Am I just now finding out about this?!

So today was a little crazy because it was a Friday and there's a dance tonight.  And during the final hour of the day (homeroom) the kids were done.  Just done.  We decided as a team to play this game called Silent Ball that I'd heard the other teachers and students talking about.  Basically, it works like this:
1.  All the kids stand in a circle (to cut down on group size, we initially split our group of 120 students into 3 groups).
2.  They throw a stress ball to one another across the circle.
3.  If anyone makes any noise or talks, they're out.
4.  If you drop the ball, you're out.
5.  If you make a wild throw or throw too hard, you're out.

I was skeptical because it sounds so simple.  I really didn't think that a group of 7th graders would/could be perfectly silent for 15 minutes, nor did I think that they would enjoy just nicely throwing a ball to one another.  They did, though.  It's actually quite hard not to giggle when you're looking across a circle at other people who are trying not to giggle, and that makes it fun.  Also, after a couple of minutes, we added at least one other ball to each circle, which made it more challenging (some kids collaborated and would nicely toss two balls at one person, making it more difficult to catch them).  They really got into it, too!  We eventually joined all the circles into one circle after enough people had been eliminated.

So, how did I not know that Silent Ball existed?  Is it a thing?  Do people play this wonderful silent game all over and I'm just now finding out about it?!  Either way, it was AWESOME!

And I promise, classroom pics post coming soon!  This weekend!  I will make it happen!  :)

Exhausted!

Hello, everybody!  Sorry it's been so long!  School officially started today, and I'm planning a big classroom tour post on Friday.  I just didn't get all the pictures that I wanted to take taken today.  (Also, my room was a wee bit messy after my 7th graders finished with it today.)  The beginning of the year has REALLY worn me out!  I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get into a groove.  Also, if things would slow down a bit, that would be nice...  I remember feeling this way (about to drown in work) at the beginning of the year last year, so I guess I'll just have to have faith that things will get less crazy!  Right now, it's bed time.  Yes, I know it's 9:22, but I'm sleepy.  Don't judge me!  :)

The Lazy Days of Summer

I've been INCREDIBLY lazy this past week.  After I got back from my sister's beautiful wedding, I was exhausted!  This past week has consisted of watching Teen Mom (I know, not quality television), napping on the couch, freezer cooking with my sister-in-law so that she won't have to cook after she has a baby at the beginning of September and I won't have to cook the first month of school (SCORE!), online shopping, and other general unproductiveness.  I did stumble across one awesome idea from pinterest that I had to tweak...  I found a super-helpful end of class checklist at Kelly's Knack (http://kellysknack.blogspot.com/) and had to make one of my own.  I also made a beginning of class checklist.  Here are some images of what I created: 

These checklists are now free in my Teacher's Notebook store (Click here for the Beginning of Class Checklist and here for the End of Class Checklist)!  Speaking of my store, I'm having a back to school sale.  From now until Tuesday, everything in my store is 30% off! 

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a LOT of work to do.  (No, I don't mean more reality television watching.  Really.  I mean it.) 

The proverbial ducks...

Hello, all!  It's been awhile, hasn't it?  I spent most of last week and every day this week at school getting my ducks in a row.  I've resolved several years in a row to get more organized, and I think I've made progress every year.  This year, I'd like to tackle the clutter on my desk.  In the past, there's been a pile on the right side of my desk where papers and productivity go to die, and I want it gone!  I snagged a few drawer organizers at good old Wal-Mart and labeled one of them to help me to corral the chaos on my desk.  It turned out super cute!  Those 97 cent stickers work wonders, I tell you!

I'm going to use the other drawer organizers I bought to store the materials I'll need for upcoming lessons.  Because our school operates on a block schedule, I labeled them with the days of the week for which they'll house papers.  Again, I those letter stickers are the best 97 cents I've ever spent!

I also made this to do list out of a cheap picture frame and card stock that I cut with the Cricut.  Here's hoping that it will help keep me focused!

I'm especially proud of the bookshelf I moved to the front of the room.  I bought some cheap fabric bins that match my classroom decor (I'm working on it; it should be all pretty and shiny soon), and I'm using them to store dry erase markers, scissors, glue, student white boards, and all the other materials my students use on a regular basis.  This way students will have better access to what they need, and my room will look pretty too! 

In our school we have ACRES of bulletin boards.  I mean it.  Come measure them.  While it's nice to display student work, it can be daunting to keep up with them.  I'm incredibly thankful that I have such great teammates-we have ALL of our bulletin boards covered and bordered, and we've gotten a pretty decent start on decorating them as well.  I'll post pics when they're finalized. 

Well.  I'm tired just from writing about it.  Really, I've been spending my days hanging out and crafting with friends, so I shouldn't be too tired.  In reality, though, I'm spent.  I definitely have to rebuild my stamina to survive the school year.  We start class at 7:35, after all (last year, we started at 8:50), and I don't have first block plan like I did last year, either.  Any good ideas for getting back onto a good sleep/work schedule?  I've been going to bed around 1, waking up to work out with a friend at 7:30, and then coming home and napping until around 10...  Help! 

On a less work-ish note, this weekend, my sister is getting married.  I'm super excited for her!  I'll be out of town all weekend, which will force me to abandon my grueling schedule of gossip and crafts.  I'll be glad for a break.  ;)

One Lovely Blog

So, Carla from Surviving Sixth Grade has awarded me with the One Lovely Blog award.  What a sweetheart!  And her blog is awesome, too!  Be sure to check it out...


There are a few responsibilities that come with this award.  Here's what I'm supposed to do: 

1.  Follow the person who gave me the award.  (Done!)
2.  Link back to the person who gave me the award.  (Also done!  Click above to visit Carla's blog.)
3.  Pass this award on to 15 new bloggers.

I'll be sure to pass the award on soon!

Thanks, Carla!  :)

Gearing up!

It feels to me like summer's winding down.  I know that I still have a few weeks left (we don't have inservice unitl August 14), but that doesn't seem like that long to me!  I'm starting to feel the need to get back into the swing of things. So today, I stopped by my classroom.  I printed off a few things and did very minimal work, but it feels good just to be back!  After a couple of hours, I headed back home for some Cricut and Dr. Phil (the best combination since PB & J, if you ask me), and I put together a few things for my classroom. 

I'll laminate this poster and write sponge activities on it.  It will be posted at the front of my classroom. 

My Teacher Notebook is taking shape.  I glued the dividers I'd made onto tab dividers so that my binder would be easier to flip through.  I plan to laminate and hole punch them soon!

I put together these little signs for the white board at the front of my classroom.  They'll help to delinate the different categories in our class objectives, and I've got a plan to keep vocabulary more front-and-center in my classroom this year (that's what the Weekly Words sign is for).  Stay tuned! 

 Are you feeling the back to school itch yet?  What are you doing to get ready?

Evidence

Something that's been really difficult for my students in the past is citing evidence to support their answers.  Our school district making the transition to the Common Core standards next year, and this means that citing evidence is more important than ever.  So I went searching for ways to help students cite evidence, and I found a free handout on Pinterest.  I wanted a constant visual reminder for students, so I created the posters below based on the handout that I found.  I plan on posting them at the front of my classroom, which, by the way, is coming along nicely.  I should be able to post some pics soon!  You can find these posters for free at my Teacher's Notebook store.  Here are some pics!

On a more personal note, my sister's bachelorette party (which I'm throwing) is tomorrow night.  I'm extremely nervous because I'm not exactly what you'd call a party girl.  (Unless we're talking slumber parties.  I make a mean at-home facial.  Also, I freeze bras like a pro.)  I just hope that it goes well and that my sister has a great time! 

I'm really nervous about what I'm going to wear.  Partially because it's supposed to be well over 100 degrees, and partially because I'm not so great at dressing to go out on the town.  School and weekend fashion I've got a pretty good handle on, but I'm not so great at party fashion.  I tend to come off looking like I just left work.  Here's hoping skinny black pants and a sequined top will suffice.  :)

So helpful...

I might talk a lot about how busy I am, but at least I've got good help...  My cat Adrienne always tries to "help" me when I'm working at the computer (or anywhere around the house, for that matter).  At least she's not sitting directly on my notebook like she does on my books.  She definitely provides cuteness inspiration!

Busy, busy, busy!

I always think that I'm going to have tons of time to do whatever I want during the summer, and I'm pretty much always wrong.  This summer, my sister is getting married and I'm the maid of honor (technically matron, but I think that sounds gross), so that's keeping me pretty busy (in a good way).  Also, my sister-in-law and brother are expecting in September, so I helped with her baby shower a couple of weekends ago.  Because I live about an hour away from the rest of my family, that means lots of driving, not to mention the driving my husband and I do whenever we want to see a movie, eat out anywhere other than Sonic...  You get the picture.  We drive a lot!  All of this has made me a very busy (but happy) off-duty teacher. 

Aside from personal responsibilities, I always find myself busy getting ready for the next school year during the summer.  I plan on revamping how my room is organized and decorated next year, and this has prompted me to create a lot of new posters and decorations for my room.  And let's not even mention Pinterest...  I find so many good ideas on there that I just HAVE to tweak for my classroom!  Like these main idea clue posters that I adapted from another teacher's main idea anchor chart.  They'll be helpful for students, and they'll match my new decor.  Bonus!  Here are some pics, and I've posted them for free in my Teacher's Notebook store!  :)

I know that I feel super busy right now, but ultimately, I'm busy doing the things I want to do, so it's okay.  Because I'll be about 2000 times busier during the school year, I'm trying to put some organizational steps into place for the next year, including creating a teacher notebook.  I've seen many versions of these floating around on the interwebs, and I decided to create my own.  Hopefully it will help me to stay organized next school year and save me some time and frustration in the long run.  Here are some pics.  (This is also posted in my teacher store, but it isn't free). 

I know that being busy now will help me to stay sane later.  What are you doing to help yourself get ready for next school year?  I always feel like I'm forgetting something...  :)

To begin with...

Hey you out there.  You are out there right?  That's weird.  In a good way, though.  Anyway... 

I created my Teacher's Notebook store and first self-made pin today.  It's fun to put things out there that I actually made.  I just hope that people can use them.  Teachers are exceptionally busy (and that's a huge understatement), and I love that Pinterest and sites like Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook can help us all share the workload a little bit.  Anyway,  My poster's below.  I can't claim credit for the idea...  I found it on Pinterest. 

You can download this from my Teacher's Notebook store here:  http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/blair.falldine/mints-poster

Speaking of Pinterest reminds me of a conversation we had at lunch last year.  I was lucky enough last year to eat lunch with most of the 7th grade teachers in our school.  I'd like to say that our conversations always stayed positive, but I can't.  We really tried to keep it upbeat, though, and we had tons of fun.  We'd often have potluck lunches on Friday, and many of the recipes we made were found on Pinterest.  One of the male teachers poked fun at this, saying that we needed t-shirts that read "I found it on Pinterest" just in case anyone was curious.  I love Pinterest; I think that it's a great place to find all the ideas I'd never come up with in the first place.  Some people, though, think that it stunts creativity, essentially turning us all into clones.  What do you think? 

This blogging thing was fun.  Let's do it again sometime...  :)