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Hi all! We all have those days when we reflect on what is and is not working in our classroom. I've been reflecting the last few days on what is working for my 4th grade classroom this year.

First of all, I credit the mostly positive student behavior in my classroom to the great Classroom Dojo. I've been a Dojo addict for the past 4 years and swear by it! Those not familiar with this app, should check it out! Did I tell you that it is free? Well it is!!!

Key items: 

First, it has an easy classroom setup. It takes maybe 10 minutes to type in your students' names. Then the computer assigns a different Dojo monster for each child. (The students do have the ability to change their monster.)

Next, you get to choose what skills you want you students to follow (stay on task, homework, participation etc.). If they do well they get green or positive Dojo points. If they aren't doing well in a certain area you can give them a negative or red mark.  These points are tracked throughout the year. You can, at any time, check out how an individual student is doing. You can check daily behavior, weekly, monthly, or yearly. This comes in real handy for monthly incentives and during parent teacher conferences. Yay, instant data!

Another great feature is the parent account. Each parent can download their own Dojo App for FREE and follow the daily progress of their own student.  I can also send out group messages or individual texts.  I have 95% of my parents on my classroom Dojo and they love it! I also have the ability to send pictures of activities going on in our classroom. For  example, yesterday we went on a field trip to the wonderful Hershey Museum, and I snapped a few pics and sent them out to the parents.  They can view the pics, like, and/or comment on all pictures. Dojo also offers translation. I work in a high Spanish speaking community. If the parents don't know English, they can hit a translator button and magically they can read it. Love that!

I also appreciate the "share it" feature.  I can invite other teachers that work with my students to join my classroom. Those teachers then have the ability to give or take points in their classroom. This works well with small groups and specials! My specialists are all connected.(tip: make a skill for each of those extra teachers ie. gym teacher pushes the "specials" skill button only. I have a specials button for green and red points)

Lastly, I can't tell you how much I use the random student button in my classroom.  I use it instead of pulling sticks out of a cup. (I always lost sticks...ugh) I also use it for my Mystery Walker. Whenever we leave the room I choose a random student as my mystery walker. That student has no idea if they are the mystery walker, so they all walk in a straight line silently and keep their hands to themselves. This also works wonders for lining students up prior to leaving the classroom lol.

Alright then, that is the first of many things working in my classroom. Check back for other great ideas that are making my classroom successful this year!

Learning the 50 States and Capitals with any class can be a daunting task.  I've been searching for a product that would break up the states by regions and include quizzes/tests and study maps. I searched high and low, but couldn't find what I wanted. So like any TPT'er I searched for clip art and created my own. I'm hoping my product can also help other teachers in their state and capital quest. Enjoy!

 I included a whole 50 states and 50 capital test with answer keys. Along with regional quizzes for states and capitals.

 I downloaded my PDF into my Activinspire and had colorful and easy to read maps for my students to review and show what they know. They love showing off their knowledge.

 I copied my packets and placed them into folders for easy use during Social Studies.  Enjoy my product!

Our school is introducing The Leader in Me along with the "7 Habits of Happy Kids" this year. I wanted to find resources to help my students better understand what these habits are and how I can implement them in my classroom. The book was an easy read on the beach! I found it very informative and it gave many examples of how other schools and teachers were squeezing the lessons into their already full day.


 I found the following resources to make my life easier. Hopefully some will work for your classroom.

Library Learners blog has a great selection of read aloud books that focus on each of the habits!

Always Sunny Project has a great set of posters! Most likely using these in my room. I love the simplicity of the color and design. Very Nice!

The Teaching Oasis has some great posters that simply explain the "7 Habits"  There are several versions that would work with any classroom.

Finally, I created an "I Am A Leader" poem for my class to start thinking, acting, and finding their inner leader. Have a great week!

Here we go again! This will be my 16th year teaching in the Reading School District.  I've learned a lot along the way and sharpened my skills with every lesson taught.

As much as I love being a teacher, one of my favorite things to do is set up my classroom.  This year was even more exciting with a new room and a new grade. Another difference this year is all of my students will be the same.  I've never looped with a group before but I'm looking forward to seeing their little faces tomorrow at open house!

So in a few hours, I will get to see their reaction to our new room, but luckily you will get to preview it first. Let me know what you think!

 This is the view from the back of my room.

Love the respect and friends posters I downloaded for free. 

I have use the Whole Brain Rules for the past 4 years! They work really well for me! Another free download! The Wow Work banner is from my TPT

 My work corner along with my class schedule.

 More of my Navy Blue and Red Theme Decor

 My reading focus wall with bold color lettering  this product is editable too!

 Below are frames I will use for grouping students. The magnet have their names on them and can easily move to a different group!

 Loving their name tags this year. I like to keep the name tags on their desk simple and small.

 My group table with my Sort-o Game in progress! This game is loads of fun and educational! The kids love playing! My learn to write board is to the left. My students love to write whenever they have a free minute.

 My window coverings are actually being used for more bulletin board space. Above I have Go Math vocabulary preview words , for the first couple chapters, which come along with definitions cards that will be posted as we learn them. Below are critical verbs that I grouped if more than one verb had similar meanings.

 Finally, I have my closet doors with Prefix and Suffix words and critical nouns. The third door has goal graphing charts and the fourth door has my classroom jobs posted.

I hope you enjoyed checking out my classroom. Please follow my blog for future updates on my year!

One Day Sale August 22nd

Use Promo Code: oneday

Spending time with friends and family is how I let go of my stress.  I find these final days prior to the start of school is when I need these distractions from work the most.  How do you let go of stress prior to starting day? Last night, I had a stress-free time watching the Eagles win a preseason game! Lets hope they can keep on winning this season!

That being said, I am now thinking about my classroom ( sorry I can't stop ugh) and the few things that need to be done decoratively prior to lesson creation time.

I'm not quite ready for the big review, but I do have my Brag Tag wall to show you! I was just thinking about going to the dollar store to purchase the final plastic hooks I need to complete this area. Post your brag tag wall in my comments.  I love seeing all of the different Brag Tag ideas teachers create! Also if you need brag tags, check out my mentors page, Fun in 5th Grade! She has tags for everything. Here are a few.


I'm off to the beach for more rest and relaxation time. Enjoy the weekend!

 Sneak Peak Preview of what is going on in my classroom!  This is my baseball inspired clock and probably the only truly masculine item in my room. The boys will love it!

 My navy blue and red classroom schedule is up and ready for all to see and follow on a daily basis.

I previously spoke about the glare making it impossible to see the white board.  Too many windows is a blessing and a curse lol! I chose to create two focus walls! Educational and functional! We are off to the Eagles Preseason game tonight then off to Sea Isle NJ for some family time!

 Today was day one back in my classroom.  I'm not very fond of the green everything going on in my classroom. This will need to change!

 I have a lot of work to do to get ready for a new grade and a new year. Luckily, I will have the same class I had in 3rd grade. Yayyyyyy!

 Stay tuned for new pics as I make color changes and start hanging decor to make my classroom inviting and fun!

There are so many products I would love to drop into my cart at Teacher Pay Teacher. I scrutinize over products I really need for my classroom from the ones I really want for my own entertainment.  For all the teachers out there hesitating and debating, like me, to purchase items for your classroom, DON'T!! You won't regret it! Here is why.

First, the BEST YEAR EVER SALE is going on right now, August 1st and 2nd.  Most products are a bargain at 20%-30% off.  Second, the longer you wait, the less time you will have to copy, laminate, hang, or file your new treasures. Finally, why reinvent the wheel? There are so many creative and talented sellers on TPT. These artist quickly create amazing products and all we have to do is click download and print!

Over the years, I have purchased many products that make my life as a teacher a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. Do yourself a favor and check out the amazing products at TPT!

I'm so excited about a new game in my TPT store.  If you have ever played Rack-O when you were younger like I did, you will see similarities in my Sort-O game.  The whole concept revolves around sequencing from least to greatest.  Students get ten cards that they sort into their rack in order received from back to front.  After all ten cards are in your rack you pick and discard cards till your rack is in order from least (in the front) to greatest (in the back of your rack). The first player to accomplish this yells "Sort-O" and wins that round.

I easily created racks from Dollar Store pool noodles after being inspired by The Activity Mom on Pinterest.

 I bought pool noodles that were already beveled. This saved me from having to complete the first step of making one side of the noodle flat so it doesn't roll around. I cut the noodle into 13" pieces.

 I then made 10 slices almost half way through the noodle.

Finally, I have the perfect card holders for my classroom! Check out my 4 versions of Sort-O in my TPT store.  Off to my next project for my new classroom!

My mentor and friend Angie from Fun in 5th Grade

Are my floors clean and waxed yet? Every year I painfully wait to get into my classroom and let my creative juices flow. This year I will be two doors down from my wonderful old room 202.  The excitement I get from changing grades is overwhelming and at times stressful, but I love creating new products for my classroom. Angie use to teach down the hall from me, but is now focusing all of her efforts into her amazing TPT store. She will be missed, but luckily I will get to see her when we meet to talk about all things TPT. She is guiding me through my new adventure and answering all of my crazy questions.  Meanwhile, I'm totally inspired by Pinterest and actually losing sleep as I click through beginning of year ideas. 

Let me tell you how this crazy obsession of creating products for my room started.

I previously told you that I love decorating and being creative in my classroom and that I am also changing from 3rd grade to 4th this fall. Well this mean I have to rewrite all my plans and create all new tricks to keep my students engaged and happy. So bring on the 4th grade products and new room decor.

One of the first things I created were new SCOOT games to go along with the 4th grade curriculum. I love these SCOOT games and so do the kids. Anything to get them out of their seats, in a not too crazy way, that is also educational is a win win for all.

How many of you use SCOOT? Tell me your thoughts on this review method or any favorite games you have that work for you.

Later!

How crazy is this blog thing? Writing is my least favorite subject to teach, but I'm going to try and embrace my daily thoughts and place them on this very confusing blog thing.

I've been teaching for 16 years. My classroom is located in an inner city school district in South Central Pennsylvania. My resume includes several grade levels.

I hesitantly started my teaching career in 8th grade and instantly put aside my desire to teach cute little kids in elementary. I had to go where there was an opening.  I fell in love with my feisty, rebellious, creative, and intelligent students. I also quickly learned that their lives were very different than mine. The homes where they resided were not safe and it seemed like they moved around the neighborhood every few months.  These kiddos had many more challenges than I would ever face in my lifetime.  Thankfully, they also had a will to do their best no matter the situation.  

Three years past and I took maternity leave which turned into two maternity leaves back to back.  As soon as I was able to return to teaching, I wiped the drool off of my shirt and went out the door. 

Due to new restrictions, I was no longer able to teach in 8th grade with my elementary certificate, so I happily filled in an opening in 6th grade math.  I love everything math! I enjoy structure and step by step problems. I enjoy multi step problems that take a while to solve. This was my oasis.  I loved being creative which isn't always welcome by other middle school teachers. They would snicker enviously at the student created math posters on my walls and the cute projects hanging from the ceiling. 

Several years in 6th grade math and my comfortable position would come to a scheming halt. We found out our 6th grade building was being shut down. They told my comrades and me that they would place us in other schools. I can't explain how sad it was to once again leave a great group of educates for some unknown future. 

Long story short, I was sprinkled into a third grade position in an amazing school with more new amazing teachers. It was a fresh start and a new beginning for my creative juices. Designing and decorating became my passion. I wanted every inch to be inviting but neat.  My tastes are clean and bright. My themes are usually more color based than animal or superhero.  I love teaching the younger children.  Every so often, someone will ask which grade I preferred teaching. I reply that they all have their pros and cons, but one major commonality is the desire to learn even when out side the classroom and school walls exists many life challenges. 

I hope you will follow me as I once again change grades. I will loop with my third graders to fourth. Hold on tight and get ready for another adventure in planning and decorating.