Next Year…

At the end of the school year, I always start thinking about the next year. Joy in 6th Grade is hosting a great linky party to share!

Thinking about this year, I had some things I loved- but a lot I wanted to tweak. I’m going to conveniently imagine for a second that I’m NOT moving away, and staying at my current school.

Doing the Daily 5 in reading really helped my kids this year, and I want to do something similar in math for more review and more differentiation.

I did a great job at keeping up with my CRAFT board and lesson cards at the beginning of the year, but by the end, we kind of stopped. I think if I plan it out better with my standards and have a goal of when to teach which lessons, it will help me stick with it!

Our school just adopted the National Geographic Reach for Reading series, which I was so excited about. One of the main reasons, besides fantastic content, was that the stories are grouped into cohesive science and social studies units that make it easy to integrate!

If I’d stayed at my school, I’d be moving back to 2nd grade. I really enjoyed 3rd, but I missed some of my 2nd grade coworkers and I think now that I’m not just trying to keep my head above water, I could really do some great work together with my teammates!

And finally, next year I would not commit to so much tutoring. I enjoyed working with the kids, but tutoring two children every day for four days of the week just got to be too much for also keeping up with regular classroom responsibilities!

But, of course, if you read my post yesterday… I won’t be staying at my school, so instead-

Oh well :) I still think it was worth reflecting!

You can link up here and think about next school year, too!

End of the Year, and the Start of a Big Adventure!

We finished school a week ago, but so much has happened since then! I'm going to cheat on Five for Friday and show you 5 photos from our last week of school.

It's simple, but my kids loved getting to read in our nature center for 20 minutes. I let them each enjoy a freeze pop, and popped around to get an individual photo of each kid for their end of the year gift.

The next day, the kids used adjectives to describe each other in a game of Scoot. Since my kids mostly thought of different ones, I had them do an extra round where they voted for 2 others, and then I put the results into a Tagul word cloud to finish up their end of the year class gift, just like last year.

Once I got the basic Tagul settings set up, I just retyped things for each student and I probably had these printed and ready in about an hour. They would look great framed!

Our grade level took the kids to a bowling alley for our end-of-the-year party. For $3, each kid got to play two games, and they LOVED it! (This little guy had never gone bowling before. Check out that form!)

My kids got a chance to give their teacher a report card, which they just loved. If you're still in school, you can grab a copy of the teacher's report card here.

You can link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching here!

It was a very busy end of the year, but this past week has been REALLY huge for my family.

Last weekend, I threw a party for my husband to celebrate his birthday and graduation, and yesterday, on his official birthday, he accepted a job in the Cincinnati area (where he's from, and we both have family).

So... I'M OFFICIALLY MOVING!

We are both excited, but I am really sad to leave my current school and job. If anyone has job searching tips, classroom moving tips, or any connections that might help in the Cincy area, I would be forever grateful!

Memorial Day Memory

Both of my grandfathers, one of my uncles, one of my cousins, my brother-in-law, and other loved ones have all served in the military, so I really try to take some time to remember the true reason for this holiday.

For me, that means re-reading The Road Home, re-watching some Band of Brothers, and reminiscing about one of my most memorable days as a teacher.

 

You can read about it here.

Thank you to all who have served.

 

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Mother’s Day Gifts- Last Minute and EASY!

Whew- exhausted! I’ve been sick since last week. I’m on antibiotics, but this sinus infection is just not done with me yet. I’m getting better, though!

Are you like me, and just now working on a last minute Mother’s Day gift with your class?

These flower pens are easy to make in a day, especially if you work with a small group at a time, and they’re pretty cheap.

What else have we been up to?

Well, long-term followers might remember that my class ran a lemonade stand for charity in May last year. You can read all about it here.

We’re preparing to run the second annual lemonade stand this Friday!

Today we analyzed some advertisements with a simple freebie from last year. (You can pick it up here- it’s great for author’s purpose in depth in the upper grades, and really engaging in those last couple weeks of school!)

Oh, and this week we’ve also had state testing, chicks hatching in our room, an author visit, and lots of time finishing up our books for Young Author’s week.

We’ve been so busy that one of my kids told me today, “Are we going to have our reading rounds in the afternoon? I actually kind of miss reading.” For some kids, that would be normal… but for this guy, it made my heart sing to think that he is finally loving reading!

Weeks like this are why I love teaching- SO much fantastic learning (state testing aside)- but they wear. me. out! I’ll be ready for the weekend for sure :)

Week of Doom Approaching, in 3, 2, 1…

Some weeks you try out a new pin, and it works.

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This was my Pin of the Week. I started with a sore throat Sunday night, and got gradually worse until scrambling for sub plans on Thursday to get myself to Urgent Care.

See, I didn’t get anything ready because we just have too much going on for me to be absent. But, well, my body didn’t really listen to that, but let the sinus infection take charge.

Once I was medicated, I came back to school but didn’t eat a big enough breakfast, so my medicine did not agree with my stomach. Friday morning I had a lovely Teacher First and, well, got sick right in front of my class.

Yeah, nothing helps kids focus on their work like their teacher over a trash can in the back of the room.

I went home at lunch.

(Please tell me I’m not the only one who has traumatized her class in this way? They were so concerned. Of course, they were so concerned right in the moment when I needed them to be independent for just a minute please, but it was still sweet.)

ANYWAY.

Everyone else seems to be excited that we are almost to the end of the year. For me, there are FOURTEEN days left. And while I’m ready for a break, holy cow. There is WAY too much to get done in fourteen days. Plus, I might be moving away from my school this summer and I’m not ready to be done teaching here. I’m a nerd, but… I love my job, and I love knowing I’ve done it well, and I need more time for that!

Surely I’m not the only one who feels this way?

Next week we will be doing our state testing (which should have been done last week, but the testing company our state paid $95 million to had major computer issues). As a member of the social committee, I’m also helping with our retirement celebration on Wednesday. On top of that, it’s our Young Author’s Week- we will have a visit from an author (Keiko Kasza) and share our (unfinished) books with a first grade class. The rest of the week will be spent finishing our books, creating our Mother’s Day gift, and getting ready for the lemonade stand my class is running on Friday during a schoolwide running event, after seeing an orchestra performance in the morning and enjoying the pizza party they earned on the same day.

So yeah, sinus infection, there is NO TIME for you.

Oh, and my husband graduates college that same night and his family is coming to visit for the weekend.

(Hence all the question marks about my summer/ future. Husband is still looking for a job, so… life is sort of up in the air until that one falls into place. Crossing my fingers that I don’t have to work this summer- I’ve never done gone a summer without working!)

I have been a terrible blogger, but I plan on posting tomorrow to recap some ideas from this time last year (because most of you weren’t following me then, which is actually pretty awesome).

I super hope that your life is a bit less crazy right now. To be fair, other than the sick, most things in my life are going really well and are super exciting- it’s just a lot at once! :) Make sure you link up with your Currently with Farley!

Classroom Pencil Sharpener Success!

By this point in the year, my students’ pencil supplies are running low and my pencil sharpener is starting to become sort of dull. (Anyone else?)

I took a chance on the Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener that you’ve seen all over blogland, and I’ve been suitably impressed as we’ve tried it out the last couple of weeks.

I have to say… I never watched the video on how to use it, but even so, it only took me a few minutes to figure out.

First, secure it to the table. (If you have a table without a rounded edge, this would probably be better. Mine slips from time to time, but it’s no big deal.)

Next, pinch.

Then, pull.

After that, keep pinching while you put a pencil in.

Stop pinching, let go of the pencil, and sharpen. I have my kids put their hand over the top of the sharpener to help keep it steady.

This is the step that I think makes this thing work so well. You know how some kids only hold the pencil kind of in the sharpener, and then it takes forever and never really sharpens all the way? Well, this sharpener holds the pencil in for them- and gradually pulls it in until it’s sharp enough!

Plus, it’s held in evenly, so you don’t end up with the wood in the way of your writing, or the wood shaved so high on one side that the lead instantly breaks when you try to write with it.

If you remember, my kids sharpen 2 pencils at the beginning of the day as part of their morning procedures.

(CHAMPS morning procedures chart here, if you haven’t picked up this freebie!) If they need a pencil after that, they have to just take it out of the Sharp bucket.

Since getting this pencil sharpener, my kids have actually unplugged the old one, and I haven’t had kids needing to trade pencils hardly ever during the day. My student Pencil Sharpener in charge of emptying the clear bin each day (or whenever he notices it needs it), and it’s a simple, easy drawer system.

I never thought 3rd graders would be so excited about a pencil sharpener, but they figured out how to use it quickly and love it.

Teacher appreciation week is coming up… perfect time to give yourself (or an awesome coworker) a little gift that will help with the pencil chaos of the last few weeks of school! Even better? These are sold by a teacher, and they cost considerably less than most electric pencil sharpeners.

You can check out this pencil sharpener at Classroom Friendly Supplies. I highly recommend it!

The Sunday Five

Hello friends! It’s been kind of forever since I wrote a real blog post. I am blown away that we are almost at MAY (are you kidding me?!) and our schedule has been so jam-packed lately.

We’ve been doing lots of review to prepare for our last round of state tests next week, and I am trying out a sort of math centers approach that I may use more often next year.

I got to review a couple of new Scholastic products this week, and I’m excited to tell you more about them soon. Have you heard of Knowledge Quest yet?

My kids got to go to a special nanotechnology field trip at our local university. How many kids learn about the Higgs-Boson particle or get to try on a clean room suit in the 3rd grade? (Also- SO cute!)

One of my tutoring students and I created a “Happy Journal” for him. It was one of those spontaneous ideas that worked out much better than expected! I’ll be posting about it later this week.

Okay, this was technically last week, but I’m counting it. My husband had his last improv comedy show with his current group, since he’ll be graduating in 2 weeks! This is him playing “Helping Hands”… he smelled like peanut butter for the rest of the night. (TOTALLY not complaining.)

That does mean it’s getting to the awkward time where everyone’s asking about next year, and if I’m going to be at my school, and honestly… I don’t know! The husband is in the oh-so-fun world of the job hunt, so our future is a little up in the air right now.

It will all work out, though. :) Hopefully soon!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! Link up at Doodle Bugs Teaching!

A Way to Help Others!

Whew! I am down to 25 days left til summer- and instead of getting me excited, I feel a little panicky. We've got SO much to do, and I know it'll feel like such a whirlwind!

I know I haven't posted anything about my classroom in forever, but I wanted to share about something amazing happening. In light of recent events in the news, it makes me feel great to see good happening, and to be able to help it spread.

A girl I knew in high school has been in the adoption process for some time now, and she and her husband just found out they have been matched with two siblings from Ethiopia. Their referral came MUCH much sooner than they expected, which is a huge blessing- but they need to raise $17,000 to bring the two children home with them.

They are thrilled and excited, but the task at hand is daunting. If there is any way you can help them bring these two orphans home, please visit their blog here and read about their story: http://thegrubersblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/referral.html


 They have been so blessed in this journey so far, and are even running a donation giveaway for a Keurig right now. (If you donate, you will be entered in the giveaway!) As teachers, we sometimes see kids who don't have a loving, supportive, safe home- and we know just how important it is.

Seeing recent posts by Amy Lemons about her newly adopted daughter makes me all the more excited for them!

Even if donating isn't in the cards for you right now, I hope you'll keep them in your prayers and pass their information along to anyone you know who might feel called to help. Thank you SO much! :)

Taking a Bite Out of the Big Apple

I spent this whole week catching up and took zeeero pictures… so, I’m going to show you a little more about my trip. Warning: There is basically no teaching content in this post.

My husband always tells me that I take pictures of things and scenery, but complains that I’m never in the pictures. Besides, I’m a blogger… don’t I have to take awkward mirror pictures?

A beautiful city!

I was pretty excited to be there. You could juuust barely see the Hudson River from my hotel room window.

As a birthday gift, my husband got me tickets to Phantom of the Opera.

They were incredible seats in a beautiful theater, and the show was downright amazing.

We heard a talk from author/ illustrator Henry Cole- so inspiring.

He also signed a book for each of us- the wordless picture book Unspoken.

Here’s me with Scholastic Book Clubs’ President and the Scholastic CEO/ Chairman. They were both wonderful and truly wanted our feedback.

The Scholastic building was definitely a book lover’s paradise.

Of course, I got a chance to shop at the Scholastic Store in SoHo, too. So many wonderful books to choose from!

So, basically… it couldn’t be much more of an incredible trip! I also got a chance to see Mamma Mia, eat at Guy Fieri’s restaurant, see the 9/11 memorial, visit Rockefeller Center, and pass all kinds of famous landmarks.

At this point, I’m down to about 6 weeks of school left, and only about 3 weeks until my husband graduates. Hard to believe this semester has gone so fast!

Next week, I’ll remember to get a few more pictures at school to share with you! :)

What was the last great trip you went on?

My Booky Weekend in NYC!

So, I mysteriously told you all about an exciting trip to New York City.

I have been visiting the city and Scholastic headquarters as a 2013 Teacher Advisor for Scholastic Book Clubs!

Here are the 24 TA's for this year, from all over the country, with the Scholastic CEO/Chairman. His dad founded the company.

We spent two incredible days giving feedback about Book Clubs as they are now, possible changes to come, and so much more.

I have always thought that it seemed like Scholastic really cared about kids and literacy, not just making money, but it has never been more clear to me than at these meetings.

These people are book nerds whose faces flashed with recognition and emotion when we mentioned favorite books, and clear education advocates who teared up when we talked about important teaching moments. It was evident that they love reading, want kids to love reading, and immensely respect teachers' role in making that happen.

Dick Robinson is just one example. He (and so many others) thanked us continually and told us, "We know nothing happens in the classroom without teachers." They truly listened to what teachers had to say- the good and the bad- about the Book Clubs program.

It was a place so abuzz with energy, passion, and positive affirmations of teaching that I was tempted to fill out a job application. (Seriously.)

Between the amazing, generous Scholastic staff and the brilliant teachers around me, I had a truly terrific weekend. Plus, I got to see New York City- or at least a little of it!- for the first time.

While the trip is over, I will continue working with the company from afar for at least a few more months. I almost didn't want to tell you all about the Teacher Advisor program because I want to reapply next year (if that's even an option!), but if you're interested, keep an eye out in the fall and apply, because it has been so very worth it!

I still can't believe I was chosen for this. I am very tired (and ready to see my husband), but I feel invigorated and so, so blessed.

Thank you, Scholastic Book Clubs!!

P.S.- All photos lovingly snagged from Scholastic social media. (Preeti, you're awesome!)

P.P.S.- Some of my photos coming soon :)

 

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