To Erin Condren...or not to Erin Condren

To Erin Condren...or not to Erin Condren...that seems to be my question of the week. 

I admit...I am a little OCD in the organizing and planning department. I actually enjoy color coordinating and making lists--something my other half probably will never understand. With that being said, I take my teacher planner very seriously. ;)

I have seen and read tons of things about this so-called amazing teacher planner Erin Condren has but $60! My goodness...I have a hard time buying a cardigan on clearance at Target, let alone justify this purchase! 

I need to hear more...and from teachers, like me, who want to make the jump or have made this jump. 

Is it worth the money? 

Have you tried Plum Paper Designs?

I have this beautiful design sitting in the cart waiting for me to click "submit order", but having the typical buyers remorse and guilt of splurging it getting to me! 

What do you all use for your weekly plans and organization?

Update:

I decided to give it a try. Check back soon to see my review! 

Want to order some of Erin Condren's goodies? Use the code below for $10 off your first order! {Totally wish I had this coupon when I bought one!!}

Copy and paste into your browser:  https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/megancaraballo0217

Blog Hoppin 2014 Scavenger Hunt

Have you heard??!! I am so excited to be a part of this amazing scavenger hunt! 

Not only do I get to have some fun at the closure of my summer, but I get to talk to and meet even more teacher bloggers! I love hearing from other teachers and bloggers. 

Interested in joining the fun? 

Head over to the Facebook page or click here to find out all of the rules for this madness. There are 200 items on the list, but you really need to peek at what you can win. Now when I saw 200 items, I thought HOLY MOLY!...but no worries, teacheristas, I believe you only need 105 to qualify. 

You can follow me on Instagram to track my fun in the scavenger hunt. My IG handle is @cardigansandcaffeine {easy-peasy to remember}. Don't forget to include your hashtag of #bloghoppin2014 and keep track of your entries! 

Here are a couple of my lovely entries so far:  {keep in mind I just started today!}

I created my own sign, but you can print one of their website. I can't wait to link up with you all to see all the fun stuff you find! I am keeping my card and camera ready for when I find a man in a dress or a pirate ;).

Shaving Cream Math

Hi there! I hope you are all enjoying your lovely summer break as much as I am. :) 

Math is one of my most favorite subjects to teach to the little ones. It is amazing how they all think and how quickly they can problem solve! One of the incentives I have in my classroom is shaving cream math. I got this idea from way back when I was in second grade. One of my teachers did it, and I just remember how excited we all were. We just thought it was the coolest thing ever! My students thought the same when we gave it a try. 

The great thing with shaving cream is I can easily differentiate. I would place up to 10 problems on my board for everyone to work on. I also place challenge problems and "extra practice" problems. This allows every student to work at their own pace and gives them the opportunity to take a challenge when they are finished. 

While the students are working, I circle the room to be sure each one is being done correctly. The students know I want to check their work before they erase and go on to the next. To be sure they aren't just having fun in the cream, I check every 2 problems and then they may erase to move on. 

If I am spending extra time with some of the students, I am able to partner up the students for buddy checking. 

*Here is one of my kiddos showing me her "math lasso" with her two problems. 

I have also done this with a "fun Friday spelling test" and sight word recognition. It is a great quick check and be used in so many ways! .... plus it "cleans" some of my marked up desks. ;) 

It is a little messy, but well worth the smiles. :) 

I hope you enjoy. 

Organization and a Face Lift

No, no....not an actual face lift....

I am an avid blog follower of other teachers, fitness and foodies, and of course fashion...I visit these blogs and just love all the layouts, colors, designs, and personalities that come through the pages. I realize that I am just starting in the blog world, but I also realized I had no idea how to design my page. 

After reaching out and doing some research, I have hired a blog designer to up my esthetic game. She has been hard at work designing and making my blog what I have always dreamed. I can't wait to reveal it in August! 

Well...I am three weeks into summer and have been hard at work catching up on my favorite shows and working here and there.

One thing I promised myself was this year was going to be the year of organization for me. This started with me hard at work on my master teacher binder. This is my go-to binder for everything! I bring it to all my meetings and professional development. Last year I was working on perfecting this system, and I am hoping I nailed it this year. I used all the sheets that were the best in getting organized and created a bundle to keep handy. There are 24 pages included in the pack. The sheets range from "student list and information" to "CCSS standard" and "Professional Development Credits"...(I have a hard time keeping track of these!) 

Next on my quest to get organized is to start my first month of lesson planning. Sounds like a big task when I think about it, but right now I have nothing by time and sunshine to do it in. 

If you want to download a copy of my FREE organizational sheets, you can click here!

Let me know your thoughts! Leave a comment or feedback. I love hearing from people who successfully use my materials and getting feedback to help me professionally! 

Have a happy and sunny Monday! :) 

Notebook Guidelines and Covers

My students use their notebooks every day. They have two. One notebook is a "first grade notebook". This is where their journal prompts, notes, and practice goes daily. The second notebook is a "Center Notebook". That notebook only contains the students center work if their is no worksheet at the center. For example, at the spelling center, my students roll, write, and create sentences using their spelling or sight words. This eliminates daily grading for me because I can check the notebooks when we have our weekly teacher/student conference. Any student who has not been working during centers will know I will find out when I check their work for the week. It eliminates the social aspect of my groups and helps them stay focused.

The students and I had to learn how to use notebooks in the beginning of the year. They had to learn how and where to place the date and title and what I expected out of their notebooks. Sounds like a lot from first graders, but they LOVED these. Each student had a composition notebook. I take the cover and paste it on. On the first page, we glue the guidelines and expectations sheet. This sheet explains what I expect out of each journal entry. This is great because when a student says, "I'm done already, Ms. C!!", I can tell them to check their guidelines and make sure they have everything listed. It really showed them the importance of checking your work.

I created copies of the title page and guidelines for free on TPT. Click here to get your own copy! Let me know what you think.

How do you use notebooks in your own classroom?

Summer Bucket List

Today is the first week of summer break for me. This has been deemed by favorite week of the whole year. Now it is time to make my summer bucket list!

1. Practice yoga and make it a part of my life.
I started this week already with a couple of poses and flows. It is amazing what it has done for my happiness already!

2. Give myself a spa day.
Our boss got us all a massage at this beautiful spa in our town-Moroaccan themed relaxion. It has inspired me to take a spa day for myself and by myself to relax and clear my mind. I feel like we don't do that enough as teachers.

3. Work on decorating the apartment.
...consistant struggle...

4. Read at least 3 new books.
1 down! 2 to go! Just finished "Gone Girl"...ahhh-mazing!

5. Try new recipes.

6. See live music.

7. Tan by the pool.

8. Work on my blog.
I already started making new resources for next year. I also hired someone to glam up my blog...because lets face it...it looks drab and unprofessional...I am clueless about HTML so hopefully you will all love the new layout in August!

9. Travel..somewhere...anywhere.

10. Relax.

How do you all spend your summer break?

Prepositional Polly

Meet Prepositional Polly! Prepositions and prepositional phrases can be difficult. To help my kiddos remember, I created an interactive anchor chart I used in a whole group mini lesson. 

The purple writing was not there to start. That is where the kids' responses were recorded during the lesson. Students reviewed and discussed prepositons to start. We then took the removable fly on the chart to see where the fly can go. This lead students to recognize prepositions in their own sentences and in writing. The kids loved interacting with the anchor chart. I also kept it at a center for them to create their own sentences using prepositons. 

It was great how easy-peasy it was to make! My kiddos got way more out of it being interactive than just a plain anchor chart too! 

End Of Year Gifts

It's the end of the year, and time to send the kiddos off for summer. I struggle trying to find a gift the kids will love that is reasonable and fun. This year I chose a couple of goodies to put in a gift bang for the.
The items I chose were:
Glow sticks - $1 for 15 at Target
Gift bags - $1 for 20 at Target
Bubbles - $4 for 24 at Target
Balloons - $2 for 12 at target
Cards - $12 for 200 at Target

....can you tell I love Target?

I placed all of the goodies in a clear baggy. On each card I wrote:

"Dear____, Have a BRIGHT and sunny summer. You BLEW me away this year! ---(followed by a personal note)-- Your Teacher, Miss C"

Each child got a hand written card with a personal touch. My fingers are still recovering from writing all 20 of them!

Maybe it's the OCD in me but I had to make sure each kiddo got different color combinations. 

The kids loved it! What do you all give at the end of the year? 

Teacher Binder

I have been getting organized for this next coming school year in small ways...yes, yes, I know my current school year isn't over, but I just feel the need to get a jump start on everything. Hopefully this feeling doesn't go away!

I started with my master binder. I currently have two binders I use. I have a "data" binder and a "teaching binder". Each is sectioned and divided into categories. This leads me to my for TPT item I have ever attempted to put online...*drum roll*... Click Here  to check it out! And obviously it is free... :) I will upload photos on how I used it in a new post to come!

Valentine's day bulletin board

Last year I was queen of bulliten boards...this year...not so much. I actually avoid doing them. Terrible; I know. This week I finally decided to spruce up the hall. This is what I came up with:

Materials:

Hands...I printed mine out to avoid the first grade version of a hand cut out. Older kids might be able to trace and cut hands better than my little ones.

Card stock 

White hearts

Markers

Scissors

Glue

Stapler

First the students cut out the hands. I then stapled them into the symbol of "I love you" in sign language. On the white heart, each student wrote one thing they loved about school. 

Super easy!