A Blonde and a Blog!: June 2014

It has arrived. After much anticipation and patiently waiting for this day to come, it is here. I am happy to say that...

My Erin Condren Teacher Planner Is Here!!!

...oh yeah, and summer vacation :)

It seems like the last week of school snuck up on me this year--usually it FEELS like the last week, but on our last day {together}, it seemed like any other Friday--as if we were packing up to leave for the weekend. I am really, really, going to miss the class I had this year, however I know all good things must come to an end. Although, I would love to clear out a corner of my room for next year to teach a few of these little buggers again. I wonder if anyone would notice????

On a lighter, less sappier note, IT'S SUMMER TIIIIIIME! Now is the time to catch up on home projects, reading, organizing, and having a somewhat "normal" life {i.e.: going to the grocery store on a week day, being able to play with my dogs without feeling like I'm going to pass out from pure exhaustion, shopping at an ACTUAL store instead of purchasing everything I own online, etc. etc.)

When I arrived home on Friday, something very special was sitting on my doorstep--this beautiful looking box can only mean one thing...

IT'S TIME TO START LESSON PLANNING!!!

Ok, that may be a little extreme, but I do plan on breaking in the first several pages of this bad boy within the next few days.

If you haven't heard of Erin Condren, don't feel out of the loop just yet. I had no idea who she was either until I was in search of an address book this past December and stumbled upon her website. I was instantly infatuated. It was like someone crawled into my ear and sat in the {very large} OCD part of my brain and said, "It's ok...there are others just like you out there! You are not alone!" Right then and there, I ordered my very first life planner <3. It was a match made in heaven.

You can watch more about Erin's Life Planner HERE

PS. She has made some pretty cool upgrades to her current life planner-Available June 12!

When I got my first teaching job six years ago, we had to have our lesson plans checked by our VP every Monday morning. Having been conditioned in college to NEVER use a paper lesson planner with those teeny, tiny, little boxes in which to write, I started typing my LPs. I included everything on there from my Introduction to the lesson, to the I Do, We Do, You Do, to the Closure, and any other homework or assignments students {or myself} needed to be aware of.

Here I am. Six years later. Still typing my lesson plans. Even when "checking" them is no longer a requirement. There was just something about having to sit down at my computer, pulling up my lesson plan template, and starting to type that made me feel extremely anxious. I know there's a pill for that BUT I felt like one of those "As Seen on TV" people saying, "There HAS to be a better way!"

So, for the month of May I tried THIS:

Cheap little calendar from Target. Yeah....as you can see that wasn't working out so well to help with my "anxiety". When I showed this to someone, I think their exact words were, "Holy OBSCENITY!" It was clear {to everyone} this wasn't going to work.

Enter the Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner.

Sorry for the reflection of my office light--the laminated cover reflects mostly everything!

In May, these planners were 25% off for Teacher Appreciation {Month}. I'm thinking she will have something like this again during back to school time, but knowing how long it took for my Life Planner to come in {about 30 days}, I didn't want to take the chance and not have this pretty little thing for the first week back.

Much to my surprise, this little gem didn't take but two weeks to arrive!

*Disclaimer, not sure if this is the case with all her lesson planners, so if you order in August, order it EARLY just to be safe--or order it NOW so you can admire it for two months before school starts up again and you're too busy to admire it! :)

I couldn't wait to pop open the box and start devouring everything that was inside! As I was flipping through the pages, I could feel myself getting waaaaaay too excited {please tell me I'm not alone in this! Please tell me this is the way all teachers feel when they see something that is going to make their teaching life easier, more fun, or much more organized. Otherwise, I may have to resort to that little pill...}

Do you spend the first month or so of school making a "substitute binder?" Yeah, me too. Do you feel like it's a waste of time because they're probably not going to look through it anyway? Yeah, me too. Do you feel like you spend all that time making it pretty with student names, home transportation, reliable students, and class lists only to have it change 8 times throughout the year, which then makes you realize you totally wasted your time, copies, and paper for NOTHING?! Yeah, me too.

This planner is the only thing you need to leave on your desk {whether you're absent or not} and the only thing you will need to take to meetings! Bye Bye lesson planner. Bye Bye teacher binder. Bye Bye record keeping book. It's all HERE!

Let me give you a little tour of this beautiful little creature.

*If you're brain hurts from the school year, feel free to watch the video HERE. However, I always like to get a fellow teacher's perspective on things like this. If you're like me, and I know you are because otherwise you would have stopped reading 5 minutes ago, then please stay and admire on!

Outside Cover-personalized and MANY options to choose from :)

Inside-first page

TABS!!!!

General Information for Substitutes

'Cause I know we all memorized the 25 different usernames and passwords we have :)

Love the "web resources" too--great for when someone tells you a great resource instead of writing it on a post it and "misplacing" it later.

LOVE this info will be RIGHT THERE--make better use of your volunteers and what they can do for you!

Start planning your field trips at the beginning of the year, instead of last minute like---no one I know...

You can even write this on paper and clip it in if you are in a school with a revolving door to your classroom--I LOVE THIS!!!

Great for the substitute to be aware of--can also put when they get pulled out of class here

This to me, is worth the price of the planner! I know I'm not the only one who is theme crazy! Now I know when Tomie DePaola's birthday is! We will be doing our author study on him that week from now on!

I just can't get enough!!

Even a space to check off if they brought a note!!!!! OMG! She has thought of everything! *Great for documentation during student support meetings too, without having to print off attendance for a meeting/ conference. MANY pages of this are included--plenty for the year!

Probably won't use this very much, but a few pages of graph paper are included--this would work for seating chart--maybe I'll use this page for the layout of our room and where the students can go during Daily 5 and Math Centers??

Love having this on hand AND you can easily pencil in as you get new friends throughout the year :)

Great for planning out the year--ie: the themes you do each month, what you have coming up as a school, etc.

And then there are the tabs by month...

Each month starts off with a beautiful page cover :)

My one beef with the monthly pages--the dates are blank--you need to fill them in--but that's what I'll be doing the next few days :) #notcomplaining

Love the quotes for each month. Would be great to add to your newsletters or to display as a monthly saying in your classroom.

End of each month has these pages--this to me is great for jotting things down when you read your principal's newsletter. Also great for lesson planning notes on what you would like to accomplish that month.

The end of each month also includes a "notes" page. This would be great for taking notes during staff meetings or PLCs.

Each section is separated by a snazzy little page like this:

And then the Lesson Plan Pages Begin...

Full page spread for the entire week--able to see the entire week at once!

Place for the Week #

{which I use for the Unit and Week number, i.e.: 3.2 Unit 3 week 2}

Spot for the class and the time frame...

...and of course a bookmark to make your most recent plans readily available :)

Enter my next best friend--the CHECKLIST pages!

I know we all use these for EVERYTHING! School fees paid, text book number, field trip permission slip returned, photo release form, the {check}LISTS go on and on and on throughout the year!

Simply fold or cut to see your class list on the remaining checklist pages

Also used for grades, homework, and everything else you can think of without having 6 different notebooks for the same purpose-to check things off!

I use them so much I ordered an extra 10 pages...

It is just such a beautiful sight!!!

Back has double sided folder.

{If a double sided folder were all it took to "keep it together" teaching would be a breeze!}

And then I think the best part of the entire planner....the STICKERS!!!!!

IEP STICKERS!!!!!

And of course two pages of BLANK ones to use as you wish :)

One page protector for schedule, class list, etc. You can purchase more of these if you wish.

As an add on, I ordered two note pads to use--I think this will be beneficial for two things:

1. Any sort of meeting where I want to take detailed notes.

2. Documentation for students during literacy, math, or behavior. Since my lesson planner will be {out} and with me during the day, I think this will be great for making a quick observation on strengths or weaknesses made that day. The page can then be filed under that student's documentation, IEP, PEP folder you have in the classroom.

Pen/ Pencil/ Marker holder {add on}

Pretty Curly Paperclips to keep your plans together, clip in a note, or ANYTHING ELSE you may need to use a paper clip for! And they're cutie :)

This page is covered up by my notepad, but can easily be lifted to see the year and next at a glance

Erin Condren MARKERS {add on}--Love these! Remind me of the marker pens I loved using in elementary school.

Back Cover

Everything is ready to go, not bulky, and organized. What more could you ask for?!

How about a cute little teacher shirt to wear to school on Fridays??? Ok, I'll take one :)

You also get these adorable stickers as a little added bonus for ordering your planner! Great for last minute gifts or just for making something look pretty :)

{Is it obviously I like things to be organized and pretty?}

You get 6 of these--style will match the outside cover you choose!

I know you might think, "This is a little pricy for a planner. I usually get a FREE one at the beginning of the year from my school," however, it will make your {teacher} life so much easier to maintain, and will save you a ton of time in the long run. Besides, I KNOW it's not as BEAUTIFUL as this one!!

I can't wait to start using it to fully appreciate all the thought Ms. Condren put into this work of art!

Teacher Planner Left; Life Planner Right

If you're new to the Erin Condren world and would like to order a planner {life or teacher}, you can sign up with the referral link below. You'll get $10 off your first purchase if you use this link! WIN-WIN!