Assess Me! Week 2: This or That?

I am back to participate in Rachel from The Tattooed Teacher linky.  I am enjoying finding out what I have in common with other bloggers. 

Here are my answers:

 

Jeans – are a definite!! I can dress them up or down.

Earrings – won’t leave the house without them

Big Pimpin’ – Who? What?

Silver – goes well with anything

City – I am allergic to grass and trees… I would die in the country!

In Store – I MUST try on my clothes before purchasing.

Showers – I can easily wash my hair.

Story keeper – I much rather keep it to myself.

Homebody – I stay busy, but I like to do it from home.

Breakfast – Pancakes and orange juice, please!

Tea – I don’t like the smell of coffee.

Early bird – This one is new for me… I use to be able to stay up at night.

Undone – I like to be comfortable… jeans, nice shirt, and flats are heaven!

Thunder – I don’t like either, but thunder is the less of the two evils.

Flats – I like to be comfortable!

Airplane – Quickest way, please!

Girls or New Girl – TV show??  I’ve never watched them.

Central Air – Again, I like to be comfortable!

Go visit The Tattooed Teacher to see who else has linked up!

Until next time!

Assess Me! Yes or No

Yes, I know.  I haven’t blogged since January.  My only excuse is… LIFE, and I have been trying my best to stay afloat.  My hope is to do a better job sharing with you.  What better way to ease myself back into the blogging world than with …. a fun linky!

I am linking up with Rachel from The Tattooed Teacher.  She has fun assessment for teachers to complete.  This week’s assessment is “yes or no”.  Read below and learn a little about me.

Go visit The Tattooed Teacher to see who else has linked up!

I will be back soon… I promise!

Pinterest Pick 3

Hello!  Here in Maryland, I am home relaxing on my first SNOW DAY of this school year.  I decided to catch up on reading and commenting on some of the blogs I follow. 

I came across a linky being hosted by Inspired Owl’s Corner and PAWSitively Teaching.  It is called Pinterest Pick 3.  I went through the blogs that are participating in the linky and have found some fabulous pins that I can’t wait to try out in my classroom.

 

Below you can find my Pinterest Pick 3.

 

 

This one is only a picture, but it is simple enough to complete without directions.  I know my students will enjoy working on this cute yet simple craft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been using this system in my classroom since late September and I must admit I have seen some improvement in the way my students “check” their work.  Occasionally we need to review our chart, but overall I am very happy that I found this blog post.

 Click here to go to the direct blog post.

 

 

 

This one is only a picture, too.  I plan to place this one on my classroom door this week.  I will post a picture of the door when it is complete.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are looking for some Pinterest boards to follow you can find me at www.pinterest.com/twiceblessed/.

 

Do you have a winter Pinterest board?  I would love to follow it, please leave me a comment with a link to your board.

Enjoy your day!

 

Faith, My One Word Resolution!

Hello!  Do you remember my little neglected blog?  It has been a LONG time since I last blogged.... six months!  For those of you who were actually reading my blog; I am sorry that so much time has passed by.

Life has gotten a tight hold on me and I must admit it hasn’t been the good side of life.  Something in my life must change in order for me to be able find that slice of happiness that we all deserve.

That brings me to this wonderful linky, One Word Resolutions, which is being hosted by Primary Powers.  The linky is simple, yet can be as meaningful as you make it!

The word that I need to live by for 2015 is… FAITH.  I am going to have to embrace a true faith in God. I must realize that the plan He has for me is better than the plan I have for myself.  I hope to develop the faith needed to realize that things will get better and times won’t always be so difficult.  I must allow my faith to be bigger than my fear. Faith that while I believe things are falling apart, things may actually be falling into place.  Faith that my loneliness is not permanent, but temporary to give me time to reflect.  Finally, to remember that faith in God requires faith in His timing!

If you are still reading… Thank you!  Writing this has been therapy for my soul and has given me a way to hold myself accountable.

If you have not linked up with Primary Powers; go now and share your One Word Resolution. 

I will be back and SOON.  I hope you will be, too!

Monday Made Its - Smile Box, Random Number Selector, and Overalls Organizer

Okay, yes, I am a little late to the party.  The good thing is that it is still Monday.

I am linking up with Tara at 4^th Grade Frolics for her wonderful linky… Monday Made Its.

 

Up first is my “Smile Box”.  This will be used for my students to write thank-you notes to their classmates for doing something throughout the week that made them smile.  Each morning during morning meeting I will read two of three and the students will be able to add the thank-you note to their rings.  They will keep their rings on the side of their desk to read when they need a little pick-me-up.

I bought the tin container from Hobby Lobby on clearance for 80% off!  It was white and lime green, but I spray painted it to match my classroom decorations.  (This year I am decorating my room with denim, smiley faces, and daisies.  You can read about it here.) 

After spray painting the container, I added the smiley faces on two sides and denim pockets on the opposite two sides.  The pockets will hold the slips for the students to complete.  The completed forms will be placed inside the container.

 

 

 

 

My second project was desperately needed!  Each of my students have a number that they use for various things in our classroom.  Previously I have used popsicle sticks with numbers written on them with a black sharpie marker to assist me in randomly calling on students.  I see so many beautiful ones on Pinterest, so I decided it was time for me to step up my game.  Here is my new set.  I like these so much better.

 

Lastly, are my helpful overalls.  My mom bought these for me from a thrift store and sewed the legs up and folded them in the inside.  I will use this beside my small group table to hold all of my favorite writing utensils and small group supplies.  After I get my classroom set up, I promise to come back and show you pictures of how it looks with my actual supplies in it.  I will purchase a cute child size hanger before it goes in my classroom, so please ignore the oversized back hanger. 

I am happy to have these three projects completed.  Don’t forget to stop by 4th Grade Frolics to see the other Monday Made It projects.

Take care!

Five for Friday - Changes to My Classroom - June 27

Hello all!!  Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday Linky.

 

Every year I am in search of a new theme for my classroom and this year I decided to go with smiley faces, daisies, and denim.  Denim is always a part of my classroom from the seat pockets, denim fabric on my boards, denim fabric covering my benches, to the paint cans that my mom has covered for me.  I L.O.V.E. denim because it goes so well with almost everything! 

I make most of my classroom decorations with the help of my mother’s creativity of turning someone else’s junk into my treasure and using my Cricut machine.  This year I was happy to find denim classroom decorations from Eureka School.  They have the perfect line for me called “Design It Denim”.  I am so happy I found it.  I just wish they had more products in this line.  I have already placed two orders with them for the upcoming school year.   I won’t be working on my classroom until mid-August, but I will be sure to share my classroom pictures with you.

I found another great store to get some items for my classroom.  It is called SmileyStore.com.  I never knew there was a store dedicated to selling all things with smiley faces!  My wonderful mom found it for me.  I think she knows that ordering from this site is going to cut down on the items I NEED want her to make for me.  I will be placing my order when I get my next TPT payment.

I decided to do whatever is needed to improve writing workshop time in my classroom.  My first step is going to be improving the launch.  I purchased “Launching the Writing Workshop: A Step-by-Step Guide in Photographs” by Denise Leograndis.  It is an easy read with lots of great photos, useful ideas for setting up and managing the workshop, and great ideas for books to use to help with the launch.  I either already had in my classroom library or purchased most of the books recommend by the author.  I am still hoping to get the last four books from Ebay.  If not, I will purchase them from Barnes and Noble before the school year begins.

 

Do you remember the TV series “Hart to Hart”?  It aired from 1979 to 1984.  I can proudly say that I was born, but too young to be interested in watching this type of show.  I now must admit that I spent last week hooked on watching the first and second season of this series.  Something about this storyline kept my interest literally all weekend.  Please don’t judge me based on my television viewing habits, but I love old TV series.  I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the series.

 

Here is a copy of the storyline:

Jonathan Hart was a self-made millionaire--the CEO of Hart Industries, a global conglomerate. His gorgeous wife Jennifer was a freelance journalist. They were both amateur sleuths, and in every episode found themselves up to their eyeballs in murder, smuggling, theft and international espionage. They also managed to find time to snuggle together, as they loved each other very much. Max was their loyal, gravelly-voiced butler, cook & chauffeur, and Freeway their pet canine. Written by Marty McKee <mmckee@soltec.net> 

Do you know of a store that sells adorable smiley face items or an old TV series that I should be watching this summer?  I would love to know about it.  Please share your comments… I definitely will respond.

I have begun working on some items for my room, so I will be linking up with Tara at 4^th Grade Frolics on Monday for her Monday Made It Linky.  See you then!

Please Say You Remember Me! and June Currently

Hello, Blogging World!!

I am sure no one remembers my poor little neglected blog.  (sad times)  Life has kept me busy and feeling extremely tired. 

I think I am ready and will be able to make the time to begin blogging again.  I have many things that I would like to share with you.  I hope you will find my upcoming post of interest to you.

For now, I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy, Fourth Grade to share my June Currently with you.

 

I promise to be back very soon!  I hope you will come back and visit.  If you are a blogger and have some linkys that are happening soon, please leave me a comment.  I would LOVE to join. 

Take care and I WILL be back soon!

A Peek At My Week and Classroom Pictures Part Two

I am back to share part two of my classroom pictures, but first I want to link up with Jennifer at Mrs. Laffin’s Laughings for her linky… A Peek At My Week.

Math – We will continue working with place value to 1,000,000.  This week’s big focus will be rounding numbers to a quick review on comparing whole numbers.  My students have done a great job with their interactive notebooks and have begun picking up speed with the cutting and gluing that is involved.  Math rotations are going well and will continue this week.

Reading – For the next two weeks, the focus during reading will be drawing conclusions.  Chris Van Allsburg’s picture books lend themselves well to drawing conclusions.  Not only are his books well written and illustrated, both the girls and boys love reading and hearing his books.  I will be reading 7 of his books to my class over the next couple of weeks.  We will also complete an author study on him.  Look for a blog post at the end of the month to see how this evolved in my room.  Since testing has ended, I will also begin pulling guided reading groups.

Word Study – Last week we worked on closed syllable words and this week the focus will be on open syllable words.  My students will recite, write, break apart, and complete speed drills on 20 open syllable words throughout the week.

Writing/Grammar – We will discuss sentence fluency and word choice.  My students will revise a rough draft from last week with making at least 5 revisions based on sentence fluency and word choice.  We will also identify simple and compound sentences in their writing and in the books they are reading.

Social Studies – Do you know about the neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.?  My fourth graders will know about them by Friday.  They will also study a historical map of the nation’s capital.

Now for more classroom pictures.  If you missed part one, it can be found HERE.  Here are a few pictures of my CAFE board. 

Under it you will find picture books that I have used during the week for read-alouds (The books below were used for making predictions.), the reading responses file holder, and a book of nonfiction text features. (I also have a box of tissues, hand sanitizer, and hand wipes in this corner.  You will find these items in each corner of my classroom.)

The reading responses holder contains hanging files of the most commonly used book reports, reading reflection sheets, reading logs for our classroom and at home, and reading most frequently used graphic organizers.

In the corner of my classroom you will find our Smarty Pants.  I saw this on Pinterest about 3 summers ago and my students love it each year.

I will be posting the last of them tomorrow, so I hope you will return.  As always, thank you for stopping by today!

I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.