I SURVIVED the 1st day!

I SURVIVED THE 1st DAY OF SCHOOL!! Yesterday, was my first day back at my new school.  I enjoyed getting to meet my new students.  BTW....I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new faculty and administrators that I work with! They are AMAZING!!! Anyway, I PROMISE that I will have classroom pictures up by the end of next week.  I have been EXTREMELY busy trying to get things ready for the new year at a new school.  I did not go to sleep until after midnight every night last week!
Here are two forms that I use throughout the year.  The first one is my parent contact documentation form.  Also, I have included a student documentation form.  I use this to take anecdotal notes on students during class.  Enjoy! Hope you have a FANTABULOUS first day of school!! 

Parent Contact Documentation


Student Data Sheets

Wowzers!

As you can see, I have been M.I.A. in other words, trying to squeeze in a last minute vacay! We start school Monday...AHHHHHH!!! My room is almost ready, in fact, I am heading up there when the hubs gets home. I will take pictures and upload them before the weekend so be on the look out. I am SUPER pumped how my room has turned out! Anyway, I am now back to blogging. Only 29 more followers until our first giveaway!

Yay! Halfway to 100! & My Dollar Tree Find

When I get 100 followers, I will have a giveaway for a giftcard from this place:

When I was making my usual Dollar Tree rounds the other day, I came across pre-made templates and charts.  Here is what the multiplication one looks like.  I am EXCITED to use it because most of my students have a difficult time remembering their facts.  Have you seen any of these at your Dollar Tree? They also had the skeleton system and parts of a cell {animal & human}. I hope they have more of these.  I think it would be great for students to keep in sheet protectors inside of their notebooks.

This is a close-up of what it looks like. It goes all the way to 15!

Dr. Seuss on IEP's

I received this in an e-mail a few months ago and thought I would re-do it so I could put it on the back of my special education notebook.  I can relate to this more times than not! I hope you enjoy reading it :). Happy FRIDAY!!


DrSeussIEPs

Homework Tracker

I have used a "Homework Tracker Log" similar to this one for the past 3 years. In our district, if we assign homework, we must take it for a grade. I found myself going crazy trying to manage paperwork, grading, keeping up with who did their homework for the night, and all of the other crazy things that ventured into my day. I came up a form similar to this one, and have revised it each year. At the end of the week, I would go back and average a homework grade for the week for each student. It also help me to track student trends with not completing their homework.  How do you manage your student's homework?

Homework Tracker

Behavior Logs

Let's face it, we all have those students who tend to stay in trouble every time you turn around.  When it comes to students with a special education ruling, different laws come into play.  This chart helps to keep a running record of the student's behavior and the disciplinary action that took place.  In addition, my school district has a discipline ladder that students are placed on once they have displayed an inappropriate behavior. Students must maintain good behavior for so many days until they can get off of the ladder.  The higher up the ladder, the longer it takes to get off of it.  This is also a great organizer to help keep up with what ladder the student is on and how many days there have been in between behaviors.

Behavior Log

Accommodation Checklist

I have made an accommodation checklist that can be stapled to the top of student's work to inform parents what accommodations their child received.  Some of you all may and probably have a stamp that is similar to this, but I wanted to share with those of you who do not.  Most accommodations listed here are generic. Let me know if you see something that needs to be fixed or if you have something that you think should be added.  ENJOY!
AccommodationCkList

Grab my Blog Button!

Yay me! I now have a blog button. This was my VERY first attempt EVER at creating one, so don't laugh :). I am sure that I will get better with time! So, grab my button and add it to your blog!

<a href=”http://www.tis4teacher.blogspot.com” target=”_blank”><img src="http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t107/jenben_012/Blog/tisforteacher.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a> />

I don't know how to make my button "centered". Please give me any tips if you have them, I have looked all over the web and tried numerous things. It is bugging my OCD self.

To-Do List Free Printable

I LOVE LIST! In fact, I am obsessed with them. I am one of those people who make a list for a list :). Since I have been a teacher, I have the LSC (Local Survey Chair) for the special education department at my old school. Basically, I was thrown in and it was either sink or swim, so I doggie paddled ;).  I found myself getting overwhelmed with all of the duties that I had to do on a daily basis.  So, inorder to keep myself sane, I started keeping to do list on a clipboard.  It was literally glued to my hip, I even took it to lunch with me. I couldn't walk down the hall without someone stopping me to ask a question or needing information.  Here is one of the "to-do" list that I have used in the past.  Feel free to download it.

To Do List

Classroom Project

Here is one of my projects that I have created for my classroom. I plan to use this as a bulletin board around my desk area to hold pictures, notes, etc...

My First Linky Party to Host- For D.I.Y-ers

I am EXCITED to host my first linky party!  As you can see in my previous post, I have been creating lots of things for my new classroom.  Most of the stuff that I have made has been "recycled stuff".  I am constantly looking for new things to create! I would like to see what you all are creating or have created for classroom. So calling all "Do It Yourselfers" link up to my party and share your ideas!!

I will have a surprise giveaway once I reach 100 followers.  Hint: Bullseye $.

Linky Party

Mrs. Owens at Go Fourth! With Mrs. Owens is having a linky party and is giving away a REALLY cool freebie!  Here are my top 10 things about me:

1. This is my first linky party EVER!
2. I love to stay up late and sleep 'til noon {doesn't happen often because my little boy is on opposite schedules}
3. I love to paint anything and everything
4. I am addicted to coffee {yes, I have FINALLY admitted it, but seriously, can not get the day started with out a cup}
5. I am related to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird {Boo is my grandfather's name; Finch is a family last name-to name a few}
6. My favorite color is PINK, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking in my closet {I, for some reason, have mostly black or brown-definitely need a closet update}
7. I LOVE reality T.V. shows {Bachelor, Bachelorette, Teen Mom, The Hills {oh, how I wish it was still on-I still watch re-runs!}
8. I love writing with these guys:

9. I love laying out, I think I could seriously live by the pool!
10. I {puffy <3} BIG Sexy hair products--they are just the BEST!

Hope you all learned a few things about me! If you want, go here to join the linky party and get the FREE download.

Giveaway and it's a SUPER cute bag :)

Ok, I am secretly a bag hoarder. I LOVE bags and think that I must have a new one too often. Mrs. Owens over here is giving away a SUPER DUPER cute bag for 100 followers! Go follow her blog, blog about, and add her button for 3 chances to win. Oh and make sure you leave a comment. Good Luck my fellow bloggers :)!!

Feeling Crafty, Part DEUX

Okay, remember in the last post I said that I had another project that I had been working on, well here it is! Like I have said before, I am moving to a new classroom and when I went in there, the furniture left in the room was/is basically junk. So, I have been on a mission to find pieces of furniture that I can use/re-do to accent my beach theme. Here is the beauty that I found at the thrift store:

TERRIBLE, UGLY, HORRIFIC, yes I know! However, I thought this would be the perfect piece of furniture to "SPICE" up and it would fit perfect between my windows and my refrigerator would fit perfectly on it and it was super cheap because they had an overload of furniture.{that was totally a run-on sentence, hehe} So with ALL of that being said, there were plenty of reasons to buy it! I called the hubs and had him come load it up along with another piece of furniture {another post to come at a later date}. After many nights of sanding, painting, and updating the knob, here is what it looks like now:

What do you think about my first attempt to re-do a piece of furniture? It was fun and I can't wait to do more! 

**Feeling A Little Crafty**

Here lately, when the hubs and the bambino go to sleep, I have been working crafting on some things for my new classroom.  I like to put a lot of work into my room since it is "my home away from home". I can't stand to walk into a blah classroom. So anyways, I wanted to share some things that I have been working on.  First things first, I have to have something "cute" to put my pens and pencils in on my desk.  One of my obsessions is...PENS. I {HEART} frilly, foo-foo, pink, glitterry, sparkly, cutesy, girlie pens to write with! My students LOVE for me to grade their papers with them as well.  I was plundering through the garage and found an old flower, and this leads to my next obsession....SPRAY PAINT. Who doesn't love it?!? You can turn the crumbiest, ugliest, most boring thing into something MAGNIFICENT! I went to my spray collection and chose a pink color (I thought it matched the basket from previous post) and VIOLA, I now have a MAGNIFICENT pen/pencil holder.  Of course, I had to add some *bling* to foo-foo it up!

Hopefully, tomorrow I can get a finished product picture of the piece of furniture in my garage that I have re-done for my classroom. I found it at a Goodwill store for a low, low price and boy was it UGLY! What have you been CRAFTING for your classroom?

Classroom Finds

Like I have said in previous post, I am slightly changing my classroom theme.  I am going with a beach/luau theme. I found this ADORABLE basket at Hobby Lobby for 50% off! I HAD TO HAVE  IT!!

They FINALLY have their 40% off coupon so I will be heading over there this week to get some grass table skirts. I will be sharing at a later date what I am using them for...I can't wait to see how it is going to turn out. HAPPY SHOPPING!!

Another GIVEAWAY

I LOVE giveaways and ESPECIALLY this one! Castles and Crayons is giving away a $15 Target gift card! Whoa!!...just think of all the cool things that can bought with that?! Go follow her blog and make sure to leave a comment. GOOD LUCK!!

Blog Giveawy

Go on over To a Little Kinder Told Me So and follow her blog. She is having her first giveaway! Make sure to leave a comment that you follow her blog!

Vistaprint

Have any of you taken advantage of the $1 free shipping sale at Vistaprint? If so, what have you made?

Ramblings for the week...

Okay, I am getting SO jealous about all of the great finds that you all are finding at Target on the Dollar Spot! I have stalked the store for the past 3 days and even went in TWICE today. Our Target has not put out any teaching items...I'm so disappointed {sad face}. Anywho...I have decided to change my classroom theme SLIGHTLY from Ocean to Beach. I know not much of a change right? But I will be changing the color scheme a little and some of the decor. I have decided to take a job that is closer to my home; it's still in the same school district that I have worked in the past few years. So, I will no longer be working with younger students...I am {singing} "moving on up to the seventh grade." This will be a HUGE change for me {prayers appreciated}. On the brighter side, I {puffy heart} the school and adminstrators! I am SUPER excited about this new placement. Any tips/advice that anyone has is appreciated :). I will be working mainly in the inclusion classroom. I have been working on some new things for my room that I am excited about, so I will be sharing SOON! 

Written Expression Decor

Hello blogger friends! I just wanted to share this with you all. This website is offering free vinyl wall quotes to teachers, all you have to pay is $7.95 for shipping.  You can choose any quote that you wish.  One of my teacher friends ordered one last year for her classroom and it was SO cute! It lasted all year and did not peel off of the wall. Happy Shopping! :)

Too Good Not To Share

I have stumbled across a website called easyCBM that is new to me and I wanted to share with you all! It can be found HERE! It is has progress monitoring probes for Reading and Math.  The reading is similar to DIBELS if you are familiar with that.  There are lots of good things about it: 1.) It's FREE! 2.) It tracks AND charts students progress, all you have to do is enter your students and their data and VIOLA...YOU HAVE DATA! 3.) It can be used in grades K-8; 4.) They are LOTS of probes...enough to get you through the school year!, 5.) All probes with the exception of fluency can be taken on the computer and their scores will automatically be entered for the student.  If you are not familiar with Curriculum Based Measurement--have no fear! They have a section where you can learn how to assess and even practice giving them.  There are videos to watch that are about 2 minutes long and sample probes.  Go try it out and let me know what you think! I am SUPER excited about using this in the upcoming school year!

I have been slacking...

Sorry everyone, I have been slacking in Bloggy World! This is what has had my attention the end of the school year and the beginning of summer!

Yes! I finished my Master's Degree in Special Education! 

This is my heart! I had to devote some "make-up" time to him since I was busy finishing up with school and work...I was SUPER busy=SUPER stressed! 

My Kiddos Make Me Laugh

I know you all probably have those precious babies in your class who say the funniest things, and then you have those that you are like OhMyGosh where did you hear that?! Well the past two days, my little ones have had me laughing so hard!

My students were playing BINGO with the speech pathologist yesterday and as I was working with another group, I was listening to them to see how they were doing.  This is some of what I heard: SLP ask a student where did Jack and Jill go, (she had to find the picture on her BINGO card) the student replies, "To Wal-Mart".  Another student had BINGO and the SLP says what are you suppose to say and the little boy says, "Ding Dong".  They are just too cute and little things like that remind me why I LOVE MY JOB!

Mini Contest---Everyone is a WINNER!

Hello everyone! If you haven't done so go check out this contest where EVERYONE is a WINNER!!! I know as teachers we love getting free stuff.  All that you have to do is follow the blog and Fern will send you your Subtraction Two Less kit!

The New "Survivor" Show

I got this in an e-mail and thought it was too good not to share. So, ENJOY!


Three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped into an elementary school classroom for one school year. Each business person will be provided with a copy of his/her school district's curriculum and a class of 20 to 25 students.

Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.H.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.

Each business person must complete lesson plans at least three days in advance, with annotations for curriculum objectives, and modify, organize, or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, grade students' progress for report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent conferences. They must also stand in their doorway between class changes to monitor the hallways.

In addition, each month they will complete fire drills, tornado drills, and "Code Red" drills for shooting attacks.

They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, PTA meetings, and curriculum development meetings. They must also tutor students who are behind and strive to get their two non-English speaking children proficient enough to take the SOLS tests. If they are sick or having 
a bad day, they must not let it show.

Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, science, and social studies into the program. They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times. If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or 
learn, the teacher will be held responsible.

The business people will have access to the public golf course on the weekends but, with their new salary, they will not be able to afford it. There will be no access to vendors who want to take them to lunch, and lunch in the school cafeteria will be limited to thirty minutes, which is not counted as part of their work day. The business people will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another survival candidate can supervise their class.

If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials before, or after, school. However, they cannot surpass their monthly limit of copies. The business people must continually advance their education, at their expense, and on their own time.

The winner of this "Season of Survivor" will be allowed to return to his/her job.

Light it up BLUE!

April is Autism Awareness month. Join the cause and Light It Up Blue! How can you help? On April 1st and 2nd wear BLUE, put a blue light bulb in your light fixtures, or BLOG about!  

I made this on my iPad using the Light It Up Blue App

Early signs of Autism include:

• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expression by 6 months or thereafter;
• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by 9 months or thereafter
• No babbling by 12 months
• No back-and-forth gestures (pointing, shoeing or waving) by 12 months
• No words by 16 months
• No 2-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
• Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age

More information can be found here.

Check out this contest!

Check out this adorable door hanger and Jelly Bean Math that Mrs. Snowden is giving away for reaching 100 followers! Go to her blog, follow her, and then leave a comment saying that you follow her blog. If you already follow her blog, then leave a comment! Good luck to all!!

Classroom Visitors

This week, my Kindergarten and First grade resource class learned about Oviparous animals.  Each day we focused on a different group of animals. On Tuesday, we discussed chicks and ducks. So, I thought what better way to get the kids interested than to bring in baby chicks.  These little guys visited our room for a few days, and let me just tell you, they were a HUGE hit!

One of my students LOVES animals. He held them a lot; however, when he would go to put them down, he would just drop them {I am surprised that they are still alive}!  As I was getting the students ready to pack up with their folders and homework, I hear, "He's, going! He's going!! He's going!!!" I thought the student meant he was going to the bathroom so I tell them to put them up and let's clean it up.  The student then says, "No, he's not using the bathroom." I say, "Where is he going then?" He says, "To heaven if K doesn't quit dropping them!" 

We have ROCK pets

Today, we did a really fun lesson for descriptive writing. Each student was given a rock and were instructed to choose materials that were laid out on their table for their pet.  Once they picked out their supplies, they told my assistant where to hot glue that chosen items.  They were not given any instructions other than just to make a pet.  After they made their "rock pets", they had to write a descriptive paragraph explaining about their pet. They were to tell what kind of pet, characteristics about it, where it lives, what it eats, how to take care of it, etc.... They had fun with the activity and I thought their rocks turned out SUPER cute. 

Here it goes...

I have to admit I have been "blog stalking" a lot of teachers out there for the past few months. I am AMAZED at all of the creative things you guys have put together! I have created this blog for two reasons: to share the resources and advice that I have from a Special Educators point-of-view, and to keep up with all of the cool things and activities that are out there.

Background Info: I am a Special Education teacher from Mississippi.  I have been married to my husband for 4 years and we have a precious 15 month old little boy.  He is my <3!  I have a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education (K-6) AND Special Education (K-12) with an emphasis in Reading.  I am currently a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi {Voted TOP 20 in the Nation...Southern Miss TO THE TOP!!} and will be graduating in May with a Master's Degree in Special Education (Mild/Moderate)! Wahooooo!!! It seems like I have been in school forever...maybe it's because I really have been! I teach students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. I love my students and the challenges that they bring me each day.

I look forward to sharing my many adventures with you all!