B2S: 2 Star Ideas and 1 Wish Blog Hop

Well, tomorrow will be my first day back to school. I can't believe my Summer Vacation is over; where did the time go?! I'm very excited to start at my new position as a 3rd grade classroom teacher in a very small city school district.

To get ready for Back to School season, I'm linking up with Mandy from Mandy's Tips 4 Teachers to showcase two Star Ideas and 1 Wish area to begin the school year!

Well let's get started! Continue reading to see 2 of my Star Ideas for helping me start of the school year and 1 Wish area that I hope to become better at this year. 

One way to really get the school year off on the right foot is to come in ready to go! I like to make sure that I have all of my classroom supplies/materials in my room before the first day of Pre-Planning. I know that many people aren't allowed in their rooms before the year actually starts, I was one of those people my first 2 years teaching, and it makes it extremely difficult to get everything moved in and set up in just a few days.

If you can, try to take a few hours of your Summer and head into your room. Make a list of anything that you will need to purchase or replace before the school year begins. When you walk into your classroom, on that first day of Pre-Planning, you will have so much more time to start unpacking, organizing, and planning for the first few days of school.

This was on my "To Buy" list and I got it done during the first few weeks of Summer! No more fighting with the B2S crowd trying to get supplies for my classroom =D 

Ok, this idea isn't really mine but it's a GREAT idea! I need to make sure that I can contact ALL of my parents easily and efficiently. This year I set up a Remind 101 account.

I will have all of the information available at Open House for parents quickly sign up and be able to get all of my important notifications without ever having to check emails, school folders, etc! It's super easy to set up and you can print out all the information for parents straight from your account.

My wish this year is to stay organized and plan ahead! This will be my first year in a general education classroom and I  know it's going to be CRAZY trying to change how I plan, when I plan, how I organize, and what I need to organize. Over the summer I created a few things to try to help me along the way. One product that I'm looking forward to using is an editable reading, writing, and math conference binder set to use during Daily 5, CAFE, and Daily Math. You can use these during guided reading, guided math, etc. I can't wait to use them during the first week of school to get a feeling of how they will help me stay organized and on top of all the individual conferences I will need to hold with my students! Check it out here, if you need something to help you too! 

Well, I'm off to get ready for my first day back at work! For more star ideas more than 40 different

bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic that interests you. 

Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School: Top 5 Teacher Must Haves

Good Morning! As many of you know, back to school season is upon us! I can't believe that I only have 2 more weeks of Summer left. My Summer will be over before I know it because my calendar is PACKED over the next 14 days: trip to IKEA today, benefits meeting Tuesday, GA Aquarium Wednesday, little brother leaves Thursday, vet appointment Friday, then leaving for my 1 year anniversary trip next Tuesday morning and will not be back until the Friday before I go back to school! WOW! I guess I need to get busy getting everything ready for my classroom.

Today I wanted to do a quick little post about some of my favorite classroom must haves. Today's post will focus teacher must haves. I really thing I like back to school shopping more as a teacher than I did as a child; that says a lot since B2S shopping was one of my FAVORITE things as a kid! Let's go!

1. Brother HL Monochrome Printer

This is one of my favorite B2S products. I bought mine last year and I'm still using the 1st toner cartridge! If you watch the sales paper you can find these anywhere from $69+

The best things about this printer: it only prints black and white, so you won't waste a ton of money of useless color printing. It is super cheap. . It will last for a long time! The toner can be bought on Amazon for less than $15

2. Mr. Sketch Scented Markers

Who doesn't love Mr. Sketch Scented Markers? I use these EVERYDAY in my classroom for making anchor charts, decorating, or just because I want to add some pretty colors to my meeting notes.

3. Comfy Teacher Shoes

We all know how long we are on our feet during the typical school day, but we also know that during the first few days of school we are on our feet even more! I can't live without comfortable shoes, but they have to be "professional" and it seems like those are hard to find. Well, I came across these babies last year and I fell in love the second my feet where in them.  Shh.... don't tell anyone they are Crocs! 

4. A Go To Teacher Bag

I love my Thirty One Organizing Utility Tote! It's the perfect size to  carry all the paperwork, lessons, binders, etc. that I need to bring to and from school each day. I've used mine for 3 years now and it's still in Tip-Top condition; when I say used for 3 years I mean it! This baby has been back and forth, from home to school, school to home, home to Starbucks, and sooo many other places! I don't know what I would do without my bag. 

5. Something to Keep You Organized

Don't rely on technology to be there for you everyday, at some point, it's going to stop working, you're going to leave your laptop at home, or even worse... your beloved laptop will die and you will lose all those lessons you have been working so hard on. Make sure that you keep some type of paper record of your lessons for the week, important student information, grades, etc. 

I always keep a paper lesson plan book to write myself quick notes about my lesson for the week, important dates to remember, etc. I'm also a HUGE fan of keep data binders, teacher binders, and lesson plan binders. I keep a binder with me at ALL times and it serves as a great place for my to keep non-digital records or everything that's happening in my classroom and the school. 

Well there you have it! My top 5 Teacher Must Haves! What are some of your classroom must haves for the beginning of the year? Leave a link or link up below

Summer Vacation Plans Link Up

Big Time Literacy is celebrating their 1 year blogiversary by hosting a month long blogging challenge. I'm already a week late to the game =( but I'm going to try to keep up with 2-3 a week minimum.

Today's challenge is to blog about your Summer Vacation plans. Well, my Summer is almost over (crying) and I really don't have any BIG plans set in stone yet. My husband and I will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary on July 21 and he promises to take me to me on vacation, since we didn't have a honeymoon, but there's still noting arranged. I guess I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that he plans something.

I wouldn't complain about another trip to Mexico Beach, FL! 

On Tuesday my brother, sister-in-law, and niece will be making their way down from Norfolk to a 10 day stay! I love having them home in GA. With both of them in the Navy, it's hard for them to get away. It feels like it's been forever since I've seen them.

I hope to spend a few more days at the pool. My neighborhood has a beautiful pool and I really need to use it more often!

Oh, I'm also planning on setting up my new classroom; does that really count as vacation plans? I'm actually heading in tomorrow to find out which room is mine and to meet up with my new team lead. Is it bad that I've already told my hubby that he has to help me set up my room? He's never helped before, but I feel like this is the year to make ask him kindly to help me out! Hopefully, I'll have pictures coming your way shortly. 

That's all I can think of as far as my Summer Vacation plans go. What are you plans for the summer? Leave a comment or link up and let us know. I can't wait to hear from you all! 

Currently

WOW! How did July get here so fast? I can't believe this is my last month of Summer Vacation; actually, I don't even have the whole month because I start back on the 28th. That's okay! I'm really excited to start my journey as a 3rd grade general ed. teacher.

To kick start July, I'm linking up with Oh Boy 4th Grade for her July Currently Linky Party!

Tell us what you've been up to and link up with every. Just jump over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade, grab the template, and upload it to your blog or facebook page. Don't forget to have fun!