Week 2 Visual Plans

I'm linking up with Deedee and sharing my plans for the week!

This week we are diving all in. Having no schedule gets on my nerves by the second day of school!
We begin every morning the same-Early Bird morning workbooks. Last week we completed them together, so fingers crossed they will at least attempt it!

here's links to what we are working on!
Louder, Lili unit from Linda Kamp
Process Skills for Wee Scientists from moi
Elmer activities from Reagan

I'm SUPER excited about our portraits on Friday!
Let's just say it's a mix of a picture Amy Lemons posted on Instagram and an adjective activity from Hope King! Can you figure it out!?!

you oughta know about planning tools!

Hey there!
I'm excited to be a part of Jasmine's You Oughta Know blog hop!
I thought it was a great idea!
Be sure to check out the link up at the bottom to see all our ideas!

No matter what you think, you need to plan!

sounds silly, I know. 

But even as I finish up my 11th year, I still have days I don't plan

and you know what?

those are the days that I'm most irritated with behavior

those are the days when I come home in a bad mood

Maybe you never have days like this

maybe you are a hard core planner 

maybe you have to turn in your plans 

fyi-I'd quit!

but I am not

never have been

So this past year I made a pact with myself because who better to make a promise to, right?!

to plan every single day

I do not mean to plan every single minute

I don't run like that

I don't teach like that

I just wanted to write down what I would be doing during each block of time

Now don't get me wrong, I always have a plan, it's just not always written down!

I know what I'm teaching, but when I do write it down, I tend to stick to it!

so how do I plan?

two ways actually!

I used to have a spreadsheet, all laid out beautifully with clipart and cool fonts, but after a couple of years, that got old. I love technology, but I'm still a fan of paper and pencils!

then a few years ago, our district purchased a license for an online planbook that we were required to use

it was a pain in the butt, but we could share it with whomever we wanted (and our admin) so my teammate and I had a great setup. She would plan math for a month or so, I'd plan ELA; then we'd switch. Loved it! Never planned better

then the site license was not renewed by our district, nor was it replaced

So for the real reason I am here...to share some different planners I have used!

I began using planbook.com after our district did not reinvest in the other site

the setup is one of the things I loved about planbook.com-color coding! I'm a sucker for it! This is a week before any plans were added (I wasn't using the site yet on this date). Planbook.com is easy to navigate, easy to add standards taught which it keeps a record of, and easy to add links to videos and pdfs. This is the best feature for online planning for me, the eternal last minute copy maker! I rarely print anything til it's the day of!

 this is a weekly view and below is a specific activity with links! yippe!

PROS: accessibility-I can't leave it at school! only $12 per year, links are right there, prints in an easy to read layout

CONS: Now, I loved it! but sharing was a pain, I had to send the link to my teammate who had to have a code to view them, whereas before we could go right into each other's plans and copy and paste

Now last summer I bought my EC teacher planner-yes, I have both online and paper ones! I need them!

and here's why

I like to say I am flexible! that's a positive spin on I rarely get to what I need to get to!

PROS: dang it's pretty! I feel all grown up carrying it! Lots of note keeping and data all in one place, sturdy-I never had any problems with anything coming apart, great customer service

CONS: it is more pricy, I buy it during teacher appreciation month! I do not keep up with plans as well

and the coolest new thing out there are teachers making planners! editable and customizable...

there are lots of options on TpT

when I search on TpT alone, there are over 1800 options!

then I was contacted by sweet Kelsey at Paper and Oats about her new teacher planning kit

Motherload!

She makes the most clean looking products I've ever seen!

not only does she have this planner, but also a back-to-school kit that coordinates with it! Now that's every teacher's dream!

I love clean and simple!

and her short and sweet page titles are right up my alley! 

check it out!

it includes a banner kit in each color option, a classroom decor kit, plus the planner!

this planner is most like the EC planner I have seen

very simple, yet includes about anything I can imagine!

I used the venture out page to plan our last field trip this year.

We have to have a plan turned in a week before leaving

I love this page!

every page is fillable in adobe, too!

so these may be the best of both worlds, print and online!

what do you think?

What are your favorite ways to plan!?

Like what you see?

Use the code TATTOOEDTEACHER at paper and oats to save 15%!

valid in her etsy shop and paperandoats.com (not valid on prints)

Enjoy!

and check out these other you oughta know tips!

An InLinkz Link-up

A Peek at my Week with Bats!

This is my first ever attempt at posting my plans! Just a warning that the links may or may not work...Macs are tricky like that! SO I'll link up everything at the end too!
and yes, you read that correctly, we are doing bats this week!
If you follow me on instagram, you saw we were still elbow deep in our pumpkins and I didn't want to rush it, so bats it is!

Remember to download these from Google Docs...that way the links to the products may work!

We use Math Expressions and the sequence is a little wonky. In between each unit is a mini unit on an upper grade skill. We will learn about parallel lines and connect this to quadrilaterals. I also teach the next big unit simultaneously. I have a tutor with me during math and ELA {yep, eat your heart out-she's a retired math teacher too!} so we can do minilessons and each of us can run a game in small groups. 

you can see I get a lot of help from my friends!

There is so much out there about bats, but I am focusing on characters and text features. I love Erica's text feature display!

Just click to view these products!

and one of my newest products is for Nightsong...Love, love, love this book! and it's a great intro to echolocation and sound waves!

in the afternoons we have this odd little time after block but before the bell, so we do centers then. Here's what we are using this week to reinforce our place value! I love some Jamie!

and our next big unit builds place value before we start regrouping. I have already used lots from Amy's pack, but now we are moving into the larger numbers.

and these two files are staples in our grade level. Each day starts with Early Bird books from Second Story Window. I love it's spiral sequence. We also use Jen Jones' Rainbow Words and Phrases. Our kids are tested each Friday with my tutor.

whew! well, that's it! Go and link up with DeeDee! 

what i will do different next year

each summer I go through the same mental disease of trying to change everything from lessons, units, and decor for the next year

It's what I love and hate about teaching

every year is different

but I've got to learn to keep the good stuff!

Have you already started thinking about next year? My teammie keeps a page in her notebook titled "next year"! I love it! I have been pinning away like a crazy person!

and now I have found the perfect linky over at Finding Joy in 6th!

so here are my "next year" goals

I just bought my EC teacher planner and I am committed! I swear!

We are required to do lesson plans online, and while I love that, I need to see it in writing I need that physical commitment to my plans! 

This year we began Fountas and Pinnell LLI kits for all second graders. I fell in love with it for one) it requires no planning on my part! and two) it's just good teaching!

BUT, each lesson is 20-30 minutes and even with another teacher pulling two of the groups per day, it was 90 minutes of guided reading. 

I have always done the workshop type model of minilesson, practice, minilesson, practice, etc.

Cannot do that now. So I began purchasing centers and making them to fit my classroom too. 

I will be printing and laminating most of the summer! I love the idea of the independent practice, but i have a hard time letting go. I think Teeny said it best when she said she was a smoothie! I hate letting go of that awesome idea I read on so-and-so's blog last night or the one i read about online! Bu they've gotta learn to problem solve and think for themselves!

We got some devastating news a few weeks ago...

we have to be at work at 7am next year! and students can be in the room at 7:10! that's AM people! I already have a "no talking to me until 9am" policy...and now we are moving another 15 minutes further away!

I really need to find a school that runs from 9-5 or something. And there has got to be some research that shows kids cannot function that early in the morning!

and my goal this year was to always leave by 4:00. We get out at 2:30 and by the time I get back from car rider duty, bus duty, or getting stopped in the hallway it's 3:00. 

As much as would like to think I can be Cara Carroll, Hope King, Amy Lemons, Amanda Madden, my girls over at Lesson Plan SOS, and Sarah Cooley, all rolled into one, I can't! 

Not to mention I need my room to look like Reagan Tunstall's! 

Let's be realistic! It's not all rainbows and cuppy cakes in their rooms either and I have to remember that! My kids love me and most days I'm ok with myself too!

I used to pride myself {when I taught 4t grade} in my no nonsense attitude. When I moved to 2nd grade, those sweet little faces, hugs, and hand holding really dampened my spirit! Plus, I know I allow them to toe that line too often. I may take up the old "no smiling until Christmas" attitude but I really just need to draw the line and stick to it. I love whole brain teaching, but i got real slack this year!

Hopfully with better planning and tougher management, I can get it all together!

So now go and link up with Kim so I know you are not perfect either!

Planning ahead...freebie!

If you are somewhat of a teaching addict like me, you are already zoned in on next year! I saw a yearly topic calendar somewhere out here in the blogosphere, but couldn't locate it again so I remade one. It just has a small spot to jot down what I what to teach that month. I am probably going to redo it to make one page for each month, but until then...Enjoy!

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