Liebster Award

I am pleasantly surprised and pleased to announce that I have been nominated for the wonderful ...

I have to say that I was very surprised when I saw that Ms. P, over at Fourth Grade Eyes, and Karen & Alison, over at Planet Happy Smiles have nominated me for this award. I feel very honored to receive this award. I'm still pretty new to this whole blogging thing but I am enjoying all the wonderful ideas that I am getting from everyone.



To accept this nomination there are some things I have to do:
1. Link back to the blog that nominated me
2. Nominate 5 - 11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3. Answer the questions posted by my nominator
4. Share 11 random facts about myself
5. Create 11 questions for my nominees
6. Contact my nominees to let them know I nominated them



Make sure to head over and check out Ms. P's blog - Fourth Grade Eyes and you'll be smilin' when you check out Karen & Alison at Planet Happy Smiles



Here are my nominations:

• Amy over at Teaching in Blue Jeans - I love her teaching philosophy!
• Michaela over at The Center Based Classroom
• Alison over at Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'
• Jen over at Teaching and Laughing
• Melissa over at Teacher Abroad

Next, I'll answer some questions that were posted by my nominees

1. Who was your favorite teacher growing up & what grade

    did he/she teach?

       My favorite teacher was actually my 4th grade teacher. I 
       remember having a lot of fun learning in her class.

2. Where did you go on your last vacation?

       For our last vacation, we went down to visit some of my

       husband's family in the southern part of Virginia. It was

       a nice relaxing time with family.

3. Why did you start blogging?

       I started blogging because I love to share ideas with 

       other teachers that I work with. I thought blogging 

       would be a great way to do this with other teachers 

       on a larger scale.

4. How many years have you been a teacher?

       I am starting my 5th year of teaching.

5. What was your favorite subject growing up in school?

       I actually had two favorite subjects growing up, math 

       and history. These are actually still my favorite subjects

       to teach. 

6.  What do you like best about the age group you teach?

       I love 4th graders because they are old enough that 

       they can be somewhat independent, I can joke around

       with them, but they are still young enough that the 

       hormonal attitudes haven't quite kicked in yet.

7. Do you hoard school materials?  If so, what do you hoard?

       I am definitely a hoarder of school materials. I hoard 

       many different things, mostly plastic containers. I 

       always feel guilty getting rid of them so I end up 

       hoarding them. The good news is that I have many 

       different ways to use them so I'm not hoarding them 

       for no reason.

8.  What made you decide to become a teacher?

       I'm not really sure that it was one specific thing that 

       made me decide to become a teacher. It's just something

       that I've always know I wanted to do.

9. What do you do to relax after a hard day?

       After a hard day, the only thing I want to do is come 

       home, plop down on the couch, watch some tv and 

       forget all about it.

10. Who is one influential person in your life?

       I would definitely have to say that my mom is one of 

       the most influential person in my life. She is the person 

       that I go to whenever I have a problem, have exciting 

       new to share, or anything in between.

11. Do you have a comfort food?  If so, what is it?

       I love food! There are actually several things that I would

       consider comfort food, but the biggest one would 

       probably be bread. I love bread! whether it's rolls, 

       biscuits, or even just a slice of bread.

11 Random Facts about Me:

1. I have one sister who is younger than me.

2. I've know my husband since I was 16.

3. Last summer (pre-baby) my husband and I went on a 

    mission trip to Guatemala. It was such a wonderful 

    experience!

4. I was born in Tennessee, but I've spent most of my life in 

    Virginia.

5. I went on a group tour through Italy when I was in high 

   school. I loved it!

6. I teach at the elementary school that is right next door to 

   the high school where I graduated.

7. My husband and I love to watch The Andy Griffith Show

    (he has the entire season on DVD)

8. I met my husband in a hardware store.

9. I have the entire season of M*A*S*H on DVD

10. I have two nephew that are 3 months apart.

11. I save the best one for last .... ok, you ready for this? ... I do 

     NOT like chocolate. I know .. it's crazy, but I just can't stand

     the taste of it. (I do like white chocolate though)

11 questions for my nominees:

1. When did you decide you wanted to be a teacher?

2. What is your favorite vegetable?

3. Where do you like to go on vacation?

4. What is your favorite subject to teach?

5. What is largest number of students you have had in one 

   class?

6. What made you decide to start blogging?

7. Of the grades you've taught, which one is your favorite?

8. What helps you unwind after a hard day?

9. If you could drive any car, what would it be?

10. Have you ever had a class pet? If so, what was it?

11. If you could meet anyone, alive or dead, who would it be? Why?

Ok y'all. I'm off to notify my nominees. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Made It {Teacher Chair}

Near the end of my junior fourth year of college I was preparing to marry my wonderful husband (we got married a week after my final exams). I remember talking to one of my professors about how my new name, Cowgill, was kind of a silly, unusual name. I'll never forget the simple advice she gave me. She said that I should just try to have fun with it. So that's what I've tried to do. I've collected a few little cow knick-knacks that I have placed around my classroom.

Last summer, my parents sold their house and we had to clean out all our junk stuff. My sister had this chair, left from her house at college, that she wasn't using anymore so I asked her if I could have it for my classroom. It was kind of beat up and I wanted to repaint it before I took it to school. Unfortunately, last summer I only got as far as sanding it. Then it just sat in my basement all year.

This is the chair after I sanded it. Kinda blah.

So this summer I finally got motivated to paint the chair and I decided to have a little fun with it.

Remember what I told you about having fun with my last name? Well ...

I'm really excited about how it turned out! I want to add my name to the seat before I put the clear coat of sealer on it. However, I haven't decided exactly how to do it. I'm thinking either I'll paint it on my hand (like I did all the spots) or I might try to find some vinyl that I can cut out with my Cricut. I just not sure if I can find some vinyl in the color that I want.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. I've come this far, I really want to make sure that it doesn't sit in my basement for another year.

Don't forget to check in with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics to see everyone else's creative ideas.

Monday Made It {Teacher Toolbox}

Well, I finally did it. I jumped on the Teacher Toolbox bandwagon and I have to say that I am SUPER excited about it! I just couldn't wait to share it with you for this week's Monday Made It.

Last summer, I saw lots of posts about people creating their teacher toolboxes. I wanted to make one, but it became one of those things that just never got done. Then, this summer, I wasn't sure that I still wanted to make one. I finally decided to make one and I am really glad that I did.

I bought the Stack-On 22-drawer organizer at Lowe's for about $17.

I wasn't really crazy about the blue color and I just happened to have some leftover black spray paint. Yay!

Then, I downloaded these adorable labels that are not only bright and colorful (which I love!), but they are also editable so that I could change them to say what I wanted.

I have to say that I am VERY happy with my finished product. If you are debating on whether or not to make your own Teacher Toolbox, I definitely recommend it!



Monday Made It #2

Another wonderful thing that I made this week wasn't school related, but it was wonderful all the same. We had a big family reunion on Saturday, so I made these delicious Snickerdoodle cookies.

When you take something to a reunion, party, etc, I think that the best way to know if what you made was good, is based on how much is left when it's over. I have to say that there weren't any cookies left over, not even a crumb.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Classroom Preparation Tip

As much as I'm trying to enjoy the precious weeks of summer fun I have left, I can't help but keep my thoughts from turning towards preparations for the upcoming school year. One of the first things that I like to do when I get into my classroom (after I clean the layers of dust) is to get it all setup and decorated. It always makes me feel so much better when my room is ready to go. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed into our classrooms until about two weeks before the students come back and many of those days are spent in meetings, professional development, or just about anything that isn't working in my classroom.

I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head over the summer, that I am easily overwhelmed when I finally get into my classroom. This year I am trying to make things a bit easier and allow myself to work more efficiently.

Before I left for the summer, I took pictures of my classroom. (I like to have a visual of different areas when I'm thinking about them at home.) I decided to print out the pictures and make notes regarding my ideas right on the page. That way, when I get back into my classroom, I can just look at my notes and work my way around the room setting things up.

Here are a couple of my pictures:

By printing the pictures on paper, I can write my notes right on the page. I hope this little tip helps you to make better use of your time as you are preparing your classroom.

How much time do you have left before you'll be preparing your classroom?

Absent Student Work

As much as we'd like to have all our students at school everyday (well maybe not everyday), that's just not realistic. We do have to deal with absent students and the work they miss while they are absent. I've done this a little differently every year, but I still haven't found that perfect system.

Last year I found that it worked really well to write any absent students' names on papers as I passed them out. My challenge was what to do with those papers to make sure that the students got them when they returned. I tried putting them on the student's desk. However, I team teach with another teacher and I have different students coming in and out all day. Often times these papers were shoved into the black hole that is a student desk. I also tried sticking these papers in a pocket chart that I have. This didn't work because if I didn't remind the students, they would forget to check. It just wasn't very organized.

Then, I saw this wonderful pin on Pinterest:

Unfortunately, the link didn't go anywhere so I don't
 know who to credit for this wonderful idea.

My plan is to make a file folder for each day of the month (1-31). Then, whenever a student is absent I will place their work, with their name on it, in the folder that corresponds with the correct date. That way when the student returns, all they have to do is check the folder of the date(s) they were absent.

I even made a cute label page to attach to the front of the crate. I've made this page available for free on my TPT store. This download has the sign available in several different colors, that way you might match your classroom theme or color scheme.

Click here to download this product for FREE

What do you do to organize work that your students miss while they are absent?

2013-14 School Calendar

On Monday I linked up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. I posted about my teaching binder that I created for next year. (You can read about it here.) I'm excited to start getting all my resources organized and put into the binder.

To go along with my binder, I created a monthly calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. This year I made mine so that each month takes up two pages. That way I have more room to write in. I have two different versions available in my Tpt store. In this version, I added lines on Sundays because I like to be able to write a few things I need to get done that week. I also created this version that doesn't have any lines for those of you who would prefer it that way.

While you're checking out the calendar, make sure to follow my store so you don't miss any freebies. I'm working on creating more versions of the Finders Keepers game I posted about last week. You can download the subtraction version for free here.

School Supplies

Yesterday while I was shopping at Target for a friend's baby shower, I bought my first school supplies of the year. There's nothing like the feeling of having a new box of colored pencils/markers/crayons. It just makes me all giddy inside! Some people may think it's silly, but I know you get that wonderful feeling too! Who doesn't love back-to-school shopping? Anyway, I picked up two packs for colored pencils and small organizer for only $1 each.

As much as I look forward to a new school with all the new possibilities, new students and new school supplies. This year I'm even more reluctant to head back than usual. In May, our family became a family of 3 with the addition of our beautiful baby girl. It worked out nicely because I was able to get six weeks of maternity leave in before summer break started. However, I know it's not going to be easy to go back.

I mean who would want to leave that smiling face? I know I'm biased, but I think she's just adorable!

Have a great week everyone! Happy school supply shopping!
What is your favorite place to shop for school supplies?

Monday Made It

I've been wanting to link up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics for awhile now. But with a 2 month old baby, I can't get things done as quickly as I once did. I wouldn't trade a minute of it though and I'm trying to soak up as much time with her as I can before the back to school craziness starts.

Anyway, back to my reason for this post ...

After reading Jodi's post over at the Clutter-Free Classroom about how she sets up her teacher binder, I was inspired to work on creating mine. Every year I change mine around a little bit. Last year I actually had two separate binders, one with everything I needed to help with planning and one with my student data, parent communication, schedules, etc. This year I tried to consolidate things by putting it all in one binder.

 I've read many posts by different people about the different sections they make in their binder. You have to figure out what works for you. These are the sections I came up with:

• Calendar
• Weekly Lesson Plans
• Pacing Guides
• SOL Info
• Student Info
• Gradebook
• Meeting Notes
• Inservice Handouts

(I tried to dress up the dividers a bit and make them prettier by adding a decorative label to the divider page. )

Calendar -

This year I made my own monthly calendar so that I could spread each month out over two pages. I write fairly big and last year I ran out of room if there were more than two things I needed to write on a certain date. When I created it, I made the Sunday boxes a little bigger so that I can write in things I need to complete that week.

Weekly Lesson Plans -

I usually create my lesson plans on the computer, but I'd like to have somewhere to keep them once I have printed them out. 

Pacing Guides - 

We have district-wide pacing guides for Math and Reading/Language Arts. I like to have them easily accessible when I'm working on my lesson plans.

SOL (Standards of Learning) Info - 

Here in Virginia we haven't switched over to Common Core. We still have SOLs that we follow. I also like to have these easily available when planning.

Student Info - 

This is where I will keep the parent surveys that I send out at the beginning of the year, lists with the students' ID numbers, birthdays, and any other information that I might need.

Gradebook - 

We've been using an online gradebook (PowerSchool) for the past four years, but I still like to have a paper gradebook. This is helpful if I'm grading papers and I'm somewhere that I don't have immediate access to a computer. I also like to have a backup in case something happens and grades get lost.

Meeting Notes - 

Let's face it, it wouldn't be teaching without meetings. I like to have a place to keep all my notes so that I can refer back to them when needed.

Inservice Handouts - 

Who hasn't been to an inservice and received a bunch of papers that you then don't know what to do with? What I like to do is to put all the pages into a page protector and then put a sticky note on the front with the name/topic of that inservice. That way if I want to refer back to something, I know right where to look.

I even made a label for the binder spine. Overall, I'm really happy with how my teaching binder turned out and I can't wait to start using it! 

What sections to you like to have in your teaching binder?

Subtraction Finders Keepers {Math Facts Game}

"Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers"

How often have you heard your students say this to each other? (Or maybe you've even said it yourself)

Two summers ago I took a Spanish for Educators class and one of the activities that we did was this Finders Keepers game. It was a fun, easy way to work on our Spanish vocabulary. Right away I began thinking of ways to adapt it for my classroom. I decided it would be a great way for students to practice their math facts.

Here's what you'll need:

• one game board for each PAIR of students (students will be working with a partner)
• 2 sets of color tiles (one partner should have one color and the other partner a different color- I like to use the red and blue foam tiles that came with our math manipulatives)
• 1 set of problem cards

How to Play:

• Divide your students into partners & choose 1 person to call out the subtraction problems (or you can do this job if you choose)
• Distribute 1 game board to each set of partners and have them place it between them
• When a problem is called out, the students have to figure out the answer to the problem and be the first one to place his/her colored tile on the correct square
• The student with the most colored tiles on the board at the end of the game wins

Variations:

• If you want to make the game shorter, you could set a timer and say whoever has the most tiles on the board when the timer goes off wins
• Instead of using the colored tiles, you could laminate the game boards and have each partner use a different color dry erase marker to mark an "X" on the correct answer

Click here to download your FREE copy

I'm working on an Addition, Mulitplication and Division version. Make sure to follow by blog so you won't miss out on future FREEBIES!

3... 2... 1... Ding, Ding, Ding {Timers}

I love to use timers in my classroom! I've used them for many different things from giving them a set amount of time to unpack in the mornings, to organizing our small group time, even letting the students know how long they had to complete an assigned activity.

This past year I used a timer all throughout the day. It was helpful to keep my students (and me) on track. The group of students that I had was very easily distracted and talkative and it was very easy for an activity that should have taken 10 minutes to wind up taking 15-20 minutes. I found that if I set the timer and gave them a specific amount of time to complete an activity, we were more likely to stick to my planned timeline. I always tried to make sure that the students were able to see the timer (either by using the timer on the Smartboard or putting my handheld timer under the document camera). I liked being able to hold my students accountable for getting their work completed in the time allotted. (Now this didn't work for all of my students, but it did work for a majority of them)

I'm excited to use a timer in my classroom next year because I have ordered a Time Tracker Mini. This is a timer that you can set to give the students a visual alarm and an auditory warning. You are able to set both the countdown on the timer and the warning alarm.

I'm anxious to see how I can incorporate this timer into my classroom. I'll have to post about it later and let you know how it works.

Do you use timers in your classroom? If so, what is your favorite way to use them?

Summer Has Officially Started!

It's finally here! The time of year we've been thinking about, dreaming about and looking forward to since about October. I was fortunate this year to have my summer break start early this year. I've actually been out on maternity leave since the very end of April, which has been SUPER nice!

However, I did go back to school for the last two work days at the end of the year in order to prepare my classroom for summer. (I'm just a little bit too OCD to let anyone else do it.) Fortunately, at my school we aren't required to completely pack up our classrooms at the end of the year. So there wasn't too, too much for me to have to do. Nonetheless, I did want to put things away and straighten up so that it's easier (hopefully) when I come back in August.

Since my daughter was only 5 weeks old at the time, I wasn't quite ready to leave her for the entire day. My school is very supportive when it comes to family situations and I was able to take her with me for those two days. I was even able to recruit my mom and my husband to each come with me one day to help with the baby while I was working. I am very thankful for their help because I was able to get more things done than I had originally thought that I would. 

My daughter was so good and slept in her car seat most of the time. 

One tip that I would like to leave you with is something that is not my idea, it's something that I learned from one of the wonderful fourth grade teachers I work with. I don't know about your classroom, but our rooms are VERY dusty. (I can easily end up spending an entire day cleaning when I come back.) In order to help cut down on that amount of cleaning, she likes to take old sheets and cover everything in her classroom. I have been doing this for the past couple years and it definitely helps! 

It isn't very attractive, but it definitely helps keep things from getting so dusty. Now I know most teachers have already packed up their classrooms for summer, but the summer is a great time to gather some old sheets, if you don't have any. There are lots of yard sales, flea markets, and other opportunities to pick up some sheet sets for fairly cheap.

What is your favorite tip/trick for preparing your classroom for summer break?

Welcome to 2013! Are you a Bucket Filler or a Bucket Dipper?

With the start of a fresh new year comes the opportunity to make a fresh start in my classroom. While I'm not exactly jumping for joy at the thought of returning to school tomorrow, I am excited for the chance to make some changes in my classroom. One of the first changes that I want to make has to do with the way my students interact with each other. I noticed before break that many of my students weren't being very positive or encouraging towards each other so I want to implement something to turn that around.

A couple of years ago our guidance counselors introduced a book to all the students in our school called Have You Filled a Bucket Today?. It is a cute and colorful picture book that discusses how rewarding it can be to show daily kindness and appreciation to others. This is called "Bucket Filling". It also talks about how saying and doing mean things to each other can empty someone's bucket, "Bucket Dipping".

Last year I created a bulletin board based on this book. Each of my students decorated a picture of a bucket and then glued it on a brown paper bag. I hung the bags up on the bulletin board and students could just drop in their bucket fillers. To introduce the bulletin board each student had to write a bucket filler on a slip of paper for every person in our class. This was a great way to get them thinking of ways to be positive about everyone in our class. (Let's face it, some people are more challenging to be positive about than others.) Once we did this I just kinda left it and students were free to fill each other's buckets as they chose.

I am hoping to improve on this idea for this year. I want to make the bucket filler display more compact so that it doesn't take up the entire bulletin board in the back of my classroom. I've found some ideas on Pinterest using library book pockets that might work nicely. Another one of the changes that I want to make is to have the students fill each others buckets more than just when I introduce the display. I'm also thinking about incorporating it as a consequence. When the students are making unkind comments to each other then they will have to fill that person's bucket for a week, fill everyone's bucket, or something else along those lines.

I hope to post pictures of my bucket filling display once I get it created. Please check back for an update of how the bucket filling is going in my classroom.