RclassroomsRus: June 2015

Saturday, 27 June 2015

Friday's News

So today's news is brought to you by Saturday. Yesterday Jeff and I both spent the day cleaning out our classrooms. I think it's safe to say each year we forget how big this job is, ugh!

After clearing out of my room I went to visit my new rooms and begin the task of planning how to organize for each of them. I hesitate to plan too much because our student numbers are still shifting which means I could be switching assignments come fall.

Here's one room I will be sharing with a teaching partner. Pretty bare. Notice the lack of shelving. There's some just outside of this picture, but not enough in my opinion.

Here's my other room. I will be part SERT (Special Education Resource Teacher). I plan to work in classrooms and pull small groups into my office here. This is how it was left. Do I change it around? Do I leave things as is? What is the best set up for my kiddos?

...the biggest hurdle is the windows. I find myself distracted by anyone walking by, so how do I keep the students on task when kids walk by? The previous teacher had paper up to block the windows (green and blue sheets in pic) , but I'm not sure if I can find something that looks a little nicer, or just leave things as is.

Thoughts? Ideas? I would love to hear what you might do with this little space to accommodate the windows and distractions.

You survived the week, now tell us how you did it?

1) Use the Friday's News button on your blog
2) Write about how you survived. What products did you use, what did you do that worked?

Go ahead and brag, we want to hear all about your week:)

1. LABELS FOR CENTERS, POCKET CHART AND CLASSROOM ORG

The collection has closed. Let other people know about it through twitter.

Friday, 19 June 2015

Friday's News

Happy Friday!

This week we are taking time to celebrate Father's. We have made cards and a craft to celebrate our dads.

Here's a look at our craft.

Wishing all the wonderful dad's out there an amazing Father's Day!

The collection has closed. Let other people know about it through twitter.

Tuesday, 9 June 2015

First Year on TPT - helpful tips

I just received an email this morning confirming our renewal on TPT. It got me thinking, where did this year go? What have we learned? What would I tell myself a year ago that would have been helpful?

Starting out on TPT tips:

....in no particular order

1) Research a unique name that represents who you want to be know as in the TPT world.

Make a list of names that you like or represent you. Then start typing them into TPT, as well as into blogger. For us we went through several names until we decided on Rclassroomsrus.

2) Secure your new name under all social media.

We began by securing our name on TPT, blogger, and email. Even if you don't think you will blog, it's worth saving a blog under your name just in case you change your mind if the future.

After that, we looked into twitter and a Facebook page.

3) Get a mentor

I was lucky enough to have a fellow collogue who began on TPT just a few years ago. That poor girl. I think I emailed or called her daily with questions. Having someone who has been on TPT for a while was the biggest help in the world. She guided me towards proper pricing, as well as how I could get my items out there for the world to see...and hopefully buy.

4) Get familiar in Powerpoint and PDF

Play with it, have fun with it. Try not to curse at it;)

5) Make products that you would use in your own classroom

What do you need for your classroom right now. Make it. Odds are if you need it, others do too. Remember, the first product you post must be a freebie, so make sure this best represents you and your skills.

Here's our first product. You can tell we were very new at this...

6) If you like it then you should've put your name on it (insert destiny child's put a ring on it song here)

I wish someone would have told me to do this from the beginning. The truth is, there are a few bad apples out there that may steal your work and post it as their own or on their blog. If you put your name on your work and save it in PDF this makes it harder for people to steal and claim your work.

7) Look for clipart, but make sure you read the fine print.

When we first began we had no money to invest in clipart. If it wasn't for mycutegraphics.com, we wouldn't have had such cute packages. Many popular clipartist post free clipart. We also loved Krista Wallden's free clipart.

8) Make a credits page.

This is the page that goes at the end of your package. The more clipart we use, the more we add to our end of package page. Here's an example:

9) Make a paid product and don't forget to keep your phone off silent mode.

I missed our first cha-ching (yes this is the sound your phone will make if you download the TPT app). I had it on silent. It was the best and most exciting $0.85 I have ever earned. IT would have been way better if I had heard my phone go off.

10) When the time is right, start to invest in yourself.

Here is what we began to invest in:

Clipart (I am now a fullblow addict)

Fonts

Professional looking blog make over

TPT Button

With one year down, I can't wait to see what the next TPT year will bring. Cheers and best of luck to all our TPT friends.

Friday, 5 June 2015

Friday's News

Well where do I begin to describe this week?

In one word, survival.

We have 3 weeks left until summer and unfortunately the students have mentally started their summer vacation before the end of school.

Oh, and this happened. And we all know what a full moon can do...

So I have to ask, what are your tricks to surviving the last few weeks of school? Usually, I have some fun end of the year work sheets that keep my students busy while we deal with all the interruptions of track and field, trips, assemblies, etc. However, this year my students need more that just fun busy work. Any tricks? Tips?