Some Fluff For Ya

Y'all know I like my teacher stuff.  I post about Socratic Seminars, RTI, products for interventions and classroom use, how to teach poetry, and lots of really good stuff.  But do I love the fluff.  It's this time of year that the fluff comes out and I can't resist it.  Target is my source for the cheap fluff.  I buy there every year.  I bought all my book boxes there a couple of years ago.  They have held up really well (none broken).  The ones from Lakeshore, etc... are great, but way more expensive.

It made me happy today to see that Target has already displayed some of their teachery $1/$3 stuff!!

It's the fluff that dreams are made of.

"You know I'm all about that fluff,
bout that fluff, from Target...
I'm bringin' turquoise back!"

No, I haven't been drinking.

I write a serious blog here about important teacher stuff.

I gotta say that turquoise makes me happy!!!!  And no, I'm not ashamed to do a cell phone photo shoot right in the middle of the Target Dollar Spot.

Here is my haul today -

 

My first favorite find was wipe-off word strips.  They are laminated lime green and turquoise (looks baby blue and yellow, but that's just my phone camera, I think).

Purpose:  I won't use these as wipe-off.  I plan to put vocabulary words on them from all of my authentic text books, so that it's handy when I do a new read-aloud or book study. (AND there are 30 strips in there!) 

 

Small pocket chart to go with the word strips.  I have one already, but I thought I might use two.  I don't know why. It's a dollar.

Purpose: To post the vocabulary words from the story I'm using that day.

 

Cute turquoise tote containers. 

Purpose: I like to store scissors, glue, etc...in these on my shelves.  

 

Small orange polka dot/turquoise bowl.  

Purpose:  Paperclips.  I like the wide opening for grabbing what I need, plus I love the orange!

 

Wipe-off board of the United States.

Purpose:  I actually put these in my Daily 5 stations toward the end of the week.  My kids love to go to my big map (which is a shower curtain from Target hung on the wall...see post {HERE})  They love to locate the states and write the postal codes or mark the capitals.  They have held up really well, but I bought a couple more. 

 

I've saved the best for last.  This is the best deal in the whole dollar section.  These are blank books.

Purpose:  Inspire the students to write about something wonderful.  Have them plan alone or in groups of two to write a book. My students always write an adventure story about our two guinea pigs, Oreo and Harley.  You get 8 medium sized books, 3 bigger books, or 3 smaller hard-bound books for $3. 

Link to previous post on books: {HERE}  

Maybe they will have something really fun and new this year.  There are already some favorites out that they have every year.  I keep checking to see what's new.  I'm obsessed with Target, I guess.  They don't appreciate me, though.  They don't even say hello when I walk in the door, and I spend half my paycheck there.  

It's Target Time

Within the last day or two, our Target has turned the Dollar Spot into a back to school "funland" for teachers!  I saw some of the things I bought last year, but some new stuff too!  Two of my favorite things are back.  First, I bought ALL the book boxes they had last year in lime green or turquiose.  I had to travel around a little, but I got all I needed.  (Now I'm going to need double that this year because I'll have two LA classes.)  They only had yellow or white today, so I passed for now.  They also had lots of little baskets, buckets, and paper trays.

  My favorite thing right now for task card storage are the coupon files.  I like to have each set (or two) in a separate holder.  I cut out the dividers (unless I need to leave one in there to separate two sets,) and I love the way I can organize all my different sets.  They seem to have those all the time.  Lately in gray, white, coral, and a greenish-turquoise color.

Another VERY cool thing they had again are these blank books.  I bought two packs of 8 last year and my kids buddied up with a friend and they wrote stories and published them in the blank books.  It was a REALLY fun day! We read to classes in the library (mostly younger kids).  I bought two more sets for this year.  They actually had bigger books too, and a pack of three hardbound blank books for the $3 price too.  I think it's a bargain!

I hope they didn't mind me "staging" some shots right in the aisle! 

Here's a little shot of my kids reading aloud to other kids in our library.  They wrote, edited and revised, and did final copies of their stories in the blank books.  It was really fun, and they took great pride in having a real book to illustrate and write in.

Target also had their rack of workbooks, wipe off multiplication cards, president cards, puzzles, all were great last year (and I bought a BUNCH, so I don't need any this year.)

In the back to school supplies (yes, sorry, they're out there already), they had tons of teacher/classroom supplies, even bulletin board border. I don't remember them ever having border and bulletin board stuff  before.

One last thing.  They now have this adhesive wallpaper.  It is so cool!  The sheets are 20"x16', I think.  They showed it lining the back of book cases, small sections of accent wall.  The colors were so pretty.  I wish I could figure out a way to use it.  (I'd like to cover all those maroon lockers...but I don't have $500 to spend on adhesive wallpaper to cover ugly lockers!) 

It's still my FAVorite store...hands down. 

Target and Daily 5

Target has been my best teaching resource this year.  I have found the best stuff for my Daily 5 and Guided Math centers.  It started with book boxes. I was looking in the housewares dept. and found white ice bins.  They were blah white and were $3.99.  Then (choir singing in the background) I found the perfect  book bins in the Dollar Spot!  I was thrilled.  I had to collect them in small amounts, partly because they were $3 each (not bad at all, but didn't want to break the bank buying all at once), and partly because they would only have three or four of them at a time.  The ones I found are a bright medium turquoise blue and lime green.  They did have some really cute hot pink bins with a chevron stripe in turquoise and lime, but I am not a big pink fan for my room.  One weekend, I just got tired of looking over and over at my Target to complete my set.  I only needed seven more, so I started calling all of the Targets in our metro area.  I had to drive about ten miles, but I hit the jackpot and found the number I needed. (I think I have about 26 now just in case some break.)  

www.teacherfluffandreallygoodstuff.blogspot.com

  Another wonderful thing I found was coupon holders in bright lime green and turquoise.  They were $1. I use them to hold my flahscards. (For math, I divided up  my multiplication cards into specific facts, e.g.: x2, x3, etc...).  I put them into one of the larger holders.  I have my reading rotation flashcards in the coupon holders also, along with my vocabulary cards that go with our reading series, separated by story, into the different sections.  That way I can grab the set I need and place them into the center I want to use.  Speaking of cards, I found some wonderful flashcards at Dollar Tree.  They had synonyms, antonyms, and sight words (3 levels!!).  Those are now in the wonderful coupon holders I found.  My kids can take a holder, get the cards out, and play concentration or just match cards.  They love it.

www.teacherfluffandreallygoodstuff.blogspot.com

www.teacherfluffandreallygoodstuff.blogspot.com

The final items I found at Target were mini dry erase markers, mini erasers and lap-sized dry erase boards (with lines).  They also had regular sized (black) dry erase markers at two for $1.  The minis I found were in a four-pack, four colors.  They are perfect for little hands.  It is so much more fun for the kiddos to write their answers on a dry erase board than on paper.  I know the markers won't last all year, but I think they'll last quite awhile.   Yea Target!!  My favorite store, hands-down.

Cool Stuff for $1

     Thanks to Stephanie @ www.thirdgradethoughts.com, I went to Target today to look for some of the flashcards she mentioned the other day.  I found some cool stuff to start the year off!  I found the cutest chalkboard stickers for my team!  I thought we could use them outside our doors (we change classes for our LA block, so we have different kids coming to our rooms, trying to remember what they need to bring.)   I wrote on them already, but they erase great with a damp cloth (tried it.) There were even some stickers that were speech bubble shapes! So cute. I used an Expo Brightsticks pen to write on them.  I love these pens, and I use them on the regular chalkboard to write things that I want to keep on the board all year.  They don't erase when you wipe over them with the regular eraser and come in five colors.  You have to use a wet wipe or two to get it off the chalkboard, but it works great and the colors are good. 

www.lovsthirdgrade.blogspot.com

www.lovesthirdgrade.blogspot.com

I also found  flashcards  ($1) that Stephanie mentioned along with some wipe-off books ($1), which I promptly cut apart to fit into my plastic file holders for my centers.  There were also some wipe-off flashcards, and of course I had to grab some more of the little dry erase markers (4/$1) and erasers.  

www.lovesthirdgrade.blogspot.com

 Social Studies

      Ok, now for a social studies connection...We all know there are things that our kids should know, things we don't directly teach on a regular basis because of time constraints.  For older elementary kids to know the 50 states and their locations is just a "given," right??  I believe that we have to teach and review these things and not just assume they will get it down the road.  Consider this a preteaching activity!  Geography and maps seem to get a little lost sometimes, at least in our curriculum.  I love maps and coloring them.  I love map colors!  Weird, I know.  The kids in our district learn their states and capitols in 5th grade and up.  A little center where they get a head start couldn't hurt. 

www.lovsthirdgrade.blogspot.com

See? I just justified my purchase, much like I do when I buy clothes I don't need.  I found these wipe-off maps ($1) and flashcards on a different Target trip, but still very recently, so they should still have them.  I thought the kids could draw a card from the stack, read a little about it, use the card like a locator map, and label the board using the correct abbreviation.  They could also label the capitols.  It even has continents on the back of the board for more practice.  LOVE IT for $1!  
  
 Yea Target...again!

I Love Target

I think I go to Target probably three or four times a week.  I am always looking for classroom stuff.  (I do buy all of my groceries there as well as housewares.) It's pretty much my home away from home.  There are people I never seem to see except for when I'm in Target! Oh, and I just got the Cartwheel app for my phone (the Target Cartwheel, because there are others).  It is pretty cool, and you don't have to carry coupons around with you.  You just let them scan it and will take off any available coupons automatically!  I'm such a fan!  I'm actually a little offended that the sales people don't greet me by name when I walk in.

One of my all-time favorite purchases from Target was a few years ago. Next to my favorite book boxes for Daily 5 that I bought this spring, this one thing was my other favorite!!!!  It's a shower curtain we use in the classroom!  That's right, a shower curtain.  It's a map of the world.  I had the custodian take down my pull-down maps several years ago.  This one is all I need.  I love it for so many reasons:  #1 It cost $9.99 at the time. (Now it's $14.99, sorry)  #2 It is clear and my wall is blue, so it looks like water behind it!  #3 I put it down low just inches above the floor, so I can stand in front of it to teach and bring the kids down to the floor, and it's just right there.  #4 It's very colorful and detailed.  It even has the Sandwich Islands labeled (the kids laugh at that all year - what do they eat there and what grows on the trees? Well duh, sandwiches of course!)  #5 They look at the map every time we line up, and they have to be learning from it even when I'm not teaching. #6 Because it is shiny, clear plastic, I can write on it with Vis a Vis markers and it cleans right up.  I don't use dry erase because I'm afraid wiping it will stretch the plastic. I guess you could use a wet wipe and dry erase would come off easily.  #7 It looks super cute with the border (I layered two CTP borders going around it.)  I'll try to remember to post pictures of it actually up on the wall.  #8 It has lasted about 7 years now and shows very little wear.  I wish I could think of ten reasons I love it - because that just seems appropriate, but that's all the reasons I can come up with.  Definitely enough to make me recommend it to y'all! Honestly, I haven't seen in the store in quite some time.  They do still sell it online, click here.   

Summer is here!

I am so excited to start this new blog (June 2013).  I love teaching...been lovin' it for 23 years, ten of them in third grade.  A retired 3rd grade teacher once told me that to her, "third grade is the 'country club' of elementary.' "  I laughed, and then I thought about what she meant.  It's really a great place to be.  Third graders are still so sweet and little, but they can do so much.  It's like the perfect age.  (I love all the other grade levels I've taught, but I hope to stay in third grade as long as I possibly can!)

 I love to learn new tricks. (sounds like a bio for an SPCA adoption!?)  I spend my summer doing