Monday Made It!

I forget each year how exhausting the first few days back to school are. All I want to do is SLEEP. And hire a personal foot masseuse...totally reasonable, right? :)

I'm a little late on this Monday Made It, but better late than never! I made this last week for our Meet the Teacher night. I wanted to make sure that I didn't run in to the problem I've heard so often before "I didn't know how to get in touch with you." Solution? Magnet! Everyone has something they can stick a magnet on, even if it's a dorm sized fridge in a tiny apartment. I know the papers I pass out with my information always find their way to the trash, so we'll see how my parent contact goes this year :) What do you do to help support parent communication in your classroom?

Personalized magnet to ensure parents have my information - too cute to throw away...I hope!

Here's to hoping that everyone's year is off to an amazing start! I can already imagine how quickly this year is going to fly by....teaching math in 90 minutes blocks makes the day go by SO fast **knock on wood**

Good night!

Goal Setting: Back to School Edition

Can you believe school is just about ready to start?! I can't believe today was our first full day back for staff. It was so great to see faces I hadn't see in a couple months and think about my clean slate for the year to come. With so many changes this year, I have been doing lots of thinking about my goals for this year.

Personal: I am still in the middle of my weight loss journey and need to make my health a priority. I need to leave school no later than 4:45 each day except Wednesday in order to workout as much as possible.

Organization: My email is constantly yelling at me that it's almost full and I need to delete items. I need to make sure documents and lesson materials aren't saved in my email but that I actually transfer them to my USB instead.

Planning: I (and the hubs) need this to happen at school as much as possible. I don't get as much work done as home and, frankly, can think of a million other things I'd rather do than plan when I'm at home. Plus, with my new AMAZING planner, I actually want to crack it open and get started :)

Professional: I am starting this year as a new 5th grade teacher (previously 4th grade) as well as a new grade level mentor. I want to learn as much as I can from my leadership team to mentor those around me. This will be a learning opportunity for me and I'm very excited to embrace it. I can't wait to help other amazing teachers :)

Students: I want my students to understand that math is fun, engaging, and part of their everyday world and not something to dread. I want to recognize their good behavior instead of always punishing the bad ones, and create an environment that they want to come to everyday.

Motto: Taking my school's motto for the year:  Be Positive in the Present. Look for the silver lining and find one, no matter how small. There will always be something to celebrate, and our outlook is so much better when we strive to look for the positive instead of dwelling on the endless days full of meetings, crazy children, and never ending paperwork not so positive :)

What do YOU want to accomplish this year??

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Table Signs and Supply Labels Friday FREEBIE!

Happy Friday, everyone!! This is my last Friday before officially going back to work...where did the time go?! I have so many great things I used last year and I know this year will be full of the same soI wanted to set up my own TPT store - since it's Friday and we are right around the corner for the new school year, I made a couple *freebies* to help make the process a little easier. Use these labels (2 pages total) to organize student bins, your desk, or even your supply closet! I'd love feedback to know what colors and patterns you are using this year so I can create even better goodies :)

Download this freebie HERE

Download this table signs FREEBIE HERE

Let me Introduce Myself

Hello, friends! Well, here we are...the beginning of another school year. With so many changes happening, I thought the best idea would be to create a blog to give myself a space to discuss the amazing happenings I know will take place in my classroom and school and also to connect and network with other teachers!

First things first - my name is Courtney and I'm a (new) 5th grade math teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. My first teaching job was in 5th grade, but then I spent the next two years hanging out in 4th grade and loving every minute. This coming year, however, provided me with a couple new opportunities: specialize in math (my FAVORITE!), and be a grade-level mentor teacher. I'm incredibly excited for the journey that both of those opportunities will take me on.

It's hard to think that I'll be creating new materials now for 5th grade standards but fun to think that I get to teach what I love everyday to a classes of kiddos I already know so well from last year. There are a few crazies lovely ones that I'm sure will be exciting to have back in class ;)

On a more personal note, I just got married this summer to an amazing guy and I'm loving the newlywed life! It's so nice not to have to worry about wedding planning and to just be able to relax. David and I have 2 dogs and live in the Phoenix area. I'm the clean freak that picks up the trail my husband leaves behind and he's the one who keeps me calm and collected. As amazing as it's been, this summer has flown by and I can't believe I've already been back to school shopping. At one point my entire kitchen bar and dining room were covered in new library books/bins/assorted arts and crafts and my sweet husband didn't even flinch. They say teachers need to have the patience of angels but I'm pretty sure their spouses do as well!

The Big Day

Thank you for stopping by...I'd love comments on anything you'd like to see on this blog and please share with teachers to get this party started!