Back To School Bowling

Today was my first official day of work for this school year. Our admin sent a very serious email telling us to be at school at 7:30. I was, of course, running about 3 minutes late so I was a little nervous! We arrived to bags with a pair of socks and a shirt that said, "This is how we roll." I should mention the shirt also had a bowling pen. Next thing you know, we were loading buses and heading to the bowling alley! 

While everyone was not exactly thrilled at first (only because they had so much to do,) that didn't last long! We met a neighboring school and had a blast! We had a yummy breakfast. We bowled and laughed and goofed off and took ridiculous pictures and didn't talk about school and, well you get the idea. Our already awesome team rekindled our love all over again. 

Our admin always plans something a little wacky-obstacle course, scavenger hunt, etc-but this was not just wacky, it was perfect. In fact, it was a perfect 10, a STRIKE if you will!

What a fantastic way to kickoff 2015-16! 

Staples Designed By Students

Staples is the sponsor of this post. All opinions and all of the fun I had at The Ron Clark Academy are my own. :)

Who should you ask for help when designing supplies for kids? Staples figured that was easy and asked the kids! The results are pretty impressive!

Staples worked with two middle schools, one being The Ron Clark Academy right here in Atlanta and the other, MS88 in Brooklyn. Students and teachers were presented a curriculum encouraging creative thinking, design, problem solving, and so much more. They were asked to design items for students to REALLY sell in stores. They made prototypes, adapted as needed, figured costs, etc. They more than met this challenge! Students were invested in this year long projects because it was relevant. I love that! What an amazing partnership! Staples spoke highly of the students and teachers (which was awesome) AND donated $50,000 to each of the schools. 

"Our students' collaboration with Staples has been one of the most innovative and engaging projects I have seen during my time in education" said Ron Clark, co-founder of The Ron Clark Academy. "By listening to the opinions and needs of our youth, Staples has been able to create products that speak to the desires and tastes of the new generation; and therefore, as always Staples is completely in tune with the demands of the market."

So what did these student innovators design?
*The Big Pen~It's all in one writing device!
*Big Props Pencil Case~Holds your pencil and your tech!
*Super Folder~It's an all in one!
*Portable Desk~Cozy bottom, spot for headphones!

*Tray Desk~Even has a dry erase board!
*The Bag~It's a washable, silicon lunchbag. I'm buying this one!
*Accordion Bag~Backpack with file space-yes, please!
*Back2Back School Bag~More space, lighter, space for water bottle and tech!
*Floating Locker Shelves~Decorate, rearrange and look great doing it!

Head to Staples and see them for yourself!! Items go on sale June 28th AND teachers can submit their information to learn more about the program and other opportunities on Staples.com! Needless to say, I'll be signing up!

Hmmm....how would you redesign a needed school item? I'm thinking a coffee holder on my desk chair! Hear that Staples? :) :) :) 

Welcome bags....mustache style!

My friend Julie is an amazing 4th grade teacher in our County! We met a few years ago during grad school and I feel so lucky to keep in touch thanks to Facebook! (Though we really should have a grad school reunion!) 

She posted a picture of her welcome bags on Facebook and I asked if I could please share them here! After much begging and negotiating, she said yes. :)

I mustache you a question.....are you excited about 4th grade?

Enjoy your "stash" of goodies! 

 I'm so happy you are in my class! 

How cute are these?!?! 

Here's what Julie used! 

*a template from TPT, but revised and edited to meet her needs

*bookmarks from Really Good Stuff

*pencil, eraser, sucker, other little goodies from Dollar Tree or school store

*personalized magnet with her contact info from Vistaprint

*mustache mints and little mustaches from Hobby Lobby

*mustache tape from Walmart

Are you planning a little something special for your new students? Do tell! 

IKEA Day....in Pictures!

I love IKEA Day!!! 

IKEA Day is when I head to IKEA right before school starts! This year, I ditched the family (love you N and T) and went with one of my best friends! 

Best friend also happens to be a teacher, so it really works out perfectly! Look at all these goodies that are absolutely MADE to be in a classroom!

I can think of 245 things to do with these!

Rugs, rugs, and more rugs!

These baskets were everywhere and kept speaking to me. I didn't buy them, but even looking at the picture now, I want them!

Um....this price? I could.not.believe.it!

In a perfect world, I would have one of these in my room with fabulous labels!

These storage benches were FABULOUS! They came in several colors, too! Plenty of room for two first graders and loads of pillows or books! 

And these? Well, they were just too cool and bigger than they look here!

I heard music when I saw these two storage pieces. Literally, beautiful music filled my ears. Oh the possibilities! 

Last but not least, the main reason behind my trip to Ikea, stools. I bought three of these stackables last year and wanted three more. They are perfect in every way! For around $5, they take up very little space, hold even the wiggliest first grader, and a year later still look brand new! 

I love IKEA and I love back to school shopping! If you do not have an IKEA near you, check out the catalog online! 

What is on your back to school list?

100's Chart Fun and a GIVEAWAY!

@astrobrights

While I love teaching reading to the moon and back, I also like teaching math and all the other stuff, too! I really do, I promise! 

A fab teacher in our County, Kathleen, shared this teacher easy 100's chart idea with us last year and my kids loved it! They needed to familiarize themselves with the 100's chart and this is a fun way to do it! It is also just one of the ways I #colorize!

All you need is a copy of a 100's chart (you could always do 50 or 120 too) and card stock. Copy the 100s chart onto brightly colored card stock. I use Astrobrights of course!  I use colored card stock for a few reasons. 
1. It grabs the kids' attention. 
2. It does not show dirt and wear as much as plain, old white!
3. Color makes me happy!

Be sure to laminate your copies before cutting! Then trim the 100s chart edges and cut away! 

I cut this one by tens, going horizontally! Cut strips until you have 10! (Cosmic Orange)

I love putting the U shape puzzle on Astrobrights Sunburst Yellow because they look like smiles! It is always a big hit and is a bit tricky!

One more way to cut is in strips vertically. I love this cut because it draws attention to the ones! (Terra Green)

Last but not least, and on the very beautiful Fireball Fuschia, is the zig zag cut. By far the toughest of the puzzles, my first graders love working up to this one! 

I put all of the mixed puzzles in one ziplock for easy storage. I have eight sets for students to use! They work on them as a warmup, can take them home for practice, or complete them as an independent activity. For students who need support, I include a 100s chart for them to reference. 

Now, I know what you are thinking! You are thinking that you are almost out of card stock and that your best colors were the first to go last year! Well today is your lucky day! Astrobrights is all about teachers and they are sponsoring a giveaway for My Mommy Reads so you can #colorizeyourclassroom! 

Enter below to win your very own Astrobrights Paper Sampler including ALL 26 colors AND a $50 gift card to Office Depot! I love the Depot because they have the best selection of Astrobrights paper AND awesome back to school deals! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

US only. Must be 18 to enter. Prize shipped from Astrobrights. All entries verified.

Be sure to enter Astrobrights' HUGE teacher giveaway, too! Click HERE! There will be one winner in every state! Let's celebrate color during back to school and #colorize!

Bookshelf Chaos!

I am an Astrobrights Color Expert. All opinions, as always, are my own! 

Do you have bookshelves that look like these? If so, keep reading.     If not, I'm jealous!

One of our summer plans was to get this shelf organized. I mean seriously, it is a MESS! We can never find the one book he wants to read and we usually do a bulk book return squeezing books in where ever we can. This shelf is our last stop before bedtime and we really do not think about it outside of that time! Shameful, I know! If this were my classroom, I would go bananas!

So where to begin? After putting it off for days, T and I finally starting pulling books and sorting. Summer reading is a priority for our family. As a first grade teacher, I like to practice what I preach! 

As piles grew, we decided we needed bookshelf markers. We wanted the markers to be bright and colorful, but also sturdy. We decided to use our Astrobrights card stock. We discussed what pictures and words to put on each marker. This was such a fun conversation to have with my 5 year old.  He picked the color for each marker, too! He chose orange for holidays "because it is like Halloween" and pink for Jan Thomas "because pink is silly." T has now linked those colors to the books and now even if he can not read the words, he will be able to replace the books! The colors really pop on the shelf and it looks pretty neat, too! This is also the same system I use for organizing the professional reads in my classroom! 

The books are organized and will be easy to replace thanks to the shelf markers. I know that having T help with this project is what will likely make our organization stick! That's one way we #colorize! I'm also happy to report that since we can actually see the books, he is reading new titles and meeting new characters! That's a summer reading success! 

I'm not quite ready to turn my home into my classroom with bins and labels, but I am absolutely ready to draw my son into the world of organization with color! 

If you would like a copy of our shelf markers, you can download them HERE for free. It was an easy project that brought color and organization to our home....just like Astrobrights already does in my classroom!

Speaking of classrooms, Astrobrights is preparing for a HUGE back to school contest for teachers called #colorizeyourclassroom. From July 7-September 12, teachers can share a photo of how they Colorize their Classroom at Facebook.com/Astrobrights. So save the date and stay tuned on Instagram, Facebook, Tumbler, and Twitter for more information! 

    

When you share pictures, be sure to tag #colorize or #colorizeyourclassroom so we can learn from your creative ideas! 

What will you be colorizing?