Getting Ready for a Big Giveaway and a Hard Day

Do you ever go into work excited about the fun activities you have planned and then spend most of the day just dealing with issues and never getting around to those fun things?

It can be so tiring when you plan something that will be fun for you and the kiddos and the behavior or issues get in the way of being able to do those fun activities.

Any time you have a  first year with a grade or new school it can seem like so much work.  It can seem overwhelming.  I find myself feeling overwhelmed by all that needs to be accomplished by May.  God reminds me that I need to step back, breathe, and take time to see all that we have accomplished and all the growth my students have shown.

Sometimes the hardest part of being a teacher is the not having enough time to breathe and reflect.  Teaching is challenging and rewarding.  It is so much more fulfilling than many jobs, but it also can be so draining.  Sometimes we just have to take the time to recharge and fill back up.  Running around empty just makes a hard job harder.

Anyway, time for some Praise and Worship and maybe a bath or a book or both.

I am a couple days away from my one year blogiversary, as well as close to 500 followers.  I would like to plan a couple giveaways.  I need an honest opinion.  Do you prefer giveaways with donations by lots of bloggers or giveaways with gift cards?  I am trying to decide which way to go with my giveaway(s) and would like to know what would be preferred.  Thanks for the feedback.

Good night y'all,

Sumdog Math and...English!

I am joining up with Technology Tailgate's Techie Tuesday.

Have you ever used Sumdog?  It is amazing.  My students love it.  It allows them to do a spiral review of their Common Core Math skills in a fun, interactive way.  They get to play games against each other,  students across the world, and the computer.  I like it because we are doing spiral review, but I do not have to copy worksheets just for review (or grade it).  You can sign up and use Sumdog for free.  If you get a more premium membership, you get access to more reports and stuff.

Now, they have created Sumdog English.  We tried it out today.  They were very excited to practice their Language Arts skills as well.  If you sign up by the end of February, the cost is 75% off!  You can read more about Sumdog English here. Sumdog is one of the best resources for reinforcing the Common Core skills I have seen that is highly engaging.

Source: blog.sumdog.com via April on Pinterest

Last minute printable Valentines ("I think you're just write!")

So like usual I am doing things last minute.  I remembered as I wanted to get ready for bed I still needed to figure out my Valentines for my students.  I had done lots of Pinterest searching, but I had not yet done anything.

I was inspired by this Pin:

Source: ideabackpack.blogspot.com via April on Pinterest

I decided to make my own.  I think they came out cute.  I used a package of mechanical pencils I already had.



You can get a copy here (just in case you are last minute like me or want to get a head start on next year).

Cornell Notes Templates for Science - Freebie

Today I decided to face the fact that my student need help with note-taking.  I have put off dealing with it while we dealt with more pressing needs.  I decided to jump into note-taking today.  I quickly created some Cornell Notes forms in Microsoft Word and printed them out.  They worked well even though my students seemed a little overwhelmed by the process.  Note-taking is a vital study skill as students get older, and it will also help to deepen their comprehension.

I decided to come home and create some cuter forms though.  I decided I would rather have ones that look a little different for each subject. So today I have a freebie for you.  It includes Cornell Notes templates and writing paper for Science.  You can get it here through Dropbox or at my TpT store.

I also made some Writing Paper to encourage content writing in Science.  It includes a planning page with a web and paper that has a place to utilize the Writing Strategy RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic.)

I hope you find it useful.  I figure if we are going to use note-taking in multiple subjects the graphics will make it easier for them to distinguish which notes go with which classes. How do you take notes in class?

Some ideas for Valentine's Day

I have not had as much time to blog this week because it was my birthday.  I have had a fabulous week overall, which you can read about at my new personal blog called Balancing the Backpack.  I am really trying to work on balance this year, which includes eating better, exercising more, and trying to approach each day with gratitude and joy.

I really want to change things up a little bit this week with my students and do some fun stuff for Valentines.  I would really like to do some poetry as well.  I did not have as much time this weekend as I wanted to work on some Poetry activities or my Fractured Fairy Tale Unit.  I am hoping to have some more time tomorrow night.  In the meantime, I made some TpT purchases.

I purchased Jennifer Findley's Valentine's Math centers.  All of her stuff is fabulous.

I also purchased her Valentine's Reading Skills pack. I am going to use this, as well as hopefully some poetry stuff I hope to make.

Here is a link to some funny love/Valentine's poems on Giggle Poetry you could use this week with your students.

Here is a cute poem by Kenn Nesbitt called "Lunchbox Love Note" that I will read with my students this week. We will use it to review over the structure of a poem.

I will probably use some activities from Laura Candler's February packet.  I have used her Friendship Cinquain before so I will probably use that as one of our poems this week.

 

Source: teacherspayteachers.com via April on Pinterest

I still need to figure out a gift for my students for Valentine's Day. There are so many cute ideas on Pinterest. I am leaning toward this one with a pen or pencil. I may also bring some cookies because they were disappointed I did not bring a treat to share with them on my birthday.

Source: blog.bitsofeverything.com via April on Pinterest

What have you decided to give your students for Valentine's Day?

Freebie - Editable Handwriting Paper

I have about a million projects half started or swirling in my head.  Today, I have a quick and simple freebie for you.  I had a student come in for some testing, and I had to create a writing prompt for him.  He was younger, so I wanted to use handwriting paper.  I did not have any, so I made some.  Click here for your editable file of handwriting paper.

This is a Word document with handwriting lines in the document.  Because it is in Word, it is completely editable.  You can add whatever prompts you want.  I hope you are having a fabulous day, and you find this helpful.

Currently and a Sale

I always love Farley's Currentlies.  I believe we all do. 


Right now, I am currently too full from dinner and thinking I need to figure out what to do for my birthday in 6 days.  On the 7th, I turn 29.  I feel like I should do something fun and unique.  I am also leaning toward treating myself to a spa day next Saturday. I also need to start putting together my next big giveaway to celebrate my birthday and my blog's birthday.  Let me know if you would be interested in contributing.

Here is my Currently.

My puppy Nala is happy that we let her have her Rawhide chew for a bit, and one of my cats is mad I pulled up the bath rug because it needed to be washed.  He prefers to spend his evenings like this.



I have been going to hot yoga much more frequently, so I treated myself to an overpriced workout bag from Lululemon.  I love it!  It holds all my stuff for work, my work out clothes, and my water bottles.  It has a compartment for sweaty clothes after working out, a compartment for a laptop or iPad, and a separate shoe bag.



I went to dinner with my sister-in-law and had Olive Garden.  I ordered from the lighter entrees, but I still probably ate too much.  It was very good, though. Now, I am ready for some hot berry green tea.  My knees are hurting, so I will probably take some Glucosamine.  I have been exercising a lot more.  I have autoimmune stuff, so sometimes my body reacts with a lot of inflammation. I probably should try to cut out gluten, but I love bread.  It is so hard!

My pet peeves are when my students leave their backpacks and lunch boxes on the floor. Every morning before Math, I have to remind them to move the backpacks and lunch boxes to the cubbies in the hallway.  They forget every day. With the cooler weahter, the coats litter the floor as well.

I am so glad it is the weekend.  In the morning, I am going to try my first holy yoga class. I went to a holy yoga group event last weekend and loved it.

Like many others I will be having a sale on Sunday and Monday at my TpT store.

Last but not least, I just wanted to share that I got an email today that I was nominated as one of the Top 25 Elementary Blogs of 2012 by Top Masters in Education. This is my first award like this, so this made my day!

I feel very honored and am so appreciative of all of those who read and follow my blog. This is an amazing community of bloggers, and I feel regularly blessed to be part of this extended community. Have a fabulous weekend!