Bright Ideas: Easy Reminders so Kids Won't Forget!

I'm so excited to be linking up with some amazing bloggers again for some more Bright Ideas! 

This is a really useful tip that I use constantly {especially at the end of the school year!} when there are so many fun things going on- like field trips, performances, and parties! 

I was so tired of constantly reminding those kids that would NEVER bring in their permission slips or important paper work, or they'd show up on the big day of our performance and say, "Oh- we were supposed to wear our yellow shirt todaaaaaay...?" (After I'd reminded them about a million times the day before!!!) 

Then I started using reminder bands and this problem decreased!

I just make a copy of whatever I want the kids to remember on bright colored paper, and tape or staple it to them at the end of the day. (I've also seen teachers safety pin it to the kids' back so they can't mess with it or take it off or "lose" it! 

You could use these for things like: 

"Field trip tomorrow! Wear comfortable shoes!"

"Wear your yellow shirt tomorrow! Performance at 1:00"

"Parent-Teacher conference tomorrow at 12:00" 

Pretty much anything you want! 

How do you remind kids!!!?? I'd love to hear your ideas! 

Don't forget to hop around and check out all of the other BRIGHT ideas to help you finish out the school year! :) 

Now I'm off to hang out with this little guy...

An InLinkz Link-up

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Five for Friday

Happy Friday and almost weekend!  

It's time for....

It's been a busy busy week for me, even though I really have nothing to show for it except this smiling face!!! 

Being a new mommy is hard work, and it's definitely been an adjustment period! But every day gets a little less scary and little more fun! Thank goodness for friends and family who've been wonderful and helped me along the way! 

Here are five randoms from my week...

I got a new blog design from the wonderful Megan at A Bird In Hand Designs! If you're looking for a new design- I would highly recommend her! She is wonderful to work with (and she even dealt with me in the midst of all of the pregnancy hormones flying around!!!) Thank you Megan!!! I absolutely love my blog!!! 

I'm trying to get back on track creating and planning things that I'll need for the beginning of next year. I'm {still} working on some weekly centers that my students can use that align with the Wonders curriculum we adopted this last year! Do you know of any great Wonders resources!?!?! I'd love to hear about them! 

(I'll let you know when these are done- although these days I only have 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there to do anything at all- i.e. brush my teeth or get a drink of water!...) 

For Teacher Appreciation week I got some great products from TPT during the sale that I'm so excited about using! 

I posted this question for Wordless Wednesday and on my Instagram feed- 

Do you have any 2-3 minute activities or games that your guided reading group can do/play while I get myself situated for our group time...? This is something I really want to improve on next year! It always seemed like those 2-3 minutes were wasted when I was getting other kids situated and helped and doing what they were supposed to be doing before I started with my guided reading group. 

Finally- it's been SO incredibly hot here in Southern California these last few days- over 100 degrees! We've even had crazy wildfires throughout the county. Hoping that everyone is safe and sound, and thankful for all of the firefighters working hard to keep us safe!

Luckily it's supposed to cool down this week! 

Have a great weekend!!!

& HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

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Guided Reading Warm Ups- Wordless Wednesday with Miss DeCarbo

I'm so excited to link up with Miss DeCarbo at Sugar & Spice for Wordless Wednesday! This is my first link up and I love the idea! 

As the school year winds down, we all start to think about things we're going to add/take away/do differently for next year! 

One thing I really struggled with this year was getting kids situated for guided reading. The kids would be sitting at the table, ready to go, and {it seemed like} it always took me 2-3 minutes to get the rest of the class situated and helped and working on what they needed to be doing while I was working with my group. 

A picture from our guided reading group time :)

I'm wondering.... what are some of your favorite "Guided Reading Warm Ups"- activities, games, whatever!- that my guided reading kiddos can independently work on for 2-3 minutes at our table while I get myself situated for our time together.....? 

I'm looking forward to hearing some of your ideas!

Thank you for this fun linky Christina! 

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Throw Back Mother's Day Project

Last year, I did a really fun (and easy!) Mother's Day project with my kiddos. Here's the post in case you need a last minute idea! (Last year I managed to pull this together on Thursday, and the cards made it home on Friday just in time for Mother's Day on Sunday!). It's simple, but the kids really enjoyed making the cards, and the moms loved them! 

Check it out!

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I made a poster (two pieces of butcher paper taped together) with the words "I Love You Because": 

(You can download the letters below!) 

And set it up in our classroom:

Each kiddo had to finish the sentence "I love you because ______" for their moms or grandmas. They used the Big Words app on their iPads, and we took a picture...

They turned out ADORABLE! 

(If you don't have an iPad, you could always have kids write on a chalk board or dry erase board!) 

(I took the pictures with my iPad, then filtered them using the Camera + app.) 

You can have them printed out, and make cards with the pictures for their moms! 

If you'd like the "I love you because" letters, you can grab them {HERE!} 

(The font is from Miss Tiina!) Love! 

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And don't forget about the TPT sale going on right now for Teacher Appreciate week!!!!! 

Don't forget to use the code!!!!!!! 

I'm off to SHOP! :) 

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A Little Late to the Party...

I'm a little late to Farley's May Currently because.....

This little guy decided to make an appearance a few weeks early! 

We welcomed Cade Wesley Patterson into the world on April 28th! So far, he loves eating, looking out the window while getting his diaper changed, sleeping, eating, sleeping, and hangin' out late at night. (He is not yet aware that my bedtime has been 8:00 for the last 29 years. Or that we sleep all night long ;-) I definitely see why people say it's the hardest, but most rewarding job you'll ever do! 

Even these two are exhausted from all of the late night shenanigans going on! 

Anyways... here's my Currently :)

Seriously! Go see Molly! You'll absolutely Love LoVe LOVE her! :)

And *hopefully* I'll see you soon. Maybe with school stuff. And maybe not. Who knows... ;-) 

And if you have any advice for surviving your first week with a newborn! Please- feel free! I'll take anything I can get! :)

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