Things I Love...July Edition


Happy Fourth of July!! Summer is here which is wonderful of course! However, it leads to more free time. Which leads to more online browsing time. I am trying to keep it at that - window shopping as opposed to buying! Here are a few things that I am currently smitten with!

Click the pic or store name for more info!
                 
  
             Amazon                                                                  Macys

Dresses, both by Evan Picone of course! I am always looking to expand my collection!
                                                           Macys

I have a lunch bag I love, but this is gorgeous!
                                                          J.Crew

Small purses have never really worked for me, but I would make an exception for this one!

                                                            DSW

I adore this shoe. That is all there is to it!!

What is on your wish list at the moment? Let me know in the comments!
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Things I Love - May Edition


Spring makes me think of dresses and I have purchased a few new ones that I simply adore and had to share with you!

Lately I have been all about Evan Picone. I bought these two back in the winter, and now I found three more I am smitten with!

Click the pictures or store names for links if you would like to check them out!
I found this one on Macy's.com, and with my gift cards and the promo code, I paid nothing! <3

It is available in a pink and yellow pattern too, but I love the olive green and cream mixed with the purple and teal combo!

This was on ideeli, on sale for $45.99 with 20% off and free shipping! It only cost $36!
Here is the best deal of all! I had been eyeing it on both Macy's and ideeli for months, but I ended up purchasing it from TJ Maxx's new online site! I wasn't even aware that they had one until last month! Maybe that is not a good thing to have found out... ;) They had it for the best price of all, only $29.99!
What is a dress without a fabulous jacket to wear over it? Especially in New England when the weather can be wicked fickle this time of year!

I scored this jacked by Bar III on Macy's.com, and with my gift cards - and their friends and family discount - I paid...nothing!! I cannot wait for this one to arrive! (Wednesday cannot come soon enough!)

How about you? Any great spring/summer finds you would like to share? Let me know in the comments below!
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Data Tracking Sheets

I have been working on getting my fifth grade class to be accountable for the grades they earn this year. I have a few students who have a tendency not to take some of their grades too seriously.

In November we began tracking scores, and I noticed right away that it impacted their awareness of the grades they got. Several mentioned "I don't want to mark this test down!" I asked them what they could do next time to avoid this and they all replied "study a lot more!"

Then the holiday's came and all of our many snow days. As many routines do, this began to fall apart. I have a couple of students who never forget to mark scores down, but I know many have not been following through.

I wanted to revamp them (my old ones were just tables with no clipart - so very dull!) to hopefully motivate them to fill them in more often.
I included directions and cover sheets in this set. We currently store ours in a folder, but I think the cover will make it easier to find!
There are sample score sheets so they can see the different options they have for filling in their sheets. A lot of my students use the bar graph, but the line graph is a lot quicker to fill in!

Each month has 7 sheets: Spelling, Vocabulary, Math, Science, Social Studies and 2 Reading sheets, one for Constructed Responses and one for Reader's Responses. We do both responses in my classroom, but the Constructed Response is a bit more formal.

All the subjects are scored 0-100%, except for the Reading Responses and Constructed Responses - those are based on a 5 point scale. I made it larger, in case you want to include 1/2 points.
All of the monthly sheets have thematic toner-friendly black and white clipart.
We are going to make completing our data sheets a habit by incorporating it into our morning routine. All corrected work will be waiting on their desks in the morning and they will fill in their data sheets before morning meeting!

I am looking forward to sharing these with my students when I go back to school next week!

This set is available in my TpT shop. Just click on the store name or the pictures above!
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Classroom Management Apps

Being a first year teacher I am always looking for ways to better manage my class. I have found two great ones that my class and I are currently obsessed with!

Too Noisy -

Too Noisy is an amazing app that monitors the level of noise in your classroom. It takes a bit of finessing to get the levels right (you just go into the settings and adjust the sensitivity and dampening.) Once you do however, it is a wonderful visual for the class as to what is an acceptable volume!

I use the lite version of this app, the pro comes with an alarm and keeps track of how many times it gets too loud. My class doesn't need this feature, so the lite is perfect for us!

Here's a peek at the stages and how we use them:
My class knows this is where the meter should be during tests and independent work.
During group activities they aim to keep the meter around the top of the hill on the left. If they enter the blue it is getting too loud!
This only happened in the beginning, but they know that the yellow sky and worried face are a sign it is becoming uncomfortably loud.
Lastly we have the maxed out smiley. Fortunately we have never truly hit this in my class. There may have been one or two students who coughed loudly into the speaker the first few days, just to make it do this!!

When I found this I wasn't sure how my 5th graders would react, but they love it! If I ever forget to put it on, one of them will always remind me. It really keeps the volume of our room under control.

Class Dojo

Class Dojo is free too! It really is an amazing management tool. Here's how we use it in our classroom:

I blogged about Dojo back in October, but we have since evolved the ways in which we use it. Back then my students purchased seating and tech devices, but now we use it a bit differently.

My class was one of those pencil problem classes - no matter how often I put them out, there were none to be found! Then when I would grab a new pack we would have to wait for the endless sharpening line!

I decided to try out mechanical pencils, but I wanted a way to make them responsible for them at the same time. I hoped that if they had to buy them, it would help them to keep a better eye on it. So far it is working out really well!

With that in mind, I added in a few new trade in options! Now every Monday morning we pop the class list up on the wall and assess who would like to make a trade!

For 10 Dojo points you can purchase either a mechanical pencil, eraser, dry erase marker or a pen.

For 15 Dojo's you can purchase a mini water bottle.

For 25 points you can purchase a Kindle or be the line leader for the week.

50 Dojo's gets you access to the desktop, laptops or ipads for the week. The only rule is that you must finish your assignments first, then you may go on anything that relates to that subject area.

Finally, 100 points gets you a free homework pass!

The only time that I project Class Dojo instead of Too Noisy is when I am taking my Guided Reading and Guided Writing groups. It is so much easier to keep the rest of the class on task when I can positively reward them for working hard. Or in some cases, send a quick reminder to a student who is off task.

What do you use to manage your behaviors?

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Classroom Lighting Alternatives



I detest fluorescent lights...and as a result I create children who do too!

When I worked as a pullout teacher in computer lab, we would shut them off everyday. Mostly because we were all staring at computer screens and the lights just made it too bright. As the year wore on my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders would just know to shut them off when it was time for their Intervention groups. I was out one day and the sub was not pleased when they shut them off...perhaps I should have mentioned that in the sub plans!

Now that I have my own class this year, and due to the fact that the projector is running all day, the no lights policy has started yet again! We tried just shutting off one set each day (they are panel lights) but no matter which set we tried it was just too bright! Shutting them all off was a solution on bright sunny days, but when winter started it became too dark.

I have two small lamps, I love that they have chargers!



I got last year from Amazon, but they only use 40 watt bulbs, so that is not very helpful!


*Please note, all links are Amazon Affiliate links. Thank you for your support!



I went on an endless quest scouring Amazon for floor lamps, and I finally found these!




I love how the shades are on arms that let you move them around, and I truly love how each one uses a 60 watt bulb! You can have all five lights on, or just two or three depending on how you turn the switch.


I bought one to start with, but ended up getting a second one a few days later. I put them on either side of my chalkboard and they are amazing! Now it is bright enough that we can have the lights off! 



I tried to snap a few picks before I left for vacation but in my haste they came out too blurry! I will share some when I go back. I am so thrilled with how well they are going to work! For now I have the Instagram pic I took in my room when I set up the first lamp!




What kind of lighting do you use in your classroom?
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Student Christmas Craft

I truly adore those glitter ornaments that are all over Pinterest during the holiday seasons. I especially love them because the glitter is only on the inside. Whilst I am smitten with all things glitter, like everyone else, I detest when it ends up everywhere.

I wanted a simple craft to make with my students this year. Something easy that they can give to their families on the holiday. I figured I would give these a try!

Here's what you need:
Ornaments - I got these plastic balls at Michaels for 70% off! I love the flattened circle look!
 Glitter - I went with Martha Stewart's, it is so fine and sparkly!!
 Pledge floor care, so the glitter has something to stick to!
Clear bags and iridescent star garland to wrap them up.

I made my sample last night and it was wicked easy. All you have to do is remove the top of the ornament and pour in a little bit of the floor care.

Then, I covered it with a paper towel (the mouths on these ornaments are a bit wider than the traditional ball shape, but I love the style of these!)

I swirled the liquid around until the entire ball was coated and then drained the excess back into the bottle.

Next, I poured in the glitter and rolled/shook the ball until it was coated. If you have any excess glitter you can pour that back into the container too. I did mine in small bits, so I didn't have any extra.

Here is my finished result!
I would recommend letting them dry for awhile before putting the top back on. I put mine on a bit too soon and it scratched off a bit of the glitter near the tip.

I wanted to keep the wrapping simple since they are so fabulous looking!
My sister Kristen suggested the stars to tie them off and I must say, as usual she has fabulous taste! They look so cute, I know my students and their families will love them!

What is your craft project for your class this year?
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Nail Art - Christmas Lights!

I decided to be brave this year and try Christmas lights. I was obsessed with all the pictures I saw of them on Pinterest last year, but I never thought I could make it work.

I chose to do it on my left hand only, my right hand was red with a red and green statement nail. I knew I had a chance of painting the lights using my right hand - but there was no way would it work with my left!!

For this manicure I used: (click for links)
Zoya Ornate Holiday Collection 2012 - Ziv, Blaze and Logan 
Maybelline Color Show - Porcelain Party
Maybelline Color Show - Onyx Rush

I used art brushes for the cord and my dotting tools for the light bulbs. After I put on a drop of the red, green or gold, I just dragged the dotting tool down a teensy bit to give it a bulb-ish tip.

Today I am going to give the Reindeer another try. I really loved how it came out last year.

What's on your nails this holiday season?

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Nail Art - Nude with Glitter part 2

I have been a bit lazy about my nails lately. My new job has kept me busy - so I have been taking the easy way out most weeks. As in a lot of crackle and statement nails!

This week I wanted to try out loose glitter again. I adore sparkly nails, but, like everyone else I am sure, detest removing glitter polish! It takes way too long.

Last time I tried loose glitter it lasted the whole week and was extremely easy to remove! I decided it was time to give it another try.

For this manicure I used: (Click the name for links!)
Maybelline Color Show - Canary Cool
Loose ultra fine glitter from Michaels

 I loved how the glitter came out this time, and I finally found a way to be a lot neater when using it! I put a teeny bit in the cap I store my glitter in and then shook it over each nail. It was much easier to control how much glitter came out and a lot less messy!

 What's on your nails this week?
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