New Product ALERT!!: Let's Get Visual!

I have been working hard on figuring out ways to reach my new sweeties, and had an Ah Ha moment last week!
I told my babes...Go to your seats, grab a pencil, write your name, color, cut, then glue. I got ALL SORTS of "Say whaaaat?" stares, and I thought...oh wait! Maybe I should slow down a bit. I broke the directions down one by one for my class and that seemed to help, but they needed a little more. They needed to be able to look up and have a visual reminder!
DUH! Amber you taught ELL students for two years. YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS!

So I sat down and started making some visual directions for them. Do you want a peek? Of course you do!

 

{Click on the image above to go directly to my TPT store. Don't forget to leave feedback!}

So head on over to my store, leave feedback, follow me, and be on the lookout for the full product coming soon!!!

2014 Classroom REVEAL

As most of you know, I teach at a year round school. I am teaching 2nd grade for the second year in a row, and I love it. I have been MIA on my blog for a bit because after two back-to-back conferences and vacation in AL, FL, and SC, I was exhausted! On top of that, I had to come back and immediately being setting up my classroom. No biggie...I am superwoman right?!
Many of you may have heard me say that I am teaching Inclusion this year. I was approached with a co-teaching model that would put an EC teacher in my classroom and we would share planning and management. After weeks of thinking that is what the plan was, we lost some EC positions, which in turn meant that all my sweeties would have me all day and have push-in ELA services as outlined by their IEP. Not exactly the picture I had mentally painted, but again, I threw on my cape and hit the ground running!

After two weeks I feel like I have a grasp on my schedule and what these guys need in order to be successful as I help pave the road to third grade. In order to get started off on the right foot, I decided I needed to minimize a bit. I removed three large tables from my room, which opened it up tremendously! I also updated the classroom library and other sitting areas to making reading more fun for my little ones. [sidebar: the chairs are such a hit that my custodian comes in daily for his coffee break...hehe]

I think it is time to let you decide what you think of my classroom this year. Boards and walls are still a bit bare, but that is because I add as I go in the form of anchor charts and such...

   

 

 

I hope you can see the BEFORE and AFTER the way these pictures are laid out. It was definitely a work in progress, but I am thinking this will work perfectly this year!
Leave your comments below and let me know what you think! :)

ISTE Recap!!!

Let me just say...ISTE was overwhelming, but I took away so much! First of all, if you are ever thinking of going to ISTE...take an empty rolling suitcase each day! Begin scrolling to see the MULTITUDE of T-shirts I picked up at ISTE....

Yes, I know...I have a giant arm in some of them, but HEY...FREE T-SHIRTS!!! I was a happy camper. I must say that as difficult as it was to leave my three sweet babies with my husband's mom, it was great to spend the time with just my husband. I mean...who doesn't just love this face??

 

 

 

 

We spent every morning at my third home...Starbucks...and we spend the evenings in our second...THE GYM! Can we say Grrrrr!!!! [intense photo warning :)]

Although ISTE was overwhelming on the information side of things, it was relaxing at the same time. I met so many lovely teachers and learned so many new tips and tricks. I have still YET to go through all of my ISTE items. This year-round business is going to be the death of me! Stay tuned for the classroom reveal....