Saturday Snapshots...:)

I don't know about you, but I have been so swamped trying to keep up with everything at school this year. It is almost impossible! I barely have time to breathe it seems! I wanted to share just a few pix from the week though, so I'm linking up with Miss Nelson for Saturday Snapshots! 

Yesterday, I had my students draw themselves following a rule and breaking a rule. We have been talking about rules and why it is so important to follow them. I thought this would be a good activity for kinder. I asked them to try to write about their drawings too. Some of them did (although you really can't read it...lol). 

This one drew such cute pictures of her raising her and her friends sitting nicely on the rug for following the rules and her standing on the table for breaking a rule...lol!

I love this one....he wrote clean up for following the rules and hit a friend for breaking the rules.

This little sweetie just wrote about how she loves me...:) She is always bringing me things from home that she colors for me and they always say I luv Mrs. Vicky. So sweet...:) Looks like she was writing my name pyramid style too...LOL! Not too sure what the broken rule was.

I finally got two of my center rotation wheels made. The red and blue one is for reading centers, and the green and yellow is for imaginative play centers or fun centers as my kids call them. I still want to make one for math centers but I haven't started math centers yet. I still need to make headers for them too.

I placed them near my small group table so I can turn it at the end of each rotation.

I am also sharing the "book boxes" I made for my tables. These sturdy black cardboard boxes used to hold science materials with our National Geographic series. One of my team was throwing the boxes away and I rescued these boxes. I taped 4 together and voila...instant book boxes. A roll of duct tape was the only cost involved in making these. I am going to put the kids names on the sides of the boxes with velcro tabs soon. That way, I can move the name and leave the box since they are taped together.

Here is what they look like from the end. I think they are pretty nifty...especially for a freebie! I hope to share something more next week. 

So, today I had the best time with my family. My daughter, Miranda, came home to celebrate her birthday which is next week. We enjoyed our day together, along with my hubby, her boyfriend, my mom and dad, and my sister and her kids. My son already had plans to go to the Florida State game so he wasn't with us, but we still had a great day! Here are a few pix from the day!

So relaxing and so much fun! I was beyond ready for the weekend and so far it's been a great one...:)

Until next time, have a blessed Sunday and a wonderful new week!

Weekend Shopping Success!

So...I don't know how you spent your Saturday, but I spent mine with my hubby in Gainesville doing a little shopping! We had a fun day together....a delicious lunch at Red Robin, and then did some shopping. I went to Target, Michael's, Office Max, and Barnes & Noble.

All I bought at Target was the pack of Play-Doh and the rainbow alphabet stickers. It was crazy in there....I forgot fall classes start at University of Florida on Monday so there were families and college students out dorm and apartment shopping!!! CRAZY! My son is staying home to go to college so none of that for us, however, I do remember when we moved my daughter to Tallahassee to attend FSU and went through some of this craziness...LOL! Back on topic....I bought a 6 pack of Scotch tape at Office Max on sale for $9.99 and it came with a bonus hands free tape dispenser for the wrist. I already have one at home so I can take this one to school with the tape. I only buy Scotch brand! 

I'm a tape....and crayon (only Crayola....please and thank you!) snob! I bought the nerd bird birthday crowns and labels at Michael's for half price. The crowns were $1.50 and the labels were $0.50 a pack.....WOOT!

Also at Michael's, I got jewels for my clip chart clothespins. When the students reach the top, they will receive a jewel for their pin. After 5 jewels are earned, the clip will move to the Hall of Fame and they will get a new one! I bought these four colors.....

And, I already had the green ones at home. I bought them for a bridal shower back in May and only used a couple, so I didn't have to buy any green!

At Barnes & Noble, I bought a couple books for my classroom. I went in there looking for this one....

and came out with it and this one! I also bought something for my SLANT partner, but it's a secret!

Isn't it adorable? I will use it to introduce color words and learning how to read them. I just love it!

Today, I bought two adorable little Adirondack chairs for my library. They are in my vehicle though and it is raining, so no sharing a photo! I also bought ink so I can print lots more goodies for my classroom! 

Oh yeah...I almost forgot! I bought two new tops and a new dress. I didn't need to buy clothes since I just bought a ton of new stuff at the beginning of summer for my cruise, but I did want a couple new things. Here is the dress....I am in love with it! My mom was with me and she said I had to get it!!!

I love chevron...you can even see one of my five chevron scarves hanging to the left of it!

And here are the two tops I bought. This is the first animal print I have ever bought, but I love the tunic style & the rayon fabric, so I bought it! 

I also love this top....I have an aqua tank I can wear under it. It is so comfy and feels so good on! 

So, did any of you buy any goodies over the weekend....besides all the awesomeness on sale on TPT? 

I have a few things I need to hop over and purchase soon! Oh, and if you didn't get a chance to see my classroom photos, you can see them here!

Have a wonderful week at school, or at home if you're fortunate enough to still be on break!

Until next time.....

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Productive Days...:)

Don't you just love a productive day? I know I do....and today was one of them! I got so much accomplished! First, I was able to take my classes to the computer lab today so we could do Discovery assessment 2 make-ups. I only had a few in each block, but it is just easier in the lab. It also gave us a chance to visit a fun website while the make-ups were being done. I let my kiddos go to edheads and choose from 3 activities to review some of the units we have covered or are currently working on. They LOVED it! When everyone was finished with make-ups, I let them have the last 15 minutes to visit A Kid's Heart and play some fun Christmas games. 

Once I got each class started in the lab, I was able to work on transferring a ton of documents I had saved on my laptop to my flash drive and organize them into folders. I find so may awesome things online and save them, but I'm always in a hurry and don;t take time to organize them on my flash drive. I was thrilled to get that job done!

After school, I was able to get all my Discovery data recorded and ready for our data meeting after school tomorrow as well as update my RTI data. 

Well, anywho.....my first block earned their last cupcake for their Sweet Rewards, so I went by the store and got what I needed to bake their cupcakes for tomorrow! 

Here's my Sweet Rewards board earlier in the year!

They are going to be so excited! I let them vote....cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, or brownies. 

Well, cupcakes won, but lots of kiddos wanted the other options, so.....lucky me found a mix that was brownies topped with swirls of chocolate chip cookie dough....so I made cupcakes and brownies/cookies! Now, they can have a choice.....:)

MMMMmmmmmmm!

So, while I was baking, I made grilled cheese and soup for supper and then finished all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Then, I sat down and made myself go ahead and type up my after-school tutoring progress reports that are due Friday. They are done and e-mailed! I am almost all caught up! Hopefully tomorrow I can finish lesson plans and grading and then I can totally enjoy the weekend. I am excited....my sister, nephew, and I are going to Tallahassee to spend the weekend with my daughter. We are going to shop till we drop and then go look at some fabulous Christmas light displays! 

Here's one from last year....they do a patriotic light display complete with music on the radio. The lights change and flash with the music.....gorgeous!

Same house....different music!

I can't wait!!! Well, it's almost 11pm....past my bedtime, so I better hit the sack! 5:30 will be here before I know it! Have a happy Thursday...:)

Be Blessed!

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Busy, Busy, Busy!

That should say....I'm having one of those months!!!

Busy doesn't even begin to describe life lately! I am so ready for my 4-day weekend coming up...:) I love this time of year....4-day weekend on October, then Veteran's Day in November along with a whole week off for Thanksgiving, and before yo know it, it's Christmas break and two weeks off! It does make for a long spring though, especially April and May with very little time off! None the less, I am totally ready for some time to chillax!!! How about you? Anywho, random is what this post is today....I think I just needed a few minutes to de-stress before I resume grading papers and entering grades....BTW, I strongly dislike report card time and parent conferences! I especially dislike it right now since literally everything is happening at once and I have no time to complete it all. I love sponsoring my son's senior class, however, it takes an enormous amount of time during certain times of the year.....like the next 2 weeks...homecoming! 

We are doing a "Back in Time" overall theme and our seniors chose Stone Age. We are going with a Flintstones theme and it is super cute, but man is it a LOT of work! Skit practice, banner, and float, not to mention, my Dakota made the Homecoming court as a King nominee! That means a new outfit for me since I escort him during Bear Growl the night before the big game! I'm also a glutton for punishment and am doing after-school tutoring 2 days a week for an hour and a half. I have 7 4th and 5th graders, and although they are good, it is just more to do and keep up with. I know this will all calm down soon, but right now, I feel like I am going to spontaneously combust! 

I think I need to read this.....LOL!

Well......if you're still with me, I am sorry about my rant! I'm just soooo tired, but it's all good! I will make it through...:) So, I thought I would share some pictures of some new things in my classroom and a few changes since the year started. The first one is a picture of my Class DOJO reward system. My kiddos absolutely love Class DOJO and in all honesty, so do I! It has been such a positive addition to my classroom. Sorry about the glare!

Next up are some pix of my room....

Well, you aren't going to believe this, but on top of everything else happening, we got a call late evening yesterday from my husband's aunt saying she thought we needed to take his mom to the hospital. She was having some pain and tightness in her chest and her blood pressure (usually normal) was sky high! I was literally in the middle of this post when I got the call! So, needless to say, we rushed to get dressed and go get her and take her to the hospital. We spent a looong and miserable night trying to sleep in uncomfortable, hard, little chairs. I had to find some things online on my phone to e-mail to my fellow 5th grade teachers this morning so they could have copies run for the sub to have something to keep the students busy today today. I am so thankful for awesome lessons and worksheets found online in a pinch! I am so mentally and physically exhausted, but I still have to finish putting those grades in that I didn't get to put in last night! My hubby brought me home a short while ago. He got a shower and went back to be with his mom while they continue to tun tests and try to find out what's going on. I have got to work tomorrow....it's our long day....parent conference night. I feel like I have been hit by a truck! 

But.....my daughter and mother-in-law are ok, so life is good and I am blessed! 

Hope you are too....:)

 

Science Songs, 2 Cool Websites, & a BTS Package!!!

Do any of you use songs to teach? 

I have discovered some awesome science songs over the past year. My 5th graders love them and want to listen to them over and over. The Solar System song is their current favorite! The picture below is from the video.

 Aren't they cute...:)

It's the most soothing song....and it runs through my head ALL the time! I will never, ever forget planet order...LOL!

Another one I love is the Photosynthesis rap. My sophomores loved this one last year. It is really catchy! I plan to use it this year as well. 

Today I found this one about the phases of the moon. I think the kiddos will really like this one! 

It is a tune they will recognize too!

Ok...on to a couple of awesome websites! Are any of you using Class Dojo? I just started today even though I discovered it over the summer. I had too much on my plate to start something new at the beginning of the school year but since we are finishing week 4 tomorrow and I needed a different behavior plan for my 3rd block, I decided to try it. Let me just tell you.....they LOVED it! I am using it with all 3 of my blocks and they all thought it was too cool! Each student is assigned a monster avatar and they can earn positive points or negative and have points taken away or even go in the red. You can assign the different things you want to award or take points for. The computer keeps up with the points and will show you a class average of positive and negative behaviors as well as keep up with students individually. You can print reports or e-mail them to parents. You can reset it to start over every week, every 6 or 9 weeks or however long you want it set for. It is pretty awesome. I am going to come up with a plan over the weekend for rewards for positives and consequences for negatives. You can check it out here.

Here is a picture of the cute little monsters you assign the kids. There are also other avatars, but they aren't nearly as cute to me and the kids didn't like them as much either. I let them choose which avatars they wanted. 

Another awesome website I found out about today is called Ninite. It is amazing....you can install and update software from this one site. Anything you can think of....from messaging sites to media. They are all there! My cousin, who is a tech junkie and who happens to be one of our school tech specialists, showed it to me today. She was in my room working on my student stations...:) Anywho....it is totally awesome! Go check it out!

And last,  but not least..... I got my Back to School package in the mail today from one of my sweet ProTeacher friends! Several of us signed up to send a package to a PT friend. It was so fun shopping for my friend as well as receiving my package today from another friend. You could choose to remain anonymous or reveal your PT identity if you chose to. I got lots of goodies from my PT friend....who did choose to reveal her identity! She sent me 3 purple pocket charts, 3 sets of science flashcards, a rubber band ball, a Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul book, and a container full of brightly colored binder clips, paper clips, and jolly ranchers! I was tickled 

PINK 

to open the mailbox and see my package in there! I love getting packages in the mail....especially when they are so cute.....see the turquoise padded envelope in the background!!! 

Well, I guess I should go.....if you're still reading this, I'm sure you are thinking I'm long-winded and are beyond ready for me to wrap things up.....;) Sorry if I rambled! I couldn't help myself!

Be Blessed!

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