I Love Giveaways!

No Monkey Business is hosting a giveaway for achieving 500 followers! Go to her blog and check it out!

Here is my very first post for Monday Made It! I am so excited. I saw this filing cabinet project on pinterest a while back and knew I had to make something like this for my classroom!

Samm Spangler from Little House in the Big D is where I got my inspiration for this adorable filing cabinet. Here is hers:

And here is my new and improved filing cabinet. I am in LOVE!

Before

Coat of Paint - I used Valspar spray paint, gloss finish



I took off all the hardware and decoupaged scrapbook paper to the front of the drawers.


Make sure you pay attention when you take the drawer lock off. Thankfully my hubby is very smart when it comes to how things work, or I might not have been able to get it all back together.


Can't wait to start using this! I was also inspired to make the front of my desk match my filing cabinet. No picture yet :( Wasn't thinking when I finished. I'll try to get one this week sometime.

First Day Jitters

Ashley from Fierce in Forth is hosting this fun blog hop! What a great idea! Follow this blog hop and list 3 things you are jittery about for the first day of school.

I have been teaching for 12 years and I still get nervous on the first day of school. I don't know about you, but I always have nightmares before school starts about not being prepared for kids on that first day.
1. What I'm most nervous about this year is not only changing from 7th grade to 6th grade, but moving into math. Our scores weren't great last year in math and so the administration is really watching us and pushing us to get those scores up. That makes me nervous.

2. Moving to a new grade level also means working with a new team. Even though I've been at this school for 11 years, I always get jittery about working with new people and how we will all get along. I'm going to be the only new one on an awesome 6th grade team. Great group of teachers in 6th grade, and I hope I can step up and be just as great as they are!!

3. This doesn't have anything to do with my classroom, but I'm nervous about my "baby" starting school this year. He will be in pre-k. He's been going to the same baby sitter since he was 3 months old and even though he's excited about school, he still talks about going to "Kimmie's" house. I just hope he loves school as much as I do.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you link up with us!!

And the work begins...

I started working on getting my classroom unpacked and put together this week while my son was at football camp. I have found so many cute ideas on how to decorate and organize my room and can't wait to implement them.

So here is what my room looked like on Monday:


I wish I had taken a picture of my room, mainly the floor on the last day of school. My floors were in terrible shape from the kids moving around in the chairs. I got rid of desks and went to tables last year and the chairs wreaked havoc on my floors. So this year I bought used tennis balls (not the most attractive solution). My wonderful hubby helped me cut all the balls and put them on my chairs and tables. (Notice - the tables are in place, but there is still a huge mess).



My daughter decided to help me organize my books. She spread them all out and alphabetized them. Wish they would last that way more than the first week of school.



My goal is to have my room completely put together before we report back August 15 and still be able to enjoy the last part of my summer.

How is your room coming along?

Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop

Janis over at Grade Three Is The Place For Me is a new blogger too and she is hosting a Newbie Blogger Blog Hop to help all of us newbies to link up. Won't you join us? Here are the rules: You have to post the following 5 things about yourself. Then head back to her blog and link up using your post.



1. what state you are in

2. your current teaching position

3. your teaching experience

4. when you started blogging

5. share a blogging tip / blogging resource

Here are my 5:
1. TEXAS!!
2. 6th grade math
3. 1 year in 1st grade, 7 years 6-8 special ed, 3 years ELA
4. June 22, 2012
5. Join a linky party. It's a great way to find new blogs and great ideas!

I PASSED/Preparing for School Linky Party

I am so excited that I passed my ESL certification test! Whew, glad that's over! Thanks to everyone who wished me luck and sent me good thoughts! They were definitely appreciated! :)

Ok, this is my first time to participate in a linky party. I wish that I had some pictures of my classroom and all the things I do during the year. Hopefully I can get some pictures and update my blog. Ok here are the rules:

1. Post about this linky party on your blog
2. Follow her blog ({6th Grade} All-Stars) and mine too, if you'd like :)
3. Answer the following 5 questions (include documents if you have them):

- What grade do you teach?
I will be teaching 6th grade math this year. I have taught 7th grade ELAR for the last 3 years.

- What is the greatest advice you received during your 1st year of teaching?
I'm not sure what the greatest advice I received, but the worst was don't smile til Christmas. I don't advise following that. My advice is to be consistent and fair, but stay strong in your decisions. Kids need to and want boundaries and if there is a clear line to what you expect, they will respect it more. Also, have procedures for everything in your classroom, from coming into class, getting supplies, changing groups to leaving the classroom and practice these from day 1.

- Do you have a checklist that you follow when preparing your classroom (include the checklist)?
I do not have a checklist, but it's a great idea! I am excited that I am not changing rooms this year even though I changed grade levels and subjects. I do have to have my room completely organized, decorated and put together before I can actually sit down and start planning and working on lessons. Which means I have to start working in the summer before we are required to report.

- What are some must haves in your classroom that you cannot live without (ex. items, books, posters, management strategies)?
1. I have to have my First Days of School by Harry Wong. I have been teaching for 13 years and I still pull this out every year to look over it. He has a TON of great ideas.
2. Books! Even though I teach math, I have to have a classroom library for my students.
3. Diet DP!!!!

- What is something that all teachers should have in their classroom?
A personal space just for them. In my room it is my desk area. I have pictures of my family and personal items that make me feel happy. During my conference I love to sit in my space and turn on the radio and just get lost in what I'm doing.

ESL Test and a New Blogger I found

Ok so I had to take my ESL certification test this morning. (Ugh) Our school wants every teacher ESL certified, so I took the 2 day workshop earlier this summer to prepare. I don't know about everybody else who has had to take this, but this test was HARD!!!! Not much of it was covered in my 2 day long workshop. So fingers crossed that I passed. I DO NOT want to have to take it again.

On another note, I found this really great blog on Pinterest Rowdy in Room 300. Go check it out. Lots of great ideas and right now she has an awesome giveaway going. I hope I win! I want one of those burlap signs!!!

My 1st Blog Award!

A very BIG thanks to Mrs. Crouse @ (6th Grade) All-Stars for nominating me for the
One Lovely Blog Award. :) I'm just surprised people are actually following me.

There are only 3 rules to follow once you've received this award :)
1. Follow the person who gave you the award
2. Link back to the person that gave you the award
3. Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers.

1. The Superlative Six
2. Mrs. Knapp's Sack
3. Little Miss Middle School
4. Mrs. Calhoun's Classroom on the Web
5. Mrs. Steger in Sixth
6. Mrs. Beers' 6th Grade Language Arts
7. Pushing Through 6th Grade
8. Adventures in Sixth
9. Diary of a Sixth Grade Teacher
10. Organized Teaching Addict
11. Tales From a 4th (and 5th) Grade Teacher
12. Fifth Grade Dugout
13. Loose Shoelaces
14. Colorful Teaching
15. Tales of a Fifth Grade Teacher

My Binder Find

Ok, I have been teaching for 12 years and just within the past 6 months discovered teaching blogs and I'm obsessed! I'm also feeling a bit overwhelmed. There are so many great ideas out there and I want to try them all. I need to figure out a way to organize my blog ideas at home. I want to get started on all my new ideas right away! I'm starting a new job (same school) in the fall. I am moving from 7th grade English Language Arts and Reading to 6th grade math and I couldn't be more excited!

I had planned to work on my room today while my daughter was doing the driving part of her driver's ed class, but they were waxing the floors. Which is awesome because my floors were looking pretty pathetic that last month of school, but it kept me from getting in there and starting to work on all my great ideas I've gotten from blogs (and Pinterest). So I decided to run instead (another new goal of mine).

Here's one of the first things I am definitely going to do next year. It's a much better way to organize everything I have to keep. I'm all about being cute and being organized. Thank you to Leslie from Kindergarten Works for sharing this awesome Binder Basics idea. Even though she teaches Kindergarten, I think I can definitely tweak her stuff to work for my JH classroom. I'll post pics of it when I get it together!