Happy New Year...let's get organized!!

Hey, Hey, Hey! Katie from Pop into Primary here wishing you a Happy New Year! Let me tell you all about New Year's Eve! My 2 year old and I were sound asleep on the couch by 9:30 after helping the hubs nail on our new chair rail downstairs. Haha. I hope you had a terrific evening!! 

My biggest classroom goal this year has been to get more organized! Who's with me?! To help myself with this, I decided this summer to tackle my file cabinets. After 9 years of teaching I have collected so many of those manila folders full of junk lessons/activities and when I switched districts two years ago I came into a classroom where the file cabinets already looked like this {without even ONE of my files added}:

As we say in Minnesota....Uffda!

So...I went through my files, recycled TONS of stuff and created binders to store the most useful items. I LOVE how it is turning out. 
{Ongoing process you see!} 


Do you want your file cabinets to look like this too? Download my math binder covers {organized by unit topics} 

or my math common core aligned binder covers .

PS....they come with two sizes of binder spines too! :) 

  


For three days each set of covers is only $1!!
Enjoy the tail end of your break! 
Katie

Shake, Spill, Roll, ENGAGING Math!!

Hey friends!! Katie from Pop into Primary here. What a busy school year it has been!! Anyone else?  As some of us Minnesota folk say...UFFDA this year is a whirlwind. But, I have definitely made time for some engaging, hands-on activities in my class this year. One thing we have LOVED is my Shake, Spill, Roll math pack. In this pack you will find four games....yes FOUR.

{Click on the pic to see this product in my store and read the reviews! :) }
1. A fact family/number bond game: This is where you "shake & spill" colored counters to create fact families! My students LOVE this.

2. Roll it three-digit addition: roll the dice, create a three-digit plus three-digit addition and practice those regrouping skills!

3. Roll it three-digit subtraction: same as the addition version, but students need to think a little bit and make sure they create a problem that is possible! {Without going into the negative numbers...because hey we are in 2nd grade!}

4. Place Value Roll: GREAT for those kiddos who need to practice ones, tens, and hundreds. Partners share a game board and take turns rolling the dice. They are trying to create the biggest number possible and have to choose which place value place to write each number they roll. Another big hit!

This game pack will be on sale for $1 for the next few days!!
Sweet dreams! Time to tuck myself in,
Have a great week! Katie

Parent Pleasing Notes?!?! Yes please!!

Hey teacher friends! I am EXCITED to be joining the Teacher Deals, Dollar Steals team! {And telling you about the latest $1 deal!!} My name is Katie Palmer and I blog at Pop into Primary. I teach 2nd grade in MN. 

Alright...let's get to it. I LOVE telling parents happy, exciting, amazing news about their child, not only as a learner, but about their character as well. Don't you?? I used to do what I called "sunshine calls", and I still do them, but I wanted a quicker, easier way to let parents know just how awesome their kiddos are. Thus the creation of my Back to School Parent Pleasers.

Click the pic to see this product in my store!! 

This pack of notes contains 20 different notes to send home with your kiddos to make them feel special like the king or queen of the world. Each note is provided in black and white or color version. Some of the notes have various clip art options and skin tones options bringing it to 50 pages!! AND....it is only $1.00...for a limited time!! 

Above you see some of the parent pleaser notes, I couldn't fit them all in one picture! Like I said, I try to send home two a week. That is not to each kid, each week. Two total. If you do the math, there are about 36 weeks of school (is that right?) and times two that is 72 notes!! 72 times I have sent praise home that not only makes the students feel great {praise from their teacher AND now their parent!} but makes the parents smile.

In my classroom I prefer to use the black & white versions. That way, the lucky kiddo that gets to take home the parent pleaser gets to color it too!?! (This is an amazing honor for 2nd graders!) 

Lastly, how do I store these notes AND keep track of who has gotten a note? I keep it simple. I have one of those expandy files things...you know what I mean...right? :) I labeled the tabs and store two types of notes in each pocket. (I clip them together by color, b & w, or clip art type since a few of them have six versions!) When I want to send one home, I just pull out my trusty expandy and there it is!

On the back of the expandy (I think I like that name for it) I tape a list of my students, and tally mark when I send home a note with them. Sometimes I jot down what note it was. 

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to head to my store to snag this deal for $1!! Your students and parents will thank you!

-Katie