It's Official!

When I got home today, there was a letter from my new district. They were congratulating me on the confirmation of my nomination for 4th grade teacher for next year!

In my state, the Superintendent of Schools recommends candidates to the School Board (or Board of Education), and the School Board does the hiring. Although it is highly unlikely that the School Board does not confirm a super's nomination, it is possible.

Now that everything is all set, I can start looking for apartments! (I have to move halfway across the state...but it's a small state :) I'll be about an hour and half away from my current home, so there may be some overnights needed while I am checking places out.

We have 6 days left of school, but tomorrow is Field Day so it doesn't really count (I told my kids that I would be wearing sneakers, and they were all like "You have sneakers?!) :) Let's hope that I can survive the next week of craziness!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

I Saw It On Pinterest...

A couple of giveaways to give a heads up on!

Thoughts of a Third Grade Teacher is giving away a HearAll assessment recorder. This would be great for fluency checks, taking running records and having them listen to themselves!


Lessons with Laughter is having a giveaway for the Daily 5 and Cafe books that             is having. Go check it out!

I'm also linking up with Amber for her   linky.

 

I want to make some peppermint foot scrub for at home pedis!  

Source: theidearoom.net

Source: http://artbywiley.blogspot.com/2012/03/button-tree-story.html

Source:  3rd Grade Thoughts

 Source: http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/05/somebody-get-me-a-beret/

Go link up with Amber!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

June Currently

First time linking up with Farley for the Currently! Really excited that I can do this now. Here is is!

I have visited Ireland before (I did a student teaching Scotland and we visited Ireland for a long weekend), but I wish I could go back. I went to Washington DC with my family for April and I loved visiting all of the museums! I definitely want to visit my friend in Maine and spend some time on the beach reading my Kindle!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

P.S. Here's a sneak peek of things to come :)

Monday Made It

I'm linking up over with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. However, I don't have something that I made for my classroom or home...I have something that I made for my blog (which is kind of teachery so it counts!)! Thanks to some online tutorials, Photoshop, and a sale over at Just So Scrappy 2, I have made two new backgrounds for my blog! They both have a summer/watermelon feel, but I am having a hard time deciding which to use. So I ask you, should I use       

A or

 B or

C?

I really like making my own, and I have had a lot of fun creating everything that goes along with it (button, post divider, post icon, favicon) and I bought about 5 kits, so I have a feeling that my blog will get a 'refresh' a lot.

Since I am done with grad school (I just got my Masters of Education in Reading about a month ago) I find I have a lot more time on my hands. Once school is out and I find an apartment, I'm sure most of my time will be filled organizing all of that.

Let me know which one you like better and you'll see the winner in a few weeks! I hope you enjoyed my 'blog' Made it Monday! Go link up with Tara!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Summer Book Studies

This summer a lot of upper grade teachers will be hosting a book study using Daily 5 & Cafe books. Katie from Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher is hosting a giveaway of the two books for the book study.

The awesome leaders of this group have set up a new blog to host the discussions We Read, We Blog, We Teach, which looks awesome.

I definitely plan on rereading the books and trying to implement it as much as possible in my class. It'll be fun to discuss and share thoughts will other teachers and I definitely plan on joining in! I was going to implement Cafe it next year anyway, but now I will have to try and fit it in a different framework (we'll be using Literacy By Design in my new district). The best part is that this is the first year that they are doing it, so there will be lots of training for everyone and we'll all start on the same page! :) 

Head on over to Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher to join her giveaway!

I also found a book study hosted by Brenda at Primary Inspired and her friends using the book Guided Math. She is having a giveaway on her blog for the book as well. If you are interested in hosting a chapter, go on over and let her know!

I'm really looking forward to the summer with all of these book studies. :) Reading is one of my favorite things to do!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

You Know It's Summer Vacation When...

So I'm linking up with Kindergarten Lifestyle for her Summer Vacation Linky. We still have 10 days left (and I think both the teachers and kids are eager for it!).

Head on over to Kindergarten Lifestyle to link up! Have a great weekend!
Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Book Leveling

So as the year is coming to an end (and I have to pack up everything and move), I find myself looking over my library.  Now, I've taught Kindergarten for two years, as well as working in first, so I have a pretty extensive picture book library (think 2+  18-gallon totes full!). One of the things I did during summer after my first year of teaching, was to level all of my picture books.

Now, I've amassed a lot of chapter books this year, but I just sorted them into categories and tried to get them out to the kids as quickly as possible so they had something to read.

I thought that since I was moving to a new district/school that actually does Guided Reading the correct way (with leveled groups reading at their level) instead of just calling Guided Reading (having kids read grade level books, all at the same time, never mixed according to level), that I would take the opportunity to level my new chapter book library (which all arrived this year via Scholastic! :).

What I usually do is use Scholastic Book Wizard (it's the third icon on the left side going down). I just type in the name of the book or author, and it will pop up. You can search using Grade Levels, Guided Reading Levels, DRA,  and Lexiles. I usually search Guided Reading Levels and put the equivalent grade level in my books as well. Sometimes, if the book doesn't show up (which can happen) I try the author instead. Also, some books will only have say, Lexile Levels or Grade Levels. I have this awesome chart that helps me find the equivalents for that.

For each book, I put my name in the upper left hand corner on the front cover. The Guided Reading Level and Grade Equivalent go in the bottom left hand corner...like this (Ignore the fingers :) : 

I have this AWESOME leveling chart, that has all the levels and the equivalents (go ahead, click on it! It's awesome isn't it?)

I have a more basic chart hung by my library, and I tell the kids their levels, so they know what books will be a really good fit for them. Of course, if they want to read a higher book or a lower book, I don't discouraged them, I'm happy they're reading.

I hope you found this helpful!
Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn