Meet the Teacher Blogger Linky

I am probably the last to this party! I've added a bunch of new blogs to my feed recently, and it has been great to get to know everyone a little better! So I knew I had to join in on the fun.

In case you're new here, here's a little intro! My name is Meg, and I'm a 28 year old third grade teacher in Delaware. This will be my sixth year as a teacher. I can't believe it! My first year (2009) was spent as a writing specialist. Followed by that were two years in a general ed third grade classroom, then two years in a co-taught inclusion third grade classroom. This year, I'm in for another change, as I'll be teaching the accelerated third grade class. I'm pretty sure I could rattle off most of the third grade Common Core Standards by heart. #embarrassing #sorrynotsorry

Let's get personal! I currently live with my boyfriend of two years and my cat, Mona. She started out as a foster, but her cuteness convinced me to make it permanent. I mean, how can you resist?

Now to the Q & A portion!

These are a few of my favorite things..

My nephew (pictured. you're welcome.)
Chai Tea Lattes
My magic machine a.k.a. Silhouette Cameo
Sleeping in
Hashtagging to the point of annoyance

If you weren't a teacher, what would you want to be?

I went into college as a journalism major, with dreams of being a news anchor. That kind of career involves moving around the world though, and I'm pretty family oriented, so that kind of lifestyle just wouldn't work for me. I've always wanted to work in higher education, and I still see myself doing that someday. I guess for something completely different than education, I'd be an optometrist. (Even though I just had to google it to make sure I spelled it right.)

Three little words that describe you.

Passionate. Loyal. Goal-oriented.

Finish the sentence, "_____, said no teacher ever!"

"I'm in it for the money!" said no teacher ever!

It's your birthday and you can invite anyone (dead or alive) to the party. Who are you inviting?

Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone seem like they'd be a good time. Or maybe a few cast members of Saturday Night Live, past and present, like Gilda Radner or Bill Hader.

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would be the title?

This is a tough one! Maybe "A Work In Progress." I feel like I have SO much more to accomplish, both personally and professionally!

You get to pick one superpower. What is it?

Teleportation! My family lives all over the US, and I'm over an hour from my immediate family and friends. Being able to see them whenever I want, without having to worry about travel time or expenses, would be amazing. Also, I hate commuting to work, even if it is only 40 minutes, so I'd use it for that, too!

What's your favorite quote or saying?

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something." I just love this saying, especially in our profession. Sometimes, we feel hopeless, unappreciated, and overwhelmed. But we do "something" every day. We need to remember that when we're in the thick of it this year!

If you had to sing one song on American Idol, what would it be?

"Somebody to Love" by Queen. It is my absolute favorite song to belt! If you are unfamiliar, go listen, now! The Glee version is great, too!

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Night owl, for sure. Although I'll probably be in bed by 8 at the latest during the first couple weeks of school. No judging!

What's your favorite resource that you've created in your TPT shop?

I don't have the biggest or best shop, but I put things in there that I use and love. I love using this product with my students!

Share something we might not know about you!

Well, you definitely won't know this. My hair doesn't look like the picture above anymore! I went to my back to school hair appointment today (you all have those, right?) and got about 4 inches chopped off and went a few shades darker to my natural color (see roots in the picture above). I miss it already!

That's it! If you haven't linked up yet (I can't be the ONLY one!), here's the place to go! =)

Teachers in my district go back to school Monday. I've been in to my room a couple times here and there to start setting up, but expect pictures of the finished product next week sometime!

TPT BTS! [so.many.acronyms]

Hey all! I don't know about you, but I've been waiting to hear about the TPT back to school sale. There are definitely a few items that have been sitting on my wish list this summer, so this will be a great time to scoop them up!

I thought this linky looked fun! Here are my two most wishlisted [is that a word? blogger doesn't think so.] items!

My area/perimeter cards are my most popular set of task cards! They are common core aligned & geared toward third grade, but there are definitely some challenging questions. They could be used in 4th or 5th grade as review, as well!

My Reading Response card set fosters discussion among a small or whole group of students after they are finished reading a text. A set of fiction and a set of nonfiction cards are included in the set, and there is a recording sheet included in case you'd like the students to write their responses as well. These can be used with high functioning firsties and all the way up through elementary school!

Um, yeah. I can't pick just one! Here are my top four items on my wish list!

*NOTE: Please do not pin the items below from my blog. Click the picture, follow the link, and pin the product! =) *

1. Snapshots of our Year Timeline: That's So Second Grade! 

2. Math Action Cards: The Lesson Plan Diva

3. Standards Based Assessments: Miss Nannini

4. Desire to Inspire Subway Art: Hope King

Are my area/perimeter task cards or reading response cards on YOUR wish list? If they are [or if you were about to put them there! ;) ], leave a comment with which item you'd like. I'll randomly choose one winner in 24 hours [10pm, Friday, EST] to receive the item for free! =)

Back to School Goals

I'm linking up with I {heart} Recess for a back to school linky.

I go back in less than three weeks. I guess I should start thinking about it, huh?

[How cute is the template, BTW?]

Personal: At the beginning of last year, I made a commitment to eating [mostly] clean, and I lost about 15 pounds. I gained some of it back with the end of the year stress and the lack of structure in the sweeeeet summertime. Let's hope I can get back on the right track!

Organization: I can't be the only one whose desk just sprouts piles like weeds? No matter what kinds of organizational tricks I pull out throughout the year, I can't shake this! It was a little better last year, though. Progress, people!

Planning: It was announced about a week ago we are getting a new principal. There are some new people coming it at the central office, I believe. So, I'm assuming there will be some changes in the way I'm going to be doing things, which may include planning differently. I need to be open to new ways of planning, even if I'm not completely comfortable right away. [It could end up being the absolute same as far as I know, but this unknown is killin' me!]

Professional: I've been doing math workshop since I've started four years ago, and I've changed little things each year. I like what I'm doing, and it is definitely proving effective, but there is always room for improvement. I need to post about it before school starts so that I can get your feedback!

Students: Last year was one of those years. My teaching partner and I really connected with the group, and I'm going to miss them! I hope that we can develop a similar relationship with the new bunch we're getting!

Motto: The full quote is, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do." We all know that there are tons a few things we wish that we could change in the education world. We can only do what we can, and that is love and educate our 25ish kids that we see each day. That's what I need to focus on!

Click the button above to go link up!

Ten Pin Linky: Back to School

I had a wonderful birthday down the shore! No pictures [of course], but there was late night frolicking on the beach, yummy indulgences, and quality time with the boy! This year is going to bring great things, I can feel it!

I'm glad a few people were able to take advantage of my birthday sale at my TPT store. [Things are on sale for another half an hour if you're interested.] I have a product that I plan to have finished in the next couple weeks that I'm really excited about. I can't wait to share it with you. I've also reached 100 TPT followers. SO unexpected. Thank you!

Anyone else taking graduate classes this summer? Ugh. I have a 12 page paper with my name on it that is due Sunday that has to do with running a small group counseling session. Fun, right? But I'm happy that I was able to take twice as many classes this summer. Because of that, I'll be able to be elementary certified in the spring and secondary certified in the fall!

I'm linking up with Ashley at Just Reed for her linky. I wish I didn't miss half of these. They are fun! Thank you for hosting all summer, Ashley! At the moment, it'll take my mind off of the fact that the Phillies are embarrassing themselves against the Cardinals. Gr.

1. I hate when the original crayon boxes get gross and fall apart. This is a great solution! I have 24 containers ready to go for the year from the dollar store [2 for $1]. I will show you when I get around to putting together my table buckets! [Source: Miss Squirrels]

2. Amazing printable brochures that I will share with families at back to school night. Take a minute and browse. You might find a few that you'd like to share with your whole class or maybe with a certain family. [Source: Jim Trelease]

3. I love doing math by the numbers during the first week of school! First, I model my own. Then, I have my students choose their numbers. Before they decorate, I call each student up to the front, and they share one of their numbers, but they do not tell the class what the number represents. The class has to guess! It's fun, informative, and lets personality shine! [Source: Mr. Auerfeld]

4. I have a bazillion of those little dots. This would be a cute way to use them! [Source: Ginger Snaps]

5. This year, I'd love to do a writing piece about the students' names. I've wanted to do it the past few years, but I've never gotten around to it. I love this idea, so I need to adapt it for my third graders! [Source: Crazy for First Grade]

6. How cute is this poem? I wish I could send postcards or letters home to my students before school starts, but my class lists always changes up until the very last minute, so I've always been wary. I'll give this out on meet & greet day, which is the Friday before school starts! [Source: Our lovely hostess! Ashley Reed]

7. I've done this for the past couple of years. I better start collecting post its! [Source: Mrs. Robinson]

8. I've done this for the past couple of years, too! I made my own template that I'll have to share if I haven't already. I draw the large circles on the paper and lay them around the room. Students find a partner, and they lay out their cards in the appropriate way. When I call time, they find another partner and do the same. On the third partner, they do the glueing. The extra few steps lets us get to know each other better! [Source: Third Grade Thinkers]

9. I've done this, too! Wow, it seems I actually use the pins that I find for back to school. Not always the case! A free smartboard activity. Great for the first day! [Source: Gena M.]

10. This last one is a freebie from my blog. It is the back to school activity that I blogged about last week. I can't wait to try it out. Check out this book! [Source: Me!]

I hope that you found some new ideas for your back to school endeavors! Teachers return August 19th, and the kids return a week later. Let the panic start... now! When do you all go back to school?

It's Back to School We Go! [NOOOOO!]

School supplies in Walmart and Target. My living room full of bags. The return of that creative itch.

All signs that back to school is coming.

Have you ever heard of the book "It's Back to School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around the World" by Ellen Jackson?

Neither had I until I stopped in Becker's for some school shopping on my way home from a doctors appointment! While I was in there, I picked up a bunch of borders that I don't need, along with a few other things. [Post on that coming soon!] One of which was this book.

It is a book that describes the "back to school experience" of children around the world. Each account includes a personal narrative, beautiful pictures, and a fact box that describes children from that particular country. The accounts are based on real individuals. Click the image above to preview it. I really like this book!

At the beginning of the year, I like to give students a lot of opportunities to write, partially so that I can see what they are capable of doing independently. Will they use proper grammar? Will they structure their writing into paragraphs? Will they even follow the prompt? All of these questions can be answered by giving students motivating writing activities.

So, I created a freebie to correlate with the book! The document is supposed to be the 30th and 31st pages in the book, and students are asked to write about their own back to school experience in the same format as the text.

Also included in the freebie are a 30th page customized for a Delaware student and 31st page customized for children in the US. Click either image above to download the freebie. I'd love it if you left feedback, followed my store, and/or follow my blog if you decide to download!

Also, about 35 people took advantage of my overnight flash freebie. [Thank you to the four people who left feedback!] Check out my newest product, a research project, if you're interested. But, my birthday is next week, so save it in your cart. I may or may not be having a sale coming up soon! =)

They are READY for third grade!

Last year, my school adopted the Common Core Standards. We also began using a new testing system, DCAS, which is WAY more difficult than our previous test [DSTP]. DCAS is also on the computer, which is a whole other issue. But anyway, last year we were in limbo. Our third graders were not ready for third grade "Common Core" style. Tons of back tracking needed to be done with simple skills. Being a first year classroom teacher [after spending time as a writing teacher], I didn't know what to think. Was this the norm? Would I need to review the entire second half of second grade skills [especially math] before moving on to all of the third grade standards? I don't have time!

Well, I'm happy to report that after starting our beginning unit on base 10, my students seem ready to learn third grade standards. Is back tracking still necessary? Of course. But not nearly as much as I remember from last year. I can't wait to get into teaching multiplication and division! I will probably get to multiplication in mid-October. The babies are SO excited to learn these "big kid" skills.

I'm beat. Maybe I'm not cut out for blogging during the school year! :)

Classroom Rules

Quick post. Today was our second day of school. Yesterday we did tons of activities to get to know each other and tons of housekeeping stuff. We did the venn diagram activity, and I can't wait to post pictures of how they turned out!

Anyway, since we've spent over a day in the classroom, I felt we were ready to write down our rules. We have school wide rules that everyone follows, but of course, every classroom should have their own. I ask for suggestions, assuming that they will all pull something from our "Pledge" that states all of our rules. I call on one of my sweet, but "tough", boys. I ask him for his idea. His idea for the number one rule in the classroom?

"We need to take care of each other."

Oh my. I had tears in my eyes. Funny how little things like that get me. But it was such a precious idea, and I'm glad that I'm already well on my way to have a safe and supportive learning community for my students.

First Day! Not even Irene can stop us!

Well, this was QUITE the eventful weekend. I'm in Delaware, so we got slammed by that silly girl Irene. Thankfully no damage to my apartment or anything. I have school tomorrow, which means everything must be fine there, too. That surprises me though, because our roof leaks with a spring shower. I'll be interested to see what I'm walking into tomorrow!

Tomorrow! My first day with the kiddos! I saw about half of them on Friday, on which we had a "Meet The Teacher" event during the day. As I said previously, I know all but 3 of my students, as I taught a "special" my first year in the district. So I had these babies when they were shrimpy first graders! Anyway, I saw half of them on Friday, and my oh my, I'm going to have my hands full! A bunch of chatter boxes! Aren't kids supposed to clam up when they're with their parents? That was my experience last year. Well, these kids were bouncing off the walls! But I'm super excited. I have such a sweet bunch, and I can't wait to get started with them this year!

I'm doing the usual first day stuff tomorrow. I'm going to use a great idea I found on Third Grade Thinkers. Click that link to see a picture! Students will make a venn diagram comparing themselves to each other. Before that, they will need to fill out and illustrate the worksheet that includes things like their favorite sport, favorite special, etc. I modified the one included on that blog a bit. I included "The School I Attend" as one, so that I can ensure that everyone will have at least one thing in common!

Anyway, I hope to update this week! Good luck to everyone starting this week!

Anxiety [& a giveaway!]

So I go back to school Monday for a weeks worth of PD with a little time to continue setting up my room. Probably won't be able to sleep Sunday night. I can't wait to get into the swing of things & just do what I love to do: teach!

In other news, Yearn to Learn is having a give away! Get the Picture vocabulary cards. They illustrate the meaning of words through how they are written. I'm always looking for different ways to encourage and explain academic vocabulary! Lots of other info over at her blog, so go go go! =)

Yikes!

I went into my classroom today. Yikes. Does anyone else get a HUGE pit in their stomachs when entering a disaster like this? I was going to take pictures, but I decided against it. Use your imaginations. It was chaos! I got a little bit sorted out. Going back in tomorrow to continue. We technically aren't back until Monday, but we were allowed to get a jump on things. I wanted to print out a bunch of stuff, but our computer lab color printer wasn't hooked up yet. And, well, I'm not great with wires. When there are too many, I get flustered. So I guess I'll leave that for next week.

Also, I'm posting at 1:45am. Night owl much? I hate mornings. For this reason, my boyfriend calls me Garfield. Also because I like lasagna. But I digress. I'm really going to need to get back onto a schedule. But I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen until Monday morning. Oh well.

Going back into school tomorrow to continue setting up. My goal is to laminate like its going out of style and get my hallway bulletin board finished. I hear a lot of people aren't coming in, so I can definitely hog the laminator!

Oh & I changed up my blog a little. That first layout was just to get me started. Found this cute new layout, but I'd love to figure out how to customize it a little more. For example, I'd like to change the size of headers & things like that. I guess I'll add that to my to do list!

My First Linky Party!

Amanda at The Teaching Thief is hosting a Linky Party. 

Topic? 

Top 10 Back To School Must Haves!

Now, not all are technically school related, but all help me to prepare for getting back into the swing of things! Let's begin! [These are in no particular order!]

~~~~~~~~~~

10. Working electric pencil sharpener!

This speaks for itself, but... I ban mechanical pencils from my room because of "lead" drama!... pencil shavings drive me nuts.... I have bad luck with sharpeners, they always break!

-----------------------------

9. Sentence Strips!

Anyone out there use Learning Focused Strategies in their district? We are required to do a ton of things to comply with this program. [Some I like more than others!] One thing we must do is post our daily "Essential Questions." These are like lesson objectives. I have at least 5 questions [at least one in each subject: reading, math, writing, science, and SS] I write my questions on these and post them. I go through these puppies like crazy!

-----------------------------

8. Ink Cartridges

I try my best to do all my printing at school, but sometimes, there are resources that I just can't wait to print at home!

-----------------------------

7. Wall Mounting Tabs

These are the only things that we are allowed to use on our walls. Very frustrating, because you need to use a billion just to hang a poster, just for it to fall down when the room gets dry!

-----------------------------

 6. Some cute new threads!

I wish I had the funds to do a wardrobe overhaul, but a few new tops, bottoms, and shoes may or may not happen!

-----------------------------

 5. Composition Books

My kiddos use these for tons of reasons. Their travel journals, writing journals, reading response journals! I'll post about my travel journals later, because my grade level does an awesome project!

-----------------------------

4. Colorful Markers!

This goes for dry erase markers, grading markers, pens, etc.! They brighten my mood! And I hope that a note written in a cute color will get "Johnny" in a little less trouble for misbehaving when his mom reads the note I wrote in his planner! :-)

-----------------------------

3. A decent grocery shopping trip!

Because once school starts, dragging myself to the store for healthy dinners is just that much harder!

-----------------------------

2. Blogs, Blogs, and Blogs!

Seriously, I don't know how I got by last year without all of my fellow teachers across the country at my fingertips. You all have helped me more than you know! I hope that my eventual ideas and materials help others as well! :-)

-----------------------------

1. A kick-butt attitude!

I may not be the best teacher, but I want to be the best teacher that I can be. For my kids, for their parents, for the administrators, for myself. There will be hard, seemingly impossible days ahead I'm sure. But starting the year off right will help me get through one day at a time!

-------------------------------------------

Again, head over to The Teaching Thief & share your ideas! Maybe yours will make its way on to my list next year!

Class List!

Isn't seeing your class list for the first time just awesome?! I have 18 21 wonderful faces so far, with a few changes to be made before the beginning of the year I'm sure.

I first met this particular batch of students my first year of teaching. They were first graders, and I was hired late as a Writing Teacher. Like art, music, and computers, they tried to make writing a special. So I'm familiar with most of my students before they walk in my door. On top of that, second and third grade share a hallway, so I saw these little guys every day last year. I'm overly friendly and try to make a connection with everyone in the school, whether I know them or not. Let me just say that this particular group looks great. Amazingly, there are no red flags as far as behavior problems! Last year, I had quite a few boys who gave me a run for my money, so this is a welcomed break! I do, however, have a lot of interesting family situations and some low-leveled readers. I can't wait to dive into this year and make these kids feel loved and supported.

There are only two names on the list I don't recognize, and I consulted my yearbook, so they must be new students to the school. You better believe I'll be stalking eSchool to see if my list changes in the coming week! School is in the air!

I'm stopping into my room [before I'm allowed!] on Monday to drop off a bunch of stuff. It looks like I'm living out of my car, so I got early permission from my principal to unload it in my room, but not set anything up just yet. We are allowed to go in beginning Wednesday, so expect pictures and progress!