Currently and What I bought on Sunday!!!

First off I am linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy 4th Grade! for the February Currently. Let me just say that the fact that I haven't done a Currently in easily 4 months is insane!! I can't believe that I've neglected my blog for that long! I still can't believe how so many of y'all blog almost daily PLUS create items for TPT and teach!! I'm slowly getting the hang of blogging and teaching... I guess one thing at a time! I am trying harder to be a better blogger...

Most of my Currently is self explanatory... My pet peeves are pretty much that... smacking bugs the heck out of me!!! I want to go over and say something to whomever is doing it!!! Instead I just stare... Rudeness goes to a few of the other teachers that are getting their Masters degree with me, they come off as rude and arrogant thinking that I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm young in their eyes... Fakeness: people pretending to have more than what they actually do and/or trying to make you feel bad for what you actually have earned and worked hard towards!

Thats the first part of my blog! Now on to the extra fun stuff!!! My purchases from the SUPER sale on Sunday!!!! 

So for this I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' to show you what I spent my money on from Sunday's big sale!!! Let me tell you I think I actually bought things at three different times because I couldn't stop!!! 

Dragon's Den: Its Time for Guided Reading... Now what?

Reagan Tunstall: Daily Math Complete Set

Lory Evans: May Math Stations

Lory Evans: Daily Math Term 1

Lory Evans: April Math Stations

Reagan Tunstall: Edit with Eddie

Everyday February Math Journal Prompts

Laundry Day sentence types and endmarks

So here are my purchases I hope that I you can find some use of the things that I bought!! Let me tell you I am looking forward to using them in my classroom!

Product Reviews

I am going to try something new for  my blog... Since I am lacking on resources this year as it is my first year in 2nd grade I have been purchasing a lot of materials to use from TPT and I am LOVING them ALL!!! So I thought I'd share with my followers some of the things that I have purchased and what I've thought about them so far!  Bare with me this will be a bit of a long post because I went on a little bit of a TPT crazy shopping spree this Christmas break! YIKES!!! 

I have been using these products in my classroom for a few weeks now and I thought I would "review" what I thought about each one! As a third year teacher I thought I would have a more things down to a T and be able to create more things that I would be using in my room! BOY WAS I WRONG!!!! I have had ZERO extra time to to anything EXTRA to use in my room. So this year I have decided that I will just buy what I can and then when I get more comfortable with things for 2nd grade I can begin to make products to post to my TPT.

Sorry if you are looking for more things from me but right now with everything on my plate I really barely have time to write this post! However I have decided that I will try to post more about things on here! I mean that is the point of having a blog is to get your ideas out there and to find comfort in your community of those around you!

OK! So here we go!!!

The first product that I am going to review is I Have, Who Has Mega Pack. This Mega Pack has several different I have, Who has games for 2nd & 3rd grade students. My kiddos have LOVED playing the Money game! We are still working on telling time so I will try to use this game in the next few weeks. They also really liked the Contraction game. It is funny how they are checking their neighbors card to check to see if they are paying attention and they will be the first one to call out their friends who aren't paying attention. If you are looking for a few whole group activities for time wasters or as a good way to review before a test these are an awesome and FuN way to have kids practice and play!

Next product to I am going to review are the Common Core Math that I have purchased. I have purchased Terms 2, 3, and 4. Since I bought them during the Christmas break I didn't buy term 1. This summer I will buy Term 1 to use with my kiddos next year! So far I have loved using these are a Morning work and I can quickly glance around the room and see where my muffins are having difficulties and then I know which kids to pull during Math interventions. Daily Math Term 2, is what I am currently using for morning work. I have tried to look at a few of the other concepts that are in the later "terms" and some of the concepts that were covered I hadn't really taught yet or focused enough on so that I felt comfortable to require my students to be responsible. I don't know about y'all but our school in Texas uses the TEKS, Not Common Core, so for me with majority of the other states using Common core I honestly feel like some of the material is above where my students are. I will talk about this when I talk about the Math centers in a minute. So for me this is a great way to review some of the Math concepts that were taught during the first semester and will require my students to remember what they learned prior to the Christmas break. On a different note my kids are LOVING doing these as Morning work! I am not kidding you I tell them that they have morning work and they get excited!!! How crazy is that?!?!? They are liking having work!

The next thing I am going to talk about is the Common Core January Math Stations from Lory Evans, I  seriously have EVERY month's math stations on my wish list on TPT and I have decided that the month before I am going to purchase the next months centers to get them ready to go! That way eventually I will have all of the monthly stations and in a year I will have all of the centers! The way I use these are I print out the blackline and put them in page protectors with two months in one binder. Then I copy the pages that I am gong to use onto Card stock then cut and laminate on "Crazy Teacher Weekends" I am currently having a crazy teacher weekend getting everything ready for February! I know I have a few weeks but I am trying to get more organized for my own sanity! My kids are LOVING using the math stations! They are getting more independence and practice on using math everyday! It also gives me a good amount of time to pull kids for Math Intervention! I have some students that I really need to focus on because we move at such a fast pace and they are trying to keep up but need some little help along the way! Anywho I am loving them not asking me a million questions every day about what can I do now I'm finished with this... How about Now?

I am absolutely in love with both of these sets of center. Granted in Texas we don't use Common Core (well again at least not at the school district that I work at). I am currently using the January Math Center and my students are LOVING them! Now, you have to keep in mind that I didn't start using math centers in my classroom until January! So when I introduced them I sort of rushed through them because I wanted them to have as much time with the centers as possible. *Disclaimer* I would have spend a lot longer on introducing each of the centers because I assumed that my students could read the instructions and figure out what to do... not so much in my class!! GEEZE! Is there anyone else who has this problem with their students? If I don't walk them through each step they get lost!* So I had to take a step back and walk my class through each of the centers. I do have to say that the task cards that are included with the stations ARE AMAZING and they do give good instructions, however my students didn't seem to notice that I placed these in their tubs. Again I am loving the January stations! I am currently cutting out the February math stations, I have them laminated and printed out on red and pink cardstock because DUH it's Valentine's Day!!
With that being said... my rambles... since we don't use common core, I feel like my students aren't ready to use all 12 of the stations... I usually use about 10 or the stations and then fill in the extras with other games that I have previously created or taught or played with them. I also have a few at small group with me for math intervention. Again I'm rambling... My class in nowhere near knowing fractions! Let me ask a question for those out there in Common Core land... are your second graders already understanding fractions?? I feel if I were to put those centers out my kiddos would be completly lost and just sit there and do NOTHING!!  

I actually have a few other products that I would like to review but since this post is now on its 4th day of editing and not being published I will just leave you all with the babbling of my crazy stressed out-ness... HAHA! However I hope that you are going to look into getting a few of these products and using them in your classrooms! Let me say that I have reloaded my TPT wish-list and am just waiting for things to be needed or to see where the wind takes me as for what I will be needing in the future!

Thanks for coming along on my crazy ride! I am really hoping that I can keep up with my blog and posting things more often! I am going to work really hard on being better at time management and allotting time for blog stalking, and more posting and eventually creating more things for my classroom... I need some MAJOR help on how you all get everything accomplished and have time to create items for TPT!

Finished Classroom!! Picture Tour

Well school starts on Monday for me!! It has been a long two/three week process of me not getting any full days in my classroom until last week... With going to grad school still and trying to get all that stuff finished as well as working in my room a few days here and there, well I have finally finished everything! On Thursday we had our Meet the Teacher as well as our Parent Orientation! I was able to meet 24 out of my 26 kids, which I thought was a pretty good turn out!! On Friday I was told that another student registered so that put my number up to 27!!! There are four 2nd grade teachers and ALL of us are at 27 kids for the start of the year!!! Hopefully they will ALL show up on the first day of school so that we can hire a 5th teacher and get our numbers back down to a regular size!!!

Well I am going to post the pictures of my finished classroom now!!! FYI This is going to be a very picture heavy post! I will try to not make the pictures huge but big enough for you to see what is in them!!

This is the view when you first walk into my room! All of the supplies are already in their desks with the tissues on top from Meet the Teacher on Thursday! All 27 Desks and in the back corner is my "desk" and guided reading area

My classroom job chart!

Computer table, word wall, and backpack hooks! (not enough only 22 hooks for 27 kiddos)

My behavior chart (available for purchase in my TPT and TN store)

My handsome son blocking my lunchbox holder!

My objectives that will be posted on my bulletin board (Pinterest)

My important times clocks!! Again thank you Pinterst!!

Student Cubbies and homework turn in area

The dog ate my homework turn in place

Birthday Balloons (Pinterest)

My daily 5 choice spots... the students will move a magnet to where they are going. 

My area, as well as where my centers are housed!

My guided reading table

My classroom library, reading buddies, and personal space hoops!

This will say Dive into Reading... Just didn't have time. 

Treasure Chest!!! Already loaded and ready to go!

Backpack hooks

View from the back corner of the room

My guided reading area and writing station (still not ready)

Pictures of my Classroom

I have been super nervous and excited about being able to finally get into my classroom and start decorating... I had no clue what I was going to walk into how big it was, or what furniture was in there... This weekend I also was finally able to spend my birthday money at Lakeshore yesterday!!! I forgot to take pictures of all this stuff that I bought yesterday... I'll take pictures either later today when I go back to my classroom or tomorrow when I go to my room... On a different note I only have two days left of my third Graduate class!!

So now I am going to do a picture post of what my classroom looks like... This is what my room looked like when I walked in for the first time... Now I have all sorts of things scattered all over my room and on tables and in the cubbies and all over the floor... I haven't really started decorating any of it yet... trying to do one thing at a time... finish grad class, then start working in my room full time!!! HAHA Ok so here goes the pictures of my room.

This is the view that I first had when I unlocked my room for the first time... All the desks in the middle of the room and all the chairs were stacked in the back corner. 

This is the back corner looking across the class... 

This is looking at my storage space in my room!! Now all the books that are on top of the counter are placed nicely in the student cubbies (pictured below) also in their cubbies are their personal storage units where they will keep their sight words and punch cards so that they are responsible for all of their belongings and I don't have to keep up with them all. 

These are the student cubbies where I already have put all their books in (well their math and writing) I am making their fish labels that will velcro to the front with their numbers or names... I don't know what I am going to have exactly.

This is also in the back corner where the computers are going to go as well as my reading bookcase. This is a picture of the students backpack rack. I will put laminated fish with their name/numbers on them so they know where their backpack goes everyday. 

This is a picture of my teacher area, this is where I will be working with my guided reading (and guided math) groups this year... I don't have a teacher desk so all of my storage stuff will go in that corner!!!

Well this is the tour of my room for now!!! I also did a Monday Made it but totally forgot to take pictures so if I get a chance I can edit this post and add it to this post later... If not Tomorrow it is!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!!

August Currently (already... YIKES!!!)

Well its that time again!! The start of a new month means a New Currently from Farley over at Oh boy 4th Grade!!!

My B2S stuff: 1: Organizational items: I have bought two sterilite drawers from Walmart 

I bought one that was this color and another that was a hot pink color!! this is where I will store my guided reading group stuff!

I also found one very similar to this one that was on sale for only $30!!! I will store all my papers and copies for the week in here!! Since I won't have a teacher desk I am trying to find as many cute storage things as possible!!!

I also bought the toolbox from Lowe's to make my teacher toolbox that everyone seems to be doing this year! I just bought all the scrapbook paper today from Hobby Lobby so I will have to take pictures of everything that I have been getting for my classroom!!!

Also on my B2S stuff was my Erin Condren Life Planner!! This has been such a life saver for me this summer keeping track of everything that I need to do and all the different places that I have to be!! If you don't have one or are debating on getting one I would Highly Suggest Going over there and checking them out!!!

And of course NEW CLOTHES!!!! 

I will post tomorrow some pictures from my room and then a small haul of things that I have been collecting through out the summer for my classroom!!! 

Setting up your room!

Tomorrow is the first day that I am going to be able to finally see my classroom!!! I am moving to a new school that is only 5 minutes from my house (super excited on saving gas in my truck) and I have several ideas about how I would like to set up my classroom but since I have never seen it and don't really know the layout I really have no clue what I am going to walk into tomorrow... I will take tons of pictures and post them so that I can see before and after. Do you need to see something from an objective point of view to see if you like it? I do... Any who, yesterday I met with my Mentor teacher (this will also be my first year teaching 2nd grade, I have done Special Ed for the past two years) and we were talking about all kinds of things that I had questions about, literally I had written and entire page on a legal pad of questions and I am still thinking of more to ask her... Well we got to talking about room set up and that I would have to have a teacher work station in a specific spot in the room because of where the hook-ups were for our Elmo and projector, (totally forgot to ask if we had smartboards, boo) any way she was talking about how she was going to set up her classroom and was thinking about not using a teacher desk and just having more storage behind our guided reading table, since this is where she is most of the time... So that got me thinking, if I don't use a teacher desk (since we aren't suppose to ever be sitting at our desks when we have students in our rooms) how I could use that space towards more student areas... So here is my question... Teacher Desk or No Teacher Desk and have more storage containers (that of course I will decorate)? What do you have in your room, have you done both? Which do you like more? There are just so many decisions that I have to make about how I set everything up, and I really don't have all that much time to get everything done before Meet the Teacher and Parent Orientation... Still have a week left of classes and then we start two weeks of workshops and inservice days with really only three days to work in our classroom!!! YIKES its getting so close!!!! I am getting really nervous and excited all at the same time!!!!