Slow Start to Summer

I had all sorts of big plans for the summer regarding getting organized for next school year, and I have come to find out that it's not so easy. I have become extremely overwhelmed with the amount of items on my To-Do list. I am currently trying to: 

1. Get my classroom organized and ready for the first day of school
2. Get a substantial amount of lesson and project planning down on paper in order to feel comfortable going into the first weeks of school 
3. Move into my new apartment-- and all the planning and money spending that goes into that
4. Organize and open up new social networking sites: Ms. Jenelle's Class facebook page, Ms. Jenelle's Class Twitter account, My Pinterest account, This blog, and not to mention I haven't even started my class web site yet. 

I feel like when I sit down to work, I have so many things going through my head, without an organized plan of how to address them that I have a really hard time actually working. Another thing I want to make sure I do the right way is keep all of my personal social networking sites as private as possible, and filter students, parents, and colleagues to my professional accounts. The last thing that I need is for something that I post on a personal networking site to harm my professionalism. If anyone has any suggestions on the best way to go about doing this please share :) 

For the meantime, I would like to share some really great websites and resources that I have come across the past few days, and I hope they will help you in your classrooms as well. Please also feel free to share anything in the comments section, to my facebook page, or simply via email. I am always interested in new resources!! 

1. ScootPad- This is an educational web site that students can use independently to practice math and literacy skills. The web site follows the common core standards, and organizes data wonderfully for teachers.
2. Donors Choose- This is a website that teachers MUST become a member of. With this website you are able to ask for materials needed for your students to be successful in the classroom, or complete a project. Donors are then able to sign onto the website and contribute to what it is you are asking for. After you have received your materials, you are required to send thank you letters :)
3. How To Learn Math- Stanford University is offering a free online course that claims to help change students' relationships with math. 
4. 20% Time- This article talks about the benefits of using Google's 20% time in the classroom. 
5. Twitter in the Classroom- This article lists some great ways to use twitter in the classroom. There are a lot listed, and I do not feel that all apply to me, but I do feel that some are very beneficial. This article inspired me to start my own Ms. Jenelle's Class Twitter account. I hope I will be able to reach more students, parents, and other educators this way.  

I sure hope that you find these resources as helpful as I did. Please remember to contact me with other resources you think are worth a look :) 

Thanks for reading!!!