end of the year art project

While some of you lucky ducks are already on summer vacation

some of us are still plugging away!!!

This is my last week of school and grades were already due SO

what to do?

what to do?

well... you do an art project!!!!

These took us about 2 days to do

BUT that also includes the 2000 degree heat outside to help speed up the drying!!!
So without the fast forward dry time... I would guesstimate 3-4 days to complete :)



A great thing about this project is it is JUST

acrylic paint

black Sharpies (love me some Sharpies)

and

scrap booking paper

it was SUPER EASY

and all the kiddos LOVED it

all of them



If you like what you see then head on over to my blog and get the 411 (information)!!!

toodles

Win $250 Amazon card for your class!

MindMaple: Perfect for Working Professionals, Educators, and Students

who are involved in Project Management, Brainstorming, and Task Scheduling!

Do you use Graphic Organizers?

This month MindMaple is offering you a chance to use your creativity to earn some prizes.  The contest runs through June 27 and is offering a chance to win a $250 gift card to Amazon.com to the person who shares their most creative mind map.

{click here to read more about this awesome resource & great contest}

ABC Decor!

Friends~ My very sweet friend Chris gave me the sweetest thank you gift!  Most of you know that this school year I did a Peace, Love, & 2nd Grade theme this year in my classroom.  Well,  Chris and I were out shopping this weekend and we came across this sign!  It is so PERFECT!

Check out the fun Peace Sign and the Heart!  I lugged that baby into school today and I know people were thinking I was crazy!  I am bringing stuff in when I should be putting things away for the summer.  Well, I can't help it!  I LOVE my classroom and I treat it like another room in my house:)  This picture is from Hobby Lobby so if you have one close go snatch one up!

Head over to The Schroeder Page and see how I am NESTING!  I am putting up more fun stuff for my kiddos.  I have a great door planned for our SHARK unit next week.  Today I added new classroom job icons above their cubbies~read more about it by clicking the image below!

The International Society for Technology in Education

click the image to view the full flyer

ISTE 2012: San Diego, California 

"Collaborative Mentoring for New Teachers"

I'm so excited to attend ISTE this year.  I am even more excited to connect with so many friends that I collaborate with through personal learning networks, like Twitter.  This year, I am fortunate enough to present with an amazing panel of educators: @teachingwthsoul, @web20classroom, @mbteach, @bhsprincipal, @shannonmmiller, and @dmantz7.  We would love for you to mark your ISTE planners and join our discussion on Monday at 12:45: "Collaborative Mentoring for New Teachers."  I'm the lucky new teacher that gets to be a part of such an amazing group!!  I keep pinching myself.

{click here for more exciting ISTE 12 news}

What's Cookin'?

Are you already starting to collect materials and ideas for the next school year? {Sidenote: Is there an off button?! Seriously...I still have 18 days of this year left and I can't stop planning for next year! If you know where the off button is, do tell!!}

I had a request to make some cooking buddies for my mom's cooking class that she teaches. She had her showcase presentation and the little cooking buddies hung behind their booth. Totally cute! Anyway, it totally sparked a back to school bulletin board idea! Head on over to my blog to check it out! 

And if you find that button...you know what to do!

The Well Planned Day - Interview

Recently I was able to interview the creator of the Well Planned Day planners Rebecca Keliher. Although her main planner is written with homeschool moms in mind, the On the Go planner and student planners can be used by anyone. The unique thing about these planners is that even though they are available in either print form or pdf form, they can also be customized on the computer. Print and pdf planners have to be used as written, but with computer software users have even more options.

I fired as many questions as I could think of to get as much information as possible from Rebecca about how her planners work and how people can benefit from using them. Getting and staying organized can be quite a job for any kind of teacher. Some people have found planners to be helpful in keeping themselves organized. I hope the information that Rebecca provided in the interview and on her website will be a help to someone.

The Well Planned Day interview

My best homeschool organizing tips

Heidi

Daily 5 Book Study for Kindergarten Teachers

If you are a Kindergarten teacher, then you know that we sit through meetings, required staff developments, and trainings where we hear, "Kindergarten, sorry but this doesn't really apply to you!" Can I get an amen?! We are expert adapters! We hear ideas for other grade levels and think...how can I make this work for my Kinders...am I right?! 

I have been using Literacy Work Stations for the past few years in my classroom. I think that Debbie Diller is amazing and I have been content with how stations have been going. The key word being content. My kids always make great progress, but I feel like I have a difficult time keeping up. 

I have heard UH-MAZING things about Daily 5! I borrowed a the book from my principal earlier this year and sort of skimmed it. I am thinking that I can do this! I am ready to make the leap! How about you? I think that we can do it together! Now, I will start by saying...I am no Daily 5 expert. I will be learning right along with you. I want this to benefit all Kindergarten teachers who are either already doing D5, or wanting to begin D5 this year. All ideas and resources shared will be able to be used in Kindergarten. YAHOO! No more..."this doesn't really apply to you."

You can click on the book above and you will be able to purchase the book, if you don't already have it! Our KD5 2012 Study will begin soon. I hope you will join me and some other fabulous Kindergarten bloggers!!

You can head over to my blog to read more about it!!

It's a CELEBRATION!!

Happy Monday! YES, that is excitement you hear...probably because I am screaming. LOL. I am so pumped about this week. It is my last week with my students and it's going to be a whirlwind of FUN! But, here's the even better news (for you at least)...


It’s FINALLY here. It is time to celebrate my one year Blogiversary! I can’t believe that it has been one year since I married my computer started this little ole blog. How sweet is that?! This journey has been way more than I ever expected. I have “met” the most AMAZING teachers  (a.k.a. YOU!) and have been given some pretty sweet opportunities in the education world.


So, here’s the plan Stan! Each day this week, starting TODAY, I will post a fabulous freebie that will be for the taking for 24 hours. Then, I will remove the link so don’t forget to hop on by every day this week. I will have a few things up my sleeve for this weekend too so make sure you come by because they are BIG. HUGE!

Today you can grab this Teacher Planner for next year. Ready to get organized? You have 24 hours to grab it. On your mark. Get set. Go! (click picture or button to take you there)

Have a great week friends!!

Singing and Summarizing

What do the following things have in common?

Declaration of Independence.
Summaries.
Singing.
Greeting Cards.

Stumped?  This week, in my class, we used the four things above in a lesson my students just LOVED!  While searching for a new and different way to motivate my kids, I think we hit the nail on the head with this one.  Come on over to Teaching in Room 6 and read all about how I used a greeting card to keep my students interested in their learning.  Also see how I was able to put it all together into an instant hit of a bulletin board.  It is something your students will remember for a long time.  See you soon!

Easy Classroom Management Project and a Freebie!!

How do you call on your students?  I bet many of us use different variations of the same idea!  I assign each of my students a classroom number, and pick sticks from a jar.  Just this week, I decided to spice up this management idea with colorful numbers:

All you need to make this "Pick me!" pot are the following items:

*clay pot

*popsicle sticks

*hot glue

*my classroom numbers set

Head on over to my blog to grab your FREE copy of these cute numbers, as well as the directions for this easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy project!