Getting Literacy into the Home

Back in college, I learned about something called Literacy Bags. These themed bags were a way to get books and activities into the homes of students. I spent many hours putting my Literacy Bag together for an "A" in the class. At the end of the semester, I put it away and never thought of it again until.......

this past school year. I always wanted to do Literacy Bags but as you know, time slips away. I start every year with great, inspiring ideas. Then, before I know it, the year is over and if I am lucky, I implemented one new thing into my classroom. Literacy Bags just never got off the ground. 

My colleague, Mrs. C, and I worked on a version of the Literacy Bag for our ESL students. We called them Learning Suitcases. I think when we hear the word "literacy" we think reading. However, literacy is so much more than that. Yes, literacy is the the ability to read and write. However, it is also the competence or knowledge in a specified area. Mrs. C and I wanted to include reading, math, science, and social studies activities. This is why we called them Learning Suitcases. 

Now I am not going to preach about the importance of learning in the home. We all know this. What I am doing is suggesting a practical way to get it done!  

I don't have pictures of the actual product, but try to follow along. Basically, I ordered these amazing plastic briefcases from Amazon. Then, I created activities in reading, math, science, and social studies around a specific theme. I focused on Weather since it was a Kindergarten and First Grade unit of study. Some of the activities were letter matching games, sight word games, number recognition activities, etc. I also included books that went along with the theme. Everything I designed was appropriate for grades K-2.  

Each week, one student took the Learning Suitcase home. The parent letter explained what the Suitcase was and how it was to be used. I also explained it to the students. They were super excited to share the Suitcase with their families. Here is what the families gained from the Learning Suitcase:

1. Parents and children engage in meaningful, vocabulary rich conversations.
2. Students practice and build mathematics and reading skills.
3. Siblings interact with each other.
4. Families have fun TOGETHER.
5. Students gain ownership as they are responsible for the materials.

Also, thanks to the wonderful paraprofessional, Mrs. L, I was able to have all the directions translated in Spanish.  

Here is a link to my TPT's store where you can purchase the materials I made. Good luck with your next Learning Suitcase!  

The Classroom is Complete!

The classroom is complete!  As you know, there are three ESL teachers sharing two large classrooms this year. I come from the general education elementary classroom.  I have never had to share a space before and was a little unsure of how it would all work out.  After a week of working on the room, I'm really happy with how it turned out.

The first thing the three of us did was divide the room into thirds.  This way we all had our own space.  Then we used the furniture in the room as dividers.  We tried to build the "walls" as high as possible to give each of us a sense of privacy and our own room.  I didn't take pictures of the other two spaces yet. I'm just getting to know my ESL partners and didn't want to invade their space with my flashing camera.  They don't know how many pictures I take and how attached to my camera I am.......yet.

I took the middle space of the rooms.  I had to get a little creative with creating bulletin boards and spaces for student work.  In the picture above, I covered the back of the bookshelves with butcher paper.  I stuck on some border and taaah-da.......there is my alphabet wall.  The two tables in front of the alphabet wall will be used as a writing area/resource area.  The black bins are labeled with the days of the week. This is where I place all my materials that I will need for each day.  In addition, the bins serve as a resource for teaching students the days of the week.  I don't need a poster because I have my bins.  I love things that serve two or more purposes.  I'm also grateful I saved all of my wall hangings from when I taught first grade five years ago!  I'm now pulling it all back out!  If you notice the lower case letters are highlighted on the alphabet strip.  This is because students in first grade, should recognize and be reminded that they should always use lower case letters.  If they aren't doing it, they should be making the transition.

The blackboards are on a sliding system with tracks, kind of like sliding glass doors.  The blackboard is in pretty bad shape.  I'm not sure how often I will use it.  It might just become a space for me to hang posters and anchor charts.  I did add a border to make it more colorful and pretty.  The green carpet was from my third grade classroom.  I think I will do most of my teaching on the carpet.  I actually prefer to sit on the floor and teach in small groups.  I have my mini white boards and clipboards in bins next to the carpet since this is where I will use them most.

This space is where I placed my table so that I could work with small groups.  Do you see the chairs hiding underneath the table?  Gosh, I sit on them and my knees touch my chin!  I would probably be more comfortable kneeling at the table.  I have pretty long legs, so these chairs aren't great for me. I forgot how tiny K and 1 children are!  The large bookshelf on the bottom is covered with table clothes and stores all of the ESL curriculum materials.  We taped the table clothes on after the velcro wasn't really working.  Then we used thumb tacks because the tape wasn't working.  The thumb tacks did the trick.  My ESL partner purchased the table clothes at the Christmas Tree Shop for about $1.50 each.  I am thinking I might also want to cover the two tan bookshelves as well, but I am not sure with what or how. It's difficult to find a pattern and color that will work well with the pink.  The black piece of furniture is a filing cabinet with the drawers removed.  It's turned so the drawer openings are turned down.  This way both myself and my ESL partner have a magnetic board.

Finally, my desk area.  I have two bulletin boards.  They both extend outwards so that they can be larger, but I thought the square was enough.  The bulletin board to the side of my desk will be used as a space to post resources and information for myself.  The bulletin board behind my desk which currently has a few posters hanging will eventually be used to display student work.  The front of my desk has little cutouts of community helpers.  This will be important when I teach this unit.

This is my materials bin.  I will keep pencils, erasers, markers, crayons, highlighters, scissors, glue, and dry erase markers in here.  Where ever I happen to be working in the room, I can just pick up the materials bin and bring it with me.

How are your classrooms coming along?  Students are back to school on Monday.  I can't wait to meet my new, and wonderful ESL students!

Renting Textbooks = Saving Money

I wanted to quickly blog about this great website that a friend told me about.  It's called BookRenter.  I start classes for my Principal Certification on Monday.  I am taking two classes and needed to purchase four books.  I priced the books at the campus bookstore website and the price was over $200.  This was for used books!  Luckily, these days you can rent textbooks.  I am all for this.  I'm still holding on to undergrad books that I wasn't able to sell back, and I haven't looked at them since those early college years.  What a waste!

After being told about BookRenter, I was ecstatic.  I rented three books for $75.  I purchased the fourth book because it was specific to Pennsylvania and was not available to rent.  You can even decide how long you would like to rent the books for.  Because my courses only run for six weeks, it was less expensive than renting the book for the entire semester.

You are not charged for shipping. In addition, the company will also pay for shipping when you return the books.  Simple!

A Binder Costs What?!?!?

I know that I have been blogging a lot about binders lately. However, it's only appropriate since I am trying to organize all of my papers for the beginning of the year.  Smart organization in the beginning, saves time, energy, and frustration later.  Do it right the first time......that's my motto.

When I walk into Staples to buy a new binder, I feel like I'm in teacher heaven!  The entire back wall of Staples is filled from floor to ceiling with colorful, interesting, and organized binders.  It's like a dream.

Today I went to Staples to purchase a new binder to match the color scheme of my assessment binder.  I know, it may be a bit extreme, but it's what I do.  It's what helps me sleep at night.  I stood in the middle of Staples staring at this huge wall of color.  Staring....staring....staring......and my mind started to wonder.  I started thinking about all the binders I could purchase and what they could be used for.  I could get one for student papers, another one for home organization, and what about a purple one for professional development resources.  I started pulling binders off the shelves.  Then I froze.  I was paralyzed, eyes staring blankly, mouth hanging wide open. Panic started to fill my entire body.

These are the next couple of thoughts I had during this moment.

• "You want me to pay what?"  
• "$10 for a plastic 2 inch binder?"
• "This binder better perform magic for $10."

While I was having these thoughts, two women who were mothers were having these same thoughts.  Except, their thoughts were out loud.  The first mother had her 10-year old son with her.  Poor kid. He wanted the fancy blue binder.  She said, "I'm not buying you a $10 binder."  The second mother was looking over a blue brochure trying to identify which binders her son, who was not with her, would need and in what colors.  I'm the person who talks to anyone in a store.  I've had numerous conversations with the grocery store checkout lady about how great greek yogurt is.  Well, when I heard these two women making comments, I couldn't help myself.  First I made the "I know, I can't believe how ridiculously overpriced these binders are" comment to the first mother.  With the second mother, we had a conversation about her blue brochure.  She showed it to me. Inside was a list of all the materials her son would need to start the school year.  He would need four different binders, but not just any binders.  He needed a blue binder, an orange binder, a purple binder, and a red binder.  If those colors could not be purchased than a white binder could be substituted.  She had already ran to Wal-mart and purchased the blue and purple binder.  She couldn't find the other colors, so she stopped at Staples.  She found all the colors she needed, but the problem came when she had to decide what size binder.  See, the school did not specify the size....just the color.  I couldn't help myself and told her I was a teacher and I though the brochure was a little much.  I mean, a binder is a binder.  If you want the binders to match the color you assigned to the subject, place a piece of colored duct tape on it.  That works just as well and is less expensive. She was so stressed. There were so many options.  How could she decide what the teacher wanted.  Note to self: As a teacher, always put yourself in the parents shoes!

Anyway, I felt bad that I couldn't help this mother.  Have you ever realized how many binders there are?  Check it out some time.  There are Durable View, Better View, Economy View, Simply View, and Heavy Duty View binders.  There are EZ-turn, D-Ring, Round Ring, EZD Ring, and Slant-D binders.  There are binders classified by their durability such as Light Use, Frequent Use, and Max Performance.  There are Eco-Conscious and Recycled binders.  There are .5 inch, 1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, and 5 inch binders.  Every one of those binders are offered in numerous colors. You can imagine the panic in the mother who found an orange binder in just about every one of the choices listed above.  

I went with the 2-inch Heavy Duty, EZD-Ring Binder in Periwinkle.  $10.99 later, I was a happy teacher ready to put together my assessment binder.  See pictures below.  You can download the binder pages at my TPT store.

Assessment Binder Cover Page

Assessment Binder Spine Labels and Divider Labels

Happy teaching and good luck on your search for a great binder!

The Complete Teacher Binder

Ok, so I wasn't happy with just the Teacher Binder Cover page.  I needed to add some more "organization" to it all.  Last night, I worked on adding the Divider Pages and Binder Tab Labels.  You can find it at my TPT store.  Check it out HERE.

Teacher Binder Cover Page

Teacher Binder Tab Labels

Teacher Binder Divider Pages

Teacher Binder Spine Labels

But don't worry, if you only want the Cover Page and Spine Inserts, you can still download them for free HERE.

I organize my Teacher Binder in a very easy way.  There are a few sections, and I only store the MOST important information that I will need whether I am sitting at my desk, in the teachers lounge, or working from home.

1. District Information - I keep all district calendars and dates of assessments here.  Anything I get from a professional development, I store in another folder elsewhere.  I might also keep important phone numbers within the district that I may need.
2. Schedule - I keep my classroom schedule in this section.  My students are pulled throughout the day for services, so I make a master schedule of this and place it here (You can find a picture of what this looks like below).  My Guided Reading group schedule is here.  I keep a master copy of the condensed schedule for Early Dismissal and Delays here. 
3. Medical Information - In the beginning of the year, I make a list of all students who have special medical needs.  I list their names and what their medical needs are.  
4. Class Roster - Do I need to explain this?
5. Pacing Guides - A copy of the state standards are placed in another binder. Here is where I store the pacing guides provided by the district.  This is the key for my lesson plans.
6. Lesson Plans - I store up to three weeks worth of lesson plans in the my binder.  Then I move them to a larger binder.  I don't want this binder, which I tend to take home with me every night, to become bulky.  
7. Substitute Information - In the past, teachers were responsible for securing their own subs. I kept a list of all the subs I liked to use with their phone numbers and e-mail addresses.  This year, my district is moving to an automated system.  I don't know much about it yet, but I will keep all phone numbers here.
8. Other - Anything that I may need but doesn't fit into one of the categories above, here is a space for it.

My Master Schedule - Listed are the students who are pulled out for services.

That's it!  Like I said, my binder is only 1 inch.  I keep just the essentials here.  I think it's important to weed out anything that you won't need on a daily basis or in an emergency.  

Crayola Cups....Share Ideas!

I love the clearance section of any store. I get all giddy when I see a good deal. However, it has to be a good deal. I once got a $125 dress for $5. That's a deal! I once got a pair of $60 heels for $6. That's a deal! I once found a $250 Cricut cutter for $200. Not a deal!

Today at Wal-mart, I found these little treasures!  They were 89 cents each in the clearance section.  I bought one of each color.  I wanted to buy more, but they weren't that great of a deal!  When something is on clearance, I want it to be dirt cheap!

Crayola Crayon Cups
Sorry for the picture quality.  It was taken with my iPhone in my kitchen, as you can tell from the George Foreman Grill in the background!  

Now, I have these great materials, what do I do with them besides the obvious of using them to hold crayons?  If you have any ideas, please post them below or on my Facebook page.

Well I'm off to bed.  I'm picking up my moving man, aka my nephew Donavin, and moving into my new classroom tomorrow at 8am!  I will post "before" pictures.

I'm Addicted to Hobbies!

I am a hobbyaddict.  For those of you who know me well, know exactly what I am talking about. My parents can probably speak to this best.  Hobbyaddict is not a real word.  I already tried googling it. But it's a word that describes me very well.

I am known to try a new "hobby" and then a few months later, never talk about it again.  Let me list them for you.

• Vegetarian - yes, I considered this to be a hobby.  In high school, for a short time, I lived off of white rice until I crumpled at Wendy's for a cheeseburger.
• Guitar - I did this for a few months after college.  I had to get a guitar for Christmas.  The only thing I learned during my short days of playing was how to play a random string of notes that had my cat hiding underneath the couch.
• Witches and Witchcraft - This was interesting.  I also read a lot about psychics and mediums. I read so many books on the topic I thought I could predict my own future. 
• Cupcakes - Still a hobby that I love to do, but boy did I dedicate a lot of time and money into this one.  
• Running - So I might not have ever been a marathon runner, but I have many cute Nike running shorts to show that this was once a hobby.
• Clean Eating - This was a fad just this summer.  I was eating only raw food.  I once again couldn't hold out and treated myself to some Rita's Italian Ice.
• Photography - Still love taking pictures.  My camera is always at my side.  However, there was a time that I was entering photo contests and taking picture of random trees and calling it "art".
• Painting - I have no business being a painter, but I do have tons of paint and paint brushes stored at my apartment.

Ok, so maybe these aren't all hobbies.  Maybe the more appropriate term for these tasks are fads.  I once thought my parents weren't supportive of the new hobbies I had taken on.  I saw the eye rolls.  But, as an adult I now completely understand. They knew, just as I do now, that it will be my interest for a few months at most before I move onto the next thing.  And just in case they are reading this, my parents always supported my crazy hobbies.  I know that one day when I have children, I will be repaid.

The new hobby that I have recently taken on is one that I saw on Pinterest. It's called Mod Podging.  Have you ever used mod podge? It's by far, the best tool a crafter could have in their toolbox.  It's AMAZING!  

I have two of those Sterling drawer storage bins that I keep in my classroom and store all of my stickers, markers, and other random items.  It was pretty beat up after seven years.  I saw on Pinterest you can use mod podge to attach scrapbook paper to it and make it look pretty.  

I also have a box that was given as a gift.  The box wasn't the gift.  That would be silly.  The gift was the four bottles of wine in the box.  After the wine was gone, I couldn't decide what to do with the box.  So, just as I do with shoe boxes, I stored it in my closet in case I would ever need it.  Along came mod podge, and the box turned into a fantastic, stylish box that I can store my fancy, shiny bracelets in.  I'm currently using an old perfume box to store them in so this is a major upgrade.

What do you think of the before and after photos?

If you are like me, then you are a messy crafter.  I'm the teacher that leaves school every day with her hands covered in magic marker.  I wear a lot of black dress clothes which is great for showing chalk dust handprints.  I am not any neater when it comes to mod podging either. I was covered in the sticky glue.  To keep you cleaner and more patient, here are some tips:

• Cut all of the pieces you will need from the scrapbook paper first.
• You will need a credit card to smooth out the bubbles once you apply the mod podge.  Use an old gift card that has expired.  Mine was ruined from the glue.
• Have a paper towel handy to wipe your hands of mod podge.  Don't worry, it peels off of your skin once dry.
• Cover your work area with wax paper.  If your item gets glued to it, it easily peels off.
• Don't worry about making mistakes.  Mod podge dries clear.
• If it's your first time using the product, be patient and take your time.  Both of my projects took a lot of time. However, it's getting easier and quicker with each project.
• Foam brushes work really well for applying mod podge.  Bonus: they're inexpensive.

All three projects cost a total that was less than $10.  The Mod Podge can be bought at any craft store. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby for $4.99.  The entire jar lasted through all projects.  The cheapest scrapbook paper I have found was also at Hobby Lobby for $0.59 per sheet. Buy the large pieces of paper, and not the standard size.  Hobby Lobby also runs great sales that will help you save money.

The only real hobby I have ever stuck with is teaching.  I guess I'm pretty lucky to have turned a hobby into a career.  Teaching: My hobby, My Career, My Passion!

Happy Mod Podging!

We're Going on a Treasure Hunt (At Target)

We’re going on a treasure hunt

We’re going on a treasure hunt 

Going to get some fancy ones

We’re not scared!

Uh oh! a cave 

a sparkly shiny treasure cave

We can’t go over it we can’t go under it

Oh no we have to go through it

tip toe tip toe tip toe

I was singing that song in Target today.  I walked into the store, and the dollar bins starting yelling at me.  They were begging for me to dig through them.  "Toilet paper, toilet paper, toilet paper," I said to myself repeatedly.  I mean that's the real reason I stopped into the store. I just needed toilet paper and maybe a new eyeshadow.  I quickly tried to walk past them.  I stared straight ahead and booked it. But really, what's the harm in just looking through the bins?  I don't have to buy anything.  Isn't that funny?  We are teachers, and we can't pass up a dollar deal.

This is my parents storage room in their house.  This is four years worth of third grade classroom stuff. The bins are stacked as high as my hips. Do you think I need more dollar bin stuff?

I'm glad I stopped at the dollar bins, because I found some treasures. The first are these amazing word strips which are dry erase.  My dry erase boards are pretty large and can sometimes be awkward to get out.  I love them and use them all the time, but if we are practicing writing sentences, we don't need an entire board.  These word strips will be just perfect!  They are 4 for a $1.00.

The second gem I found were these sticky notes.  I bought two packs.  I wanted to buy more but after digging and basically emptying the bin, I found out there weren't any more. Imagine everything you could use them for.  Ask the students to write a thought about characters, setting, plot, and theme.  Have them write their opinion about a topic in Science or Social Studies.  They can wear their thought on their shirt and others can respond.  You can make a "parking lot" and have the students park their thoughts there.  There are so many options!  

I am extremely proud of myself because that's all I bought today!  Just these little treasures...............whoops, I knew it.....I forgot the toilet paper. The dollar bins have won again!

Back to School.....It's a Balancing Act

Take a good look at the picture below.  Have you ever felt like this was your life?  You wonder how you're going to balance on the two chairs without falling, how long you will have to balance for, and when you're going to step on stable ground again.

The Great Balancing Act

We don't always feel like this.  While there are days, weeks, or even months that your swaying back and forth trying to stay up, there are also many other times that your two feet are standing on stable ground.  Hopefully you spend most of your time firmly on the ground rather than balancing on the two chairs.

During the last week of August, I will be the man in the picture completing the great balancing act!  During this one week, I will be moving to a new school building, starting a new teaching position, moving to a new home, and starting additional graduate classes for my Principal Certification.  However crazy it may get during that week, I know that I will appreciate my life even more when I'm standing straight and tall without wobbling!

Knowing that my life will be a little hectic come the last week in August, I am trying to do everything I can to prepare for back to school NOW!  But, there is a problem!  I'm starting a new position come fall.  I will be moving from a classroom teaching position to an ESL position.  After seven years in the classroom, I have back to school figured out.  I prepare my homework folders, organize my classroom library, make name tags for the desks, create locker signs, set up the birthday chart, and prepare my first week of homework.  But, that all ends!  I don't need any of that for ESL!

So now I sit here and I start to get that panic feeling.  The month of August will be here in two days, and I do not know what to prepare.  So I ask myself, "What is similar between a third grade classroom and an ESL classroom?"

Answer?  Parent communication.

So that's what I have been working on.  Last week, I prepared my Parent Communication Binder.

Inside of my Parent Communication Binder, there is:

1. Class Roster I use pencil to write student names so I can easily add or subtract names as students move in and out of my classroom.
2. Information Sheet for each student that every parent fills out.  It includes contact and emergency contact information. In addition, I ask each parent questions that allow me to know more about their child and their expectations of the school year. 
3. Communication Log for each student. This is where I record conversations between myself and the guardians of the student. It also allows you to easily track which conversations expressed a positive and which expressed a concern.  (Thank you to Meghan B. for suggesting this!)
4. Divider Tabs which allow me to easily flip to the students records that I need. You can find these at Wal-Mart for about $0.88.  

The best thing about this binder is that it keeps all important information about students in one place.  No more searching here and there for student/parent/guardian contact information. 

Where you keep your binder is up to you.  However, I like to keep mine near the classroom door.  During a fire drill, I grab it and take it with me.  When we go on a field trip, this binder goes with me.  If I have to make a phone call at home after school hours, the binder comes home with me.  

You can find all of the resources listed above including the cover page, binder label, and direction page HERE at my TPT store!  

So tell me.  What do you do to increase parent communication throughout the year?