Currently: September

First off I cannot believe it's already September...and secondly I can't believe that I'm linking up to Currently so early! Usually I figure out the beautiful Farley has posted after being alerted by bloglovin that 50 million other people have joined the link up! 

Okay MAYBE that last part was an exaggeration..but for reals. I'm always late. 

Listening: Can you ever get tired of Friends? The answer is no. 

Loving: My team has underwent some changes this year and lost two former members.  One of our sweet teammies became our school Reading Specialist- yay for her! The dynamic of the team seems lighter and happier this year with the loss of our other teammate. I'm excited for the new possibilities! 

Thinking: Come on, try and pretend you weren't thinking the same thing!

Wanting: I happened to find THE perfect leopard print scarf on Nordstrom.com and now I can't stop obsessing over it.

Needing: Alright Ms. Erin...get off Pinterest and start planning...you ain't on summer break anymore! 

3 Trips: These are places I've never been, but would LOVE to visit...Ireland and Scotland...I love the history and gorgeous landscapes!!!

Yosemite National Park...while I'm not really an outdoorsy backwoods kind of girl, I love animals and think this is just someplace every American should visit.

Thanks for checking out my Currently, I'm off to go and visit others!!!

Five for Friday...errr...I mean Sunday!

This was a short work week jam-packed with a lot of action! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching, a little late, but still fun! 

This week started with my first ever Origami Owl party! A friend of mine has started selling their adorable little creations! If you haven't heard of them, you should check them out! 

They are customizable lockets filled with sweet little charms! I can't wait for my Lanyard locket to come in to wear with my teacher ID!!! I'll go from drab to fab ;) I mean, just look at that little teeny tiny pencil!!!! How could I NOT order that!?

My first day jitters completely melted away when two of my new third graders brought me bouquets of flowers on the first day of school! I just adore this Lithuanian custom! 

Can you tell we are loving the first day of school!? I never get tired by third graders' enthusiasm! I think we've got some fast friends in the making looking at that silly picture above! 

Day 2 of third grade was all about teamwork! Check back later to read about how I introduced the importance of working as a team with my class. PS- We had WAY too much fun and MAY have had to close our door because we couldn't stop our giggles! 

Finally, our school's Reading Specialist, a former teammate of mine, came to my classroom for a read aloud.  The theme were things that scared us...I am just cracking up over this response from one of my students! 

Having a sword fight with a clown sure does sound scary to me!!! 

I hope you're all enjoying your three day weekend!!! 

XOXO

And We're Off!

 Well, the first day of school for 2014-2015 is in the books! We laughed, we cried a little, and most importantly we did not puke! Hooray! 

I'm absolutely exhausted and suffering from a major headache, but I wanted to stop and post some images from today's events. 

For the past few years my team has had a themed hallway to kick off the school year.  Each of our bulletin boards outside of our classroom coordinate along with our hallway sign.  This year it's SUPERHEROES! 

One of my teammates ordered these fabulous shirts for us all to wear on the first day of school! Talk about being comfy and cool on such a warm day! 

I made these signs to hang at the beginning of our hallway listing all of our third grade teachers. 

I adore Little Red's clip art!!!

Check out some of my silly superheroes! Learning is their superpower! We had fun making random grouping and doing a superhero photo shoot with our new friends! 

I loved using this canvas I made from last year again! I like to print these photos and give them to parents during conferences. :) So cute! 

Am I ready to do this all again tomorrow? Let's hope so! Two more days to go until the weekend! 

School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days

It's official...summer is over. Wah! It always goes so fast! The bright side is that a new school year is starting with many exciting changes and possibilities! 

My district will have two Institute Days this week and then the kiddies will arrive on Wednesday- yikes! I've been hard at work trying to pretty up my room for the new year. I'm going to have a BIG class again, 27 is my maximum capacity according to my contract. I'm also going to have a large ELL  group this year. So my classroom goals were to create a print rich environment and maximize my student space.

I've still got some work to do, but here is a little sneak peek on my digs this year!

Rainbows and clouds are all over my room this year. They are making me SO happy!!!

I always feel like this corner of the room is dark and unused. I'm happy it's feeling brighter right now with the help of posters and my giant student mailboxes.  

Side note...any ideas on how to pretty up that chair without spending money?? Or a lot of time?? 

I'm thinking leftover fabric and ribbon?

The view from my teacher table over looks student desks and my classroom library. That makeover took longer than expected, but I'm loving the results!!! 

Teacher table and ELA Focus Wall

Guided Math is something new for me this year! Along with my district's new CCSS math series, I can't WAIT! I seriously love third grade math... #teachernerd

My school is also implementing PBIS this year and all of the third grade teachers will be housing Clip Charts as our unified system. 

Glittery lollipops are still hanging around! Three years running with my Sweet Shoppe theme!

This picture is majorly blurry...BUT my reading bags & the cloud paper are just a happy place right now! Instead of chopping up this giant bulletin board this year I decided to leave it blank to make room for tons of anchor charts! 

Over head I have the 6 Traits of Writing and classroom expectations from Molly Maloy. Love her!

The bunting I made for my windows last year makes me smile...as do the rows of labeled bins! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

This closet has had a MAJOR transformation. It was my messy zone. Like...throw it in the closet and shut the door quick before something falls down messy. 

Now it holds recess games, prizes for our Sweet Shoppe Trade In, colored paper and copies and oh so much more! 

And my last final shot of some glitter popsicles and clouds on my classroom door! Eek! 

I'm resting up this weekend and am hoping you are too!!!!

Meet the Teacher Blogger!

Hey There!!! 

It's been a little over a year since I began this cute little blog and I've loved every single bit of it! The sense of camaraderie and support from amazing teachers sharing and communicating with one another from around the world is UH-MAZING! 

That's why I'm so excited to join Stephanie Stewart from Falling into First and to make some new friends! If you're new to this blog, WELCOME and I hope you stay for a while! 

I'm a 20 something year old teacher living in Chicagoland area who loves to create, share with others,  and make new friends! 

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Aside from pina coladas and getting caught in the rain, I also love: 

Glitter, puppies, ice-coffee, popcorn, hydrangeas, sticky-notes, children's literature, cake-batter ice-cream, crafting, baking, Apple products, sparkling things, sassy book characters, mason jars, gold touches, vintage finds, and anything with a touch of leopard! 

 IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

A Party Planner! I love to make little moments into special lasting memories.  My mom always hosted the best home birthday parties for my siblings and I, people still talk about them! At the current school I work for there is a small committee of teachers who decorate for showers and celebrations at school in our teacher's lounge throughout the year.  I always have a ton of fun planning and creating with these ladies! Here are two of the celebrations I decorated this past year and I just loved how it transformed our dull space! 

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Thoughtful, Creative, and Organized....I figured short and sassy went without saying! 

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

Sure, I'd LOVE to watch that Blood Pathogen video again!  

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Hmm...my family, friends, and you of course! I'd love Martha Stewart to plan the party, Ina Garten to cater, Dean Martin to provide the music, and Oprah to greet.
Wouldn't that be grand!?!?

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

Yucky Girl
There's a story behind that...when I was a wee little one I would announce to anyone who could hear me everywhere that I was a, "yucky girl" meaning to say that I was a "lucky girl". My family still tells me how 'yucky' I am! 

 Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

I'm not sure if this is a superpower, BUT, I'd love to have Zach Morris's power of time freezing.  Remember in Saved by the Bell he'd stop whatever was going on to have a little convo with himself and the audience?? I want to be able to do that! 

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

I'm a big fan of Jesus and The Beatles...both of these are two of my favorites! I've been contemplating getting a second tattoo with The Beatles 'Let it Be' :) 

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 


"I Saw the Light" by Wynonna Judd. Should you ever hear me sing that, you're in for a treat.
Or at least I think so. Ha!

 Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?  

I can rock 10am like nobody's business, but if I had to pick,  I'd say I'm a night owl.

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TPT ITEM IN YOUR SHOP? 

I am a sucker for bright colors, just ask anyone who's shopped at a mall with me. I'm very easily distracted by color and sparkle! I'm still rather new to TPT, but I love my Reading Strategy and Skill Posters!  I post these on our classroom Focus Board and refer to them during Guided Reading.

Q:SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU! 

Hmm...you might not know that I'm the oldest in my family and definitely the shortest. By a lot. Our heights are 6' 6'', 6' 0'', 5' 11'', and then little old me at 5' 2'' 

*Major Sad Face* 

Thanks for coming by and don't forget to click on the button below to take you to the rest of the teacher bloggers! 

Monday Made It 8-11-14

I'm so excited to actually share with you some of the projects I've been working on lately! I'd love to make more things for myself, but I'm school-mode now like many of you! 

My first share IS a little something just for me! Inspired by Pinterest, I picked up a few packages of magnet letters from the Target dollar section and spray painted them with metallic gold paint I had hanging around from an old project.  I LOVE the way they turned out! 

I scored some of these wooden frames from Michaels on a 85% off shelf! Score! I've been trying to be good and use a lot of supplies I already own, so I spray painted these bad boys with the remainder of some spray paint cans leftover from a variety of other projects. 

I'm hoping to create a mini collage in my library corner and fill these with fun quotes from books and authors. :) 

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen this photo of my bins.  I was a labeling machine this past week I tell ya!! I'm glad that part of my room set up is almost over----fingers crossed!!! 

I'm also loving using the leftover con-tact paper on my worn built-in shelves. :) Like lipstick on a pig. Ha! 

My last share are some gifts I made for teacher friends. I thought they turned out super cute and was tempted to keep one for myself! 

I've still got two weeks left of summer until school starts for me! I'm hoping to spend some more time having summertime fun before I move into my classroom full-time.  

Thanks for stopping by and Happy New School Year!!! 

Shopping Spree...Who Me??

I'm linking up with the Blog Hoppin' Linky party to show off some of my new purchases! 

Click on the image to be taken right to this TPT item

            

              

I've had maybe a little too much fun on my shopping spree with TPT, but who doesn't love a great deal??

Here are some of my fun finds for starting off the year right!

I finally purchased Cupcake Fonts from A Cupcake for the Teacher, she always has the most adorable anchor charts with her printing and I have dreams of duplicating her adorableness! 

Guided Math Centers will be new for me this year- yay! I decided to get this pack of Fall Math Centers to help me out and build my collection :) 

My team has decided to add a Math Journal to our supply list this year. I LOVED how nice, clear, and concise...not too much fluff that this CC Interactive Math Notebook bundle offered!

I cannot get enough of Little Red's Clip Art, this is just one of the many sets I own!

Hope King is such a doll and really knows how to get anyone excited about anything! That's why I HAD to purchase her e-book Set the Stage to Engage. This this is FULL of fabulous lesson ideas and activities to get your kids excited about coming to school each and every day!

Interactive Notebook Bundles...I couldn't resist purchasing these writing and grammar sets. Who wants to do a grammar worksheet when you can make an interactive notebook instead?? Not me! 

I'd love to say that I'm done spending money...but I've got a handful of Target gift cards and Michael's coupons that say otherwise!

Happy Shopping!

xoxo