New Number Line

It's another late night folks.  Even the pets have gone to bed.  That's a bad sign especially when one is a cat.  Aren't they supposed to be nocturnal?

I believe I'm turning into a vampire or some other creature of the night.  This is not going to work when school starts.

But I'll start dealing with that next week...right!  (I know I said that to someone last week...probably my mom since she always worries about me getting enough sleep...still...after all these years.)

Anyway, I've finally got the fonts to not cut off on my first completed school project.  Funny thing is I actually like the font I ended up using better than the one I originally had.  Yes, things always happen for a reason!

So here it is...

my new bee themed number line.

I think it's pretty darn adorable if I do say so myself.

It has a little chalkboard (which unless you live under a rock--you know is all the rage right now), numbers in word and standard form, and ten frames to visually show numbers.

Disclaimer:  The author of this post intended no offense to those who actually live under rocks, want to live under rocks, like rocks, don't like chalkboard, or didn't know that chalkboard rocks!

They are going to look fabulous on my wall IF I find the time to print, laminate and cut them out.  (I will, I will, I will...)

You can find them in my TN shop by clicking on the preview above

or

you can win a free set by leaving a comment...

Now it's time for bed finally.

Free Quote

I LOVE quotes!!

I saw this great quote pinned on someone else's blog and thought I've got to add that to my quote collection.

So while I was making one up for myself I added a few with other backgrounds for those of you that also thought you could use it in your room.



Click here to download.
(If you'd like a different background email me and I'll see what I can do.)

What To Do When You're Angry!

Wow, I can't believe how close I am so 400 followers.  I'll have to think of something special to do.  (My husband just suggested I could shower!  Har har, honey!  It's summer and I don't have to!  Na na na na na na!)

Seriously I don't want you to think I'm sitting here in my own swill stinking the place up.  But sometimes often when the hubs comes home for lunch I'm sitting on the couch or deck on the computer still in my pj's.  So he isn't looking at me with a whole lot of lust in his eyes.  That's all I'm saying.

So I'll have to do some thinking.  Maybe while I'm in the shower cuz I do good thinking (and singing) in there.  And best of all, during the summer, it's not a quick-I'm-gonna-be-late-for-school shower.  No siree!  It's the-water-tank-still-has-a-bit-of-warm-water-left kind of shower.

Thank you to all who have said they like and can use my little posters for 2nd Step.

Here is another poster freebie for you.  This one kind of integrates the problem solving and calming yourself down steps but also includes reflection time.

Enjoy!

Problem Solving Poster

Pick yourself up off the floor . . .

Come on, you can do it!

I know it's shocking that I've posted a so many times in the last week or so after neglecting this little ol' blog for months.

But it's summer people!

Can I hear a woo woo?!

A few days ago I posted a freebie poster about how to calm yourself down.

Here is another one.  Click on the picture to download.

We brainstorm problems and go through each step.  The kids love it.  Role play, be silly, have fun, be serious!

Use it for problems big and small.

Post it somewhere where you and the kids can easily see it.  I even have a laminated copy that I have been known to hall to recess with me.  (Some years and groups you need it more than others.)  I've got the poster on how to calm yourself down on the back.  Use a ring to hang it on the fence during recess if you need to.

Make it so that kids can use it.

There have been years where I've forgotten to bring it to recess and someone will ask if they can go get it.

The more you use it at the beginning of the year the less you'll need it physically later on as the kiddos internalize it.

Enjoy!

Calming Yourself Down Poster

School is out (in most places) for the summer but it's not hard to recall the turmoil that can happen on the playground or in the classroom (bathroom, hall, lunchroom) or anywhere for that matter.

As adults it's hard to see how hurtful someone calling you a "big meanie" or cutting in line can be when we're dealing with budgets, health issues, and other "big, adult" problems.

But we need to remember that for our little ones (or not so little ones) these everyday occurrences are a big deal.  And they can cause some kids to blow.

So it's important that we teach our kiddos to recognize their own (and others) emotions and manage them.

Too many adults in our world haven't learned these crucial skills as one can attest by driving down the road and witnessing all the road rage.  (Maybe we'd need less medication in our world if we all learned and practiced these skills more regularly.)

Our school has used the Second Step program that teaches empathy, emotion management, and problem solving for as long as I can remember.  And like all things, there are some components I like and some I dislike.

But one that I have always liked was the way they teach kids to recognize their own emotions and manage them.  I see a lot of adults who haven't learned this biggie and know that I sometimes struggle with this one too.

Second Step has some posters that come with the program but they are really blah so a few years ago I redid them.  They were a bit better but . . .  Let's be honest here.

Not

nearly

enough!

I mean a primary classroom is supposed to be happy and homey and all those other feel good things.  I honestly spend more time in my classroom than my own house people!

And research shows how color makes all things more appealing.  (As if I needed to have research prove that to me . . . at a cost of billions of dollars!  lol)

So this is the first Second Step poster to be redone.  It is "Calming Yourself Down".  Feel free to nab and enjoy.  I hope you can use it . . . for yourself or your classroom.  :)

Stay tuned for more as I tackle the job of redoing these posters!

Free Manners Posters

Not yet a week out of school and the wheels are turning, creative juices are flowing, and late night Pinterest hopping is occurring.

Love, love, love summer!

With school and blog designing and life in general so little of that has been happening for me lately.  And I'm not complaining at all because I love everything I do but it's nice to have a little extra "free" time to do those things that don't come easily during the year.

I am so looking forward to actually reading a whole book for PLEASURE and then posting about it on The Best Endings too.  Most everything I've read during the year has been recommended by someone else's posts so I'm searching for something new and exciting.  ;)

As I've been slowly working on cleaning, organizing, and packing my room away for the summer, I've noticed a few things that need updating or tweaking.

Before school started I found a set of free manner posters from somewhere . . . can't find or recall where.  Anywho, I hung them up and the kids and I loved them and referred to them often.  But, they didn't really fit in with my theme.  So naturally I had to redo them.

You can grab them for free from my Teacher's Notebook shop.  Since I couldn't get them to upload to my shop you can grab them here for free by clicking on the picture.

Enjoy!

Rules for Survival

Originally I made this sign for my daughters after seeing it somewhere on the internet. Then this weekend, while going through some files, I decided to print it out for my kiddos at school, too. After seeing it, a few of the other teachers asked me to make them a copy for them to use with their own children (ah, teenagers, gotta love em!) and that got me thinking that maybe some of you might like a copy as well. So if you can use it, enjoy! I can't find the original source. Let me know if you know who to give credit to, please! Click on the picture to download.