The Pinterest Tree!

As I have stated before, blogging is amazing and I absolutely am addicted! But...Pinterest is equally as addicting! Guess which one of my boards is gigantic? Creative Classroom (of course)! There are so many interesting things to look at and so many creative, sharing teachers out there.

If you would like to see my board...click here!

This is currently my favorite find on pinterest, the bubble tree! It is adorable and I plan on displaying student writing on the circles throughout the year. I found the idea on Pinterest called Project Nursery

We are in "teacher training" tomorrow, so it is back to alarm clocks and routines for me. Here's hoping for a great 2011-2012 school year for everyone!

♥Christa

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The Students are Coming!

The students are coming! The students are coming!

Does anyone else get overly excited when they get their class list? Oh my gosh, I got my list yesterday. So stinking happy that the students are coming!! I still miss my class from last year but I am finally moving past that and looking forward. Plus, bonus! I have a little brother and a cousin of past students, so I already know them....love that!!

13 girls and 12 boys...so far! The lists always change but right now I am in teacher bliss. It a fresh new school year, the possibilities are endless and I get to meet 25 new friends in 8 more days! It's going to be a fantastic year!

I am adding a couple of my binder add-ins. I have to give kudos to Listy Listerstine (she knows who she is) because she had a creative hand in a few things. So if they seem wordy, blame Listy :) Use them as is or email if you would like a editable copy!

♥Christa

Parent Info Sheet

Binder Explanation (We have a CAMPing theme this year)

Daily Behavior Report

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Writing Menu

I don't know if that is the right title...Writing Menu. Hmmm? It's more of a guide than a menu. I am hoping that it will be a way for the students to use and understand the 6+1 Traits a little more. Last year I felt like I was talking way above their heads with the Traits because they had nothing concrete to look at or connect to.

After teaching CAFE and Daily 5 for 2 years and loving it, I decided that the "menu" had to be part of writing also. One of the things I love about CAFE is that the visual is always there. It is a way to quickly refresh a students memory of a past lesson or remind them of their next step.

I have read so many writing books this summer: The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins, No More I'm Done by Jennifer Jacobson, Razzle Dazzle Writing by Melissa Forney, Craft Lesson by Ralph Fletcher and A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher. When I sat down to create these, my head was swimming with ideas but I wanted to keep it simple.

So here is the final product. I am hoping to have classroom pictures within the week and I will show you how it looks. The images are from Scrappindoddles...so cute!

Writing Menu

♥Christa

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So...today I need to write! Between vacation and life in general, I haven't wanted to write. It makes you think...Do the kids feel that way? What should my role be in that situation?

Well, I consider myself to be a self-motivated kind of gal (most of the time)! So I am putting myself out there and joining the blogging community. Where I have just been a wallflower and hanging out in the background hoping to not be noticed, I am joining a blog mixer with Yearn to Learn.

1. "New Kid on the Blog"
Me! I am new and have no followers. Little Life Coaches

2. I teach second grade and I found Buzzing About Second Grade. She has the cutest Jeeps for her adventure/jungle classroom theme!

3. Some one on a different grade level is Farley at Oh Boy, 4th grade! I am totally jealous of her blog design and all her cute posts....someday (sigh)!

4. It's all about the button. Well, if that is true, I got nothin'! I have tried and failed at grabbing button. Let's see if I can get one to stick here??? Yep, I got nothin'!

♥Christa

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Today...I am not a writer! No lists, no small moments, no stories, no creativity!

I am, however, addicted to blogs! I am posting my exciting find and that is it....

States and Abbreviations

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So....I am looking at our State Standards and I know they are about to change to Common Core, which I am excited to implement this year. However, the Social Studies standards are staying the same. At out school, we have 4 units each year. There are 3 science based units (dinosaurs, bugs and weather) and 1 social studies unit (Native Americans/American History). We share the units with 2-3 other teachers, we have 14 second grade teachers this year! I have the social studies unit first quarter. I knew that a certain standard needed to be covered but just thought I would check, and it is. I need to teach 2nd graders about the North and South Pole and the Equator, but also longitude and latitude. WOW! When I get them, half of them can't read a clock to the hour correctly and I need to explain 360 degrees around a sphere? Tough Task? Not with the crafty, smart bloggers out there!

Here is what I found: Montessori Mom

There are longitude/latitude balloon demonstration, games and printable maps! Check it out and see what you think!!

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Mapping Skills Part 1

I have been working on and off all summer to add some things to our social studies unit. I was Blog Hopping and looking at some other sites including Beth Newingham and her regions tour. I was in need of inspiration and direction. After looking at Beth Newingham's region tour, I decided it was a little too much for 2nd graders and 1st quarter. Her site did give me a direction and lots of inspiration. So, I have decided to go with a camping theme in my classroom and we will go Camping Across America. We will visit 23 states and learn about one or two attraction in each state. We will also be discussing the Native American tribes of that area on Friday. We will be starting with Cardinal and Ordinal Directions. This is the Compass Rose that I created to go with the lesson.

Click Here to Download Compass Rose from Google Docs.

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Peace, Love and Learning: Bonus Birthday Freebie

Peace, Love and Learning: Bonus Birthday Freebie: She has a bonus freebie today, but you'll have to do a little work for this one. It's a Birthday Packet that includes all kinds of goodies.

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Camping Across America: Mapping Skills

So, I have my traditional Summer Vacation Cold! Every vacation I get sick...doesn't matter what I do. The good news is that it is 106 degrees outside, so I am enjoying my cold medicine, thankful for the air conditioning and trying to get some work done.

Today, I made a Mapping Skills powerpoint to go along with the Arizona State Standards and fit into my camping theme. I also created a fill-in compass rose worksheet.

♥Christa

Map Skills Powerpoint

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