Jump Into School with a Sale!

Hi everyone!  Started school eight days ago with my 25 little sweeties and am LOVING my new group.  Lots of cutie pies who love to hug and give sweet notes. Great way to start the year!  If you have already started back, I hope you are enjoying your new babes as well.

SOOO excited to announce that on Sunday the 18th and Monday the 19th... TpT is having our annual BACK TO SCHOOL SALE!  Everything in my store will be 20% off and you will get an additional percentage off offering you amazing discounts up to 28% off on all of your teaching packets! 

 Remember to type in your promo code BTS13 to get all of your discounts.

The day before preplanning I whipped up this little bulletin board set for my hallway display.  Nothing fancy...just a little something if you would like to grab your own.  My theme is...Jump Into 2nd Grade!  I thought it would serve the purpose of going back to school and a fall display.  I try to keep things in my hallway that are seasonal so I don't have to change them often. Sorry about the lighting and angle of the pictures....I took the pics after school after the custodians had turned out the hallway lights and I couldn't back up anymore to get a full shot. Click HERE or on the picture if you want to grab your own.  Instead of Mrs. Dixon's Class you can use the poster that says "Welcome To Our 2nd Grade Class" or 4th grade or whatever grade you teach! 

You might have noticed that we have stories hanging from our hooks.  These are our first writings for the year!  Last week I had my students do a writing sample from a prompt.  I used my Writing Workshop Prompts for a Complete School Year tickets.  Here is the prompt I gave them from our pocket chart:

They were really pumped about this!  We brainstormed and talked about what it means to write a narrative and what all is included in a narrative piece.  Once they brainstormed their ideas on a web they wrote their stories on their publishing page or final copy page and cut out their own prompt tickets to staple to the front of their stories...

Each month I am placing my prompts in our Writing Workshop pocket chart.  Once students are more experienced with the three types of writing and how to use our graphic organizers they will choose their prompt for the week and write during our "Write to Self" time...

Students will conference with me during teacher table time or small groups.  So excited about using these prompts this year along with my graphic organizers for writing!

I've had an unbelievable response to my Common Core Daily Practice Sheets for Second Grade!  Thank you!  Many of y'all have asked for bundled packets for the school year.  I am tickled to offer you my seasonal packets that include both Math and ELA practice sheets for each month of the school year!  Click HERE or on the pictures to check them out!  My students really enjoyed these this past school year and I look forward to having them again.  Here is my Fall Bundle...

I also have a Winter and Spring Bundle to complete the entire school year...

Spring Bundle...

Of course you can buy these individually if you would prefer certain months over others.

These are just a few of the goodies I have on sale for you starting Sunday!  I hope you will consider these in addition to my other teaching packets.  Click on the pictures below if you'd like to take a peek at some of my other items and best sellers.  I can't wait to grab some goodies from my TpT friends. 

Have a wonderful weekend and have fun shopping!-Yvonne

Loving My New Class!

Here I am on Thursday evening after two FULL days with my new class of second graders!!!  Yesterday was the first day of school and it went great!  I am loving getting to know my kids.  I wanted to share the new pics I just downloaded on my computer!  I am in the process of getting my Common Core portfolios all put together so we can start those on Monday!  I'll take more pics to share then!

Here are the precious goody bags tags that I downloaded from Hadar (Miss Kindergarten) and Mor 

(A Teacher's Treasure) on TpT!  Thanks to these ladies... my goody bags were a hit with my students!  They were easy to put together and each treat inside had a special meaning.  If you are looking for a goody bag idea I would highly recommend you check these freebies out!

Here is a picture of my classroom before Open House on Tuesday!  Notice the goody bags on my student desks! :)

More classroom pics! These are my Back to School Get on the Bus Math and Literacy Centers!  I like to use pocket charts...can you tell??? They are all over my classroom.

These are my math tub tickets that I use to group my kiddos for math tubs each week.  The groups change depending upon the skill levels of my students.  If you would like to use these for grouping your children, click on the picture for the download.  I usually place 4 or 5 students in each group.  They rotate around the room to a new math tub each day.

LOVE this new drawer I bought!  I plan to place math tub recording forms in here!  I have five math tubs each week...and there are five different colors.  I love it when things work out!

Another pic of my classroom before Open House!

This is my new boy/girl helpers chart I made two weeks ago.  My old one was looking very faded and I needed to update! I just used velcro strips to put up the cards.  Looking at it here, I think I will go back and add two bows with ribbon on each side and velcro!  The helper cards can actually attach to the ribbon. :)  The kids love this!

Please excuse my camera!   Here are the first EQ cards I've introduced from my Second Grade Common Core Notebook.  So far, we've just discussed the notebook in general and we came up with our class rules in groups.  I plan to have my students copy the rules they developed and staple to their evidence of learning form.  I'll share those with you then along with some pics of their portfolios.

One last pic of my room.   Open House went really well!  Since we added a sixth second grade classroom, I only have 19 students and ALL of them showed up for Meet the Teacher!  When I first started teaching 20 years ago, I was a first grade teacher at an inner city school and I was lucky if half of my families showed up.  I feel very blessed to teach where I do now.
I hope you all have a great start to your school year and enjoy meeting your new students and parents as well!  Have a great night!-Yvonne :)

Groove Giveaway Winner!

Hi there sweet bloggin friends!  Whew!  Two days back in the groove and I think I've had a total of 3 hours in my classroom!  I know meetings are a necessity but...good grief!  Actually, one we had today was VERY informative about Common Core and the idea of using power standards.  Anyone else using power standards with the Common Core?   Just wondering.  It sounds like our county is focusing on the most important standards and calling them power standards.  Anyway...now that our preplanning meetings are over with,  I can focus on getting everything ready for Open House on Tuesday!  I so appreciate all of you for participating in my "Get in the Groove Giveaway!"  I have to admit I really enjoyed being home this summer spending time with my kids, going to the pool, and spending my mornings drinking coffee while working on the computer.  I didn't go to the school one time during the summer.  I still have lots to do before my new bunch of second graders come on Tuesday! I loved reading your comments on when you all were going back and I love that several of you are new to blogging!  You will love it and make lots of friends through blog hopping!  I know I have.  I appreciate you all following me here on Sassy in Second and am happy to let you know we have a winner!  Here you go...

Congratulations Dray!  You are the lucky winner!  I am also your newest follower.  Everyone check out Dray's adorable blog...Second Grade is Sweet!

I also have some pics here of my classroom!  

I took these when I first went back in my room.  It was a cleaning day for me (about a week ago) with bleaching and sanitizing everything in the room.  I spent a lot of time organizing my book baskets and cabinets as well.

I spent a whole day cleaning out my cabinets and organizing my art cabinet.  I wanted to put everything in plastic containers with lids and labels.  

This is how I store my centers and packets.  I place each one in gallon-sized baggies and stack them in large plastic tubs.  It sure was nice the other day to pull these out and see what all is "already" made for this year.  I am so thankful I started making new materials last year!  My old centers were looking real shabby.  I needed to update my materials! Looking forward to another great year of making centers, tiered math tubs, and lots of other goodies.

I try to keep things posted where my kiddos can see them easily.  I post all of my EQ's at the front of the room with magnetic clips.  This year I plan to use my Common Core EQ posters here!

Now that you've seen some "before" pics...I can't wait to show the "after pics" in a couple of days.  I am making my goody bags (or I should say I have my daughter putting them together for me) this weekend and getting everything labeled in my room.  Check back on Tuesday to see how everything looks!  I also will post pictures of my Common Core Notebooks to let you see where I am with those. I can't wait to start using those with my kids!!!   Have a great night friends and I hope those of you going back to school this next week are "Getting  Back in your Groove" as well!  Thanks-Yvonne :)

Back in the Groove Giveaway!

WOW!  Three more days and I have to get "back in my groove" of school!  I am so excited to start a new and exciting school year with my new bunch of second grade babes!  Teachers report on Thursday and our kiddies' first day is the following Wednesday.  To celebrate (and to say goodbye to my summer) I would like to giveaway a goody to one lucky winner!  There is no purchase necessary.  All you have to do is become a follower of my blog (Sassy in Second), follow my TpT store (Yvonne Dixon), and spread the word of this giveaway either with a tweet, Facebook, or Pinterest (your choice).  Leave me a note below letting me know you've done all three things along with your email.  I'll pull the lucky winner on Friday night (Aug. 3rd) at 10:00 and you get to pick any item you want from my TpT store (WINNER'S CHOICE)!  I'd like to thank Anne Marie Smith at Innovative Connections for the darling background above!  I downloaded this from her freebie Bright Borders set!  

Good luck and thank you for participating in this giveaway!  I'd love to know when you all are going back to school.  It is so wild to hear how we all have such different calendar schedules. 

Have a wonderful week friends and I'll post the winner Friday night!  Thanks so much!Yvonne

Loving My Saturday!

Hi my bloggy friends!  I am sitting on my back patio soaking up some sun (it is 70 degrees here in Ga.) and LOVING this Spring feeling!  I was just thinking about what all I need to do in the next week or so.  I am blessed to have a FABULOUS student teacher with me until April and I will be helping her get materials ready for setting up her own classroom next year!  I was thinking I would help her out with a "Back to School" checklist for beginning teachers!!!  It would include items such as parent/teacher letters, student material checklists, student supply checklists, lesson plan templates and more!  I will share these with you all as I create them!  If you guys have any suggestions that you have found helpful for your student teachers in the past...I'd love to hear your ideas!  I love mentoring student teachers and want to provide her with as many resources as I can give her!  On another note...I wanted to share some of the comments I have received from some of my followers on TPT!  It is so cool to know that others are enjoying materials I have created for use with my students!  I love making my centers and tiered math tubs!  Please watch for more items coming out soon! Thanks!-Yvonne

Comments:  Sassy Cat Spending Spree Tiered Math Tub
I purchased this a few days ago and put it out for use this week. From the results of the pre-assessment I am VERY thankful this center is tiered :) You are ahead of the curve providing tiered centers based on common core standards! This is great for my second graders- low, med, high! :)


                 Valentine's Day Centers and Activities:
Another great activity pack! I love your products! I have purchased many and been very happy with them all! My kids love playing them and never get bored! The funny thing is they want to play them over and over! Thank you for all your wonderful creativity!


                  Pick a Penguin Centers and Activities
Amazing download--instantly usable and fun for everyone! LOVE IT!

Thank you to those of you who give me feedback!  It makes me feel good to know that students all around the world are enjoying activities that I make for my own kiddos!  Thanks!-Yvonne

Here are some of my Classroom Pics!

I took some pictures of my classroom before Open House on Tuesday!

This is from my "Every Day is a Special Day" packet.  For "Name That Number Thursday" I chose to laminate my student recording forms and clip them to the back of my metal cabinet for easy access for students.  Each Thursday I will post a "number of the day" on the black chalkboard in the center.  The students will work with partners and use Visa Vis Markers on the student recording forms to show me what they know about that number (ex:  Show that value in money, make a word problem, show in base ten blocks, etc...).  Once they are finished they will "teach and tell" the class what they know before clipping the forms back on the cabinet.

Each year I have a "Reader's Chair" time built into our day when the children are "encouraged" to read aloud to the class.  This is an excellent time for my kiddos to practice fluency and expression while reading to others.  I use incentive charts and stickers to encourage the readings.  This year I decided to use my Every Day is a Special Day Incentive Charts that say they are working on reading goals.  They have the precious back to school stick kids on them and my students love them!

I have this "castle of school subjects" glued to my classroom door for my "ticket out the door" cards.  When we are going to activity classes, recess, lunch, etc... I pull a card from a pocket and ask the kids to answer essential questions as "tickets out the door".

To display my "Every Day is a Special Day" posters...I cut them out and put magnetic tape on them.  I am introducing each one as I am teaching "each special day".  I will take them on and off the board according to which special day we are doing. More pics are coming!  Keep posted!  Thanks-Yvonne

Great First Day of School!

I hope you all had a wonderful first day of school!  Today was our first day with kids!  We went back to school for pre-planning last Thursday and I have been working like a crazy lady in my room getting everything ready for my kiddos.  We had open house yesterday and I met all of my parents and students.  My class is precious (14 girls and 6 boys) -Wow...I've NEVER had numbers like that before.  I am taking pictures of my room this week and will download for you to see tomorrow.  My schedule is going to be the same as last year's...it worked well for me!  Several of you have asked how my day is planned.  Here it goes if you are interested (This might seem long-sorry):
7:30-8:20  Once the children unpack their book bags and make lunch choices they go to Math Tubs.  I have a table that is always Tub 1.  Tubs 2-5 are stationed around the room.  Once I get my students at my table going on their activity, I walk around and help others.
8:20-8:45  Math Problem of the Day/Math Journals:  This is a time when we work on a word problem on the board together.  We analyze and show multiple ways to solve problems together.
8:45-9:10  Whole group Math Lesson
9:10-9:30  Whole group Language Lessons (Spelling/Making Words/LA)
9:30-10:10  Reading Group 1
10:10-10-50  Reading Group 2
10:50-11:30  Reading Group 3
(The children that are not at my reading table are working on independent work and tic-tac-toe centers).
11:30 -12:10  Art/Music/P.E.
12:15-12:25  B.E.A.R. Time (Be Excited About Reading) Silent reading time
12:25-12:55  Lunch
1:00-1:30  Recess
1:30-2:00  Writing Workshop/Science/Social Studies/Health
2:00-2:15  Reader's Chair  (Students take turns reading to the class in the reader's chair to earn stickers for their reader's charts).
2:15-2:25  Afternoon "Meeting" to discuss any problems we might have had or to give each other compliments.  This is SO important to teach kids how to get along and solve their own problems.
  ...Then we pack up and go home!  Busy, busy, busy day...but fun!  Thanks!-Yvonne

Back to School Sale!

Don't miss out on my "Back to School" 20% off sale!  I hope you are excited about going back to school and will take advantage of the savings offered on TPT over the next four days!  I hope you all have a great start to a wonderful school year!-Yvonne

http://beta.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BACK-TO-SCHOOL-GET-ON-THE-BUS-MATH-AND-LITERACY-CENTERS

Winner of Back to School Bonanza Contest!

Winner of Back to School Bonanza Contest!

We had a whopping total of 779 comments! 

Congratulations to Tanya, the winner of our 

Back to School Bonanza Contest!  

Thank you to everyone who entered!

"Every Day is a Special Day Giveaway" Winners!!!

Yippee!  I just went over my 100^th follower!  Time to celebrate by giving my "Back to School Every Day is a Special Day Skills Packet" to these three lucky followers!!!  Congratulations!  I so appreciate you following me!!!  You are receiving 139 pages filled with 28 activities, teaching tips, classroom posters, and student recording forms!!!  I hope you and your students love “What Time is it Wednesday”, “Making Words Monday”, “Fraction Friday”, and more!!!  Thank you for participating in my giveaway!  Continue to keep checking back for our “Back to School Bonanza” Giveaway as well!!!  Thank you!!!-Yvonne

Kelly, Marisol, and Melissa-I am going to email you so you can download this packet!!!  Thank you again and congratulations!!!-Yvonne

Just posted my Back to School "Get on the Bus" Math and Literacy Centers!

Yippee!  I just posted my "Back to School" Math and Literacy center packet on TPT!  I linked a preview on my sidebar picture so you can see what all is included.  I am enjoying making these themed centers and hope you will enjoy this one.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Enjoy the rest of your summer!  We will all be back in school before we know it!  Enjoy!-Yvonne

I am working on my...Back to School Skills for the Week Packet!!!

Just wanted to let you all know that I am working on my "Back to School Skills for the Week" Packet.  It should be posted sometime in the next week or so.  Keep checking back!  I am excited about this!  Here is the thumbnail of the cover!!!  See you soon!!! - Yvonne