The Reading Teacher's Plan Book on YouTube

I'm struggling this year with my guided reading groups and how to get my other firsties to rotate through literacy centers while I meet with my leveled groups. So...I started searching the web for some inspiration.  I wasn't finding much to help my reading blues until I came upon The Reading Teacher's Plan Book on YouTube.  This teacher's organized, calm way of moving through her guided reading lessons really got me excited about this part of my day that had been bugging me the first few weeks of school! Here is just one of her many lesson examples:

We are heading into our 5th week of school and after missing the entire 4th week b/c of my "Back to School" back problems, I am going to start our guided reading and literacy centers block from scratch.  The students will still move through the same centers, but I am going to use the next week (or two) to go through each center together to discuss the different activities they will be expected to do at the centers throughout the school year.  (Probably what I should have done from the beginning...woops!  That's why we reflect and change it up when necessary!)  Hopefully, this will allow for my guided reading group time to have a more organized, calm feeling like "The Reading Teacher" on YouTube.

Love when I am inspired by fellow teachers!!!  Thank goodness for blogs and web videos where I can observe these great educators at work from the comfort of my own couch...which is covered in blankets right now b/c it is getting CHILLY here in upstate NY!  Not sure at the moment if I'm using my heating pad to help with the back pain or just warm up in this frosty weather!  Either way....loving it!!!  Happy Fall bloggers!

<3 - Mrs. Bushey

Not so BACK to school...

What a crazy week!  All that work I put into getting my classroom ready in August, got the room ready for back to school but it didn't get me so ready for BACK to school. (Pun intended!)  My back had been bothering me ever since the last week of August and took a terrible turn for the worse this week.  On Monday I woke up and could barely stand or walk.  Long story short...I have been out of work all week and am just barely back to normal today.  Sooo hoping I will be ready for school on Monday.  I don't know about you, but I go a little nuts when I have to stay home from school and prepare lessons for a sub. I just feel like I'm missing everything that's going on.  I used to feel the same way when I was student and had to miss a day of school...I know, I know...a little dorky!  I've never had to do it for an entire week though, so this has just been not soo fun.  Luckily, my school assigned one sub for the entire week and she is a certified teacher.  She went above and beyond the lesson plans I supplied for her and wrote me on fb everyday to let me know how everything was going....LOVE HER!

So while I'm sitting at home just waiting for this back to heal, I figured I'd post a pic of the treats I made for my firsties to go along with our Kissing Hand theme.  I got this Kissing Hand cookie idea from Michelle at Fabulous in First.  My cookies are not quite as adorable as hers, but my kids didn't know that, so they loved them!  Some of them were actually jumping up and down when they came into the room and saw their Kissing Hand treats!  Soooo cute!

My kids were also sooo excited to find out that Mr. Bushey helped make the hearts in the middle of the cookies!  They made sure that the two cookies that were left over after snack time were saved for Mr. Bushey (because he was such a good helper) and my dad (because he is a busdriver for my school). 

On a whole 'nother note...I may be missing school, but I am loving all the extra time I am getting to spend blog stalking now that I can actually sit up!  Getting lots of great apple, pumpkin, and fall ideas for the upcoming weeks.  The leaves up here in New York and Vermont are starting to turn into beautiful fall foliage.  LOOOVE FALL!

<3 - Mrs. Bushey

No rest for the crazy!

We are back from ARUBA and I've spent every weekday getting my room ready for first grade friends.  We had our professional development days last Thursday and Friday and I knew there wouldn't be much time in the classroom so I needed as much done as possible before then.  Unfortunately, all that time setting up my new classroom has meant NO time getting lesson plans ready for the first couple weeks. :(  Don't worry my plans for next week are finally done!

We also had our Open House on Thursday where I got to meet 12 of my 22 firsties!  They were very excited about the guinea pigs and seemed to be great listeners while I quickly went through the G.O. Book, which I got from Michelle at Fabulous in First, with their grown ups.  And... two of my first grade team members will be using the G.O. Book this year also b/c they loved the idea when I showed them my example. I am excited about this b/c we can compare how its working in different classrooms with different groups of kids.

So, am I C-R-A-Z-Y to head into school today, on Labor Day, to finish up some last minute projects and have one last look at the classroom before the 1st day of school?  Here are the reasons why I have decided this is not soooo crazy:

1. The things I have left to do will be really quick and I have already done most of the work at home.

2.  I now have two guinea pigs, Vera and Janie, living in my classroom and I want to check on them over

     the long weekend.
3.  My hubby is coming along to see the progress.  (Ya know those scary pics I posted earlier..that's
     what he's seen so far.)
4.  I LOOOVE my job and it really doesn't feel like doing work on Labor Day anyways!

Finally...Here are the pics I will be using for my four Math Tray areas.  I use four different colored pocket charts with the pics and the student names in them and those colors match the Math Tray that those students will use for the day.  I didnt have a pic of the charts but they look like these from Lakeshore.  I use the blue, yellow, green, and red (I wish I had the purple and orange too!  Those are super cute!).  For my trays I took 4 old lunch trays from our high school cafeteria and wrapped them in duct tape in those four colors.  The activity I place on the tray is what those students will do that day. 

 

 These are the four areas where the students will go with their Math Tray activity.

Stay tuned for pics of the new guinea pigs!  For anyone starting school tomorrow like me, Good Luck and keep on smiling!  And for all of you heading back for another week, Keep up the good work!

<3- Mrs. Bushey

Honeymoon + Hallway Cleaning = Lucky Coincidence

I've spent the last two weeks in and out of my new classroom as much as possible, but with a not-yet-potty-trained puppy and being a bridesmaid in my best friend & cousin's wedding, it really has been more out than in!  Luckily, the week the custodians in my school are cleaning and waxing the hallways (which means no one allowed in the building for a whole week!) is the same week I will be on my honeymoon in ARUBA!!!  That really just worked out perfectly b/c if I had to miss 2 separate weeks for honeymoon and hallway cleaning my new first graders may have been coming into a not so pretty classroom for Open House on September 1st.  I am feeling lucky!!  Hopefully I can pass that luck onto my husband while he's at the casino at our resort! :)

I do have pics of what has been done so far in my room and I finally have the pic of my goodies that I bought a couple weeks ago.



Bottom of closet BEFORE...old posters
 and such.



Top of closet BEFORE...old, odl, old reading series books, workbooks, etc.  





I actually found the phonics workbook my school used when I was in 1st grade!  Yes, I  work at the school I went to for K-12! 



Closet AFTER....yay! My supplies.....all organized!




Here are my goodies from JoAnn's, Target, and Borders.



After the big, broken shelves were taken out by my awesome custodian, there was a very scary mess underneath.  He swept, scraped, and scrubbed the years of grossies left behind then waxed my classroom floor.  The bulletin boards that were hidden behind will be used for my Bucket Fillers display, center chart for Math Trays & Reader's Workshop spots, and I haven't decided on what will go on the third board.



I bought these three fabrics and decorated the boards with them.  I love how it turned out!  I will post pics of how it looks when it is all put together.

Honeymoon starts tomorrow! Everything is packed and ready to go....now just watching a movie and hopefully getting some sleep tonight but sooooo excited!

Is it terrible to bring a notebook to jot down school ideas that pop into my head while relaxing on the beach?  Nah...I knew you'd understand! :)

<3- Mrs. Bushey











Wait...what was I doing again?

Setting up my classroom is one of my favorite parts of the school year....but I can sometimes feel like a bouncy ball in there.  I start sorting a tub of teacher resource books and end up wiping out the cupboard underneath the sink!?!?  Somehow one thing always leads to another then another until there are half completed jobs still to do the next day.  Oh well...even though my room still looks scary to the custodians who frequently pass by and just shake there heads at my piles, it really has gotten better....I promise!  So here are a few more pics of what I've been up to in Room 10....my new classroom!

This sideways bookshelf (woops!) is now filled with my own reading and math supplies and looks a whole lot neater!

I had some little helpers (another first grade teacher's daughters) help with clearing these shelves.  All of these books were left in my classroom by former first grade teachers!  I love books...but holy cow this is a lot of sorting to do.  These books are now all covering my carpet and the shelves are filled with games/toys for indoor recess and free times.

Tomorrow I need to tackle this cabinet full of posters.  Another gift left by former teachers of Room 10.

When I got home (after I stalked my many fav blogs) I drew up a plan for how I will arrange my classroom this year.  I probably won't be able to to move things around until the end of the week when things are sorted a little more....but hopefully it works out as planned!  I just can stand to have my room the same way two years in a row!

Alright....puppy was chewing on the chair in our living room and is now chewing on me!  Time to tire him out and get some rest so more miracles can occur in Room 10 tomorrow! :)

<3 - Mrs. Bushey

Whistle While You Work! Day 1 in Room 10

Okey Dokey!  So I got into my new classroom on Monday morning and, luckily, the custodial staff had moved as much as they could into the room....BUT.....my new room is pretty full of ooooold first grade materials that were left for me to sort through.  I knew this ahead of time so this is why I'm getting a head start on my room set up this year...a whole month ahead!  Blog stalking has made me excited to get in there though so its all good!

So this is what I walked into:

I organized all the paper that was left in the room.  Here's a before and after.  Now I just need to put it back on the shelf.

These shelfs were full of supplies.  I went through it all and now they will be taken down so that I can use the bulletin boards behind them.  Can't wait!

And here is all of the supplies that I will not need.  I've already had a team member stop by and grab some goodies for herself. :)

So because I was so overwhelmed....then overworked on my first day of setup, I forgot to take pics of the supplies I bought the other day.  Day 2...promise!  I'm babysitting for a friend the next couple days so I have a break from the classroom!  Stay tuned for Day 2...

<3 - Mrs. Bushey

Back to School Shopping....great finds today!

While shopping today in the Clifton Park, NY area, I picked up a ton of great classroom goodies!  I will only be able to give a list of items and the stores I bought them at today...no pics (camera cord is at school plugged into classroom computer...pretty sure it's been there all summer!  Woops!)  Big plans to start cleaning out old supplies from my new (to me) classroom tomorrow.  So I will hopefully grab that cord and post some pics tomorrow before my PTA meeting. I know...PTA meeting already?  I can hear the summer clock ticking away! ANYWAYS...back to the back to school shopping :)

First of all.....JOANN'S was having a 50% off sale on children's decor items and school supplies.  So fashionably fab for the classroom!  I got the following: canvas storage box w/ chalkboard space to label....so cute!, 2 small plastic bins, 2 adorable composition notebooks that I'm planning on using for team meetings and possibly student observations throughout the school year, glitter alphabet stickers, warm fuzzies (great behavior management/character ed. idea from Mrs. Dillard), and fabric, of course!  The bummer part was that I didn't have my school ID on me to sign up for the teacher discount card....I would have received 15% off my entire purchase!!!  Oh well....definitely next time!

Then...BORDER'S going out of business sale.  Bought some Dr. Seuss books, Little Miss Chatterbox by Roger Hargreaves (I plan on using this to discuss chatting during listening times), and a giant floor puzzle of North American animals.  All items were 20% off and one of the Dr. Seuss books was 40% off b/c it was a Christmas book!  They even had a sign in the store that said, "Don't keep our sale a secret, spread the word!"  I immediately thought of my blog....wow I'm like a true blogger now!

And finally...TARGET dollar spot had perfect mini buckets for Bucket Fillers!!!  They were $1 each and fun colors!  I also grabbed some bookmark and sticker incentives, a plastic tray for paper organization, and sparkly warm fuzzies (see link above)!  Yay!  For all you Dr. Seuss fans, there seemed to be a Dr. Seuss theme happening at the Clifton Park Target dollar spot.

Pics coming tomorrow!  Day one of classroom declutter begins tomorrow morning!  Unfortunately, I need to clean out old first grade materials from my new classroom before I even begin to think about setting up my own supplies.  Thank goodness I enjoy organizing......or oh boy!  I'm inspired to take pics of my classroom progress as I go thanks to bloggers like Ms. Leslie Ann from Life in First Grade. 

That's it for now!
<3 - Mrs. Bushey

P.S.  I just previewed my post and this will really be so much prettier when I add some pics to my posts!  I'm sensing a pic theme in this post....really gotta get that camera cord!