WHAT we teach

This late night post has been delayed for a few reasons: 1) Our power went out last night and was still out this morning 2) It's my last Friday of vacation :((( and 3) I just wasn't sure what to write!

But, I have decided that my favorite things to teach are Writing and Math.  I absolutely love anything with numbers and math has always been my favorite, but I am a little nervous to begin this year because we have a totally new math series again.  The series is, Bridges, and it looks like it will be very beneficial BUT also super intensive without a lot of prepping.  So, we'll see. :)

I also adore teaching writing.  Well...usually.  At the beginning of the year, I might wanna cry and pull my hair out sometimes, but I remind myself that these little cuties will develop quickly.  I love writing because there are so many types of ways for the students to show their creativity.  We do most of our writing based on a great book and usually wrap up the lesson with a cute final copy or craft.  

Have a good weekend!  I'm going to soak up the sun and squeeze my boys tight because I know I'll be missing them like crazy next week.

-Lindsay

When... Our Daily Schedules

Every year we change up our schedules a little bit depending on our lunchtime, our resource room times, and other pull outs we might have. This year we have a new math unit, which we honestly haven't even opened yet! I know, I know... what are we doing?!?! A whole new program, school starts in 12 days, and we haven't even thought about opening our TE. Yikes! This afternoon, after visiting another second grade teacher's room, Tina and I started stressing about it. We didn't realize how many components this program has! Lindsay came a bit later and calmed us down... [she's good at that]  She reminded us that everything always works out!

Side note: Is there anyone out there who uses Bridges!?!? We would LOVE to hear your opinion/thoughts/comments on the program.

Okay... I'm getting off track so back to the topic: When. This year our days are going to look something like this...

We plan together and do all the same activities but we don't always do them the same way or at the same time. Our schedules have a little bit of variance just to meet our own personal needs. Me, I'm not good at keeping to a schedule, I like freedom. But this year I'm really going to try and stick to what I have posted.

I'm trying something a bit different this year and I'm going to split up my Daily 5 block. I'm renaming it Daily 3. Writing and Word Work are going to be separate.  I'll update you on how those changes are working out for me. I'm hoping it will keep my kids better engaged during their independent working time.

Our district is also implementing a new handwriting program this year. If you notice, we don't have that in our any of our schedules. We plan on getting a handle on math and then implementing handwriting in January.

Today we planned our first week... It's def a sloppy copy right now that I'm too embarrassed to share. Once I get it legible I'll post it.

See ya tomorrow for the last Link Up with Blog Hoppin' Back to School 2014.

The Where and Why of our Classrooms

Well..we are a day behind but are linking up with our WHERE and WHY along with Blog Hoppin'.

Our classrooms are coming together with a few days left before we report for PD next week.  Tina decided to switch her theme this year.  She's had a cute movie theme for the last couple of years and decided to go with some black fabric backgrounds and bright colors.  It's coming along great!

Amy's room has blue paper backgrounds and some pops of color as well.  We are very lucky to have big, open rooms!

As for me, I am sticking with my same theme as last year.  I bought a pack from Hope King and loved the way it looked with my black backgrounds...so why mess up a good thing, right?!  I still have to add a few things, but I like to put kids work up during the first couple of days of school to decorate it a little more.

We've decided to show you how we stay organized with our Classroom Library.  This is Amy's room.  She's moved her bookshelves into this new, cute spot this summer!  

The CUTEST part of this pic is her sweet little love snoozing away while mama works!  What a doll.

Here are a sample of the book bins.  They are labeled by theme.

All of the books are then labeled with a small sticker that has the basket number.  This allows for students to easily place the books back where they found them every single time!  LOL Wishful thinking.

And I'm off...going to go check out the BOOST sale on TpT one last time before bed.  We've posted several new units this week including a bundle of EMERGENCY SUB PACKS.  Grab them quick for a great deal!

Who Are We?! Our "Coming Out" Party!

Hey there everyone!  We've finally decided that with the big Blog Hoppin' reveals this week that it is time for us to SHOW you more about us.  It's been nearly two years in the making and we are ready to get a little more personal for you all!  We hope by the end of the week, you will know a lot more about us.

So here it goes...

This pic is from July when Sister 1 (better known as Tina) tied the knot!  On the right is Amy (Sister 3) and mom to the adorable little girl that you may have seen on the blog or on our Instagram.  And I'm on the left (good 'ole Sister 2), Lindsay!

Here are 10 things you don't know about us yet!

Thanks to our blogging idol, Amy Lemons, for the graphic! :)

We'll back to REVEAL more tomorrow!

Blast Off!

It's here! The 2014 Back to School Sale... Our store is 20% off. Make sure you use the promo code for an extra 8%. Happy shopping!