So Close...

Congrats to you guys who have already started your summer!  Only 2 and a half days left for us! I think I can, I think I can... Actually, these last few days are just fun days. Monday we have movie day and a math bee in the afternoon, Tuesday is Game Day (kids bring board games from home and we play all morning - well, they play while I clean up, lol) and Water Day, then the half day on Wednesday is just a clean up and get ready for summer day. I just finished my report cards and I've got the gifts ready for my son's teachers. I always try to find an unusual or personal gift for the teachers. This year, I made A to Z baskets for each teacher (he has 2). I started buying little items for the baskets a couple of weeks ago and I'm really pleased with how they turned out:

I got the idea from Pinterest (where else?)!  Here are the things I used for each letter:

A - apple

B - banana

C - homemade cookies

D - diet coke

E - eye shadow

F - folders

G - granola bar

H - Hershey bar

I - index cards

J - juice

K - kleenex

L - lotion

M - M&M's

N - nail polish

O - orange

P - post-its

Q - Quaker cereal bar

R - rainbow pencils

S - Skittles

T - Tic Tacs

U - University bumper sticker (for their favorite college team)

V - votive candle

W - spring water

X - Extra gum

Y - yellow highlighters

Z - "zigzag" (chevron) mini notebook

These were a lot of fun to put together.  I just put all the objects in a $1 summer colored bowl from Wal-Mart.  I had some alphabet stickers that I used to put on each item.  

The next time I post, I'll be free for the summer!

Five for Friday

I'm never on the ball to link up with these weekly linky parties, but this week look at me!  I did it!

 

 

 

I've been repeating this to myself a lot over the last few weeks.  We have 12 days left.  I have to admit, this year has been ROUGH!  So many changes - we switched to Common Core Standards, we got a new report card, we switched to a standards based grading system, we got new reading and writing curriculum, we departmentalized for the first time, we lost a teacher, and we just found out our principal is leaving as well.   Even though it's been such a tough year and I've been counting the days since spring break, there's still a touch of sadness at the end of every year.  Maybe it's just because (even though some of them drive me cuh-ra-zy) I've really gotten to know them and it's hard to see them go, or maybe it's the fact that I sit and think (for some of them), "If only I had a little more time, they might be able to catch up".  I get really reflective this time of year and try to figure out what I could have done differently to make an impact with those struggling learners.  Anybody with me on this one?

 We were enjoying the weather today at recess time, and I snapped some photos to use in their memory books.

 

 Tonight was our annual Night Under the Lights track meet for our elementary school kiddos.  It's not a competitive event (everybody gets a ribbon if they run), but the kids think it's a big deal because they get to run on the high school track!  My son has been talking about it since January, lol!

 

We've been doing math journals all year.  Last week, I was starting to get discouraged.  I guess it was just one of those weeks when the kids seemed to have all of their brains ooze out of their ears. Then, this week, I did the problem you see in the pictures above.  What I love about these journal entries is that each person solved the problem in his/her own way and they are all different, but they are all correct.  It's these moments when you see that they are getting it that make it all worthwhile!

This is completely not teaching related (unless you count it as a mental health break which every teacher needs this time of year).

I'm in charge of our ladies ministry at church and tomorrow we are taking some donations to our local Fisher House

For those of you who don't know about Fisher House, here's a blurb from their website:

"For members of our Armed Forces, retirees, veterans, and their families, the Fisher House program offers shelter and support during a medical crisis. Fisher Houses offer a comforting "home away from home" while a loved one is receiving care in an unfamiliar environment. This special support is even more important to a family during the most stressful time – the hospitalization of a wounded or injured service member involved in military operations like Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom."  It's like a Ronald McDonald house for families of wounded warriors. 


After that, we are headed out to lunch and then to the movies to see Mom's Night Out.

 

This movie looks so funny I can't wait!  Have any of you seen it yet?

Spring has Sprung!

Spring has definitely sprung here in Florida (although today is cool and rainy), and it's about to spring up in our classroom.  We are beginning our unit on plants this week.  Usually with this unit, I buy small pots or cups for the kiddos to plant seeds in.  We plant flower seeds and most of them get to take home a small flower after a couple of weeks.  This year, I thought it might be nicer to plant some flowers outside our classroom and brighten up our campus.  Hopefully the kids have a greener thumb than I do!  I know the kids will be super excited to get outside and plant the seeds and since they get so crazy as we get close to the end of the year, I might be able to use tending the garden as a reward for those who have good behavior.  I'll be sure to post some pictures next week once we plant our flowers.  Until then, I made this KWL chart to kick off our study.  You can find it on Google docs here or in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop here:

 

I hope this is something you can use!  Have a great week!

The Countdown Has Begun!

24 days and counting!  We started this countdown bulletin board when we had 40 days left!  

 You can find the pin here.
Each day we pull off a petal.  I have one little girl who, when I pull off the petal each day says, "I am soooo sad!"  It's so sweet!

When we get down to 15 days left, we start playing the "What's Missing?" game.  The kids think this is the best game ever and I get to start taking things down and putting them away.  Basically, you just take one item, bulletin board piece,etc. each day and put it away.  When the kids come in in the morning, the first one that can tell you what's missing gets a piece of candy!

Next week, we start our plant unit.  Although I personally have a black thumb and can't really grow anything...I love this unit!  So how about you?  When do you get out and what are your favorite units to do?

Easter Fun

We had a very busy Easter week last week in our classroom.  Although it was a short week, we managed to squeeze in 2 field trips and lots of fun Easter centers. Here are some photos:

 One of our centers was sorting numbers on eggs into even and odd baskets.  This came from this freebie from Mrs. Leeby:

 

Click here to grab it!

We also used tens and ones to help us solve the number sentences in this center - Easter Egg Scoot!  I found this one here (yep, it's a freebie too)!

Now, because we had FCAT testing this week which meant we did not get our specials classes this week (YUCK!), we had some extra time on our hands.  So, we tried out our Adventure to Fitness account.

The kids had a great time with this and begged me to do another one.  If we get the chance, I will try to work this in whenever I can.  It was really so much fun!  Go here to check it out!

And yes, you heard me correctly - we had a 4 day week and took 2 field trips!  Both of them were walking field trips (living in a small town has it's advantages).  The first one was on Wednesday when we walked to the city park to hunt for Easter eggs.  Here are some pics:

We make our egg hunt a little more challenging than an average hunt.  Each child brings in 12 eggs filled with candy.  We then label the eggs to spell out "Happy Easter!".  The students have to find the eggs to spell out Happy Easter to complete the hunt.

 Then, we had a nice picnic lunch and the kiddos got to play at the park.

I also got to be a mom on Thursday and went on an egg hunt with my own little sweetie:

I hope your Easter was wonderfully blessed!

Currently - There's a Great Blog Hop and Giveaway Going On!

So, I apparently blinked and it's already April, and I realized that I have only posted about once a month (or two) instead of once a week like I promised myself in January.  Life has a way of getting in the way, huh? Oh well,  since it is April, here's my Currently...

Listening - Being in the middle of a whole house renovation, HGTV has become my new favorite channel.  I have already seen this episode of Property Brothers, so I'm watching Cops now!

Loving - the weather.  This time of the year is one of my favorites.  We can sleep with our windows open and I love waking up to the sound of the birds chirping.

Thinking - Why is it that the people in charge have no idea what's going on?  Here's the latest from the higher ups in our district.  Starting next year, we are required to implement one consecutive hour of professional development per week.  Which doesn't sound bad, until you factor in the rest of the order - "we cannot extend your hours and pay you to come in early or stay later for that hour.  We cannot change the time that the kids report for school or go home.  We cannot afford to pay subs once a week, and we cannot give the kids early release once a week to provide that hour."  So basically, we have to come in early or stay late with no pay.  Now, keep in mind, I ALWAYS come in early and stay late, but it's just getting a little out of hand..  "Find an extra hour in the day..."  SERIOUSLY????

Wanting - Ok, here's the renovation update.  All the cabinets in the kitchen, laundry room, and master bath are in.  The only thing left in the master bath is trim and crown molding.  We are getting everything put back in the cabinets now and in 2 more weeks we will be packing everything into a U-Haul truck so we can replace the floors throughout the house. 

Needing - SUMMER!  'Nuff said!

Last day and hours - I'm loving seeing what your hours and last days are.  Our district used to start at the beginning of August and we got out at Memorial Day which I loved.  There's something about Memorial Day kicking off the summer that just seems right.  And truthfully, by the beginning of August, I'm ready to go back to school. 

Now for the fun stuff!  I found this great blog hop and giveaway.  I really love these hops 'cause I find such great new (to me) blogs.  I found it at Rowdy in First Grade:

 

There are some great prizes up for grabs!  So, head on over and enter (or don't and I'll have better chances of winning)!

Currently I'm Having Blogger Problems While Renovating My House

Oh my goodness, y'all! I cannot believe it is already March (and I haven't blogged since January)! My daughter got a tablet for her birthday and she's using my google account. Apparently, at some point, my password had changed and I couldn't get into the account to post to my blog.  I finally had the time to sit down and get it straightened out, so here I am. 

GUESS WHAT!!!!  I was just scrolling through Pinterest today when all of a sudden I saw a pin that looked really familiar.  I about fell over.  Someone had actually pinned something from my blog!  I was so excited! 

Listening - Oh my goodness!  Have you ever watched Hoarders?  Ugh!  Now, my house has been in complete chaos since the new year began.  We are doing a whole house renovation.  But it is nothing compared to the houses on that show.  I know that teachers are pack rats (or at least some of us are), but I feel a little better after watching Hoarders.  I know that those people have a serious problem and I can't even imagine living like that. 

Loving - Our church is doing a whole church Bible study right now.  We are working through this book:

 

There is both a book and a workbook.  I read the book this summer and we are working through the workbook now.  My daughter is doing the student version in her youth group.  When my son saw that we were all doing this study, he wanted to join in, so I bought him the kids version and he's loving it!  If you have the chance, you should definitely try it!

Thinking - Is anyone else having the same problem?  For some of my students, it's like they don't know how to think.  I'm not trying to sound mean, but I'm just frustrated.  For example, we were working on this problem in my small group today: "Some cows were in the field.  6 more cows came into the field.  Now there are 13 cows in the field.  How many cows were in the field before?"  Keep in mind that we have been doing problems like this since around October.  So I ask them how we go about solving the problem.  They just sit there and stare into space.  Literally...not rereading the problem or drawing a picture or trying to figure it out...just staring.  After about 3-4 minutes, someone finally said "draw 6 cows".  Ok, that's a start.  So we do that.  Then, I ask them what else we knew about the cows in the field.  Again, the staring into space.   SIGH... After another 5 minutes, I had to tell them to read each sentence aloud.  After each sentence I asked, "Does that sentence tell us anything else about the cows?"  Finally, someone was able to tell me that there were 13 cows in all and that we needed to draw more cows so we had 13.  GREAT!!!!  Then, once they draw the rest of the cows, I ask how many were in the field before.  The answers I got were "14", "8", and just a blank stare.  I'm really at a loss...

Wanting - This one is self-explanatory, don'cha think?  Sorry to all of you still getting snow.  I feel for ya!

Needing - Yep, 'nuff said on this one too!

?????? - So, any guesses on what will happen in about 2 weeks?