Five for Fraturday~ January 7

Long time, no post! This being a second year media specialist is time consuming let me tell you. I'm going to do a quick review of what has been going on lately by linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching. Warning: it will not all be from this week!

Last year I blogged about wanting to create a Seuss Christmas tree in the library. I found several pins on Pinterest for inspiration. Here is my Seuss tree. I love the way it turned out! I bought ornaments, ribbon, and the tree last year after Christmas at a deep discount. Then I used illustrations from a book that had to be taken out of circulation due to spine failure. All in all, the most expensive thing there is the licensed Dr. Seuss hat. We stacked Dr. Seuss books under the tree and put bows on top.The kiddos loved the tree! (And there was a run on Dr. Seuss books!!)

Our school system closed school two hours early in anticipation of the winter weather headed our way.  We were all dreaming of a snow day! Something along the lines of this:

We actually got this.....

only less.  There were some seriously disappointed children at my house!

I absolutely L.O.V.E. a good deal. I found this in blue at my local Marshall's store for less than $100. Yep, it came home with me for Christmas. :)

This is my latest creation in my TpT store.I just finished printing and laminating this for use in my own media center. I'll let you know how it goes!

The unit includes black and white and color options for labeling the nonfiction section of your library. Then you have 3 different options of skills sheets to choose from. Are you short on copies? No problem! Choose from one of the half sheet options, or make one class set, laminate, and use Expo markers. That makes your one set reusable! This set can be used as an introductory lesson, practice, or as an assessment; it's your choice! You could use the full sheet with third grade, one with fourth, and the last with fifth. Students would get the practice each year with the same format, but the questions would be different.

You get a closer look in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Happy planning!

My Tigers are headed back to the College Football National Championship game against Alabama. Here's hoping for another fantastic playoff game! #GoTigers #AllWin

Five for Friday~ July 8

Kacey is hosting Five for Friday on her blog Doodle Bugs Teaching. Grab a sweet iced tea, pull up a chair, and prepare to read what all of your blogging buddies have been doing this week.

                      

Okay, I must confess....this is not me!  However, it is a picture of the two bathing suits I order from Land's End on sale with an additional 40% off.  The two suits cost less than 1 at regular price! #score

They are just in time for this......

Photo from Wake and Wonder

My family will be heading for our yearly summer vacation on the Isle of Palms this month.  I.Can't.Wait!  The beaches are fantastic and the proximity to Charleston means you can eat at restaurants that specialize in seafood....a family favorite! You can also go on lots of different history tours (which my boys and husband love) and of course there's some shopping for mom. :) #winwin #everyoneshappy

Those swimsuits are also just in time for lounging by the pool at our new house!  We don't move in until August, but this is an actual picture of the pool....I.Can't.Even!  It looks like a resort, and my family is beyond excited as we all love the water!

I have two new products in my store:

You can read all about Hold It! HERE. I am super excited about implementing this system in my media center next year! I love procedures that make our super busy teacher lives easier!! And speaking of making your life easier, take a look at my Teacher Calendar.

You can take a look at the inside pages HERE. At only a $1, this is just a wise use of your money since you receive a new updated calendar every year at no additional cost! Click on either of the pictures to head over to my TpT store to check these out.

Last, but not least, I have been working diligently to finish my first Library Decor and Signage pack. I am in the flattening stages, so hopefully it will be uploaded to my TpT store by Monday.  Here's a sneak peak....

It is chock full of bright happy colors! You really have a variety of choices on size and design in several of the items offered in the pack. I've included the table of contents to give you an idea of what you'll be getting.

I'm going to refill my coffee cup with decaf this time :( and head over to read all the posts at Doodle Bugs Teaching.  Have a fantastic weekend!

Five for Friday ~ July 1st

Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching is hosting Five for Friday. It's a great time to see what all of our teaching "web" friends have been up to this week!

I finally completed by Teacher Calendar for the upcoming school year! It has a 2 page spread with large boxes with lines inside each box for all of my type A friends. Each month has 2 pages for taking notes at meetings, brainstorming ideas, list making, etc. You have a choice of 8 covers. If you're like me, you like to match the clip art to your own hair/eye color! The calendar is available now for $1 and will be updated each year at no additional cost.

I love Dorothea Benton Frank's books! I am from South Carolina, vacation on Isle of Palms, and love the history of the Charleston area. This book is set on Sullivan's Island which is the island next to the Isle of Palms. Anyway, I love to read about places that I've actually been before. The plot involves 3 generations of women and the complexity that is family. I'm about halfway through it and I highly recommend it; it's an easy beach or pool read!

Speaking of the pool, the boys and I got invited over to a friend's neighborhood pool yesterday. I was enjoying adult conversation so much that I forgot to take any pictures of the boys! (Insert stock pool photo here.... these are random children.....not mine....)

Another benefit of the pool (other than the life saving infusion of adult conversation) was that the boys wore themselves out!! Three hours of swimming, laughing, splashing, and playing with other children did them a world of good. They were all upstairs by 8 p.m. and my husband and I actually got to watch grown-up t.v.  #thatsawin

I am working at a furious pace to finish several TpT projects. Hopefully this one will be ready for Monday Made It over at 4th Grade Frolics.

Essentially, Hold It! provides a way for students to request a book be held for them. They fill out the form, turn it in, and the media specialist can place the hold in Destiny when she has a few minutes in between classes. When the book becomes available, you simply email the homeroom teacher which the student has listed on the form, stick the Hold It! request into the book and place it in the pick up area for the student to retrieve.  All of the signs and forms will be included to make this painless. All you have to do is teach the procedure to your students! :)

My family is in the process of selling our house and moving into a larger one. Our house sold the day after it was listed (woo hoo!!) but finding another has presented a challenge. The first house we found we thought was ours and we told our sons. The sellers backed out at the last second (they hadn't initialed one box on the contract, but had signed on the dotted line).  The second house was waaaay over priced, and after haggling back and forth for a bit it was obvious we would not be coming to an agreement. We are now on house number three. Fingers crossed....we have a binding agreement so hopefully this one will work out. Unfortunately, the closing on our current house is the end of July and we have 8 days before the closing on our new house. Y'all please say a prayer for us. While we have somewhere to stay, we don't have a place for the contents of our house to stay. Aaaand....I go back to work Aug. 1st.  In the end this will be a great blessing for our family if I can just see my way through the stressful situation that will end in a fabulous large enough house for my family!

Refill your cup of coffee and see what everyone else is up to over at Doodle Bugs Teaching.  Happy Friday (just in case you forgot what day it was again)!

Five for Fraturday: May 28

Hello  Summer! It is so good to see you my old friend!! For those of you still in school, don't hate me. Think of it this way- last summer when you were enjoying a late summer trip to the beach, I was already back in school. See? It evens out!

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her fabulous Five for Friday (or in this case Fraturday).  Aside from Monday Made It by Tara at 4th Grade Frolics, this is my absolute favorite linky party. I love to see what everyone has been up to!

After state testing, we had a week of reading in the library for pleasure (imagine that!). We decorated with some whimsical Truffula Trees and each kiddo got a beach towel. Some of them got creative with their comfort. They all loved getting to chill out and read a book of their choice. It made my librarian heart happy!!

My Little's school had an art show before the PTO. Each family was able to purchase their student's artwork already matted and framed. #yesplease

              

I have almost completed my Teacher Binder for 2016-2017!  I am absolutely loving all of the options this provides for everyone from homeroom teachers to specials teachers!

            

            

There is a yearlong calendar, classroom schedule, individual schedule page for your sub to list student pullouts, yearlong planning by subject and by grade levels, a general yearlong planner for special events (Polar Express Day, 100th Day, End of Year Party, etc.), and much more! Now, I just have to figure out how to make certain pages editable like the class list, and it will be ready to post!

Besides finishing multiple projects for next year such as the Teacher Binder, my mind has turned to what I'll be making this summer. Here are few of the items on my list:

Lucky me, Michael's had a canvas with newsprint already on it 70% off! Now all I need to do is crank up the Cricut and create the words.

I have 2 support poles in the media center. One I turned into Jack's Beanstalk last year. Next year, I will add this street sign to the other one.  I can't wait!

And, I have added new signs to my list since the old ones were stenciled on the walls and will be painted over this summer. I have my eyes on these....I love them so much! 

If you are interested in any of these projects, simply click on the picture and it will take you to the Pinterest post.  Speaking of Pinterest, I'd love to have you visit mine. I have two:

Storybook Endings which has a lot of media center/classroom inspired decorating ideas and my other Pinterest Account which has an eclectic mix of things including my TpT items.

I'm off to refill my coffee cup and check in to see what everyone else has been up to this week. Have a fantastic Saturday!