Organizing Weekly Materials

Organizing your weekly materials for the week can be quite frustrating, but it is an essential tool to staying on task and keeping you and your kids organized! I usually begin making copies for the following week on either Tuesday or Wednesday. I put these copies in a letter tray labeled “Next week’s work.” Then on Friday when the day is finished I take 10 minutes before walking out the door to organize next week’s work. This way when you walk in Monday morning you don’t feel rushed and you know exactly where everything is at. A tool that I use to help myself stay organized throughout the week can be purchased at Lakeshore Learning (notice the picture below). I hated to spend almost 50.00 on, but it is WELL worth it! I searched ebay and tried my hardest to come up with other ways, but this just worked for me. Each day of the week has its own color and each subject has it’s own folder. It’s FABULOUS! My assistants love it and my substitutes love it because it’s easy to access and nothing can get misplaced.

All Purpose Teacher Organizer

 

{Free Download} September 2010 Calendar

Happy Friday, Friends!  I recently made a calendar for my cousin who is expecting her 1st baby on Oct. 1st.  I kept a calendar during Noah's 1st year & wrote something special (milestone, new food, new word,  etc) on each day. It is INVALUABLE to me now.  A keepsake I will always treasure.  So, we decided to offer 

a new calendar download each month for you to print and use as you wish!

So, since September is right around the corner.  It is available as a FREE download today.   Click here to download!  

Have a fabulous weekend!!!  XOXO!

Theme Thursday

It is color week! 

The FBU girls like to take the first couple of weeks to teach colors and shapes.  You can do this at any grade level.  In kindergarten, introduce colors, shapes, and color words.  In first grade, work on spelling color and shape words.  We like to "theme" it up!  So, have your kids wear a different color each day.  Celebrate that color with a story, song, painting, and of course taste testing.  A few years ago we created a color and shape book for our students to make.  Each day students complete a page for the book.  The book is super cute and crafty!  It is something we love to display for Open House Night.  We will be posting our Color Book to etsy soon!  Be sure to check it out!  Have a colorful week!

{Baby Shower} What Are Little Boys Made Of?

We interrupt this regular scheduled Featured Party Wednesday to bring you one of my own creations!  I finally got the pictures from the Frogs, Snails, & Puppy Dog Tails baby shower that I co-hosted for my friend up on the MMT Blog today.

I have tons more pictures & DIY tutorials on the MMT Blog.  So, hop over & check it out here!  

P.S. I have loads of fun parties to post about in the next weeks, so don't miss it (Teacher Baby Shower, Sunshine Party, Pink Lemonade 1st Birthday, & many more)!!!

Dismissal List

Have you ever experienced the worry and frustration at the end of the day when it comes time to dismiss your kids at school? Well, I use something called a dismissal list. It helps me to see something written down rather than going from memory. I have all my kids who ride the bus written down along with their bus numbers on one side. On the other side I have those who are car riders. I also include an area for those who walk. Many teachers ask why I include this, but at our school we have many after school programs that allow the children to walk to their various activities, so I like to write those down as well so that I do not forget about those either.

Dismissal lists are a great tool for all teachers to help ensure the children get home correctly. On the back of this list I include an emergency contact list just in case I need to contact someone quickly. Not only do dismissal lists help you to stay organized, they come in handy when you have to be away and you have a substitute inside your classroom. This way there is no question about where your students need to go at the end of the day! So, rest easy my friends- I’ve got a copy of my dismissal list up for sale on our etsy page!! Click here to visit us now to purchase!!      

Theme Thursday

August is an exciting time for teachers and students.  This week "Theme Thursday" is all about the first day of school.  As teachers, we are always on the hunt for new ideas.  Here are some ideas for the first day of school!
        The FBU girls love themes!  If you have a theme for your classroom, planning activities for the first day centered around your classroom theme is always super fun!(If you do not have a theme and would like help coming up with one, please let us know!)  I like to do a school tour on the first day.  My classroom is bee themed, so I take one of my favorite bees and hide it.  Before hiding my friend, I take pictures of him so I can show the kids. Then I tell the kids about my bee , show them the pictures, and explain that he is missing.  We talk about what he looks like and sounds like.  We then head off on a hunt around the school looking for him. We visit all of the important areas of our school (office, library, gym, clinic, playground, cafeteria, etc.).  As we are learning about all of the different places and meeting some important people, the students ask if anyone has seen our special bee friend.  All of the staff are in on the hunt and have a clue sending us to our next stop. The kids get super pumped!  While we are hunting, my assistant brings my bee out of hiding and places him somewhere in the classroom.  The kids are super excited to make it back to the room and see him there!  
           Keeping with our bee theme-we talk about bees, make bees to hang in the hallway, eat bee shaped cookies, and draw pictures of the hunt for our bee friend.  When asking my students what their favorite part of their first day was, they always say hunting for the bumble bee.  
            Theme it up!  Carry it through your activities!  Your students will love how everything goes together!  Adding your theme to the first day is a great way to start the school year! 

 

This is Mr. Bumble!  On the first day of kindergarten, the classroom door was left open.  He buzzed out the door, and now we must find him!

First Giveaway WINNER!!!

Congratulations to Alana!  She is the lucky winner of our very first giveaway for FBU!!!  She wins a custom printable PDF banner of her choice from Moo Moo's & Tutus Party Designs.

Alana, send us your email address & we'll be in touch soon!

Giveaway Reminder

Remember, only ONE MORE DAY to enter our first giveaway.  Al you have to do is become a follower or tell us that you already are...easy, peasy!  :)  The giveaway will close tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 19 at 8:00 am EST.  A customized banner would add some definite flair to your next celebration!!!

An Organized Classroom

If you’re a teacher- you have probably already started back to school or getting ready to start. If you are anything like the FBU girls, you feel like you cannot get organized enough! I know there are a lot of you teachers out there that feel the same way, so hopefully some of these tips will help.

·         3 reasons to: LABEL everything!

o   (1)You may or may not have an assistant, but if you do- labeling everything not only helps your assistant, but it helps you. It helps the assistant already know where things belong before having to interrupt you to find out where you need things to go.

o   (2) If you need to be absent for any reason, the substitute teacher can come right into your classroom and not have any problems finding anything!

o   (3) It saves you A LOT of time. I try to stay super organized at school! When you have 18-20 of everything coming in at once, it makes a big difference to already have a designated spot for it to go.

§  You may think that labels are too expensive and they are time consuming, but trust me. Once you label- you’ll never turn back. Also- if you put labels on your wish list, parents are always willing to pitch in!

·         Organize Electronic files

o   When working on the computer, it is very tempting to place files just wherever you can put them. The key is to remember where you put them so next year you can find them quickly and revise them to use them again.

§  You can do this by organizing all your files in years you are teaching. Ex. This year everything you make you would place in a folder labeled “2010-2011.” Inside that folder you can make subfolders according to whatever your needs may be.

§  CLIPART! I spent many hours this summer organizing my clipart. When I get clipart I’ve been so bad about saving it with whatever name it comes with. This is a HUGE mistake. Change the name to whatever you will remember. Such as- if the clipart is a girl holding an apple, save it as “Girl with apple.” This makes it much easier when trying to find that certain clipart you’ve been looking for. 

{FBU's First Giveaway} Customized Printable Banner

Happy Monday everyone!!!  To start off our week, we have decided to host our very first giveaway!  You have the chance to win your very own custom banner (made by Moo Moo's & Tutus Party Designs).  It will be a PDF banner sent to your email address & ready to be printed at home.  It will be completely customizable (your words, your shape, your colors).  Take a look at some sample banners!

CUTESY SEUSSY 

ONCE UPON A PRINCESS

POSH PICNIC

SUPER POWERS

{Here's how to enter to win your banner!}

1.  Become a follower of Frogs, Bees, & Under the Seas.

2.  Leave a comment on this post & tell us the next occasion you will be celebrating.

3. That's it ~ you're entered!

A winner will be chosen using random.org on Thursday, August 19 at 8:00 EST.    

Theme Thursday

It is time to head back to the classroom.  Right now, all around the world, teachers and students are preparing for a new school year.  As a teacher, I know how much time it takes to get ready for a new school year.  Here are a few tips to help you stay on top of things during this crazy time of year.

1.  Make themed lists.  Instead of making a huge "To Do" list, make smaller lists according to the tasks.  For example, have a "To Print" list, and "To Buy" list, a "Throw Away" list, a "To Make List", etc.  This will help you to not feel overwhelmed with one super long list!

2.  Sort work into two groups "School" and "Home".  Anything that can be done at home by you or someone else place in a basket,  and then everything that needs to be done at school put in another basket.  This way you are not wasting time at school doing something that could be done at home. Coloring, cutting, and gluing are great at home items!

    

   Okay now that you are organized and ready to go, lets talk about the students.  I like to give my students a little "welcome to class" gift.  There are lots of different options you can do.  You can put a couple cookies in a Ziploc bag, and then use our awesome "Welcome Back to School" bag topper.  This year, I did a bag of goldfish crackers and an apple juice box for each student.  I put them in a black paper bag and then added a gift tag.  A simple gift that looks FABULOUS! 

Welcome Back to School, Everyone!  Be sure to check out our freebies!  They will add a special touch to any back to school treat!

{Featured Party} Cereal Bar

Our first FBU featured party is a Cereal Bar & comes from Kristi of The Purple Pug!  She is a fellow party designer & makes such cute & glittery party goods!  She hosted a sleepover at her house for her kiddos & it looks like SO MUCH FUN!!!  I love the twist on the candy buffet (& much healthier too)!  Take a look at the pics below and then hop over to her blog to see more party goodness!

cereal served in sand pails (so festive & summery)

fresh orange ready for the sipping 

centerpiece is cute paper flowers arranged in a milk carton

the most adorable milk jugs I have ever seen (even with bling) :)

i heart the personalized spoons! 

the garland made with fruit loops (what else?)

Printable Grocery List

Using a printable grocery list is one of the quickest ways to outline your grocery shopping list week after week. You generate this master grocery list once and then use it as a form that is personalized to your families' distinctive tastes and needs.

To do this look at your receipts and past grocery lists for quite a few weeks or months. You will start to see a pattern of what you purchased for your family week after week, or consistently every couple of weeks, for example.

Next, organize this list of staples and frequently purchased items into a list which correspond with the aisles of your grocery store. This allows you to go straight down your list without having to backtrack through the store for an overlooked item on the list that was a few aisles back.

Then, once you have used this form list for a while, and tweaked it to fit your family and life well, make lots of photocopies of it, one to use each week, and slip them into your household notebook (check back next week for more on this).

Each week, put one of the printable grocery lists on your fridge to fill out all week long, and finish once you do your meal planning for the week, and then take the completed grocery list with you to the grocery store when you do your shopping.

However, if you don't have time to create your own, or you need a little motivation, I have created a grocery list template that you can use each week as a form to get you through the aisles quickly and easily

WE ARE OPEN!!!

Hello & welcome to Frogs, Bees, & Under the Seas Events & More! 

First things first, WE NEED FOLLOWERS!  So, to celebrate our Grand Opening, we would like to give you a free download.  To all of you amazing teachers out there (in a school or at home), we made some oh-so-cute Back to School circle tags (for cupcake toppers, gift tags, & more) and some treat-bag toppers that fit 6.5" sandwich or snack baggies!  Need a welcome gift for your kiddos, put some treats in a bag, top it with our toppers, & you're done {easy peasy}!

Circle Tags

treat bag toppers

Download the circle tags.

Download the treat bag toppers. 

So, if you like our new little blog & our freebie, please, please, please become a follower {we're not afraid to beg}!  We promise to fill our blog with teaching ideas, organizational tips, sensational party planning tips, and craft tutorials.  You don't want to miss it!