New Year, New Gear: LINKY PARTY! :)

Wohooo! We are super excited to host our first ever linky party and we hope you will be excited to join in on the fun too. We wanted to create a meaningful post and get input from our fellow bloggers, but the end of the school year is coming and we are running out of time. It is the PERFECT time to talk about...

School Supply Lists!

I don't know what it is about school supplies, but the isle in Walmart gives me happy butterflies. For Valentine's Day I'd rather get a bouquet of pretty colored pens than roses, and I definitely still have my pencil/pen collection that I started way back in grammar school. In fact, on my desk there are about five different containers holding tons of pens and pencils. I have pretty ones that I use and pretty ones that are just for looking at. I even have a container of loner pencils that I let kids borrow (they are the plain yellow ones). There is nothing better than the feel of writing in a new notebook, erasing with a fresh eraser, or even sharpening a new pencil. Call me a geek, but I think I was destined to be a teacher.

Anyways, if your school is anything like ours, we cannot leave for the summer until we cross off a huge check list. One of the items on the list is to create a list of items for our future students to purchase before coming into school next year. I usually send the same boring list home, but while I was looking through blog posts this week, I started thinking about making some changes. So if you inspired me, I am linking to your posts in my linky party! Thank you for your inspiration!

So check out our MUST haves for next year...

1. Composition Notebooks:

These are a MUST in our classroom. We use these notebooks for both reading and writing. It’s where we reflect, take risks, explore ideas, demonstrate understanding, and show what we know! We are also excited to start using the mentor sentence idea explained in detail by Ideas by Jivey & The Collaborative Cuties. Check it out!

2. Yellow Paper Pad:

We JUST stated using this to draft our stories! My students enjoy editing and revising on this pad. They can cross out, add carrots, and change their ideas around on this pad. There is plenty of room if the students want to skip lines on their first draft, it lets me keep track of their writing and how it has improved throughout the year, and it is hard to lose because it's so big. We also love that the students can simply slip it into their reading folder. Once again...thanks Jessica, for the idea! :)

3. Sharpie Chart Markers: We are OBSESSED with these markers!

 
They come in fun colors and don’t bleed through the chart paper! I will say that I go through two or three sets per year because they tend to dry out faster than normal markers...maybe I just use my chart too much?

4. Mechanical pencils:

We both equally HATE the sound of a pencil sharpener and it often becomes a spot where socializing and avoidance take place. Request for your students to only use mechanical pencils and that problem is solved!

5. Zipper pencil pouch:

 
This is crucial in my classroom. I only teach language arts, so my students switch from my classroom to my partner teacher’s classroom. Enforcing the “Zipper Pencil Pouch” rule helps to elevate plastic pencil box smashing incidents in the hallway. There is nothing more distracting than a million pencils and pens rolling across the floor!


6. Fun Colored Pens:


My students LOVE using colored pens. Students use it to edit and revise their work and I also use it to reward behavior. If students are working hard, being kind to others, and following the rules they get to use one of the pens when writing their quick write for the day. My students LOVE to earn the reward of writing in pen. I also have this as a reward coupon. If kids earn the "Write in a fun pen for the day" coupon, they freak out. I would too, if I was in 4th grade!

So what's on your list for next year? Grab the button, link up, and tell us a few of your MUST HAVES!