Must Have Monday

I think I’m getting this one in juuuuust in time. 🙂

I don’t think going back to school has kicked my rear this hard in 5+ years. Wow.

I’m ready for some teacher blogger fun, though!

Here are a few of my classroom “must-haves”:

I’m sure there are about a million other bloggers telling you about this beautiful machine. I’m pretty sure that I’ll have one for school and one for home by the end of the year. It saves me SO much time. Classroom posters, task cards, reward cards – there are pouches for all of those things. It’s amazing.

My name is Abby and I like to label things. Right now, I’ve ordered about 600 of these babies. They go on every folder or notebook my kiddos use. Every book in my classroom library has one. I could design labels all day. If only someone would pay me to do that! 🙂

This may be the silliest one. I {heart} Dixon pencil packs. But they have to be the ones with blue, purple, red and green. Because they match the pencil pails in my room. And the children do not “walk off” with them. We have a whole pail just for “homework pencils” to make this even better. And yes, each pail has a label on it. 🙂

If the pencils were the silliest, THIS is the MOST IMPORTANT. You need to ask your school bookkeeper (that’s where I got mine) or your principal if these are available at your school. It’s amazing. I love to go to Office Max. With this bee-yoo-ti-ful card, I get my school district’s prices on everything in their store. Everything. I love to fill up my basket, look at a $50-75 total and hand them my card. I rarely walk out of there spending more than $20. Glorious!

And – of course –  because I am The Bookworm, I wanted to leave you with a few “must have” teacher resources that I cannot do without.

Rafe Esquith. He is my teaching hero. If you don’t know about him or his amazing Shakespeare program, you must must must go here: The Hobart Shakespeareans

and then read this:

And this…

And probably this too…

I take away something new every time I reread one of his books. He has made me a better teacher with just four words: Be Kind. Work Hard. I would love to hear from some of you who have read his books as well.

He even mentored me via email last year as I got my school’s Drama Club off the ground. He even called me on the phone, people! He is one of those people who makes you want to be a better person.

Happy Hopping! I can’t wait to see what everyone else has posted!