Who Monday

Hey friends! I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin for a little post about ME :) 

My name is Ashley Benoit and I'm heading into my 6th year of teaching! I've been married to the love of my life for 9 1/2 years! He's in the Navy! IYAOYAS!  I'm a Jesus lovin'  country gal who enjoys just about anything that's outside!!! 

I met my  husband when I was at the old, old age of 19!! We got married when I was 20, and have been married for 9 1/2 years! 

Mike and I have a lot in common but we have a lot of opposites, too. For example, I'm in *love* with anything that comes from APPLE. iMac, iPhone, iPad, iPod..so we had to visit the Apple store the other day. I was just browsing waiting for my MacBook Pro to get fixed...five minutes later, Mike takes the kiddos and is like "we are just going to go walk around"....I'm like okay, have fun!  He comes back with a Brighton box and a Pandora box! I was like "Ohhh I love how you walk around the mall". Haha. Seriously, I'm a super lucky lady. This man is simply ahhh mmmaaazing.  

My little sister is my very best friend! I love her so much! She's complete opposite of me in a lot of ways. She's super quiet and witty. I'm not witty--at all--like you tell me a joke, and *maybe* three days later, I'll understand it!  She's super smart and so talented! 

My older brother! He's in the ahem... "CHAIR" Force..AKA Air Force :) Love you, Chaddy! 

My "little" brother :) He's a fireman, just like Daddy was!

I just recently did my first 5K! It was SO MUCH FUN! If you haven't tried a Color Run, I encourage you to do so! I was super happy with my time, because I run on flat land. This race was in Asheville, NC...in the middle of the MOUNTAINS!

My Aunt, Cousin and I--AFTER the race!

Q: What’s your favorite resource that you’ve created in your TPT shop?

I would have to say my Printable Books! 
i'm addicted my classroom library! These little books make a great way to introduce new skills

 Money Printable Book

I'm kinda of that girl that ALWAYS has something going on..let's see..Mom, Wife, Teacher, Blogger, Gym, Little League, andI also sell skinny wraps and my life saver supplement of greens! Check it out here:)

Bright Ideas Printing Tips

Hey friends! I'm linking up with the Bright Ideas Blog Hop!

One thing I *love* about blogging is that we all have different ideas and ways to do things, blogs make it so easy to use collaboration! Some of my best friends exist in the virtual world! I can find an idea about how to do just about anything in blog land! Right now, I'm on this economic kick. I realize HOW much money I spend on school and I'm trying to cut back a tad. 

I don't know about your school, but at my new school, colored ink is like liquid gold! I was 

so blessed in TX to pretty much have all the ink I wanted! Now, I do not get it at all~~!!! 

So I tried a few things today to help out with my ink issue. I guess I didn't realize how lucky I was and became kinda of *ink spoiled*!!! 

So here are a few things I tried...

First..I am scaling down my cover pages. I am printing them at 60% instead of 100%. To do this, just go to settings, and print options, click on "Scale"...change it from 100% to whatever percent you wish.

 The page is printed at a smaller scale. Since it's just the cover page that's mainly used for storing the game, it's not that big of a difference. I do this with ALL of my cover pages!

Pretty easy right? 

Another option is I print in black and white on bright, colored paper!  This still makes the activity colorful without using tons of ink. In my classroom, I do not do one more than the other. Meaning I have a balance of B & W on colored paper  and colored games and activities. It helps keep the kids from getting bored with one format :) 

Thanks for stopping by on this Bright Idea Blog Hop! I'd love it if you joined me over at TpT and Facebook!!

For more  Bright Ideas, browse through over 100 different bloggers!!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Meet The Teacher

Hey friends! I'm linking up with my sweet friend Stephanie from Falling into First for a Meet the Teacher Blogger bit :)

My name is Ashley Benoit and I'm heading into my 6th year of teaching! I've been married to the love of my life for 9 1/2 years! He's in the Navy! IYAOYAS!  I'm a Jesus lovin'  country gal who enjoys just about anything that's outside!!! 

I met my  husband when I was at the old, old age of 19!!

My little sister is my very best friend! I love her so much! She's complete opposite of me in a lot of ways. She's super quiet and witty. I'm not witty--at all--like you tell me a joke, and *maybe* three days later, I'll understand it! 

*Question and Answer Time*

Q: These are a few of my favorite things…

Sonic Unsweet Tea, Sonic Cherry Limeades, Starbucks Green Tea Lemonade---see a pattern here ;) 

Q: If you weren’t a teacher, what would you want to be?

I would want to be some sort of advocate for safe driving or doing something that promotes safe driving. You can read about that here

Q: Three little words that describe you.

Talkative, Joyful, Caring

Q: Finish this sentence, “___________________, said no teacher EVER!!”

I HATE SUMMER  (haha)

Q: It’s your birthday and you can invite anyone {dead or alive} to the party. Who are you inviting?

Dude, that's deep! I have to say all of my loved ones that have went to be with sweet Jesus, Jase Robertson (So he can realize that he is really my husband's twin), George Strait so he can sing to me, Walt Disney, just because, he's Walt Disney---oh AND MY FAMILY OF COURSE :) 

Q: If someone wrote a book about your life, what would be the title?

I have no idea

Q: You get to pick one superpower. What is it?

Time travel! Duh!

Q: What’s your favorite quote or saying?

“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:15

Q: If you HAD to sing one song on American Idol, what would it be?

Anyone that knows me understands that I can never just pick *one* favorite song..but I'd have to go with "Carrying Your Love With Me" By GEORGE STRAIT

Q: Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Just depends on my mood!


Q: What’s your favorite resource that you’ve created in your TPT shop?

I would have to say my Printable Books! 
i'm addicted my classroom library! These little books make a great way to introduce new skills

 Money Printable Book

Q: Share something we might not know about you!  

I also sell skinny wraps and my life saver supplement of greens! Check it out here:)

Head over to Falling Into First for the rest of the fun!

Breezing Through Back To School

Hey friends! My blogging friends and I have put together a little Back To School Blog Hop for you!  I know you enjoyed what Kristen from A Day In First Grade had to share!!!

Last year, I really focused on getting myself organized. Organization is one of the HARDEST parts of teaching, but with the right tools, it's so much easier. We have to keep a data binder, so these inserts made my  life SO much easier!! I have to stay on top of my to do list and use my time very wisely. 

In order to make the most of my time, I try to work during lunch four out of five days a week. I take one day to enjoy lunch in the lounge or with a friend. This way, I am able to get somethings accomplished and not go crazy at the same time :) One thing that I do during my "working lunches", is I always play music softly. It helps me not feel so alone or like I'm never getting a break. I do simple but necessary tasks. I do not try to run around like my head is cut off. I'm either grading papers, sorting things or looking for lesson ideas for the next planning cycle. 

Data collection is the new driving force in education. The trick is to keep adequate data on each student without losing our minds :) I use my  Classroom Forms Binder for several things. It makes things so much easier!! I've separated my lesson plans, class roles, parent contact documentation, important IEP Information and data collection. These are key elements to my day and I have to know exactly where they are!  This way if I need to jot something down real quick, I just go to my binder, not some random sticky note that I *will* lose! I used to be the WORST at that! By having a documentation system, I'm eliminating the waste of paper and creating an environment that I can always find what I need when I need it!! 

This form is something I use during guided reading . I jot down little observations of each student as I can. It seems like a lot, but it's so much easier to write it as you are observing than to go back to it. I try to document on Tuesdays and Thursdays....in the perfect world  :) This form is separate from my running records. If we are doing a sight word activity and little Tommy has trouble with a word, I just write that word down with the date. I keep an eye on it and when he masters it, I can record the progress. This is a LIFE SAVER come parent conference time. It shows your parents that you look at each student individually and you really know and understand where each student is. 

You can check out this binder right HERE!!!

Another form I included in my binder packet is my parent communication forms. . I wanted to have documentation that my parents saw their child's grades! I use these little forms for assessments at the end of a skill. I've created several versions of this form to fit your needs. The one pictured is sorted by SOL. These are the standards we use here in VA. I have blank templates included for those of you in other states. The best part about this, is that it doesn't take up much space. I just have one bin that I keep them in. In the beginning of the year, I teach my kiddos to take these out  as well as their homework folders and put them in the bin each time they go home.  (I will show pictures once my room is set up)  If you've already purchased Classroom-Forms-and-Binder-Mega-Packet-, just visit my purchases to receive the update!

Another organization tip, is each planning day I add a new paper file to translate into binders or digital storage. I'm doing this to eventually get rid of my filing cabinet. I've arranged my binders by themes or seasons. This is so helpful because I can nicely store my binders on a shelf and the filing cabinet is no longer a dumping ground!! 

Thanks for stopping by! I just recently added a little Guided Reading FREEBIE! These little readers will make great take home books!!! Another great freebie that I found from the wonderful Jen from Teacher By The Beach is this little First Day Activities!!! 

Head on over to the ever so cute Mrs. Stanford

Back To School Rush

Hey friends. I'm kinda of *stressing out*. We officially go back August 20th...that's not that long way, so I should be enjoying the last few weeks of summer...right?!?! Well, I would be, but my entire classroom is in boxes..on our STAGE!! They had to do some work in and around my classroom, so I had to pack everything up! And I'm totally worried about not having enough time to get it ready..but I gotta quit stressing' and hand it over to God. That's my plan. I'll let you know how that works haha!

So in the meantime, I've been working on things from home that I know I'll need. One classroom management system I wanted to implement is checkpoint take home folders.  In our district, we give checkpoints for Math, Science and Social Studies. I wanted an easy way to document that parents were aware of these scores.  I made these little folders for each student so that I had a quick and easy way to send home grades.  I added these to an existing product, my Classroom Forms Mega Binder. The ones shown use SOL's, but if you are not in VA, I've included a blank one to fit your needs :)

Grading System and Documentation 

Check out my Classroom Forms Mega Binder!

Classroom Decor  

My next little project is a little cosmetic surgery to my old "catch all" bin :) I just used Chevron Duct Tape that I found at Target for $1.99 in the Back To School section!!

After that, I redid my table caddies. I found these little dolls at Wal Mart for $3.00!!! I use so many of Erica's Chevron resources, so I just used a little washi tape and her Bright-Chevron-Table-Signs! I LOVE how they turned out! 

You can check out Erica's Labels Right Here!!!

Now I'm on a mission to add to me ever so growing center  collection! 

I'm lovin' my  latest creation--Back To School Literacy and Math Fun! It's loaded! This one shown is an ABC Order activity! My kiddos always love these! 

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I gave my Place Value Centers a little face lift!

I was cutting these out and my little one said he wanted to put them together--I was kinda of shocked..but I said "sure, go right on ahead"!!! He loved them! 

My little Trixie girl decided to get in the action! 

Trixie girl is holding down the fort with our Place Value Centers. 

Thanks for stopping by!