loving wisdom

I decided to join up with Deb's linky party on her blog, Fabulously First. She's sharing her advice to new teachers and allowing others to do the same. I taught my first year last year and learned a lot! I'm right now in the process of reflecting on my routines/procedures and behavior system so I can make adjustments and have a smoother year...in just a few weeks! I feel like the first year is a starting place and from there, you can figure out what to keep for the next year and what to change. Teaching is a constant process. I never want to stop growing as a professional and right now there's a lot of changing going on with the implementation of Common Core and a new reading series. I'm excited about this upcoming school year and getting to know a new group of kiddos!

finally finished filing!

I've spent parts of the last two weeks working on getting all of my paperwork in order from my first year of teaching. I finished today! During the school year I kept everything in containers that held hanging folders and I would just stick everything in those. So I've purged all the extra copies of worksheets I had or the copies of things we didn't get to and put everything in notebooks, thanks to a great post I came across a while back. I used these super cute binder covers from Teachers Pay Teachers. I had to make a few covers on my own using these great chevron backgrounds. Here are all of my notebooks, organized and ready to go!

I put a colored piece of paper on the sides, writing the names so I can easily find what I need once they're on my bookshelf. You can click the picture below to grab your own set of binder covers!

some fun reads

I like children's books. I have every intention of incorporating my love of reading into my future classroom. As a substitute teacher, I've learned to keep some books with me as a time filler because how often in life do things go as planned? There are a few that I'm just really loving and plan on buying a copy at some point after returning the ones I have to the library:

Spoon and Chopsticks are ones that I haven't read to any kiddos yet but I enjoyed them as I read them :) I think some of the humor would be lost on a younger audience anyway but they're both super cute - all about realizing what gifts you have instead of longing for what others can do. For example, Spoon thinks Fork and Knife both lead so much cooler lives than he does but he isn't aware that they think the same thing of him. What Animals Really Like is just a fun book. None of the kids I read it to expected the turns it took but they all enjoyed it. And The Monster at the End of this Book I can now say I have almost memorized. I've read it probably around 15 times and love the reactions I get from it. The older kids (1st or 2nd graders) like it because they remember it from when they were small and the younger ones (kindergarten) haven't all heard it but are quickly caught up in the Grover and his desire to keep us from reaching the end of the book. So if you're looking for some stories to read to your young ones (or maybe yourself if you share my love of children's books), here are a few titles that I've found success with :) 

saturday spotlight: courtney with "swimming into second"

I've been noticing some really cute stuff in different classrooms I've worked as a substitute in. I've seen handouts and things on the wall with absolutely adorable illustrations. I finally was able to figure out where they came from and knew it would be my next spotlight post! Courtney has a great blog called Swimming into Second. She has some free printables on her blog as well as listing other blogs by teachers (it seems most are second grade) if you're into networking and connecting with other teachers. She has some of her stuff available on Teachers Pay Teachers (a site where you can find some great free stuff!). If you're in the elementary education profession and in need of some ideas, her over to Courtney's blog...which will then lead you to other blogs!