Five for Friday (well, ok...Saturday)

Yes, I know two linkies in a row is bad form for a blogger...but who else is currently on Spring Break?! I knew that would distract you...

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for her fabulous Five for Friday:

Who doesn't love to share some randomness, especially when you've been counting the days looking forward to some time off?!

I have been enjoying the dog park with my beloved boxer, Jovi...doesn't the trail look beautiful in the fall? Oh, yeah, it's supposed to be spring...we seem to have our seasons mixed up here in Texas...

Just this week, I finally got to do a little sprucing up to my drawer carts...it's been on my to-do list since the beginning of the year...but, that list seems to be growing longer instead of getting shorter...

before...argh!!! stickies....I know...

I replaced the neon stickies and masking tape labels...yuck...but, it was only supposed to be temporary...with monthly labels that match my decor...

the labels looks so pretty...

you can see all my "junk"

I could not stand that it looked like a bunch of clutter from the rear of this one...(my other two are on top of a file cabinet that is pushed up against a wall)...I am in love...as you can see, I'm very easy to please...

pretty organization makes me smile...

I brought in all my shoes boxes from home for my students' Shoe Box Reports that they will be proudly displaying for Open House...and before you start calling me Imelda Marcos or my friend, Lisa, ...lemme explain...some boxes were gifted to me and I've been saving up boxes for a year...never mind the four pair of shoes I've bought since August...it's a good thing dogs don't wear shoes...

ok, so I might have a slight bag fetish, also...

love, love!!

I got a new couch! Well, it's a new-to-me couch...a hand-me-down from my sweet neighbors...a teacher salary just does not allow for big purchases too often...

I'll prolly get new pillows or a slipcover...

all that's important is that it is Jovi-approved...

he takes my spot EVERY time I get up...

And, I spent the better part of an Oprah Life Class removing the shellac from my nails after a recent manicure...yes, they looked pretty...

but, unless you have about $70 to spend on monthly upkeep...I'd much rather spend my money on TpT, dog treats...and, of course, shoes...

Get Your Hall Pass!

Well, I don't know about you, but for me, it's been one.of.those.years...however, it's only eight, yep, I said eight days until spring break, and I CAN MAKE IT!!

I am excited to join the hundreds of other fabulous teacher bloggers that have linked up with Reagan from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits for her Hall Pass Linky.

First, the deets...

(P) Product

My favorite product of mine (never you mind that it's the only product I sell) is my Differentiated Number Building Using Number Scrolls. Need a use for toilet paper and paper towels rolls? I gotcha covered.

It meets Common Core Standards for counting in sequence and place value and will keep your kinesthetic learners engaged...in other words, your "active" boys and girls will be quiet for at least a little while...

check it out here

My kiddos really enjoy working on this during math choice time. They l-o-v-e seeing their scrolls grow longer each day.

I have one little spunky girl in the 3,000s...woot-woot!! Did I mention that she's just a wee bit G.T.? But, that's beside the point...

(A) Area

It was hard to choose just one favorite area. After all, I did a classroom makeover and theme-change at the beginning of this school year (remind me to never do that again), and I have many fav spots. If I have to pick one, I would have to say it's our classroom timeline.

It's difficult for my firsties to remember what we did last week...(or yesterday or 5 minutes ago)...so, I wanted a visual way to remind them of what we've studied, the holidays we've celebrated, and how far they've come each month.

(S) Signal

You mean you don't just yell at 'em? Just kidding, of course...I have used a desk bell (which resulted in one of my students responding with "order up Krabby Patty" (he was a huge SpongeBob SquarePants fan), I have used train whistles (not quite loud enough for my group this year), and I have used response chants like, "Ring, Ring" to which they respond "Hello."

But, then I found these gems from Miss Nelson and I haven't used anything else. My students think they're fun, and I can use them a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e...which is nice when you don't want to carry your bell around or you need to get their attention quick! Plus, it's fun to have code-words that only you and your class know...

(S) Sanity

You mean I'm sane? Hahaha...well, for one, I always keep some chocolate close at hand...me loves Valentine's Day... 

But, there's also the game Candy Crush that my friend, Miss Squirrels, introduced me to (peer pressure# and new addiction#)...

That is, until you run into level 29...and you've been stuck here for days...and you run out of lives and see this pop up on your screen...

Which brings you back to the brink of insanity...because you know your kids are due back any minute...blargh!!!

Until you remember that you also have a great group of blogging friends that will lend an ear, offer support when you most need it, or share a great idea that makes your teaching day that much easier...the Cincy crew!!

From left: Michelle, Miss Squirrels, Me, Jessica, Hadar, Nicole, and Tessa.

If you have any suggestions on how to get past level 29, I would love to hear them!! 

Cincyrocks#

A Pinteresting Creation, a Race, and a Hockey Game

Well, if the weather in your city has been anything like the weather in my area, then staying inside and attempting to keep warm has been a frequent occurrence. This can lead to house-cleaning (blah), blog-stalking, or Pinterest-ogling.

Or, in my case, finally getting to create a project that has been sitting in another room, just waiting for a rainy day...or cold weather...or both.

I saw this idea many moons ago from here, and knew I had to have this in my classroom. I already had the red and black milk crates, so I purchased a large piece of wood (I used the other part of the wood for another project), along with the red and black fabric totes at Lowe's. I bought the red and black fabric at Jo-Ann's along with foam (for cushion) and some clear vinyl...in case of spills...or accidents...I teach first grade after all. So, here's what I started with:

Over the years I've learned that I'm a visual learner, so I need to see, touch, and feel how things work. Since I had to figure out (mostly) on my own how to attach the pieces together while keeping it looking "pretty," I thought I'd share my step-by-steps with you.

I placed the wood on top for easy measuring and cutting of the foam.

Then, I placed the wood on top of the crates to align places where holes could be drilled so that it could be attached without showing through the fabric...in other words, so it could stay pretty.

After I put zip-ties through the holes, I stapled the fabric and vinyl around the foam and wood (I don't know how I didn't get a picture of that), and attached it to the crates by tightening the zip-ties.

And, voila! I turned it up right-side up, added the drawers, and looked in admiration at my completed project.

I love the storage possibilities that the totes will provide.

Since my kiddos will use it as a bench seat during small group instruction, I'll probably keep their materials in the totes for easy access.

Here are a couple of my girls using it for the Read-to-Self rotation during The Daily Five. They love it!

What's even better, is that I used some of the leftover fabric to give a favorite independent/ partner reading stool a much needed face lift.

 

 My kiddos (almost) fight over it!

During the last two staff developments I have attended, both presenters started with asking for attendees to share their celebrations...whether it was professional or personal. So, I am sharing mine with you.

Here's my daughter and me after I RAN my very first 5K. I was on cloud nine for days...I think I even dug out the cute running shirt out of my clothes hamper a couple of times just to make sure I didn't dream it all up!  

And, as they always say, if you can't beat 'em, then join 'em...so, it seemed fitting to go to the season opener of the Dallas Stars versus the Phoenix Coyotes game...we defeated them 4-3. Woo-hoo!!

I'd love to hear how you are surviving the cold season...I guess we'll have to see what ol' Punxsutawney Phil has to say about winter on Saturday!

A New Year is Upon Us

Happy New Year...or should I say Happy 4th day of the New Year? As the new year begins, I can't help but reflect on the one that has just passed. I look at how my life has changed professionally and personally. Last year, I joined my district's report card committee which required countless after-school meetings and led to the standards-based report cards we started using this past fall.

I also became a member of my campus-based Texas Literacy Initiative Grant committee which necessitated a two-night stay in Houston and a two-day conference in Dallas. Being a part of this group still requires weekly data meetings.

And, I'll admit, when August rolled around, it was a difficult start to the school year in the classroom. I became overwhelmed and discouraged as I seemed to be putting all my time and energy into school with little reward. I started working late and skipping my evening workouts (from exhaustion and simply doing more school-related work at night). I started working on Saturdays (yes, my friend, I was in my classroom six days a week). I thought if I just gave more time then everything would fall into place. How was that workin' for me, you ask? Well, it wasn't.

I cried...I used my outside voice inside my classroom on too many occasions...I tried just about every kind of flavored water from the nearest Walmart...then it hit me. Just as you would raise your children and try to keep a balance in your life, the amount of time you have to give is not as valuable as the quality of time. My students did not want a tired teacher, and they were not intentionally not learning. They just needed more quality time. A more patient teacher. And, I needed more quality time. Away from school.

So, I began working out again. I wasn't new to working out...I've had gym memberships and have used exercise DVDs for years. And, I was, after all, housing an elliptical machine for a family member...why not actually use it? I did enjoy the Yogalosphy video workout from Mandy Ingber that I purchased not so long ago, so why not do that again? And a new pair of shoes was just enough to reignite me once again...

Nike Free Run shoes

So, I started working out on the elliptical machine for 20 minutes...anybody can get through 20 minutes, right? That's only about 7-8 songs on my iPod. I began using the yoga DVD again...maybe not all the reps and maybe taking more breaks in child's pose than Mandy...but, who was watching? I've learned that after about 2-3 days in a row of working out, your body actually looks forward to working out the next time...yoga helped clear my mind, because it's impossible to think of your 20 kiddos while doing a plank and your legs are shaking and you've told yourself that you're going to go longer than you did last time...only you can't remember how long you did last time, so you're trying to keep up with Mandy. Believe, me, my school was the furthest thing from my mind.

And you know what happened? Not overnight, but slowly, my patience returned. I began laughing again when my students would ask me for the 37th time what they were supposed to do...I stopped taking work home in the evenings...and I stopped working on Saturdays...that became my yoga day. So, now, I am working out for an hour...yep, I said an hour on the elliptical three days a week and doing yoga once a week. It is amazing how well you sleep after working all day with firsties and working out in the evenings for an hour.

This leads me to the New Year...I don't think it's all about making great changes or starting something that you've never thought about doing before. I think it's about making little changes and pushing yourself further...just past the point that you're already comfortable with (Mandy gives not only a great workout, but great advice on her DVD, as well). For me, that's working towards running my very first 5K on January 12th. And, not just any 5K, but the one that is just for women and girls...and has a cute name...

Jiggle Butt Run 2013

Yes, there will be some jiggle...but, I expect their to be laughter, smiles, and cheers as well. So, if you're in the area, join me...or think about how you can push yourself just a little further...I know we'll accomplish great things this year.

For those of you that have read to the end, I appreciate you sticking with me...and I'd like to share some entertainment that my daughter and I got to witness on our New Year's Eve night...courtesy of our waiter at the Magic Time Machine.

The Devil breathing fire

Enjoy what's left of your winter break, and here's to a amazing start to 2013!

Prayers

Magical Product Swap

Hey friends...let's hear it for three-day weekends!! But, alas, this post is not about me...it's all about the Magical Product Swap hosted by the wonderful Jessica, from Mrs. Stanford's Class!

I want to tell you about Kristen, a fellow first grade teacher in Texas, and her fabulous blog:

I got the chance to review her amazing Spooktacular Math and Literacy Activities packet:

Not only is this huge packet (over 100 pages, people!!) simply adorable, it is full of content-rich math and literacy activities that will easily take you through the month of October (and beyond). The games and activities are student-friendly and elicited many oohs and aahs from my kiddos! Here is just a sample of the activities that my firsties enjoyed this past week:

If your firsties are like mine, they use "good" waaaay too much. Well, Kristen has a great literacy idea using a bubble map for using "good" describing words for Halloween-themed cookies.

working hard at their tables

share time between friends

almost done!

The above translation: "The cookie is delicious, the pumpkin has ice cream on the bottom, the cookie has frosting, sometimes it tastes like chocolate, it tastes like vanilla, (which explains the previous description), and on top it tastes like chocolate." My students then used their bubble map plan to write a story:

My kiddo wrote: "The pumpkin cookie burned my tongue. It was so hot. I had to wait. Finally, it started to get warm. And then it was good with the chocolate and the vanilla with the blueberries. They have triangle (eyes)." Not too shabby for six weeks into the school year using a great writing activity!

Next, we worked on patterns. What I liked was that Kristen included multiple pages for this activity which allowed for differentiation for my students. Some of my kiddos that still needed support with patterns used this page:

My kiddos that were able to create their own patterns on their own (from the cute graphics included on the bottom of the page), used this page:

We also did a cute noun sort...my kiddos loved that Kristen included the names Justin and Miley as pictured below...(I didn't realize my camera didn't get the shot from my chart stand)...

You can get this on sale this weekend! Check out Kristen's other amazing products at her store.

Kristen blogged about my first paid product Differentiated Number Building Using Number Scrolls which is also on sale this weekend! Here's a preview:

I hope you find some great products and new blogs in the swap! Thanks for stopping by!