Fifth Street Books

Building up our classroom libraries can be quite costly and time consuming... going to bookstores, searching online, thrift stores etc. After doing a little searching and chatting with some teachers online I found this amazing place called Fifth Street Books . They are a massive used book store in Mebane, NC . So if you are in the area go. They sell many of their books for less than a dollar and if you are a teacher they are only twenty-five cents.  Now, if you are like me then you don't live anywhere this magical place, but never fear, you can order books in bulk online. 

Go to the Fifth Street Books online click on Boxed Children Books, and choose your grade level. Then  you can order books in certain quantities. Now, I teach first grade, but I ordered 2 packs of Kinder and 1 pack of first grade books. Why? Well as you know there are many different programs and ways to level books. I don't expect the employees at this store to know the specific levels so I thought I'd cover my bases. I figure that buying Kinder and First grade books I'd get a good mix of Kinder-2nd grade books and I was right. 

Here's my book haul. The larger set of books are the Kinder set and the smaller is the first grade. Each set came in a paper bag in the box. 

We Make A Difference, They Will Remember

If you are anything like me, you often find yourself wondering, "Am I making a difference? Will they remember me when they grow up? Have I done anything that will have impacted their lives for the better?"

Well I am hear to tell you that... you are, they they will, and you have. Both of my parents taught. My dad taught for 35 year and my mom just retired this past school year after 46 years of teaching.

ANYWAY, growing up, we would always run into former students of my parents.... they were grown adults and they always had something nice to say, sharing memories of their time in my parents classrooms. It always gave me a proud, happy feeling knowing that so many people loved my parents.

 Today I wanted to show you something that was on my dad's facebook page. Come back to this post and look at this photo at anytime you doubt you are making a difference, and even the littlest of things can make a HUGE impact on a child's life.

You make a difference, you build the confidence, you open the doors, you make them feel loved, appreciated and cared for. 

Flexible Seating Find

Super awesome finds at Home Goods today. I am going to use these lap desks as alternate seating. They are very long and the legs are metal so they are more sturdy. I also got the rolly  cart as well. It will fit perfectly under my teacher desk. Don't mind Pudge the dog. He is a world class photo bomber.

Productive Summer

 I hope everyone's having a great summer vacation. My summer vacation has been busy propping for next school year. I've gotten a lot done. I plan to the first two months of school, trips and activities, and have done a little organizing and buying some thing.

 I making master copies of some of the files I have on my computer, and putting them in binders for easy access during the school year.

 I stopped at our local Big Lots to pick up the pencil cases you see at the top right. They're great for the kids to keep their pencils and erasers  while they work around the room. The containers that you see are amazing. They were only $3.50 each and they all came with two different colored labels. You can write on them with dry erase marker's to label what's inside.  Cheverly will you choose not to use there's a special spot at the bottom of the container where it hooks in. I got a few other little things, like pencils, erasers and other little goodies. Something that is not pictured that I got there is some pillows for my classroom library.

Here is a pile of stuff I have accumulating under our kitchen bar area for next school year.

 This is a fun little craft I did for the Fourth of July. It would also be great as classroom decoration. I just took some treat bags from the dollar section cut the tips off and glue them together. It's super simple,  super inexpensive  and super cute.