August 10

August 10, 2015....This was the first day of school.  Our rooms were filled with adorable new faces and some pretty fantastic new personalities.  Usually, I would want to talk about that.   But not tonight.  Tonight I want to talk about August 10, the day one of the most incredible people I know was born.  Today we celebrated the day of birth of Mrs. Patterson.  She turned 28 today!  

I couldn’t let today end without writing a tribute to her.  I have been blessed to teach next to her for close to four years now.  It has been four of the best years of my teaching career.  She makes every day better.  I can sit at my desk and hear her laughter travel from her room to mine and it makes my world happier.  She is the very best person to share a laugh with, making me laugh so hard that I very often cry.  Seriously, my make up is a mess most of the time these days!  She sees the good in others.  She always has kind words to say to lift another up.  She is always willing to lend a helping hand.  She is one of the happiest and bubbliest people I know.  She is a good wife, always saying kind things about her husband, and always wanting him lifted up and happy.  She is an amazing daughter, worrying about her mom and dad when they are stressed, calling her mom to laugh about the happenings of the day.  She is a compassionate sister, attending her brothers’ events, making each of their favorite desserts for no other reason except that she loves them.  She is a kind and caring coworker, thinking of others with a card, a favorite snack, a laugh, or sometimes a hug.  She is the easiest person in the world to talk to and can be trusted with even the scariest of secrets.  I could go on and on singing her praises because it’s hard to find any of her faults among all of her many amazing qualities including her ability to WOW a group of kiddos!  They all love her...how could they not?  To sum it up, I can say with all confidence that 28 years ago the world became a better place when she entered the world.  I will be forever grateful that God blessed me with her as a coworker, a confidante, and as a very true friend.  You are one of a kind, Mrs. Patterson!  Thanks for being you! 

  Love,

The Other Two Teacher Friend

Homework Club

It is almost August and our brains are swimming with ideas. One thing we wanted to change this year is how we collect Homework. It is every teacher’s nightmare!  How do you keep track?  How do you organize?  How much do you give?  How do you make it fair?  We have created a product to help with at least one part of this unending dilemma.  It's a complete system called the Homework Club. 

This is an amazing way to make turning in homework a cool thing to do in your classroom.  It starts with you...yes, you...the teacher!  You have to make this a really big deal.  Promote it!  Display it!  Talk it up! Students need to believe it is the Best. Thing. Ever.

Each day students turn their homework in (in our classroom we use pocket charts). If they fail to do so they are kicked out of that months club and cannot receive the prize. If a student does not have their homework done you take away their number (we use numbers in our classroom, if you choose to use a name that option is that available).

At the end of the month those students that still have their name or number on the Homework Chart get a free homework pass, a bookmark, and a certificate. You can give one prize or all three, the choice is yours! 

There is also a signing section. This is where students sign a display poster each month they have made it into the club. In our classrooms to make this a big deal we hang the homework club 'autographs' in a spot where they can be seen! This is great for students to see daily~it is also nice when parents come in for a visit to see how well (or not so well...) their child is doing.

Feel free to customize this system to your own needs.  The square number cards can be used in a pocket chart or they can be cut into circles to use as a magnetic system.  There are also cute letters to help with a hallway display.  This is a great kid approved system that can make homework a celebration rather than a drudgery.  Remember:  You have to make this an important part of your every day routine.  

Homework Helper will be 50% the next 3 days (until July 17, 2015). 

Don't forget to click the Teacher Deals and Dollar $teals button to find more great B2S tips, tricks, and great ideas you need to steal;)

 

   

Updating Classroom Decor

I AM SO EXCITED.

Kelli and  I have decided to update our classrooms this year...I know mine needed an update! We are down to a month before school starts and I have been itching to get back in my room to get it set up. I am still waiting for my new borders to come in, otherwise I am sure I would already be there!

This summer I have done a few crafts to 'make things cute'. Lucky for you I am sharing my cuteness right here, right now.  

I had a tall, ugly, black floor lamp and lampshade I got FOR FREE last year. Now this gem is a cute, googly-eyed purple. 

Painted the black a cute purple!

Added googly-eyes to this plain shade!

My next homemade classroom decor: fabric garland. So believably easy to make! I have made a ton of these before for baby showers/gifts/weddings/and now my classroom! I simply pick a few colors and textures of fabric, I always buy the absolute cheapest! I try to get at least 5 different types of fabric....this one had 7. The beauty of this is there is no sewing or cutting. I cup a small line to make sure I can rip it and then simply tear off the fabric~be careful, it is a stringy mess that my husband does not enjoy ~I tear all the fabric and then start tying it on the thick string. If you want better instructions let me know and I will be happy to send them to you:) 

Imagine this hanging over the windows in your classroom! That's where mine is going.

The last bit of decor I have is for the hallway. At our school, there are no bulletin boards in the halls, we simply staple to the wall....and it is an ugly, plain color wall! For the start of the year hallway decor Kelli had the best idea of hanging cutesy burlap ribbon to make a border. So naturally, I went to Walmart right away to pick up all they had! Kelli is a teal girl, she gets the teal chevrons~my wall will have the pinky salmon stripes! The top and bottom of the border will have the multi colored chevrons to tie both of our class bulletin boards together...I love it when our hallway is sort of matchy-matchy! It is great being next to someone who enjoys cute just as much as I do! On the insides we will put our students fourth grade selfies. 

Head to Walmart to pick up your clearance burlap!

When it is all complete I will post some pictures! I just had to let you know about all this cuteness now in case you wanted to create some cute of your own!

Happy Sunday!

 {Lizz}

Summer Stock Up

Whew! It has been a busy summer so far! Your Two Teacher Friends just wrapped up summer school for I-Read 3 (we will get the results back next week, fingers crossed for those little nuggets) and we have already been in our rooms prepping for August. 

We are excited for The Summer Stock Up hosted by The Primary Gal! She has been working her butt off for all her blogger friends. 

The first product we have up for grabs is our BRAG TAGS. Have you ever used brag tags in the classroom?! (If not, you need to jump on that train right now because they are awwwwwwwesome!) It is a fun and creative way to reward your students for academic and behavioral accomplishments. Plus-it is very inexpensive and you don't have to buy candy to make your little ninos chunky. 

Some teachers let the students keep their hard earned brag tag. In my room, you give it back at the end of the day. Students do get to keep their birthday brag tags because birthdays are so special (mine is the first day of school this year, August 10th!) We print the brags on card stock and laminate to make them last longer. We use the ball chain necklaces instead of yarn so that they are longer lasting. (Plus, students think they are fancy getting to wear a 'real' necklace!) 

Here is an example of just how cool these things are~~~~~

Our next cool thing for you to sample is our Mastering Those Tricky R's . Those of you that participated in our last giveaway received Mastering Those Tricky O's---this is very similar except with R's (go figure!). In this sample you will receive R vowel posters, word cards, one breath boxes, clips words, and spinners. 

For you upper grade teachers we have a sampling of our Mean, Median, Mode, and Range product. In this preview we are giving you teaching posters, math notebook inserts, and a sampling of activities. This is such a fun way to teach averages. It makes my fourth graders feel like they are working hard and learning things that older kids work on--we always teach averages at the end of the year. I always tell my kids they are learning 5th grade material and they freak out about that and feel really special! Certain items can be used in small group settings or on an individual basis, depending on how you are using it. 

Well- I just trapped a bug in my classroom, I have to figure what my next step is...this girl DOES NOT do bugs. They are yucky/scary/nasty/and hopefully this one will be dead soon. (Sorry if you are a bug lover)

Love~~~~

Your Two Teacher Friends

 

2 days....

Guys-the end is near! I am going to make it!
 My husband has noticed the end is coming to an end too....Just last weekend he made the comment on my case of sugar free Red Bull purchase (sorry boy! We are out of Spark and this lady needs a boost!) 

I know summer is near for a few reasons:

-my classroom is a disaster zone. (Why is it when paper clips are needed in the middle of the year there are none in my room and them BAM! tooooooooooooons the last week of school?)

-my hair is slowly but surely becoming very, very frizzy.

-Prep for Summer school has begun!

-I actually enjoy recess duty:)

-my husband has not had to iron a dress in a really long time

-some students are starting to buzz with excitement

-the class has enjoyed a lot of fun learning games! (today we played Geometry Musical Chairs for the first time...it was so fun! We got to listen to music and solve perimeter and area problems, my students loved it!)

-I am real tired. (I just got done Face Timing my friend and the first thing she said was "You look exhausted!" Yep! That's me!)

-My teacher friend and I have a lot of ideas of what to create this summer and I am itching to start!


It is 10:39. This is why I am tired. Perhaps I stay up too late? Tell us your summer plans! (Especially if you are going on a great, lavish vacation! We would like to live vicariously through you!)


                                                         Night.
                                                                {Lizz}

A Beautiful Day for a Race!

It’s a Beautiful Day for a Race!

      We took our first field trip to the Indianapolis 500.  What an amazing place.  First of all, IT’S HUGE!  "My Teacher Friend" and I came home exhausted from all the walking.  Did you know it’s the world’s largest spectator sport facility?  Did I mention we walked...a lot.  It felt like the world’s largest to us too.  It’s been said that Yankee Stadium, the Rose Bowl, Churchill Downs, the Colosseum in Rome and Vatican City all can fit inside the Indy oval.  It is 253 acres!

          It gets its nickname “The Brickyard” from the 3.2 million bricks that used to line the Speedway.  The only bricks showing now are the row of bricks at the start/finish line.  It’s a tradition for the winner to kiss the bricks.  The kids had a great time kissing the bricks.

         The Pagoda stands 199 feet from the ground to the top of the flagpole.  The first Pagoda was built in 1913.  The current Pagoda was built in 2000.  With its Japanese inspiration, it’s impressive!

                     

                 This year’s race will be held on Sunday, May 24^{th  w}here 24,000 pounds of fries will be consumed in one day.  I’m not a person for crowds so I’m going to be happy with my field trip with the kids.  

            I do wish I could have had a souvenir.So many cars...surely they wouldn’t miss one!?!

            Just wanted to give you a little taste of Indiana.  If you live close enough to drive, think about the Indi 500 for your field trip.  Everything was free!   That's right, free!  They even reimburse transportation costs.  It was the easiest field trip ever!

START YOUR ENGINES!

Lots of love and prayers for sunny days!

{Kelli}
Your Teacher Friend

Five For Friday First Timer

It's Finally Five for Friday!!! (See what I did there? This is actually my very first Five for Friday!) I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching. In a perfect world, myself or my other teacher friend would be posting our top five faves from the week. I have a lot of favorite things so it might be hard picking...

Two Teacher Friends have been working hard making items to use in the classroom. Our Teachers Pay Teachers store is filled with fun goodies for all ages. This weekend I am working on our third Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie set. Our  book buddies have used this and thoroughly enjoyed it! Other big sellers are our Sequencing Activities, Fact and Opinion Task Cards, and our Mother's Day Printable Booklet.

APRIL FOOLS day was a big success in my books....I baked my kids 'brown e's'. I cut out brown letter E's and put them in a brownie pan. I had a student open them up and pass them out. I don't think he got it at first..a few of them didn't. I don't think they thought their teacher could be so funny. After the letters were all passed out I began passing out the real brownies I had baked the night before. It was a win-win. I got a great laugh, and my students got the brownies!

He was being clever and ripped off the paper to make it look like a big bite.

This weeks number three is our Two Teacher Friends Facebook page. I have to admit, I am so very anxious. We are almost to 500 likes! To me, that is a very big deal. (We really only have 318, but who's counting! Each day we are closer to 500!! Can you tell my glass is always half full?!)

We only need 182 more!

This week we had a field trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway---home of the Indianapolis 500. This was our first trip to the IMS. We got to learn a lot and see a lot of great Indiana history. We loved seeing all the cars in the museum! Here are some pictures of the trip....    

Kissing the Yard of Bricks

Sack Lunches!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Just a quick selfie with the track behind us

This is Easter weekend. My number 5 is going out to family. No matter where you are, what you have planned/or not planned, no matter what nationality you are, or what is or is not being celebrated in your home, I hope you get to spend it with family and friends. I hope it is restful. I hope it is pretty outside-sunny and just the right temperature. I hope it is everything you want.