Having Fun with Some New Goodies

Large Utility Tote, Single Thermal Organizer, and Pocket-a-Tote - Great for the beach or pool!

I decided to share some of the ways I am going to use my new bags and accessories from Thirty-One. I am only showing the patterns I currently have for my own personal use, but all of the items are available in a wide variety of patterns (especially good for those who aren't big fans of pink). :) 

 Organizing Utility Tote with wipe-able interior! Easy way to tote all of my cleaning supplies!

















Organizing Utility Tote, Rosette, and Thermal Zipper Pouch.

I love this smaller set for the pool. The Thermal fits water bottles and snacks. All items are wipe-able and they come in MANY colors.


















The Keep-it Caddy is great for stationary, crafts, supplies, teachers, student bags, or gift bags! The stationary pictured can also be personalized through Thirty-One. It is super cute! Great teacher gift or for an engaged couple.















This is a fun new purse/tote. It is SUPER roomy. Great option for people who don't want to carry a diaper bag or who like bigger purses. It is the Retro Metro Bag. The scarf adds a pop of color, as does the key fob, and soft wallet. The purse and accessories have several color/pattern options.
















The Organizing Utility Tote being used for dog toys and supplies. It makes it easy when we go away for the weekend and need to bring her. It is also great for the dog walker to access easily.

Top: Large Utility Tote & Single Thermal Organizer







Left: Large Utility Tote and Blanket




Right: Organizing Utility






Top: Zipper Pouch (fits iPads, Books, and More)








Left: Organizing Utility Tote, Fold N' File, Wristlet, and Key Fob

Right: Organizing Utility Tote, Rosette, and Lil' Expressions Zipper Pouch (get any character and personalization on this cute zipper pouch)

This is a teacher's dream! Fold N' File (great to keep in the classroom or inside the Organizing Utility Tote), Thermal Tote for lunch, Wristlet (great to keep your phone, teacher ID, and credit cards/cash - I love bringing this to school instead of my entire purse; easy for field trips and recess), and a key fob. 

I will be using this set the remainder of the school year. This would make a fun end-of-year gift for your child's teacher. 


Hope you enjoyed some of my new goodies! So many fun things to chose from!

Jenna Myers

www.mythirtyone.com/jlmsophisticatedaccessories/

In with the new!

Good morning world! I have two new things to share today!

1. I updated my blog look! It needed something fresh and happy. What do you think?

2. The new Thirty-One Summer Catalog is out! Here is the link:

http://assets.thirtyonetoday.com/products/Catalogs/summer_2013/Summer_Catalog.pdf

You can shop the new products here:

https://www.mythirtyone.com/jlmSophisticatedAccessories/

 If you put in an order before Sunday online or at Friday's kick-off party (see my facebook group for more details) you will be entered to earn $5 off your purchase or a fun Thirty-One accessory! 

 Here are some of the great new products and patterns you will find in the catalog:

Happy summer shopping!
Jenna
Independent Thirty-One Consultant

Images Copy Righted by Thirty-One Gifts Inc.

Classroom Library Organization

It's that time of year: time to organize and clean-out your classroom library. This is something that many of us dread because we do have so many books, but we know we HAVE to do it!

I always organize by genre because I am an upper grades teacher and we have genre study units. Well, if you are anything like me, you probably are not always 100% sure of the genre of the book. Scholastic to the rescue! Scholastic has a great website which allows you to type in the name of the book and it generates the genre! 

http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/

Now that we can sort our books (yay - oh PS: You it will also give you the reading level), it's time to figure out how to keep your library organized.

Library Systems 

I love using a library checkout system. Yes, it sounds a little over the top BUT IT WORKS! Students lose books, destroy books, or read the same book ten times over. Having a checkout system helps you to keep your classroom library intact for more than just the first quarter of the school year. Here are some programs I have tried out!

 # 1

 http://classroom.booksource.com/

This is a website and has an app for your Droid or Apple device. You can enter the title or the ISBN. Cost: FREE

I love how my devices sync. I can use the app on my iPhone or iPad to scan ISBNs into my system. It shows up on the website too! I can put the website link on my class website, so students can see what is missing and what I have in my library. I can print or email lists of books that need to be turned in. Students can check in and check out their own books.

 

I can't find an issue with this one, other than some Scholastic ISBN's are not recognized.





# 2

http://bookendsoftware.com/

This software is mailed to you or downloaded online. It require a scanner, but you can buy the scanner and software online. Cost: $135 plus shipping and handling

This is the first system I used (I bought it 3 or 4 years ago). The scanner works great and you can print off who has books out. Easy for students to use and has "library" cards they print out and scan. Very similar to what most school libraries use.

 I wasn't in love with the prep work. You have to enter titles, genres, everything on the computer into their program. It took quite a while, but if you have a small library then it won't be bad!




# 3

 http://www.librarything.com/

You can type in ISBN's or titles of books. It resembles social networking platforms. Cost: Free

It is great for organizing by title, genre, etc. It shows you what the book looks like. Good for professional libraries.

It is a little clunky and not elementary friendly. I think middle, high, or professional development libraries would like it. It would be good if you loan your professional books to other teachers.

Parent Contact Logs

Sometimes it is good to "cover yourself." Especially when communicating with parents! So, keep a log! 

Here are a few logs that I have! Click on the picture to go to my store and download it.

Back to the Classroom

It is funny how I was only away from teaching for what seemed like a hot second, aka one year, before I actually started my new job. The first week my feelings changed, I felt like I was a first year teacher all over again, just a better foundation than before.

For those of you who don't know, I moved from Fairfax County to Loudoun County Public schools. Sounds like a smooth transition, I mean they are both in Virginia. It wasn't bad, but it is funny how quickly I forgot about all the boxes that needed to be moved, unpacked, organized. How many meetings you had the first week and how many times you had to run to the store. You know for "essentials" like first day gifts for the kiddos, Expo Markers, and organizing bins. I am pretty sure my husband thinks I should NEVER buy another basket or bin again. :)

Not only was I a little overwhelmed by the new county, new school, and sorting through my things (after I loaned them to a first year teacher and realized quite a few things were now missing), I lost my Uncle Ben. It was unexpected and threw a new whole version of "overwhelmed" into the mix. Luckily, it helped me to get to know my new 5th grade team. They are absolutely amazing people: Andrea, Christine, Matt, Bobby, Lisa, Lydia, and Tristan. They were so supportive and jumped in when I couldn't be at Open House. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. God definitely put me at this school and on this team for a reason.

Back to my classroom, now that life has slowed down and I am less overwhelmed. I finally took pictures of my classroom, which will continue to evolve as the year progresses, but for now. This is what it looks like. :)

Our Hands-On Manipulatives

My desk and folder organization for each round of kiddos who will come through (3 classes of language arts).

Keeping Us Safe and Independent

Organization behind  my desk. I heart my label maker.

I have signs like this around my room. It is so students can put things back and remember what they should look like. Thanks Responsive Classroom training. :)

Classroom Jobs...can you tell dots and owls are my theme this year?

Another fun sign. Keeping the sink area clean. They are learning :)

Right now I have three large "pods" of desks. I will let the students change their desk this week.

Keeping track of our writing progress.

Classroom Library. All books and bins are labeled by genre and level. I will be using a checkout system this year too (check back for another post about that). Mom, Jeff, and Julie - Thanks for your help with organization!

Close up of the classroom job signs. You can write on it with Expo marker.

More organization behind my desk. Ignore the blue bag it left. :) The fridge is from my lovely mother-in-law!

Getting ready to start the year off by studying reading genres!

My Classroom

It is funny how I was only away from teaching for what seemed like a hot second, aka one year, before I actually started my new job. The first week my feelings changed, I felt like I was a first year teacher all over again, just a better foundation than before.

For those of you who don't know, I moved from Fairfax County to Loudoun County Public schools. Sounds like a smooth transition, I mean they are both in Virginia. It wasn't bad, but it is funny how quickly I forgot about all the boxes that needed to be moved, unpacked, organized. How many meetings you had the first week and how many times you had to run to the store. You know for "essentials" like first day gifts for the kiddos, Expo Markers, and organizing bins. I am pretty sure my husband thinks I should NEVER buy another basket or bin again. :)

Not only was I a little overwhelmed by the new county, new school, and sorting through my things (after I loaned them to a first year teacher and realized quite a few things were now missing), I lost my Uncle Ben. It was unexpected and threw a new whole version of "overwhelmed" into the mix. Luckily, it helped me to get to know my new 5th grade team. They are absolutely amazing people: Andrea, Christine, Matt, Bobby, Lisa, Lydia, and Tristan. They were so supportive and jumped in when I couldn't be at Open House. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. God definitely put me at this school and on this team for a reason.

Back to my classroom, now that life has slowed down and I am less overwhelmed. I finally took pictures of my classroom, which will continue to evolve as the year progresses, but for now. This is what it looks like. :)

Our Hands-On Manipulatives

My desk and folder organization for each round of kiddos who will come through (3 classes of language arts).

Keeping Us Safe and Independent

Organization behind  my desk. I heart my label maker.

I have signs like this around my room. It is so students can put things back and remember what they should look like. Thanks Responsive Classroom training. :)

Classroom Jobs...can you tell dots and owls are my theme this year?

Another fun sign. Keeping the sink area clean. They are learning :)

Right now I have three large "pods" of desks. I will let the students change their desk this week.

Keeping track of our writing progress.

Classroom Library. All books and bins are labeled by genre and level. I will be using a checkout system this year too (check back for another post about that). Mom, Jeff, and Julie - Thanks for your help with organization!

Close up of the classroom job signs. You can write on it with Expo marker.

More organization behind my desk. Ignore the blue bag it left. :) The fridge is from my lovely mother-in-law!

Getting ready to start the year off by studying reading genres!