1 Mom, 9 Aunts, 2+ Kids {and a Partridge in a Pear Tree}

Happy Mother's Day!  To all you moms out there who work day in and day out at this whole "mom thing": I hope you have a wonderful day!

Today I thought  I would share some very special ladies in my life.  I am extremely blessed to have my mom in my life.  She is a strong woman with a passion for Christ and creating all sorts of things with her amazing talent of sewing (she sewed my wedding dress, to name just one thing) and crocheting/knitting. She loves to read and loves her grandchildren.

Who Do We Appreciate?

love this graphic from The School Supply Addict!

Monday morning and it is on!  Teacher Appreciation Week that is!  I appreciate each one of you. Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  I especially know your kids do.  It might not always seem like they do but they do.

To celebrate, I am having a HUGE SALE on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I want to participate fully in the sale so all of my resources will be 20% off starting today.  Yup.  Today.  The sale will last 3 days.  In addition, if you want an extra 8% off, Teachers Pay Teachers will have an additional percentage off with the code: TAD13 starting tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7th and ending May 8th.

I thought it would be fun to join a couple of parties so I am linking up with Stephanie from Falling into First and Christina from Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge.  So fun!

First Party Stop:

I know you are thinking about next year--face it :)  You want to get some things in your file ready so in June you don't have to worry about it (as much).  Well, I have come out with some tools to help you with that:

6 different Teacher Planners to choose from:

Choose from those with Bright Covers:
Happy Day!
Chevron Chic
Who Has It Together?

Or Black and White and Grey Covers:
Chalk It Up!
A Shade of Grey
Black and White Damask

And Student Planners for K-3rd Grade:
Kinder
First
Second
Third

On to the next party!

Christina is having a party geared around feedback.  I think it is a fabulous idea!  The idea is to highlight some feedback from buyers.  I have chosen 3 teacher feedback to share on the Teacher Planners:

It is time to SAVE! So start shopping. Have fun!

PS  Are you a blogger and having a sale?  Come party and link up on Falling Into First.

Setting Up Routines for Student Success {with a useful and easy tool}

7:51 Pledge
11:53 Lunch
12:27 Recess

Teachers have exact times for everything during the school day.  Be in line at this particular minute...arrive at the lunchroom door at this minute....go to the bathroom at this minute...you know how it goes!!  Now, I don't know what you do after 3:30 but during the day, there is definitely a routine.  The school is successful with the routine.  It runs smoothly.  Just as the school is successful, in my opinion, kids can be successful with routines. They thrive on routines at school (with flexibility, changes, and surprises within those routines).

So, a very important time during the school day is the first 30 minutes.  The first 30 minutes sets up most of the tone for the entire day (to me).  And Monday mornings.  Whew!  Monday mornings can be exhausting.  However, Monday mornings can also set your students up for success for the entire week.  On Monday mornings, we always had a "Monday Goal-Setting Meeting" which took place right after our morning meeting.  On that day, we usually put any birthdays, events, and goals for each subject in our planner.  Planner?  Yes, we had a standard planner for the entire school.  Well, one for K-2 and one for 3-5.  The planner was ok.  Just ok.  Allright, who am I kidding, it stunk!  There was not enough room for the students to write, it didn't include a birthday page, no weather page, the monthly page was too small, and communication for the parents was lacking.  What do you know, I CREATED ONE!

With this tool, you can set up the routine for the week.  Let me show you the highlights. (Please check out the store for a full preview.)

First up, resources for parents.  I think it is helpful for parents to know what terms their child is learning.  It allows them to help with homework more effectively.  I have also included a parent resource that lists all of the Common Core Standards ("My child can...").  I have found most parents want to know the specific standards or objectives...they want to know what their child is learning.

My favorite part for parents is the parent communication page with enough room to write and communicate to the parent (and for them to communicate back)!

Next, resources for students at home.  The planner includes content like geometric shapes and addition facts (to name just a couple).  Relevant resources for each grade level.

Of course, resources for students at school.  For example: a weather graph, a birthday calendar, a contact page, a schedule page, a weekly goal-setting page.

The planner also comes with monthly pages you can use for events, calendar practice, and/or parent communication.  One month is editable (yes, you read that right--editable in Power Point).  You can use this template for however long you would like.  I also included months August 2013-June 2014 in case you want it done for you.  On this calendar, there is a spot for parent initials.  Next year, the plan is to come out with another planner for 2014-2015 already done and ready for you to go with the option of using it forever if you edit it in Power Point.

Oh and don't forget! This planner comes with kid-friendly Common Core posters.  I created this so you can display the posters for the students while writing their goals for the week.  The posters say "I am learning to..."

I did mention editable--right?  YES! The planner is editable or programmable in the fields where you type.  For example, you can type the students' names, however, you can't change the wording of the Common Core posters.  You can type your name or the events of the month, but you can't change where the word 'August' is written.  Basically, anywhere there is a field, you can type the information.  You can not change the template or the wording on any part of the planner (copyright law).

You can put it in a folder:

A binder:

Or have it comb or coil bound (I used a great binding machine from mybinding.com):

I truly, truly hope this helps with routines, goal-setting, and parent communication.

For KINDERGARTEN PLANNERS CLICK HERE

For FIRST GRADE PLANNERS CLICK HERE

For SECOND GRADE PLANNERS CLICK HERE

For THIRD GRADE PLANNERS CLICK HERE


What do you think?  Is this something you could use?  I will be having a giveaway for two of these planners in addition to a teacher planner (two winners) that starts now and will last until 8:00PM central time.  Just leave a comment below with your email address.  I will use random.org to select a winner.  Nothing fancy.  No major requirements.  The giveaway is now over.  Thank you for entering!!!  I would love, love, love a pin to pass along the information but not required.  Just let me know if this is something you could use or what you think about this project I've been working on.

Of course, if you want a planner for yourself, check out the many different Teacher Planners in the store.

Thank you for ALL of your support.  Y'all are awesome!!!!

Thank you for entering the giveaway!!  It is now 8:00PM Central time so the giveaway is over.

The winners of the giveaway are......

Miss B and Steph B!!!!!  Look for an email from me tonight.  Thanks again for all your support.


Have a fabulous week!!


~April

The Goods Inside the Teacher and Lesson Planners

Want the goods?  I have had a few requests to show you real pictures of what is inside the planners.  I am BEYOND excited to share with you what is inside and POSSIBLE.  So, without much chatter, here are some pictures of THE GOODS:

These are in all of the planners: Happy Day, Chevron Chic, A Shade of Grey, Who Has It Together?, Black and White Damask, and Chalk It Up!

To see the original post with the covers and more information, click HERE.

Planners have an option for a 2-page monthly spread:

or a single page Monthly Page:

They are here!

Finally!  I have been working on these for months now and I am happy to let you know the 2013-2014 Modern Teacher Planners are HERE!!!!  I can't tell you how excited I am to share these with you.  I've tweaked and tweaked and tweaked, more than I'd like to admit, to make them just right for YOU.  I have added over 30 pages to these planners to make sure I cover everything for you to plan your school day in a fun and simple way.  So, without waiting a second longer.....

There are a few different designs to choose from:

Shade of Gray Teacher & Lesson Planner (with Common Core SS):

Happy Day!  Teacher & Lesson Planner (with Common Core SS):

Chevron Chic Teacher & Lesson Planner (with Common Core SS):

Chalk It Up!  Teacher & Lesson Planner (with Common Core SS):

Who Has It Together?  Teacher & Lesson Planner (with Common Core SS):

AND...bringing back for another year (with tons of updates): Black and White Damask Teacher & Lesson Planner (with Common Core SS)

The goods inside (of course it will have all the basics...this is just in addition to those):

I'd love for you to check them out!!  Happy Day,  Chevron Chic, A Shade of Grey, Chalk It Up!, Who Has It Together?, and Black and White Damask.

6th Grade Teacher? There are 3 designs for you to choose from: Chevron Chic, Black and White Damask, and Chalk It Up!.  These planners has the 6th Grade Common Core Standards.

And of course, Texas Teachers :)  There are also 3 designs for you to choose from: Chevron Chic, Happy Day!, and Black and White Damask.  They have all the TEKS  (oh my) for this school year.  If TEA makes any changes I will add an 'addendum' page in August for the new TEKS.  They usually don't make their final revisions until the summer.  

Which planner do you like?  Sorry I had to turn on the comment box.  (too many spam comments-ugh.)  I'll be giving away some for free later this week and will announce it on Facebook so stay tuned to your feed and be sure to follow A Modern Teacher on Facebook.


Thank you for all your support!!! I can't believe it has been a year since I followed my heart (and my husband) on these!

Happy Planning!
April

After Spring Break :: Incentive Idea

It's that time of the year.  After Spring Break.  Everyone is tired, including you.  I'm sure you're thinking "How many more days until summer?"  You probably started counting down.  Ha!  Well, just like you the kids start thinking the same thing.  Maybe you need some new incentives to get to that last week.

Here is an idea: {a little DIY} cheap but can buy you a few weeks of kids making good choices :)

Get yourself a little owl, frog, flamingo...whatever...maybe your class or school mascot or your theme...any sort of statue (our librarian used a gnome) and paint it gold (nothing rocket science here).  All of a sudden you have "The Golden Owl".  Have kids earn the privilege to keep the statue at their desk for the day.  Your kids could name it or write their names on it to gain some buy-in to the new incentive. They will go bonkers because they get to keep the "golden" whatever for a day.  I like to bring this out this time of the year.  I think it is important to save some tricks for the home stretch.

That's it!  Easy peasy.

Do you have something you bring out towards the end of the year to 'make-it'?  I'd love to hear it.  I apologize for having to turn on the stinkin' comment thingy.  I have been getting to many spam messages and it was clogging up my email.  Ugh!

~April

Love them Task Cards and a Freebie!

I first saw task cards back in 2004.  They were in a recipe card box and were printed on cards the size of index cards.  I had a set for different reading skills like main idea, setting, sequencing and so on.  I still have them! (They are packed away or I would take a picture and show you). There were paragraphs at the top and then a couple of questions with multiple choice following the paragraphs.  I loved them for a lot of reasons.  Which you can find HERE when I posted about them last year.

So, when I moved districts, the school I moved to was very much 'no multiple choice anything' until test prep (which we weren't allowed to do until January).  Oh no!  What about these task cards?...I thought they would be a perfect addition to a third grade classroom.  That could I only mean I had to...change them up...to work for me, my classroom, and my new school.  Now, my task cards ask students to complete hands-on tasks.  Except for the test prep cards and the graphing cards, there are no multiple choice answers on my task cards.  Each task doesn't require many supplies, just items you find around the room or at home.  But I love them.  Still work the exact same way as my first set of task cards.  Move around the room, put at a station, perfect for early finishers...the list goes on....they really can be used in so many ways. I don't have too many but last year I did create a few sets of task cards that are in my shop.  I would love it if you checked them out.

15+ St. Patrick's Day Freebies and Fun Ideas

I don't get to do this much but there are some fabulous freebies out there for St. Patrick's Day!  So, I decided to collect a few for you (Kinder-3rd) and link them all in one place.  Hope it helps.  Enjoy!


For Kinder-First Grade, check these out:

Addition and Subtraction with Lucky Leprechaun

Leprechaun Leap: CVC Game

St. Patrick's Day I have, Who has

St. Patrick's Day Bingo

St. Patrick's Day Writing Prompts

Don't forget my glyph from last year.






For Second-Third Grade:

St. Patrick's Day Math Printables


St. Patrick's Day Creative Writing

St. Patrick's Day Math Word Problems


(one was removed because it is now a paid product)







And don't forget about the Symmetrical Shamrocks I created last year and the Math and Literacy Task Cards.

And here are some free digital papers you might enjoy for all your creations:

St. Patrick's Day Paper Pack

St. Patrick's Day Paper Pack

St. Patrick's Day Papers and Clipart













AND 2 more:

A Treat Topper for your students {Lucky Charms}

St. Patrick's Day nameplates to make your room festive!

Do you do anything fun for St. Patrick's Day in your classroom?  Hide a leprechaun?  I'd love to hear in the comments below. :)

Happy Teaching!
~April

The winner is announced!

The winner for the Silhouette Portrait is........ Brandi K.  Brandi, I have sent you an email.  Please check your inbox.

Thank you to all who have participated in the giveaway.  Please do not forget you can get some amazing discounts up through March 8th from Silhouette.  Just click HERE and don't forget to enter MODERN to receive the maximum discounts.

As a reminder, here are the discounts:


*** A Silhouette Portrait ($160 Educator pricing) and the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition Software  ($39.99 Educator pricing) for $179.99

*** A Silhouette CAMEO ($240 Educator pricing) and the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition Software ($39.99 Educator pricing) for $269.99

***OR if you need to upgrade to the Designer Edition Software  you can for $24.99

Have a great week!
~April

DIY, Organize, AND BIG Time Giveaway! {starts with an S}

Guided Reading happens in a very short amount time.  Don't you feel you have to be super organized to get the most bang for your buck?  Today, I wanted to share with you some things in my GR toolbox. AND I wanted to share with you how I jazzed up my box (which you can get from IKEA for 5 bucks and the dividers are moveable, which makes it great for making the perfect size compartments).  Oh! And don't forget the giveaway!

First of all...let me share about all the "jazzy-ness"...

You know how much I love chevron. Well, I really wanted to add some chevron-love to my box and label my box with some fun letters.

St. Patrick's Day Freebies

Got a little freebie to bring back today!  I say bring back because I originally posted this last year.  My son had so much fun doing it, I thought it would be worth the reminder.

It is a Leprechaun Glyph!  Perfect for kinder or 1st grade.  And my little preschooler had fun making it--minus the cutting from yours truly.

I also have 3 other freebies for St. Patrick's Day that I posted last year (I participated in a huge link-up! :)  One is just a quick craft , the other is for 2nd and 3rd grade kiddos, reinforcing symmetry and congruency, and the last one is perfect for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade: Math and Literacy Task Cards. 

A Couple of Parties

Just wanted to join the fun and go to a couple of parties--linky that is :)  First up, I am joining Amy from Literacy and Laughter with her Love Notes Link Up.  Just a  few tidbits about me...

"Lovely List"
Name: April
Grade: I taught third for five years and second for 6 years; now I'm at home with a not-so-new baby; BUT I'm teaching reading and math to a preschooler
State: Texas
Birthday: April 13th
Favorite Colors: blue, white

Are you Pinterest Savvy?

Pinterest is the fastest growing social media network.  I bet you knew that.  Did you know it already has 23 million users!  Oh.my.word.  That is a lot of users.  The funny thing is...it is just beginning.  Pinterest really just came into main stream in the fall of 2011.  Since then, it is taking off and has changed everything about blogging, websites, businesses and homes in general across the world.  I would think it is safe to say that craft stores such as Hobby Lobby and Michaels have seen a huge increase in sales.  I wish I had bought stock in those companies before 2011 :)

Do you 'get' pinterest?  Do you feel you are a master pinner?  If you are a blogger or have any business, pinterest is super important.  For me personally, it is my #1 traffic source for this blog.  Whether you are a beginner or a veteran, I have a suggestion for you.  I suggest reading Pinterest Savvy.  It will be worth your time.  Melissa from Imagination Soup, has published this ebook sharing all kinds of tidbits about Pinterest.  I had the privilege of reading the ebook.  Within minutes, I made some changes.

Happy Reading!

Awhile back I had a reader ask how I teach reading.  I could talk forever about reading.  I LOVE teaching reading.  However, I thought I would sum up my favorite resources and my reading block for you in one little post.  Please remember...Reading Block is dynamic (as it should be) so I say this with the idea that it can change.  As you know, this is my 2nd year at home with my new baby (well, not so new anymore) and although I am not teaching reading in a classroom to 2nd or 3rd graders, I am now teaching reading to a preschooler (my older kiddo just dying to learn to put letters and sounds together).  I love it!  However, by no means am I the end-all-know-all.  I am going out of my comfort zone today (which I love by the way) and am so honored to be answering this question.

{LOVE} Your Books!

Happy February!  Now Valentine's Day is really right around the corner.  And if you haven't guessed by now from THIS POST or THIS POST, I love Valentine's.  One of the things I love and want to pass along...is the love of reading and books.  So, I came up with this little valentine you could make and give your students (or your own children).  The fun little add-on to this bookmark is a magnet!

Here's the scoop {super easy and comes with a free printable}: