Managing the Final Days + Currently

Currently I'm…

Love the 'surprise' section of this months currently.

I wanted to SURPRISE Katie from Little Warriors. If you already follow her blog then you know she is amazing.

I wanted to showcase her Earth Day activity pack, Where Does the Garbage Go, that I purchased and used this year.  The experiment in this pack is completely hands-on and really gives your little ones an understanding of the "Three R's"

My kiddos are still talking about that experiment!

Don't forget to link up with Farley!

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Ok… Now onto managing the final days of school. 

We all know that after spring break the kids are…well…a little cray-cray!  That's when it's time to up your classroom management game.

There are two things that I have been doing with my kiddos and it's working like a charm.  Most days! :)

So my kiddos this year love a little friendly competition. So to get them reviewing their sight words and earning "table points" I set up each table with a different sight word and listed the words on the board.

I change the sight words each week.  The incentive is that whichever table has the most tally marks/points at the end of the day gets to go to fun centers first. Some days we don't make it to fun centers, but they don't know that! ;)

My next classroom management tool first originated from the ladies at What the Teacher Wants.  I snagged their management freebie a couple years ago and my kids LOVED it. Now that its been a couple years, the interest in characters have changed.  So I updated their amazing management tool to meet this years group of kiddos.

Let me tell you how it works:

The ladies at What the Teacher Wants first created this tool as a friendly competition among peers.  They used Team Bieber and Team Skywalker! 

How stinkin cute are they?!

 Each student chooses which team they want to be on and they get a tag that is taped to their desk.  Throughout the day, every time someone was caught on task their team would earn a point. Whichever team at the end of the day/week with the most points earned a prize.  You can check out their complete blog post HERE.  They remembered to take pictures! :) 

My kiddos this year have been all about Frozen and Mr. Peabody, so I simply changed the characters but the game is still the same. Introducing Team Olaf and Team Peabody!

{I was given permission by the ladies at What the Teacher Wants to do so and share with you}

You can grab a free copy of this behavior management tool {here}!

What are some of your favorite classroom management ideas for the end of the year?

Hollywood Ending!

So I have done an end of the year celebration/awards ceremony since my 2nd year teaching.  I love throwing a celebration for the kiddos and it's a great way to close the year out!  After two years of a luau theme I decided to change it up.  The reason I decided to change it up....

Have you heard of Sarah Cooley?  She is the very first blogger I started following 2 1/2 years ago.  I love her.  There is absolutely nothing she puts out that is not age/grade level appropriate and, let's face it ca-uuuuuuute!

This little packets came with everything you would need for an end of the year party; end of the year memory book, autograph book, party signs, awards, and is filled with great classroom decor ideas!

Here's my twist to Sarah's party:

View from the door.  The shelving in the middle of the room kinda got in the way but we made do!

Here are our handprints.  I, sadly, had nowhere else to put these.  We just used our handprints on black construction paper.  Then, I wrote their names with a q-tip.  I hate how the names turned out but it had to do. :/  

I decided to make a "celebrity wall."  This is one of my gifts to the kiddos.  After asking what each kiddo wanted to be when they grew up, I wrote their answers on a small chalkboard and snapped a photo.  Then, I printed their names, cut 'em out, and viola!  Adorableness! 

And here's a view of the Hollywood snacks! Yumm!

I copied Sarah's idea of writing "Hollywood" on butcher paper with a wide paint brush.  It made the absolute perfect background for friend photos, award pictures, and everything else! :)   I got the red carpet from Party City! 

I had this stack of goodies on the tables for the parents to take home.  I stacked their Marvelous Monday Folders, Summer Packets, their Hollywood Ending Memory books, and a CD copy of our class movie and individual pictures.  Extremely time consuming making those CD's but I will always do it. The parents just love getting photos of their babies! :)

{If you swing by Sarah's blog or store, be sure to tell her I sent ya!} 

The party was a lot of fun but I am so glad it's over.  Now I have 3 half-days ahead {that's just 12 total hours} with my kinders. 

Happy {last} Tuesday...to me...and all the other teachers experiencing their last Tuesday! :)

End of the Year!

I can not tell you how excited I am that the end of the year is upon us! 

Granted it FLEW here, faster than most years, but it's here and I am glad. I have a whopping 16 days left of school and it sure does feel like it!

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say my kids are all kinds of crazy.  

Just think, at least you don't have to get observed tomorrow. :/ For your formal observation none-the-less.  Yes, you read that right.  I'm getting my formal observation for the year tomorrow!  With 16 days left of school!!!!!!

Please say a prayer for me.  I've done all the bribing I can do!

Along with that little bit of stress and tattle-talling kiddos, I'm excited to hand out these bad boys in just two short weeks:

I have given out these silly awards for the past two years and I LOVE them!

Even more so, the parents and kiddos LOVE them!!  They always put a smile on each face and I always hear a little chuckle from the parents. {love}

This packet contains 22 different awards, 2 versions of each {boy and girl specific}, AND I'm working on adding black and white versions of each {should be up in the next couple hours...go back and re-download}!  I've also provided you with a full page or half page size option! All you have to do is print, write, and laminate! 

PRESTO!

Even better news...it's on sale!

Only a couple hours left! Be sure to snag it up! I've spent a fortune already!

End of the year...already?!

Anybody else already thinking about the end of the year?

Surprisingly it is coming up sooner than later and I am READY! :)  

Remember that beautiful picture of the beach I shared...well it has been nothing but cloudy skies and rain since then. :(  Majorly bummed that my days of sitting in the sun and doing nothing have changed.  Now I'm being forced to actually get things done! 

Well, I did get my End of the Year Silly Awards done!

I love giving these out every year.  The kiddos and the parents really love them.  When I taught first grade, I let the kiddos vote for the friend that deserved each award.  They nailed it every time too!  This year, since I'm back in KinderLand, I'm going to choose the awards for each kiddo.  

I love that these awards do not require me to purchase anything to go along with them {unless I really wanted to}, the kiddos are not rewarded with food {just not my thing}, and I made the awards so that there are both girl and boy versions.  Now the boys aren't embarrassed to receive an award that has a girl on it! :)  I also made the awards full-page and half-page size.

All you have to do is print, write, and laminate! Easy!!

Here's a peek at some of the awards:

Click HERE to check out more!

If you're on Spring Break, I hope you're enjoying your time!  

I'm off to get more checked off my 'to-do' list.  Come on sunshine!!!

Beautiful Alexis!

Yesterday early in the weeee hours of the morning (3:06am to be exact) I became an Aunt for the 6th time.  This time it was my baby brother who blessed me with this precious little girl! First baby on my side of the family.  Holding my brother's little girl was the greatest thing and really got the "baby fever" going {something that has NOT happened with me yet, even after *almost* five years of marriage}.

I might be biased but I think she is the absolute cutest baby EVER! :)

 

 

Since this little bundle of joy came into the world at the beginning of the week and lives 2 hours away from me I got to take off work!!!  With only 10 days of school left and the kids on a whole new level of "crazy"... taking a day off was both exciting and anxiety provoking.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who finds it more stressful and more work to take OFF a day {especially at the end of the year} rather than just toughing it out and working?! My goodness! Praying my 20 little ones are behaving themselves for my brave sub!!

 

Speaking of end of the year approaching, make sure you check out my End of the Year Awards.  The "healthier" version of the candy awards! ;)

We will be getting our ballots ready and placing our votes for who deserves each award on Friday and having our end of the year award ceremony next Friday!  I'm also in the process of creating my end of the year slide show! I'm so PUMPED for this year's slide show! With all the cute fonts and clipart I've acquired over the past two years my arsenal of cuteness is reaching its max! hehe :)  Since I'm in such a joyous mood I've decided to have a 

FLASH SALE!!!

Everything in my TPT store and Teacher's Notebook Store will be on sale for 20% off the rest of the day! {head over to my left side bar to find your way there}

 

Happy end of the year!   

Have you heard?!

{click HERE}

I am so excited about this sale! I have so many wonderful items in my shopping cart just WAITING for me to press the 'purchase' button! I can't wait!!

 Fill your cart and get ready to be prepared for next year with all your fabulous goodies! :)

Now, have you been over to Rachelle's (and Natalie's) blog "What a Teacher Wants" {love her}?! Well the other day she posted this fabulous classroom management idea... along with a FREEBIE! So, I decided since my kids are 'out of this world crazy right now'  and I'm pretty much willing to do ANYTHING to ring them in, that I was going to take a stab at this idea!

What'd'ya know...it works MAG.NIF.I.CENT.LY!

Here's how it works:

There are two teams. Team Beiber and Team Skywalker.  Before I told my sweeties what the two team names were I talked to them about using their 'poker face.' Ok.  I didn't use that terminology but you get the gist!

Then the discreetly came and chose their team without showing or telling anybody.  Once they all had chosen their team, we shared and showed our friends.  I taped the small team tags onto their desks (when you visit Rachelle's blog it will make sense!)

The whole idea is that everyone is working together as teams to earn points (I say "tallies").  Whichever team has the most tallies/points at the end of the week gets some sort of treat.  So whenever I catch someone doing something amazing or if I catch most of the team doing something amazing, that teams earns a tally.  This week I took away a tally because too many kids on one team were off task.  They have the chance to earn that tally back too.

My kids absolutely LOVE this little game and it has worked marvelously.  All I have to say is "Hmm...which team is going to earn that next tally" or something along those lines.  The second I say it, the rooms gets silent and they are all eyes on me!  I LOVE IT!!!!

You MUST go check out these goodies NOW! {HERE}

I did it again!!!

After much contemplation, I decided to do it!

What you ask???

OPEN MY SECOND STORE!!!

I am so excited to have opened up another shop at Teacher's Notebook.  I absolutely love Teacher's Pay Teacher's and melt every time I get a notification in my mailbox, but I wanted to expand further across the web! :)

To celebrate this new adventure I'm having a 3-day sale starting right now!

{click HERE}

While you're there pick up the newly revised End of the Year Awards!  I added two more awards for many of you who have more than 20 sweeties in your classroom.  Here's a peek:

Phew! I had such a wonderful weekend full of relaxation!  I started my weekend off with a school function benefiting the arts in our school.  It was wonderful getting to see everyone outside their green shirts and jeans and in their "finest!"  Saturday begun with a delicious breakfast with the hubby followed by endless hours in the sun reading the last of the Hunger Games.  Today wasn't much different.  Slept in. Sunned all day with great friends! Perfect weekend!

 

28 days...

I am so excited that we only have 28 days left of school!!  I mean I. AM. EXCITED.  I'm not sure how your sweet little's are doing as the end of the year approaches but I am really struggling with classroom management right now.  All the wonderful management tools I've used all year {that have WORKED beautifully...I promise} are all of a sudden chopped liver!  Are you having these issues or is it just me?  And if your sweeties are getting a little "out of control" what are you doing to ring them back in?  

Aside from the stressful week I had last week and the "oh so fun" week ahead {we have a FULL week of IOWA testing...side note...I don't live in IOWA} I got some sort of stomach bug Friday night and was out of commission ALL DAY yesterday.  No fun!  This morning after 12 {yes, 12} hours of sleep I feel a gobzillion times better.  I even finished whipping up my end of the year awards.  I've used these awards last year, however, they were in need of cuter font and clipart.  Here's the preview:

You can check them out at my TPT Store HERE.  There's a sample download too!

Here's how I give the awards.  I first let the kiddos vote on who they believe deserves each award.  They LOVE doing this!  Usually they're right on target too!  After they're done voting and I tally up the awards I write the kiddos names and laminate them.  Then, I present them at our classroom awards ceremony.  Last year was my first year holding a classroom awards ceremony and it was SO much fun!  I created somewhat formal invitations for the parents and we decorated our room to look like a hollywood awards ceremony!  It was so much fun.  This year I will be rolling out the red carpet one more time!

Since I'm feeling better and I've had the wonderful joys of blogland to keep me occupied during my stint on the couch this weekend, I will give these awards away to the first 3 people who comment!  Make sure to leave your email!