50+ Followers--Freebies--and my Must Haves

Hey there!

Well, today was my first day back for in service, and it was...long.  I was there till about 6 this evening, but my room is getting close.  Very close!  Pics to come soon!

It was fun to see everyone today, but I saw quite a few people over the summer.  :)  In other words, I would've been ok staying home another week or two.  :)  Anyway, we had our meetings and all that jazz.  Our district's "theme" this year is "Operation Transformation."  As in...changes.  Lots of 'em.
YAY.  Nothing like adding all kinds of new expectations on top of already full plates.  Don't you wish they'd wait until at least the 3rd week of school to tell you about all the new things you have to do (on top of the old ones)?

Today I finished my "Bucket Fillers" area (on the inside of my door), and I think it turned out pretty cute.  I've never done it before, but I got my book in the mail and will introduce it next week when the kids come.  Those of you who do "bucket filling," do you usually read the book and introduce it on the very first day?  Just curious.  :)

My major accomplishment today, though, was cleaning up.  I went on a 10 minute spree before I left, putting things away as quickly as I could because I REALLY wanted to leave.

I'm linking up today with Blop Hoppin' to share my Must Haves!  Click the pic to hop on over and check it out!

1) My Smartboard.

Dude.  I cannot imagine my classroom without this guy at this point.  I only taught for 2 years without one and was the first one in my school to get one (I wrote a grant).  It is so convenient and engaging.  LOVE.

2) My Flair pens.  I use them for everything.  

They have such great color/saturation yet don't bleed through.  YAY.

3) An organized classroom library.  

Do they still put books in the wrong bins sometimes?  YES.  Do they still leave books on the floor instead of putting them in ANY bin?  YES.  But overall?  It works great.  And it makes it so much easier for them to find books they're interested in.  It took me FOREVER one summer to sort my library and label each book, but since then (about 4 years ago) my life has been so much easier (at least in that one aspect, haha).

4) My teammates.  

Seriously.  I don't know what I would do without them.  I've been on 2 different teams and worked with...9 different ladies, and they were all SO helpful and willing to share.  Let's face it: I SO do not know everything about teaching or have all the answers.  I love team planning, and I love being able to talk to them about my kiddos and bounce ideas off them (or even just vent).  YAY teamies!

5)  Post-Its.  

I use them myself.  My students use them.  We all use them.  Love them.




Be sure to link up over at Blog Hoppin' and let us know your own Must Haves.  :)



Anywho...onto the freebies.  Not sure how many people can use these, but I made some new labels for my library bins, and here they are in a couple different styles.  (Click on each one to view/download in Google Docs.)

Black and white dot labels


Teal design labels



Please let me know if you can use these or if you have any suggestions for changes or for future products since I'm new to making things!  Thanks for stopping by!