GoNoodle's Back to School Blogger Blitz!

I'm a HUGE fan of GoNoodle. Maybe I have a slight crush on the men of Koo Koo Kangaroo. ;)

I'm not sure how I used to survive without GoNoodle.  Well... I guess I do.  At the beginning of this school year, our district accidentally blocked GoNoodle so we could not access it.  I about CRIED!  FINALLY, they unblocked it because DUH- we need it!  It's the best way I can get my students moving, stretching, and popsikoing in the comfort of our own classroom. 

What is GoNoodle, you ask? GoNoodle.com is pretty amazing!  It's a compilation of FREE brain breaks you can use in your classroom.

Tips for GoNoodling

1. Built-in GoNoodle Time

I have a built-in GoNoodle time in our classroom.  It's right after snack and before we start our writing block. GoNoodle is the perfect way to get my students moving, but my students never end the video all crazy (I know some teachers worry about it making their students go off the wall).  My kiddos know when the video is over, it's over. 

2. Getting the Wiggles Out

You can see it happening right before your eyes.  No one is listening at the carpet.  Student #1 is poking Student #2 with a wood chip they found on the floor.  Student #3 is "trying" to tie her shoes.  How in the world did Student #4 crawl under that desk without me noticing?

That's your cue to STOP and do a GoNoodle Brain Break. The best part is, there are quick videos or a little bit longer ones.  There's a brain break for every occasion. I promise, when your students go back to the carpet to listen to you, they will be ready to learn! All wiggles GONE.

3. Get Your Swag On

I can't wait to get some GoNoodle pencils to give out to students in our prize box!   They love all the GoNoodle Swag... especially when it has their favorite Champ on it (Oogles Fitzlemon) and GoNoodle has everything you need to stuff your prize box with! You can save 15% off NOW through September 11th just for our viewers! Enter code:  BTSwithGoNoodle

I've been eyeing this shirt and I pulled the trigger JUST NOW!  What a great deal:

4. Participate With Them

GoNoodle with your kids! They will LOVE IT and so will you. Most of you know that I'm a Jazzercise instructor (when will they have Jazzercise brain breaks?!?!?) so I love to dance with my kiddos.  I'll even do some yoga with Maximo.  I WILL NOT Kitty High-Five though.  hahahahhaaha!

I posted this video last year, but I though you might want to relive it. HAHAHA!

I had to show you how much fun their Brain Breaks are. Try not to laugh too hard!
 (P.S. I'm totally repping my What the Teacher Wants t-shirt that Natalie bought me for Christmas)...

Want to get YOUR swag on? 

Win THIS CHAMP SHIRT!

  Head to our Facebook and tell us your favorite GoNoodle video (with your email) on our GoNoodle T-shirt FB post! If you haven't GoNoodled, but still want to enter the giveaway, just comment with how you will use GoNoodle in your class once you sign up!

#teacherweek15 - Classroom Tour

RACHELLE'S CLASSROOM: 

Primary Chalkboard

I made the Oh, Hello above my door and the arrows on the side with my Silhouette Cameo.

  This year, I was just completely inspired by the bright polka dot, striped, and chevron borders from Teacher Created Resources.  

Birthday Balloons: What the Teacher Wants

Crate labels: Chalkboard Decor Freebie

Borrow Bucket: What the Teacher Wants

Power Pellets: What the Teacher Wants

Bins: Dollar Tree

Chalkboard Banner: Target Party Section

Borders: Teacher Created Resources

Chalkboard Bulletin Boards: I'm Blog Hoppin'

READ sign: my Silhouette Cameo

The subway art is my FAVORITE: Hope King's Desire to Inspire pack

Frames: Ikea and Hobby Lobby

Pillow and table skirt: My mom

Rug: Zulily 

Borders: Teacher Created Resources

{SEE MORE OF RACHELLE'S ROOM HERE!}

NATALIE'S CLASSROOM: 

Colorful Rainbow

View from the outside looking in.

My biggest {and hardest} project was making this giant rainbow. This wall was covered with old {ugly} orange carpet and I knew that I wanted to hide it. I used about 12 yards of bright blue fabric and covered the entire wall. Then, I had to figure out a way to make a giant rainbow. My first thought was to use fabric, but I decided to go with a cheaper option and used plastic table cloths from the party store. They were easy to cut in the paper slicer so I could make sure they were cut evenly. The hardest part was hanging them. You can see that I made a little ruffle by folding the plastic under a little bit and then I stapled it down every few inches. 

  

Another view of the rainbow. I know it's not perfect, but I really love how bright and colorful it makes my room look!  I used white plastic table cloths for the clouds at the bottom and styrofoam poster boards for the clouds on the sides. The sun is made out of a big piece of cardboard that I painted yellow and drew a smilie face on.

A view of the front of my room. I made the pennant banner in the front of the room by cutting out colorful scrapbook pages using my Silhouette Cameo and then I strung it together using tulle. You can also see some tissue paper pom poms that my awesome sister-in-law helped me make!

{SEE MORE OF NATALIE'S ROOM HERE!}

Thanks for visiting us! 

Please link up with Blog Hoppin' and show us what your classroom looks like too! Use the hashtag #teacherweek15 on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter to show us your classrooms!

#teacherweek15 is HERE!

We are linking up at Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week 2015 (use hashtag #teacherweek15 on Instagram and Twitter). We would love for you to get to know us a little bit better:

1. I'm a fitness instructor.  I teach Jazzercise twice a week! It's the best 3rd job, ever (teaching 1st graders, running a blog, and teaching Jazzercise).

2. I've lost 115 pounds and I try to inspire other teachers/women to get fit and healthy on my *other* blog, For Blogness' Sake (I mostly post on Instagram @forblognesssake).

3.  I have the goofiest family ever and I love them so much! They make me laugh (with my husband at the top of that list). We are the family that can talk about anything with each other at dinner (no topic is off the table....hahaha) and we have the best of times at our family cabin. Love these peeps!

4.  In college I went on a humanitarian trip to Kenya.  I worked at a deaf school and an orphanage. It was a life-changing, humbling experience.  I miss these kids every.single.day.

5. My husband and I are both in the Greek system. My husband is a Sigma Chi (as well as my brother) and I'm an Alpha Phi (as well as my sister, sister-in-law, and Natalie).  In college I was the Chapter President and now I'm the Alumnae Chapter President here in Salt Lake City.  This organization has taught me so much and I wouldn't be where I am today without Alpha Phi.

1. I have 3 little kids who are my most prized possessions! Being a mom is my favorite thing in the whole world. These kids can sure be a handful some most days, but I would't trade being their mom for anything else.

2. Besides blogging, my favorite hobby is photography! I used to do it to earn a little extra money on the side, but I've mostly stopped and just do it as a fun little side hobby. I love making a beautiful picture and capturing the little moments of life. (The picture below is from our trip to Vegas this summer for the TPT Conference. I miss those beautiful palm trees already!)

3. I love to travel! One of my favorite trips I've ever been on was when I was a senior in high school. My high school drama group (yep, I was a drama kid…) got invited to perform at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. We got to spend two weeks in Scotland and it was definitely a trip I will never forget!

3. Once upon a time, I was a little bit of a pageant girl and I competed at the Miss Utah pageant. I was able to earn quite a bit of scholarship money doing pageants and I'm grateful for the many great opportunities it gave me to serve in my community. I loved being an advocate for the American Heart Association and raising money for women's cardiac care and research as part of my platform. 

5. My favorite store is Hobby Lobby! This summer we put our condo on the market, and when I looked through all my pictures for the listing, I realized that almost all of my decor is from there. Sometimes when I walk through the store I look around and say, "I have that sign, I already own that piece of art, I have that hanging in my kitchen…" Haha. (Here's a little collage of what our condo looked like. This week we will finally close on our new house and we are SO EXCITED!!!)

Do you want to link up, too? Head over to Blog Hoppin'!

We'd really like to hear what you think about our fun facts. 

Please leave a comment about something you learned 

about us or something you have in common with one of us. 

We love hearing from you in our comments!!

Back to School with a BOOST!

If you missed out on the last back to school sale or if you are looking for more great resources for your classroom, you are in luck! TeachersPayTeachers has recently announced another site-wide sale where you can save 28% on all your TPT Purchases!

(Thanks for the cute graphic, Amy Lemons!)

Please check out Rachelle's store for some amazing center ideas, guided reading lessons, and other great K-2 products!

If you're looking for some great upper grades resources for literature circles or writing projects, Natalie's store has got you covered! 

We hope our resources can save you time, engage your students, and add some excitement into your teaching! 

Happy school year, everyone - make it the best year you've ever had!!

Organizing for a Substitute {Sub Tub}

A few weeks ago, I shared how I organize my "teacher stuff".  This is part 2 of the ABC's of Organization! Just a reminder that you might want to download some freebies:

I will be doing a short series on organizing your classroom. You'll want to download {these} FREE handouts.  Up next this week is Organizing for a SUB!

Sub Tub with binder and all lesson supplies (grab the tub tag here)

Positive reinforcements-green basket (Brownie Points and Smarty Pants Tickets)

Technology hookups- blue basket

Technology directions

Sub Treat (pack of gum)

 You can find this cute {editable cover and ALL the forms inside HERE}

Behind the binder are files with all of the activities my sub will be doing with my students. In the folders there are also the picture books that each lesson associates with.

I ALWAYS leave extra books for my sub to read "just in case". 

Don't forget to leave the necessities in close reach.

Positive reinforcements (Brownie Points and Smarty Pants Tickets)

Can you see that blue sheet taped to my desk in the bottom-right? That is my class list.  I tape it to my desk so that it's always there for my sub (and for me too!)

 Depending on my substitute and what lessons they'll be teaching, I might leave directions on how to use the simple technology in my classroom.  You can snag that (here). It'll obviously be different in your classroom, but you can get an idea on how to write your own. 

 Leave some love for your sub! Download it for free {here}

 I hope I gave you some ideas on how to organize for your substitute!  If you'd like some forms to put in your binder you can Click {here} to check it out!

Back-to-School Bulletin Board, Management, and Donation Door

I have a few random pictures of what I've been doing in my classroom to get ready! I love the energy of my school during back-to-school time! Everyone's excited, but slightly bummed that summer is over.  That feeling goes away once we all start working in our classrooms and prepping for our new students (ok, well that bummed feeling *mostly* goes away).

I LOVE to think of fun ways to welcome my students to my classroom with my back-to-school bulletin board. Check out *some* past bulletin boards HERE.

 This year, I took some inspiration from my husband who LOVES Minions (he's a little kid at heart). We watch Despicable me with our niece and nephews and my husband laughs louder than they do. ;) Sure do love that man!  Anyway, I found a piñata at Walmart that just CALLED MY NAME and then I found these cute Minions on TpT. Off I went to decorate!

 I cut the headers for this board on my Silhouette Cameo (best crafting tool, ever!).
The names on the Minions are just Avery mailing labels. Easy-peasy.

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Each year I do a Donation Door for our Back-to-School Night. Parents can come by and grab a sticky note off of our door that says the name of a school supply. They can send in the donated school supplies with their child to school the next day! It's an awesome way to get a variety of supplies for your classroom and not just getting 3,934 boxes of tissues. ;) {You can check out another donation door I've done, here}

I did print on SUPER sticky notes (found at Target) and I used a tutorial from this cute blog.

Arrows are vinyl and made with my Silhouette Cameo with KG Arrows font.

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A few years ago I found this CUUUUUTE behavior mangament idea from Growing Kinders.  I've always done Brownie Points as a whole-class incentive, but this year I'm doing Mr. Potato Head.  I'll pull off all of his parts (hehe) and if the students are working quietly, I will add one part at a time until he is all put together.  Once he's all back together, there will be a MYSTERY prize that the whole class will win (lunch with teacher, extra recess, or maybe popcorn party).

With pretty much everything, I got mine on Amazon. Praise all that is holy for Amazon Prime. ;)