Last Chance to Win & One Day Sale!

I'm stopping by for a quick post to remind you to run - not walk - to your computer to enter my giveaway to win a $10 Teachers pay Teachers gift card!

Enter to win on my Instagram @thecorriganitenation!

The lucky winner will be announced at 6 pm tonight PST - just in time to use the gift card at the BONUS One Day Sale at Teachers Pay Teachers!

Bonus Sale

I'm stopping by for a quick post to let you know that Teachers Pay Teachers is throwing a bonus sale to help make this the #BestYearEver!

My little store will be on sale for 28% off with the code OneDay. Click here to check it out!

TpT Gift Card Giveaway

I am so excited to announce that I am having a giveaway!

Enter to win on my Instagram - @thecorriganitenation

The winner will be announced on Monday 8/22 at 5 p.m. PST. 

Good luck!

Under the Sea: My New Classroom

I am so excited to show you my classroom this year! When I first moved into this room a few years ago, it was packed completely full of anything and everything you could possibly think of. Everything was on the walls, the cabinets were full, and it was just a mess. Click here to see what I inherited.

Anyways, I never had a fresh start in an empty room! I had to scramble to make the room my own and it has been a process over a few years. So, taking down everything to get new carpets wasn't the worst thing in the world because I finally got my fresh(ish) start in a classroom! 

Now the cabinets are a different story... But hey - baby steps! :)

And now.. Welcome to the Corriganite Nation!

The students' names are written on the fishies in the window.

This is the view of the back wall when you enter the room. The black bulletin board will display student work.

The "Write" Stuff will eventually hold exemplary student writing. Right below is my library.

What's a library without pillow and stuffed animals? These book buddies are sure to be a huge hit!

Next up is the Reading Wall, which displays strategy posters, and eventually anchor charts. This is where my small group table is this year, and that table skirt is hiding a bunch of manipulatives and containers of decodables below!

Pocket charts galore! 

Math wall and meeting area. The black bulletin board will hold the Wall of Fame. I haven't decided how I'm going to use it this year, but it will hold student pictures of some kind. The kiddos love seeing their pictures, and was their favorite part of the room last year!

Front of the classroom. P.S. Don't mind the clock.. It's hung up on the wall now!

Objectives, and testing table. 

Last but not least - my teacher area. It's already messy.. big surprise! ;-)

So.. that is my classroom this year! It's always a work in progress, but I'm happy with how it turned out this year. 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway! It ends on 8/16, so enter now for a chance to win a $30 Amazon gift card!

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Five Things I Thought During Teacher Week

Today I'm linking up with Kacey at Doodlebugs Teaching for Five for Friday! 

This post is actually about last week, which was Teacher Week. This week was the first week I had my new group of kiddos, so as you can definitely know I am one tired teacher! #teachersunderstand

Anyways, this post is about several things I kept thinking to myself during teacher week. Stay with me all the way to the bottom - there's a giveaway going on!

Will I get my room set up in time?

Before:

At the end of the 15-16 school year we had to completely pack up our classrooms and turn in our keys to prepare for the new carpeting. Not only that, but we had to take down our bulletin boards for painting, and well, they would have gotten super dusty anyway. As I went through the first week, I was in complete panic mode worrying if I’ll get it all put together in time! Don’t worry – I did, and I can’t wait to share what my new classroom looks like with you, so check back on Sunday!

Will I still remember how to teach?

Wait, what do I need in a lesson plan again? How do I choose students to call on? What do I do if a student acts up?  These thoughts are still in my head, so hopefully next week I’ll remember what I need to do! #fingerscrossed

WHY IS THE COPIER BROKEN RIGHT NOW!? 

I'm actually still thinking this. One of the copiers has been broken for nearly two weeks. During Teacher Week AND the first week of school!

#teacherproblems

Wow, this is a lot of work.

From letters I sent prior to the first day of school,





To laminating and cutting a million things,




to decorating my door (and the rest of the room, of course!),



to setting up for Meet the Teacher Night,








Enough Said.

 

I can't wait to meet my new group of Corriganites!

If I wasn’t in such a panic about getting my room put together, this would have been number 1. I can’t wait to get to know my new students, and see my old kiddos from years past.

These past two weeks have flown by, and everything is a complete blur! I am beyond happy that it is Friday, and even happier that tomorrow is Saturday.

And now the giveaway I promised! Can you ever get enough of Amazon? I know I can't! It's perfect to get new things for your classroom, or just things for yourself in general. Enter below for a chance to win a $30 Amazon gift card!


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Click the image to go back to the linky!

Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

I went back to school this week. So.. things have been all kinds of crazy over here! 

I keep looking for new things for my classroom, and my go to is always Amazon! It's the perfect place to stock up on new picture books, decorations, and anything else you need for the school year. Or anything and everything else you need!

That being said, I am so excited to cohost a giveaway for an Amazon gift card! Enter using the Rafflecopter below. May the odds be ever in your favor!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:  

Prize: $30 Amazon Gift Card

Giveaway Organized by:  Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher), 

Co-hosts:  An Apple for the Teacher, The Chocolate Teacher, Heart 2 Heart Teaching, The Corriganite Nation, Ms K., Teaching With Hope, Carrie Lutz, Teacher Gameroom, and Becky's Social Studies Center.

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter. Giveaway ends 8/18/16 and is open worldwide.

Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media?  Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers!

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Dropping Anchor

Can you believe that this linky is already over? This summer sure has flown by! A big shout out to Rachael from Sweet Sweet Primary for this great idea! 

After the class I had last year, this is exactly what I needed to bring the excitement back into my classroom - both for my students and myself. This chapter contained encouraging words as we wrap our heads around everything that was covered. My favorite ones are below:

Believe in your plan to launch this method of teaching and harness the creative winds that filled your sails while you navigated this book. 

School will suddenly become as engaging as the adventures they seek beyond its walls. 

We can do this teachers! I'll be posting about how I gamify my classroom each month (that's the goal anyway...) and if any of you amazing teacher bloggers out there would be interested in linking up with me, let me know in the comments!

Click the image to go back to the linky. 

Twas the Night Before School...

A few weeks ago I started thinking about this night.. The night before the first day of school! For some reason, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas popped into my head. I thought I was going to be super original and create my own poem about the night before school, but then I found out that it had already been done. So.. instead of reinventing the wheel I figured I'd share a few of my favorites!

Good luck on your first day back! 

Fundraising with Otter Pops!

I think we need to add "Fundraising Coordinator/Manager/Godfather" to our resumes. In February, my life becomes all about fundraising, while we do our big fundraiser with Otter Pops. This fundraiser has helped my team raise a lot of money over the years, and is especially successful when it is hot outside. Yes, it can be that hot in Arizona in February..

It's never too early to start thinking about fundraising, right?!

Selling Otter Pops is a GREAT fundraiser! My team and I sell Otter Pops during Field Days. We have a school with over 1,000 kids so Field Day lasts for multiple days, and each grade level goes out on their assigned day. We used to sell lemonade, but we switched to Otter Pops two years ago and I wouldn't go back.

We recruit parent volunteers to run the stand since it occurs during the school day. There have been times when we didn't get enough volunteers and have had to cover the stand during various parts of the day - it really just depends on parents availability during this time. We charge 25 cents for an Otter Pop, and boy do those things sell like crazy!


I've put together a fundraising checklist from things I've learned over the years to make sure that your fundraiser can be a goldmine.

Click the image to grab this freebie in my TpT shop!

Happy Fundraising!

X Marks the Spot: Finding Joy in Playful Assessment

Welcome back for my recap of Chapter 9, X Marks the Spot: Finding the Joy in Playful Assessment! This chapter is all about mini games and side quests. 

Mini games can range from something as quick as a 10 minute review to a full 40 minute class period. I've written about games I use in my classroom in previous posts, which are Sink or Swim and Math Baseball. Yes, you can also do Football and Basketball, too! Some mini games that I liked from the chapter are below.

I'm really looking forward to using the Mystery Box and Danger Cards. The Royal Rumble sounds fun, too, but I really like the idea of students not knowing the point values. 

Side quests are optional, open ended learning opportunities that students can choose to engage in on their own time. At the beginning of the book, I was under the impression that it was a much longer and time intensive (on my part) project so I was initially very skeptical as I continued reading about them. Luckily, this chapter proved me wrong and I think I could implement some of these in my room!

Final Thoughts -

Think of ways you can start and end class with a bang. Add energy and excitement to learning!

Use creative names that match your theme for the elements in this chapter. Well, the whole book really.

Next Tuesday is the last post in this linky. Make sure you check back to read the last one! Thanks to Rachael at Sweet Sweet Primary for setting up this linky. It sure has been fun reading the book and sharing my thoughts about gamifying my classroom. I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

Click the image to return to the linky.