Teachers Notebook

Ever hear of Teachers Notebook?  I stumbled across this site while searching something on pinterest.  I saw that it was similar to TPT and this past fall I uploaded two-three of my items.  I realized that I did not utilize it as much as Teacher Pay Teachers and therefore stopped posting.  However, recently at my TPT Meet-up last week, I was told that by uploading your products on Teachers Notebook, people still find and buy your products.  Therefore, I decided since I am updating my blog and included my TPT Store, I too included my Teachers Notebook Store.  I am surprised to see that my store was viewed 9 times already.  In addition, I created my own teacher instagram and already have 50 followers.  I am thinking that if I can get 100 to have a huge TPT sale!

Any other tips or tricks to get more followers and bring more traffic to my store and blog?  

Have a great week!

Update!!

Last week was extremely busy!  I signed all final paperwork at my new school, was able to spend time in my classroom, get my teaching manuals, participated in my first TPT Meet-up, and took my boyfriend on his first camping trip.  Once back from camping, I had time to work on things that I learned from my TPT Meet-up.  This is all new to me and I want to make sure that I create my own images.  I had to do lots of research on how to redesign my website through other blog posts and YouTube videos.  

The first thing I did was create a new button.  

I wanted something large, easy to read, simple but makes a statement.  I wanted to make sure that I stayed with my colors of gray, blue, and yellow!  I tried to choose fonts that were statement fonts and were large enough to read.  One change I made was changing from three students to three owls.  I mean, how cute!!  :) 

Once I created my button, I knew I instantly wanted to update my TPT Page.  Of course it is still a work in progress, but I began by creating a new TPT banner and side banner.  I then took that work into redesigning my blog.  I wanted to create a header that had links to my various sites (TPT, Instagram, Pinterest) and to my various pages.  I also wanted to create a navigation bar that was included in my header.  After much research, I was able to complete this.  I am still unsure how to create a header and about me section with clearer options and am open to how this is possible.  

TPT Meet-Up

This past Thursday, I had the privilege to meet up with about a dozen other teachers from around the area at TJ Rockwells.  These people are amazing individuals that each brought their own flare to teaching, blogging, and TPT to the table.  Our afternoon included lots of laughs, great food, honest sharing, and amazing conversation that allows us all to grow in what we do.  A huge thank you to Becky and Greg from The Class Couple for organizing this meet up and Go Noodle & TPT for all the lovely goodies!  

Molly from Sassy Sub was one of the amazing teachers that I met at this meet.  

I am linking up with her for this fun Summer Recap Party.  I hate that summer is coming to an end.  Therefore, I am going to recap three major things that happened to me this past summer.  

Vacation Trips

This past summer, I was blessed to enjoy my vacation weeks with my amazing boyfriend.  We went to several different places, and still have two more weekends of fun lined up.  We began our summer with a week trip to Cape Coral Florida.  This was my first time going to the Gulf side of Florida.  We enjoyed days of jet skiing, kayaking, beach laying, fourth of July bash with a concert from Chase Rice, and a trip to Miami to visit his father.  This past weekend I took Joe on his first camping trip.  It was quite an amazing time.  We hiked 12 miles our first day there.  Other fascinating camping events included getting lost in the woods, Joe cross the river on a tree trunk, hearing a bear in the woods, and bear spotting in our campsite.  In the weeks to come we have some day trips planned to Music Fest, a weekend trip to Rochester NY, and a trip to Baltimore, MD.  

TPT Meet-Up

This summer I participated in my first TPT meet-up.  It was something I always wanted to do since I started creating projects for my TPT Store.  I was very nervous and scared at first to meet up with random teachers and exchange ideas.  However, after halfway through it, I felt comfortable discussing my ideas and products with others.  I learned so much to help improve my store and blog.  During our meet, I set a goal of improving my store, products, and being consistent in product making.  I am hoping that I can achieve this goal with the motivation from this meet-up!

Blog/TPT Update

As you see, I have updated my blog and redesigned the header and side column.  I am not completed yet and hope to work on it throughout the school year with my boyfriend is away on the weekend at baseball tournaments.  

August Currently

Hey everyone!  

Sorry for being a little late with the August Currently.  I spent the weekend away at my old college watching my boyfriend win gold in the Keystone State Games in baseball.  

Congrats Babe on a fantastic win!!

I am linking up with my friend Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the August Currently.  

Listening:

This whole summer I have been getting back into country music.  I find myself listening to country during the summer months.  It must be that light country swag that gives me that summer, relaxing feel.  This current song from Jana Kramer is absolutely addicting to listen to.  

  

Loving:

I am loving this beautiful weather outside.  This summer in PA has been very different this past year.  We started our summer off with tons of rain and storms.  We experienced a tornado and lots of flooding.  The past two weeks we went from wet days to hot, sticky, and dry.  The past several weeks we have been experiencing a heat wave with days feeling like triple digits.  Today is a beautiful summer day.  A cool breeze with sun.  The humidity is not too bad which makes it a perfect day for laying out.  Something I really have not done that much this summer.  I do need to tan up a bit before school starts.  

Thinking:

Each morning I wake up, I keep thinking that the first day of school is getting closer and closer.  This year I transferred to a new school within the same diocese.  There is so much I need to learn and do.  We are not allowed to enter our classroom until mid-August.  This has been driving me crazy because I am very OCD about everything and usually have my classroom set up by now.  I have been trying to take lots of time at home to make all the things to make my room perfect this year.  However, I am not sure what my schedule is, what exactly I am teaching, what textbook I will be using.  It is so hard to prepare for the year when I feel like I am so behind.  Now that we are in August, we start school in three weeks and I have not set foot in my room yet!  YIKES!!  

Wanting:

I am wanting some more time for vacation trips with my love.  I am so glad that we have things planned every weekend in August to celebrate our last month together before things start to get crazy at my new school.  This past weekend he coached the Junior Division at the Keystone State Games for baseball.  He was gone most of the week and I decided to go out to see his medal game.  I was happy for the game to be at my old college.  Nothing like stepping foot on your old undergrad campus.  The memories came rushing back.  I was able to then show him and his assistant coaches what the night life was like back when I was a student there.  This upcoming weekend we have a camping trip planned since I have not been able to camp yet and not sure if I will be able to this fall due to his baseball schedule.  The next weekend we are going up to Rochester, NY to hang out with his old college roommate.  I have never been to Rochester and am excited to go up.  On our way up we are going to stop at the Finger Lakes and tour some of the wineries.  A dream come true for me.  I always wanted to go up there!  Our last weekend we will be celebrating our 6 month anniversary.  We have been wanting to go to one of our favorite breweries, Du Claw, which is located in Maryland.  We plan on going down to the Baltimore Aquarium for the day, stop at the Brewery, and then enjoy a night out on the town before heading home.  I cannot believe that we have been dating for 6 months.  The summer just flew by with him.  Our last weekend before school starts will be a relaxing one with wine, dinner with our families, relaxation, and end with a day at the spa.  

Needing:

I am starting to panic that I have not yet been in my classroom to set up.  I am in need of getting in there and start setting up.  I also want to meet my new team so that I can learn the procedures and rules of the school.  Waiting all this time is beginning to drive me CRAZY!!  I hope my principal calls this week telling me that I can start setting up.  My parents would also like me to get rid of all my school stuff off the front porch.  It has been all cluttered during the transition.  

B2S RAK:

My B2S RAK is a small gift bag/basket for my new team members.  I want to make sure that I make a great impression.  A small basket/bag filled with post-it notes, pens, pencils, and stress reliever chocolates is always a great way to start.  I believe highly on a good team, and want to establish one at my new school.  

TPT: Solving Equations

I missed Made It Monday because I have enjoyed spending a whole week with the love of my life.  I therefore focused more on creating TPT products when he was at work or baseball practices.  In addition to my percent bundle, this week I created a solving equations bundle.

Check Out My TPT Store!

24 Task Cards solving one-step equations.

24 Task Cards solving two-step equations.

24 Task Cards solving multi-step equations.

Solving Equations Bundle

All my task cards start at an easy level, and increase in difficulty as students move through the problems.  The task cards also have include different kinds of problems including whole number, integers, decimals, fractions, and my favorite, word problems.  

Here is a sneak peak of what is coming this week along with a new bundle!

24 Task Cards Solving Inequalities One Step

Please check out my work and leave feedback!  I am so excited to expand my TPT Store to include these new products.

New TPT Products

Hey everyone, I am so excited to say that I have finally sat down and devoted some of my time to create some new TPT products!  I have finally figured out how create some amazing pieces with new graphics that I have found and new fonts that I finally downloaded.  I decided to create some task cards because it is something that my students loved to do.  I use them as a review for a topic.  We complete half of them in class and then I upload the rest of them on my classroom website or Google Classroom and the students then have to finish it for homework.  I started with a topic that I find difficulty finding TPT products for: percentages.

Check Out My TPT Store!

16 Task Cards where students need to find the "part"
when given the whole and percent.

16 Task Cards where students need to find the "whole"
when given the part and percent.

16 Task Cards where students need to find the percent
when given the part and whole number.

After completing these three sets of task cards, I thought it would be great to add them together to create a bundle.  This bundle will include all three task card sets at a cheaper price them buying them all together.  I then created the following: 

MY FIRST BUNDLE!  

Percentage Bundle

After spending one day creating these percentage task cards and the percentage bundle, I thought I would start at the beginning of the school year and begin creating task cards for large unit sections.  Therefore, today I started to create my equations task card.  I started with task cards with solving equations (one-step). 

24 Task Cards solving one-step equations.

All my task cards start at an easy level, and increase in difficulty as students move through the problems.  The task cards also have include different kinds of problems including whole number, integers, decimals, fractions, and my favorite, word problems.  

Please check out my work and leave feedback!  I am so excited to expand my TPT Store to include these new products.

Happy & Healthy - Lunch

Hey everyone!!  Marion from Mentoring in the Middle are coming together again with a look at healthy lunches!  Does what you pack for lunch need an update?  Want to try something new?  Link up with your go-to lunch to bring to school and see if you find a recipe or two to try!

My favorite lunch is the Mandarin Orange Asian Chicken Salad.  This yummy lunch has a little bit of everything: fruit, vegetables, protein, and a small amount of carbs.  This is an easy lunch to make and you can alter to best meet your needs. 

Now it's time to share your favorite healthy lunches with us and link up below!

Made It Monday - July 20, 2015

Hey everyone!  As I get another week closer to school starting, I am starting to worry if I will be ready.  I am not allowed to move into my new classroom until two weeks until school starts.  This worries me because I would be going into my old school now to set up.  I am very OCD about my things and worry that a week and a half will not be enough time to get organized and used to the new school.  This past weekend I was able to pick up all my things from my old school.  This meant that I was able to work more on my bins and organizing my binders.

I am linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for my second Made It Monday!  

Please make sure to stop by her site and link up with the party to share all your products!

Here is an image of all my products for this week!  As you can see, I was busy fixing up old things and creating new things!  Please make sure to check my TPT for all my new products.  Please feel free to message me if you would like something customized for your classroom!

Teacher Toolbox

So I wanted to revamp my teacher toolbox so that it would match my new classroom theme.  Before my toolbox was a dark navy blue with blue and maize labels (for Michigan of course).  I decided to try this spray paint thing (which I never did before).  So I was stupid enough to try it out on the hottest, most humid day that we have had in PA all summer.  So I painted it to my classroom theme and then decided to create my own labels.  As you see, I am still unsure as to what I want the last big bin to be.  I have researched and many people have pencils, pens, expo markers, but I cannot fit my markers, pens, or pencils in the bin without turning them diagonally.  Besides, I have my cute pen holder for all my adorable flair and colored pens.  So I am up to suggestions as to what else I

 can put in that last bin.  I do have the following things so far:
-Post-It Notes & Post It Tags (the small ones)
-White Out
-Fine Tip Sharpies
-Highlighters
-Charging Chords (my ipad/iphone)
-Glue Sticks                    - Thumb Tacks
-Scotch Tape                  - Staples
-Paper clips (small, large, x-large, fancy)
-Binder clips (small, medium, large)
-Rubber bands                - Staple Remover
-Brass Brads                   - Change (coins)
On top of my teacher bin I have my desk calendar that I created last week along with my correcting pen holder which I created by taking a black short vase and wrapped it with ribbon.

Please make sure to check out my TPT Store for the teacher tool box labels.  Again, I am willing to change them to meet the needs of your classroom theme!

 Welcome Banner

I got this great idea from NOT JANE when she created her lovely welcome banner from target.  I was looking for the chevron and blue theme for the longest time.  I could not find anything on TPT or pinterest so I created my own.  I laminated the banner and then punched holes in the banner to connect each piece to create my final master piece.  I absolutely love it and cannot wait to hang it from my door as the students come in!  This was a simple make that took only an hour to create, laminate, cut, and construct!  

Homeroom Bin

This is a bin that I have been using the past four years, but it needed a huge makeover.  I decided to spray paint it black because I did not want to have too much blue in my room.  It used to be a very dirty white.  My spray paint was able to cover all the dirt.  I then created several labels that match the rest of the labels that I am using throughout my classroom.  My homeroom has been using this as a way to organize their papers instead of bringing everything to my desk.  They place their office notes, papers, letters in the designated bin.  All lunch orders go in it's own bin and any notes or things that need to be turned into me goes in my bin.  This is easier than having 100 different things on my desk.  It also allows me to check off who did or did not turn things on.  Of course I enforce the "put your name on everything" in the beginning of the year.  I just found this to be an easy way for me to organize myself in the morning and keep papers off my desk!

Again, check out my TPT Store for all my label products.  Of course if you need any of them to be altered to your classroom theme, I will gladly do so!

Teacher Cart Organization

I started using this last year when I spotted this gem at SAMS club.  As you can see, I am extremely organized!  I like to plan for the week and make copies early so that I do not have to fight people for it.  In each of these bins I have a file folder for each class I teach.  In those folders are all the handouts that I need for the week.  This way I can go to the correct day, class, and just hand out the papers that I need.  It is also a great way for subs to come in and find things very easily.  I used to have small address labels on this for the different days of the week, but decided since I was making custom labels to create some for this cart as well.  I did add the bin "next week" to to my cart this year.  One goal I have is to try and prepare for the following week as early as I can.  If I know of worksheets, papers, or projects that I want to do the next week, I can put that material in that bin so it will be easy to find.  I am still unsure how to use the last four bins.  Again, I am up to suggestions.  I was thinking of copy and file, but I have a different organization style for things like that.  I have a hanging file cabinet folder for each class that I need to file so when I have time (once a month), I file them into their correct binders.  The only thing I can think of is to create bins for things that I am in charge of (Student Council, 8th Grade Graduation, 8th Grade Trip).  The only problem to this is that I have binders with all of these things.  So, SUGGESTIONS?

Teacher & TPT Binders

Since I was able to get into my old classroom, I was able to pick up all my binders filled with all my tests, quizzes, worksheets, and TPT products.  I really wanted to sit down this summer and figure out how to organize all my work.  Over the weekend, I posted a question on my Instagram asking how everyone organizes their TPT products.  I decided that since I am teaching leveled classes that it might be a good idea to organize them based on topics.  I laid out all my products based on topics and decided to put them into binders based on large units (6th grade material, pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, my own foldables & I Have, Who Has game).  I am working on an additional binder that has holiday TPT products in.  Then I wanted to sit down and organize my teacher binder.

 My teacher binder has all the essentials that I need throughout the school year.  I used clear protective sleeves and post it note dividers.  My first section is my weekly planner.  I plan on keeping this in a clear protective sleeve because then I can use white board markers to write on it, and erase it each week.  This will allow me to stay organized.  This worksheet includes the following things:

-To Do Check List
-Don't Forget Section
-Meetings
-Next Week
-Misc

I think each section is needed to help me through the school year.  With being in a new school, I need to make sure that I stay up-to-date on all the things going on.

The next section of my binder is the monthly calendar.  I found this to work last year.  I then copy the school calendar and have them facing each other.  It allows me to compare what is happening at home with events that are going on in school.  Being highly involved in school and community means that I need to make sure that I manage my calendar.  So my calendar is ready for the whole school year!  August to June!

 After the calendar would be a spot for my lesson plans.  I place my lesson plans in the clear protective sleeves.  I do this because if I need another day for a lesson, I can use a white board marker to draw arrows or write in my lesson plans.

Following my lesson plans are my meeting notes paper.  I use these for monthly faculty meetings and weekly middle school team meetings.  It allows me to place the date at the top and includes the following:
-Notes
-Action Items (things going on that week)
-Dates to Remember
-Misc.

Being team leader, I then take these notes to create a Google doc. of what happened at the meeting for all teachers.

 After the meeting log is my parent contact log.  I love this section of my binder.  It allows me to keep record of all parent contact.  My school is very strict with making sure that we record all parent contact in case we need them for reference.  This log includes the following:
-Student's name
-Parent I contacted
- Way I contacted them
-Date
-Notes section to write down what we discussed

It is an organized way to keep parent contact log in case my principal ever needs it or a parent does not remember what we discussed last time we met.  It helps with parent conferences as well.  So I can help direct my conversations with the parents.

The last section of my teacher binder is my usernames and passwords.  This section is new to me.  Last year, I had so many passwords, usernames, and emails to remember that I would tend to forget what the username or password was to various websites.  This year I am going to try and improve that by keeping track of all this information.  Other team teachers have similar things and found it so useful.  I would ask them the password to the teacher iPad or the students iPads and they would be able to quickly tell me this information by looking at their username and password section of their binder.  Since I am starting at a new school, I thought it would best to include this since I am going to need to learn new emails, passwords, usernames, and use new websites.

I was worried about putting this in my binder, but this binder stays on a safe place behind my desk so that students will not get into it.