I have been having an ongoing love/hate relationship with my current blog design and layout, SO I'm breaking up with it to begin a new relationship with a brand new blog design by Blogs Fit for a Queen and I'm beyond excited...BUT it is going to be at least until September until I start my new relationship. Eeekk! I'm certain that a makeover will want me to visit this little ole blog of mine more often and share all of the awesome things that go on in my classroom with the help of my awesome co-workers. Like many of you, I too have officially began putting my classroom back into working order, which is a HUGE mission...especially since we are to take everything off of the walls, bulletin boards, shelves,... Basically I pack everything up in June and begin unpacking it in July. It certainly takes more than a few In-service days to get a classroom ready for a new school year. Getting my classroom ready for a new group of nuggets makes my heart happy. I love it!! During this past school year {like many years}, my dear teaching partners and I would always talk about what we're going to do differently next year, how will we dive into our new math and reading series, how will we decorate our quad, what will we dress as for Halloween {that is important}, how will we work our math centers, how are we going to fit everything in...a teacher's brain never stops! I'm SO very fortunate to have amazing co-works that are incredible to work with, collaborate with, and have on-going group texts {that contain no less than 30 Emoji icons} at all hours {except during school hours}. Really, I have the best of both worlds…I enjoy these ladies so much in and out of school. J And because I have been working in my classroom with my two trusty sidekicks…I have been keeping Dairy Queen in business. That’s right, I pay my kids with some DQ to ensure that I have a few productive hours of work. Now that they are 9 and 6, I can give them small jobs to do. My oldest wants to help so much and my youngest would much rather play at the LEGO table or watch a movie {as long as he is occupied, I'm a happy mom}. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to my classroom, because its my home away from home and I like for everything to have a place. I just wish I could get my kids on board with that at home. While working in my classroom, I got inspired to create a few goodies to add to my classroom walls and I have a few more in the works. First up, I created sight word cards that go with the 2014 Houghton Mifflin Journeys reading series. I intended to use the cards for games and activities, but then decided to add them to my word wall. You can grab your copy here. I love using poems, chants, and songs to get skills and concepts into little minds. Even and odd numbers go to the farm and meet Old McDonald. You can grab your copy here. I'll be back soon with a great freebie and some random ramblings of my life. :)