Must Have Monday Made It (LOTS of goodies!)

Happy Monday y'all!  As you are reading this I am finally in my classroom trying to get my room together before we move into our house on Wednesday.  YAY!!!  I wanted to let y'all know that Must Have Mondays will change to the LAST MONDAY of every month now that we are all getting back into our classrooms.  So the next time you will link up will be August 26 and  I want to know what was a must have for the month of August or just anything you couldn't live without!

I asked my husband what was something that I couldn't live without and he instantly laughed and said, "Bins."  Dead serious, no joke, bins.  And if you're a teacher, you know the obsession well.  I have had bins from Really Good Stuff for the past five years and they have served me well.  They are just now starting to crack under the strain of kids handling them and heavy books like Harry Potter.  The ones that hold the smaller chapter books are still going strong though!  That being said, I HAD to get more bins ;o)

I bought a few from the Dollar Tree (the mecca) but I will also be buying a set of the skinny book bins for individual students and as much as I have loved my RGS bins, they are not the same price they were 5 years ago... by like A LOT.  So this poor teacher had to go a hunting and found this wonderful post from Ms. Fultz's Corner.  She compares the book bins from Steps to Literacy vs. Really Good Stuff (literally side by side) and I now know which one I'll be buying.  DEFINITELY WORTH THE READ!

 

Today I'm also linking up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!  I have been a busy little worker bee this week trying to get everything done for my classroom.  Literally.  I mean, I put the sticky squares on the back of the Word Wall blocks already so that all I have to do when I get to school is peel and stick! HAHA!  I just want as much time in my room as possible before I have to leave early to move into the house.

Editable Back to School Packet
I finally got all my Meet the Teacher/Open House and First Week of School goodies compiled into one packet!  Can I just say that I am in love!  It has EVERYTHING that I need and all in one place.  Instead of a bunch of random worksheets in random files and folders I've now got it all in one spot and with super cute fonts, borders, and clip art.  The good thing about blogging and TPT is that is has finally made me look at all my creations and "cute them up."  I know some people don't care about that and that's okay, but I like color in my classroom and this does the job!  If you would like to see what is all included and what others have to say or even to get your own copy click on the image below.

Classroom Supplies Labels
In my classroom I have these plain, beige bins that sit on my rolly cart and house our community supplies.  I wanted to find some cute labels to put on them and then just decided, why not make them myself along with everything else I'm making?  I also wanted to make some for my math centers and supplies but have to wait until I'm in the classroom and see what I have!  To get your set of these 15 premade supplies labels click on the image below.

Blog Binder
I totally stole this idea from Katie at Teacher to the Core!  I mean, how could you not?!  She vamped up her regular binders by putting in fancy scrapbook paper!  Now, usually I just make something on the computer, print it off and slip it in the front, but for my Blogging Binder and TPT Binder I liked this idea a lot better.  She uses fancy transparency paper but I found this really pretty teal/blue cut-out paper that matched my bins and baskets in my soon-to-be craft room.  It came as a 12x12 sheet and I just cut it down to size and slipped it in the front and back pockets and the spine!

Inside is a fantastic blogging calendar made by Gina from Third Grade Tidbits!  I just wish that I had found this before July but it could not have come at a more perfect time!  I have lots of giveaways and collaborative blog and boards happening right now and it has been a LIFESAVER!  Click on the image below to see what all is included in this item.

Word Wall
For the past couple of years I just used a bulletin board with punch out letters as my prefix/suffix word wall.  Now that I am teaching all of the subject though, I need that board!  I have decided to move my word wall to below my white board in the front of the room.  It's perfect because it is such an used space and that area of the floor is where we have our class meetings and mini-lessons so the kids will ALWAYS be looking at it :o)

I made these alphabet squares with 12x12 colored cardstock and trimmed down a 12x12 piece of white cardstock to fit in the middle.  I did trim the edge of the white paper with a black sharpie to help it pop more and match with the letters that had a black trim as well.  Then I created these polka dot letters, printed, cut and glued it all together.  Once I had all 26 done I went to our local Lakeshore and got them laminated!  Might I add that a hurricane was happening outside and I was so terrified that all my hard work would get ruined by water spots and color bleeding but all ended well!

Behavior Management Scale

My last creation of the week was our class Behavior Management Scale.  Our county is big into Marzano these past two years and we wanted to include some sort of scale/clip chart but not necessarily how they do the colors in the primary grades.  So we did numbers, lol!  I know not much of a stretch but the kids use this same scale for their academics so it will be really nice for them to transfer that knowledge and experience into their behavior.  I have it printed, laminated, and rings in place ready to hang today, so I will update this post with a picture when I get it!  There are four different design styles (Big Kids, Little Kids, Bunting Banner, and Numbers) along with editable posters for your rewards, consequences, and ways to move on the scale (all in portrait and landscape).

WHEW!  You made it to the end and deserve a little treat!  Since it is back to school time, I have been giving away some BTS Freebies each day but only for an hour!  If you are not a fan on Facebook DO SO NOW so you can get flash freebie updates.  Check back tomorrow because one of these Back to School items might be up for grabs... HINT! HINT!

Don't forget to link up your last "must have" for the summer and leave some comment love on other's posts!