Teacher Fashion MUST Haves

Ya'll I am such a sucker for comfortable, but unique clothes! We are on our feet all day long, and what I'm wearing HAS to be comfortable or I'll NEVER last! Of course one of my favorite places to shop is New York and Company! They offer military discounts AND Teacher discounts! I love that place!

I love to surf the net and find very unique ideas for outfits. One of my FAVORITE fashion Blog's is From Ann Csinscak. Her blog Cashmere and Coco offers great fashion tips.I LOVE her Fall Must Have Sections! I also LOVE her online store.... Vintage Sweet and Chic. Great Prices, and just adorable clothing! Love that you can't find these styles at your average store!

Here are some of my favs from her store:

Vintage Sweet and Chic
I love this color and style! It's light weight and comfortable!

Vintage Sweet and Chic

So adorable! The belted waist is my favorite!

Vintage Sweet and Chic
Again..this is just "Vintage and Chic"! LOVE IT! Lightweight and easy to wear for long days in the classroom!

 

Vintage sweet and chic

I love how you can wear this skirt with anything! It's long enough for school but still stylish!

Okay, I am just in love with this! A unique way to store your jewelry!!! Loves!




Love this jewelry stand!!

Again, go check out Vintage Sweet and Chic ! You will love it!

Happy Teaching

From The Corner Guest Post

Howdy from Barbara at The Corner on Character. I'm so excited to be visiting The Teacher's Treasure Chest today while Ashley's away. I've tried to put myself in her shoes and figure out what it's like to be a Navy Wife, but having never experienced what she must go through, I'm having a tough time. Nevertheless, I have incredible empathy and gratitude for our military heroes, and that includes the extended families, husbands and/or wives, and children who serve right alongside of them. 

Do you know about the book Sometimes We Were Brave by Pat Brisson? Jerome, the cutie patootie on the front cover, describes what it's like when his Navy mom is away on active duty, leaving him and his dog Duffy behind: Sometimes they have bad days, sometimes they get surprises, sometimes they have accidents, sometimes they get treats, sometimes they are afraid. Real talk! Read this book aloud to elevate empathy. Find out who has experience with the military. Maybe their grandpa, uncle, dad -- or mom? -- has been deployed. Where did they serve? And what was that experience like? Were they able to be in touch with their loved one while he/she was away? How?

We work hard to help our students understand (as best we can) what it's like to serve to keep us safe and free. Last year, we supported our troops three times; once through Operation Gratitude when we sent 340 pounds of our Halloween Candy overseas, the second time at Thanksgiving when we sent Santas for Our Soldiers, and then, in May, when we did a Pamper Our Troops collection. We are told time and time again that, while they love getting our boxes filled with treats, what our soldiers and sailors like best are the cards, letters, and drawings that we send them. 

Looking for a rewarding service-learning project this year? Research who the military personnel in your school family are. Turn it into a geography lesson and find the spots on the map where they're located. Figure out the distance between your school and where they are, then set a goal to run that many miles during recess or p.e. in their honor. Study the climate so you can do a compare and contrast to what your region experiences. What might some of the challenges be? For example, we've been told that the dessert sands can present a problem. Have them speculate why. See if they can brainstorm things that they could send that would help make the soldiers' lives easier. Find out what they're eating while they're away. Ask your students how long they would be willing to go without eating their favorite foods.

Then write on! Your students' precious pictures and their wonderful words will be the sweetest surprise and the greatest gift!

If you do send some basic-need items, you can stuff them into a large flat-rate box for $13.50; our Rotary helps defray the cost of postage each year. Don't forget that you'll have to complete a customs form, so you can get some parent volunteers to help you get that done ahead of time. It takes a little planning and preparation, but it's totally worth it to say thanks to our servicemen and women and give back just a wee bit. 

Thank you, Ashley!

New Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels for Kindergarten

It's wonderful to be able to guest blog for Ashley as she makes her journey across the U.S.. My name is Arlene Sandberg and you can find it at LMN Tree  My husband was in the military for 30 years so I understand what it's like to back up and move so often. Although I'm retired now, I have taught for more than 33 years all over the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii and overseas in Seoul, South Korea. My last 9 years I was an ESL teacher/specialist with the Anchorage School District working in Title I schools.                                          

I love writing Guided Reading books for my thematic units and include Word Work Activities for Literacy Centers as well as Picture/Word Word Walls and Writing Activities.Pictures are a great help to ESL students and those who don't have a rich and robust vocabulary.  I love Reading A-Z and have downloaded lots of books for my students and my grandson to read. When I write my own books I have used the reading level chart which for Kindergarten is aa-C.

So I was surprised to see this new chart on Scholastic that has the Kindergarten range from A-D.

This is definitely a result of the new Common Core Standards that have been adopted by 45 states.

The first thing I noticed was how the number of words increased from Level C to Level D. There were also more difficult words. For many Kindergarten teachers who teach in Title I schools this will be very challenging.  

I would love to know what level your Kindergartens are suppose to be reading at by the end of year. I also am including a free Guided Reading and Writing Unit I have written for you to download. After looking at the Make and Take Book please tell me if the Kindergartners at your school could read this at the end of the school year? Just click on the picture below to get your free copy. Hopefully your first grade students will have fun reading it too.

I hope that if you like my products you will check out my TpT store and follow me in order to get updates on new products that I will be adding. There are some great new BTS items for you to check out. Thank you for all you do to make a difference for your students.

What do you think about the new Reading levels or Kindergarten?

Back To School Blog Hop at The Teacher's Treasure Chest

Hello Friends!!!
I am linking up with Mrs. Bainbridge's Class for a Back To School Blog Hop!!

This is a busy time of the year! Don't re-invent the wheel! TpT has so many GREAT products out there! One of mine that I think is a MUST have for BTS is ABC-Order-Sight-Word-Literacy-Centers. These centers can be used all year and with ANY theme. I switch out my centers often, but I like to have a few basic skill centers that I can pull no matter what theme or skill I am doing. ABC Order is a skill that students should work on ALL year :) With the BTS Sale, you can get this product at almost 30% off!!!

Be sure to visit for the BIG Back to School Sale at My TpT Store !!

Back To School Sales!!

Well it's that time of year again, the time of year we start trying to get our classrooms just perfect for the new year! Now it's time to get prepared as well!! TpT and TN are both running GREAT promotions this weekend!!

Be sure to visit both of my stores! At TN, I'm giving away one of my  center packs! 

My TpT Shop

My TN Shop

Great Blogs to Visit!

Check out this list of amazing blogs!!!!

Flipping for Place Value

As I was packing up my classroom to prepare to move across the country, I found such a great teaching tool that I wanted to share with you. I made this a few years ago.  My kids were struggling with understanding place value and the order that numbers go in. I've never had an issue with students mixing up the hundreds and the tens place like I did this year. I made enough of these charts so that the students could work with a partner to make our numbers. We discussed how each numeral has a place and the value of that numeral.

                                                                                                                       

These were so simple to make! I just used cardstock, binder rings, index cards and a hole punch. I used card stock for the back to make it sturdy. Then, I laminated it using a hard laminating film. This made a difference in how the charts held up. The ones I laminated with the soft film, didn't make it through the year! We used these charts a lot this year! I hole punched three holes at the top. Next, I wrote numbers out 0-9 on three sets of index cards. Then, I attached the cards to the backing using binder rings. During small group instruction, I would write a number using words only. The students had to make and stretch out the word. (I also have a set of flip charts that the numbers are in expanded form. I couldn't find them for a picture though! Everything is a bit hectic :) We also played games using the flip charts. I would use post it notes to write numbers on them and then place them around the classroom. The students would go on hunts and make the numbers they found. This really helped with the switching of the tens and hundreds place!


Once we developed a strong sense of place value, we work with work station mats and  task cards.



                                          

Just an inexpensive and different way to put learning in the hands of students that I thought I would share!