Getting Organized.... and Boston Fundraiser!

I consider myself to be an organized person. Maybe a little bit of a clean freak even. However, moving classrooms every year AND grade levels has caused some chaos in my life and I need a solution!

My files is problem number one. After teaching 3 grades, I have stuff everywhere. Two folders for almost every month, all different grade levels, ugh. Exhibit a:

I just found 4 different files titled "reading logs". Seriously?

So here's my question for you. I'm moving back to K next year and I am also moving SCHOOLS. I need to do a serious overhaul. Do I go with binders for subjects? Binders for months? Both? Bins? Files? What do I do?! 

In other news, my fundraiser for Martin Richard is going wonderfully! If you would like to make a $15 donation to the Richard Family Foundation and receive nearly $80 worth of fantastic products from some super talented TpTers/bloggers, please click the donate button below.

Donate here! $15 gets $80 in awesome products - plus, it ALL goes to an amazing cause!

Have a blog? Have a facebook? Share this post! :)

Monday's Freebie and Fundraising for Boston

Hi everyone!

I am thrilled with the fundraiser for Martin Richard so far! There are so many generous people who have already donated to the cause. If you already donated, I promise I will be working on getting those products e-mailed to you as soon as I get home from work today. Thanks so much for donating! If you would still like to donate, head to my post here to read about the fundraiser and make your donation. For a donation of just $15 donation, you get nearly $80 worth of products from some great TpT sellers and bloggers!

This week we are working on long i. We worked on the -ight/-ite word families during spelling today and came up with this list:

We also talked about the -ike/-ine family, which leads me to this...

Now for my freebie! I am linking up with Classroom Freebies for Manic Monday! My kids are obsessed with QR codes, so I figured I might as well go with it :) This download contains a QR Code activity for the -ike/-ine families and a recording sheet to go with it.

Ike_ine QR Codes

Hope you like the freebie. Head over to my post here to donate for Martin Richard's family :)

Fundraising for Martin Richard - Amazing TpT Products for an Even More Amazing Cause!

I am SO excited to write this post! Ten generous, wonderful bloggers and I have teamed up to bring you this awesome, incredible fundraiser! All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit the Richard Family Foundation.  Martin Richard was 8 years old when he was killed in the Boston Marathon Bombing on April 15th. His 6 year old sister, Jane, was critically injured - she has already lost one of her legs. His mom, Denise, had a serious brain injury. Martin and his family were waiting at the finish line for their dad to cross when the bombing occurred. Martin's story is close to my heart as a Boston area elementary teacher. Thank you to the amazing bloggers who donated wonderful products valued at  nearly $78! For a donation of $15 to my fundraiser page via PayPal, you can receive all of these amazing products for your classroom use.

Here's a peek at what was donated - click the picture to go to the TpT listing for each!

$77.50 worth of amazing products for a donation of $15 to a wonderful cause! 

Please click the donate button below to make your donation. Please include your name and e-mail under SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS when making your donation so that I am able to find you and send you the products via e-mail once the donation has been received. Please note, I will work to get the products to you ASAP, but I will not always be at my computer, so it may take a few hours :) If you haven't received your product in 24 hours, please contact me at theprimarybuzz@gmail.com. 

Thank you SO much in advance for your donations! Have a blog or Facebook? Please spread the word! 

Donate Here!

Five for Friday

Ugh, what a long week back after vacation! Here's my five for Friday - head over to Doodlebugs Teaching and link up!

1.

Spring has sprung! Lola is lovin' this nice weather! The only downside - we're currently residing my house and putting in a stone patio. My house is in shambles!

2.

My best friend is getting married tomorrow! I made these cake pops for favors.

3.

Seriously.

4.

Reader's Theater packet by A Teeny Tiny Teacher is my new favorite thing. It's not often that my kids are completely involved in what they're doing and aren't following me around the room asking me a million questions! My kids LOVE these!

5. 

Just a reminder, I am going to be fundraising for this little guy's family starting Sunday. A few kind blogging friends so kindly donated some of their AWESOME TpT products for this fundraiser. If you are interested in donating something, please e-mail me at theprimarybuzz@gmail.com, or leave a comment here. I plan to have the fundraiser up and running on Sunday - please spread the word! Read my post on the Boston Marathon Bombing here.

Moving back to Kindergarten!

In January, we had some budget cuts, and unfortunately, my first grade position would be first to go for next year. I have bounced around a lot in my teaching career, and after moving last year from K to 1, I wasn't really interested in moving again. After a few months of sweating it out and hoping I had a position for the following year, I was told that I'm moving back to kindergarten. I'm also moving to a different school in my district. I'm happy that I have a position next year, don't get me wrong, and kindergarten has always had my heart. But, it's my second year at my current school, and I finally have gotten comfortable there. Now, I have to move my whole classroom across town to a new school where I don't really know anyone :( The joys of teaching!

In other news, I have lots of helpful friends who are donating awesome products to my fundraiser for Martin Richards (Thank YOU!)! Check out my post here to read more about my Boston fundraiser. On Sunday, I plan to have the fundraiser up and running! Lots of great products for a small donation to the Richard Family Foundation :) 

If you would like to donate to my fundraiser, please e-mail me @ theprimarybuzz@gmail.com. Please share this info - the more the merrier!

Apologies for the short post. I'm preoccupied with my upcoming move, plus I had a final observation with my principal this morning and 2 IEP meetings- I'm burnt out! 

QR Codes- Where Have You Been All My Life?!

I have been looking at other teachers using QR codes in their classrooms for awhile now and I had no idea how to even BEGIN using these with my first graders, but I gave it a shot and made a little center for this week to reinforce the er/ir/ur spelling pattern. I used this AMAZING packet by Lyndsey (A Year of Many Firsts) to introduce the concept today. We're using a lot of her packet this week in our literacy centers. My kids LOVED the Super Girls story and characters used to introduce this spelling pattern. Here are a few pics from today:

Our list of words with er/ir/ur after reading the Super Girls story.

This is the write the room activity that we changed into a pocket chart activity.

They created these masks with words from the er/ir/ur spelling pattern :)

I created this freebie to go along with this spelling pattern that you can use if you have access to iPads/iPod touch or iPhones. My kids LOVED this center! I couldn't believe how much fun they had with it. They were all begging to do it again and again. I used the recording sheet in the packet for the kids to write the words they found, and instead of cutting the cards out, I kept them on one sheet for them to scan, but you could always place them around the room for a "scan" the room activity. I didn't number them, because I wasn't sure how people wanted to use them (whole sheet vs. individual cards) but you could always add it with a sharpie after you laminate. Enjoy!

Here's your QR code freebie - I'm linking up with Classroom Freebies for Manic Monday!

QR Codes er ir ur

Finally, yesterday I posted about Martin Richard, Boston Marathon bombing victim (click the linked text to visit yesterday's post). I am looking for TpT product donations for a fundraiser to help Martin's family, which includes his mother, who suffered a massive brain trauma, and his little sister, Jane, who is only 6 years old and has lost a leg. Sadly, Martin was killed last Monday, and was the tragedy's youngest bombing victim at only 8 years old. If you are able to donate something from your TpT shop, please e-mail me at theprimarybuzz@gmail.com, or even leave a comment here with your e-mail and product name. I would love your help in this fundraising effort. Thank you to the generous ladies who already contacted me, you are so sweet! :)