I finally have my AZ certification!!!!!

I have been patiently waiting for my IR from the University so that I could apply for my certification. I was extremely lucky that AZ has a same day service if you go to Phoenix. The family and I drove up to the Grand Canyon and down to Phoenix to pick up my certification. I mailed off all my application to receive certification in Louisiana and Texas. I feel so much better now that I am done with that process. Now I am just going to keep my fingers crossed that I receive those pretty soon.

Teacher's Tool Kit

A little about me...... I love organization ideas for the classroom. I found this great idea from other teacher on Pinterest! I LOVE this site! The idea was to take a standard tool box that you can get from Lowe's or Home Depot and change it into a supply cabinet for your desk area. Another idea to keep my desk clutter free so that I can work with students at my desk when needed. I got mine from Home Depot for $20! I painted it to match my classroom colors and labeled all of the drawers with important teacher tools. I used scrapbook paper to line the drawers to cover the mess! Take a peek! Let me know what you think.

Common Core HELP

I have realized from talking with teachers that the common core implementation has everyone in a panic. Many of the schools are in a "waiting" period for curriculum that better fits these standards. There are a few teachers who are taking this challenge with optimism and many who are just frightened at the thought of all the work they are going to have to put in this next year. I find the new common core implementation refreshing! However, I am a new teacher so I didn't have time to get used to using a particular curriculum. In my opinion it puts more control back into the teacher's hands. They can adapt things to fit the needs of their students. I have done a lot of searching for helpful sites for some of my teacher friends who are still in a state of shock. :) You can click on the subject on the left hand side of the scree. It will pull up a page with the grade levels. Click on the grade level you teach and HAVE FUN! This site has all the standards listed and a break down of activities that you can use for each standard. I hope this is helpful! https://transitiontocommoncore.wikispaces.hcpss.org/

Happy Birthday to me!!! My birthday is right around the corner! My mother in law always sends me money since we live so far away (21 hours). I was reading on another teacher's blog about how much she loved her laminator. Can you believe she got it at Walmart? It was $30! That's a great price! The pouches were $15 for 50 which is not bad! However, I am pretty sure she commented about getting them on Amazon. I am making math and literacy stations and I like to laminate all of the pieces to make sure they last. It takes too much time for them to be torn up in the first week of using them. The greatest struggle I found while student teaching was finding time to get everything done! Could I have done less to make my life easier? Sure... I could have but that is not what my students need. Now that I have this at home I can work on things while helping the kids with their home work and watching my favorite shows!

Chair Pockets

I have been obsessed with searching for fabric to use on my chair pockets for a year now. I have contemplated the design of my classroom for as long as I can remember. I am one of those type of people that has to plan and organize everything ahead of time. I don't like to be unprepared! So, you can imagine what all of this waiting is doing to me. Haha! I have to spend my time wisely! So, Isaac and I ran to Walmart to pick up my birthday present (more to come on next post)! Guess what I seen? The fabric section is back! I LOVE their fabric section because you can get solids for really cheap. I found the cutest fabric that matches all of my colors! I was in shock! I have already made 2 chair pockets! I am waiting to go to my daughter's classroom to try them on the chairs before I make more. I want to make sure they are not too big. I love the way they turned out!

Websites that are great for the classroom!

I have been collecting sites to use in my classroom and of course at home. My son will be starting Kindergarten this fall and he has a speech delay. The only way I could get him interested was to relate to things that he loves, GAMES! The great thing is he has to earn this game time by doing his therapy and working with me. I am a happy mom knowing that his "game time" is also educational. I hope these will help you as well. http://www.abcya.com/- This site is so neat! It has grade level activities and computer games for K-5. These games are enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn. The best part is that it's FREE! http://www.funbrain.com/- This site also has games which we all know the kids love. I have seen over the years that students will choose free time over a treasure chest toy if they have fun things to do. I like to throw in extra learning time disguised as free time when the opportunity presents itself. This site has interactive reading books which are really fun. http://www.spellingcity.com/- This is a great site to use when working on spelling and vocabulary. I like that you can type in the words and make flash cards. http://www.starfall.com/- This site has a lot of cool things. I love that it has a section for 1st grade that is aligned with common core. http://www.abcmouse.com/- They are offering the membership free for all public schools! Can you say AWESOME! Science: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ http://switcheroozoo.com/ Math: http://coolmath4kids.com/ Reading: http://pbskids.org/ http://storylineonline.net/ Writing: http://handwritingforkids.com/