Meet the Teacher Night {Five for Friday}

I am officially two days in to the new school year. Things are going great so far! I have a great group of firsties and I can't wait to see what the year has in store for us. 

We had Meet the Teacher Night earlier in the week and I wanted to share some things from that, so I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! 

I decided to do a scavenger hunt this year instead of stations. A lot of people last year just ignored the stations and weren't sure what to do, so I was hoping this would give everyone some more direction and me more time to mingle. 

Here's the sign in table. Instead of a sign in sheet I had a set of labels with each kid's name printed on them. They took a label and parents got one too. I really liked this and will definitely do it again.  It was nice to be able to call the kids by name without having to ask for it. 

The hunt directed families to different parts of the classroom. They looked at the coat closet, basket for turning in papers, mailboxes, and the place we put lunch boxes. They also sorted all their supplies, so all I had to do was put them away when the night was through - fabulous! 

On the first day kids and parents knew exactly where to turn in forms and put away book bags and lunch boxes. That made for a much smoother transition that first day. I've also already had parents helping to remind kids to turn in form to the basket - such a big help! 

I got tired of the old particle board mailboxes I had, so I bought this file organizer from Amazon. So far it has worked great! There are 27 slots, so plenty of extra for me to keep extra papers and things that need to be filed. It also seems easier for the students to use. 

I had a table set up with a volunteer sheet, Remind sign up sheet, a class brochure, a DOT binder, and a spelling homework notebook. That was a stop on the scavenger hunt, but I don't think it's something I would include again. I didn't ever really see anyone looking at the binder or notebook. 

I wanted to have the kids leave their name tags with me so I could start putting names with faces. I came up with this guessing game idea to help me and give them something to look forward to on the first day. Everyone seemed to like it, so I think it's something I would do again. 

I'm keeping it real with this chart. My charts aren't beautiful, but they are functional. 

Overall I really liked the scavenger hunt. I think the kids and parents are now more familiar with my room. I do think next year I will pair it down a little because it seemed to take a little longer than I'd originally thought. 

Are you planning on trying something new this year at Meet the Teacher Night or Open House? 

New and Improved Teacher Binder Calendar and a Freebie

Hi blogging friends! I took a break from the blogging world in July to really soak up all the summer I could. I'm so glad to be back all recharged and ready to go. I've got a great freebie to help you start out August the right way! 

First things first, when I start the school year I've got to be organized! Last year I took the leap and made one of the ever so popular teacher binders. You can click here to check out that post if you'd like to. 

I always like to do some reflecting at the end of the year on anything new I've tried. There were a lot of things I LOVED about my teacher binder, but there were some things that just weren't working for me; the main one being the calendar. 

I didn't need quite so much calendar space. I only use the boxes to write down important meetings, snow days, work days, things like that. So I had a lot of space I didn't need and no room for the notes/reminders I really wanted to see on my calendar. 

I spent some time this summer revamping my calendar and I love it! 

I love a planner. A. Lot. BUT I need something that will function for me. I pushed all the calendar onto one page and started the week out on Monday. Saturday and Sunday are in one box together and I plan to use that box for notes from the week, things I still need to cover, you know...the kinda things that I sometimes forget. The Monday start week will appeal to all my Erin Condren Life Planner girls out there! It took me a while to get used to that, but now I love it and it makes perfect sense for a school planner! 

There's a lot of room to jot notes at the top of the page and there are some lines at the bottom. 

This is the page I'm most excited about. I needed a big monthly overview page and I wanted to be able to see it and my calendar at the same time. It is so versatile and I'm really looking forward to being more organized and focused when I plan this year. 

If you would like to give this different calendar approach a try click the picture below to head over to my TPT store. There is a freebie in the preview! I also included another calendar option in the product!

Happy Organizing! 

Monday Made It: Trash to Treasure Edition

Summer Monday are happy days! It means time hours spent blog reading and pinning amazing ideas from other teachers! I love being surrounded by all the creativity! It just gets me in the mood to get my craft on! Thanks to Tara for hosting the fabulousness that is Monday Made It! 

Remember I was at the beach last week?! Since I didn't get back til late Thursday night there wasn't a lot of time to get crafty. BUT I had a big box of beautiful vinyl waiting on me when I got back and it was too tempting!

I bought this window at a flea market for $5. It was dirty, but otherwise in good shape. I shined it up and added some vinyl using my Silhouette Cameo. 

I'm challenging myself to use the Silhouette in new ways this summer. This was my first try at using more than one color of vinyl in a project and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. This also has to be one of the trickiest things I've ever taken a picture of, so please ignore the reflection of my laptop in the glass! 

I'm picky obsessive about things being straight, so this kind of project is always nerve wracking for me. I had to really do some big pep talks to get myself motivated for this one. Anyone else let needing perfection keep you from trying something? 

Dare to Dream: Week 2 TPT Seller Challenge

It's week two of the Teachers Pay Teachers Seller Challenge hosted by Teach Create Motivate, Sparkling in Second Grade, Third in Hollywood, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista. I'm a little late to the game because I spent most of this week at the beach! 

Just looking at that pictures makes me relax! 

This week is all about dreaming big and thinking about my goals in this whole Teachers Pay Teachers journey. 

Extra spending money is a nice perk of being a TPT seller. I like to use the extra money to buy gifts, do a little shopping for myself, and sometimes things for my classroom. My goal for the future is to eventually be able to use the income from TPT to take some nice vacations with my husband! 

Being a seller on TPT challenges me and keeps me on my toes. Now more than ever I'm looking for new, creative ways to help my students learn and practice the basics. I love that it keeps me reading and searching for the best practices in my classroom! 

Since I've started selling on TPT I've discovered that I love fonts and clip art! One of my favorite parts of creating a product is designing the layout and cover pages. It's like an easy, less messy form of scrapbook and paper crafting! Not to mention that font and clip art shopping are super fun! 

Monday Made It: Silhouette Fun and a Pillowcase

Happy Monday! It's certainly a happy one for me because I'm on my way to the beach!! It's been 12 years since I've been and I feel like a kid at Christmas! 

I'm linking up with Tara to share a few projects I've managed to squeeze in during my first full week of Summer break! 

After owning my Silhouette Cameo for over two years I finally decided it was time to try making some car decals. I loved how this one turned out! I have already ordered a big batch of vinyl and I can't wait to get started creating!

I also used the Silhouette and some full page labels to make stickers for my Erin Condren Life Planner. I'm really excited about all the possibilities with this! 

I dusted off the sewing machine and made this pillow case for a friend's little boy. 

That fabric was just too cute! This was also my first try at the burrito style pillow case and I was surprised at how easy it was! I'll definitely be making more of these this summer. 

My last made it has been on each picture in this post - a new watermark for my pictures. I used this fantastic tutorial from I Teach. What's your super power? 

It was very easy to follow and I love that I can add a watermark from my phone because that's what I use to take most of my pictures. If you need some blogging tips be sure to check out her site! 

Five for Friday: The First Week of Summer

Hello friends! I've been enjoying the first week of summer break and I'm loving that I've finally got the time to blog. I am taking a little mini vacation from work (well...mostly), but I wanted link up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching and share some non teaching moments from the summer! 

Summer means that I get to take more pictures with a real camera instead of a cell phone! 

I've been spending some time riding this cutie. 

His name is Lonestar, but we call him Snapper. He has the most personality!! He doesn't really think he's a horse because I raised him on a bottle, so he's more like a dog or a person. He licks me and nibbles on me and anything else he can find! 

And he loves tress. This picture makes me laugh because he looks like he's playing hide and seek. 

I can't help myself. If I show you pictures of him or talk about him, I have to show you his baby pictures. He was so stinkin adorable. That top picture was the day he was born! 

He was a true baby...with the bottle every 3 hours and heating it up on the stove at all hours of the night! His formula did come in 5 gallon buckets though... 

On to more total randomness.

The flowers have not died yet. #victory 

Our house is situated so that the front of the house is mostly shady all day. I was determined to grow something there this year. I went to Lowe's and put one of every full shade plant in my cart. It turned out to be a good plan. 

When I picked up the mail Tuesday this card from a parent was waiting for me! It brought tears to my eyes. I love it! 

More animal cuteness. I've been doing a lot of this myself since summer has finally arrived! I hope you enjoy the weekend. I'm off to the beach on Monday morning!! 

Teachers Pay Teachers Seller Challenge: Week 1 Makeover Madness

I'm thrilled to be joining in on the Teachers Pay Teachers Seller Challenge hosted by Teach Create Motivate, Sparkling in Second Grade, Third in Hollywood, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista. 

This week the challenge was all about giving a TPT product a makeover. I spent some time during my 3 week snowcation this winter updating most of my product covers and it has become an addiction! I love playing with clipart and font to come up with new combinations!

I still had one product that could use a little more spice, so I gave it a try and I'm so excited to share the results with you! 

This product was a request from a buyer, so I threw it together in a hurry and just hadn't had the time to give the cover the attention it needed. 

You can click here or the picture above to check out this product in my store!