Good morning y'all!  It's Friday ... that totally has a different meaning during the summer doesn't it?!?!  Anyways...this fantastical Friday I'm linking up with The Little Ladybug Shop and Planet Happy Smiles for their Texas Size Link-Up.  This week I'm sharing some organizational tips with you guys.

Tip #1

Do you have to post your daily objectives every day?  I do and I was so so tired of having to write the subject areas over and over again.  I printed out these polka dot labels and then I laminated them.  After they were cut out and ready to go, I attached magnets to the back and then placed them on my dry-erase board.  Now, I have an area to write my objectives for each day.

Click on the photo to grab these FREE labels.

Tip #2

I love math manipulatives but I NEED them to be organized.  I do love the plastic sectioned containers that some teachers store their base ten blocks in but I decided to do something a little different.  I just use ziploc baggies and when they get yucky looking, they are super easy to replace.

We store them in these green tubs that I got at 99 Cents Only Store.  Do they have those anywhere else besides Houston?  The kids have a number and at the beginning of math class, they can easily grab their math tub.

Tip #3

My last tip will help you organize dismissal.  I love my ribbon display chart because the kids can easily move their name when their transportation changes.  And...we all know that transportation changes happen often!

I have them in 8 different color options to match your classroom decor.

Click on the photo to see them in my store.

Ready for the best part?!?!  You can win your very own set of these turquoise labels.  I have them printed out and ready to go for the winner!  I'll also send you the file, so you can type in your students' names on the labels.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click on the blog button to visit all of the other bloggers during this Texas size link-up!

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Stephanie

This upcoming school year will be a big milestone year for me as a teacher.  This year will be my tenth year of teaching.  It seriously doesn't seem like I've been in the classroom that long!  It's totally true though...time flies when you are having fun!

When I first started teaching, I taught PreK and I was ALL about the primary colors and polka dots.  My main color was blue.  I kept my colors the same for several years, just to keep things easier.  When I started teaching second grade three years ago, I decided it was time for a change.  

Even though I changed my colors, I still had bits of primary colors spread throughout my classroom.  I just had spent too much money to change everything!  So in comes my new best friend...spray paint!

I'm in LOVE with this seaside color!  I used it to paint my rocking chair and metal book bin tub a couple of years ago.  I just needed to make sure that I got the spray paint that bonds to plastic.  This is very important!

I washed the bins first and then they were ready for the first coat of paint.  Make sure that you use a sweeping motion when you are spray painting for an even distribution of paint.  I spray painted the bottom and sides of the tubs first.  Then after they had dried, I flipped them over and spray painted the insides.

The most important part of the whole spray painting plastic process is to make sure that you let them dry overnight.  This helps avoid chipping and the bins from sticking together.

And here is the finished product...

My plan is to spray paint some more of my plastic bins this week.  I also bought a black spray paint!  Maybe I need to have a spray painting party....anyone want to join in?

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Stephanie

Today I'm linking up with Jen from Teacher by the Beach for my first ever Wish List Wednesday.  One of the things I've been working on lately is updating some of my very first TpT products.  Some of them really hurt my eyes!!

I decided to link up my absolute favorite newly updated product.....

I LOVE labels, can you tell?!?!  I number label my kids' desks, their backpack hooks, and their book boxes.  What do you love to label?

Check out all of the different options of labels that are included in this pack.

Want to win your own copy of these Numbers Labels?

My fingers are crossed for you!  

Enter using the rafflecopter below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Stephanie

This month I'm linking up with PAWSitively Teaching and Inspired Owl's Corner for their monthly pick 3 linky.  I haven't linked up with them in a few months, so I'm excited to be able to link up again.  This month I'm sharing a fun kid craft and some recipes.  

Click on Image to View Original Pinterest Link.

I have two little boys and I'm always looking for fun little crafts for them to do during the summer.  I love this firework straw craft from Crafty Morning.  My boys love straws and paint, so I know they'll enjoy this one!

Click on Image to View Original Pinterest Link.

My boys love snacks and so I'm always looking for fun new snack ideas for them.  They love fruit and watermelon is one of our favorite summer snacks.  I love this snack idea from Skinny Mom and I love that I could also take it to our July 4th cook out.

Click on Image to View Original Pinterest Link.

Speaking of cooking, I'm also in love with this mouth watering BBQ chicken recipe.  I love the summer because I can try new recipes and add to my school year menu.  Did I mention that it's a crockpot recipe?  I love my crockpot and finding good crockpot recipes is a plus.

What are you top 3 pins for this month?  Make sure you go link up and share.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Stephanie

Sigh...is it really July y'all?  What happened to June?  Please summer slow down a bit!  Well...since it's really July, I'm linking up with the fabulous Farley for her July Currently.  Make sure you click on her button to link up yourself.

LISTENING:  I'm multi-tasking tonight and I'm also listening to Greg and Kayla's twitter chat.  It's pretty amazing!  My goal is to use twitter in my classroom next year and have a tweeter of the day as a class job.  How awesome would it be to share all of the positive things going on in each of our classrooms?  Search #gregandkayla to see the previous tweets.

LOVING:  My hubbie has a few days off, I'm super excited to spend some time with him.  Summer is his busiest time at work, so it's always nice for him to have a few days off.

THINKING:  My legs got super burned last Saturday and they are still hurting!  I put sunscreen all over but I totally forgot my legs.  My legs looked like lobster claws!  No kidding!  I was more worried about getting sunscreen on my boys.  Never again!  It's horrible!

WANTING:  I started reading The Fault In Our Stars last summer but I couldn't get past chapter 1.  I totally wasn't in to it!  Then, this summer I decided to try again and now I'm almost finished and can't wait to finish it!  Shh...don't tell me what happens!  I think I KNOW what is going to happen but still don't tell me!

NEEDING:  To eat better!  I've been pretty down lately and I know it's because I've been eating horribly!  I need to quit making excuses and start meal planning again.

ALL STAR:  I'm think I'm a pretty awesome mom!  My goal is to blog more about how I use Tech in my classroom.  Jazzercise is also something that I'm pretty good at!  I just love dancing!

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Stephanie