End of the Day Routines

Organization is key when it comes to teaching...especially if you are an elementary teacher.  Everything must be ready prior to the day starting.  I mean everything.  All heck can break out if you {God forbid} forget to lay out the manipulatives you plan on using or even worse, forget to make a class set of copies of a worksheet you wanted to you.  Am I right!?

All of this "prep" work happens for me after the kids leave each day.  My plan time is an hour after they go home and I spend the first 10 minutes or so "cleaning up the room."  I do enlist in students to help out with most of the "cleaning" jobs for the next day.  Below are the things that I do to prepare for an upcoming school day:

I change the "helper" of the day.  

I change my center charts.  I do Literacy and Math centers.
*I have 23 kids.  Some go to guided reading/RTI during this time!*

The last thing the kids do before dismissal is silent reading.  I quickly grab their pencils while they are getting situated.
I sharpen them after they leave.

I straighten up the computer area and put the left out AR books away.

A student moves the clips back to the starting point on our behavior stick.

I have a student put out the next day's morning work.  Love Kelley's morning work!

I lay everything {I mean everything} out for the next day.  You can never be too prepared when teaching littles!  I have a long counter that I keep clear for the day's stuff.

I stuff mailboxes with homework for the next day.

One of my kids changes the date and day.  I get their lunch cards from my mailbox and put them in the pocket chart.

I'm a germ-a-phobe.  I have a student wipe down my guided reading table every day and put the chairs up.

I use a wipe on my desk.

Or maybe two wipes. 

And I wipe down my computer desk and shut down my computer.  

I get such a feeling of satisfaction leaving my second home in order each afternoon!  What do you do to prepare!?

xo
Megan 

Poetry Bonanza!

POETRY!!!!!!!!!!!!  One of my favorite units to teach in Writing!  I usually start poetry in April, but with our 9 million snow days/delays in Ohio, everything got pushed back about a month!  We began by browsing some poetry books.  I had requested a poetry collection from my library a few weeks prior.  The kids already know a lot about poetry because we do a poem of the week each week.

Our first type of poetry to learn about was acrostic poetry.  We watched a Brain Pop Jr. and discussed my poetry poster about acrostic poems.  We then brainstormed phrases for "spring."  I wrote the favorites down and then the kids planned out their poems onto an old organizer that I had.  Once they had the phrases written down, they wrote them on their colored rainbow strips, in order, with black crayons.  Next, they painted the clouds and we let them dry.  In the afternoon, we assembled our clouds and voila!  Beautiful spring artwork to display in our classroom! 

Next, we moved onto rhythm poetry! The kids always love making up rhythm poems!  My class was very creative with these this year!   After rhythm poetry, we worked on likes/dislikes.  These are always funny!  I always start with food...there tends to be much debate about which foods are "disgusting" and which foods are "awesome."

Friday was a review day so I put out all the poetry papers for the types we'd worked on and let the kids have at it!  It gave me a chance to do make-ups with students who missed writing or were absent throughout the week.

This week, we'll finish up our unit with a few more types of poetry and prepare for the 5th annual POETRY CAFE!  It's amazing.  You don't want to miss my post about it!  The cafe will be June 3rd and I'll be sharing photos with you all soon after!!!

Everything shown above {minus the random "SPRING" graphic organizer} is included in my second best-selling product in my store, my Poetry Unit.  Click the cover to take a peek!

xo
Megan

Top 10 Summer List

Happy Sunday!  I am linking up with Deanna for the top 10 things I want to do this summer!  What a fun linky!

Anyone that is close to me knows that I am a workaholic.  I don't know why.  I've always had a complex that people might perceive me as lazy if I am not constantly working.  I always get anxious this time of year because I am literally always working and I worry that it will be hard for me not to spend my summer doing that.  Relaxation is not in my vocab.  Unless I am far away from home, without a computer or cleaning supplies in front of me.  Nonetheless, I'm going to try really hard to spend some time for myself this summer. So, without further ado, here is my top 10:

10.  Getting a massage!  Back in November, I bought a gift card to the spa I go to.  They had a special where you could buy a $100 massage for $50.  I already have my appointment scheduled!!

9.  Couponing!  I am an extreme couponer, but after being sick most of the 2012-2013 school year, I had to "let it go" somewhat this school year.  I spend my summers preparing for an apocalypse.  LOL! 

8.  Family time!  My parents got a new Yorkie pup a few months ago and my brother and his wife just had a baby!  I know I'll be making lots of trips to see them this summer! We'll be having many cookouts and get-togethers!

7.  Work out & continue to be active!  I love working out.  I especially love Turbo Kick.  I am certified to teach it but sadly, I will not be taking or teaching it, as I have a deteriorating disc and a dislocated disc in my back.  Turbo really flares it up and after spending 9 weeks at a chiropractor and paying lots of co-pays, it's just not worth it.  I do enjoy running and lifting, so I'll be continuing those.

6.  Chilling at the pool!  I die for a pool in the summer.  I would literaly be happy with a bucket of water in my backyard.  Growing up, we moved a lot and most of the houses we built had big, beautiful pools.  Guess it's safe to say that I was spoiled by them and now I need a pool close to me on the reg!  Here's where I'll be poolin' it up this summer:

5.  Working...some...Like I said above, it's impossible for me NOT to work!  I'll be updating my store and creating a few new great products!  I love blogging and creating,so it's fun!  You'll find me sitting here on rainy days:

4.  Reading!  I have a hard time focusing on a book.  Especially if there is a phone or computer nearby!  My goal is to read more this summer, because I used to enjoy it...way back before TpT and blogging!  I have several new books that I want to read, including Emily Giffin's new one!  *Does anyone else LOVE her books!?

3.  Catching up with friends!  Most of my very best friends are teachers, so naturally we hardly see each other during the year!  It stinks, but it makes summer so much more fun!  My bestie Amy and I talk a lot through the week but only get to hang once a month or something ridic.  We spend a lot of time in the summers together!  My other two close friends live in Columbus, so I'll be traveling there to see them!!! I am also going to be visiting my blogging buddy, Jessica and hopefully {fingers crossed}, Squirrels!  

 2.  Enjoying adult beverages outside!  I am not a big drinker, but in the summer heat, I love me some Skinny girl Margarita!  Or Summer Shandy.  Or Bud light Lime!  Really, anything citrus, I'm all over it!

1. Vegas and Florida!  I love spending time with my husband.  We especially  LOVE to travel together. Seriously.  We go every chance we get.  You can read about this past year's travels here.  This summer, we are going to Vegas again!  We've been there twice, but only for a few days each time.  This year, we'll be there for over a week!  My husband is a financial advisor and his national convention is out there!  I'll be relaxing at a pool with a swim-up bar while he attends lots of meetings!  I'm sad that I will miss the TpT conference by 2 weeks, though!  We also travel to Florida a lot and are hoping to get there again this summer.

You can follow my summer fun on Instagram!  Click to follow @mrswheeler44!

So.....what are your summer plans!?  Link up!
xo
Megan