilized football as your theme and these — especially once clearanced — could be put to use in a variety of ways in your classrooms!

Let’s have a moment of silence. Printed craft sticks, y’all! Forget Mod Podge-ing your own and spending your time and money on that (the paper you’d use alone would be more!) — these suckers are $4.99/100 pack!!!

Oh, the bargain bins. The bins on the left are filled with National Geographic merchandise; pens, sticker books, notepads, mousepads, etc. These were all very reasonably priced (most about $2), and would be great for animal-themed units or classrooms. The bins on the right were filled with environmental-print alphabet items. I tried to convince Mr. Plum that we needed matching “P” mugs for the teacher’s lounge, but it was a no-go.

Raise your hand if you’ve pinned the salt & pepper shakers as glitter-distribution devices. Only me? Well, imagine my excitement when I stumbled on these! I didn’t end up purchasing any this trip (priorities!), but now that I know where to find them, I’m good to go! Just you wait, I will earn the title of glitter queen.

I loved both of these setups, and it didn’t hurt that they were clearanced-priced either (though none of it made it into the basket this time). I can see the watering cans being used for a great discussion on how we grow as individuals, as authors, as a class, etc. and I can certainly see the stones as being used to anchor some character education.

Origami paper. There is an origami aisle, y’all. There is an origami aisle and I purchased nothing from it. Personal triumph, ahoy!

Chevrons! Bright colors! I started to walk past this display and then I did a double-take. I didn’t end up purchasing either of these, but I definitely wanted to snap a picture to post for y’all. There are 25 sheets in each of these stacks and they were heavy-weight cardstock — for only $3!

This one I did purchase. I can’t wait to create some activities for the first week of school surrounding this book to refresh on sequencing skills, etc. I’m toying with the idea of writing my own parody to surprise the kiddos with, featuring me. Does anyone know where I could get some custom clipart made?

I picked up a few other (small) things I’m going to feature in other posts, and then headed next door to Home Goods to check it out for the first time. I was a little underwhelmed — I’m not sure what I was expecting. Certainly not this randomness! Behold:

What in the world? Also — $500?!

Thank you for accompanying me on my trip to a little slice of crafty-heaven! I’ll be back tomorrow with (hopefully) some ‘before’ pictures of my very first classroom! I took a sneak-peek yesterday and oh my word. That’s all I’ve got to describe the feeling!

My Ruby Red Danskos + A Freebie!

July 5, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 10 Comments

I wish. I totally wish I had a pair of ruby Danskos, or that this post was about me finding out they even make a pair of ruby Danskos — nope! This post is actually about my metaphorical ruby Danskos, or what a day in my life was like as a student teacher.

For reference, these would be the actual Danskos (my feet are so big and awkward I have to buy the men’s) that graced my soles:

5:00 a.m. – Alarm goes off, depending on how much sleep I’ve gotten (assuming I’ve gone to sleep at all, hah!) I may or may not hit snooze. I shower/get dressed/put finishing touches on lesson plans and materials.

6:45 a.m. – Wheels up and out of the driveway.

8:00 a.m. – Drop William off at daycare. (Depending on traffic, we have about an hour commute to his daycare!)

8:30 a.m. – I get dropped off at my school and Mr. Plum drives to his two miles away. (Both of us completed our internship at the same time — a mere two miles apart in the same school district!)

8:45 a.m. – Shovel a hardboiled egg down while writing the morning message and laying out the days’ materials.

9:05 a.m. – Kiddos walk in, announcements start, and I pretend I am well-rested and totally energetic!

9:25 a.m. – Language Arts block starts; guided reading happens, center rotations, mini-lessons, etc. We do a big word study focus on Monday, and then are pretty flexible the rest of the week.

11:25 a.m. – Science or social studies starts, depending on the day. About half the time these two subjects gets integrated with language arts, which I loved doing.

12:20 p.m. – Time for lunch! I drop the kiddos off, heat up my lunch (assuming I didn’t leave it in the car — which is two miles away — d’oh!) and eat lunch with the kiddos and my cooperating teacher.

12:50 p.m. – We head out for recess (and I try not to burn with my near-translucent skin).

1:20 p.m. – We head inside and start math, and try not to roast like chicken in our un-air-conditioned hotbox. Sometimes we’d do centers or small group, but this bunch of kiddos responded best to whole-group math instruction.

2:20 p.m. – SPECIALS TIME! I do a happy dance and hope the kiddos don’t see.

3:05 p.m. – I pick ’em up from specials, we wrap up with some fun activities, and do a few administrative tasks (notes, signing agendas, reviewing homework, afternoon annoucements, etc.).

3:30 p.m. – I wave bye-bye and get some much-appreciated hugs from the kiddos.

4:30 p.m. – Mr. Plum picks me up, and we swap war stories from the day on the way to pick up William.

5:00 p.m. – We pick up William, he immediately demands snacks, and we oblige. If we’ve remembered them. Hopefully.

6:15 p.m. – We roll into the driveway, and immediately collapse. Just kidding.

7:00 p.m. – We eat dinner… well, William eats dinner. Mr. Plum and I just try and stay awake. I most certainly drink coffee.

9:00 p.m. – William hopefully is in his room, putting himself to sleep. I’m starting to sift through my massive to-do list, finish writing another four page lesson plan (torture, I tell you!), grade student papers, and write a reflection for each lesson I taught that day.

12:00 a.m. – Snack break. I’m probably on my second episode of Hoarders on Netflix by now.

2:00 a.m. – Generally finished creating/writing and printing, and now just laminating. I’ve moved on from Hoarders, and am probably watching Toddlers and Tiaras so that my outrage keeps me awake.

2:45 a.m. – Finally in bed. Usually.

By the time the weekend hit, both my husband and I were beat. Totally wiped out. When I look back on my final semester of graduate school, I honestly marvel at how we did it because the entire thing was one long blur. I do remember thinking about mid-way through that the days were just melting together and that it was best to “go with the flow.”

One thing is for certain — the experience solidified just how much I love this profession and could not possibly do anything else for the joy it has given me. Despite the complete and utter sleep deprivation (which I know everyone has experienced — a rite of passage!), I never wanted to give up. I never felt like the tasks before me were insurmountable, or dread getting up in the morning. That was a great feeling.

Now it’s your turn — tell me about a day in your shoes! Head on over to Ingles360 and link up as a part of TBA’s celebration of International Blog-Hopping Day!

And while you’re at it, you may as well head on over to my TPT store to grab this:

I’m celebrating with TBA by posting another freebie from my stint during student teaching! This freebie is a teacher “big book” and student booklet that can be used as basic reference or review for plane and solid geometric figures.

Do you have a freebie you’d like to share? Head on over to Kreative in Kinder to link up and share one!