Set the Stage to Engage, Part Two: Engagement Island!

Welcome back for part two of my engagement posts! Sorry for the delay! My computer was sick (and thankfully fixed without harm) and I was away for a couple of days at the beach. 

When my three coworkers and I came back from Get Your Teach On Conference, we were asked to give a PD on what we learned at the conference. We were really excited to share what we learned but we were only given two hours to share so we hoped we could fit everything in that we wanted to say. After some brainstorming and planning, we were able to pick out the most important things that we wanted to share and in the time constraint. 

In true Hope King fashion, we wanted to transform the Media Center (where we were having the PD) so that our staff could have the true experience. We wanted our staff to find their teaching paradise so we came up with an island theme and called it Engagement Island. 

Here are some pictures of how we decorated our media center. We made flight tickets and put them in everyone's mailbox the day before. We covered the windows and made sure that no one could see in while they were at school. We wanted to peek their interest and get them excited about the PD. We wouldn't open the doors until the time on their ticket and wouldn't you know...people were lined up at the door 5 minutes early, just waiting to get in!!! Not many people are early for meetings so it was great to see that everyone was eager to join us! We played island music, gave everyone a lei as they walked in, and gave them a tropical snack. 

Our goal was to teach our coworkers about what we learned at the conference but to make it applicable to our students and school. We incorporated some of the call and responses that we learned throughout our presentation and our coworkers responded well to that! Our favorite one is the teacher yells "Shark Bait!" and the students yell "Hoo Ha Ha!" and slam their hands on the desk and give their attention. We use a school wide call and it has started to lose its magic so it's nice to have more options.

As we prepared for this presentation, we realized that we all identified with different methods of engagement. Hope King had shared that we didn't need to engage students the same way and that was clear within the ladies I teach with. My friend and blogging buddy, Kim (from Flipping Into Kindergarten), likes to engage her students with games. She shared several different ways that you can use common board games in class and how to differentiate them for all learners. The students' excitement for the game helped them learn the content in a fun way. My friend, Jessica, likes to engage with songs to teach content. She loves taking songs and trying to change the words to help students remember information. I remember last year when I was at a conference, she taught my students a song from Ron Clark that helped them understand area and perimeter. They were so excited to share it with me and it helped them when completing tasks in class.

My friend and teammate, Cheryl, likes to engage with storytelling. She loves to be dramatic and she can really get into a character. She is a relational and open teacher with her students so being able to tell stories to help students connect with content is so powerful. I like to engage through room transformations. I love that my students could be transported somewhere else in order to completely experience content. Many students aren't able to travel and may not have a lot of background knowledge about different places, so this is a great opportunity. 

In a couple of these pictures, you can see that we all took turns standing up on stools and chairs throughout the room. This was a technique that we took from Hope as well. If you move around the room and unexpectedly get up on chairs, the students will have to track you and be ready for anything. This is an easy change to make and a powerful one as well!

We packed a lot of information into two hours but our staff did a great job participating with us. In the four years I have been at my school, it was the most attentive I had seen people be and they also seemed excited! As the weeks went on, we had teachers using new call and responses, transforming their rooms, and stepping out of their comfort zone when teaching. It was amazing to see that our staff really took what we shared with them and tried to incorporate it into their own craft. 

I am so blessed to be surrounded by amazing, reflective educators that want to be the best that they can be. I am so glad that Kim, Jessica, Cheryl, and I went to the Get Your Teach On Conference and that we are there for each other, pushing each other to greatness!

Set the Stage to Engage, Part One: Get Your Teach On Conference!

Happy first week of summer for me! Teachers finished last Friday but could I just be done with school after that?!?! Nope! I went back to school on Monday and Tuesday. I know, crazy right?!? Our school is a STEM school and we have four STEM days throughout the year on our early dismissal days. So, we planned lessons for those days, which was fun and productive!

Since I have time now that school is over, I can finally blog again! I definitely need to manage my time more this year with school and the blogging world but I will get there! I know this post is long overdue but I can't help but share it!

At the beginning of March, my three coworkers and I went to the Get Your Teach On Conference in Orlando, FL. It was run by the great Deanna Jump of Mrs. Jump's Class and Hope King of Elementary Shenanigans and a teacher at the Ron Clark Academy! It was amazing to learn from the best and I am not going to lie, I was a little star struck! 

It was a whirlwind of a day and I soaked in every moment I could. I loved that it was a professional development that showed you how to incorporate engagement but also allowed you to try it for yourself. The conference was split with Deanna in one room with K-1 teachers and Hope was in another room with 2-3 teachers. I have watched Hope's periscopes before and knew that she talked fast but she certainly talked faster in person! She didn't want to miss telling us a single thing and I was grateful for that! 

Hope has so much energy and it is definitely contagious! She would bounce from one end of the room to the other and would stand on chairs and tables. This is a method that is common at the Ron Clark Academy but can definitely be applied in any classroom. As soon as you are unexpected, you have the students' attention! She taught and used several call and response chants to get our attention throughout the conference. She expected that 100% of us would respond and when we didn't, she made us do it again. It was a great model of what we should expect with our students. 

I could go on for hours about the things that I learned at this conference but I will share three big take aways. The first one is that we should aim to engage our students but the rigor of our content should be there too. Hope showed us pictures of room transformations, sang songs that correlated with content, and taught us different games that we could use in our classroom. Every single thing she showed us had rigorous content to go with it and she held her students to high standards while they were working. She suggested to use the most boring content that you don't care for teaching and make that into an exciting and interactive lesson. I think many times I have cute, fun ideas but the content of those ideas aren't as rich as they should be. That definitely changed my thoughts on how I planned lessons and activities!

The second take away is that there are many different ways to incorporate engagement, you need to find your gift or expertise. Even within the group of women I went to the conference with, we each had our own preference and comfort level. For myself, I like room transformations. I love the idea that when the students walk into the room, they enter another world of learning and they get excited to learn! I will go into more detail in my next two blog posts about my experiences this year with room transformations.

The third take away is simple but can be lost in the shuffle...choose joy. Unfortunately, we can get lost in the gossip, difficult students and parents, and frustrations with administration or education in general and forget to celebrate the good things. I have been teaching for 10 years and at times, I can get in a rut and lose my excitement in teaching. I am so quick to complain but have to really think about the positives of my job. This concept hit hard for my teammate and I and we decided to do something about it. When we came back to school after the conference, we started taking walks outside on our planning time. We would start by sharing positive moments from our day. This definitely helped us to be in a better mood and was a good break in our day. Now, we still had difficult days and needed to vent but we tried to say something positive first. Just think about how if one or two people in your building can choose joy, how quickly it can catch on!

This conference was a breath of fresh air and got us excited about what we could do in our school! We came back home and within a month, we gave a PD to our staff called Engagement Island. In my next blog post, I will share about that PD and how we applied what we learned at the conference. It is sparking some new and exciting things for our school! 

I will leave you with a couple of final pictures. Deanna and Hope were not the only blogger celebs that were there! While I was waiting in line to sign in before the conference, I met Hope's husband, Wade, who also works at Ron Clark Academy. Of course, I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture with him! Then later, I was able to meet Chris Pombonyo of Famous in First (soon to be Famous in Fourth)! He was his county's Teacher of the Year and Ron Clark crashed his classroom before the school year started. He is super nice and I am going to get to see him again at a teacher conference in August at Penn State Altoona! (Ron Clark is speaking at that conference too! It's going to be crazy!) 

I also met Amy Lemons of Step Into Second Grade with Mrs. Lemons! She was so gracious to listen to me babble when I came up to talk to her. (I was also shaking I was so nervous!)

It was awesome and inspiring to be surrounded by so many educators! I am very thankful for my experience and excited to continue to apply it to my teaching!

We Heart Maryland Blog Hop!

Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog! I am so excited to be apart of my first blog hop! A big thank you goes to Cheryl from Techie Turtle Teacher for hosting this We Heart Maryland Blog Hop!

Let's start off on a good note with a freebie! This freebie is normally a paid product in my store but you are able to enjoy it during this blog hop for free! I am offering one of my favorite products, which is my Homework Club Rewards pack. 

I have used it since the first month of school and I really enjoy it. It's an easy way to reward students for doing homework and they love getting homework passes in return! I have had some students that have earned 6 homework passes so far this year! If you would like your own copy, please click here!

In addition to a freebie, you have an opportunity to be apart of a giveaway! I am giving away my newest product, which is Ginger Snap! 

I know that gingerbread theme tends to be popular near the holidays but I think you can still enjoy the theme throughout the year. This is a spin off of the game Go Fish and uses multiplication and division facts. Make sure enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have only lived in Maryland for seven years but I feel that there are plenty of things that I love about Maryland. If I only had to choose one thing, it would be that Maryland has a beautiful spring time! I grew up in New England and we experienced summer, fall, winter, and mud. Winter seemed to last forever and when it got warm, everything turned to mud. 

Here in Maryland, it is completely different! Winter doesn't last as long and the warmer weather comes sooner. Flowers spring up everywhere and the grass turns green quickly. When we first moved to Maryland, we lived in Baltimore City. There was a place near the harbor that I would walk to so I could sit and read a book. It had the most beautiful flowers there and became my favorite spot! It was a great way to enjoy my personal time and springtime together! Here are some pictures of it. 

One of the most common flowers that come out are the cherry blossoms. Most people know about the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. but there are a lot of cherry blossoms throughout Maryland. They are a pretty pink and really liven up a street. My husband's uncle always talks about how it's like pink snow on his street when they bloom and then blow in the breeze. It's a beautiful site and an enjoyable time of the year!

Maryland really is a great place to live and I have enjoyed strengthening my teaching career here. I have had many experiences here that I didn't think I would ever have due to being so close to major cities, beaches, mountains, etc. It's been a great place to call home!

Well that's it for me here, but don't stop now! Hop on over to Heather's blog! Click the next stop button!

CURRENTLY February Style

This is the first post of 2016. I don't know where this year has gone but it's moving fast! It is definitely easier to blog in the summer than during the school year. I haven't found the balance between work, home, and blogging yet but I hope I can get in a better groove from now on. 

A great way to get started is with Currently by Oh Boy...It's Farley!

Listening to Fixer Upper on HGTV. I love Fixer Upper! Chip and Joanna Gaines are a great pair and always make me laugh. I enjoy the time and love they put into the houses they create and how they value what their clients want. I also enjoy the love they show toward each other and how they include their children in the process of the design and build. I hope I can visit the Silos or Magnolia Market someday!

Loving all the snow days we had from the blizzard. Last week, we had a blizzard in Maryland and got over two feet of snow! It was nice to be snowed in, eat warm, yummy things, and spend time with my husband and son. As a result, we were out of school basically the whole week. The plus was that we already had a day off and a teacher work day scheduled that week. So we only used three snow days. It was a nice snow vacation!

Thinking about what products I want to create next. This is the third year that I have moved grades. I was in first grade for 7 years and then I moved up to fourth grade last year and then down to third grade this year. I have enjoyed the changes but it has been difficult getting used to the content that I am teaching. It's hard to know what products I need for my students to be successful. When creating products, do I focus on the other grades I have taught or create I as go this year?

Wanting more time to get things done. The weekends are precious time! I love being able to relax with my husband and son and not having to do much. Unfortunately, there is laundry and dishes to be done, lesson plans to be written, and not to mention wanting to enjoy some hobbies of mine. Just a little more time would be nice!

Needing more excitement in my classroom. Ever feel like you are in a teaching rut? I love teaching and I enjoy making learning exciting but sometimes the ideas just don't flow. I am super excited about attending the Get Your Teach On Conference in Orlando in March! Deanna Jump and Hope King are speaking and I can't wait to learn about new ways to engage my students! They have amazing and creative ways to teach and I hope I can bring that back to my students! 

Swooning over my little man. My son is two and growing up so fast! He is learning new things all the time and I love to watch him explore new ideas. The other day, he was able to quote all the months of the year and tell me what month his birthday is in! I was amazed and thankful for the great teachers at daycare who are teaching him all these new things! The best thing is all the love and kisses he gives me and often tells my husband and me that we are his best friends!

Hope this is the start of more regular blog posts!

TPT Love Back School Sale!

I am super excited about participating in my first Teachers Pay Teachers sale! I have been working hard this week to refresh my old products and post my new products in my store. Please check out my store on August 3-4 and receive up to 28% off!

Here is a quick overview of what you will find in my store!

I am really happy with my new teacher planners! They come in five different color schemes and contain pages for schedules, calendars, lesson plans, and more! There is also a chevron cover option for each planner. 

I updated my Penguin Tags and Posters to include penguin group posters for each of the six different species of penguins. I am continuing with my sophisticated penguin theme for my classroom this year and these are the penguins for the job!

I am also really eager to use my Homework Rewards Club pack in my classroom! I recently blogged about how to use it in the classroom and how it can increase the students' interest in homework. Check it out!

I hope you find my products helpful to your success in the classroom! Don't forget to go to my store tomorrow and Tuesday for the B2S sale!

A Spin On Homework

Homework...can sometimes seem like a four letter word to a student and a teacher. I cannot tell you how many times this year I was scrambling around trying to find or make homework for my students. Many of my students do not have the consistent support at home to assist them with their homework so a fraction of my class does not come to class with their homework. We do not grade homework but it is a factor on the behavior section of their report cards. Our school does Class Dojo so I give them points when they complete their homework and take away points when they don't complete it. Needless to say, homework is frustrating for all parties involved and feels like a waste of time...

I love coffee and drink it every day. There are some days that I stop and get coffee at Dunkin Donuts (yes, I am originally a New England girl so DD is in my blood). The best thing that Dunkin Donuts has come up with is their DD Perks Rewards Program!  

You earn rewards points every time you purchase something and once you get 200 points, you get a free beverage! Each month has different offers and sometimes a purchase can be worth more points. Can I tell you how excited I get about earning my free coffee?!?! I have two free coffees waiting for me to use on a rainy day! (btw, I was not paid to endorse this product, I just really like it!)

So I was drinking my iced coffee a couple of weeks ago and had an idea...what if I used this model with homework??? It was then that my Homework Rewards Club was born! 

Homework Rewards Club is designed to be a positive system that all your students can be apart of, all the time. It's hard to watch a student forget their homework once and then they are automatically out for the reward. With this club, every student has a chance to succeed. Here's how it works...

Each student will receive a Homework Rewards Punch Card, like this one

Every time a student completes their homework, they can get their card punched. In case you are worried about students cheating and punching their own cards, you can use a stamp or bingo marker before you punch it. (Isn't the crab cute?) If you want to save paper, you can laminate them and cross the numbers off with a dry erase marker. If a student did not bring in their homework, they do not get a punch on the card but they can try again tomorrow. Once the students have filled their card, they can get a homework pass or a prize of your choice. 

I created a variety of punch cards with 7, 14, and 21 punches as well as 10, 15, and 20 punches on them. You can increase the time it will take for students to earn their prizes based on how many numbers they have. I made them in color as well as black and white.

Then to continue with the excitement, I am going to create weekly and monthly challenges. This is an opportunity for students to get multiple punches for completing a certain task. Maybe reading logs were a problem last month so this month, for every 5 days of reading you get an extra punch. We do not give out homework over the weekend but as a weekly challenge, a student could complete an extra activity over the weekend and earn an extra punch. I plan to display my weekly and monthly challenges on my homework board, along with students who have completed the challenges. I posted about my homework board last week for my Monday Made It. 

I believe this will be a fun way to motivate students to complete homework and gives everyone a chance to participate. The other students I think it will help will be my self motivated students. I had some students last year that could finish homework in five minutes or if I gave them a weekly packet, they would finish it the first night. I hope the challenges will give them a chance to shine and to be challenged. 

The biggest goal I have for myself now it to plan out homework and make it meaningful. If I don't like making the homework, the students probably don't like doing it. 

I am really excited about starting the Homework Rewards Club in my classroom and I plan on giving updates and tips on how to improve it as the year goes on. If you are interested in using this club in your classroom, my Homework Rewards Club Pack is available in my TPT store!

First Monday Made It!

Today's post is another first for me. I am linking up for

I only have one thing that I made this week but that's ok...baby steps! 

Last week, I was shopping at Michael's, looking for inspiration and I found it! They had a section that was 70%, which I was completely excited about! I ended up buying a cork board that was originally 20 dollars and I got it for 8! 

I decided I was going to use the board for my Homework Rewards Club. What's that you say? Tune in to my blog tomorrow for more about it!

I went to Target and I got these cute star clothes pins that came in packs of three for one dollar. I glued thumbtacks to the back of the clothes pins so I can put them anywhere on my board. I used hot glue but it didn't stick well to the tack. Crazy glue or tacky glue would be better.

I used cut out letters to make my sign and put tacks on the back of the signs. I like the thought of moving them around whenever I need to. I used a silver sharpie to write on the clothes pins because I figured I wouldn't change what is written on them.  

This is what the board looks like with the Homework Rewards Club information on it. I will go into more detail tomorrow about what my Homework Rewards Clubs Pack includes and how to use it in your classroom!

I hope you enjoyed my Monday Made It and I hope it's the first of many for me!