Back to School Notes

At the start of the new year I always need to gather information from parents and students. This past year I had to fill out an insane amount of paperwork for my oldest two kiddos. LOTS AND LOTS - so I understand not wanting to fill out another paper. After sorting through all of the notes I have used in the past and looking at notes my children brought home; I carefully chose three. Three notes that I thought would be the most beneficial to myself as a teacher, and ones I wouldn't hate to fill out as a parent. :)

Parent Helper Notes:

I love parent helpers. Over the years I have found that parents often want to help but it scares them a little bit. They often don't know what would be required of them, and it feels overwhelming and daunting. This note gives them a clear understanding, right from the beginning, of what they can do. 

First are questions about how a parent wishes to help, both in and out of the classroom. Next are questions asking when they are wiling to help. All essential questions to get parents and guardians and involved as soon as possible. 

The next note I chose was a 

Student Information Note:

This can be the hardest for parents to fill out and yet if we really read it as a teacher can be the first insight into our students. 

Personal Note - my own son has really struggled with a love of reading. He would do it if we made him or his teachers asked them but there wasn't a love behind it at all. I was given a student information sheet where I was able to share with his teacher his love of science and animals. A few weeks into school my son started coming home beyond excited about the books he was reading in reading groups. Books about spiders, volcanoes, and stars. When I mentioned it to his teacher she told me that she had gone back and read through the notes again looking for insights into my little guy. Not only did it melt my heart but changed the way my boy looked at reading. 

Finally I have a media note:

There are times when we show different clips of media to help deepen understanding, build a little scheme or simply have fun. This note is only returned if parents have a problem with your use of media.

There you have it three carefully chosen and designed notes. 

If you are interesting in purchasing a set for yourself click HERE.

Recap...

If you are like me and want notes that are clean, easy to read, and coordinate with your classroom then these are for YOU!

Notes included:
* Parent Helper Note
* Student Information Note
* Media Permission Note

ALL notes are included in the following themes:
* Beach
* Baking/Chef
* Classroom Supplies
* Art/Artist
* Cartoon Mouse
* Cowboy
* No graphics
Need an different note in one of these themes? Want a different theme? Let me know and I am happy to make that happen.

Organization - Monthly Binders

Maybe your filing cabinet is like this....

or maybe it isn't. I know there are certain times that my files have been less than beautiful, and even if they haven't been overflowing like this picture I admit I have often had a drawer or shelf full of loose papers that needed my attention. I hated seeing the piles or messy files. 

Besides being a teacher I am also a wife and a mom to three wonderful kids. Sometimes balancing all of my responsibilities can be a bit of a challenge. One of the things I have learned over the last 9 years of teaching is that I must be organized. I love ways that help me complete my teaching responsibilities quickly and efficiency so I can spend the rest of the day with the people I love the most. 

Over the years I have tried a number of different methods to keep my teaching world organized. Finally, last year I while searching Pinterest I came across a number of posts about binders. I saw binders based on themes and subjects...I liked these but I would have needed a bundle of binders. Not really a great solution for me. With a little bit of research I found the ideas of monthly binders.

I started looking into the binder idea and planning for it. I bought a number of binders, one for each month (August through May). I started designing covers, printing and collecting sheet protectors. I printed out my covers and slipped them into my binders. I decided which subjects I wanted to have in each binder. Printed those and placed them in plastic sheet protectors. 

The really fun started at this point. I went through my messy files and pulled out one of the things I needed and used. I place each master in the correct binder behind the specific subject heading.

As a teacher your time is precious. No one wants to spend hours and hours printing and copying files that you use each year. At the start of the month I grab my binder and head to the copy room. In a single afternoon I can get all of my copies done without the stress of looking for each of my files. Once the pages were printed I kept them in my filing cabinet by subjects. I reuse the same folders over and over again.

Need to plan what lesson comes next? No problem. I grab my single binder and my reading group lessons, math lesson and task cards, science lessons and everything else is right at my fingertips.

Setting up the binders took a little bit of an investment in time and materials, especially with buying the binders but it was completely worth it.

I gushed all year about my fabulous binders that a colleague and friend of mine asked me to create binders for her cowboy themed classroom. I was happy to oblige.
Look how cute they turned out!

Of course once I saw hers I wanted to update the covers of my own binders. Luckily for you both are now available on my TPT store.

For the cowboy flair binders click HERE

For the cartoon mouse, aka Mickey, binders click HERE.

One Year Sabbatical

I absolutely love this time of year. I love the excitement of decorating and prepping things for my new year of kiddos. I love boxes and bins of new school supplies. I love the anticipation. I love all the energy that I seem to have as I am planning and prepping all of my lessons. This year it is a bit different.

This year I am taking a sabbatical while my husband finishes his last semester of law school. He only has one semester, which means we are only going to be gone for about six months. Since missing six months wasn't a real option the sabbatical seemed like our best decision. I admit I cried taking my classroom down. I love teaching and that part of my life. Not having school is going to be hard. The best part is going to be the year spent at home with my little girl. It will also be great to spend the year attending my older two's classroom parties and special events. 

To make this happen we packed up half of our stuff and moved our little family across the country. We have spent the last week moving into our apartment and adjusting to life away from what we have known. The one thing that has helped me feel connected to the classroom is still doing what I do best. Planning and creating. I hope you will continue to follow me and see what fun products I have to share with you this year. 

 All packed up and ready to go. (See my tiny trailer? Not bad for a family of 5!)

Driving. Pulling a trailer took us 40 hours! It was a long drive.

Mt. Rushmore just one of the stops my little family made.