Feburary Currently

January was a CRAZY month!  We had snow days that were just cold, more snow than I've seen in a long time, and inside recess for THREE WEEKS!!!  Bring on February!

I am so glad to be linking up with Farley for her February Currently! 

 

 

 

Listening:  So many channels...so little time!

 

Loving:  I recently purchased an interactive math notebook bundle from Blair Turner.  My kiddos and I are LOVING it!  I will be blogging about this soon!  In the meantime, check them out here:





Thinking:  We are predicted to get 18 more inches of snow here by Wednesday.  We have already passed our average snowfall for the season and there's still almost two months left of winter!  All in all though, I'll take the snow over the -46 wind chills that we've experienced!

 

Wanting:  I came home with a migraine the size of Montana today.  I have really been struggling with them this year.  A three hour nap after school just barely took the edge off the migraine.  I really need to head back to bed!

 

Needing:  Because of all the snow/cold days, inside recess, headaches, and a horrible sinus infection that I battled the last two weeks, I am really in need of a work day in my classroom.  No kiddos, no meetings, no interruptions...just me and my piles!  It's not going to happen, but a girl can dream, right?!?

 

2 Truths and a Fib:  I am most certainly NOT a morning person!  I would love to be, but I am night owl through and through!!  Did you guess correctly?

 

Happy February everyone!!

Happy New Year!

I am linking up with Farley for the first Currently of the new year.  I simply cannot believe that it is 2014 already!  It seems like just yesterday I was sitting here typing my first Currently of 2013!  

 
Listening:  We are 2 1/2 hours into the new year and everyone in my house is fast asleep!

Loving:  This new year.  I am always excited about starting the new year.  It is like a blank slate, just waiting to be filled.  I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for me!

Thinking:  It's been a really long day, and I should get to bed.  I also want to read a few more chapters of Insurgent before nodding off...I am obsessed with this series!

Wanting:  This past year was a whirlwind in many ways.  Since we were so busy, it left little time for being organized.  I am vowing to change that, both at home and at school.

Needing:  I have been toying with a few different words for my OLW.  Last year's word was FAITH, and boy did it get me through some really tough times!  This year I want a word that can have as much of an impact on me as my last word did.  I have a few in mind, but one is really speaking to me right now.  I am going to live with it for another day to see if it still feels like the right one.

Tradition:  Every year, as soon as we wake up (since my two darling daughters can't wait another moment) we open gifts.  Once we are through, we eat a wonderful breakfast casserole and drink North Pole Smoothies.  Then we relax for a little while before getting ready and heading to my brother's house for our family Christmas celebration.

Here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!!

December Currently

I can't believe that it is December already!  I am linking up with Farley for this month's currently.

Oh' Boy Fourth Grade







 



Most of these need to explanation.  However, I think the thing that I want to remember the most during this busy pre-holiday season is to stop and cherish this special time with my family.  It always seems that I put so much time and effort into the activities and craziness during December that I sometimes forget to just take a step back and enjoy it.  During December, I am looking forward to watching my oldest daughter dance in the Nutcracker, attending a dear friend's 50th birthday party, making Christmas cookies with my girls, watching my nephew's third grade play, and attending my daughter's choir and band concerts. 

I am also working hard to finish a few units for my TpT store in order to be ready for the BIG sale.  I have been hard at work on this unit this weekend.

 

I am hoping it will be posted within the next few hours and will do a flash freebie when it is.  Please consider following my store so you will know when it is available! 

 

I am also working on this unit that I will be using all throughout December.

What are you looking forward to the most in December?

 

November Currently

It's hard to believe that it is already November!  With the turn of the calendar it means that it's time once again for Farley's Currently. 



 

Listening - Yet another real estate/ flipping show.

 

Loving - This week *might* have been the longest one of my teaching career...and I've been teaching for quite a while!  :)

 

Thinking - Now that the craziness of this week is over, I can focus on being ready for conferences next Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Wanting - In addition to all the school craziness, we have been extremely busy every weekend.  Two travel soccer teams, Nutcracker rehearsals, 5ks, and other random family activities have kept us hoppin'.

 

Needing - I have been dealing with a few health issues since the beginning of the school year starting with a migraine that lasted almost 40 days.  I need to be on the mend!  I miss blogging and IG-ing!  I miss the having the energy to interact with all of you on a daily basis! 

 

Yummy Pin - I won an apple bake off at school last week using this recipe, so I can vouch for the fact that these bars are indeed YUMMY!

 

http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/caramel-apple.jpg

Five For Friday!

It's time once again for Five for Friday and I am actually posting ON FRIDAY!!  *GASP* 

I have been battling a headache/migraine for the past 17 days.  Yup...that's correct...17 days.  Needless to say, the beginning of the new school year has been exhausting, so I am going to *TRY* to post quickly and head to bed.  :) 

I am in LOVE with my new batch of kiddos though!  They are a breath of fresh air!!  We have been able to accomplish so much in our first three weeks.  We are well into our routine and they have adjusted to the expectations wonderfully.

Here is a glimpse of our week.

First up - Recycle Bowls

I have to tell you all, these bins have saved my sanity already this year.  I cannot for the life of me remember where I first saw this idea (I'm certain it was on Instagram though), so if it is your idea, please let me know so I can give you the credit you deserve for being a GENIUS!  I found these bowls at the Dollar Store and have already trained my kids that whenever their scissors come out, they need to grab a bowl from the side counter where I store them.  All their scraps go into the bowl and one person empties the bowl when we are done with the activity.  This has eliminated all the scraps on the floor and the thousand trips to the recycling bin to throw away every scrap separately. 

We have been working on place value, and I felt like the kids were understanding the concepts but needed some more hands-on, engaging practice.  So I pulled out our place value boards and whipped up an activity for them to complete with a partner.  They had to read a list of clues to determine the 'mystery' number, create the number on their board and then write the number in standard, expanded, and word form and draw the number in place value blocks.

 

They loved it!  They were on-task and engaged for our entire math class.

 

Since that activity had a 'mystery' number that they had to figure out, I decided to mix it up and give them place blocks for the next activity.  This time, the students needed to roll the dice to determine the number that they would write in standard form and at least one other way.  I gave them the freedom to choose which modality they would use.  Again, the activity was a hit!

Notice that the second group of kiddos came up with a plan to work together and all throw a die at the same time to create the number.  So cute!  I love it when groups get along!

Next, I introduced rounding this week.  We began with relating rounding and number lines.  I hung a number line on the board and gave each student a post-it with a two-digit number on it.  They had to place their numbers in the correct place on the number line.  We then discussed which ten the number was closest to.  This was a great way for them to visualize the relationships between the numbers.

And finally, I have proof that there are good people in the world.  On a whim one day, I decided that I would run out to Subway to grab salad for my lunch.  I went through the whole line and had them make my salad, but when I got to the end and was ready to pay, I reached in my purse and realized that I had forgotten my wallet at home.  I was completely mortified and was trying to scrape up enough change to pay my bill, when the man behind me in line handed the cashier his card and told her that he would pay for my lunch!!!  I was so touched by his kindness and generosity that I actually started to cry!!  I asked the man for his name and address so that I could repay him, but he just said that he was happy to do it, and it was not necessary to pay him back.  I cannot wait to have the opportunity to pay his generosity forward one day!

BTW...the salad was yummy and completely hit the spot!

I hope you all had a fabulous week!!

Monday Made-It

I am *FINALLY* linking up with Tara over at Fourth Grade Frolics for her Monday Made-It

linky.  Make sure that you click on the button to see all the other ideas that were posted this week.

A few weeks ago I found these great mini composition books at Wal-Mart. 

They were only 88 cents for three books!  I knew that they would make great BTS gifts for my new kiddos. 

Next, I found these square labels from Avery that perfectly covered the label on the front of the composition books.  The labels are Avery 22806 and I bought them at Office Max.

After downloading the template from the Avery website, I made some cute labels for the books that match the camping theme in my classroom.

I plan to have these on the kids desks on the first day along with a pencil, an eraser, and a camping themed bookmark.  The kids can keep the notebooks in their desks and can pull them out to jot down ideas for writing topics as they think of them.  This will hopefully help my students use their Work on Writing center time to its fullest.

 

I had so much fun with this week's Monday Made-It.  I can't wait to share another project next week!

 







It's Currently August!!

Is it really that time already?!? Time for the August Currently?  I am in such denial about the ending of summer that I could barely handle turning over the calendar this morning! 



Listening - I LOVE that there are marathons of Friends reruns every night.  I miss that show!

Loving - The weather in my neck of the woods has been pretty amazing lately.  I know that many people are questioning whether it is actually still summer, but I will take 70's and low humidity any day!!  Especially since this is how most days have looked around here in the last few weeks.

Beautiful blue skies and big, puffy clouds!!  I'll take it!!

Thinking - I have not accomplished much from the To-Do list that I started the summer with.  It seems that I always have high hopes for all the organizing I will get done at home and in my classroom over the summer.  This summer I also had dreams of creating many products for TpT and my classroom.  I have so many ideas floating around in my head right now!!  In reality, that's not really the way it pans out.  In reality, I would rather spend my summer resting up and decompressing from the school year.  In reality, family time comes first.  I have been teaching for quite a while, and I'm not going to lie...I really enjoy the time off that summer provides.  I LOVE spending time with my two beauties and the hubby, whether we are spending time with friends, relaxing at the beach, reading together for hours, or cuddling up doing nothing at all.  That is what is truly important in life.  That is what I will remember when my babies are grown.

Wanting - This one is kind of self explanatory after the last one.  :)

Needing - Since I have tried to make the most of my summer, I will need to kick it into overdrive next week.  All in all, my room is pretty much ready to go.  I still have not received a class list though, so I will need to do locker tags and desk tags and finish my C.A.M.P. binders and...and...and...anything else that requires the students' names.

B2s Must Haves - (I, too, am whispering the s)
*I always need to buy new sets of pens and markers.  It just makes those mundane tasks like grading and note taking easier when you have some brand new pens! 
*I also must have copious amounts of coffee in order to survive having to set an alarm. 
*Last year I found an amazing binder set from Amy at The Resource(ful) Room.  It truly ramped up my organization in a very good way.  I am excited to be using it again this year.

Amy has MANY different color options and patterns like camping, frogs, monsters, candy, dogs, zebras, jungle, and the ever popular Boho Chic, that you are sure to find a set that suits you.  Oh, and I can't forget the AMAZING part...they are all FREE!!  Yes, FREE!!  She also has editable versions available in her TpT store.  So, please, click the picture below to go check her website out!!

 

I hope that in the midst of all the crazy preparations for B2s, you will take some time out to enjoy the last waning days of summer!!