Hall Pass Linky

I am loving the concept of this super cute linky.  Things have been super busy in my neck of the woods, which is why a am super a bit late to link up!

PRODUCT - Why is it so hard to pick just one favorite product?!?  Since it is so hard to pick, I think I will go with my latest greatest product... All About Patterns.  It is 150+ pages of awesome math centers to use with hands-on manipulatives, plus recording sheets, objectives, anchor charts and so much more.  Did I mention it's Common Core aligned?!?  Also, it's on sale from now until Sunday only!  You can click {HERE} to read my blog post all about it, or {HERE} to check it out in my TPT store.

AREA - My absolute favorite area in my classroom is the library.  I am so lucky to have this amazing space built into my classroom!  It used to be the library, and this wonderful nook is just made for enticing little ones to snuggle up and read.  Please bear with me... it is very round and curvy with gorgeous fluorescent lighting (ha ha) making it extremely hard to photograph.

And here are some close ups of my favorite little areas within the library.

SIGNAL - My signals are nothing super special.  One that my whole school uses (and I LOVE that the whole school uses it... it makes it so much easier during specials, when they have a sub, etc) is to say "1, 2, 3, Directions!"  The kids know to put their hands on their head and look at the teacher.  Works like a charm every time.  We have a modification called "Messy Hands Directions" where you put your hands straight up in the air to avoid getting playdough, paint or any other lovely mess all in your hair.

My new favorite is Shari Sloane's The Clean Up Song.  It is about two and a half minutes long, which is the perfect amount of time to push my kids to clean up and get to the rug by the time the song is over.  Plus it's catchy and we all sing along, making clean up time (dare I say) fun!

SANITY - Well, some days I don't have much of this.  Would it be bad if I said that a glass of wine at the end of a rough day is definitely my happy spot?  No?  Okay phew.  In other news, my co-workers keep me sane.  I love being able to swap stories, make people laugh and rest assured that everyone else's kids are just as crazy as mine!  When they go on a coffee run and bring back some of my favorite Dunkin' Donuts deliciousness I love them even more.  Last but not least, the million little hugs that I get on the daily from my little friends definitely keep me sane as well and remind me that I have the best job in the whole wide world.