August 2014

Pinning The Nights Away

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Hey everyone!

I am obsessed with Pinterest once again. When I first joined, I was heavily into it. Then we our relationship started to fade. Then it was a few times a week. Our relationship, especially since the Vegas class with Mel D, has begun to blossom again.

What am I pinning? Anything and everything lol.

My current obsession(s) are pinning healthy food choices #zoodlesforthewin

Follow Tanja Tlusty {JourneyofaSubstituteTeacher}'s board Lifestyle on Pinterest.

Anchor charts (apparently I have an obsession as it has 200!)

Follow Tanja Tlusty {JourneyofaSubstituteTeacher}'s board Anchor Charts on Pinterest.

Math Activities...I'll be hitting this up a lot soon!

Follow Tanja Tlusty {JourneyofaSubstituteTeacher}'s board Math Activities on Pinterest.

What do you like pinning?

Bright Ideas: Photo Fun With Note Cards

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Hey everyone!

I'm going to show you how to have fun with note cards!

Holy cow did I have fun with this month's blog post! I couldn't think of an idea and then I saw a pin from Tessa about a cat that had a face drawn on a paper in front of its face.

The Meta Picture

Cute right?

I thought to myself, making faces yourself can be fun. Example:

And you all know (well most of you), know that I have a cat, Checkers. I thought, I can do this! Well first off, she thought it was a game and kept batting at the card. So then I grabbed treats but she focused on those instead of the cards. I finally did snap some photos, not the best, but they'll work.

Here are the cards lined up. You can see the possibilities are endless!

Now what am going to use these for? Last month I talked about photo prompts in the class and these would work great! But I also had a few other ideas....

You could use them in your class and create your own emotions chart.

You could use them as props in a photo booth for back to school or end of the year (or just anytime).

Students (if you have one) could use an iPad or iPhone and use this during writing time and create a story with pictures.

You could make a game out of it like trying not to laugh. Everyone is quiet and one person has all the note cards with the lips and faces. They use them until some one laughs. Well it sounded good in my head lol.

You could draw anything on these cards! I had to get in on the action too, I couldn't let Checkers be the only one having fun. And I ended up sending a bunch of texts to family with them...hey new emoticons?!

I hope you like this bright idea! What would you use these props for?

If you enjoyed this bright idea, please consider joining me on Facebook or Instagram for more great ideas.

Check out the other people linked up for even more ideas!

An InLinkz Link-up

Planning + Organizing = Happy Teacher

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Hey everyone!

I have to have a planner of some sorts, otherwise I'll miss out on meetings/events. That's where I write down sub jobs, birthdays, and more. Also, I will 99% most likely be the secretary of a non-profit for the city that has bbqs, auctions, and helps the community so much, so I'll definitely need a planner for that (well, regardless if I get the position or not, a planner is a must!)

To the rescue comes my friend April from A Modern Teacher. I seriously love her and her planners.

When my package came, I may have squealed as I pulled out this bag that April painted a gold heart on herself.

I also may have gushed over the polka dots. I love polka dots! (She also has a couple other designs).

Plus a pencil to plan with, bonus!

The Teacher Life Map is amazing because it is split in three parts.

The mapping it part has a dinner planning page, which I definitely will use. And then the full month, followed by the week as you see down below.

The Live It part is the school part for curriculum and other student stuff.

The Love It section has pages for notes and ideas. This will also be put to use ASAP.

I think I fell in love with all the little touches. I've looked through and even more pop out. Most noticeably are the quotes from books, which I absolutely adore. And the colored dividers between each month.

I love my Life Map planner so much April, thanks!!!

You can check out her planners here and she also carries lesson and teacher planners in her store. April didn't tell me to blog about her stuff, I just had to share the brilliant planner with you all!

Meet The Teacher Linky

Monday, August 11, 2014

Hey everyone!

My friend Stephanie from Falling Into First is having a meet the teacher linky!

Hi I'm Tanja! I'm 29 and from Oregon. I'm licensed Pre-K - 4th grade and sub for elementary schools. I love to travel, read, and cook.

Most of you have seen my cat Checkers...

And now it's time for a

Link here

Ok, that's it! Now you can link up too!

Breezing Through BTS Blog Hop: Sub Ready

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Hey everyone!

It's BTS time! Some friends and I thought we'd share some way to breeze through BTS!

My tip is how to be sub ready! You might not think you'll be out already at the beginning of the year, but you never know!

1. Prep for a Sub

I can tell you it is a sub's not so fun reality when they go in a class and there are no lesson plans. We understand that sometimes emergencies happen, but you can prepare as much as you can with a sub tub (or box/binder). Class procedures, behavior management, phone numbers of teachers/school employees, and a generic sub plan are fabulous.

2. Your Sub

You might not know your sub or who it is. Maybe it's the gum chewing old granny or a young hipster teacher (yes, there is a gum chewing old lady in my district that subs). Try to plan accordingly so that either of these teachers can handle the day! We'd rather have too many things to do than not enough. Unless you know the sub, planning a explosive science experiment or a field trip may not be a good idea (yes, I've done field trips and science experiments lol).

3. Activities for subs

We would rather have too many things and not get to them, than not enough. What kind of activities? Depends on your class. Art time, choice time (aka free time), board games, etc. Maybe there is something you wish you could do with your class but never have time for it. It often gets put in my plans to do a choice time to let the kids just be kids.

4. Behavior Management

Whatever you use as behavior management, please let your sub know so that they can use it. Having as much as the day/class be consistent and normal will help the day go by smoothly. Whether it is a clip chart, punch cards, table points on the board, your sub should know. Also let the sub know how you grab your kiddos' attention. Kiddos need their routine!

5. Extra Tidbits

I may get some flack for this by other subs for what I'm about to say, but I know the subs in my district would stand with me (and this may not be part of what your district does). Leave something for us to do. I often get told to sharpen pencils, wipe the tables, and tidy the room. But then I'm still left with an hour to twiddle my thumbs in the class (and Pinterest is blocked darn it!). I don't mind copying/cutting/laminating.

*Seating charts are helpful! We can learn a few names that way. And we can tell then if Sally is trying to sit by Natalie even though Sally is supposed to sit by Sam... oh yes, I've busted several children with a seating chart.

*Leave room on you plans for you sub to write you a note, or a piece of paper so they can. I always write a note to the teacher. I tell them what lessons I got to, where I left off, who was a great help (who wasn't), and if there is a message for them or something happened (like a fire drill, etc).

I have a bunch of freebies here on my blog to help you out! Just click on the freebie tab above and you'll see math and reading stuff to add to your sub tub/binder.

I also have sub plans in my store for K-5 and seasonal too!

Ok, so hop on over to the next blog for some more BTS Breeziness!

Meltdown Crisis Averted!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Hey everyone!

Remember those melted crayon canvas art things that were the in thing for awhile? Yeah, I admit, I jumped on that bandwagon and made one too #followingtheherd

But then, tragically, a few months ago I noticed a crayon fell off. Then another. Plink plink. Then it just looked ugly with all these gaps in it (sorry no picture as it was horrifying and I may have been in shock).

I didn't want to throw it away. I mean, I paid for that canvas and all. I started ripping off the crayons. And then I was left with the drippings on the canvas. I looked at it from many angles and saw something...

Do you see it?!?!

I just drew a stem and leaves and then presto...

It's like the flower is exploding and dripping. I think I love it even more than with the crayons on there!

Shopping Anyone?

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Hey everyone!

Yes, I know this post was supposed to be my sub preparedness blog post, but then a wrench got thrown in the plans when TpT announced that the sale was Aug. 4th and 5th and I was pretty sure it was going to be a week later and so I've been busy prepping for the sale. But no worries, I'll be posting it later this week instead of a Sunday. Is that fine?

So this bad boy is happening Monday and Tuesday: