Favorite Subject?

Today the topic for Teacher Week 2015-1016 is Favorite Subject.

My favorite subject is Reading. This has not always been the case, however. I used to hate teaching reading because it was the hardest subject to teach, and I still think that way. But now I realize that while it is the hardest it is also the most rewarding.

I love to watch my students struggle through and to see when the light bulb finally goes off in their heads. I also enjoy it when students implement some of the strategies I have taught them when they are reading independently. It makes me feel as if my job is worth it.

Sanity Savers

It's me again, linking up for Teacher Week 2015-2016 with Blog Hoppin'. Today's topic is Sanity Savers.

I only have one sanity saver and it may seem like a no brainer, but I would be no where without it. You need a calendar, and not the ones the school provides you with. You need an appointment book like this. (I advice you to get one that extends to 10pm.)

I mark everything in this thing. Some of the important things you should mark to make sure that you keep on top of everything and to relieve some stress include:

1. Family Time - Don't get so bogged down in the day to day of teaching and all the responsibilities and neglect your family. Schedule that time first as well as time for just you. Everything else will fit around this.
2. Planning - I dedicate two afternoons and I will admit, evenings, to planning. This allows me to have more free time for other things family or school related. Block this out before you block in any other managerial tasks for school. That stuff can be filled in along the way. (Don't take your break time for this. That should be family time.)
3. Meetings - If you have a 504 meeting or just a meeting with administration this is the time to put that in. 
4. Grading/Filing/Other Paperwork - If there is no time for this, there is always the next week.

Also try to make sure that you don't stay at school past 5 or 6 everyday, school should not become the only thing you do.

For those of you who love sticky notes and colored pens this is the place for them. I tend to add a sticky note on each day to add my to do list, which I try to accomplish anytime I have a free moment. You can use the pens to color code your book.

Hope this is helpful to some of you. If you use an appointment book, how do you use it?

Teacher Week 2015-2016 - Classroom Tour

It's Day 3 of Teacher Week 2015-2016 and I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' again. This time to share some pictures of my classroom this year. Here are some pictures of my space.

For more information and pictures look at my earlier post here.

Make Ahead Meals

Today the topic of Teacher Week 2015-2016 on Blog Hoppin' is Make Ahead Meals.

I tend to only dedicate a couple nights a week to cooking. I think it is so much easier to make a big batch of what ever meat I choose and a variety of sides, so that I can mix it up.

Here are a few meals that I love.

Pot Roast - This is a slow cooker meal that you can set up before you go to work and eat when you come home. I usually make rice or mashed potatoes with this. You can even use it to make sandwiches.

Ingredients

• Ranch Powder Dressing - 1 1/2 packets
• Beef - whatever cut is your favorite - one with not a lot of fat
• 1 cup water
• Italian Dressing Powder - 1 1/2 packets
• Brown Gravy Mix - 1 packet

Directions

1. Put the meat (after you have seasoned it how you would normally do) into the slow cooker. 
2. Put the seasoning packets on top of the meat not around it.
3. Pour the water on top.
4. Do not stir it. You want the seasoning to sit on top an soak into the meat.
5. Cook on low until you get home from work or for about 8 hours.
6. Break apart meat and mix.

Caramelized Chipotle Chicken - This is for some of you who like the sweet and spicy side of life. (I advise you to take the seeds out of the chicken and to add 1 tbsp extra of brown sugar.)
When I make this I also make a pot of rice, vegetables and macaroni and cheese. That way I can change things up depending on my mood and I don't feel as if I am eating the same thing again and again.

That's how I avoid having to stand in a hot kitchen everyday after being at work for several days.

Teacher Week 2015-2016 - 5 Fun Facts

Hey guys, it has been a hectic first week of school and it is beginning again. Hope everyone's first weeks or month (depending on how lucky you are) went well. Since I am new to blogging I have decided to link up with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week 2015-2016, so I can use this opportunity to tell you a little about myself.

Today's topic is 5 fun facts.

Mmmm....let's see.

1.    I have an awesome twin sister and if you can believe it she has also chosen the teaching profession (after much debating and graduating with a different degree). She went from a business administration degree to going through Hillsborough Community College to get her Education Certificate. She has just started her first year teaching and is teaching at my school. Let me tell you this can be super confusing.

2.   I love dogs, but at this point I don't have one. I would love to get one, but I live with my sister and she is opposed to it at the moment. She seems to think that if I get one, I will get busy with school and expect her to take care of it. Where she got that idea? I have no idea. This is my dream dog. Isn't he adorable.

3.   Have no children but family is super important to me. Right now I don't live at home or in the same city with my parents and older sisters, but we try to get together as much as possible. Going home after a month away and just relaxing for the weekend or on one of the schools many breaks is one of the most relaxing things to me.

4.    I love reading books especially romance books. Yes, I said it! I love reading in general, but put a romance book in front of me and don't talk to me for a while and I'll be happy. Super sad that I have too busy to read any books for the last little while. Right now the last book, I read has been from Jordan Silver. 

5.    In the last few months, I have been dabbling in cake decorating. At this point I only decorate dummy cakes, but I hope to get good enough to begin decorating cakes for my friends and family during special events. Here are a few pictures of my work at this point.

So, this is just a little about me. I can't wait to read and get to know some of the other teacher bloggers on the world wide web.

Remind your Parents

I recently heard about this awesome site and I thought it would be perfect to share with you. It's called Remind. It allows you to text your parents in a mass text message to remind them to do things like turn in their field trip money.

It is absolutely free of charge to teachers and no additional charge to parents for text messages.
This is something that parents don't have to have internet to sign up for. When you sign up as a teacher it allows you to set up a class code and all you have to do is let parent know what the code is and have them text it to the designated number.

Another cool thing about remind is you send your text messages through the website so this keeps your phone number secret and parents can't respond to your messages. This is useful when you just want to send a bulk message to parents and you don't need them to answer you back.

I am definitely using this this year.

If you have used remind before please comment and let me know how you have used it.

Very First Post - Classroom Reveal 2015-2016

Hi!

This is my very first blog post and I am super excited and nervous about my success. I have been following teaching blogs for a while and have been teaching for 2 years, now and I am excited to be embarking on this blogging adventure and soon my very own TPT store!

I am super excited to be linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. I have been a fan of her and her creativity for a while now.

Okay. Here is a look at my classroom and a rundown of how I made some of the parts.

Create seats has been something I have been a fan of from before my first year teaching and I have to admit that I have been scared to make them. It has always been a worry of mine that they would break and there would be kids on the floor and lots of tears. After finally working up the courage to try crate seats this is what I came up with. I bought about 1/2 inch think wood because I'm paranoid  and hopefully this will work wonders. They definitely add a splash of color to the room and match the foam boards on the windows (next time I will go with a different patter though).

Sorry this picture is a little dark. Got this idea from Kelli over at Tales of a Tenacious Teacher. I loved it. I have a wall with two giant windows that take up a lot of space and I thought this was a fabulous way to gain more real estate. I covered the foam boards with fabric to give it a pop of color.

This desk is one of my favorite parts of the whole room. Our school theme is Sea Us Learn and I think the ocean theme is really embodied here. My sisters love me because they spent hours cutting and and pasting construction paper to make seaweed and a variety of underwater critters.

These are book boxes that I got from Ikea that I wrapped in wrapping paper from Walmart. They are super cheap to make and look pretty awesome. The book boxes are 5 for 1.99 at Ikea.

These are some letters that I saw on Pinterest a few years ago. I actually made them my first year of teaching. They were super simple. All you need is a computer, glue and some construction paper. I printed out a template for each letter by using Microsoft Word (make sure the letters you choose have a boxy shape) then I just used the construction paper (cut in 1/2 inch strips) to outline the letter. Last add the swirls. 

Here is a look at my classroom as a whole.

Hope you enjoyed this look at my home away from home.

Please let me know what you think.