Classroom Community


This summer I've been taking a class based upon the above book.  I've always felt strongly about building a positive classroom community, and was looking for some new ideas and strategies to build a strong community with my new first graders this fall.  This is a FABULOUS book and I have learned so many new ideas and already have my Morning Meeting built into my schedule for the 2012-2013 school year.  If you have any tips we'd definitely LOVE to hear howThe Morning Meeting works for you!
And now onto a cute little community building activity that we're going to do with our kiddos on their first day of school!
Looking over Pinterest, I've found several fingerprint tree ideas, but never really found a tree I liked.  So after several hours of using Adobe Illustrator, here's a fingerprint tree I created.  You could definitely add more fingerprints around your students' fingerprints to make the tree fuller.  I will be adding my students' names under each of their fingerprints.  If you click on the photo below you'll see a close up of a few fingerprints with names below them.  There is also plenty of room on the page for you to add your class name above the tree for extra personalization!




After I made the tree shown above, I decided that I wanted a shorter trunk so I created 3 different trees all with different sized trunks.  If you'd like a set too, just click the picture below for your copy! 

Have a FANTASTIC rest of the week! 

Merry Christmas... in July!!! (SALE EXTENDED)


We are linking up with the fabulous ladies at Blog Hoppin' and throwing a little sale in our store! All of our seasonal items at Teachers Pay Teachers will be on sale 20% of for one day only, so make sure to swing on by and find yourselves some goodies!
*****UPDATE*****
Since TpT has been updating their site, (making great improvements) the site has been kind of slow today.  So we've extended our sale to go through the 26th!    


If you want to link up, ya better do it fast! Head on over to Blog Hoppin' and join in on the fun!  Happy shopping!

Summer Loves

We are still here folks! Don't you worry, we haven't fallen off the side of the planet just yet. But we are so busy just L-O-V-I-N-G summer!!! We truly work so hard all year in our classrooms, on our blog and our store, and running our families, that we are just relaxing and soaking up every second of summer sun that we can manage. We are still quietly working on a few new units, but they aren't quite ready to share just yet. Instead,  I thought I'd share some things I'm loving right now. And sorry, not a single one has anything to do with teaching, so bear with me.

All things turquoise. I love my skinny jeans, my jewelry, my patio makeover, and very soon my new half-bathroom color.
I borrowed this pic from pinterest, but couldn't find who it was from. If you know, tell me and I will give credit.

Nail polish. Notice the color. I've had a few mani-pedis lately, and while I love this color on my toes, I'm addicted to the Schlack french manicure on my fingers. It stays FOREVER!

Frozen lemonade drinks. They have them all over the place, but this may be my favorite. It's a raspberry lemonade slushy from Bauman Farms. If you are local in Oregon, or in the Salem area, you should definitely check them out. Yum.
This little gem I found on Craigslist. My daughter Olivia just got a big girl bedroom, and she needed a new dresser. I LOVE the line on top. It was a project though. I had to strip it (with the coolest heat stripper EVER), sand it and repaint it. 

 
Now, I'm even more obsessed. It looks soooo good! And I'm so glad I took the time to strip it first. That is not something I would usually do, but it made a HUGE difference. I LOVE THIS.

 I've been following Bethany's blog for a few years, and her work is AMAZING. We finally had the chance to use Bethany to photograph our family this past Friday, and I can't WAIT to see the pictures. She is fabulous, so if you are local and looking for a photographer, definitely check her out.

A family friend of ours is moving to Abu Dhabi, and is selling almost all of her stuff. I scored this incredible leather chair. It's well loved, but is the most comfortable chair ever. Husband and I are currently fighting over who gets it. The picture really doesn't do it justice.


We also got this funky little shelf for $30. I have no idea what to do with it, other that I love the color, and its just so cute. Currently it's holding a lamp. Any other thoughts or ideas?
My IKEA couch. It's hasn't made her way home yet,  but soon. We are going to try to sell our house next spring, but our couch is just not going to cut it until then, so she's moving to my house. I love the color. Can't wait to meet her.
My Honda Odyssey mini-van. I wish mine was this pretty and shiny. I admit it. I drive a minivan. I swore up and down that I would never own one, but don't knock it until you try it. Once that third kid came along, we bit the bullet and got one. Best decision ever. It is just SOOO much easier for kids to get in and out of, to deal with car seats, everything. I love mine. I am a minivan mom and proud of it. And man are we putting miles on it this summer.

And now my true loves.

Miss Olivia is two and a half, and just starting to develop a bit of a diva attitude. She runs the house for sure! We spent the first three weeks of the summer visiting my parents in South Carolina, and spent all of our time playing in the pool. Liv is still the cuddliest of my bunch, and loves her mama, nail polish, lip gloss, bandaids and changing her clothes. I'm having so much fun with this girlie-girl this summer!

 
Mr. Benjamin is my middle child. Enough said.  After he turned six last spring he had a few random seizures and gave us a big scare. He's been fine since, until this week when he had another, so back to the neurologist we went. Everything is fine, but now he's on some meds for awhile. This kid is smart, spunky, stubborn, and has his own view on the world, and how he interacts with it. Nobody tells him what to do. He makes me laugh (and scream) at least 10 times a day.

Dylan is my oldest, my most thoughtful, and at times, my biggest bully. He likes to show the other two who is the boss. He's almost 8 and will be in 2nd grade in the fall. He was at my school, even though we don't live in district, and it was both awesome, and terrible all at once. I loved him being in my reading group, and keeping close tabs on him, but he also had trouble seeing me as Mrs. Scott, rather than Mom. While in SC, we spent time in the boat, where Dylan practiced his water skiing. He's also developed his love for reading, and is on his third Diary of a Wimpy Kid book this summer.

My husband, and definitely my best friend. Right after SC (which was just me and the kids) Mr. Scott and I went to Alaska for five days for my cousin's wedding. This was the first time in nine years that we have left for that long by ourselves. We've had many overnight dates, but this was the first time we've left Liv for more than a night, let alone five. It. Was. Amazing. Alaska isn't my favorite place (I prefer the sun) although it was beautiful. We went to Denali National Park and is was incredible. We saw moose, caribou, and ten grizzly bears. But my favorite part was definitely getting to just hang with him. I heart him.


So, that's what I'm loving so far this beautiful, and sun-shiney summer. What are you loving?