Sweet Giveaway

Mrs. E over at The Sweet Life of Third Grade is having a fabulous 500 follower giveaway.  There are 36 chances to win.  You have a chance to win my new Owl Classroom Decor Pack!!!!

Freebie Owl Classroom Clip Chart- Something to Hoot about!

 Classroom management is a bit of an art form in my eyes.  Some teachers just have it "going on" in that department and others struggle not to pull their hair out by the end of each day.  I think after 5 years of teaching I kind of fell somewhere in the middle.  I have always had really strong procedures and transitions and all of that but I was still tweaking my system each year.  Last summer I stumbled upon this FREE ebook and thought it sounded like exactly what I needed to try in 3rd grade.  I love how everyone has an opportunity to move up the chart by making good choices.  I feel like so much time is spent on the students who don't make great choices and sometimes those babies that always do the "right" thing are not acknowledged the way they should be.  So my clip chart last year was Superhero theme (click here) to see the earlier post.  Everyone started on "Ready to Fly" and had the chance to move up to "Superhero" or move down to the dreaded "Kryptonite".  At the end of each day my behavior recorder (one of my classroom jobs) would go around and record a number on each kiddo's discipline calendar. Easy Peasy!

 I just used a 3 drawer Sterilite cart to hold the rewards.  I had stickers in the bottom drawer, bookmarks, pencils, and erasers in the middle drawer, and the coveted top drawer held toys (think little party favor type, nothing major).  I would just call out Superheroes and they would go choose their reward.  Then those students that were on Sidekick or Soaring would go grab theirs.  Yes they did this each day and Yes that was a lot of rewards, however I put them on my wishlist at the beginning of the year as well as included them on my weekly newsletter when we ran low.  Parents were glad to donate because it was super easy for them to grab something we needed from the dollar bins at Walmart or Target.  The clip chart worked like magic for my thirdsters.  They were so proud to move up and be recognized for making the right choices.  They loved the rewards but hands down their favorite was getting a little bling (just a rhinestone sticker) added to their clip when they reached Superhero Status.  Even my boys loved the bling.
The clip chart has been the easiest and I feel most beneficial behavior management system I have used so needless to say you will find one hanging in my classroom this next year for sure. Of course it has to be "owly" and so here is what I came up with.

Here's where the real hoot comes in...it's FREE!  You can click HERE and download it in my TPT store.  I think it's going to look fab in my owl classroom.  Toodles for now! 

A Little Facelift

Ok, so I have been updating some of the things I created last summer.  I plan on using all of my "owl stuff" in my own classroom this year as I posted a couple of days ago.  I decided to give my Owl Cafe signs a little facelift so that they would coordinate better with my Daily 5 update.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  I hope you like them!  You can check them out in my TPT store by clicking HERE!

Up next is my Owl behavior clip chart!  Toodles friends!

Definitely a Hoot!

Well I have finished my first year as a 3rd grade teacher and it was definitely a HOOT.  3rd grade is nothing short of a marvelous challenge. I have not had a chance to even breathe let alone blog since January.  We managed to have a fabulously adventurous year jam packed with learning together as we prepared for the mysterious new STAAR test.   I am thrilled to pieces to be past that hurdle and am so ready for a relaxing summer of blogging, creating, and sharing. 

Every May it hits me!  I become obsessed with redoing my classroom.  This year was no exception.  Since my blog is owl themed it seems only fitting that my classroom follows suit.  So... I have been feverishly working on this Owl Classroom Decor pack.  I included an adorable welcome banner (just add ribbon), table numbers, locker tags (or desk plates), subject headers, calendar numbers and months. 





I got some  bright tissue paper poms from Party City and attached the table numbers to them with fancy ribbon.  Hung them from the ceiling and voila! Not a new concept but I love it!

I revamped my Word Wall and Owl Daily 5 signs as well.   I can't wait to put it all together!    Of course I had to create a freebie print for y'all.  In keeping with my mantra from last year I had to do another Keep Calm for you to frame!

Click HERE to grab your free print.
I also have some name tags for you HERE.