Happy Summer 5 for Friday!

   

I had “Meet the Teacher” already for my new school last night! (I'm switching from a traditional calendar to a year round school).  The families and students were amazing, I'm excited for these sweet kiddos! Here are my stations I had ready for them – really happy how they turned out! 

I've been on instagram for maybe a month now? Not sure exactly - and I am LOVING it! After a year of hesitation towards joining I finally decided just to do it. Couldn't be happier that I did! (If you're on the fence like I was, do it!) If you have instagram, I'd love to follow you and if you're interested you can follow me at Teach2Love_inspire (someone already had Teach2Love!).  

How perfect will these be for task cards?!?! Only $12 for 6 at the Container Store - sale through August she said! You can also get 12 slots for only $20. After I see my classroom and have things set up further I plan on returning to purchase the larger one as well! I have too many sets of task cards to keep them all organized this way. My thought was to put these at a center with the most relevant task cards and swap them out as we cover different standards. How would you use these?

My best friend flew in from Phoenix last night!! Cannot wait to spend the next few days with her!!! My boyfriend picked her up while I was meet the teacher. She brought me this aaaa.dorable framed picture of Spain. We met teaching abroad so we share a love for all things Spanish! I might take it to my classroom as my whole house is filled with memorabilia from my time there. ;)  (The pic didn't turn out as fabulous as it truly is!) 

Where I left my heart!

Budapest Adventures

Sampling deliciousness in London

Reunited in NC!! 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Story of my summer... Anyone else? :) 

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Using Parent Volunteers in the Classroom

First off, HAPPY SATURDAY! 

It's been a week since summer vacation has started for us and while I find myself wondering how my kiddos are doing I AM THRILLED that it's summer!! It was a long year and I am finally starting to gain back energy and feel like a human again!

I'm not spending every second working on school (although let's be real - it's Saturday morning and as soon as I get back from Zumba I'm posting and planning for next year haha). Really though, I can drink as much water as I want because I can actually use the restroom, etc. etc!  It really is the little things in life, come on teachers you know you can relate ;) 

My summer vacation is going to be short and sweet because I'm transferring from a traditional caldendar school to a year round school. Meaning...Meet the Teacher is 5 days away! WOAH! To stay on point though, last year I had one volunteer all year. Every single field trip it was my entire class and me. It was like this across our grade level! Pretty crazy. Needless to say, there was no extra help during the school year either. 

My new school has very involved parents - can you say YAY!? I'm so looking forward to it!! It will be a big adjustment for sure but one that I'm excited to get started with.

From talking with other teachers I've heard that a great way to organize a schedule is to use SignUp Genius. It seems easy peasy and sends out a reminder e-mail to the parents of when they signed up for! 

Here are some ways that I'd like to have the parents help us: 

*Do read aloud
*Work with small groups math or literacy
*Copy, cut, laminate items

I realize this is vague and short - which is why I would LOVE LOVE LOVE any thoughts, ideas, and to hear how you utilize parent volunteers in your classroom!! 

How do you utilize parent volunteers in your classroom? I’m dying to know! :)

Thanks blogger friends!! Have a great rest of your weekend! 

P.S. Are you looking for ways to cultivate a culture of kindness in your classroom? Eliminate disruptive behaviors? Help your students with social-emotional learning? I've got your answer! Check out this totally free teacher right here. 

FREE TEACHER GUIDE - Transform Classroom Behavior in 10 Minutes or Less a Day!

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How to Blur Student Faces in Pictures

Anyone else looking for an incredibly simple way to blur out student faces in pictures? I stumbled upon this wonderful app and couldn't love it more! It is simple, simple, simple! :) It's called Skitch.

They have an apple and an android version that I've listed below as well as a really helpful tutorial video! Also there are some examples that took me less than 30 seconds to blur! 

Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evernote.skitch

Apple App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skitch-snap.-mark-up.-send./id490505997?mt=8 

These pictures have been blurred once - you can easily go over the face as many times as needed. 

Hope this helps! 
~Shannon

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The Bigger Picture

We finally finished up our End of Grade (EOGs) testing. The kids were exhausted, I was exhausted, and we needed a little pick me up! Pharrell Williams started us off as we did a dance line around the room to HAPPY - the line leader choose the dance move and we all did what they did :)

After getting some sillies out I could tell some students still had lingering stress from the test. In the whirlwind of testing it's easy to lose sight of what's important.

Not wanting my kiddos to be upset I knew I had to take advantage of this "teachable moment." I started off by asking what are the most important things in life? Not a single student said tests, assessments, or scores, are you surprised? Of course not.  In pairs students came up with 1 thing in life that's truly important to them and then wrote it on our easel. 

 Our discussion encompassed that yes, we will always do our best on tests. However, we also know that a big test at the end of each year isn't why we go to school, it can't define us as people, and it won't be the reason we have a happy life or not. We spent a while discussing their goals and dreams in life, how they were going to get there, and what their dream was for the world. 

Students finished our lil discussion by writing notes to loved ones that they appreciated and creating signs that we hung up in our room. The signs depicted what they want their career to be and how they're going to change the world for the better with whatever they choose to do in life :) Here's a lil glimpse into their work. 

Probably my favorite sign of the day - such a big heart!

 …and this little sweetie made my day for obvious reasons :)

Easier said than done: I hope that as you and your students finish up the year you take time to remember what's important in life and not let the stresses of tests take away the fun that school should be! :) 

~Shannon

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