It was an organizing files kind of day ... PLUS some new freebies!!

Ever have one of those? Feels kinda great and quite a bit tedious at the same time. I spend the day organizing the files on my computer. Much like the physical areas of my life, I start out being completely organized with the best of intentions, and end up with everything a bit messy. I don't mean to get lazy and lose diligence, but it inevitably happens. So, 4 hours later, all of my files are color-coded, organized, and back where they belong. The best part is, I won't have to search as hard for things I am looking for, which can be a really big time saver.
While I was doing that, I found a few files that I never uploaded to my blog. So, I also spent some time today added two more pages to my blog and uploaded some free resources. I have more to add, but I thought I got a good start.
Check out the new pages and see what I've added. Maybe you'll find something you can use in your classroom.

On another note, this week will be back-to-school for our students. Tomorrow is my last inservice day, then Tuesday it all begins again.

So, does your school do inservice to start the school year? What do you do/learn?
We did:
1. One day on balanced literacy, specifically focusing on effective strategies for guided reading
2. One day on math, specifically focusing on the new technology component of the CCSS Everyday Math
3. Tomorrow's crazy day: Curriculum updates, school improvement plans, and a smattering of other updates.

And so, my friends. I leave you with this lovely eCard I saw on facebook, which will be quite fitting for my year:

Back to School for Me ... and a FREEBIE for you :)

Tomorrow is back to school. You know what that means? Meetings ... meetings ... and more meetings. It's ok though, I love getting to see coworkers who've been MIA for the summer. So, I was working in my classroom today, trying to get everything in place and make everything look pretty.
I love blogging with my kids, so I made some posters to put up in my room using our poster printer.
Click the images below to get your own copy!

The graphics are by the lovely Nikki @ http://melonheadzillustrating.blogspot.com/
The fonts are by Darcy Baldwin @sweetshoppedesigns.com  

TpT's Back to School Sale!

So, maybe like me you have the back-to-school blues....

But, cheer up! TpT is having a back to school sale :)

Yep! You know what that means? It's stock-up time. So, go fill your cart with goodies to make the start of a new year a little brighter and a whole lot easier.

What type of products do you look for on TpT? What will you buy?

I just uploaded two new products today (in time for the sale of course!):

Click on the pictures to see them in my store. And get shopping already!!

Who's Ready for a New Year?!?

Ok, maybe I'm not quite ready. I mean, who doesn't love summer? Though, getting ready for a new school year can be quite fun. I love setting up my classroom and making everything look new and fun for a brand new school year.

What do you do to get ready? I'm planning on starting investing time in my classroom on Monday, getting it ready for 23-25 fresh new faces. Plus, I have $100 bucks to spend at Lakeshore and can't wait to pick out some new goodies. It's so hard to decide what to buy though! 

 Set of 3D Shapes?

 Magnetic Base Ten Blocks?

 Tub of Fraction Circles?

 Text Set for Teaching Math Standards?

 

Nonfiction Text Activities?

 How Did You Solve It?

CCSS 4th Grade Math Center Worksheets?

These are tough life decisions ... What did you buy for your classroom this year? What would you buy if you were me?

And speaking of getting ready for a new year, Fun in First Grade is having an awesome Back-to-School giveaway. You can win one of seven prizes PLUS an item of choice from her TpT store. Just another reason to love the beginning of the year. AND, if you like Duck Dynasty, she has the cutest freebie featuring a quote from Phil and using Melonheadz Illustrations!  :)

Oh, AND as if it couldn't get better ... Melonheadz is having a sale in all of her stores until the 12th, so get to shopping. I think saying I'm obsessed with her graphics is an understatement :) Happy shopping friends!

Staples... I will get around your ridiculous limits!

I know I'm not the only one who goes into Staples and then immediately feels frustrated when the sign says "limit 2" per customer.

 

So, I want more than just two glues Staples. I have 25 students in my class! Also, ten folders and 4 pencil boxes just won't cover it. Now, I get it. If they sold that quantity at that price to us all, they would make no money. They are a business after all. 

However, I wasn't just going to give up. So, I may have gone to Staples 5 separate times last week to get more than their "limit". You do have to spend at least $5 in the transaction to get the penny deal, but there were quite a few other things I wanted to buy for my classroom anyhow. After the 5th trip, though, I began to feel a little nuts. 

Does anyone else do this? Or, if you don't stalk Staples to get their insane cent deals, what do you do to try and stretch your money, but still get things your students will need for the upcoming school year? Does your school provide a lot of the things you need? Do you ask the students to bring items in? Or, do you buy mostly everything with your own budget?