Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Back to School We Go!

That is really my fake-it-til-you-make-it mentality for work. Don't get me wrong. I am always excited to go back to school, but it's only the beginning of August. I don't actually go back for a couple of more weeks. I would just like a little bit more downtime before the fast forward button is pressed. But, as we all know, the preparation starts long before the start of school. As an aside, I was thinking how funny it is when Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Breaks all come, and 1-2 weeks seems like an eternity. Yet, when it's 1-2 weeks before the start of school, it feels like NOTHING! I guess that's relativity for you. Haha!

Anyway, as much or as little as we'd all like to think about it, it is time to think back-to-school. In fact, I know some of you are already there! I have done a little bit over the summer, but not nearly as much as I have the last few summers. Maybe it's because going into my fourth year of teaching as a seasoned veteran (bahahahaha), I am more guarded of that much-needed downtime.

My summer has been spent mostly focusing on my family. We had a 10-day vacation to see extended family in the New Orleans and Houston areas, and we coupled that with a few days on the beautiful white-sands beaches of the Emerald Coast in Florida. In between times, I have played tourist in my own city of San Antonio, visiting the Missions, seeing baseball games, touring museums, etc. It has been heavenly!

Now, I need to focus more on my classroom. I have another teaching assignment change this, although more minor than in year's past. I will still be fourth grade, but this year instead of being fully departmentalized, we will be teaming. I will be responsible for reading and writing, and my partner will teach math. We will both teach our own science and social studies. That itself is not much of a change since last year I was teaching writing and science/social studies. The biggest kicker is that my district is moving us to teaching reading by genre and pairing it with writing. Makes total sense! But, it is a change and something we all have to figure out. That has been my biggest challenge this summer... figuring out a structure for teaching reading by genre and gathering resources to do so.

Because I have been looking for resources, I am most grateful for the Teachers Pay Teachers site wide Back to School sale August 3-4!!!! I am also grateful to the Wise Guys for hosting a bomb-diggity linky party showcasing some awesome resources.

My Wish List is packed with resources, so I am ready to shop! If you are a TPTer, you know how awesome the sales are... most sellers put their stores on sale for 20% off, and TPT offers a Promo Code to get 10% more off, creating savings of up to 28%! So, fill up your Wish Lists and get ready to check out during the sale.

A word to the wise (and, unfortunately, I speak from experience here): don't forget to enter 

BTS15 

at checkout. Doh! How could I have done that?!?!

Need some ideas of what to shop for? For me, back-to-school is about setting the tone for year and making sure all the procedures are in place for each subject. Check out my Writing Workshop Teacher Toolbox for all the basic forms you need to get started in Writing Workshop. Included are Mentor Text Chart, Baseline Sample Analysis Form, What Are We Working On Form, I'm Ready for a Conference sign-up sheet, Conferencing Form, and Comments from the Reader slips.

Going along those lines of being prepared, make sure you have your Emergency Sub Plans for those unexpected days you have to be out. My emergency sub plans have been by-far my best-seller and have gotten lots of positive feedback from buyers.

I have two types: The Just Add Paper plans that little to no prep...just have a grade-appropriate picture book and paper available for your sub. These are in my store for grades K-5 and will save you added stress of needing something quick and easy to leave for your sub.

And I have the CCSS-aligned plans. These need slightly more prep. They are based on a specific picture book and come with ideas and printables for a day's worth of teaching. They are available for grades K-4.

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School Sale Time!

My wish list has been loaded for a while. And now I am ready to stock up on the Teachers Pay Teachers Products I need for the school year (or at least the beginning of the school year). The TpT Annual Back to School Sale is always one of the biggest of the year. Most sellers, including nearly all of the top sellers, participate by putting their whole stores on sale 20% off. And then on top of that, TpT allows you to enter the code BTS14 at checkout to get an additional 10% off... which adds up to 28% off on so many fantastic teaching products.

Some of you may already know that I got my start in blogging with Sub Hub. I had an extremely hard time finding a full-time teaching position, and so subbed in K-5 classrooms for four years. In those years, I learned a lot about what teachers and subs need, so I launched several lines of sub plans. And even though I don't really post on Sub Hub anymore since getting my full-time fourth grade position, those sub plans continue to be by far my most popular products.

First, there is the line I have of emergency sub plans aligned with CCSS. All these plans are based on a picture book and have lessons for warm-up, reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. They are available for grades K-4.

Then, there is the Just Add Paper line. These are for those true emergencies. Then also have lessons for warm-up, reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. They are also based on picture books. And they are available for grade K-5 and as a bundle for subs to have in case no plans are provided. The difference with these is that they are much more generic. You get to pick the picture book you use, so it can be anything you have available in your classroom. And there are no copies to make at all. You just need to add paper. There are lessons to write, draw graphic organizers, make foldables, and make other manipulatives. They are not meant to be comprehensive or in-depth lessons. They are meant to make the most out of a bad situation... when you are not physically able to write any sort of a lesson plan. These plans will let you salvage something out of the day, and at least do some educational activities.

Both these lines, along with everything else in my store will be on sale Monday and Tuesday (August 4-5). You can see lots of other stores and products on sale by visiting this Pinterest board I am hosting specifically for the sale.

Or visit these linky parties to find other amazing resources. What did teachers ever do before Teachers Pay Teachers? Ha! I know I have been a tremendously better teacher because of the products available on TpT.

So, happy shopping, and make this the best school year yet!

Sub Binder for Life's Emergencies

I am pretty embarrassed about this confession: I haven't had a sub binder until just now. For some of you that may not seem like such a deep, dark secret, but those of you who have been following me over my blogging career, know just how earth-shattering that is. You see, I was (am still am) Sub Hub and blogged all the time about being prepared for a sub. I even sell two different lines of emergency sub plans in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. But did I use either one of them? No (hanging my head in shame). Just file that one under the "do as I say, not as I do" category.

This Spring Break, I decided to remedy that and show you all just how easy it was to get things in order. Now, I used a couple of my own products, but you can use whatever you like and works for you. The two I used were: Just Add Paper: Fourth Grade (and I have these plans for K-5) and Sub Forms for Teachers (and I only used the pages that worked for my school).

First, I filled out the Sub Forms for Teachers with information for my class this year and printed those out.

Then, I printed out multiple copies of the Daily Summary Form that is also in the Sub Forms for Teachers.

Next, I went to my gradebook and printed several copies of my class attendance list.

I also printed out the Just Add Paper: Fourth Grade Emergency Sub Plans.

Finally, I put them all in a binder with a cute cover and dividers.

This will be somewhere in my classroom that is easily accessible, so if there is an emergency, a sub will at least have some basic information and some things to get started, if not get through the whole day. All they need to add to this is a picture book (which there are numerous choices in my classroom library) and paper (which is out in a visible location in my classroom).

Of course, best case scenario is to write up sub plans continuing your scope and sequence, and I will continue to do that if at all possible (even if it's in the middle of the night). But now, I have some peace of mind that if something were to happen and I couldn't write plans in the middle of the night and email them to my awesome teammates, that my classroom and students would still be taken care of.

So now you can "do as I do" as well as "do what I say" and always be prepared for life's emergencies.

Big Savings at the Teachers Pay Teachers Cyber Monday Sale

Who doesn't love a sale, especially this time of year. And one you don't even need to leave the house for? Even better. Just enter the code "CYBER" at checkout to get an extra discount off stores that are already on sale... like mine! Every item in my store will be on sale at 20% off. That, plus the code, will give you 28% off! 28% off emergency sub plans, writing resources, and downtime ideas!

So many of your favorite sellers will have their stores on sale too. Now is the time to buy all those fantastic resources you have saved in your Wish List. And spend this weekend finding awesome things to add to that Wish List before you buy. Find something you just can't do without? Feel free to share the link in the comments section so everyone can get in on the action.