Summertime Guilty Pleasures {A Link Up}

Soooo… it's summertime, no? Time for all those guilty, guilty pleasures to take place!!!

Nichole from The Craft of Teaching and I decided that it might be really cool to see all of our summertime guilty pleasures in one place.

Introducing…

So let's get started with MY guilty pleasures!!

Oooooh yes, blogging. I love me some blogging. During the school year, my blog kind of has cobwebs on it! But during the summer, I have freedom to blog as I see fit. Want to blog about a new technology source? SURE! Want to blog about a reading strategy I used in the classroom? SURE! Want to blog about ice cream? SURE!

During the summer, I can blog about whatever I would like:
-reading
-writing
-science
-social studies
-mathematics
-spelling/grammar
-TV shows
-reflections
-school supplies

Oh. My. Goodness. THAT LIST!!!

Oooh. Speaking of lists. Summertime is the time of LISTS for me!! I am able to write it all down and look at it in complete awe. I mean, my LISTS HAVE LISTS. Is that not the definite definition of a teacher???

 If you don't have lists, you are missing out. Oh, and these lists are from Krista's Creative Paper Collection and Blair's Blair Turner Paper company. You maaaaay just want to go ahead and buy yourself 12 of each item.. you're going to fall in love with them.

Oh, see. You fell in love. #sorrynotsorry

Raise your hand if you binge watch TV or movies?? *raises hand* Oh yeah, I do. Especially in the summertime!! During the school year, I am almost too busy to watch TV. Almost. BUT, there are a few TV shows or movies that I have yet to watch, and whelp, what's summer for if not for binge watching from the couch?!

I'm currently binge watching Orange is the New Black (but I am not allowed to watch it without my husband…) and Gossip Girl. But I have binge watched The Fosters, Pretty Little Liars, Big Brother, Walking Dead, Grey's Anatomy… okay, this list is making me look a little crazy.

Who am I kidding?? I AM crazy!! Crazy for paper and TV, that is… :)

So tell us. What are YOUR guilty pleasures?! Nichole and I want to know.

Here's how this works.

Write up a shameless post about your guilty pleasures (come on, friends, it's summertime - no shame).
Be sure to include the very top graphic about the guilty pleasure from this post or from her post.
Link up on either her blog (Nichole's) or my blog.

THAT'S IT. Seriously. So easy.

Let's hear it, folks!!

An InLinkz Link-up

{My Teacher Heroes}

To all the teachers out there, I want to start off this post by saying THANK YOU. Thank you for all that you do for those students of yours. Thank you for all that you do for your coworkers. Thank you for all that you do for your families and friends. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

You may not know it, but you may actually, truly be one of your kiddos' heroes. Pretty cool title, huh?

I know that I personally had quite a few teacher heroes (5 of them, to be exact). So, I'm going to list them below in a link up that's titled, "My Teacher Hero," hosted by the AMAZING Jenny from Luckeyfrog's Lilypad! Love that lady.

Be prepared… *SAPPY ROADS AHEAD.**

Let's start with my 7th Grade Math Teacher. Mrs. Calborn. My love for math started when I walked into her classroom. To be able to love math that much?? I was unsure it was even possible. But, she made it happen for me. She got me involved, got me thinking, and kept me going. Throughout the years, we lost touch a little because of me going to a different school, but the funny thing is, we reconnected when I decided to be a teacher. When I began to sub at her school. To be honest, she's one of the main reasons I began to think I could even BE a teacher when I was in college. She was one of the reasons that made me go, "Well, I remembered her and all the impacts she had on my life, even from 7 years ago, and it would be awesome to have that same lasting impact on students' lives, too." So, Mrs. Calborn, thank you.

I had Mr. Anderson for a science class in high school. He instilled a love for science in me like no other. He challenged us to think as hard as we could, but yet, still have fun doing it. We did experiments, we did worksheets, we did tests. But what we did every single day? We had a blast. The connections Mr. Anderson made with his students are to die for. He made sure to connect with them on a deeper level and really understand them. He was a school favorite, not gonna lie! Mr. Anderson, thank you.

I had Mrs. Pack for a reading class in high school, as well. GOSH I hated reading and I still am not too fond of it even though I'm a teacher - love to read, not fond of teaching it. But her class unlike any other reading class that I had ever taken. The projects she would assign were outrageously amazing and I remember having to read a looooooong book and then present on it. But that book? It will forever stay in my mind. I will remember the exact group of people I had to work with, simply because the book she chose for us was so powerful. She was another teacher that made connections with her kids and they were to die for. She made sure, just like Mr. Anderson, to connect with her students on a deeper level and really understand them, even if she only had them for a semester. She was another school favorite. To this day, I am still friends with Mrs. Pack on social media and I LOVE seeing her updates because she made that lasting impact on me that I will never forget. Mrs. Pack, thank you.

Mr. Ciolino was one of my education course professors in college during my undergraduate. Classroom management. BOY did he run his class with perfect classroom management. Not only that, but he reminded me of why I signed on to be a teacher. He connected with us, he joked with us, he was serious with us, he laughed with us, he worked with us… he HELPED us. Mr. Ciolino taught me things that I never thought I would learn about teaching. Ever see those pictures where teaching looks like the PERFECT job, with the smiling kids who are constantly on task and NEVER goofing off? Yeah, he made sure to let us know that those pictures were a cruel joke. No classroom would ever be perfect, but it could be ran as long as classroom management techniques were in place. He taught us on the level we understood, he put things into perspective. He was real. No sugar coating. And sometimes, that's just what you need. Mr. Ciolino, thank you.

The very last teacher I want to tell you about is one that I will cherish forever.
Mrs. Beckelhimer.
Mrs. Beckelhimer is a professor of an english class in my beginning years at the University of Cincinnati. Mrs. Beckelhimer is one of those teachers that you instantly make a connection with. Her sweet nature, yet high expectations, made me want to stay in touch with her. The same is with english as it is reading - not fond of it. But, Mrs. Beckelhimer took the time out of her days to make specific comments about assignments, was sure to check in with us if we missed class, worked hard to make lessons that were meaningful to us as students in the beginning years of college. She made connections with the students by talking about things on their level, things that they made real-world connections with, things that we liked and were interested in. She had us do assignments that would be relevant to us, not just some topic that we were given and then told, "Write on! Good luck!" Mrs. Beckelhimer was there for us. She was always there for her students if they needed someone to confide in, to talk to, someone to just listen to us. But let's be honest - Mrs. Beckelhimer is still like that to this day. I'm almost 3 years out of college now and we STILL have a relationship that I will forever cherish. She's been a BIG helping hand in my life and I feel like she's one that will always be there to be that helping hand if needed. Mrs. Beckelhimer, thank you.

So, who is your teacher hero OR who are your teacher heroes? What kind of teacher do YOU want to be remembered as?  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments or read them on a blog post.

While you're at it, check out the following teachers and what THEY say about THEIR teacher heroes. We all have them :) happy blog reading!

An InLinkz Link-up

14 in 2014! {A Linky Party}

Merry Christmas Eve, friends!! I'm surrounded by family in my nice, warm living room and our fur babies sitting around, enjoying their toys.

Tomorrow brings Christmas and in about 8 days, it'll be 2015… already!!

So, I decided to link up with 3 AMAZING bloggers, Hadar from Miss Kindergarten, Kristin from A Teeny Tiny Teacher, and Traci from Dragonflies in First for their 14 in '14 Linky Party.

It's time to reminisce in the past year and all the goodness that has happened!

Here goes nothin' :)

I have two favorites from this year.

 

My favorite is always my Bearcat jacket. Although I'm graduated, I wear that thing like no other! It's so worn out that the pockets have fallen apart. Here's to getting a new one in the new year!

Cannot choose just one. SO, I'm going to go with the following list:

Gone Girl

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

That Awkward Moment

Endless Love

The Neighbors

22 Jump Street

Tammy

Gonna have to do another list! So, here ya go:

Pretty Little Liars

Chasing Life

Switched at Birth

The Fosters

Walking Dead

Chicago Fire

Chicago PD

The Blacklist

Baby Daddy

Grey's Anatomy

How to Get Away with Murder

Biggest Loser

Big Brother

I really love me some Texas Roadhouse, friends!!

Their sweet potatoes are absolutely amazing and their steaks are just as good, too. OH, and how about those fantastic rolls and butter?!

Favorite new thing I tried was wine. I had NEVER been a wine drinker before, but we found a fantastic, delicious, and sweet Moscato by a brand named Electra. OHHHH so good!

My absolute favorite gift I received is my engagement/wedding ring! OH my gosh, it's beautiful and I am in love-love-love with it. Oh, and the man who gave it to me, too ;)

I have sooooo many pins from this year, but I think my most favorite thing I pinned were all my desserts. I especially LOVED my pin on Buckeyes, or peanut butter balls. SOOO stinking delicious.

My favorite blog post is a Bright Ideas post that I created about organizing the paper trails. As teachers, we allllll know we have such HUGE paper trails behind us of amazing and excellent ideas for our kiddos. So, I created a post about it to help teachers organizer their trails in an easy and beautiful way!

My favorite accomplishment of the year was getting my new position at a new school. I am so happy where I am and my children are absolutely amazing. Where I teach now is not an affluent school, so my students are constantly wanting the attention, which is okay with me! I love seeing them grow and light up when they get something and listen to them talk and gripe and just everything! They ARE my biggest accomplishment thus far - their growth the last 5 months has astounded me and I cannot WAIT to see what else happens this year :)

I have two absolute favorite photos - both were just recently discovered, as well. They were when my then-boyfriend proposed to me at our Military Mardi Gras Ball. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL moment where I was surrounded by new and old friends and it was just flat out an amazing evening.

One of the happiest days of my life :)

My absolute favorite memory is our wedding day. This man has made me the happiest girl alive and the memories are going to keep on coming! That and our engagement day, too ;)

My 2015 goal is to make more time for my family and me. I do a lot with school and worry a lot about other people that I need to put my husband, our babies, and myself first. It's going to be rather difficult as I love to make others happy, but it can certainly be done! So my goal is going to be:

Make time for us.

MORE. More time for me. More time for my family. More time to do the things I want to do.

2015 is going to be absolutely amazing - I just know it!!

Link up with these gals to share your memories of 2014 and to welcome in 2015!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, FRIENDS!!

Another Bright Idea: Post It Notes!

So, you're back for another monthly installment of BRIGHT IDEAS!

One of my very, very favorite link ups out there.

So, here goes!

Let me start with what truly inspired this post. I was on Facebook one day and someone posted a picture of a treasure box. And I thought, well, wonder what's in it? The next day, they posted what was in it and I'll just say… it was TEACHER HEAVEN. A box full of different kinds and colors of post it notes. Oh my goodness. Perfection in a box.

So what did I do? OF COURSE. I ordered myself one of those beauties.

When it arrived, I was as giddy as could be. I was so excited to delve right into it to see what different kinds I had received. I'm not going to lie… some of the ones I received, I was like, "How in the WORLD am I supposed to use these? What would they be used for??" but, I figured that I'll find a place for them - duh! 

So, we found out that we could use the post it notes for many things. The list below is NOT all that you can do with them, but some ideas:

-Exit tickets

-Use during guided reading to write about parts you liked/didn't like

-Mini-summarizing

-Bookmarks (oh yeah… my kids love that they stick to their pages!)

-Labels for your classroom items

-Notes to other teachers/educators

-Quick games (I Have, Who Has?, Guess the Person, Guess the Word, etc)

-Short running-records or conference notes

-Think Math! responses

-Sticky-note graphic organizers

I want to elaborate a little more on the last one… if you type in sticky-note education on Pinterest alone, you'll pull up HUNDREDS of ideas. Now, type in sticky-note education on Google, and you'll pull up THOUSANDS more! Well, I wanted my students to individually choose a book that they wanted me to purchase (with Scholastic points) so what's the best way for them to write up on a GIANT piece of paper their responses without everyone going up at once? Oh yeah, sticky notes!

Right now, my lonely little sticky note that I used as an example is the only one up there… because we ran out of time, BUT needless to say, my students will be choosing a book that they'd like to be added to our classroom library so that they can no longer say, "I can't find anything to read, Mrs. Unroe!"

I love the endless possibilities that you could have with sticky notes. They provide your students an interactive way to continue learning instead of focusing solely on paper and pencil activities… what better way to learn than manipulate a tiny, fun piece of paper that sticks anywhere?!

What do YOU do or would you do in your classroom with sticky notes?? Share in the comments!

Next, head over to Pinterest to follow me for more ideas to use in your classroom.

Once you've done all that, check out the blogs below for THEIR bright ideas. Us teachers have to stick together, y'all!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Sunday Scoop: A Linky Party {September 14th Edition}

Linking up with the gals from Teaching Trio for their weekly linky, The Sunday Scoop!

I have GOT to get my grades in the grade book… I hold off until the end of the week if I can and well, this week, it piled up on me! But, it'll be good to look through the papers to see what my kiddos did this week. I also have to go to the grocery store to get meals for this week's lunches and do the laundry so I have clothes to wear! Finally, prep for this week - it's going to be a BUSY, busy week in 3rd grade, but we can do it :)

I would like to write some blog posts - I've got MANY ideas in my mind to write about… it's just about getting to sit down and do it! I also would LOVE to finish my plans early for next week so during planning this week, I can get set up for next week and have a free weekend!

Finally, I am SUPER happy to have the time to spend with my babies and then my love. We don't get much time during the week together with opposite schedules, so I look forward to the weekends!

Now it's your turn to head on over and link up, too :)

Do You WASHI?! A Crafting Obsession Turned Bright Idea

Time for another installment of the Bright Ideas Link Up!

I love this linky because I have already gathered so many different ideas to implement in my classroom from the last few ones! I cannot wait to see all the ideas this month, too! When you've gone through my bright idea, be sure to scroll to the bottom for the link up of the other bright ideas from a variety of teacher bloggers across all grade levels!

My bright idea is all about that WASHI stuff.

OH my gosh. Do I have an obsession with washi or what?! What you see above is only HALF of what I've got. I have a box stuffed in my closet full of the stuff!

Well, washi tape is obviously great for crafting. It's decorative, fun, bright, and just all around useful. I've used it in scrapbooking to hold pictures in, I've used it to wrap my presents with, and I've even used it to seal envelopes in a cutesy way!

BUT, do you know of the AMOUNT of uses that washi tape has in the classroom!? OH MY GOSH. The possibilities are endless!!!

This year alone, I've used washi tape in 4 different areas of my classroom. The first area I used it in was on my whiteboard to divide it up into sections. I've got an area where my kiddos are responsible for their attendance (they move their number to the "here" side when here, and leave it on the "not here" side when they aren't here). I've got an area set up to display my standards for the Common Core. And I've got an area for my homework club. The area that's not "roped off" is where I write throughout the day. LOVE the way it looks!!

Then, I took the same style washi tape and I divided my tables down the middle so each student knew where their "space" was. This is my first time having tables instead of desks and so I wanted to make sure my kiddos knew what area they had so that they didn't interfere with other students' areas. 

Not only does it make the room feel functional and well planned out, but it's also BEAUTIFUL!

{Link to Glitz's blog post about the tape}

The tape I used is by Glitz and it's called Color Me Happy. It ties in PERFECTLY with my classroom decor which is just bright rainbow colors.

Beyond that, my students have individual composition books for each subject: science, math, reading, and social studies. In order to identify which black/white spec composition book is the correct one, I put a color coded tape on the spine.

Science is green, math is yellow, reading is red, and social studies is blue. This helps my students be able to find the correct notebook for each subject when we need to use them. Instead of pulling out every composition book or looking in every cover, they can easily look at the spine and see the correct color notebook that they need.

Washi tape is SO versatile and I cannot wait to see how else I can find ways to use in the classroom.

Do you use washi tape, either at home or in the classroom? I'd love to hear about how you use it, where you get it from, and how many rolls you have ;)

If you'd like to check out other ways that I use bright ideas in my classroom, please feel free to head to my Facebook page or my Pinterest page.

Now that you've read my bright idea, make sure to check out the other 70+ ideas below! You'll be sure to find some fantastic ones!

An InLinkz Link-up

10 Things I Want to Do This Summer

Linking up with Mrs. Deanna Jump for 10 Things I Want to Do This Summer!

Summertime is a time for teachers to relax and enjoy. And of course, still work, too. But, I plan on doing exactly that - relaxing and enjoying the summer months! Below is a list of 10 things I would LOVE to do this summer.

1. I want to go to the pool EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Since we're part of the military, I get to go on base now and use the base pool (which is hardly ever crowded..) and just tan my little heart away!

2. Not only just the pool, I'd love to go to the beach! We live 45 minutes from 1 beach and 1 hour & 30 minutes from another! Why not utilize it if we're so close?!

3. We're moving - so redecorating! I can't wait to make the new house look how we want with our own decorations. And, the new house is colorful (paint wise), so it makes it that much better!

4. Read. Read. And read. I have sooo many books in my bedroom that need to be read, when's a better time than summertime to read? Some are PD books, but quite a few are "for fun" books, too!

5. Cookout. We've got a fantastic grill and the house were moving into, it's got a beautiful deck. Take advantage of it while we can.

6. Meet up with Mrs. Emily who blogs at Curious Firsties! We've already got a plan, just need to pick a time and place to meet and we're golden :)

7. Go to Arizona. Hubby & I are going a few days early to spend some time together in Sedona (pictures from TripAdvisor of our place we're staying below) and then meeting my momma & sister in Phoenix to spend time with my Grandma! Cannot WAIT for this beautiful vacation.

8. Blog & create. Throughout the school year, I lacked BIG time on blogging and on creating for TPT. I love to do both, so the fact that I didn't do either is not a good feeling! So, I plan to hop back on that train and get to work ASAP.

9. CRAFT. I love to craft and have soooo many ideas of what to craft, just never sit down and do it. At the new house, I have a room solely dedicated to my craft stuff, which means I have my own space to do as I please. I am SO excited!! A lot of the projects are on my Pinterest board, but below are a few ideas that I'd like to do - click the pictures which link directly to the bloggers' posts about them :)

   

10. Spend time with my husband and our fur babies - this is my number one thing I want to do. These last 6 months, I didn't get to see hubby much because he worked nights and I worked days. But, with me being off during the days, we'll get to see each other often. And, we'll have weekends to do with as we please. YAY!

That's it! That's my 10 things I WANT to do this summer. Head on over and link up with Mrs. Deanna at her blog for this fantastic linky party!

See y'all soon!