Common Core Blues... not so fast, I've found the answer...

Well, setting routines and procedures has been really good so far this year. My babies are really learning what to do. So, this week I want to start literacy stations. After 2 days of pulling my hair out, planning with my team mate and printing like a fiend, I have stations for the next 5 days. Great, but are they Common Core aligned? Hmmmm. Well, let's just say that since these are "practice" stations, it's okay. Is that alright with you?

So, as I was looking on Pinterest for math and literacy assessments aligned with CC, I came across this Kindergarten Common Core book. It is a great resource for K teachers. Since we are implementing The Daily Five, I need more resources to put into Word Work and I need to be certain that I am hitting all of the strands and standards. Our math program doesn't really align with CC either, so I probably need to supplement with other things and this download will really help with that. I suggest that all K teachers check this out!!!


This Kindergarten Common Core Workbook is a must have!
Bloggers, you have just a few hours to take advantage of the free download!!!

I cannot wait to use it...
Keep it Sassy Peeps!

La, la, la, la, la, la, laaa, laaa, ah, la la la oh oh oh ....

It has been a stressful week. The kids have done well, but I have found myself buried under paperwork and deadlines. I have my Self Assessment done for my NC Teacher Evaluation, but I still need to finish my PDP, have my mentor do an observation, have my principal do a preconference and evaluation and post conference, I have data meetings to see who is eligible for Tier II services, develop a PEP for my little girl who was retained, take (he DOES still need me) care of my teenager... whew... and I STILL have to plan and teach!

Sooooo, I decided to leave right after the buses (which was still 4:40 because that purple bus CANNOT get here on time) and treat myself to a night on the town!

I headed to N. Raleigh for some karaoke with a girlfriend... not a great idea... so we left after dinner and headed back to the Cary. More karaoke with a laid back feel. I got so comfortable that I even sang a song. It felt so good to get up there and let go. If I had not been pre correcting, redirecting and encouraging 18 kinders all day today, I would have sung another song! But my voice is tired!!!!

Here is The Fugees singing my karaoke solo debut song.... A Roberta Flack classic...
Killing Me Softly...

Good night, folks!

~ The Sassy Teacher

Almost Show Time...

Well, it is less than 48 hours away. My first day starting kindergarten with my 18 lovelies. My assistant, Cathy, is awesome. I am so glad that she is with me. We worked together as TA's for 10 great years!

My classroom is ready. Tables, chairs, document camera, Mimeo bar, carpet, magnets, crayons, pencils, reading chairs, pillows, book boxes, blocks, Legos, tubs and tubs of books... it is all there and waiting. But am I ready?

I have waited for this my whole life, but I am so nervous. This transition to Common Core is really boiling my brains. What assessments should I do for math on day 16 according to CMAPP? Online profile cards? Can I start Letterland on Tuesday, our first day? Will we be able to start Daily 5 in second quarter? I could go on and on...

I am really excited though. I think that my babies are really sweet. A little low, but sweet.  I do have a lot of work cut out for me this year. When I taught last year from January to June, I worked at an affluent school with very bright students. They were almost all reading at the end of year benchmark in January. It was really easy, and a great introductory experience, but my heart is with the ones that struggle. I was elated to come back to my peeps and get down to the nitty gritty. But, this is gonna be the REAL deal. Pray for me folks.

Pinterest Projects Completed

Over the past few weeks I have been working furiously to finish my room. It started as a supply, ESL and Literacy classroom. Over the past month I have remade it into a Perfectly Preppy Owl Friendly Kindergarten classroom. All with the help of Pinterest.

Here is one idea that was simple. I saw a pin where a teacher used an index card file box to store wall word cards!!! So simple and so genius! Blurry, but genius!

Up next, my fave... the darling crazy daisy white board clips!!! I just used cheap black clips from Target's Dollar spot, clearance daisies from Michael's and hot glue! I did have to add another button magnet to the back so that the clips were actually functional and not just beautiful! I got so many compliments when I posted pics to my Facebook. Many thanks to Kindercraze blog for the idea. 

To keep me organized I have these darling daily work file boxes. I used some clearance scrapbook paper from Walmart- $2.00 and file boxed from Ikea 5/$1.99. Holla!! I got this idea from Clutter-Free Classroom. I pray that it keeps me more organized than I was last year!

This next idea was a Pinterest show stopper. That crafty Maria over at Kindercraze had fingers furiously pinning with her "fancied up" Sterilite drawers. Here is my attempt. I love them so much!!! One set is for my Word Work D5 station and the others are for miscellaneous supplies and to look cute near the hall door!

  

Don't ask me how these pictures got all wonky! Anyway, the green drawers are from my oldest son's room (thanks Justin)  and one of the white drawers is from a friend who is leaving teaching to have her precious baby girl. Thanks Ella's mommy!!! The scrapbook paper I used was on clearance at Michael's ($5.00 for a huge pack!) and the double sided tape was less than $3 at Walmart. I know that you can see the tape, but I think that they are still cute!

Here is a picture of the back door to my classroom. It opens out to the bus loop/parking lot. How lucky is that? I had seen these banners floating around Pinterest but I didn't want to pay for one. My good friend Lisa brought me some huge die cut paws from the school where she taught summer school. Our school is the home of the Cougars, so I thought that this would be great to put on that ugly back door. It says  'welcome' in dot and stick letters. I think that it is something cute to look at for the classes coming in from the playground. 

I never got around to painting my old ugly file cabinet. With everything else going on, I didn't want to mess with paint.  I will post a better classroom tour very soon. I hope. School starts Monday and I'm exhausted! I have spent the last 2 weeks in my room from 8  AM to 8 PM. Saturdays and Sundays included! Beat down is not the word!

I hope you enjoy it!!! 

Sassy

So behind...

Oh my goodness. It will be the beginning of the year in no time, and I have not done even ONE of the projects that I blogged about last! I have been so bogged down with summer school, not being able to get into my classroom and THE HEAT!!!

So in the meantime, I have been pinning like mad. I hope that I can get everything done in time... To make matters worse, I have been feeling like someone has been dancing on my head!!! Sinus pressure anytime is bad, but during the summer is worse.
Friday was the last day of summer school and I went to my classroom to bring some things I had taken to the other school and I found that the A/C is really broken (but work order is in... ok) and the toilets were backed up!!! YAY! The smell in my room was so bad, that I had to leave. I couldn't even bring anything in. I was promised that by Tuesday all would be taken care of... I only have a few days to get my room together before all of my BT (beginning teacher) trainings.        

But as one of my favorite Pinterest pins says:

So I am keeping calm and decorating on. I have been shopping for folders, markers, pens, more supplies for decorating and cute outfits!!! Tax Free Weekend rocks. I still have a few more hours to get the new office supply store deals.

Pictures soon? Maybe?

~Stephanie!

Pinterest...

Ahhh, Pinterest... my newest addiction. I can sit for hours and pin, pin, pin. I have 25 boards with over 2,000 pins. Most of my boards are school related, but there are some lifestyle boards going on too- food, clothes and beauty.

Well, I have been pinning like mad today. I have been meaning to post something here all day, but every time I get distracted by something on Pinterest. I always have it opened in a tab, waiting for new ideas to pin. I hope that I will implement many of them this year. Last year I was able to make lots of Daily 5 games and strategy posters from my Pinterest pins.

My favorite board is titled The Perfect Preppy Classroom. I have a very expensive vision for my room! Too bad I'm a teacher!!! But I am planning to make as many of these things that I possibly can.

The main ideas I will be working on for the next few weeks are:
A File Cabinet Makeover


My file cabinet is O-L-D!!! It is rusty and just will not got with the tropical brights theme I have going on. I must put some vinyl or patterned duck tape on the drawers.

Crazy Daisy Magnets for the board

  
                                                    ( curtain fabric)
My curtains are a Crazy Daisy print. I love them so very much. I have pillows for the reading nook that match. I will also have a skirt made for my tech cart made from the contrasting fabric. These flower magnets will just make it all POP!!! So excited!!!

Something Fancy for the Door


I really wanted to do this at my last school, but someone else already had these premade letters from Michael's in the colors I wanted, so I didn't buy them. I wanted to be original!!! I guess I can be now at my new school!!! Yay!!

Magnets


I LOVE magnets!!! My board is covered in them. I don't need anymore, but I'm gonna make some!!! I've got the glass marbles and the magnets, but I am not sure what I want to glue underneath.

Classroom Library
 
I want to put this saying on my windows in the book nook. I hope that they won't fade too badly. That is really gonna be cute!!! I have black bookshelves and pillows in turquoise and hot pink. So adorable!!

Storage Carts Makeover

I have 3 of these Sterilite carts in my room. Since they are either hand-me-downs or carts from my own kid's rooms--none of them match!!! I am going to TRY to unify them with scrapbook paper. One of them will be used for daily lesson storage, the other two will be Word Work storage and Work on Writing storage for Daily/Cafe. I also have several smaller desktop drawer sets that I will try to prettify. Wish me luck!

I have so many other ideas for my room, but I think that 6 is enough to start with. I will post pics as I complete my projects. All of these projects are pinned on my board The Perfect Preppy Classroom . Please follow my boards and my blog!!! Thanks!

~The Sassy Teacher

OhMeSoSassy

Hello all, I'm the Sassy Teacher! I am about to begin my first full year of teaching! I am BEYOND excited!!! I graduated from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC in December 2011. Go Pirates!!!!


 I started my first job as a kindergarten teacher, in January 2012. It was a wonderful experience. My poor kiddos had had 3, count 'em, 3 teachers this year. They started the year with a pregnant teacher, then had a substitute teacher during the maternity leave. During said maternity leave, the first teacher just couldn't leave her precious little one (who could blame her?), so I was hired!!!


Now, while being lead teacher was a new experience, I am not a novice in the classroom. I worked as a Teaching Assistant in kindergarten for 11 years at the best school in the world. It was during this time that I decided to go back to college and earn my teaching degree, while raising two precious boys, who are now young men! All of my coursework was via the Distance Education program at ECU. That was a great way to work, raise a family and get a quality education.


 I loved my team and we were like family.  I student taught in a different school for a semester and then was offered a job at another, so I was away from my peeps for an entire year. But, I am pleased to say that I am BACK!!! I am excited and nervous. I haven't been a teacher at the beginning of the school year, which can be challenging for any grade level, but is extremely challenging in kindergarten. These babies cannot do anything!!! But I'm up for the challenge!


All of that being said, this is my first blog post and I look forward to many more in the future. I hope to begin making products and posting here and in a teacher store. I do have Pinterest, and when I figure out how to link to my boards, I will!!


Thanks for reading,


~The Sassy Teacher