Five for Friday

Today I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!

Here's a bit of what I've been up to!

ONE: New Calendar Decor

At the end of this past school year I wanted to update my calendar and morning meeting materials in my classroom.  I’ve had the same materials for three years and I wanted a change.  I decided to create a new set of calendar materials using a pastel theme so as to make these pieces versatile for years to come.  I’d like to think that even if I change the colors of my classroom I can still use these pieces.  

So, after what feels like weeks of work on this set, I have finally finished my new classroom décor pieces.  I love the way they turned out and I can’t wait to put them up in my room.  I was hoping to have these done, printed, and laminated before our last day of school in June so I could put them up, but that didn’t happen!  

TWO: New Schedule Cards

The schedule cards I've been using were made by me three years ago and they needed some help.  I made these cards before I even really knew what TPT was.  I hadn’t purchased any clip art or fonts at the time and you can tell… the labels were pretty lame.  I love the way these schedule cards turned out and I can’t wait to use them in my classroom this year.  These schedule cards also match the classroom decor items I created for my classroom calendar area.  I think displaying the daily schedule helps the kids manage expectations as well as understand what we’re going to accomplish during the day.
  

These cards fit nicely in a pocket chart and allows you to quickly change the cards each day should your schedule change from day to day! 

THREE: Carpet Squares... Rectangles actually

I found these stair treads at a local home improvement store last weekend and I picked up a set of 13 for $9... a great deal.  I plan to use them during independent reading time each day for those kiddos that pick book nooks on the floor.  I've always felt a little guilty that some kids were sitting on the cold floor.  These stair treads aren't huge but they're big enough for their bottoms to sit comfortably on. 

FOUR: Literacy Teacher's Playbook

This book was an amazing read.  The book lays out the assessments needed as well as how to analyze these assessments in a way that allows for an action plan for each of the students.  This is powerful.  I have a ton of notes and reminders for the upcoming school year and I've gathered several assessments as well as made a few more and I feel so ready to tackle reading this year.  

 FIVE: Summer Time
Summer is in full swing here in NY.  We have had several days above 90 this week and I'm longing for those cold winter days!  If you know me you know I really don't enjoy the summer!  I hate being hot and I really don't enjoy swimming or the beach!  Shocking I know, but I'm just trying to keep it real here.

I can't believe August is upon us and we go back to school this month.  My to do list is still a mile long.  I've been working hard during the month of July but working 40 hours a week doesn't allow for a ton of project time this summer.  When I get home after being outside in the heat for hours I'm really not in any mood to be creative or productive.  Two weeks left of work and I know I'll get it all done... we teachers always know how to get done what we need to get done!!

Our garden is in full swing now... we've gotten a ton of zucchini already this summer... this last batch the zucchini were huge.  Our apple trees out front are also doing well and we've gotten a few small apples already!

Have a great weekend.  Don't forget to visit Doodle Bugs Teaching!