Using Your Fitbit to Keep on Schedule!

In the beginning of August I started a new job as a Title 1 Aid. For those of you who may not know, the life of a Title aid is very busy and fast paced. I have a total of 6 classroom I go to daily and I have 5 min. to get from one classroom to the other. So how can a fitbit help you and me stay on schedule? Good Question?! 

During my first week of school I kept having to get into my bag, get out my schedule, look at the clock 5-6 times a day until my schedule was memorized and even then sometimes I would be ontask and just forget it was time to move on. Then, I had a brilliant idea! I looked down at my wrist and remembered that silent alarms can be set on a fitbit.

2 Reasons I don't Set Alarms on my Phone

1. Appearances- I don't want my Principal/Parents/Teachers seeing me looking at my phone constantly.

2. Distraction- No matter what sound you set as your alert tone it always causes a distraction for the kids in the classroom. My fitbit just vibrates 3 pulses to alert me to move classrooms. Quiet and Effective!!!

Setting up Alarms on Fitbit

I jumped on the fitbit bandwagon when they first came out so I have the original fitbit flex.

1. Go to Fitbit.com and login, then click the gear icon in the upper righthand corner and select "settings".

2. Then click Silent alarms. You can add up to 8-9 silent alarms. Make sure you add your correct time zone, days of the week you want alarm to go off ect...

3. Select On for the alarms you would like to use, if you are going to be out of school for Christmas Break or Summer Break just login to fitbit.com and turn off alarms until you want them to begin again.

Enjoy,

Mrs. Laborde

School has Started

School has offically started in all schools in the Indianapolis area. Sadly, I am not teaching this year due to the fact that I didn't have my IN teaching license to apply for a job. As of today I am offically a teacher in the state of Indiana. FINALLY! Whew. Indiana is definitely not a state you want to move to if you want to continue teaching without doing any work. I had to take something they call the CORE Exams which consists of 4 subject tests (Reading, Science, Social Studies, and Math) and then also a Elementary Pedagogy Exam. So, I started testing in early Spring thinking it would be a breeze and boy was I wrong. The exams are all based on Indiana Standards, history, and expectations. I grew up in Ohio and went to college in WV, needless to say I was lost.

I prayed for help a lot and read many books based on Indiana. I took me a few tries to pass but I finally finished up a few weeks ago and was able to apply for my license and today I recieved my hard copy :)

It's been frustrating this past month because many people knew I had been covering a maternity leave last year for 6 months. So I guess they assume I have a position to go back to? So they ask "When does school start"? or "Are you excited to start school"? or my favorite "Do you have a job yet"? Seriously? Half of me wants to lie and say I am teaching this year, and the other half of me wants to go find a corner and cry. So, next year is MY year. I will get a job and I will be able to say. Yes, I am teaching this year and schools starts on (fill in the blank).

Have a Happily Ever After Day
- Fairytale Teaching

A Few New Things

Okay, so I promised in my last post I would share what I learned from other teachers who went to Vegas for this year's TPT Conference. BUT, two teachers decided to introduce the teacher blogging world to PERISCOPE. So, teachers haven't been sharing a whole lot about what they learned in Vegas and instead are going crazy over this app called Periscope. 

It is available in both the Apple Store and Google Store. I downloaded it as soon as I heard about it to see what it was all about. Unless you've been living under a rock this past week, chances are you've already heard of it. Wondering if you should download it? The answer is YES, download it right now and follow all your favorite teacher bloggers.

I've been watching a few videos here and there. You can watch the videos live, or you can watch the replay up to 24 hours later. I usually watch the replay because the connection isn't super great during live videos. Most teachers are posting vids on how to build your audience on TPT, Insta, Scope, ect... but one of the teachers I love watching has shared some great classroom info. Follow Just A Primary Girl, she's as real as it gets people. Great tips on literacy stations, classroom supplies and organization, ect...


Wanna Try It? #flipthecamera
Before you try it yourself here is a helpful post with tips from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd And Lucky Little Learners. Click photo to view their blog post.

Teachers I love following:
Lucky Little Learners
Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd
Just A Primary Girl

Circus Theme Decor Pack Finished!

Hello There,

Towards the end of this week I finally finished my Circus Theme Decor Pack! It is filled with over 222 pages of red, blue, and yellow Circus fun! It is very similar to my Disney Decor Pack, but I have added months of the year, days of the week, calendar cards, weekly weather graph and cards, and much more!!! Click here to see it on my Teacher Pay Teachers Store. 

I know the TPT Conference is now over and all the teachers that were able to go are going to be blogging about their new inspirations and tips. I hope to do a post this week with a few tips and tricks I've learned from those teachers that had the opportunity to go to Vegas. Have a good rest of the weekend!

Have a Happily Ever After Day
- Fairytale Teaching

Dream Big

I've been trying to participate in the TPT Seller Challenge. So far, I haven't done much because the the first project was the revamp old covers of products with new clipart and font styles. I just posted my products of TPT for the first time a week before the challenge so I skipped that one out. For the second week's challenge we are suppose to share our big dreams and goals for TPT. As a new (almost) teacher TPT is a great asset both as a buyer and a seller. 

Mac Book: I was pretty honest about my goals and dreams for TPT. Something I have wanted since I started college in 2009 is a Mac. I started out with a Dell which crashed after 2 years {SHOCKER} and thought then would be a good time to upgrade to a Mac, however I didn't have the $ to support the dream so instead I got a Sony cheapo pink laptop. Surprisingly, it has held up pretty well for the past 4 years as far as not crashing, memory, ect... BUT it is falling apart on the outside and being held together with clear tape! Eeekk. So, any income earned from TPT is currently going in my Mac fund account!

Future Home: My husband and I have been married almost 2 years (in August) and we've been renting an apartment in both locations where we have lived. We we like to have about a 20%-30% down payment ready when we decide to buy a house. Thanks to Dave Ramsey we are on a great path! Any extra income from TPT is going in the Home fund. I want a nice home where we can raise children and enjoy family time. 

Family Vacations: Just incase you didn't know... I LOVE all things DISNEY!!!! I love the characters, the magic, the adventure, and the feeling of being able to be in a place where wonderful things happen! Fun Fact: I actually never even got to visit Disney until I got married! We spent 3 days there as part of our Honeymoon (yes, I have a wonderful husband). I would love to be able to save towards a family vacation for our immediate family (Our kids, Grandparents, and Us) to go on a Disney vacation fully funded by TPT. I'm talking full 7 day vacation at a Disney resort, with dining plan, fast passes, dinners with Disney Characters, the princess makeovers, plane tickets, souvenirs, ect... all funded by TPT. I know it's a big dream but isn't  it Disney where they say "All you dreams will come true"?? :)


Have a Happily Ever After Day
- Fairytale Teaching

Place Value {Freebie} Pack

This year I taught 2nd grade for about 5 months while a teacher was on Maternity leave. During the Place Value Topic I couldn't find any stations for Place Value that I absolutely loved, so I created a few of my own. This freebie pack includes 4 card sort activities with worksheets and answer keys. Download this freebie now here. 

Base Ten Block Card Sort

Base Ten Block Card Sort Response Sheet

Expanded Form Card Sort Activity

Expanded Form Card Sort Response Sheet

Enjoy,
Have a Happily Ever After Day!

Joining the Bandwagon

Don't judge me by my stats, I just started! 

Head over to Sparkling in Second to get started! It's not too late:)

Circus Theme Coming Soon!

To start out my TPT Store I've been trying to stick with Classroom Decor Packs! I know that even thought it is just the start of the summer for most of us...we CAN'T help but think about our classroom next year. Or some of you may have just landed your first teaching job and you're getting a head start (good for you). I've already posted my Candy Theme Pack and my Disney Theme Pack. The next Theme pack will be a Circus Theme Pack!!! I am using clipart from Krista Wallden at Creative Clips. Here are a few sneak peek pics!

All Vowel Posters are Yellow

All Consonant  Posters are Blue

13 Shape Posters Included

10 Color Posters Included

And so much more to come... Also adding a place value freebie pack this weekend. Fingers crossed :)

Have a Happily Ever After Day
- Fairytale Teaching

New Disney Decor Pack!

It's been awhile since I've written on the blog... but, I'm going to try to start blogging more often. I spent most of this year subbing long term for maternity leaves while I'm trying to get my Indiana License. This year I spent 3 months in 1st grade and 5 months in 2nd grade. While subbing I started thinking about  how I would want my own classroom to be decorated. Since I'm a huge DISNEY fan, I'm thinking a Disney theme is necessary. I bought my clipart from ClipArtopia and got started on a Classroom  Theme Decor Set. Here are a few sneak peaks and a list of what is included!

All Letters included A-Z

Andy's Room Theme Tens Frames 1-20

13 Shape Posters

6 Options for Name Plates

Also Included In The Pack:

- {3 options for Table Numbers} Table Names, Table Numbers or Blank Labels
- Word Wall Banner
- Word Wall Letter Headers
- Birthday Banner Letters
- Monthly Birthday Posters
- Labels for Supplies
- Blank Labels {Editable in PPT}

Shop Here on my TPT

Coming Soon: Add on Pack with Months of the Year, Days of the Week, Weather, Notebook Covers, and more!!!


Have a Happily Ever After Day!!
- Fairytale Teaching