A Peek at My Week

Hello loves!

I am back after a bit of a hiatus to link up with Mrs. Laffin's Linky Party. ( I actually meant to publish this on Saturday but then life got in the way. oops!)

Reading: This week our Treasures reading story of the week is The Strongest One. It is a fun reader's theatre about an ant who is trying to find out which animal is the strongest one only to realize that he is!  It is such a cute story and the kids will get a chance to act it out which this set of kids will love!!

Math: We are working on subtracting with regrouping, particularly across zeros. I pray for patience this week during math!!

Writing: We are actually brainstorming for our first narrative piece this week. We have spent the first eight weeks of school doing narrative projects such as the "If My Life Was An Island" project and "I am" project. My kiddos LOVED these units and their finished products turned out beautifully.

Here are some I AM finished products:

Here is our work board with all of the finished projects. Only one empty spot for my poor little girl who has been so sick that she has been absent for 6 days!

 

I created an "I Am" unit for you to use with your kiddos. Just hop over to my TpT store to enjoy!

Here is our finished bulletin board that is displaying some of our "If My Life Were an Island" projects

Close ups of some of the finished ones

 

 

I will post  the "If My Life Was An Island" project in my TpT store, hopefully this week. (fingers crossed)

Science: We will be discussing the Piedmont habitat of Georgia and students will be working in their groups to finish this section of their large Georgia poster. (pics coming this week as well)

Social Studies: We will continue discussing Paul Revere's importance in the American Revolution and the events that happened after the Revolutionary War (i.e. creation of the Constitution). Also, on Thursday, an actor playing the role of Paul Revere will be coming to the school for the kids to meet and ask questions. I am actually excited to see how the kids react to this.

That's all for my week! I will post more pictures ASAP! Join the linky party to share about your upcoming week!

Thanks!

Let's Get Acquainted Linky Party

Hey Bloggers!

I've been crazy lazy lately.... I think I deserve it though. I went to a 3 day IB 101 course to learn about the program and its components. I learned a lot, but I am still worried about how to implement the program to fidelity while also keeping up with Common Core and state standards.... real world teacher problems right?

Anyways, I am linking up with Mrs. Reed at Flying into First Grade for her Let's Get Acquainted Linky Party. Here's how it works: You choose three topics in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) like a tic-tac-toe board and share about each topic.

 I am going to share about the first vertical row.

I went to _______ college and a favorite memory

I went to Auburn University, otherwise known as the "loveliest village on the Plains".  War Eagle! I had an AMAZING experience at Auburn. I was super involved in everything from college recruitment to admissions office, and from College of Education Student Council to joining a wonderful sorority. My absolute favorite memory, however, was enjoying the wonderful football games and tailgates. Even if I did not go to a game, I was definitely at a tailgate enjoying the atmosphere... and the food.

Share about your first year of teaching

Wow! My first year was truly survival of the fittest. I taught third grade in Opelika, AL (5 minutes from Auburn). I had absolutely no experience teaching that grade level and did not think I would enjoy it at all, but a job was a job. However, after that one year, I realized that this was the PERFECT grade.. seriously!! I loved everything about that year. I cherished the kids and my wonderful coworkers. The kids were my guinea pigs and I loved testing developing my teaching practices with them. It was honestly one of the best first year teaching experiences anyone could ask for.

My favorite grade to teach and why

Well, I pretty much mentioned it above but I will reiterate it again... THIRD GRADE ROCKS! I am kind of bias because it is the only grade I have taught, except Kindergarten for my internship. Does that count? Anyways, the kiddos at this grade are at the perfect age were they admire their teacher, are eager to please, love to learn, and their personalities are beginning to flourish and shine. They understand my sarcasm wit and humor, and  they are independent and creative. If I ever had to move to another grade, which I think is coming next year, I would want to stay as close to third grade as possible, like 2nd or 4th.  If you have never tried teaching this grade, you seriously should consider it! Like call your principal right now and request a grade change... all joking aside :)

Well, that's a little about me. As always visit Mrs. Reed at Flying into First Grade and join the party!

Five for Friday- June 21

Hello loves!

It's Friday, so of course I have to link up with Doodle Bugs to share five random things about my week!

1. HOMESICK I went back home last weekend for a much needed break from the busy city life Atlanta offers. I have never been a person that likes to go home and stay at my family house in Alabama. My mother tells everyone that she knew I would "fly away as soon as I figured out how to open the cage". I definitely agree but boy was I missing my family and dogs. I was so glad that I took those four days to recoup. Aren't our family dogs precious? They are one of the biggest highlights to going home (don't tell my mom!)

2. HAIR CUT While I was home, I made a spontaneous decision to karate chop my hair. I have had long hair for almost two years. However, while I was home, I saw some cute hair styles on Pinterest. (Pinterest is dangerous, by the way). So I grabbed the scissors and went at it.  Here are some before and after pics! I still have to get used to it, but I think it came out great.

Before

After the initial cut... but then I cut about another inch off. So it is shorter now.

3. CAR ACCIDENT Earlier this month, I was in a car accident with a close friend. Let me clarify... She was following me to another friend's house and she rear ended me.My car had a small rip in the bumper... her car was totaled. Her insurance settled everything, but being Bria, I procrastinated going to get it fixed. Then, while I was home, my stepdad was changing my oil and rotating my tires (handy huh?) when he realized my muffler was bent in the accident and was burning my rear tired. Luckily, my tire did not blow out on my ride from Atlanta to Alabama. Needless to say, I took my car to get fixed as soon as I got back to Atlanta.

4. CHEVRON Before I came back to Atlanta, I went to my absolute FAVORITE teacher store. It has everything!! I was looking for a new theme for my classroom and look what I found.....

Chevron patterns and cute birds to match! I am in heaven!! I have been addicted to Chevron for quite some time so I had to have these... and who could resist the birds. So excited to get in my classroom and put these in their new home.

5. COMPUTER CLEANING I have been feverishly working on my new TPT product: A Holes Novel Study. However, I kept losing papers, because my computer had files everywhere. So I sat down yesterday and cleaned, deleted, and organized all 8,671 files! Yes 8,671! I also, changed my screen saver to match my new chevron/birds theme. Love it!

Well, that's all for my week! Be back soon! Remember to check out other great bloggers and Doodle Bugs "Five for Friday" Linky Party!

Keeping up with the missing homework

Hey there! Two of my favorite blogs are Fun In Room B and Ladybug Teacher Files! They are both hosting an Optimum Organization Linky Party, so I had to join!

Homework has always been one of my biggest downfalls. I hate checking it, and I hate grading it. What I hate most, however, is keeping up with the students who haven't turned it in!

This year, I plan on doing much better with managing, organizing, and grading homework. As I went "Googling for different methods, I ran across this awesome article at http://teachers.net/wong/SEP06/. I, then remembered that I pinned a "pink slip" type form on my classroom inspiration Pinterest board. Once I clicked on the pin, I was sent to this same website!


Well, I really liked this idea so I decided to tweak the form a bit to make it my own and to fit the style of my classroom. Below is a picture of the one I created.

  

What do you think? I especially love the line that says "I did not have time to complete my homework because_________" I get this excuse ALL THE TIME, even from the parents! Drives me nuts!

 

Here is how I plan to use this form:

 

I typically check homework for completion, every day in the morning, while students are completing morning work. Before I even call students back to my table to check their homework, I want them to have already checked to make sure their homework is complete and grab/complete an Oh No form, if needed. This way, it will save plenty of time. I will check over the "oh no" form and keep it in a folder at my table.

 

My kiddos have the option of completing the homework at school during their free time or "working lunch", or at home. (A working lunch is when students are able to come into the classroom with me and complete their work, instead of eating lunch with their friends in the lunchroom). Once they have completed their homework, they must bring it to me and I will staple their "Oh No" form to the homework and write the date of completion on top of the homework. This way I will remember that the homework is late and take off the necessary amount of points when I later grade the homework for accuracy.

 

I send home student work weekly and this way, parents can see the reasons that points are being deducted. Also great for using in conferences!

How do you manage missing homework? Remember to link up with either of the hosts to join this great linky party!

Currently....

This is my first participation in linky parties. I see them on every blog but never knew how to join. After countless web searches and youtube videos, I think I finally figured it out..... maybe.

So, what better way to really kick off my blogging journey by joining the wonderful Currently linky party hosted by Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade!

 

Listening: I live right off of the apartment pool area. I love my balcony view but these summer pool parties have happened every night. When you live in a big city like Atlanta, I soon realized that people don't value sleep as much as I do.

 

Loving: My sister had a destination wedding to Mexico. I received her wedding pictures today in the mail. GORGEOUS!

 

Thinking: I have spent almost 2 whole days creating my first TPT project. It is a 20 page resource pack on the first week of our Treasures Reading Series. I am already excited to make more so that I can post them.

 

Wanting: My voice is getting very sore. I don't have any lemons right now, so Nyquil will have to do for now.

 

Needing: I am well known for not having a case on my iPhone. Yesterday I finally realized why people bought them. My screen is completely shattered!

 

3 Vacay Essentials: I always need a good book to read over the summer. I am currently reading One Day by David Nicholls. I also need sunscreen. I can walk outside for 10 minutes and turn like 3 shades darker... not kidding. Lastly, I need summer dresses. They are so simple and casual, but you instantly look cute and put together.

 

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment! Don't forget to head to Oh Boy 4th Grade and join the party.