Teacher Week 13' - Parte Dos

Back for Day 2 of "Teacher Week 13'". Today's theme- a classroom tour. Well ladies and gents...here she is...isn't she a beaut ;).

But really...in all seriousness, in my new position I am graced with an office this year (which at one point was a closet I may add). This photo may be a slight exaggeration, but I no longer have the luxurious classroom space I once had, and I now have a basement full of stuff I have accumulated over the years with sadly no where to go!

Thus, in lieu of a tour from this year, I thought I would take you back in time for a little tour through my first five years of teaching (this year will be #6). I think you will appreciate my evolution as much as I did when I went back to find some of these oldies for you all! 

So let's start from the beginning...

Confession...I had no idea where to even begin to set up my classroom my first year. I just remember being so excited to have this brand new job that I worked so hard for and a classroom finally of my very own! Anyone else have multiple moments of just staring in awe and confusion as to where to go next. I think half of my set up time was consumed by those moments that year. Somehow I made it through!

Fast forward two years...I was at a new school in a new grade level! I definitely had a better understanding of what needed to be setup, but was still lacking the ability to tie it all together I'd say. I call this my "year of the rainbow". 

This year I just remember buying and creating any and every thing in any color I found that made me smile. I was all for bright patterns and cool colors. 

Fast forward two more years...to last year. My OCD side went into full force. I blame blogging for this ;)! Everything had to be color coordinated (black, green, pink yellow) and related somehow to my superhero theme. I will not lie (as I know many of you do too!) in saying I probably spent more hours on the most minute details like bin labels and colored clothespins than the time I spent thinking about and putting together my classroom combined my first year. Isn't is supposed to get easier, friends?

I will say, it kind of hurt to take my classroom down at the end of this year! I'm hoping to utilize some of the decor in my office as well as share some things with my new dual staff members! 

Looking forward to seeing how you all are coming along this year! Maybe take a moment and look back at photos from your first few years, when you are feeling like the organization is never going to end...and think about how far you have come ;)!

Teacher Week 13' - Parte Uno

I am so thrilled to be linkin' up with Blog Hoppin' on this fine Monday evening for the first day of "Teacher Week 13'"!

Today's theme...

Yes, this means you are going to be subjected to 10 "fun" things about little ole' me. Don't all jump at once ;) (Although, I must admit, I have already had oh so much fun reading through many of your "10 fun things"...its great to see the teachers behind the blogs!)

So here goes...Krista Carlson...super teacher...in a nutshell!

1.) This will be my 6th (ehh...does that make me a veteran now?) year of teaching! I taught 2 years of 1st grade dual language, 3 years of 2nd grade dual language, and as many of you who follow know, I scored a pretty sweet new position this year as the Dual Language Instructional Coach for our building. It's going to be quite the learning curve...but I am ready for a new challenge!

2.) I am short. I mean seriously vertically challenged status. Last time I was measured, I came in at a whopping 5'0" (and this may be due to some generous rounding up on the part of my dr. ;)).

3.) I looveeee exercising and gettin my muscles movin' and groovin'. (I know...I know..it's something most of us just do...because we feel it's necessary), but seriously, it's my stress relief! It's like candy to me ;)!

Here's good ole' Mama Carlson and I after we ran the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon this summer in Chi-Town.

4.) I am dating my best friend. No really. Ryan and I were best friends for 6 years before we started officially dating this past winter. We were there for each other through everything life threw at us (including other relationships ups and downs) ...when things just finally fell into place, and we realized - wait a minute- we both love each other, know each other inside and out and we are one another's best friends. Why aren't we together? And the rest is history! 

I mean we are cute right?

He's the best.

5.) Now for the other love of my life...Miss Bella.

I mean I think the picture explains it all. 

That face just gets me every time. 

I can't believe she is already going to be 4 in Sept.!

6.) I love, love, love to travel. It is my goal to make it to 6 of the 7 continents before I die (I get cold easily...so I am thinkin Antarctica might not welcome me too well).

I learn so much from the people I meet and the places I see and I just feel like there is nothing better than the experiences and insight into the world I have gained through travel!

Did I introduce you to my second career...Miss Carlson R.N. 

Just kidding. All breathe a sigh of relief.

Here is a pic of me when I went to Honduras with my mother and other oncology nurses/doctors to serve as a translator. I must say my medical knowledge and medical Spanish flourished. 

7.) I am in love with organization, checklists, you name it. I mean to the point of adding things to a list that I have already done, just so that I have the gratification of checking it off. It's bad...but makes me feel oh' so accomplished!

8.) I <3 smoothies. I make them nearly every day either for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Orange juice with bananas, strawberries, a touch of vanilla protein powder and agave syrup. To die for.

9.) I recently had to go gluten and dairy free. It's been quite the lifestyle transition, but...I must say it has turned me from a cooking "dud" into a cooking "stud?"...or at least mediocre ;)! Going out to eat just isn't quite as fun as it used to be and definitely not as easy. So I have been doing a lot of cooking at home! 

Check out this spaghetti squash boat with turkey meatballs I managed to pull off last week. I'm workin it!

10.) I am a "quote-aholic". And by this I mean I love positive messages. I have everything from frames to notecards written out with scripture and positive quotes all over my house, office, you name it. I just love the constant reminders of how I want to live and look at life as well as how truly blessed I am.

Now head on over and learn about the lives behind the blogs of some of the other fabulous ladies you follow!

Peak at my Blogger Exchange Goodies!

Before any peaking goes on, I just want to give a big thanks to Covered in Glitter and Glue and Adventures of Ms. Smith for organizing this "Back to School...Blogger Exchange". It was such a fun way to get to know another teacher, go shopping, and get some goodies (three things that we all love!). 

Now for the unveiling of the treats in my package-o-fun!

Seriously huge thank you to the lovely Kathy from KS and Her Kids for such great goodies to start my year off right! 

Check out what other bloggers received from their fab new friends here.

Five For Friday - Back to School Style

I'm back for another edition of "Five for Friday"....my scatterbrain just loves this linky!

First things first, I spent today giving my Pinterest a bit of a makeover - "Super" style! All of my boards now incorporate my theme, are much more organized, and I have tried my best to purge some doubles and items that may have been "pinned on a whim" ;))! Check it out (...and feel free to follow me if you aren't already!)

Numero dos on my agenda for this week was doing a little back to school shopping. I am always one for a good deal and some serious sales. Thus, I had to share my seriously stellar find with you all.

Now these are remarkable for three reasons:

1. They are capris that actually look like "capris" and not jeans on me.

2. They are turquoise...therefore dressy enough to pull off at work because they aren't true "jeans".

3. They were 8 dollars, I repeat, 8 dollars on clearance!

Dear Kohls, You Rock, Love, Krista.

PS. Grab your pair of these lovelies here.

This leads me to number three on my week of randomness...a little sweetness added in. 

This summer I have taken on a fondness for cooking and trying new recipes...and thus have also taken on a fondness for taking photos of my food creations! Check out this deliciousness.

Yes, those are almond butter blondies folks. And yes you can find the recipe for this healthy-ish treat by clicking on that decadent image above!

Number four leads me to a book I have been diving into a bit this week entitled...

I first bought this book when I was working on my administrative Masters and thought I would pull it back out to try and find some ideas for celebrating, recognizing, and having some fun with the dual staff this year. Part of being a coach is positive support, right...all over it ;)!

Finally, I finished up "My First Day of School...(a Keepsake Book)" pack for you all! I know some of you have already gone back to school (fail on my end right)...but we don't until the 28th...so I think I was slackin' a bit and still trying to hold on to my last few weeks of summer! Either way it is complete and comes in both English and Spanish of course. It contains a cover as well as 8 pages that your kiddos can work on that will serve as a memory of their first day with you! Check it out by clicking on the spread below!

Dual Classroom Setup

As part of my new position this year as the Dual Language Coach in our building, I will be working to provide professional development opportunities to our dual language staff, particularly the newbies we have this year!

While our school year does not officially begin until August 28th (I know...seems late compared to many of you!), I am working in conjunction with our district ELL/Bilingual Coordinator to develop some presentations and host some meetings for the new staff to help them get prepared for a successful year ahead of time.

Tomorrow these new dual staff members were invited to come in for a "Classroom Setup" session with both of us. We are going to work to provide them with ideas via a presentation we have put together first, and then give them time to work in their rooms and support them along the way. 

While this presentation is geared specifically toward dual rooms in our district there are a variety of ideas that would be beneficial to have in all classrooms particularly if you are a new teacher just starting out.

Thought I'd share what we put together with you all just in case you thought it may be useful for you! Gives ya a lot to think about in prep for the school year!

It's Currently August...Ehh!

Cannot believe I am saying I linking up with Farley for "Currently...August". Time is just a flyin' folks. Next edition of currently there will be kiddos in the building and the year will be underway!

So a little explainin' of the above...

"Listening"- First, I have a little crush on Blake Shelton....and furthermore something about country music in the summer time just fits!

"Loving" - I just got fitted for the first time for a new pair of running shoes. I absolutely love them. Did you know that you should go a 1/2 to full size larger in your running shoes to give your toes some free space? Who knew. Life altered.

"Thinking"- My little furry friend is gross as she just came tail wagging to do the door post rolling around in a dead animal. MOST Un-pleasant-smell-friends! So I went for a good ole' dog shaming photo to add some humor to the situation (as neither her nor I love puppy bath time!) I'm such a nice mom.

"Wanting"- What girl doesn't want to go on a little shopping spree every once in awhile? 

"Needing"- My basement is full of nearly all of the classroom stuff that I purchased over the years as my school was shifting rooms all over the place this summer and I am moving to an office with my new position. Now the feat is to go through it all and decide what to bring/can fit in an office the size of a closet. #teacherproblems

"B2S Must-Haves" - 1. Thank You Cards and Stationary are key for me as they are nice to have on hand to whip out and give to someone at a moments notice!

2. My laminator saves my life when our building one is out of laminate as well as when I want to laminate things with a little bit studier material!

3. I could own my own container store with the amount I have accumulated over the years. A teacher/girl can never have enough storage!

Be sure to check out other "Currently" posts and link up with Farley to share your own!

Old School... Back to School...Freebies!

and 

Linking up with Cara @ First Grade Parade for a little Throwback Thursday - Back to School Style as well as Classroom Freebies for Charity's Organizational/Back to School Linky.

Last summer, I shared these classroom organizational tools I created with you all that I must say worked marvelously for me throughout the year! Here is a little reminder...and you can click on any of the images that suit your fancy to head to my TpT store and get a free copy of your own!

First...numbered sticks! These puppies (once created) can be used year after year and prove to be so much more efficient than writing students names at the beginning of each new year. Plus they look adorable (at least I think ;)). 

I just printed, cut, laminated, and hot glued these babies to large popsicle sticks and there ya have it! They are still in wonderful condition after a year of use!

I also shared with you all a fun way to display how each of your students goes home each day. I utilized this clip chart all year long and had clothepins with each of my students names on the corresponding circle for how they went home. On the "busser" clips, I also added the students' bus number. It was quite simple for my to use as a quick reminder as well as to share with a sub where to look if there was ever a question!

Once again to put it together it is just a matter of cutting out the circles and laminating them. I then just actually clipped them to the ribbon, but you could hot glue for extra reinforcement as well if ya'd like!

If you download either of these "flashback freebies", I'd really appreciate/love your feedback guys! Also, don't forget to check out all of the rest of the super freebies and "throwbacks" linked up with the lovely ladies mentioned above!