August Currently--ALREADY!?!

Is it really August already? Where has the summer gone?! I have done so much. I have moved to a new city, moved my classroom, and experienced a lot of family issues. I need a vacation from my vacation! But, I am ready to get set up in my new classroom. I haven't seen it yet, but I am very excited :)

I am linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the August Currently.

Now for my Back-to-School must haves:
1. My Macbook- I have worked hard this summer to get a lot of my files organized and ready for the new school year. Before, I had everything organized by unit that connected with my old curriculum. I also had files that were just not organized at all! It was a mess. Now, I have all of my files organized by skill and ready for my new grade level!

2. New Classroom Decor- Now that I am not only in a new classroom, but also in a new school, I wanted to change my classroom decor. So, I connected with Amanda from One Extra Degree and gave her an idea of what I liked. She went above and beyond with my new classroom decor!

3. WBT Videos- Over the last two years I have learned bits and pieces of Whole Brain Teaching. After the conference I went to in May, I connected with one of the WBT mentors and asked for help in launching WBT in my classroom. They directed me to their livestream. I started watching Coach B's videos on how to do WBT the first hour, first day, and first week of school. If you are interested in the WBT videos, go to this website:

http://www.livestream.com/wholebrainteaching1/folder

I am also using their book Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Students to help with my classroom management next year. If you want a copy of the book, go here.

Okay everyone, good luck with setting up your classrooms and getting ready for the new school year! I will be posting pictures next week of my classroom set-up. I have a long process because I have to move everything out of storage, move it to my classroom, unpack, and set up! It's going to be a busy couple of weeks. I hope I can squeeze in a little mini vacation. 

Back to School Goals

I am linking up with I {heart} Recess and sharing with everyone my back to school goals.

This year will be full of change. New grade level, new school, new home. Part of me is very nervous. But, another park of me is so incredibly excited for this new change in my life.

So, now for my goals this year...

Personal- Last year was a tough one. Many times, I would stress about it when I got home. Honestly, it was starting to affect my relationships. Towards the end of the year, I started leaving work at work, and spending quality time with the people I love and not stressing about work. My goal for this year is to continue doing that. I also really would like to work more to stay in shape. It my old house, I didn't have the time due to my long commute or the space. Now that I live about a mile from my school and have an amazing trail that is right behind my condo, I have no excuse!

Organization- Last year, I feel that I did a great job using multiple forms of assessment. However, I had all this data, but I feel like I didn't use it as well as I should have. This year, I want to collect data from my students and use it to help guide my small group and whole group instruction.

Planning- I really want to use more Common Core strategies in my instruction. I did it a lot last year with essential questions in my reading strategy groups. I would like to continue working on learning new Common Core strategies and find ways to integrate subjects. I did some last year with my Charlotte's Web unit. I want to keep learning and doing research on ways to integrate Common Core into my classroom.

Professional- My first year of teaching I started learning about Whole Brain Teaching. Last year, I went to my first conference and met Coach B! It has seriously changed how I teach my students. My goal is to continue learning more about WBT and use it to help my challenging students.

Students- Last year I did a horrible job giving my students their work back. I gave them their work back at least once or twice a month! I am so ashamed! This year, I really want to give them their work back on a more consistent basis. That is my goal and I sticking to it!

Motto- My motto for this year is that it is never too late. It's never too late to fix things that may have been broken. It's never to late to make changes in your life. It's never too late to say that you are sorry or to say I love you. I have learned over these last couple of months that it is never too late...for anything.

I am so excited to be going into my classroom next week. If you are following me on Instagram, I will be posting pictures of my progress. I will try to do a post before school starts of my new classroom!

Happy new school year everyone :)