I also have been searching for a sub binder idea; something simple that doesn't take to much to put together and I found one on TpT (it was FREE!).
from Persnickety Pickles. It didn't take much color. I will put it in a binder and put it on the shelf for the day I need a guest teacher. Once again, when I figure out how to link to her site, I will do so and let you know I did. It is not going to take too much time to put this together.

I was hoping to blog a little sooner than today, but the laminator at school was broken and I wanted to have a finished product to show you before I posted. WELL, the laminator wasn't completely fixed, as I was lead to believe, and I had to hand crank these absent folders myself. I felt like I was a kid again, wringing out the clothes from my grandma's washer (dating myself a little). Anyway, here are my absent folders for this year. I got the printouts from Hand Me Down Mom Genes. They were free! I liked her idea of putting them on manilla folders (accessible and free from school). They turned out pretty neat! I can't wait to use them! As soon as I can figure out how to add a link to her blog, I will. There were some really cute ideas on there.

Almost A Year!

I can't believe it has been almost a year since my last post! Time flies, that's for sure. This coming school year I am going to be in a co-teaching classroom. I have an amazing co-teacher and I hope to share our journey. This will be the first time that we have worked together, so hopefully I can share some insights to help others as our year progresses.

My new title, which I have been giving much thought since I rekindled my need to blog, is from my favorite movie, How to Train Your Dragon. I thought this fit me this coming year, as I am trying to train myself to create items to post to TpT. I am amazed with the inventiveness of the teachers on there and know I can put my ideas on paper in a creative, inspiring way, and let's face it make some extra cash. I am learning that this creating thing is not as simple as copy and paste. Clip art I have is not moving where I want it to, frames and borders are not behaving and staying on the page and with that in mind, I will share those tips as I acquire and master the skill. I have already talked with the technology guru in my school district to help and she seemed all willing to impart her wisdom to me. I am also trying to train myself on how to be more organized.

My school will start four weeks from yesterday and I am freaking out! Inwardly right now, but there is so much to do. While on Pinterest, I found a very interesting blog with five ideas to do right now. The blog is called The Third Wheel at thinkingabout3rd@blogspot.com. Her ideas were just what I needed. Just knowing there is another teacher out there starting to panic makes me feel normal.

I hope to share more with you later. I must go and edit my beginning of the year teacher letter (idea from The Third Wheel). I have a few classroom ideas that I will share, pictures included, next time.

I don't know if you have heard of "binge" watching. But it is all the rage, especially with Netflix. I have been watching many series. Torchwood, Doctor Who, Inspector Lewis, Eureka, and my newest favorite is Call the Midwife. I bet you noticed the theme of British shows in my arsenal. I LOVE the British shows. I can't get enough. I would definitely recommend the shows I have listed above. Binge watching may not be the best way to spend your time, but such joy can come of watching characters change and grow episode, after episode.

It has been a long time since I blogged last, not that anyone is reading this. Since last November, I have finished my fourth year as a third grade teacher. I am currently working our district's summer learning experience and getting my ESL endorsement. I am hoping that with all I learn I can better serve all of the students in my classroom. I am finding out that I have been doing more for the ELL population of my students than I thought. I would definitely recommend taking a course like this for all teachers, even those who think they would never be in an area where ELL students might be. Take North Dakota, a very nondiverse state. Now with the oil boom and all available North Dakotians (?) working for the oil company, other people are needed. So, people from other areas are moving in and settling from other parts of the country. WHO WOULDN'T? They have to pay fast food workers upwords of $15 an hour, because there is no one left to work. North Dakota only has a population of 500,000. What a great time to be in North Dakota. My point is that even if you think, as a teacher, you will never need this endorsement, there may come a time when you would. Better to have it ahead of time and be prepared.

My goal is that I will blog weekly if not more with topics that are helpful to me. For instance, I was on facebook and had a post from Box Tops for Education about BuzzFeed DIY's 25 Clever Classroom tips. Some were ones that I already knew, but some were very clever. Check it out. I especially like the tip about using Paint Chip cards to keep track of all the passwords and log ins that students need for the various educational websites that they use. The example had the passwords written, I would print them on labels and then stick them on. Using the Mail Merge feature on Microsoft Word is a great help with this. They had a great idea about vinyl circles too.

Off to do more homework. I will blog you later.

An Author You Should Read!

I just finished reading the third book by Polly Horvath. It is called One Hundred Adventures. What a great book! It is about a family that lives in Massachusetts. The family consists of a mother and her children. Jane Fielding is the daughter and the main character. She vows to have 100 adventures during the summer. It is an easy read, but very enjoyable. I would highly recommend it. She has two other books that I have read which are just as delightful: The Trolls and Everything on a Waffle. This author is one that I have come to really like. If I taught 5th grade, I would read each of these to the kids as a read aloud and maybe even do an author's study.

Trying Daily 5

I was urged by a coworker to come aboard on the Daily 5 train. I was reluctant at first, however I did purchase the book and read it during the summer two years ago. I wasn't sure how this was going to work. Not wanting to abandon my tried and ture way of centers management, another teacher and I combined our program with Daily 5. It worked pretty well. However, it was still a lot of work. So, this past summer I decided to reread the book and really focus on the 5 stations. I decided to switch completely to the Daily 5 and it is working very well. I would recommend this system to anyone.

Now, I am readying the Daily Cafe book for my actual guided reading. My coworker read it, joined a discussion circle online, and was very gungho about it. She showed me her pensieve and how it was supposed to work. It all sounded amazing. So, now I am reading the book, and am looking forward to having a better system in place for record keeping and conferencing with my students. I am looking forward to really concentrating on skill deficits and having the students more involved. I know it will be a lot of work. I LOVE how this system DOES NOT need to be in place in the beginning of the year. You can phase it in at any time of the year. It takes a lot of the pressure off of me. I can take my time, get comfortable with the system and do it right the first time; not just half-butt it to get it done. 

I will let you know more as the year goes on. I hope to have it up and running in January.