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Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day - Train Ride!


Well of course we had to take our little engineer on a Memorial Day train excursion to the Train Museum.  Here he is being a ham.


It was a treat to see him enjoy himself so much.  I even ran into one of my students and his family.  My student was so gentle and kind to my son.  I think we might have been there all day if we didn't have to go get a bite to eat and visit grandma.


Only three more days with my students. We will be going to the park tomorrow and coming back to school for  a pizza lunch birthday party for a student.  We will be doing some of clean up and finish reading A Little Princess.  They are enjoying reading and discussing the characters.  I am hoping to get the movie so they can compare it.

The clean up consists of some fun with saving cream.


I will have my students write a little note to put in next year's students' pencil pouches.  I'll use die cut stars.  They can just give them a little note of encouragement on their new year.  


I still need to put together their summer gifts.  I'll be giving them a summer packet:


Also, I'll be making these for the students to include with my gift of the summer packet.  They might not find the packet to be much of a gift but I'm still presenting it that way.  :) 



Thank you Teri, from A Cupcake for the Teacher, for the inspiration and freebie!  











Summer Reading

Join the linky party and the contest over at The Clutter-Free Classroom!


This summer I'll have some down time on my hands since I'll be recovering from a surgery late in June.  I will keep myself busy blog stalking and hopefully posting, but I will also be reading.  I ordered Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey.  


I have yet to receive it but I hope to do a book study with the blogger who recommended it, Heather at Heather's Heart, if she does choose to have one. She has posted some information about it on her blog. So check it out.



Heather's heart

This year was a tough year with the make up of my class.  I tried some great units and activities on character building and team building but for some reason I couldn't get a loving and caring environment to develop in the classroom.  My hope is that reading this book and putting some of the ideas into practice will help create that kind of environment, no matter what the make up of my class is.

Also, I plan to read more about Autism to better understand my son's world and diagnosis.  I'll be picking this book up. 



If anyone has any other suggestions on books on autism please let me know.  I have heard great things about this one.  

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Giving it a Try!

I just submitted a project to donorschoose.org for gift certificates for Teachers Pay Teachers.  Has anyone tried this?


Be No. 1... Give to Public Schools in Need! - Go to DonorsChoose.org
I figure what I really need right now is to have some funds to purchase items on my teachers pay teachers wish list. As teachers normally do I have had to look everywhere to find materials or adapt the out dated ones to Common Core. Our school district has yet to purchase any new material that is completely aligned with the standards.
So here I am trying to be proactive and possibly not spend any more of my pay check on curriculum materials (yeah right). I'd like to hear if you have tried this and if you were successful. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Friday, May 18, 2012

Learning is Something to Treasure: Time for My 1st Giveaway...


Lisa at Learning is Something to Treasure is having her First Giveaway!  She is giving away 2 $25 gift certificates to Teacher Pay Teachers!  Be sure to check it out!

I know I could use one of these!

End of the Year Gift Linky Party

Courtney at Swimming Into Second is having a fabulous linky party and I thought I would join in.




The best end of the year gift I ever received was from the last room mom I had (which was years ago). It was very similar to the one pictured. I got a awesome tote bag, sunscreen, flip flops, a beach towel and a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.
Source: http://junkintheirtrunk.blogspot.com 


 I have made Smore Baskets like the one pictured for my volunteers (I haven't had to many of those lately either).  These are super easy to make and not to hard on the wallet.  
Source: http://oneelevenalmondtree.com


This year I plan to give my students a cute water bottle with some awesome kool-aid.   I would love to add a book to it.  
Source: http://www.bjanebrewing.com



Giveaway at Learning in Spain!

She is giving away a $25 gift certificate to Teachers Pay Teachers! I know I could use it to gear up for next year.
I am finally nearing 200 followers so I will need to gear up for a giveaway soon.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Teaching Channel - More Inspiration



I don't know about you but teacher "blogland" has really been my Professional Development aside from getting my Masters last year. With budget cuts you can no longer go to conferences. I think the last one I went to was over six years ago. Oh of course you can still attend them but you will have to fund them out of your pocket. I was really happy to come across the Teaching Channel. If you are not already familiar go to their site and join for free. You can receive short videos on topics you are interested in.  

These are wonderful since you are able to see a classroom in action and fabulous teachers sharing their ideas.  Since I can't go to a weekend conference I have to do the best next thing.  I love this video since I can totally use this wonderful game with my students.

I just love that teachers are being so resourceful and are always willing to share.  Try and play the Trash Can game and 101 and Out,  (Place Value) and see if you kids love it too!



You can also get quick tips. Instead of using Popsicle sticks check out the index cards, my kids have loved it.

Monday, May 14, 2012

And Another One Bites The Dust... Linky Party!

And Another One Bites The Dust... I'm so grateful for these linky parties! They are giving me a chance to reflect on this year.

The Great of My Year:

1.Daily 5- Although I did not implement it like it should have been, I'm glad I tried it. Next year I will have to use the scripted program we are getting and at least I was able to try out "the sisters" way of reading.


2. Technology - It was a blast this year to use several applications/program in the classroom. Thank you to all of you wonderful bloggers for giving me a heads up on these.




The Not So Great of My Year:

1.  Inclusion-  This year it wasn't what it was suppose to be.  I didn't have the students as part of my class for the whole day.  It wasn't a co-teach situation as it should be.  I really felt it could have been more productive and rewarding if it was set up correctly.  I did my best.

  
2. Organization-  What's that?  I try every year to get organized and tidy.  I did a great job one year but then  I had to shuffle on off to another school and went back to my old ways.  My problem is that there is not a home for everything.  I have the materials but have yet to find that 25th hour of the day to implement my organization.  More excuses I know.

I need to practice what I preach (say)  to my students.  

Join the Linky Party over at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher

Alphabet Songs

Guess who is hosting a wonderful freebie? Have Fun Teaching is! I have used the Alphabet Songs with my emergent readers as a review as we begin our reading groups. The students love to show that they have mastered their knowledge of the alphabet by moving and grooving to the music and videos. The songs and videos are so wonderful I will be using them with my toddler this summer. Here is one of the wonderful songs/videos for you to check out if you haven't already!
Have Fun Teaching is giving this freebie out if you have a blog to share it on. If you don't you can still get a great deal on the video downloads. Check it out!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Drive To Work Music Linky Party

Fern, from Fern's Smith's Classroom Ideas, is having a linky party!
This is a picture of my dream car.
I actually drive a rust bucket mini-van, it sorta looks like the picture below. I'm glad it is still running and getting me from point a to point b. I need to look into opening a TpT store so I can get some extra cash to start a car fund.
Before my move to Nevada, I was living in the East Bay and commuting an hour to my school. This is the radio station that kept me sane on my commute. I loved their morning show with Sara and Vinnie. I would be so bummed when I got into the town my school was in since the reception would start to go out. We have an Alice radio station but of course it isn't the same without the Bay Area DJs.
Now since my commute is very short I just listen to what is on the radio. If I had that crazy commute again or any in the future I would look into getting one of these to go with the dream car.

Friday, May 11, 2012

My Summer Bucket List! Linky Party ~ Hadar, April and Teri are having a linky party!
1. I would love to finally make my library organized and user friendly. I'll have the tools for the project after the school year starts but I can begin to sort and level all the books this summer. Here are a wonderful Pinterest idea.
2. I have a rocking chair waiting to be painted and made classroom ready since last summer. My hope is that I can work on it and have it ready to go in the Fall.
3. I must organize my files. I have the materials to do it, I just never seem to have the time to get it done.
4. I'll also being doing a lot of playing with my little boy. I have already made him a water sensory tub, he loves it.
It looks like this one from Etsy. I'll also be looking on TpT and the many blogs out there for early learner activities.
5. Also some summer reading. This year was a bit tough since some of the students found it difficult to be caring and respectful towards each other and I thought that this book might help with next year's class.
6. My hope is that my husband and I can relax, enjoy our family and last but not least recover from surgery. He will be having some dental work and I'll be going under the knife.
7. While enjoying bed rest I hope to get acquainted with my blog and making some freebies. It was pretty great to get nominated for fascinating teaching blog, considering I have been away too long. I actually couldn't remember the post,Team Building Ideas, that got me the nomination and so it has reminded me I have a lot to share. I just need to make time to share it.
Accelerated Degree Programs
Remember voting starts on May 14th.