Back to School Bash Linky Series and Giveaway

Hey ya'll!  It's hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching a new school year.  I'm so excited to kick this new school year off by co-hosting a FABULOUS Back to School Bash with some of my favorite blogger friends. 

 

 

 

Each week we will have a Back to School topic for you to link up with and share.  We also have a fantastic giveaway planned for you to participate in as well!  What a great way for all of us to share what we do best and hopefully spark some enthusiasm for this new school year.

 

This week we are all about classroom set-up. 

 

 

Now as overwhelming as it is to get back in gear after summer vacation, I do get excited about getting back into my room and getting it prepped for my new first graders.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to get into my room to work, so I'm gonna throw it back to the beginning of last year.  And I'll let you in on a little secret, my room this year will more than likely look a LOT like my room from last year.

 

 

Can't wait to see what you all have planned for your rooms!  I would love some new ideas for my classroom this year. 

 

You can link up right here.  Once you link up, don't forget to visit 3 other posts and share some love!  Feel free to grab any of our images to use in your own posts.

An InLinkz Link-up

 

But that's not all! 

Don't forget to enter our giveaway!  There are some pretty amazing prizes involved!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now get busy linking up!  And for homework, start thinking about next week's topic!

 

 

Get to Know Me!

 

I'm linking up with The Tattoed Teacher today to share some different things about me.  This week's theme is a fun Yes or No checklist.  Here goes!

 

 

 

 

1.  Yes, I do talk to myself.  Not all the time though!

 

2.  I'm not superstitious.  Or at least I try not to be!

 

3.  Yes, I crack my knuckles on occasion.  I think I mostly do it out of nervousness!

 

4.  Yes, I'm hungry.  Pinning all those fabulous recipes doesn't help with this at all!

 

5.  TV is on, it's always on!  It's actually on something that I chose this morning.  Doesn't happen that often though!

 

6.  Yes, I still have 3 out of 4 wisdom teeth.  I had 1 removed last summer.  I have a big fear of the dentist and anything to do with my mouth.  That was about all I could handle at that time.

 

7.  No, haven't showered yet.  Don't judge.  It's summer!

 

8.  I've been to Disney several times.  Love it!  My girls are so ready to go again.  Hopefully we can plan a trip for sometime in the future.

 

9.  No more glasses for me.  I had lasik surgery 14 years ago.  Best thing I ever did.  I had such poor eyesight, it was really bad!  In fact, I went into labor unexpectedly with my oldest and had to have an unplanned c-section.  I had to remove my contacts prior to the surgery.  Because this happened so fast, I didn't have my glasses for after the surgery.  Which meant that I couldn't see my precious baby girl after she was born!  I was like, "Bring her closer, I can't see!"  My sweet father in law had to go all the  way to our house to bring my glasses back to the hospital for me so that I could see.

 

10.  Yes, I still live in the state where I was born (SC).

 

 

What a fun linky! 

Head on over to Rachel's blog to link up yourself.  Next week will be a fun fill in the blank activity!

 

Show What You Know!

I'm trying real hard to wrap my head around the fact that it's almost time to go back to school.  It's not hard to do that though when it's all you see when you walk into Wal-Mart or Target these days.  Thanks guys for sucking the life out of what's left of my summer!  In all serious, I have been doing a little bit of work.  I'm trying to get ahead of the game a little bit because once it starts, it won't stop again until that last day!   

 

Once we make it through the first day, and the first week, I always start thinking about where my kiddos are academically.  Cum files, last year's report card, IEP's, and teacher talk are great ways to learn more about your students.  But I know with me, I don't feel like I truly know their potential until I sit down with them and start to work with them on an individual basis.  That's so hard to do.  I  mean, it's the first few weeks of school.  You more than likely haven't started any "formal" centers or stations.  And the likelihood of them working independently for any amount of time is next to none!  So after some brainstorming on my part, I can up with an idea to assess my kiddos in small groups.

 

 

In this activity, I've included 20 task cards and 1 recording sheet.  The task cards contain several different ELA and Math concepts. 

 

 

With this activity I want to find out if my kiddos understand the language of the task cards, AND, if they can complete the tasks independently.  Thus, the reason why I chose to use it in small group setting.  It will give me immediate feedback on who knows/understands what.  My fantastic teaching buddy, and editor, even suggested using white boards for this activity in place of the recording sheet.  I think that's an absolutely GREAT idea!  That's even BETTER feedback.  And for time's sake, because we know the attention span of our new first graders, you could just pick and choose which task cards you want to hit first.  This activity would be great for you Kindergarten teachers to use at the END of the year.  And for you Second grade teachers, maybe you want to use this as a Scoot! or Walk the Room activity to assess what your new kids remember from 1st grade. There are so many different ways you could use this activity.  It all depends on the type of class you have.

 

If you would like a copy of this activity, head on over to my TpT store and download it for free! 

The Sunday Scoop!

Happy Sunday! 

 

 I cannot believe that we are almost at the halfway mark for July.  Summer is flying by for sure!

 

Today I'm linking up with The Teaching Trio to share with you my Sunday Scoop! 

 

 

I'm hoping to be real productive this week.  We shall see!!!!! 

 

What's your scoop for the week?  Head on over, link up, and share!