Makeover

I am so very excited about my blog's makeover.  I have been wanting a makeover for such a long time.  I just love all the creative, decorative blogs that I follow and knew Fun in Second Grade needed a change.  I found Christi at Design by Christi, and she is responsible for this spectacular makeover.



I need to add to the tabs and update some information. But I was so excited that I had to share the makeover tonight.  Please grab my button and share my blog with your friends. 

Vista Print and New Font

Happy Sunday!
If you have not purchased anything from Vista Print, you should.  Usually you can get the items for free, but you have to pay shipping.  Yes FREE!  I love FREE!  FREE makes any teachers smile giddy.  Here are a few of my items that I recently purchased.

Conference Reminder Card

Set of Magnets with email information for parents

Small Banner for a bulletin board

Stationary – set of cards and envelopes

So I was looking at new free fonts and found a new one that is now officially my favorite (for this week maybe longer).  It is called cinnamon cake.  Yum!!  Here is a link.  http://www.dafont.com/cinnamon-cake.font

Happy Teaching!

Diane

Help with Math Centers

My brain is on overload.  For some reason, something that should be so simple is causing me to be very OCD.  I need your help!  Really I do.  How and where do you put your centers for the year?  I purchased some fantastic math centers from TPT and have the copies and student materials all ready for the 10 centers.  I just don't know where I am going to put them and how I am going to display them for the students.  This is where your advise would be appreciated (pictures even better).  Where do you put your math centers in your room?  How do you display them?  What do you put the materials in?  I have thought about in file folders taped with fun duct tape and hanging them on a bulletin board.  Please share your ideas!  Thanks a million!

Happy Teaching!
Diane

Christmas in July

SALE EXTENDED!
My store will have ALL items on sale on July 25th and July 26th!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Diane-Ireland



A big thank you to Babbling Abby for the above picture for the sale.  Check out her site and others having a sale. 

Happy Teaching!
Diane

Easy Technology Tools for the Classroom

Two websites that are making my life easier in the classroom are

 

These free websites are wonderful for students, easy for the parents to understand and use, and FREE for the teacher.  Yes, I said FREE!

XtraMath helps students with their math facts. You can set it for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.  You just type in your students name and select the grade.  It is super easy and if you need help the site has a number of quick video tutorials for teachers and parents.  https://www.xtramath.org/home/videos  It takes less than 5 minutes per day per student to complete.  LOVE IT!

Class Dojo is a tool to use in the classroom that helps teachers improve behavior.  It is quick and easy to use too.  Just add your students.  Track using a smart phone or computer.  It can be used for positive and negative behaviors.  You can change the 'rules and expectations' to fit your class.  Reports can be generated and shared with parents.  My kiddos love this.  It is the easiest tracker for data and easy to use!

Check out these tools and let me know if you fall in love with them too!  By the way, how many times did I use the word EASY??? :)

What tools are must haves in your classroom?

Happy Teaching!

Diane

How do you know you're a teacher?

Today, I got a funny email from another teacher.  I thought it was worth sharing!  Enjoy the laughs and get ready to count how many you really can relate to about being a teacher.

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE A TEACHER?

By Jeff Foxworthy

1. You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.

2. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.

3. You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted.

4. You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.

5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.

6. You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.

7. You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.

8. You believe the Teacher’s Lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.

9. You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off”.

10. You believe chocolate is a food group.

11. You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.

12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids are sure mellow today.”

13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.

14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.

15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.

17. You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items!

18. You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a “good choice” or “bad choice.”

19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.

20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.

21. You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents.

How many of you are agreeing with all 21?  Number 10 is very true!

Summer Slump and Monster Glyph

The summer slump has hit me!  All the things on the to do list that need to get finished (or should I say started) are still there.  My to do list seems to be getting longer and longer.  I need to get motivated!

To Do List:
Home
Paint bathrooms
Clean out office
Yard Sale or take items to Goodwill

School
Summer School
Calendar
Bulletin Boards
Lesson Plans for the first week - started :)
Common Core pacing guides for math and ela

I did stop procrastinating and made a glyph for my students to complete the first week of school.  My classroom theme is monsters, so I had fun trying to create a craftivity for them.  Thought I would share it just in case any body else is doing a monster theme. 

Enjoy!

Diane