Mentors!

I wanted to tell you all about a mentor program that I started at my school this past year! I had talked to my "super volunteer" mom (she came in and helped me set up my classroom and volunteered almost everyday...she was the BEST!!!) about how our student's really needed mentors. Teaching in a Title 1 School and being 5 minutes from a major university, it seemed like the two should merge!

It finally hit me when I was sitting in one of my masters classes that was about teaching students in poverty. We had a visitor from the Drop Out Prevention Center and he discussed how Drop Out Interventions needed to take place in the elementary school because by the time the kids reached middle and high school, their mind was made up about dropping out. I decided it was time to seriously take action. I had such amazing students and I could not imagine any of them dropping out! Well after a year of talking about it, I finally took some action!

I was involved in my sorority in college and knew that Greek Life would be a great place to start. Greek Life revolves around community service and philanthropies so I knew I could find some great role models for the kids there. I sent an e-mail to the leader of Greek Life and he forwarded my e-mail to each chapter president. The president then sent it out to their entire organizations. Pretty soon I was FLOODED with e-mails about college kids that were really interested. I knew it was time to start planning away!

I got some resources from the Drop Out Center about effective mentoring programs and created a training workshop to prepare these college students about how to effectively make a difference in the kids lives! Well, I set the time and place and notified everyone that was interested. My assistant principal (who is by far one of the greatest people I know and one of the most encouraging people I have ever met...not to mention she is HILARIOUS!) and I stayed after school and welcomed all the future mentors. I was absolutely stunned at this point...over 40 college students arrived!! I could not believe my eyes! All the willing college students wanted to help our kids! So I told them why they were important, why we needed them and then we went over scenarios about what to expect!

These mentors came once a week for an hour and let me tell you, THEY SHOWED UP! They talked to them about how to handle situations positively, they helped them with their school work and were a steady role model in their life! They loved it so much they told their friends about it and I had to train about 20 more mentors. That's 60 mentors total! Even one of our guy mentors (who was in Nick's fraternity!! =) mentored 2 guys and stayed for 2 hours each week! I would secretly tear up in the hallway walking with my kiddos to activity or lunch when I would see the mentors working with their mentees!  The program was so successful and our kids grades and reading levels increased! It's amazing what one hour of one-on-one attention can do!

So, to help celebrate the end of the year we had a big ol' celebration in our beautiful memory garden! We had a "Spring Fling!" and made dirt sundaes! The college kids told me they couldn't wait to come back next year and work with the same little nugget!!!

Flower Pens and "Kisses" for our sweet, DEDICATED mentors!

Sign that all the students signed for their mentors!

I could not have done this without my biggest support system!

Enjoying our dirt sundaes! 

We just HAD to Wobble!

If you don't have a mentor program in your school, you could buddy up with an older class in the school because the older kids can get just as much from the little ones! Even the college students told me how much they learned from their little ones!

I am working on putting the mentor resources I used together in a unit so that you can use it, too! Have a great day!!

Monday Made It!

I finally have a few finished projects that I can share for Fourth Grade Frolics amazingly popular Monday Made Its!

Project #1: New Teacher Gifts

This year I am starting in a whole new school, with a whole new team. They have been very welcoming and helpful this summer as we prepare for a new year with new nuggets! (How many times can I say the word new?!?)

Well my old teammate gave me a great idea when my student teacher was leaving. I made her a clip board with scrapbook paper and ribbon! She LOVED it! I also gave her a bag FULL of "Teacher Essentials" to help get her through her first year teaching. Here is how I made the clip boards...

Step 1: Paint the clip board the color of your choice. (TIP: On the back only paint around the edges since it will be covered with scrapbook paper).

Step 2: Measure and cut scrapbook paper to fit on the back. I use two different pieces and then tie them together with a ribbon. (I used cute little puppy paws because our mascot is the bulldog).

Step 3: Mod Podge the paper down. Let it dry. Mod Podge over the top to leave a nice finish!

Step 4: Measure and glue ribbon to tie the two papers together to give it a finished look! VOILA! You have some cute clip boards!

The colored frames with the sayings are my favorite and I may even make some for my own room if I have time! All I did was buy some wooden frames from the Dollar Store (they should name it The Teachers Second Home Away From Home! First is our classrooms!!!) and then I painted them coordinating colors with some acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby. (They just had some on sale so I stocked up!!) Then I printed off the cute signs from Technology Rocks. Seriously. and put them in the frames!

Now I have some cute (cheap!) gifts to give my new teammates!


Project #2: Teacher Toolbox

I have seen these ALL over Pinterest. I believe the original one came from Create. Teach. Share. (Awesome blog name BTW!) Then I checked out the toolbox that Reagan made over at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits. She gave me the idea to get my toolbox from Garden Ridge and spray paint it white. Well I did just that! Then I created some labels based on the measurements and thought about what I need in my own toolbox!

Can't you tell I LOVE color and polka dots? 

Close Up!

This is going to be great since I don't have a "teacher desk!"You can grab the labels I used here!  I usually just throw stuff in my Sterrilite drawer! Which you can see how I gave that a Mod Podge/Scrapbook paper makeover here!


Project #3: Labels for Guided Reading Baskets

So I posted some labels awhile back but I have since changed my mind! (Which happens a zillion times a day!) The old ones were super cute but would be a PAIN in the you know what to cut out. I do not have the steadiest hand so I prefer cutting on a straight line! ha! So I used some cute digital scrapbook paper I found on Etsy from EssentiallySCRAPPIN' (she has the cutest designs) and some frames from Fancy Dog Studio and then added my font from the one and only Kevin and Amanda and POOF these appeared!

 I cut them out, glued them on some scrapbook paper (the pack was 50% off a Hobby Lobby whoop!) and used my brand spankin' new laminator and made some sweet labels! You can grab the chevron labels here! Now I just need to find some baskets! Big Lots has been SOLD OUT of the ones I am dying for!

OK, time to stalk some Pinterest and Monday Made Its for new projects! Happy Monday!! 

Newbie Blogger Blog Hop!

Hey Guys! Holy Bachelor finale! I was "Team Sean" and almost didn't watch the past two episodes.

Janis over at Grade Three is the Place For Me had a terrific idea for a blog hop for all the newbies! Since I am a newbie to blogging I thought I would link up! Janis came up with some get to know you questions so our readers can get to know us better. I'm an open book so here goes nothing!

1. What state you are in. 

South Carolina! I love the Palmetto State and my Clemson Tigers!

2. Your current teaching position.

I have taught first grade for three years in a small district and this year I will teach first grade at a new school that is closer to home! (I'm going from a 40 minute commute to a 5 minute one! Whooop!!!)

3. Your teaching experience:

I student taught in second grade (LOVED it!) and got a job at the same school! I have taught there for three years before making a big move this year! (I moved my classroom and my house all in one day...most exhausting day of my life! Thank God for Nick and my brother!)  I finished my master's in reading this past December and I am starting my early childhood add-on this fall! (I just got my third acceptance letter to Clemson...haha)

4. When you started blogging:


Early June (this year) when school was out and I hadn't started nannying yet! I had to do something to keep me from shopping!


5. Share a blogging tip/blogging resource:

Teaching Blog Addict has been a LIFESAVER! Anytime I need to know how to do anything (create button, linky parties, proper etiquette) I just go there and they have it all! I love all the authors because they are so creative and share amazing resources, insights and ideas! Not to mention Freebie Friday is now my fave blogging day!

Fabulous Finds Friday (Thursday Edition)

I know it's not Friday, yet but we have our yearly friends camping trip this weekend so I will be stuck in the woods all weekend! I am NOT a good camper and the last two camping trips we've gone on have been disastrous...so needless to say I am pretending to be excited for Nick's sake. It will be Rudy's first camping trip so that will make for some fun times in the wilderness! (Just pray for no rain!)

 I have had a few extra minutes to run some Target and used book store errands and could not be more excited about my finding! I am loving the linky party going on over at Fun in Room 4B!

Some more Dollar Spot pocket charts! I've stocked up on these for years! They are perfect for small group tasks, adding content vocabulary, putting up the daily schedule, etc. I was so excited to see purple this year!

Foam Clocks! I love these! They are perfect for centers and small group work! These will definitely come in handy when teaching time this year!

The MICROPHONE! I love microphones...if I could sing, I would have been famous. I am notorious for some karaoke singing (sorry!) and sometime I swear I think I'm on stage in front of my kids! I was so excited to find this echo-phone in the kids party section at Target! It will make answering questions, sharing aloud, and sining songs SOOO much more fun!

The colored trays! They are so useful and I love the different colors!  

USED BOOKS STORE! On of my best teaching buds told me about this great used bookstore near my house! In the 2 years I've lives here, I had never been before! Well that all changed the other day. I spent a total of $30 and got all these amazing books! I was most excited about the full color edition of Charlotte's Web!!! 

 Fern and Wilbur are so precious!!!!!

The First Dog! So cute and what a fun way to discuss the White House during election time this year! (Even Nick LOVED it and I'm pretty sure he hasn't read a book since high school!) The First Dog travels all around the country and it's a great way to expose the kids to different countries and breeds of dogs! We all know how much all the kiddos LOVE puppies! 

 Just in time for the Olympics!

All these Junie B. books and Magic Tree House books were either $1.50 or $2.00. WHAT.A.DEAL!!!!!! 

Did I mention they also gave me a 10% discount for being a teacher! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

The nuggets I nanny will be starting kindergarten at "The Big School" so I bought them "The Night Before the Big School." So precious!

Ok..my most fabulous find this summer has to be the one and only RUDY!! As much as I complain about his "accidents," (he is getting SOOO much better!!!) and his nipping he has been such a joy for us this summer! Nick and I couldn't picture our lives without him!!!

Aren't they so cute!?! 

Well those are all my fabulous finds for today! Wish me luck in the woods!! I'm gonna need it! 

The Handwriting Zoo

One of my best friends was getting married recently and realized she the calligrapher had forgotten an invitation. The first thing out of her mouth was, "Oh, Sarah, you can do it because you have that nice teacher handwriting!'  I think it came from my mom, but there is nothing prettier than neat handwriting. (I was the weirdo that re-wrote my notes in college if my handwriting wasn't quite up to par!)

Having neat handwriting is something I have always wanted to motivate my students to strive for. There is nothing that makes me prouder than seeing neat handwriting displayed outside my door. First grade is such an important time to learn correct letter formation and begin to prefect nice printing! Each year we play games, give stickers, and use all sorts of creative writing materials to help improve our handwriting! This year, our class is going to be taking a field trip to the state zoo. I can't wait to see their faces when I tell them they get to travel 2 hours on a charter bus to a zoo! (Some of these nuggets have never even been on the highway). So to get them excited in the beginning of the year about their animals research and their big trip, we are going to master handwriting ZOO STYLE!

In this unit the kiddos will practice writing their letters, analyze letters based on common characteristics, receive motivational reward notes and play 'I Have, Who Has?" I am so excited about teaching this unit  this year and to start the kids off on the right foot with neat handwriting! Stop by my TpT store or Teachers Notebook store to grab this unit! To get you excited about teaching handwriting this year, you can use these motivation rewards for FREE. 

How do you guys promote nice handwriting in the classroom? I would love to hear! Also, if you use e-books you can join in on my Linky Party below to let us know what your favorite resources are! Happy Humpday!

Star Student, eBooks and My First Linky Party

Hello Friends! I am finally back from a LONG hiatus from blogging! This has been a crazy few weeks that included a mini-vaca to the beach (soo fun!) and some trips to visit the sweet little girl I nanny for in the hospital (she's ok now, thank goodness!) and keeping her sisters while the parents spent countless hours in the Children's hospital. Needless to say, they have taken up much of my time that I was more than happy and willing to give them!

However, I'm back and FULL of ideas, new resources, and some new anxieties! Does anyone else get really anxious at this point in July... too much to do, too much to think, not too much time left! Time to get crackin'! Ok, here goes my randomness of ideas from the past few weeks!

Star of the Week Unit

The past few years I have used a "Camper of the Week" for my student of the week. Well, this year, that won't work! So, I changed everything to just "Star of the Week!" I figured this would be the most generic and easiest to use so I won't have to change it each time I change themes. (One of my new mottos's: Work Smarter, Not Harder!)

I have finally added Star of the Week to my TpT store! You can pick it up there to jazz up your "Star of the Week!" It has different certificates, signs and parent letters to choose from! I have even added some black & white choices since I will be on a tight color printing budget this year!

I have new love...Teacher's Notebook! I know, I know, I've been living under a ROCK! I have added tis unit to my Teacher's Notebook store. I am working today to add some more items to the store for you to check out! 

eBooks!

I went to this awesome training on eBooks the other morning! I want to share some amazing FREE resources that I learned about in this class. Before you read this, everyone has feelings about eBooks. I think that eBooks are a great resource to use in the classroom, especially for read alouds (now everyone can see if it's project on the interactive white board!) but NOTHING can ever replace an actual book! eBooks are just another way to engaging and immersing students in literature! 

Storyline Online 

This awesome site features your FAVORITE read alouds by some awesome celebs, including BETTY WHITE! (Takes me back to watching Golden Girls with my Grandma! :)) These books open in You Tube and you can play for your students. 

Pixle of Ink 

This AMAZING blog give you the daily deals for eBooks for your Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc! Sign up for the daily e-mail or facebook message to find bargains (and free) books for you and your kiddos. 

*They had different blogs for each level (adult, children) and the children's blog is broken down into age groups! 

We Give Books

This is my new favorite site! This is brought to you from Pearson Publishers. On this site, you can download and read the book on your computer or tablet. This site has different literacy campaigns and for each book you read, Pearson will donate to the campaign of your choice! This is a great way to promote giving back and literacy all in one! I smell a service project for my little nuggets. I'm thinking this year we will create a weekly/monthly goal of books to read and donate! 

Project Gutenburg

These books have been scanned by volunteers for Project Gutenburg. These are thousands of books that are available for FREE! 

Linky Party

With all these wonderful eBook resources out there, it made me wonder (this is dangerous!) what other eBook resources are out there! With the popularity of interactive white boards and tablets in the classroom, I want to know how you use eBooks in your classroom and where you download them from! So I am joining the linky party craze at The Ultimate Linky Party hosted by Teaching Blog Addict and hosting my own PAR-TAY! Join in on the eBook fun!

<center><a href="http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p564/Slane62/ebooks-1.png"><img border="0" src="http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p564/Slane62/ebooks-1.png"/></a></center>

Winner Winner! Currently and An Award!

Wow, a lot happened this weekend! I am at home in Hilton Head for the week with my family (How lucky am I to call Hilton Head "home"?!) And I've been enjoying some sun, R&R, and some delicious food. My parents sure know how to entertain...

Anywho...we had a power outage last night (thank you storms!) so I did not get to post my giveway winner!  .

KELLEY DOLLING is from Teaching Idea Factory. She won all the technology themed items (jobs, labels, etc) that I will be using in my "Wired for Success" classroom next year! Go visit her blog today!

I'm linking up with Oh Boy, Fourth Grade for July's Currently.  I love the idea of a Currently because it gives you a quick sneak peak into our personal lives (and our brains)! I am loving this Fourth of July holiday week (minus the 5 1/2 hours I spent in the car on Saturday...ughhhhhhhh).

MY FIRST BLOG AWARD!!!

I got a wonderful and inspiring comment from Mrs. Flickinger from Mrs. Flickinger's Butterfly Oasis the other night. After her thoughtful comment, she awarded me The Versatile Blog Award! Yippee! Thank you so much Tammy. She has a great new blog that you need to check out ASAP! 

So here are the rules:

1.  Thank the blogger who nominated you - Your rock, Tammy!

2.  Include a link to their site - Done!

3.  Include the award image in your post - Got it!

4.  Give 7 random facts about yourself - fine :)

5.  Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award

6.  When nominating, include a link to their site - Check!

7.  Let other bloggers know they've been nominated – Got it!

 

Seven Random Facts about this Tammy.

1. I moved to Hilton Head from New York when I was 11 years old (14 years ago YESTERDAY!!!!!) Crazy how time flies! 

2.  I am a HUGE Clemson fan! GO TIGERS!!! 

3.  I am NOT a dog person but Nick convinced me we needed to get one...and I could not LOVE anything more than Rudy! 

4. It took me three times to pass my road test and when I'm with Nick or my friends, they NEVER let me drive (I'm horrible...)

5. I love to change and redecorate all the time. (Notice the change in blog templates...)

6. I Irish Step Danced (like Riverdance) for 11 years and my dream was to be a teacher and in Riverdance at the same time! (1 out of 2 isn't bad!!) 

7. I have been to Italy twice and would go back right now!

Now the Award Goes to....

Primary Inspired

Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas 

Teaching with Moxie 

 

I have had like 20 others that I wanted to pass on the award to but...they already received it! I will be sure to keep stalking look and continue to add to the list! 

Well, that's it for me today! I'm taking some time to enjoy doing NOTHING! Maybe there's a Housewives Marathon on!