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Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Door Decision - Open or Close It?

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your weekends as much as I am.  So...random topic for you this evening:

I once read that teachers make over 1,500 educational decisions each school day. Craziness! Add to the list the following question: Do you keep your classroom door open or closed? I usually keep mine closed because we can be loud and I know my voice carries.  (I have my family members to thank for reminding me of this my entire life.)  I have recently become aware, however, that a closed door can send the wrong message.

SO...I made up this cutie-patootie sign to stick on our classroom door in hopes of making everyone feel welcome, even if visitors first approach a closed door. #fingerscrossed

I hope you find this sign useful, too!  Feel free to snag this freebie in my TPT store.


So what about you?  Do you keep your door open, closed, or a mix of both?  And why?  Feel free to leave a comment below!



Saturday, January 28, 2017

Hooray! It's Almost the 100th Day!

The 100th Day of School is one of my favorite celebrations throughout the entire school year.  The kids get SO pumped and, if I'm being honest, I get even more excited than them!

Evidence #1...I ordered this shirt from Teacher T-Shirts and I am pumped!  In years past, I tried to be creative (i.e. - stick 100 safety pins on a shirt, stuff like that), but I don't have the time for that anymore.  Besides, this shirt is ADORABLE!  Aaannnd I was able to use a 20% off coupon that the kind people of Teacher T-Shirts so graciously donated to us attendees at the Midwest Teacher Blogger Meet-Up last weekend.

Side Note: If you live in the Midwest, be sure to learn about our fantastic teacher blogger meet-up and plan to attend future events!  You.will.LOVE.it!


So what else am I preparing, you ask?  Welllll, my 100th Day of School Stations, of course!  I really wish I had current in-action photos of my students doing the stations, but since we are only on the 92nd day of school right now, that makes it a wee bit challenging.  Nonetheless, I am prepared!


I have used stations in my classroom for years, but it was not until this year that I finally got around to revamping my station signs.  Other teachers would ask me about my signs, but I honestly had no idea where I had the digital document saved!  (It was likely on the flashdrive that shattered years ago after my laptop slipped off my lap...as I was dozing off, but anyway...)  So I made new ones and these signs are waaayyyy prettier than the old ones.

Here are the stations we use:
Station #1 - "100 Days Smarter" crown / hat (part 1)
Station #2 - "100 Days Smarter" crown / hat (part 2)
(I split this station into two, otherwise the kids get traffic jammed as it takes longer than the other stations.)
Station #3 - 100 Gumballs (They use Bingo markers to make 100 gumballs in the jar.  The printable is included in my pack.)
Station #4 - 100 Chart (My students put 100 small objects that they brought from home on a hundreds chart as they count.)
Station #5 - 100 Piece Puzzle (This is a whole class effort.  A group works on the puzzle for awhile, then moves on to the next station.)
Station #6 - Towers of 100 (My students use a variety of materials, such as recycled fruit cups, math manipulatives, pennies, etc.)
Station #7 - 100 Loop Necklace (A box of round cereal and yarn make this station easy-peezey!)


I found these huge paperclip stands at The Dollar Tree.  You could also use those book stands you see in libraries.  I somehow have a bunch of those as well.

If you are looking to do 100th Day of School Stations in your classroom as well and do not feel like recreating the wheel, consider hopping over to my TPT store!  The document includes more than just the station signs, by the way.  You can check it out by clicking HERE!  While you're there, be sure to look around as I have lots of freebies in my store as well.

Do you want to implement stations in your classroom, but not exactly the way I did?  Do you want to add a station?  No problem!  The document is editable.  Woohoo!  Just make sure you have the same fonts (this is detailed in the product description), so it looks the same on your end.  Or just do some tweaking in the document to find a font that works for you.

So now you know that I use stations in my classroom.  Be sure to check back in a couple of weeks.  I'm going to be snapping tons of pictures on our 100 Day of School Celebration and I want to share it with you!  So...what do YOU do on the 100th Day of School?!  Be sure to comment below!