Before   After...50+ hours and eight wonderful people...       
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Start the Year Off with Literacy From the very first day of school, as you learn your students…you will see that some students finish their work quickly and efficiently while other students take more time with many variabilities in between. For the fast finishers: Quality is Key, Do it Nice or Do it Twice…etc. Hold them to high standards for accuracy, completeness and neatness…it will set the tone for the year and all new assignments. Getting Acquainted Activities are essential to begin with small non-threatening assignments that can be accomplished fairly quickly and help you learn your students while amassing great work to be posted in your room and shared at conferences with parents and saved as a work collection for the end of the year. (Students enjoy reminiscing about completing the work earlier in the year and will be amazed how much they have learned.) As your fast finishers complete a task, hand them a book…or quietly have them join you in the class library. Show them your procedure for checking out a book. Students will also need a bookmark because each time you reconvene the group, they will mark where they left off and then as they finish the next assignment, they already know the expectation is to read and they have a book calling to them. It is win-win for students and teachers. Not only are students learning class procedures, they are also ready to train other students in the class. Soon most students will have a book to read. Start out with something humorous, or a collection of many short stories that will meet many reading levels, keep it high interest and accessible. School’s In! is one of my favorites to get everyone reading…   Let’s Talk About Packing for a Trip to Europe I have been lucky enough to travel to Europe and I have packing for me down to an art. I might be a little obsessive about packing light for a trip that involves me lugging a suitcase around, I try to keep my bag under 24 lbs. Now a road trip is not a problem. Pop the case in the trunk and off you go. A trip without a car requires you to be the hauler. These tips should make it easy to pick what to take, so it easily fits in your bag and is lightweight and a breeze to plan what to wear at your destination. Easy Peasy So here is how I do it. Clothes for Ladies I pull out all clothes contenders and try on every piece and see what I can mix and match. Try to use what you have, then you will only need a few additional items. Unless you are going on a safari, do not get the zippered, pocketed safari like clothes, wear clothes that look smart and that are cool and comfortable. I plan carefully what I need for the climate. Is it cool, warm, hot? For a spring/summer/fall trip to warm climates I plan on: 1 pair of jeans—I like these for the plane because they look great when you arrive, are casual for a simple night out and comfy for the hotel room, and they don’t need to be washed every time you wear them 1-2 pairs of slacks/capris—if you are anti capri, which pants can you roll up a bit to change the look? 3-4 skirts--lightweight to pack, look nice, cooler than pants 5-6 Tops to go with pants and skirts—some sleeveless (instantly looks long sleeved under a cardigan), short sleeved, maybe one long sleeved 1-2 cardigans—always dresses up an outfit, can be tied around shoulders, can be opened or closed for a different look Optional 1 dress—if I need to dress up, they are sometimes heavy—reversible might be an choice Shorts—if you are going to be walking in hot sun with lots of climbing/hiking Swimsuit, only if you plan to use it, question whether it is worth taking to use once Scarf—buy at destination, fun to hunt for…make great packable gifts *Love: Royal Robbins, Toad and Co., J Jill, NYDJ Unders 3-4 socks, athletic 1 heavier socks or compression socks for plane or cool evening 7 panties 2 bras 1 PJ 3 camis *Love: JJill Essential Tank, ExOffico Unders dry in no time, wick perspiration Clothes for Men 4 pairs of travel pants—fabric that dries quickly and folds well, lightweight 1 pair shorts if you are going to be walking in hot sun with lots of climbing/hiking 4-5 short sleeved shirts—quick drying Swimsuit, only if you plan to use it, question whether it is worth taking to use once 1 pair nice slacks if needed 1 dress shirt if needed 1 lightweight sweater/fleece *Love: Royal Robbins, Eddie Bauer Unders 5 socks, athletic 1 heavier socks or compression socks for plane or cool evening 7 underwear 3-4 T-shirts *Love: ExOffico Unders dry in no time, wick perspiration Outerwear Rain jacket Lightweight Fleece—great on plane or cool morning/evening (optional) Lightweight Packable Vest or Coat (optional) Hat for sun Umbrella—buy at destination if needed Shoes—most important item you bring Ladies 1 pair walking shoes/athletic—wear on the plane, should look ok with pants, capris, shorts maybe skirts, should be lightweight enough to fit in suitcase if needed 1-2 sandals—must be as comfy as walking shoes, the additional pair if you can fit them in the suitcase to switch out to give your feet a rest—must be as comfy as walking shoes, try one sandal with closed toes for a different look and varied uses shower shoes—buy at destination if needed Try all shoes all day in all walking conditions, if they are not comfortable do notbring them. Men 1 pair walking shoes/athletic—wear on the plane—Ecco makes dressier looking shoes than athletic shoes 1 additional pair if you have room shower shoes—buy at destination if needed Try all shoes all day in all walking conditions, if they are not comfortable do not bring them. It is nice to have shoes you can wash off in the shower and they can dry. Jewelry Bring a watch you will use it every day! Bring a few earrings and maybe a chain, look for a pendant to go on the chain or earrings to remember the trip Don’t bring anything you would be upset if you lost, including wedding rings. *Earrings and small jewelry makes great gifts and take up little space to pack. Packing Use zippered packing cubes and roll 1-2-3 items together. It is easy to see what you have, a snap to put back after cleaning and super organized to pack. One could be used to hold dirty clothes. Use all the parts of your suitcase including under the lining, all zippered areas, separate items to ease locating and pull out; a hat or a jacket for instance. Always put things back in the place you took them from so you will always no where they are or if they are not packed.  A few pieces...look for things to add to remember your trip. Bring a chain and find a pendant. Laundry Use hotel laundry service for emergencies or items that won’t hold shape (or leave them at home) Use hotel shampoo and shower: lay clothes in bottom of the shower, wet, rub some shampoo on your hands, let if fall on clothes, get a nice suds/lather, rub clothes around then rinse thoroughly. Wring out carefully, then shake to get all the wrinkles out. Hang inside the shower to let drip, on hangers or clothesline you bring. You can string around the bathroom, just put towels out to catch water. You can take a drain stopper (flat and easy to pack) and use the sink for smaller items. Rinse thoroughly. The idea is, each day, wash what you wore and hang it to dry. You will not have a ton to do, it will be done and mostly dry, you won’t have to deal with tons of wet clothes all over your room. I use a dry bag for clothes that are not quite dry, fold it in the top of my suitcase and hang clothes as soon as I get into the hotel room. Easy. You might not be able to get stains out, with no washer, don’t bring anything extra delicate or that you are afraid to toss if it is not salvageable. *Love: Rick Steves Clothes Lines (2 to hook together), Teamoy Travel Hanging Wet Dry Bag (24.7×18 inches) on Amazon. Sewing Kit Small amount of thread, needles, extra pull for zipper, buttons, scissors, safety pins. Toiletries Keep a thicker plastic shopping bag to keep your toiletry bag in so if there is a spill it stays inside the bag. This has happened… Toothbrush, Paste, Floss (4 tubes last for 30 day trip, 2 floss) A battery powered toothbrush for a good clean, too Mirror (some hotels don’t have one, or tiny in bathroom only) Makeup and Remover Face Cream Lotion Cloth (some hotels don’t have one) Swabs Comb/Brush Hair Ties, Etc. Dryer, Flat Iron, Hair Products Shampoo/Conditioner (some hotels don’t have one or both) Deodorant & Baby Powder (powder for legs and back) Razor and Soap (most hotels have soap…) Nail Care, Tweezers Glasses & Case Contacts & Solution Meds & OTC Sunscreen Chapstick Vaseline (helps prevent blisters if you rub on your feet before putting on shoes) Hand Sanitizer Tissues Stain Removers Suction Hooks work well to hang bags out of the way—some bathrooms are tiny and there is no place to lay bag *Love: I use Lewis and Clark Pill Organizer great for long trips, sort before you go…all set, Contents Toiletry Bag, Target Conair Travel Hair Dryer, Chi Air Compact Travel dual voltage flat iron, battery powered toothbrush, Rick Steves travel cloth--dries very quickly has a loop to hang, Interdesign hooks, magnified mirror First Aid Itch Cream/Bug Repellant (optional) Band-aids, all sizes mostly for blisters and cuts Antibiotic Cream Mole Skin (even 1 sheet can be helpful) Cold Meds/Allergy Meds Antiseptic Wipes Purse Nice to have when you need a few things, look like a local. Wallet/Coinpurse (there are many coins in Europe, easier to deal with if not in wallet) Sunglasses Sunscreen Hand Sanitizer Tissue Gum, Snacks Guidebook/Maps/Tickets/Passes/Metro Cards Stain Remover Wipes Small First Aid Kit Chapstick 2-Sided Mirror for Ornate Ceilings and personal use Tiny expandable shopping bag, you will look like a local Measuring Tape *Love: I am really partial to Baggalini, they can be wiped off, have a zipper pocket inside for your wallet’s safekeeping, not too heavy, versatile, over the shoulder or crossbody. Also, Lewis and Clark RFID lightweight wallet, taxi wallets, TJMaxx has the small, lightweight, foldable shopping bags  Black cross body Baggalini.  A few essentials that are light to carry in a small purse. Daybag These items you might bring on the plane. When preparing for outings think daily what you will need, pack the night before so you have all parts and can grab and go—not scramble to find items and be late and harried… Wallet/Coinpurse Sunglasses Sunscreen Hand Sanitizer Tissue Gum, Snacks Guidebook/Maps/Tickets/Passes/Metro Cards Stain Remover Wipes Small First Aid Kit Chapstick Tiny expandable shopping bag, you will look like a local *Love: Eddie Bauer collapsible back pack, TJMaxx has the small, lightweight, foldable shopping bags, consider getting an over the door hook to hold backpacks (easy to pack for the day, out of the way) Other Ziplocs in varying sizes, roll up, put rubber bands around them, bands are useful too (you will be amazed all the ways both come in handy) Zip ties Flashlight Ear Plugs, Sleep Mask/Travel Pillow/Compression Socks (keep in one bag for use on plane then store in the bottom of the suitcase) Clock or use phone iPad or Kindle, preload books, maps, podcasts, travel info, then clear unused apps and use it to load/post and edit photos Adapters, multiplug to go in adapter so you can plug in multiple items—Target. Keep all wires, etc. in a mesh bag you can easily see if all are packed. *Love: Lullies ear plugs, Rick Steves eye mask, Lewis and Clark neck rest (neck rest, socks, eye mask, ear plugs all fit in LC case) Luggage Rolling Carry On Backpack/Daypack Purse/Wallet/Coin Purse Extra Bag that is flat but allows you to expand what you bring back Strap to strap carryon to your suitcase (optional) Luggage Tag, 2 Locks (might lose one, can lock up backpack if leaving at hotel reception, use luggage tags that have a cover for your name) 2-3 Packing Cubes Drybag for damp clothes *Love: Rick Steves Travel Bag,Teamoy Travel Hanging Wet Dry Bag (24.7×18 inches) on Amazon, TJMaxx has collapsible athletic bags that are great for expansion Money belt Can be uncomfortable, consider silk it is more lightweight and dries more quickly Pass Port, put in plastic bag because of perspiration Credit Cards (test them, bring at least 2 with chip) Local Currency/US $, put in plastic bag because of perspiration Health Card Driver’s License Only carry the $ you need for the day in your wallet. Decide if you need a credit card. If not keep the rest in the money belt. You can go to the restroom to retrieve items if needed or a traveling companion can help you access the card or $. Consider getting money at a time different than an outing, come back to your hotel and get organized. Use the hotel safe if available and carry as little as possible on your person/bag. Paperwork Plane Tickets Other Tickets Reservations/Vouchers Maps/Apps Copies of Travel Documents Copies of PP Copies of CC Credit Card Contact Info Travel Insurance List/Photos of Meds Emergency Contact Info Place for receipts, Things to keep This list is good for five days or four weeks of travel. Ready to go? ©Tuscarora Teacher Reaching for the Stars This is what a classroom looks like when it is packed up at the end of the year and again when teachers turn it into a learning environment before school begins for a new year. The remaining posters, number line, alphabet: all put up and often purchased by teachers. See my boards on Pinterest for some dazzling classroom tours.    Tuscarora Teacher Time Saver Tip #1 First Weeks: Get Your Self Pro-Organized
Drawers & Cabinets To get your year off to the best start, take everything out of your cabinets, drawers, etc. This may seem daunting, just take one drawer or shelf at a time and take things out and really look at what you have: are the items still useful, have you used them in the last two years, do they need to be updated or refreshed? Look for similar items or more of the same, you want to store all like items together. Then put back the things you plan to use in the order you will use them. For example bulletin board items: September on top then October, etc. When September is over, it goes to the bottom of the stack and will eventually find its way back to the top in time for next year. Next start a give-away table for teachers to share your unused materials. This will help you find lost items, see if pieces need to be added and keep your materials to a manageable amount and ready to go. You are working toward time saving. For supplies: if possible put smaller items in bins and put logical things together in the same place, that way when you need pencils—you can easily direct a student to get the number needed. Label your items and if possible for smaller items see through boxes help to visually find and assess if you are running low on a certain supply. Try to use school materials rather than buying school supplies, there are plenty of other items you need to spend money on to keep yourself prepared. File Cabinets File cabinets are another way to use/lose lots of time. Try one drawer at a time and make each drawer a category: Reading, Math, Science, etc. Have a separate drawer for your reading curriculum items so you can use this same strategy by units. Within that file put all the files in alphabetical order, you can quickly see you have duplicate files. Also, when you have time take one file at a time and flip through…still good ideas? Don’t keep more than 2 copies, I know that is scary, unless you use it every year you will spend more time looking for the extra copies. That being said, keep items you use at the beginning of each year, monthly activity sheets, fluency passages, assessments for instance that can be reused, but they are in a specific place every time so they can easily be found and used at a moments notice. The beginning of the year stuff, you can quickly count and make just the copies needed for the new school year. A volunteer can help with this by putting a post-it note of the quantity. (or even make copies for you at the end of the year for the fall). More on filing cabinets: Type labels on address labels in a large, readable font and space them on the label so the words go to the top of the label so they are easily seen in the file cabinet. This is quicker than you think once you have your drawers in alpha order. Once you set up the template, you can delete the words on move on to a new drawer, the formatting will be the same. This is also a good volunteer job. If there are many pages or parts in the file, consider putting them in an expandable file folder, then the pages will stay neat and not flop down. You could also consider color coding folders, but I like to save those for special projects. If you use pages over and over throughout the week, consider putting 1 master in a page protector inside a binder so you can quickly grab it to make copies , that way the page stays protected. Keep 2 copies if this makes you less nervous. This will eliminate the crinkling and marks that eventually make it hard to get a good clean copy. Do any pages need to be refreshed, can two pages be combined for better use, do they still meet your needs? Take a good hard look, you want your students to be able to read the pages and eventually those pages will go home as well. The old metal, vertical filers are great on top of a shelf to keep items you can easily grab at a moment’s notice, consider color coding these files, ie. field trip forms, money receipts, student labels, discipline forms, absent forms. Small binders will fit in as well for newsletters, discipline records, parent contact record and so on. Keep similar things together so it is logical to find items now and later. Keeping your paperwork organized so you don’t spend time looking for things and can quickly grab what you need is a huge sanity and Time Saver. I have saved many pins to Pinterest on how folks have organized their classrooms. Take a look so you can be Pro-organized. I never took photos of my organization, which received many positive comments, be pro-organized and photograph your room, organization, bulletin boards, and all you do to make your classroom inviting. Remember to do it during non contracted times so there are no students in your photos.
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AuthorTeaching is my passion. Archives
January 2019
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