New Beginnings & Did You Say Giveaway

New Look for the Blog? Check!
Did you notice anything different about this blog today?? 

Oh you know like how BEAUTIFUL it looks??!  

That's because I know an AMAZING blog designer.  

I was blessed to meet Kristen at a blogger meet up in Tennessee this summer!

 I knew she was the one I wanted to revamp this little old blog of mine.  I didn't have a picture in my head of what I wanted it to look like, but I wanted it to have something to do with all my passions.  I said I wanted it to reflect my eclectic personality and still look professional. She was a dream to work with and took my vague ideas and made it dream come true.  

New Last Name? Check!

Photo Credit goes to the wonderful Shaun Frederickson at Firm Grip Photography.

If you've been following me in the past year and half you've probably figured out that I was tying the knot with Mr. Right.  Maybe you read this post about the signs for engaged teachers. Or maybe it was my last fall break post about getting wedding to-do things done!  

Well... it finally happened!  

July 18, 2015 was the best day of my life so far.  

I cried, I laughed, I kissed, and there was lots of laughing.  I even had some of my blogging besties present!  I couldn't be a luckier girl!

New Grade to Teach? Check!
Like I said in my bio I am a 2nd/3rd grade looping teacher in Indy.  But this is my first year with second graders... EVER!  My first day with them I swear I had sweaty palms and quaking knees. But after a few days full of missing tooth grins, hugs, and giggles I've found I'm exactly where God wants me to be.



With all these new beginnings I thought I'd share the celebrations with everyone and do a give away to celebrate!

Giftbasket & TPT Swag for YOU?!  Check!!!!!!

The winner will get this amazing gift basket filled with some of my favorite things found at Target.  They will also be receiving a bundle of fantastic products from some of my blogging besties.
Thanks again Ciera (Adventures of Room 129), Jenny (Luckeyfrog's Learning) , Brenda (Primary Inspired), Amy (Math, Science, & Social Studies Oh My!), & Whitney (The Crazy Schoolteacher)!

Finally that lucky duck will get a $25 TPT gift certificate.

All of these are to help you create your own new beginnings! a Rafflecopter giveaway

So... what new beginnings have you had recently?

Shark Week Blog Hop: Fish are Friends Not Food

I LOVE SHARK WEEK!  

Actually I love any excuse to quote Finding Nemo... 

So I was thrilled when I heard that a bunch of amazing bloggers were having a Shark Week Blog Hop!  I'm so thrilled to see what creative activities the other teachers came up with.  I know that the school year is right around the corner for me and when it begins I'm always looking for easy no prep activities and homework to start out.  

What better way to engage students than make it shark related?

Check it out!

Pretty sweet right?!  

It's a freebie in my store right now so go ahead and download it now!

Well you haven't seen anything yet.  I've already been hopping around to some of the other blogs and boy do they have some activities that are

JAW-ESOME!

Check out Comprehension Connections' blog next.

http://www.comprehensionconnection.net/2015/07/taking-bite-out-of-education-with-shark.html

Check out the others here!

An InLinkz Link-up

Daily 5 Book Study Chapter 3: 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence

Thanks again to Brenda at Primary Inspired for hosting this Book Study.

I'm talking to you about my favorite part of Daily 5.  

INDEPENDENCE!

I know you're probably saying "I work with children.  Independence isn't part of their vocabulary..." Rest assured friends... students can and will be able to work independently.  You just need to be diligent and help them get there.  How you ask?  

Follow the 10 steps outlined by the sisters 

whenever you're introducing the components of daily 5.

Step 1: 

Identify what needs to be taught!

Set an objective for yourself and the students.  It's so important for kids to know what they're learning and the expectations.

Step 2: 

Set a purpose and create a sense of urgency!

I call this the 'BUT WHY??!' Step.  It's the step that helps create the feeling with the students that every moment is spent learning and practicing.  Speaking from experience...the kids will truly value their time spent reading and learning.  They won't let anything get in their way.

Step 3:  

Record desired behaviors on I Chart

As a teacher I know how important it is to use visuals including anchor charts so when I read this step I actually did a little dance!  I've drawn up this kind of anchor chart during my first few years of teaching.

What you can do after making this is have the students practice, take pictures, and place them on the anchor chart.  It helps keep students accountable.

Step 4:  

Model most-desirable behaviors

Because this is something you'll be doing for the entire year, it's important to show students the correct way from the beginning.  It also means more when you teach expectations using a positive and specific approach instead of the No's and Don'ts.  It becomes a part of your culture.

Step 5:

Model least-desirable behaviors, then most-desirable

After students know your expectations for the behavior it's ok to have them identify inappropriate behavior, but it should be specifically centered around the affect your behavior has on reading.  For example when you model off task student behavior it's important to talk about whether it's making you a better reader or not.  The second part of this step is actually repeating step 4.  Always go back to the correct modeled behavior so students remember the expectations.

Step 6:

Place students around the room

It's easy to think that students may be able to place themselves around the room, but let's be real... sometimes teaching can be like herding cats.  It's better to place students in appropriate spots first.  If you do that they can rely on these as base places they know they will be successful in.

Step 7

Practice and build stamina

This step is kind of self explanatory.  Allow the students to practice.  Gauge and record their stamina!  The sister recommend several different ways but I love having my students recording their own data.

Check out this example from Mel D and her Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations.

Step 8:

 Stay out of the way...

Easier said than done I know.  

I have to restrain myself from doing what I know to do... weave in and out between students, check in, praising for correct behavior, etc.

But it's so important for you to LET THE STUDENTS PRACTICE ON THEIR OWN!  

If you don't the students will struggle with working without your praise and check ins therefore eating up the time you could be using with individual or small groups.

NOW...

That doesn't mean you get to kick off those sensible shoes and surf Pinterest.  

*ahem administrators take note*

During this time you can be recording the students stamina.  You should be aware of the movement of the students around the room.   Running out of stamina behavior looks like students getting drinks, talking to one another, etc.  

Step 9:

Use a quiet signal to bring students back to the gathering space.

Quiet signals are exactly what it sounds like.  They're meant to help students associate that noise with coming back together as a group.  Kinda like Pavlov dogs if you think about it.  Something calm is what the sisters recommend... I've used quiet instrumental songs or a rainstick. 

Step 10:

Conduct a group check-in; Ask, "How did it go?"

Conducting a group check in is really for the students.  It's a chance for the students to self reflect their stamina or behavior. Ask students specific questions and let them identify strength and areas of improvements.  

I personally love using the 4 finger self assessment. 

1- I struggled focusing, and really need to practice this behavior.

2- I stayed focused but still could use practice.

3- I am focused most of the time.

4- I have mastered this and can help others with this.

An InLinkz Link-up

Daily 5 Book Study Chapter 2: The Foundations of Daily 5

Thanks again Primary Inspired for allowing me to join a Book Study.

Wow!

What I just finished reading was such a powerful chapter.  

I finished reading it thinking... 

"This is exactly what I want my classroom to be like!"

This week we're all talking about the second chapter which is all about the foundations of Daily 5.  

I kept thinking about how important foundations are to buildings... and ended up drawing myself huge pyramids that involved what was found in this chapter.  But I thought to myself 

"How can I show people what popped out to me the most?"

So I decided to find the quotes that emphasized these key points.

- Trust & Respect

- Community

- Choice

- Accountability

- Brain Research

- Transitions as Brain & Body Breaks

Trust and respect are foundational for good teaching in general.  

But how do you gain and give trust?  

It can't be a blind trust, where you hope and pray for the best.  You have to make sure that students are being explicitly taught how to read and write before you can trust them to do things independently.  The quote above emphasizes how trust and respect affects your classroom and the students you interact with.  Now... that being said you may have explicitly taught them and they may falter in their stamina and on task behavior but it's important not to slip back and start blaming them or thinking they "CAN'T" do something.  Instead it's important for you to reflect and say, "It's time to practice more and I need to provide more support".  It's a two way street.  You have to show respect and trust in order for your kids to be able to do it too. 

Actions speak louder than words.

If you've read my blog before you know I'm huge on creating community in my classroom.  I loved The Sisters' explanation of how trust and respect go hand in hand with community.  I also am glad they described community not just as something you start on the first day of school by getting to know one another...  It's something that is continued all year embedded in everything.  The quote about how community empowers students struck me because I've seen examples of how students will keep each other motivated, accountable, and engaged.  

 Choice.  Ooo boy!  Choice is honestly one of the most terrifying and powerful things in the classroom.  And after my reading, I would think The Sisters agree.  

Choice comes in the form of where the students can sit, what they read and write, and what activity they can participate in.  

That is something that can be scary as a teacher because all the unknowns.  

"What about noise?" or "Will they be working the whole time?" etc.

But choice is not something that is just given as whim, it's like trust and respect.  It has to be earned and only can happen with instruction and practice.  

I loved that it wasn't just talking about how accountability measure what students are doing.  

It was also putting the pressure on what the teacher has done to enable the students to be independent and accountable.  Teachers must teach their students explicitly what it looks like, feels like, and sounds like to participate in these productive tasks.  Then the students will be able to be held accountable and hold one another accountable.

 Brain research is one of the hottest topics in education so I enjoyed seeing it come up in this chapter.  If you read the quote above, you'd notice it's a quote about data.  

Let's just say you'r teaching the stereotypical method of lots of teacher talk and a little kid practice....

If you're in a room full of 9 year olds then their attention span is... well about 9 minutes.  

No matter how engaging your lesson might be after that time span you might see "off task" behaviors and want to start going into police mode.  

That's not fair to the students!  

After about 10 minutes just about everyone needs a slight shift to refocus.

Remember your last staff meeting if you need an adult reference!

Shorten your focus lessons, allow for student practice, and increase rounds of these.

This was my favorite part of the chapter because it emphasized that transitions are okay, and quite frankly important.  When using the workshop structure allows students a lot of time to practice but sometimes it is a long time to be mentally engaged. 

By having transitions during the Daily 5 allows:

- Physical breaks from student work sessions

-Kinesthetic movement helps give the brain and break to focus back at the task at hand.

-Provides time for students to shift gears and move onto another focus lesson.

Wow!  Good stuff!  See you next week with our next chapter!  

17 Signs Your Teacher Might Be Engaged...

Since I get married in less than a month I've definitely been thinking a lot about getting married...  but I noticed this school year that my kids were catching onto the fact that Miss Wilson wasn't going to be Miss Wilson for too much longer.  So I decided to share with you these signs your kids might notice.

Photo Credit to the Amazing Shaun Frederickson at Firm Grip Photography

#17

She always makes you listen to the same slow sappy playlist during writing time... which on Spotify is strangely named Our Wedding Playlist.

#16

Her awesome candy rewards has suddenly been switched with veggies.  Yuck!

#15
During silent reading time she can be spotted reading magazines about flowers, cakes, and gowns. 

#14
Craft time has suddenly been renamed "Favors and Decor Time"

#13
She dances at the copier mouthing Beyonce's "Single Ladies". 

#12
She is making questionable fashion choices by breaking in her brand new wedding shoes at school.

#11
You disagree with her stance on cooties.

#10
The other teachers keep asking to look at her hand and won't stop going gaga over how "perfect" the ring is.

#9
Her hair is either growing out for the wedding or is in all sorts of different styles she's test driving for the big day.

#8
The fresh flowers on her desk aren't always picked by a kid.

#7
She's getting called MRS. RIDGWAY when you know for sure she's MISS WILSON.
*This was a little specific...*

#6
The post-its on her desk and computer have weird reminders like "CALL THE CATER" or "DRESS FITTING ON FRIDAY"

#5
That awesome cupcake jewelry you gave her has suddenly been replaced by a rock!

#4
Her ring has gotten caught in your hair at least once a week.  

#3
Math problems increasingly reference her wedding. "If there are 100 invitations but only 25 RSVPs.... how many chairs will Miss Wilson need?"

#2
She has a countdown and it has nothing to do with the end of the school year.

#1
And who is this random person she keeps calling "Fiancee"?

Alright ladies... did I forget anything?

Daily 5 Book Study Chapter 1: "That was Then This is Now"

I was ecstatic when I heard Brenda from Primary Inspired was hosting a book study linky.  

And even more excited when she told me it was about Daily 5.  

I've been super interested in learning more about this reading structure and how to use it in my 2nd/3rd grade looping classroom.

So yours truly is curled up under her wedding quilt with her new favorite book and writing a weekly blog post!

#nerdalert

Without further a do... here's what I've gotten out of reading the first chapter...

After reading chapter 1, I was kicking my younger self for not reading this before I began teaching.  Lord knows I tried my best my very first year of teaching, but if I could change how I did things I would have been a better and much happier teacher.  

 While reading this chapter I doodled and highlighted to keep my thoughts straight... 

The sad and frustrated faces represents about how I felt at the beginning of teaching and when I taught straight from the basals.  It shows the exhaustion the women talk about teachers feeling.  But there is a break through once a structure (Daily 5) is implemented.  I particularly enjoyed the graph of busywork vs.  authentic learning.

The women who created this framework for reading instruction talk so much about their experiences and growth as educators.   They talked about how much busywork and management headaches they had their first few years of teaching.  I had flashbacks to my first year of teaching... and thought, 

"Thank God I'm not alone!"  There is so much busywork that I created for myself unnecessarily.  Instead of focusing on the kids in my small group in front of me I constantly felt like I was putting out fires with my off-task students.  But all that goes away with more structure, authentic reading and writing opportunities, and student choice.  Now, there is a gentle hum around the room. 

 I loved learning about the relationship between CAFE and Daily 5.  When the women described  Daily 5 as supporting the teachings in CAFE, I saw them like columns holding up the roof.  They can also be implemented in different ways to meet the needs of your own classroom.  As long as you're providing opportunities and structure you're helping set up students for reading success.  Below I only included one graphic of how the structure could work, but the book had at least 2 more!  

I think perhaps the most powerful part of reading this book was hearing that  Daily 5 is that it isn't something that you introduce on the first day and then begin your curriculum.  It's a process that takes time and depends on the group you have that year.  It is done by lots and lots and lots of practice.  It's done by repeated modeling and a great deal of structure.  "It's about creating instructional routines with students through focused teaching, student modeling, and practice."  I feel like it's giving the students the opportunity to mature into reading. 

Join me next week when I delve deeper with my friends into this wonderful PD book.  

#NashTeacherBash...Where Blogging Besties Meet

According to Instagram there are over 100 pictures with the tag #NashTeacherBash.  

I'm surprised there's not a million more, because my cheeks are still hurting from smiling so much.

In one of my last blog posts I talked about how much blog meet-ups rejuvenate your spirit as a teacher and this was no exception.  Before I tell you all about the trip I gotta stop and say a big THANK YOU to those that made this meet up possible.

 Host and Hostess
Lawren (Teaching is a Royal Adventure), Greg (Kindergarten Smorgasboard), Dana (Common to the Core), Alexandria (Classroom Action with Ms. Jackson),Cindy (Exploring is Elementary), Latoya (Flying into First Grade)
Aside from sponsors the meet up wouldn't have happened with out the hard-work from the wonderful hostess and host!  Those Tennessee teachers sure do know how to show this Indy girl how to have a real good time.  

Thanks so much for the generosity of all the sponsors.

DID YOU SEE THAT?!  

GoNoodle and ESGI both had a big part in making our meet up such a great time.  Both companies really love teachers and seriously blessed us! Check them out as well as those below!

#TeacherSwag

Some other sponsors include:

Scentos

Creative Teaching Press 

TPT

Remind

Euerka

Tallahassee Sunday

Teaching In The Tongass

Graphics From The Pond

Polka Dots and Pals

Digi By Amy

Scholastic

A Plus Images

Educents

Friday:

The adventure started with me driving Ciera (Adventures of Room 129) and Brenda (Primary Inspired) all the way from Indianapolis.  

No worries guys... we had lots of jams and snacks to keep us entertained.  There may or may not have been broadway blared on the way to Tennessee.  

Sorry again Brenda!

We rushed down to Nashville just in time to make it to a Nashville Sounds baseball game.  

Now.. don't ask me what the score was for that game because we were simply too busy talking with one another.
#bloggersgonnagab
Seriously guys... we talked about everything under the sun.
And speaking of sun, it was a really sunny afternoon so I was really glad that GoNoodle provided some sweet shades for us to rock! We made it onto the Jumbo-Tron because looked so cool... or because we had the silliest dance moves.  Who knows?!   All I know is that I loved every minute of making new friends and ending our night with some breathtaking fireworks.

Thanks Greg for "coordinating" that.

Saturday:

Look at that face!  Can you tell I could hardly contain my excitement for the next day of the meet up?  I was definitely the first one up in our room.  Despite being a little tired it ended up working in my favor. I mean, I got a bit of extra time to work on this mop of hair on my head.


We made our way over to Atamology for the official meet up.  Talk about the cutest venue ever!  Super hipster.  Right up my alley.  Minus the basement having no AC in their basement.  It was a packed house when everyone showed up.  Over 60 bloggers showed up to eat, laugh, take pictures, and talk.

SOO MUCH SOUTHERN FOOD!

GoNoodle went above and beyond as sponsors by buying all of us delicious lunch from Jim 'N Nick's BBQ.   Just so you know I'm not one for southern food but I like me some country cooking.  Especially the pulled chicken bbq, mac & cheese, and cheesy cornbread.  Lemonade and cookies were also a nice touch.  There was even some sweet southern servers who totally rocked the event by serving us and even climbing on an unsturdy chair taking the official meet up photo!

Some of my best friends in life I have met through blogging and TPT.

Amy (Math, Science, and Social Studies Oh My!), Me, Ciera (Adventures of Room 129), and Brenda (Primary Inspired)

One of the best part of meet ups is making and seeing blogger besties.  There were SOOO many pictures taken and friends made.

Just a few of the wonderful women in the picture above...

Stacy Simpson (Simpson's Superstars) and I making faces after several photobombs occured.

Mary... my favorite person I met all day.

The girls from All Ya'll (Aka: my Texas Sisters) and Lawren.

A blogging bestie picture with THE TPT banner, Ciera, and Brenda.

All Ya'll Girls again, Emily (A Neighborhood Kindergarten), and Megan from Mrs. Wheeler's First 

Grade,
 I even got to meet my future blog designer Kristen from Chalk and Apples.  Seriously you guys this girl is amazing with blogs but even more wonderful in person.
 She was giving this bride to be all sorts of wedding planning tips.

 I totally bonded with The Brown Bag Teacher over her awesome prize from Hatch Show Print and mutual love for Mumford and Sons.  Good taste in music transends state borders!

Why yes that is me posing with Smorgie and Mr. Greg from Kindergaren Smorgasboard.  
Are you jealous?!
Those two are the coolest people I've ever met!

Finally before we had used up all phone memory on pictures there was prize drawings.  I found out there are many methods to getting chosen.
I'll stick with my #pickme.  Totally helped me snag this awesome Scrabble Bulletin Board set from Eureka

After winning a giveaway and walking away with so much swag the girls and I headed back to our hotel room.  Can you say nap time needed?!  Post relaxation and cool down we made our way back to Nashville to have dinner as a big group.  Despite being "accidentally" left behind we made it to a delicious Mexican restaurant.

Shout out to the restaurant  Chuys for seating 27+ teachers in 15 minutes.  Ciera and I managed to snag a table outside two of our lovely hosts Alexandria (Classroom Action with Ms. Jackson), and Latoya (Flying into First Grade).

We ended up wrapping up our night at the breathtaking Opryland Hotel.  Basically all beauty of being outside with the blessings of air conditioning and escalators.  Seriously guys. It was beautiful!  After a bit of a walk we all settled down outside of a restaurant called The Library.
#colormeshocked I know...
Teachers hanging out in "The Library"

After several more photo opportunities this tired teacher had to call it a night.

Sunday:
The next morning we met for one last meal in this beautiful plantation home that hosts my new favorite restaurant Monell's Manor.

Seriously... 

I could be a Tennessee teacher in a heartbeat 

if that mean I get to eat this kinda food for breakfast regularly.

I'd also not fit into my wedding dress...

Check out the beautiful Mrs. Mohr at her Instagram.  Pressure her to drink the blogger Kool-Aid and join our ranks! ;)

So much laughter filled the room and of course more pictures were taken.  

I was blessed to meet new blogger and Instagram friends.  It was quite sad saying our goodbyes to these people I'd only met 3 days prior.

 I'll take the words out of the mouth of my friends Ciera and Brenda.
"It's remarkable how quickly you bond with these people.  It's because you're surrounded by people who have the same passion and love for what you do (Teaching, TPT, Blogging, whatever).  You truly become friends even when you don't see each other all the time."

I'll leave you with one last photo from me and the KinderGlitter Girls.

BYE YA'LL