How Do You Start Writer's Workshop?

Each year, "back to school" means spending countless hours pushing furniture around my classroom, hanging bulletin board paper, and spending more time on ladders than on the ground.  I also distinctly remember it as the only time when "adult music" blasts all day long.  Once the kids arrive, Dr. Jean it is.

But after classroom set up and parent packet copying comes the time when you sit down and look at your plan book and try to get back in the swing of things.  And that's the hard part.  I finally, after three years, put my beginning of the year writing plans into a comprehensive document!  I'm not going to lie...I started this three years ago.  And then...school would start.  And I'd forget about it.  Confession:  I have been printing the unfinished "ugly version" (no clip art, no cute fonts) of this just so I could use the lesson plan part.  But it's finally done!

Introducing...

Common Core Mini Lessons and More: Writing {Getting Started Unit}

This unit is JAM PACKED with 124 pages of writing resources to help you establish writer's workshop routines and help your students get into the habit of working independently.  I came up with a list of skills that I like to teach my students, and then came up with an order, anchor charts, checklists, and other accessories.  

Mini lessons include:

- What is Writing Time?
- Adding Details
- Stretching Words
- Using a Word Wall
- Using an Alphabet Chart
- What Writing Time Looks/Sounds Like
- Sharing Writing
- When I’m Done
- Extending Writing Across Several Days
- Using Known Words to Spell New Words
- Using Complete Sentences
- Long Words vs. Short Words
- Using Spaces
- Using End Marks
- Using Capital Letters
- Using an Editing Checklist

And...you have the opportunity to get it on sale!  Be sure to shop the big sale!

August Currently and Free Nail Polish

Well...in the words of the wise and talented Cara Carroll...

Couldn't have said it better myself!  The way I see it, I've been doing my readers a favor, because why post if I have nothing new to report?  I might as well wait until I can share something of value.  I have spent the summer doing a lot of planning and coming up with goals and timelines for *finally* finishing some of the product on my ideas list, as well as some fun new freebies for you all!  One will be released within the next week and is perfect for back to school...that's all I will say about that.  ;)

It's time for Currently!

Link up with Farley!

Listening:
To Pandora for now.  Planning to go outside in a bit, but right now Pandora is keeping me entertained.  Speaking of which, have you ever used Pandora in the classroom?  Angela from Hippo Ray in Second Grade did a blog post on it and ever since then, I've been intrigued!

Loving:  Sunshine.  Vitamin D.  A healthy glow.  And the freckles that come along with all that of course.  It's my favorite part of summer.  Sometimes I feel like a solar powered Energizer bunny because of how much I love my sunshine.  (Disclaimer:  I do take sun safety seriously and use LOTS of sunscreen!  Everything in moderation!)

Thinking:

About the best plan to attack classroom set-up.  Thoughts?  Right now, I'm thinking:

1. Move big furniture/rugs.  Get perimeter of room set-up.
2. Arrange desks in middle of room. 
3. Set up walls (whiteboards/bulletin boards, word wall, posters).
4. Set up outside of room (door, wall space, locker tags, etc.)
5. Get materials on shelves organized.
6. Get papers and teacher desk area organized.
7. Print everything I have collected this summer.
8. Laminate as needed.
9. CUT.
10. Label student items (cubbies, desks, lockers, nametags, labels, etc.)  This HAS to be last because you ALWAYS have students added right up until the first day of school.

Did I forget anything?????????????????  :/





Wanting:

My August Julep Maven box.  It's been shipped and is on its way, but waiting is hard!  Love at first sight. Coming from a girl who gets bills and credit card advertisements in the mail, I felt so spoiled to see this arrive!  I have seen Kate from The Small Things Blog get Julep boxes before, and I always kinda secretly wanted that little purple box to show up at my door.  And when it does, you feel like ROYALTY.

The best part?  Once you get monthly boxes you can customize...for example in July I picked colors from three different boxes!

Everyone claims that it is the best nail polish and that it "wears like a gel", and after trying mine...that's all I can say too!  The pictures don't do the nail colors justice.  I love them!  The reason I decided to try it is because they have a promotion going on right now where new customers can get their first box free hoping that they'll continue to pay for monthly boxes to arrive.  Extending is strictly optional...cancel by the 24th of the month to stop shipments.  Like I said before, I have always thought about starting a coupon blog, so I guess now is my chance to share the love.

To get a free box:
Visit Julep and select JOIN MAVEN.
Take the beauty quiz or click SHOW ME ALL STYLES.
Select MAVEN MONTHLY plan.
Use code FREEBOX at checkout and the price will drop to $0.00!  (Pay only shipping - $3.99)






Needing:
A classroom fairy.  To help with the heavy lifting and high reaching and just expedite things in general.  And maybe bring me a Starbucks :)  A girl can dream, right?

1st Day:
Approaching too quickly.

Currently (and $40 Sephora freebie coupon code!)

Link up with Farley!

Listening:
To the dishwasher.  It's one of those dishwashing/laundry nights where you pay more attention to loading and unloading than anything else.

Loving:

It's no secret that I love Sephora.  I am now loving my Julep Maven box.  Am I the last to know about this???  Coming from a girl who gets bills and credit card advertisements in the mail, I felt so spoiled to see this arrive!  I have seen Kate from The Small Things Blog get Julep boxes before, and I always kinda secretly wanted that little purple box to show up at my door.  Everyone claims that it is the best nail polish and that it "wears like a gel", and after trying mine...that's all I can say too!  The picture doesn't do the nail colors justice.  I love them!  The reason I decided to try it is because they have a promotion going on right now where new customers can get their first box free hoping that they'll continue to pay for monthly boxes to arrive.  Extending is strictly optional...cancel by the 24th of the month to stop shipments.  I have always thought about starting a coupon blog, so I guess now is my chance to share the love.  To get a free box:

Visit Julep and select JOIN MAVEN.
Take the beauty quiz or click SHOW ME ALL STYLES.
Select MAVEN MONTHLY plan.
Use code FREEBOX at checkout and the price will drop to $0.00!  (Pay only shipping - $3.99)

How was that?!?  Until I have my own couponing blog, perhaps I will continue to share coupons here and there that might interest teachers.  I'll have to start my Target Dollar Spot Alert posts soon too!

Thinking:
About my TPT priorities for the summer.  Do I do more craftivities?  Common Core mini-lesson series?  I keep going back and forth based on what I am currently receiving requests for.  I need to put together a plan for the next several weeks.

Wanting:
More time before the year ends!  That includes more time with my class (I may be the only teacher thinking that at this point in the year) and more time to pack up my things.  Do you need to pack up every year?  Can you leave up bulletin boards?  I only have to do a partial pack this year which is good news considering I have moved rooms almost every year before this year!

Needing:
More time to organize my coupons.  Sadly, it is extremely time consuming.  I think just having a little time to get a plan together about what to get where would help greatly!  I am not an extreme couponer by any means, but I like to save where I can!  :)

Bucket List:
Sunshine. Vitamin D.  A healthy glow.  ASAP.
Muscle tone.  Fabulous arms.
Lists.  Calendars.  A plan.  For all area of my life.

February Currently

Let me start by saying...wow...that took me a lot of tries to type "February" correctly!  I kept making typos!  Do you ever do that in text messages?  And then try to correct it and make it a different typo?  And then again?  I guess that's what I get for using Siri instead of my own two thumbs!  :)

Without further ado...

Link up with Farley!

Listening:
To shoveling and the buzz of snowblowers!  I've been hearing this A LOT this winter!  The snow piles on the sides of my driveway are about as tall as I am right now, and there is supposed to be more snow on the way!

Loving:
Sleeping in on Saturdays!  Sleep feels like such a luxury.  It's funny how something so simple can make you feel so much better after a long week.  Whether it's an extra 20 minutes or an extra hour, I will take what I can get!

Thinking:
About what to eat.  Ever since I went gluten-free, I spend so much time thinking about what to eat.  I keep trying to find substitutes for everything I am craving!

Wanting:
To just get days off with no make-ups!  I doubt that I will be able to impart much knowledge during June!

Needing:
Sunshine. Vitamin D.  A healthy glow.  ASAP.

2 Truths and a Fib:
Truth:  I don't like the way flowers smell, and I make lists for everything (including lists of things I need to make lists for).

FIB:  I really, really dislike the color red.  I like it on other people.  I like it in other people's classrooms.  I like it in other people's houses.  But I just cannot make it work for me.  You're probably wondering why t's on my blog then!  To be honest, the colors of this blog aren't exactly "me" with the red and all, but I needed a little red to go with my apple logo :)  So I made it work.  I might update at some point, but for now, it's fine.



Before I go, I wanted to show a couple items that might make these next few weeks a little less stressful for you...

Stay warm!

How To Put Links in Your TPT Product Descriptions

I am linking up with Erica Bohrer for her Getting Started on TPT Linky:

How do you use links in your Teachers Pay Teachers product descriptions?  This is a question that I have been getting a lot lately.  Hopefully this TPT tip is one that you can use to promote your products!  The good news is that it is not as difficult as you may think.

To start, pin the image below or bookmark this page for quick access to the product linking code:

How To: Links in TPT Descriptions

Then follow these steps:

Click the green edit button.

Scroll down to the "description" box.

Scroll down to where in the description you want to add the link.

Copy and paste the following code where you want the link:

<a href="INSERT HTTP ADDRESS FOR YOUR PRODUCT HERE" target="_blank">INSERT PRODUCT NAME HERE</a>


Copy and paste the http address of your product (just like you're adding a link to your blog) to replace the first set of capital letters, and type the name of the product where the second set of capital letters is.  Post the product, and check to make sure it worked.  I recommend copying and pasting the code as opposed to retyping, because with html even an extra space can cause the link not to work!  

I hope you enjoyed this tip!  If you have any ideas for other tutorials, leave a comment below!

Currently January

Happy 2014!!!

I hope that the new year is a great one for you!  Although there are many cliche parts of New Year's, the new year is fresh start, and that is something we could all use!  Without further ado, here is my January Currently!

Listening:  To silence!  That has been one of the best parts of break!  Hearing myself think, being able to focus, catch up on what I need to do.

Loving:  Having a longer break than my other working friends!  (Although this does make it hard to find people to hang out with!)  It's times like breaks when I realize how lucky I am to be a teacher.  Don't get me wrong, I love the kids and teaching too, but it is nice to still get holiday vacations and breaks that the rest of the working world doesn't recognize.  I see it as time to recharge my battery so I can be a more effective teacher when we return.  I still do some planning, organizing, prepping, etc., but it is nice to have the time to do this.  I don't know what I would do without my three-day-weekends, spring break, summers, etc.

Thinking:  About things other than school.  Like I said above, I love teaching, but it has been nice to direct my attention to my family, friends, my house (which needed a little cleaning!), etc.

Wanting:  GLUTEN.  Okay, how many of you all are gluten-free teachers?  You know what I'm talking about!  It seems that more and more people are discovering that they have Celiac's or other gluten sensitivities.  Without complaining, let me just say that gluten-free foods are expensive and do not taste the same.  There are some brands that are okay, but they don't taste the same.  Eating out is tough too, and same with potluck luncheons or dinners at school, and eating at people's houses.  It's not the worst thing that could happen to me, but sometimes I just really want to eat a loaf of sandwich bread!  I'd even be willing to eat a spoonful of flour in exchange for being able to eat gluten again!  I'd be up for a gluten-free recipe link-up at some point if anyone has good any good ones to share!

Needing: To finish what I start...  I have had so many questions about future products, such as my Common Core Math Mini Lessons.  They're coming!!!  I promise!!!  I have the other units in the series all started, but they need to be finished.  I only post them after I have used them in my classroom and tried them out, made adjustments, etc.  So I will write the basic lessons as I cover the concepts in class, and then I go back and work on formatting, fonts, clip art, etc. as I have time.  I will really be making an effort to get these finished up (and then discount them for the first 48 hours to thank you all for your patience!).

Memory/Tradition:  Snow!  Where I live, we gets lots of snow.  All winter.  And no snow days, ever.  I get so jealous when I see everybody write blog posts about snow days, and they take pictures and you can see little blades of grass sticking out of the ground!  It's only a dusting!  And they got off school!  Here, I spend hours in the car to and from school, making my way through 8 inches of snow!  It's just considered normal.


You can link up with Farley by clicking below!

New Craftivities + Teaching Blog Round Up

Even though I want my winter break to last forever...I started planning some fun things to do when we get back.  Introducing...

   

Click on each picture to check them out!  As always, I will give away a few to some loyal followers.  The first 2 people to comment with an email address and which craftivity shown above that they would like will receive an email from me :)

Also, I am linking up with Jennifer from Simply Kinder for her Teaching Blog Round Up.  She wanted to do one big link-up so we could all connect.  Click below to link-up!

Love.

"As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School.  We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children.  We honor their memory with our service.  Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook."   

#Love4SH

Cyber Monday(!) and a Good Cause

Happy Cyber Monday eve!  I am sure your email account has been full all weekend with deals from stores for the big day tomorrow.  I didn't go out on Black Friday this year, so Cyber Monday will be when I take care of all of my gifts.  With so many stores opening at various times on Thursday, I figured that all of the doorbusters would be gone by Friday morning.  Also, I hosted Thanksgiving this year, so I couldn't kick my guests out so I could go on Thursday!  Long story short, I am a huge fan of Cyber Monday.

Even though I take care of most of my gift-giving, I also take advantage of the incredible deals + free shipping to buy a few things that I have been wanting or needing for awhile.  I like to clean out my wishlists on various websites.  If you are looking to cross a few things off of your TPT wishlist, then be sure to stop by for the big Cyber Monday Sale!

Here are some of the most wishlisted items from my shop:

  

  

  

While you are filling your cart, please consider purchasing a bundle from the Central Illinois Tornado Relief Fund.  All proceeds will go to help the victims of the November 17th tornadoes in central Illinois.  These bundles will be available December 1st - 31st.  A big thanks to Amanda Pauley for letting me know how I could help with this!

Here are the two bundles I am a part of:

A holiday bundle with products from Amanda Pauley, Deanna Jump, Miss Kindergarten, Teacher at Heart, Cindy Feeney (Kinderkay), Melonheadz, Jen Jones - Hello Literacy, First Grade Blue Skies, Kindergarten Smiles, Vicky Moore, Nicki Thigpen, Karen Rowland, Liz Fowler, Kindergarten Squared, Ms. Arnold, Smart Chick, Teach 123, Teachery Tidbits,  Brittany Hutchinson,  Kindergarten Smorgasboard, Andrea Knight, Khrys Bosland, Lovin’ Lit, Charlottes Clips, and Pink Cat Studio

A winter bundle with products from Kim Adsit, Cara Carroll, Lori Rosenberg, Teacher at Heart, Lory Evans, Anna Brantley, Melonheadz, Meet Miss Parker, Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten, Regina Berns, Rebecca Anderton, KTP on TPT, Primarily Au-Some, Kyp McLaren, Vickie Plant, The Write Stuff, Lovin’ Lit, Charlottes Clips, and Pink Cat Studio

Happy Shopping!  

(P.S.  Anyone else wanting to take a personal day to shop Cyber Monday in their jammies?!)