Monday Made It - Starting the Countdown

My husband and I recently spent ten days in the Carolinas.  It was a much need vacation.  

Sadly as soon as we got home the countdown began for me.

I've been working in my classroom and getting things ready.

This is my last week of summer vacation.

I return to work next week and the students show up the following week.

I'm ready for it and I'm not.

I'm excited to be back at school with my coworkers and students.

I'm not excited to be reunited with my alarm clock or real clothes before 9AM.

I'm very happy with how my room is coming together.

Today I'm linking up for another fun edition of Monday Made It

I'm loving my desk area this year.

The letters that spell my name on my desk are from School and the City.

My desk is oriented my desk differently this year.  I love it but it left me without a good place to put my toolbox.

So I purchased this little shelf and it works perfectly.

A few Monday Made Its ago I got inspired by Mrs. Heeren to add a fabric garland to my curtains.

I got my crate for make up work all set up.  Students just find the file of the date they missed and grab their make up work.  For example if they miss August 20th, they would look in file marked 20.

And last but not least...my bulletin board.

It's not completely finished.

I still need to add the words "I have a growth mindset"

But I'm pretty proud of it because I HATE bulletin boards.

Monday Made It - Organization

Well I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed with everything that is still left on my to do list.

I am quickly running out of weeks.

I need to get myself organized and prioritized.

Speaking of being organized...my Monday Made-It Projects this week are all about helping me stay organized throughout the school year.

I have two projects to share this week but one of them was probably the biggest thing on my to do list for the summer.

I am so excited to have (almost) all my task cards organized.  I still have a few that are too large for my current container.  I plan to buy a container for those the next time I'm in town.  

But here are my task cards...all organized.

Y'all this seriously makes my heart go pitter patter.

This past year they were all just thrown onto the bottom of a bookshelf.  They were constantly falling off and I could never find what I wanted.

I'm going to need another one of these containers because I have a few more categories left.

The containers are from Michaels by the way.  And be sure to them you are a teacher.  You get a discount.  (Happy Happy!)

To be honest I'm not sure how much this next project will get used next year but it has been in my classroom and has been a huge help for several years now so I couldn't not do it.

My daily paper drawers got a make over to match my new theme.

I had originally planned to replace the labels but I decided I liked the way they looked with the new color.

The reason I'm thinking they might not get used too much is because I'm going to attempt a Math Workshop style classroom and I'm just not sure these will be big enough for all my papers and stuff each day.  

But I'll give it a try. ;)

So those are my two projects for the week.

Jump on over to Tara's blog to see lots more great project ideas.

Monday Made It - Posters and Sub Binders

I'm pretty sure that if it weren't for the Monday Made It link up, my blog would still be sitting here completely untouched.  

Every week I say I'm going to blog more than just this one post.

Then before I know it the week is gone and I haven't blogged.

I've said it a million times but I really do want to get back into blogging on this blog.

Maybe this will be the week.

But in the mean time let's have some fun with my favorite link up...

I didn't get as many projects completed this week as I had hoped.

Hopefully this next week will be more productive.  I can finally get in my classroom and I know it's early but I'm so ready to get in there and start putting things together.

Life was crazy last year and I didn't get to decorate like I normally do so I'm excited to decorate this year.

First up this week is my 8 Mathematical Practices posters.  These were a pain in my side to make this year.  I went through several different designs before settling on one.  Here are three of the eight.

I even got these added to my TPT store if you are interested.  

This next two things were completely inspired by the Peppy Zesty Teacherista.

You can read Teacherista's post about the HW documentation here and the restroom pass here.

But basically...when students don't have their homework or need to leave your room to go the restroom, they scan the QR code which takes them to a Google Form.  The Google Form is very short and to the point - like it will only take them a couple of seconds to complete.

Then you have great documentation!!

My last project for the week isn't quite finished yet, but until I get my class list and other info I've done all I can do.

This design was inspired by Adrienne Wiggins on TPT.

I have been trying for years to find or put together a Sub Binder that is perfect for my needs.  I haven't to accomplish this.  I'm really liking where this one is headed though.

What's in your sub binder?

Monday Made It - Arc Punch

Did you notice that title?

It didn't start with The One...

I don't know if anyone pays attention to that or even cares, but for me making the decision to no longer continue that was a big one.  

But I feel like it is hard to come up with good catchy titles that aren't extremely wordy.

So I'm letting it go.

I guess making that decision could be my first Monday Made It item.  Ha!

Monday Made it is easily my favorite teacher link up.

I love it for two reasons.

1. It motivates me to get stuff done.

2. I get so many awesome ideas from others.

Here we go...

Last Thursday I bought myself a new toy.

The arc system desktop punch.

For the past several years my teacher notebook has been housed in a big 3-ring binder, which I have loved.  

But a few years ago I started noticing that teachers were taking their pages to office stores and having them spiral bound.

While I loved that idea, I didn't like that I couldn't add pages to my notebook.

I even had my notebook bound and then didn't use it.  I threw it in the trash and went back to my binder.

I feel like the binder is so bulky and when opened to my calendar it takes up too much desk space.

So I decided to invest in the arc punch.

And I must say I am LOVING it!!!

My notebook is now arc bound.  I love that is smaller than the binder and I can fold it back on itself so it doesn't take up as much desk space.

I can add or remove pages with no problem.

I have been making all the things to add to my notebook.

I made section covers - which I still need to add tabs to those, but my washi tape is at school.

I found this pin awhile back and decided to recreate it to go with my travel theme.

I made my calendar awhile back.

I like to add things with washi tape.  We all know assemblies get canceled or rescheduled.  Washi tape allows me to move it with no trouble.

In fact I had originally hole punched my calendar for my binder.  I reprinted it to add to my new notebook and just moved the washi tape from the old calendar to the new one.

And the last item I have finished for my notebook - there are several things still in the works - was inspired by MiddleSchoolMotivation.

I follow him on instagram and have loved seeing all his middle school motivation quotes.

I want to do this in my classroom next year, but I know that if I have to find a new quote each week I will quit as soon as I start.

So I decided to be proactive.

I gathered my quotes and made a schedule.

This will ensure I always have a quote and I won't duplicate.

My notebook is definitely my new favorite teaching item.