June Currently

I’m thrilled to be linking up with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade (it’s been way too long). I’ve been terrible about keeping up my blog.

I’ve been watching the Finals with my husband. I’ve kind of become a freak about basketball thanks to my husband.

I’m so happy I can finally relax! If you read my last post or follow on IG, you might have heard that Friday was my last day. As sad as I was to leave I’m glad I can finally breathe and be normal.

Next year, is going to be so different as I navigate a new school and grade level. It was my idea to move to first, but I’m still a little scared now it’s going to become a reality. I already have some summer PD lined up though. My biggest concern is literacy since there seems to be more of a focus on decoding, rather than reading comprehension. Of course, I have had plenty of experience working with students in the same range. I have to remind myself that I’m only moving one grade level and not to worry. Sometimes, I worry too much and second-guess my abilities.

I would love to organize all the stuff I brought home with me! Holy cow! I put everything in my teacher room and it is jam-packed. So much for putting that room together this summer! I’m hoping to organize the boxes so I can move around in there at least. All of my crafting and Smashbook goodies are in there.

I’m headed to the TpT conference next month!! Are you going? I really need to book a room before everything fills up. I did book my first Cirque du soleil show though! Super excited! What are your favorite things to do in Vegas?

#1 I can finally get to work on my summer bucket list! Hooray! Teaching is definitely my passion. During the school year I pretty much dedicate myself to my profession. Of course, there is good and bad in this. I really neglect my home, so it sure needs me during the summer. We built our home and moved into it 2 ½ years ago, yet we have no photos up. Yikes! I always joke that it could be anyone’s home because of how few pictures there are around the house. My goal is to put up a gallery wall in the entryway full of pictures and artwork that we have. I hope I can fill it up (it’s a long hallway). #2 I would love to read a good book for leisure. This NEVER happens during the school year. I can never seem to find enough time. Perhaps Divergent or Legend. Do you read during the school year? Do you read during the school year? If so, how do you fit it into your schedule? #3 Again, since I’m moving to first I would like to look over the curriculum get some planning done this summer. That’ll help ease some of the butterflies.

Stay tuned! I’ll keep you posted on my progress. ^_^

Five for Friday on Saturday

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share my last week of school. It was truly bittersweet as I said goodbye, packed up my room, and turned off the lights. 

The end of this week was so hard as I packed up my room and prepared to say goodbye to my school. I'm staying in my district, but will be moving across town to a new school. I've taught the same grade in the same classroom for the past 4 years. It was so hard to tell my former students goodbye. My school has been my second home and the people there have become my family. 

Katie & Carrie on Wacky Wednesday.

We love dressing up at my school. So of course, we had dress-up days for the last week of school. I forgot to take pictures some of the days. Oops! I'm terrible about taking photos. I did get a few here and there. 

My teacher BFF Carrie and i decided to dress up for Wacky Wednesday at the last minute. Thanks to our friend Katie, who talked us into joining her. Holy Cow! When Carrie showed up we knew she'd won! Mismatched shoes, helmet and men's shorts?! No one could top that! 

I worked on my End of the Year slide show all week and finished it just in time for the last day, I love how it turned out. It was my first time using iMovie. I sort of had to play with the program and there were a few moments when I didn't know what I had pressed and was freaking out trying to get back to a previous screen. 

I'm used to Powerpoint, but i loved being able to easily edit/add music. Perhaps, I'll work on getting a basic tutorial up. I love sharing techie tips.

 

Friday was our last day and we spent some of our time sharing our Memory Books with each other. My students really wanted to share them whole-class, but we only had time for a few. Our last day is always a minimum day and time sure flies.

We also played some fun Minute-to-Win It games. My kiddos were pumped when I announced we'd be playing GIRLS VS. BOYS. They were chanting and cheering. It was such a fun way to spend our last day together. I plan to make this a tradition. I found some fun and easy ideas at Craftibilities & Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits. 

The last day was one of the hardest days as it really hit me that I wouldn't be returning. It was the worst having some of my former kiddos saying "Don't go!" and one sobbing in my arms at the end of the day. I hope i'm able to visit during lunch some time (we do have an hour). I hope to keep in touch, but also make connections with the students and staff at my new school. 

Well friends, enjoy the rest of your weekend. I think I'm ready to stop boo-hooing and start enjoying my summer. 

Hello SLANT box!

I'm so excited to share about my first SLANT box. It's fantastic! First, I made two new friends! Noelle from Giggles at Greene and Holly from Finding My Everyday Happy are both super sweet. I got a fabulous box from Noelle that was themed after the book that she sent.

Noelle was privy to some interesting information... I'm moving to 1st grade! After teaching 2nd grade for 4 years, I'm excited to try something new. A little nervous of course, because I know they aren't always as independent as 2nd graders. However, I'm ready for a change. I'm staying in the same district, but moving schools. I can't believe how much schtuff I've accumulated in such a short period of time. Packing is NOT fun.

Noelle was so thoughtful and chose Junie B. First Grader at Last. How fitting! I love the series and can't wait to share them with my firsties next year.

Noelle painted this adorable canvas. I am obsessed with it! It even matches my blog color scheme (my fave colors). I can't wait to put it up. It's the first teachery thing I've ever gotten with my name on it. GASP!

She also sent some glitter!! Sparkles! I broke this out for our Mother's Day craft (might have seen this on Instagram if you follow me there). 

I love the stickers she sent as well because I love Smashing (similar to scrapbooking). This is my favorite thing to do during vacation time. I turn my kitchen table into a big mess.

I truly enjoyed this experience. If you're interested in connecting with other teachers you should sign up! You sign up a month at a time, which is convenient. Visit Lessons with Coffee for more details.

I'm off to bed now. There's still much packing to do tomorrow.

FANTASTIC Favorites Memory Book

I’m happy to announce that I’ve completed my Memory Book update! I have 14 more days of school, but I realize many of you are already wrapping up the school year. So, I hope you still have time to use this in your own classroom.

Last year, I thought of a great way to collect and record student’s 2^nd grade memories. Each student was given a cover that I printed on colored card stock (pink, yellow, and green). I personalized the cover by writing their names on them. Then, we completed one page at a time. I would introduce the topic and the class would have a discussion in order to gather ideas. Then, my students completed the pages independently AND quietly. I was so happy to see them completely into their writing and drawings.

Once all the pages were completed, I collected them and stapled them together. I’m hoping to bind them this year (since it’s not such a last minute creation). 

I'm super excited about the new Melonheadz clipart and additional favorites: brain break, lunch, and dress up day + MORE. Both memory books are up in my store. Click {HERE} to check them out! I'll give away a copy for free to the first 2 friends to leave a comment with an email address. 

How many more days of school do you have left?

May the 4th Be With You

I'm keeping it short and sweet today friends. My Number Posters are on sale! If you print multiple to a page they can be used like flash cards! Click {HERE} for a fantastic tutorial posted by First Grade Fever. She shares step-by-step instructions for printing multiple cards per page.

Happy Sunday!

Take Home Math Kits Review

I’m so excited to share about Casey’s Take Home Math Kits! Click {HERE} to visit her blog.I chose to share these with a small group of students who needed additional math practice (for trial purposed). My students were excited when I gave them the scoop and explained that they would be taking math games home. What?! They couldn’t believe I was going to let them take games home. BEST TEACHER EVER!! So, of course they permission slips came back quickly. I was able to get the games out right away! I decided to send the games home on Monday and have students return them on Thursday. It gives me time to sort through the games and ensure that they are ready to be sent home with a different student on Monday. I love that the kit includes a letter that explains the process.

The skill level of the activities range from first to second grade, so I chose to use activities that matched some of the concepts we recently worked on. Some of the concepts included money, measurement, and arrays. I allowed my students to choose a game on their own. In the future I think I might just assign the game depending on the student’s need. It was easy to prep the games. I did choose to laminate them for durability and placed them in envelopes. I briefly reviewed the games and explained that the directions and materials were included in the envelope.

Measuring Down on the Farm was one of the first games to be snatched up because we have just started working on measuring with a ruler. Special Shapes was another game that was quickly selected. My students love writing with Expo markers. All I had to do was laminate the cards, so that students could write directly on them. My kiddos were thrilled when they returned the games and were already asking when they could checkout a new game. 

You'll have to check out the Take Home Math Kits for yourself. These are only a few of the games that you can find included. There are PLENTY of 1st and 2nd grade games for you to choose from.

Wordless Wednesday - Scoot

I'm linking up with Sugar and Spice to share a photo I had to snap today. 

Please excuse the blurry photo. Can you tell I snapped it quickly? 

Clearly my students love Scoot! During literacy centers I noticed that this group had arranged the Irregular Past Tense Verb cards on the carpet and were playing Scoot. "Scoot!" The previous group had simply answered the questions one by one. Do your students ever recreate or play your games at other times of the day?