At Least It's Still September? Currently...

Well...I'm a week late - but better late than never! I had to force myself to get distracted from work to bring you my September Currently for Farley's Linky!

Listening: I LOOOOOOVE that Football Season is BACK! Watching football all day on Sunday is my idea of a funday!! I have 2 Fantasy Leagues going, so needless to say I may have to change my plan day so it doesn't get in the way of my football - Go Bears!

Loving: Well I've been in school for 3.5 weeks but I still have more to do in my classroom! It is coming along and I get TONS of compliments from my co-workers, but to me there is always more! I have a lot to hang up tomorrow before getting observed on Tuesday! I promise a classroom tour ASAP!

Thinking:  Let's just say I have finally procrastinated enough to where I will not get a lot of sleep (plus the copier hates me)

Wanting: I'm doing interactive notebooks with all of my groups and I want to get to the fun part of my job of coloring, decorating, and completing the example pages!

Needing: My to-do list is miles long...but for tomorrow I HAVE to finish my pre-conference form since it is tomorrow morning at 7:45, I HAVE to finish my lesson plans because they are due at 8 AM, I HAVE to sort the papers so that I know which I need for my lessons this week, etc. etc.

<3: I never take enough time to myself and then everyone worries about me at work, and apparently I get crabby...huh who would've thought?  SO I am going to make it my job this month (as a kick start) to take care of me! I think that will come easier when I finally feel settled in my classroom and caught up with my work...

1. I go to the gym every other week to meet with my personal trainer, and I'll sporadically go before work in the morning, but I want to make it a habit to go 3-4 days a week from now on - I pay for it so I want to make it worth it!

2. Let's just say I can't find my floor in my bedroom, and I'm pretty sure it's time to toss some shower gels!  lol I've been sooooo focused on school that my home life is SCARY!!! Time to take care of that!

3. Now that I am done paying for my master's program in various ways, I want to set up a budget and stick to it so that I can pay off some of this credit card debt and move on to tackling other debt!

4. There are so many books I want to read, and I want to study for my certification tests, and I want to get to the gym more, and I want to do things for fun! BUT I never take time to myself - I always feel like there is SOMETHING I should be working on.  However, from now on I will find at least one night if not more to dedicate to myself and what I WANT to do...not what I HAVE to do or THINK I HAVE to do...This will be a challenge!

What are you Currently doing?

August Currently...SeRiOuSlY?!?!

It's August Already - SAY IT AIN'T SO!!! AHHHHHH....ok freak out over...for now :)

Since it is now August, it is time to link up with Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for the monthly Currently Linky!

Listening: The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of my ALL TIME favorite novels! So naturally....I had to buy the movie when it came out, and while the book is ALWAYS better than the movie, the movie follows the book pretty closely!!

Loving: Last Saturday was my Master's Graduation Ceremony.  Although they have it 3 weeks before the last class ends, I only have  2 assignments left, 2 discussion board posts (with a total of 4 comments to make on other people's posts), 1 quiz, and 1 final left && then I am officially done...I plan on finishing it this weekend so it's all done before my school year starts and I can hold that pretty little piece of paper in my hand!

(That's the boyfriend in the picture - he's been VERY supportive with me starting at a new school with a new age group, having a second job tutoring, AND working on my Master's...I'm really lucky <3 )

Thinking: I can't believe the summer is over!! I have in-service days the 8th, 12th, and 13th and then the kiddos are back the 14th!  The end of my Master's program and internship ate up my summer!! How I would've finished this tail end during the school year I have no idea, but I'm thankful it was in the summer....even though I didn't have any time to work on the things I wanted to for school or relax...which leads to...

Wanting: I would love one extra week of summer break right now just so I can have some more time WITHOUT having Master's work to do, and I can relax (what is that again?) and work on things for the school year to start....which leads to...

Needing: I need to finish up the rest of this Master's work right now (while listening to The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and then start the label creating, printing, and laminating frenzy!

             

B2S Must Haves:
1. Cardstock, Printer Ink, and a Laminator are a must have, especially if you're creating your own classroom theme items, labels, etc.


2. 3M Outdoor Mounting Tape is THE BEST to use when mounting on classroom walls...it doesn't let anything fall off!

3. COFFEE!! Lately...well mainly all the time now, I have NOT been a morning person...and when working with elementary kiddos you need to be energized and ready to go...so coffee will be re-entering my life! (I kicked a LOT of my caffeine this summer....used to be at 2 Monsters and 1 Coffee a day...Now I'm down to 1 coffee a day sometimes although during the school year it'll be 1 coffee a day!) I <3 my Keurig!!

What are your August Currentlys?!

Monday Made It...Part 2!

It's Monday again! (Seriously, where is this summer going??) Which means it is time for the Monday Made It Linky with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics!

As we remember, last week I started my spray painting party! WELL...the fantastic Chicagoland weather would not allow me to spray paint anymore until YESTERDAY!! (it was either over 90 degrees, above 65% humidity, OR BOTH ALL WEEK!) But...at least I had one good day so I could finish up my Monday Made It from last week!

 My Driveway was COVERED with Items!

I am going to string the letters for my name together with black ribbon and hang it by my desk!

The mini drawers I had for awhile, but they were navy blue and dingy, so they needed a face lift to match my color scheme! There drawers will be featured in a bit!

The larger drawers are for my different color paper to print on, but they were white and once again...didn't go with my color scheme! :)

Remember those blue sentence strip storage boxes I featured before that I bought at Lakeshore Learning, and I said I would probably paint them so they could match? Yep, my OCD got me and I did it!

While the navy blue drawer sets had lime green handles that would match, I had 1 mini drawer set that came with silver handles instead...SO the lime green drawers will go in these mini pink drawer sets and then the spray painted pink handle drawers will go in the lime green mini set!

All of the spray paint I used was gloss so it turned out with a super nice finish!

Then I threw in one more project...

Step #1: Long story short, I had one lonely roll of pink duct tape that I couldn't return...and didn't know what I was going to do with it...until I remembered on pinterest everyone using scrapbooking paper to cover a pringles can to hold their rulers...I thought...why not use the duct tape! So I did!

Step #2: I used a furniture wipe to clean out the inside of the pringles container (after dumping out as many of the crumbs as I could)

Step #3: I used the measuring tape to measure the circumference of the pringles can and then just measured around the duct tape and marked it off (I gave a quarter inch overlap so the can didn't show through.) I used the ruler to make the straight line across the tape for when I cut the strips.

Step #4: It's hard to see, but after putting the first one on, I drew a line down the can where the tape started since there is an overlap.  I also had an over lap with the strips since the tape was 2 inchese side and the can is an odd number. I just kept going, measure, cut, tape, measure, cut, tape, etc. The last row I had to cut the tape down the middle because it was to wide. And then the final product!

It's not perfect, but it'll do for this year, and it works! I'm going to add a cute ruler label once I print it out and laminate it!

On a non-made it note...

One of my coworkers got me this AWESOME quote picture that, if you knew me, fits me PERFECTLY!  

I'll be hanging it by my desk in my classroom...once I go in to start setting up...as in tomorrow :( ...to finish emptying out all the old stuff I'm donating to the new teacher...

What did you make?!

My 1st Monday Made It! ...Part 1...

I FINALLY have something made for a Monday to participate in 4th Grade Frolics's Monday Made It! Well sort of...it's a 2 part-er due to weather.

I inherited these Book Bins from a teacher that was retiring...but they needed a face lift (plus the colors didn't match my theme of my classroom!)

SO I've begun the face lifting process! (those are some other containers I want to spray paint to match too - not the laundry basket thought :-) )

 The things spray painted green are letters that spell out my name that I am going to string together with ribbon to hang above my desk!

 I used spray paint specifically for plastic and that is glossy so it'll have a nice finish.  It took about 3 and 1/2 cans (give or take on the 1/2) for the outside of the Book Bins and the two little tubs from the Dollar Tree.

I only have the outside done since the spray paint won't stick or try properly if it's over 90 degrees and/or more than 65% humidity...I'm hoping that if I wake up early enough tomorrow that it'll be cool enough in the morning to finish the insides (and touch up the outsides from the fantastic wind that blew the corners of the newspaper up, making it stick to the boxes!)  I can't wait to finish them and see how they look!

I also finished creating my classroom decor, but don't know how everyone always has picture collages on their blogs of things they made via the computer so that'll have to wait until I figure that out, or it gets hung up in my classroom, which ever comes first! Happy Monday!

"Show Us Your...Stuff" Linky!

Man I feel like I haven't posted in FOREVER.  I've wanted to do the Monday Made Its...and haven't...I've wanted to be able to post awesome "look what I've done so far this summer for my classroom!" posts...but can't...because I've been working solely on my Master's program (not how I imagined my summer...). Enter: Christina's Show Us Your Stuff Linky Party!

Now...you know you all have piles and piles of stuff that you either bought this summer or brought home this summer. My reason for all the piles:

1. I've already done back to school shopping....and container shopping...and well everything classroom shopping including hitting up Scholastics Book Warehouse Sale for a SECOND time this year!

2. I'm moving classrooms this year, and didn't know when I would get back in mine.  SO I brought almost ALL things personal home...plus I wanted to organize it all this summer...now that I have only 4-5 weeks left (including having to set up and organize an entire new classroom!!)...and after taking these pictures...I have realized I have got to get my BUTT in gear!! 

Alright...here goes nothing...don't go running and hiding from the scary mess!!! (Like I often want to lol)

Well those are my piles! Hopefully in 2 weeks I'll at least have "non-pile" pictures to share because it'll all be put together and organized! :-)

Almost July Currently!

Linking up with Farley a day early for the July Currently! (Hey, Hey this month I'm not late with it!)

Listening: For some reason Elf is on TV right now; maybe they have the whole "Christmas in July" Theory, but it's okay because I love this movie! Also, my boyfriend has been dog sitting his sister's dogs for the the past 10 days and we're getting ready to take them back to his sister's now! They're too cute though :-(

Loving: For 2 months I was debating what gym to join! I finally decided to go back to Lifetime (for some reason I always end up back there-it's just amazing, and I can't wait to start! I have my health and  fitness assessment on Tuesday-that should be interesting!!

Thinking: I really need to get my butt in gear! I have so much that I want to organize for work and home! And definitely a lot more purging to be done! Especially so I can set up one of the spare rooms and an office and creation station for myself and then the other space I want as a nice, neat, organized storage area for all the stuff I don't need to unpack (i.e. kitchen stuff).  For work I have just bags and bags of stuff that I bought for my classroom and NOTHING is organized or set up with it! AND I still haven't sorted through everything I brought home to purge, organized any of it, created anything I wanted to for school, or feel like I'm any where near ready to go back in 6 weeks!! Hopefully they'll call soon saying my new classroom is ready; I feel like that'll get me motivated to get off my butt and get moving!!

Wanting: My master's to be done! It is driving me crazy! Okay not really crazy, but it's almost like I have super bad senioritis, making me procrastinate && not want to work on it! lol I have 4 weeks until my graduation ceremony, 5 weeks until all my internship stuff is due, and 7 weeks until I finish my final class! I have 1 week left of my class I'm in now, then 5 weeks of the other class (my last one), and I'm officially done with Master's #1! Just have to try and keep the half full attitude....and keep going to starbucks away from some distractions to get this work done!

Needing: Like I said before I need to get motivated to get all the purging, cleaning, organizing, and project making done for both my home life and my school life. I'm also needing to get working on my master's work right now...

Tips, Tricks, or Hints:  I only started a blog a few months ago, and only just recently really had time to start using it.  I'm still definitely learning as I go, and often get frustrated, but have definitely gotten better with that! Leading into my tip: Just go with it! It doesn't have to be perfect and it definitely won't be when you first start so just roll with it! I take any suggests and go with them because they will only help me become a better blogger! Am I where I want to be right now with blogging? No but I know I will get there with it!

Second Tip: Join Linky Parties!  I have learned so much from even just participating in the Currently linky. I do have about 4 more posts you'll be seeing after this because I found more to join!  Plus they are tons of fun to participate in and you get to meet new people in the blogging world!  Just make sure you follow the requirements! :-)

April 26th's Five for Friday...on Sunday the 28th

Linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday this week!

1. AIMSweb benchmarking is over - a long two days of benchmarking the whole school and all I wish is that I could hear the end of the passages!  Since this was the last time of the school year, I had so many kiddos trying to stay to finish reading the stories because they won't read the same ones next year; even one wanted to come back and get the binder when we were done testing so that they could finish reading the passages!

2. The Chicago Blackhawks won the President's Trophy for most points in the season and home ice advantage during the playoffs!! It was announced late last night that they'll be facing the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs!

3. The Bulls had a KILLER triple overtime game yesterday that lasted 4 HOURS with very feisty players...totally awesome and worth procrastinating on my work to watch it :-)

4. I have 20 school days left and I feel like they'll be the longest ones yet - I had 2 substitutes this week because of the AIMSweb and let's just say, these were not the best times that I ended up having substitutes in my classroom...I've never had a problem before which is interesting.

5. Now that benchmarking is over, it is time to start testing sight words and guided reading levels. Data, Data, Data! Bring on another week! - at least this one is supposed to warm up and include sunshine!

Last Week's (April 19th) Five for Friday Linky Party - Attempt 1 :-)

As I've mentioned before I am new to the blogging world, so today I am going to attempt to participate in Doodle Bugs Teaching Five for Friday Linky Party from last week (This will be my trial run for future Five for Friday and other Linky Parties!).  The Five for Friday Linky Party involves listing 5 random things from Friday or throughout the week.  While I won't have pictures for last week or this week, I'll work on adding those in as I get used to this.

Five for Friday Linky Party

1. The end of the school year is quickly approaching which means getting the students more motivated is becoming a challenge.  Integrating Quantum Learning more and Brain Breaks more has definitely been beneficial!

2. We have been very busy at our school with the transition of the Common Core which has led me to more and more blogs and TPT stores - which then also tells me that I'm spending more time on the sites and getting sucked in, putting me behind on other things that need to get done. :-) Including this blog post and attempting to figure out how to create a blog button.

3. Many schools around me had one or multiple "Rain Days" due to flooding but my kiddos stuck out the rain and made it in!

4.  My mind is already thinking of all the things I want to change for next year and what I want to accomplish over the summer.  The list is a mile long already...it's going to be one busy summer!

5.  With only 22 school days left, and being a special education teacher, it is time for Data Collection! Lots of testing coming my way which means finding other activities that the kiddos can work on independently while I test the others.

Enjoy! I promise to work on getting better at blogging...It's on my summer list as well ;-)