iPad Tip & Wallpaper FREEBIE!

I was lucky enough to get 5 iPads for my classroom this year.  I am really excited to get started with them, but first I have to download apps to each of them.  At first, I thought I'd have to go to the App store and search for each app on each device.  Then, I learned this cool little trick...

Once you download the apps (using your Apple ID) onto a device, you can sign in with that Apple ID on the other devices, go the App Store, click on "Purchases", and then "Not on this iPad".  Up pops all of the apps that you've downloaded with that Apple ID.  Then, you just click "download" a bunch of times until your apps on are each device. :)

So here is how I'm spending my Saturday afternoon...  (download, download, download....) ;)

**A little honesty disclaimer:  This trick is for free apps, not paid ones.  From what I've heard by my district's tech department, it's Apple's policy that paid apps are bought for each school device (or company device) that the app will be used on.  Please be honest & abide by this policy!**

The iPad wallpaper backgrounds are something I made to tell the iPads apart & keep track of which ones are being used or borrowed.  They are PNG images.  I first saved the images to my computer, emailed them to myself, opened my email on my iPad, then saved them as "photos" on the iPad & set them as the wallpaper.  I don't know if there's a faster way to do it...if there is, please let me know!

Permission to pin!

I've put them in Google Drive as a little freebie!  You can access them here or by clicking the photo above.  (Credits: Backgrounds by Kylie Healey, Borders by Teaching in a Small Town & Surfin' Through Second, Font by Hello Literacy.)

Happy weekend friends! :)

- Katy

A bug, Organizing Page Protectors, & a FREEBIE!

I went into school yesterday with a specific lists of things to accomplish.  I'll be honest...I didn't really want to do them...so of course I got distracted & started doing other things.  It ended up being really productive though.  I went through a lot of old materials that I'd been given my first year of teaching and sorted through what I really needed.  In the process of doing so, I discovered this...

Eeeeeekkkk!!!!  You guys, that is a bug INSIDE one of my page protectors!!!  You KNOW it's time to throw it out when it has a bug inside it.

I ended up getting rid of about 5 binders worth of stuff.  My shelves can breathe again!  Haha!  Getting rid of all that stuff meant that I had a LOT of empty page protectors to store (I was a little obsessed with putting everything in page protectors my 1st year...).  Those little buggers (no pun intended) are slippery, and I wanted a way to keep them all together.  Maybe I'm the last to figure this out, but here's what I did:

I put a metal ring through the top holes to keep them all together!  You could probably put in more than one ring, but I didn't want it to be too hard to remove one when I need to.

So there you go....if you used to be as obsessed with page protectors as I was still am, just put a metal ring through them to keep them nice & tidy!!

As a thank you for still reading & not immediately closing out your browser after looking at that bug, here's a little homework freebie for reading & writing numbers to 120....head on over to my TPT store to grab it!

- Katy

First Day Back

Today was my first day back.  We have in-service this week, and kids start next Tuesday.


My desk at the beginning of the day...




....and my desk at the end.

Hopefully I'm not alone on this one! ;)

- Katy

Open House Signs Freebie!

I am super tired...I went to my cousin's wedding in Iowa this weekend and had lots of fun, but now back to reality.  Our Open House is this week, and I made these little signs to help direct parents on where to drop off school supplies.  I am planning on putting them in these little frames I bought at Ikea and spreading them out on different tables.  Grab 'em if they will be helpful to you as well!



Just click the picture above or use this link!

- Katy

Welcome Back Week: Class Information

I am linking up with Mandy's Tips for Teachers for Welcome Back Week!  I am feeling very blessed not to be "back" yet, but I will share what our team did last year!

 

Last year was the first year that our district moved to "specialization".  I had not heard of this in elementary before, but I am actually loving it.  I teach math to all of the first graders, and my teaching partners do reading and science.  We teach phonics and writing to our own "homerooms".  I LOVE teaching math, and I feel like I am a better math teacher because I can really focus my efforts on fewer subjects.  I do miss teaching reading, but overall the benefits outweigh the perks, at least for me.

Because this was a new thing for everyone last year, we put together a packet that explained the new "system" and invited them to visit the other classrooms.  I am hoping that a year into specialization that most parents will know how it works (because it was also done in K), but it will still be a big transition for any new families.

We also have the standard "meet the teacher" info, supply drop, classroom management plan, etc. info....in fact, I should probably find those and begin tweaking them for the new year!

Alrighty, it's off to bed for me!  Hope tomorrow is a Wonderful Wednesday for you! :)

- Katy

Meet the Teacher Week: "Taming the Wild" & "Tips & Tricks"

Today's post is a combination of yesterday & today's topics for Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week.  I don't have a lot of pictures from my room to show you yet, so I will just have to tell you about it today and then show you in more depth (and with pictures!) in a week or two once I have full access to my room again.

Classroom Management:
Ok, are you ready for this............I don't use a clip chart! (Gasp!)  I know....I'm a rebel.  I used to use the "traffic light system", but I didn't like how you started at the top and could only go down.  Since then, I've seen a lot of clip charts that allow students to go up as well, but the system I do now works for me.  What is it?  Well, I don't think it has an official name, but I unofficially call it the "cup & stick system".  (Because I like to be technical.) ;)  I heard about it from another teacher at my school and since then, many of the classrooms in our school use it as their individual management system.

Basically, each kid has a cup with their name on it, and the cups are all taped onto a board.

This board has seen better days, but you get the idea.

You purposefully arrange the cups to place kids who need reminders about certain things in between two kids who do really well with those certain things.  Each "block" of the day has a certain color stick (math = blue, reading = red, etc.) and it ends up being 6 sticks a day.  Kids can earn a stick to put in their cup for demonstrating positive behaviors.  I give my kids one (maybe two) reminders, and anything after that is no stick. 

At the end of each block is "stick check", where the whole class gathers together and you put sticks in the cups of kids who've earned them.  BUT, here's the real beauty of it.  As you put a child's stick in their cup, you take the time to PRAISE them for something specific that they did well during that block.  This helps me make sure that I am really focusing on the positive and connecting with each child to encourage more positive behavior.  If a child didn't earn a stick, I say ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about it.  But, I DO praise the child before them and the child after them for the behavior that they needed to work on.  This helps the child know what they need to work on for the next stick check.  Of course, you will have that kid who is still oblivious as to why they didn't get a stick.  If that happens, I pull them off to the side when I get a chance and we go over why they missed that stick and how they can improve to earn the next one.

I also like it because at the end of the day, I have a visual picture for how each child did throughout the day.  HUGELY HELPFUL considering our firsties switch classes & I don't see my kiddos for science and reading.  If there are a few kids that always "forget" why they didn't earn a stick or have trouble consistently earning them, we have them track their sticks on a behavior log and write why they didn't earn a stick after each block.

At the end of the day, we look at how many sticks we have.  If they've earned 5 or 6 sticks (6 is the maximum), they earn a "Super Day" note to bring home.  If they've earned 4 sticks, they earn a "Good Day" note.  They are just little pieces of paper, but man are they powerful!  It lets parents know about their child's day, and it is a (free!) reward for the child.  They are so proud of themselves when they earn Super Days!  I do build in other treats for Super Days to mix it up & add interest as the year progresses, but they are always small things like a sticker or a Skittle. 

Whew....that took longer than I thought!  Moving on....

Tips & Tricks:
Some advice that I would give to all new teachers is to go super slow the first month of the year.  Focus on building a classroom community, focus on practicing and reviewing behaviors, focus on building the positive and giving tons of praise.  Yes, content is important, but if those expectations aren't firmly established, you will have to take lots of time away from content later in the year to deal with classroom management issues.  I was so worried about getting through all of the content my first year that I didn't spend as much time reviewing and practicing behaviors.  Bad idea.  Last year, I purposely went very slowly for probably the first 4-6 weeks of school, doing some content but also doing lots and lots of repetition with practicing procedures, reviewing behavior expectations, and praising kids for positive choices.  I'm sure you know the ending to this story....last year went a lot smoother.  This year, I am planning to repeat a lot of the stuff that I did last year to build community and set those firm expectations.

This post was a little text-heavy, but I hope it was helpful and gave you an idea to add to your "teacher toolbox".  Head on over to Blog Hoppin' to get some more great tips!



 - Katy

Teacher Week....Now Teach! {Organizing for Instruction}

Why hello!

I am linking up again with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week!

 

 I have some quick pictures to show how I keep things organized in my room.  Sorry in advance for the bad picture quality....they are from my really old phone when I quickly popped into school to grab something this afternoon.  When my classroom is all done & lookin' nice, I will take pictures with my real camera.

1. Math manips - I'm sure a lot of teachers have these cubbies, but I just love how they keep things organized!  My kiddos can come and grab whatever they need quickly and easily.  If I get to it this summer, I am hoping to make some cuter labels for the front.  If not, the old ones will do!

2. Writing bins - We keep our writing binders in these bins so when it's writer's workshop time, the "table monitor" can just grab the bin and bring it to their table.  The white labels on the front have their table numbers as well as velcro spots for kids' names.  I've found it's an easy way to change the groups around when we switch seats.  There's also a little basket clipped inside that holds special writer's workshop pencils and erasers.  (I wish it had occurred to me to take pictures of those...oops.)

3. Guided math drawers - I keep these right by my guided math table, and they have saved me so much time!  I house our most common math manips in here so that when I'm leading a guided math group, I can easily pull out the tool I need without having to walk over and get it from the math tool cubbies.  They help to keep my groups running smoothly!

I have a few more things I wish I could show, but unfortunately they are all still packed away. :(

Before you head back over to Blog Hoppin' to get some other fabulous organization tips, make sure you visit Jennifer Drake over at her facebook page: Crayons, Cuties, & Common Core.  She is having a FANTASTIC giveaway that I am thrilled to be a part of!  Head on over & check it out!

- Katy