Getting Organized

I have spend today running around buying more classroom decor, office supplies, and printing out my TPT collection I have started. Once I settled down, I began my cutting and organizing! Here is what I worked on today:


Today I focused mostly on organizational tools. Last fall, I bought a great teacher binder organizer from Lovely Little Leaders on TPT. There is PLENTY to choose from but I just used what I think I will need for sure next year. The first binder I made was for Student Information. In this binder I included sections for Birthdays, Behavior Notes, IEP's, 504's, ELL, Parent Contact, and I have two more tabs open for whatever else I might need. This is what it looks like:

Next, I made a binder for Substitutes. I put in some information of what I had from substitute teaching (like filler activities). I made generic sections for Lesson Plans, Student Information, Building/Emergency Procedures, Extra Activities, Please Leave a Note. I subbed in one classroom this year and I was really impressed by a similar binder a teacher left for me. Being new to the school, it was super helpful and she kept many pages in sheet protectors so it stayed neat, clean, and it could last her a long time. This is what the beginning of mine looks like:

I found at Office Max divider tabs that go by month. I used these in a binder I made for Lesson Plans so I can go back and look at them the following year.

I also have a binder for my Meeting Notes. I made tabs for Staff Meetings, Student Meetings, Parent Meetings, PLC, Professional Development, IEP, 504, and one extra tab. I know I will have to document many things, just to keep things on track and have a record of what actually happened. Here is what this binder looks like:

My final binder I made is for Data. Again, I found tabs at Office Max that were numbered 1-32. I plan on assigning numbers to my students so that way these numbers will coordinate with them. I also added a sheet at the back of each binder in the event that it gets lost, it has my name on it. This is what this binder looks like:

My last project for the night were some file folders. One set I created a file for Monday-Friday and another for "Copies for Next Week". These I plan on using to organize whatever copies I will need for the week, and have a place to keep files for the next week together. I used the backgrounds that came in the teacher binder I bought, and just added text. I also created files for absent students. I found the covers from Emily Noble, they come in three colors, with owls AND polka dots, and were free! My idea for these is to just place them on absent student's desks, and throughout the day if any papers are passed out they are just placed inside the folder so the student has everything they missed. I plan on laminating these later in the week to make these last as well.

Etsy Purchases

Since the 4th of July, I have seen an increase in job postings, but nothing dramatic. While I am waiting to hear back from the districts I have applied to, I have been doing some shopping on Etsy to keep me busy for the time being. I am so in love with my purchases! I might still buy more, but that will depend on the type of grade/school I will be teaching in. For now, here is a sneak peak at what I have for my room so far! Enjoy ;)


This is a picture of my name plate that I bought for my desk. It was completely customizable, and I think it it one of my favorite buys! I bought mine from HandCraftedHC, and you can view the shop here:

Next I bought a classroom door sign. Again, this was totally customizable and the seller sent me a proof of what it was going to look like before she made it. I had no issues with it and it came out great! This was bought from kasefazem and you can view the store here:

Now this was something I really didn't need, but I thought it was super cute! Another customizable product and fairly cheap considering it is a decorated hand sanitizer bottle. I bought it from lyricalletters and you can view the store here:

Birthday board! This was another one of my favorite purchases. Instead of having some giant display for birthdays, I found this fun little board that has painted chalkboard disks that I can change the names of my students each year. This will take up less wall space and looks way cute! I bought it from Havensplace and you can visit the shop here:

I bought this rubber stamp for a few reasons. One, I thought this would be great to stamp my books with so that way my name is in the book and should (ideally) never get lost. I also thought it would be good when I need to sign off on multiple things, and this would make it a lot faster. I bought this from cupcaketree, and you can view her shop here:

Finally I bought this "READ" sign for my room. I was able to get this in the theme that I'm making my classroom in, and I was able to choose the book characters I wanted to personalize it! I chose Dr. Seuss, because no matter how old you are, you can always have a love for Dr. Seuss books :) I bought the blocks from littlebluebirdcreate, and you can view the shop here:

This next week I don't have as much going on, so my game plan (in addition to always applying for jobs) will be to be crafty! I have a TON of things I want from TPT so I'm going to print them off, laminate them, and cut them out. These range from classroom posters, brain breaks, to word wall letters. I'm just doing the generic things I know that I want for sure in my room so that way I am even more prepared if I get hired last minute. I also have a few more things on my wish list of things I want from local stores in my area, so I will be going on a shopping spree this week! I will post with updates as I get them!

How To Get Freebies In Your Room

I've been following WeAreTeachers on Facebook and I am always getting great things from them! They let me know when a shop on Teachers Pay Teachers has items for free that are popular, talk about current happenings in education, and even provide resources for teachers. Tonight I read a posting where it have a list of ways to get free/cheap supplies for your classroom. As I am going to be a first year teacher next year this was very helpful. I have so much I will need to buy to get started, there are plenty of great resources! Here is a link to the post I found, I strongly recommend following them on Facebook and on Twitter!

2 A.M. Find!!!

I'm lying in bed, exploring Pinterest trying to get even more ideas for my classroom, when I go over a pin that was all about classroom organization. There were some really great things on this pin! I was scrolling through and I found something I LOVED! It is a collapsable file folder that can be hung on the wall! I have been thinking about having some sort of filing system where the students can turn in their papers and this thing is perfect for that. Not only does each section have labels (for the older kids) but it is color coded so the younger kids would know where to put their papers even if they can't read! PLUS at the end of the day/week all I will have to do is fold it up and I have all my papers neatly filed so I take take them home to grade. And it was fairly cheap too! Only $14.99, that and the fact that I am a terrible impulse buyer had me taking out my credit card at 2 A.M. :)

Such a good idea for teachers, thought I would share!

Now that summer vacation is in full swing, I've been spending my days researching on the computer! I know I should really be outside, but last week there was a significant increase in job openings. I spent quite a bit of time researching schools and filling out the applications (those can be quite lengthy). I am still being a little picky about where I have been applying, and I have been questioning that lately. I have been asking myself "Is it more important to just have a job for next year? Or have a job that I will love?". I believe that I have come up with an answer to my problem. My game plan is to continue to do what I'm doing until the end of July, and if I don't have a job by August, then just apply everywhere. Ideally I would like to stay in the area, but if I have to move to get experience that is what I will do! So for right now I'm just going to keep calm and carry on :)

In the mean time, I have been spending the rest of my computer time getting things ready for my classroom! First I spent way too much money on Etsy, buying signs for my classroom and saving ideas for what else I can buy there. I have also been looking at Teachers Pay Teachers for signs, organizational tools, classroom management ideas etc. Mostly I have been looking at the freebies (since I spent so much on Etsy!), but I did find something that I am interested in buying that is in their top 100 list. These Brain Breaks for the Classroom are a great idea! They can be used at almost any age, and there are plenty of ideas so you can pick and choose which ones you want. Plus I love the idea of having them on popsicle sticks. I think this is great so that students can take turns choosing, or you can easily leave them out for a sub during the day. Check them out if you haven't already! If I don't find a job until the end of the summer, I'm thinking about starting to make my own products on TPT just for some extra cash flow. Also, from all of these things I have been researching I just started writing down things I still need to buy for my room if I want it to function smoothly. And boy there is a lot, and the list just keeps on growing! I have the rest of the summer so hopefully by spacing them out I can get a lot of prep work done for my classroom because I WILL have one come fall! :D

I have just recently started following a new blog, Young Teacher Love. I think this lady is very relatable for me being a new teacher, and she has so many good ideas! I've added her button on my sidebar, but check it out! She already has so many followers!

Unfortunately I have not had a lot of good news to report the last few weeks (note the time between my posts). Out of the three interviews I had, I have heard back from two. Both of these districts said that they would not be advancing my application at this time. One of those two offered to have me come back as a sub in the fall, which I thought was nice, but I'm hoping to have locked in a position by then.

The other district I have not heard anything at all from them. I'm hoping that the reasoning is that for the positions they had open right now I may not be a perfect fit for, but they are still considering me if something comes up in the future.

This has been disappointing for me, because these were districts that I really wanted and thought that I had done well in my interviews. But I'm keeping my chin up! There have been several more job postings since then that I have applied for, and it is only the beginning of June so there is still plenty of time. I'm trying to utilize the networks that I have and I'm checking websites quite frequently for postings. I may not have any updates for awhile, but maybe I will get a surprise soon! Everything happens for a reason, I must be meant to do greater things in other places :)

Interview Updates

Within the past week I have had three interviews in some VERY nice school districts! First off, it is a total confidence booster that these schools are interested in me to begin with, and if I can get a job with one of them for my first classroom? Would be amazing!

Second, between the three I think I did alright. Some were pretty intense and had some really hard questions, but that is the point of interviewing so that they can see who I am and how I really feel. I have not heard back from any just yet (still can be a good thing) and I know two of the districts that I interviewed with are doing more interviews this week. I am hoping I can at least know either way within the next week. I would love to get a job before we get into summer, and I am just getting super antsy right now!

I think at a later date I will post some of the questions I have been asked to help others prepare for future interviews, but I am trying not to name districts so I don't want to give anything away by posting the questions they asked. I also will post examples of anything else that I am asked to bring/make for an interview. The sooner I can get a job, the better!