Ready, set.....

The calendar is edging towards the end of August and that can only mean one thing, back to school! I went in last week and attempted to start preparing my room for a new class of fourth grade leaders:) Thankfully my mom was gracious enough to come in and help so we were able to accomplish quite a bit. You might notice a few things about my room: it has a jungle theme, a leader in me emphasis, and reading is key!! Here's a sneak peak, enjoy!!

One of my leader in me boards. The board on the left is interactive. Students will be assigned their own color/style pushpin. When they read a book that takes them to a new place, they put their pin on the map.

My books are organized by subject, genre, series, and favorite authors.

I made this bench my third year of teaching and its held up since! 

I'm using this organizer this year outside my class door. There is a spot for each days work for absent students, newsletters, permission slips, spelling words, and study guides. 

This handy book spinner came from a local card shop that was going out of business. It's perfect for my picture books:) 

This will be used for each students portfolio. We will add to it together and review their work quarterly and at conferences. 

Dinner on a dime-pizza night

Tonight was pizza night! My mom taught me how to make this when I was a kid and I've made this as a special treat with kids in my class. It's cheap, easy to make, and everyone gets to personalize to their liking! To make this yummy recipe  I use a can of the big biscuits, pillsbury is my favorite, and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Pull at the edges as you put them on. Next I add pizza sauce, found in the pizza section of your grocery store, and then mozzarella cheese. Finally everyone gets to add their own toppings. About 20 minutes at 350 and viola, delicious dinner on a dime, pizza style! 

Dinner on a Dime

So after a long day at work and a night of peeling wallpaper, I needed an easy, cheap (thanks to the money I dropped last night at Lowe's), and delicious dinner!
Easy (check), delicious (check) and two servings cost $5.00!  Bonus: Healthy!!

First I cut up little yellow tators (Yukon Gold) and little red tators.  I took a gallon zip-lock bag and added olive oil and bacon and chive mix (bought at Blocks market).  Then to the bag I added the tators and carrots and shook well.  Those were then put in a glass dish, covered with foil, and baked at 450 for about 30-45 minutes. 
To the pan I added some olive oil, the rest of the mix that didn't get on the veggies, and some bacon bits to the chicken.  I cooked on both sides until done.
The cornbread muffin was a quick mix with a little extra sugar.

Best Websites for Teachers

It's that time of the year, our district's Tech n' More a.k.a. days spent on summer vacation learning about the newest and greatest things in educational technology.  I've presented almost every year since I started teaching.  This year my three hour workshop was entitled Best Websites for the Elementary Teacher.  I've saved you the three hours of sitting in an uncomfortable student chair and added the link to my sqworl (yes, I spelled that right)! For those of you unfamiliar with Sqworl, it's a cool website that allows you to organize other websites all in one spot.  I have two Sqworls, one for teachers and one for parents and students, I'll attach that one too, lucky you!!  If you have a question about any of the sites please feel free to shoot me an email, I'd be happy to try to help!

 

http://sqworl.com/torlou -the site for teachers

http://sqworl.com/mihvia- the site for parents and students

I hope you enjoy,
xoxo,
Michelle Lynn

Welcome

Welcome!

This is my first ever post!! Whoo hoo, I'm hot stuff now :)  To introduce myself I am currently working on surviving my 12th year of teaching elementary school.  I love to be creative, working on crafts and in the kitchen.  Both my home and class are organized chaos.  This blog will be dedicated to showing you cool teaching tips and delicious treats.  I hope you enjoy!