Teachers Notebook

It's pretty cool how I can go higher than 20%, so I'm being brave and trying out 25% at my brand new shop over at Teachers Notebook.  It's just this weekend only and I'm still in the process of uploading all the products over there.  I added the widget to the side of the blog right under the TPT one.  Please follow me over there as well and check back to see what's new.  :)

In other news... my toddler is almost 3 this coming Tuesday.  My husband set up one of his gifts early (so he will actually have time to play with it before our new crazy weekday routine starts this week).

Isn't he adorable!?!

I love my family!

Read More

Blah, My Week, and ELA Review Penguins

After days of not missing a day to post, I am just feeling rather blah.
I'm worn out after this week.  
I was only at school for 4 days.
Out of those 4 days I was only in my classroom for 3 days due to meetings and a sick son.  
Charity (The Organized Classroom Blog) had a fun 9 syllable game over on Facebook tonight - describe your week.  My response was "4 referrals, 3 meetings, puked on."
I also forgot to take pictures of all the stuff that we did accomplish (Positive/Negative Number Football Fields, Plotting Points on Graphs, Mission Projects, etc).
I promise this weekend and next week I will get my act together again - so many linky parties that I want to join and share.  
I quickly wanted to share that I changed up my Mid Year ELA Review to be with the cute penguin clip art that I LOVE.  I seriously don't know what I'm going to do when penguin season/Valentines/February is over - I will miss it so much!

Click above to go to TPT to check it out.

Yeah, this one also has definition cards and an answer key.  

:)  Hope you had a wonderful day!

    

Read More

Superbowl Long Division

The end of the trimester is quickly approaching in 2 weeks, which means reviewing major math concepts and retesting those couple of kids that have just not gotten it before it's report card time.
Since Superbowl is right around the corner and my kids are so excited about it, I made up these 32 task cards that will review the process of long division.  Click the picture to go check it out from TPT.  

I know my 4th graders can figure out remainders (most of my other products have remainders on them), but what I didn't have was regular long division.  I wanted to review the steps.   

 Of course there is also an answer key because I love my answer keys to make things into self checking centers after the initial Scoot game.

I'm looking for other Superbowl activities to do with my kiddos.  I found some awesome things over on TPT but would like your opinions too.  Any things that would make Friday, February 1st a super special day in the classroom?  Since it's our area team maybe I should head to the party supply store to pick up some team items.    

Thank in advance for your ideas!

Read More

Thank You

This is just going to be a short, sweet, to the point type of post.  
I'm thankful for you.
Thank you for letting me blah it all out... I think it helps to lower my blood pressure every afternoon.  I really need to lower my blood pressure.
What did I do today? 
*We wrote to our pen pals this morning. 
*We created football fields and identified positive and negative numbers.  I'll take a picture of mine tomorrow.  The kids are SO EXCITED our team is heading to the Superbowl.      
*I had to teach the vocabulary words - amputation and gored.  I even used pictures and I did not puke.
*We played Scoot with my Mid Year ELA Review Task Cards and afterwards the kids used our Beyond Question clickers to show their answers.  They have remembered more than I give them credit for.
*I attended a SST meeting and am so happy that the child will get the help he/she needs. 
Then I went home and... 
*Set up a meeting tomorrow to sign an addendum to my son's IEP to include bussing.
*Called bussing and they answered my confusing questions like, "How do you make a 3 year old actually sit on the bus?"  They have car seat straps just like his own car seat...
*Went and met his brand new daycare lady and picked up the paperwork to fill out.
*Set up a time with his brand new preschool teacher to have a meet and greet early next week before he begins services.   
*Found out that my middle son does not have ADHD after all.
*Had to run to the grocery store for much needed supplies in which I got a emergency phone call from hubby telling me that his work was calling him in to save the world.
*Now I'm sitting down to just blah it out there and I really am thankful for you.
On a happier note we have picked up the final presents for our almost 3 year old.  He has awesome grandparents that have chosen these items for his special gifts next Tuesday.  

  
I'm so excited for him!!!  I can't believe my baby is almost 3...  Where did the time go?
Hope you had a wonderful day that hopefully wasn't as overwhelming as mine.  

Read More

A Day Off and ELA Review

Today we are off of school, yet I am still doing school work...or I should be doing school work...
Isn't that always the case?
This morning we headed to the mini zoo nearby - complete with a fun ride zone.  I just wish it was a little warmer than 35 degrees.  Maybe I just wish I had worn my heavy coat and gloves and scarf... but alas I didn't and my digits were cold.  I was more than a little jealous of the birds having the heat lamps in their areas.  Yes, I understand there are people in our great nation that live in freezing temperatures all winter, but this California girl likes her 50-70 degree winter weather. 
Came home, ate lunch, and have been emailing people trying to add transportation onto my son's IEP.  Of course if I'm out of school today, they are also out of school...
Tonight we will celebrate my little sister's birthday with a steak dinner with all the fixings!  I'm looking forward to having the occasional piece of birthday cake.
Yes, this weekend has been lovely....
Yesterday I worked on this (as my husband was cheering on the 49ers).

  32 task cards reviewing Types of Sentences, Subject and Predicates, Common and Proper Nouns, Subject and Object Pronouns, Verb Tenses, and Helping and Linking Verbs.  You know, all the areas that confuse the kiddos. 

 Then after I made up the 32 task cards I figured that I should make up definition cards too.  So I typed up these 17 cards.  

 Then I switched things around in my plan book to use it this coming Tuesday afternoon as I'm avoiding moving on in Social Studies (since our Mission Reports are coming in the next day).  After the holiday the kiddos will most likely need to stretch their legs by the afternoon and it will nice to Scoot...  

Of course I added an answer key because I'm all about turning this into a self checking center later on.  

 I guess I've procrastinated enough and it's time to go grade those Friday assessments.  I hope you have a marvelous day!

Read More

Saturday Show Off

I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with tons of family fun.  
This morning we are heading to the boys' first Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.  I don't know exactly what it will entail, but I will be the one that will be running after our 2 year old.
I wanted to do a quick post to show you the things that I've added to the little store this past week.  Maybe it will help someone, maybe it won't.  

Just click any of the links above to go and check them out.  :)

Have fun and be safe!

Read More

Technology Central!!

I think this is what an ulcer might feel like. My stress levels are out the roof and I'm considering running away. You see my husband received a promotion on his first day at a new job. That was this past Tuesday... Tuesday seems forever ago... Anyhow he was bumped up from 20 hours to 40 and became station manager... So basically a ton of responsibility.  It's a great opportunity. I just have no clue about where our almost 3 year old will be watched in the mornings / by whom / where??? So many questions and right now no answers. So 2 nights ago my stomach started rolling and I thought I has the flu... Then it came back the next morning and I wrote last minute sub plans and left school around 10 when the sub came... I'm a planner and its driving me nuts not knowing who to trust to send my baby to.
In other news...I've reached the point in the classroom that I can trust my students using all the different gadgets.  It's been a process..  
I wanted to make sure that all my students were having a chance to utilize the different things, so I repurposed my laminated calendar.  I changed up my calendar to just a regular calendar (since I don't need much room to write the different due dates/reminders) -  plus this allows me to NOT have to rewrite the calendar numbers every month.  My calendar now happens to be an extra Lego one since Santa brought one to my own boys and they didn't need the one that I had picked up from Scholastic.  

My other calendar (that has been on my wall) has turned into technology central on the side of my file cabinet.  
Students need to just write their number in the corresponding square for the different areas as they have a turn.  Technology time seems to be happening mainly during silent reading time - those 30 minutes that everyone is quiet and focused.  Students can use the MP3 players with their ear buds, they do an AR test or IXL on the computer or Kindle Fire, or they can talk into the microphones for a page and then plug their ear buds into the microphone to listen to themselves read.
I am thankful that I figured out a way that could easily tell me who is avoiding doing a turn.  Now I just have to keep modeling how to fill in the chart (picture taken on Tuesday when we had been in the computer lab).  My classroom helpers will wipe this off on Friday afternoons when we all pitch in to get ready for the next week.  
Hope this helps someone!

Read More