Summer Has Arrived!

Summa, Summa, Summa time. Summa time! 

Sing with me!

      

Well, friends, I am finally out for the summer! I plan to:

-get a lot of work done

-read, read, read

-relax

-have fun!

I hope you all are planning an easy going break!

The end of the year was full of excitement!

Some of my kiddos earned awards,

I packed up the nook,

And I made summer packets!

Every year, I send my kiddos home with summer packets. I know that many of them will not even think about reading or keeping their brain sharp, but I have to give them option.

This year I put their summer work in bright yellow summer bags.

At the front of the packet was a letter to parents that described the packet and ways to have fun over the summer.

For the younger kids, I gave work from the Moffatt Girls summer packet, pencils, sight word cards, and everyone’s favorite, crayons!

The younger kids were so excited to get…crayons.

For the older kids, I gave them a packet for reading and a packet for math, my summer reading fun calendar, sight word cards, pencils, a calculator, and pop rocks.

I also made them take their poems and books home from reading intervention.

Before school was totally out, one of my kiddos said he had already started working! YAY!

I told them that if they brought back work that they completed, I will give them a prize.

I’m really hoping someone chooses to keep their brain sharp!

I also have an amazing assistant!

I had to show her my appreciation! I was looking at ideas for assistant gifts online and found the cutest idea!

I got the tag from Sunny Days Blog.

I included a bunch of orange colored items. I think it turned out great!

I hope everyone has a great summer!

Memorial Day $1 Sale!!

Hi Friends!

I know I’ve been MIA for a bit, but I am certainly trying to get my life together.

Like everyone else, I have been knee-deep in the craziness that is:

IEP Wind Down

State Testing Fun

Behavior Problem Bonanza

END OF YEAR MADNESS.

My students are going crazy!

Their teacher is going crazy!

We have to WILL make it through!

I’m not here to tell you about all my problems though.

Indiana bloggers have teamed up and we have a $1 sale for Memorial Day.

You cannot beat these great deals and the products are fabulous.

A few of my products will be on sale. 

Look below for a sneak peek! 

Click on the pictures to see more on TPT. 

I have my eye on a few products!

Check out all the great products below and shop ‘til you drop!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Let's go to The Store!

I’m so sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, friends!

I’ve been super busy and excuse, excuse, excuses...

In the Nook, I have to have a way to motivate the students to try their best.

Sadly, my kiddos lack a lot of intrinsic motivation and need something in their little hands.

My first year of teaching, my teammate told me about “The Store”. 

“The Store” has trinkets, tchotchkes, and well, junk for “sale” for the kids. The kids have to earn their buying power by having good behavior and trying their best.

The kids earned points by just coming to school daily, could earn points by following the rules, and could lose points by not following the rules.  They would flip cards to show they lost points and give themselves cards to show they gained points.

I was eager to see how the student’s reacted to “The Store”, and I loved the reaction!

THEY LOVED IT!

The kids coveted the junk no one else could possibly ever want.

I used this method for my 1^st two years and I now use it, but with the twist of a clip chart!

I use the clip chart  from a Cupcake for the Teacher.

Every day the students come to school, they automatically get 4 points. They can go up or down based on their behavior and work ethic while in the Nook.

Although the chart visually goes from 0 to 8 points, I have given 12 points on rare occasions. I believe that if they work for it, they should get it!

The behaviors chart in my room is just for my room. They don’t have to go back to class and get a second punishment, but trust me; clipping down is a hurter in the Nook! They want those points!

On Friday, and Friday only, “the store” is open for business.

They trade their points in for prizes and love it!

They have the opportunity to save points for bigger ticket items as well.

If they have a particularly awful week in my room, their classroom, or the school, they can lose the opportunity to go to the store. I tell them that whole school is a team and they need to treat all their teammates with respect.

I normally buy my prizes from the one spot at Target. You can also find good deals in the back aisles of Target! 

I love "the store" as a management technique! 

Currently April 2015

Listening

I recently started watching The Real World. Let me tell you people, I’ve been missing out! I just got time to catch up and finally watch the final episode. I love just relaxing and catching up on things that matter… like TV. LOL!

Loving

Spring break ALWAYS comes at the perfect time! Kids are over it; Teachers are over it; Everyone’s OVER IT. I took a short trip down south and I am ready to smash myself into the couch and enjoy my last two days!

Thinking

I’m in grad school and I really need to do some work for my classes.

(Enough about that!)

Wanting

I love, love, love the Divergent series. I really want to see Insurgent before Spring Break is over! I can’t wait!

Needing

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, I love Target! I haven’t visited my favorite store in about a week! Eeekk! I just know there are deals waiting for my cart!

EGGS-plain Your Name

I am a Special Education Teacher. Normally, the Special Ed. Room is called the “Resource Room.” Well, some people have had the luxury of having an actual room. I’ve never experienced this. I’ve always been given a small space to work in. This is a blessing and a challenge. The blessing is that my kiddos and I become a family quicker because of the limited space. The challenge is that I keep getting more and more kids with behavioral difficulties. We need cool down space! However, I love my nook!

Visit Oh Boy Fourth Grade toes other great Currentlys!