Guest Blogging

Today my husband and I are off to celebrate our anniversary! I won't be posting here, but be sure to visit Chrissy's blog, Buzzing with Ms. B! I'm her guest blogger for the day!



I'll be back this week with more posts and new products in my shops (after Kyle goes back to work)!

Currently & Daily 5 - Chapter 4

After finishing chapter 3 of The Daily Five, I was excited to read chapter 4 and start learning more about each part of the daily 5.  So, I finished chapter 4 Monday (while Kyle was fishing), but since he's been on vacation this week my blogging has been a little lax...But I'm here to share my thoughts on chapter 4, and I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for the first time!  So I'll start with my "currently" and then head into my thoughts on "read to self".  If you're here from the Daily 5 book study, feel free to skip ahead to the next section!  You can see my other posts about The Daily 5 (chapters 1 - 3) here!

So, since Kyle is off this week we haven't been home much.  But since we are now he's in control of the remote and we're watching The Simpsons.  We watch the Simpsons almost every night!  He loves 'em...I do love that he's home though!  It's been so nice to get out of the house and spend time on the boat and on random little road trips!  

I've been busy thinking about his birthday next Wednesday and ordering presents, and our anniversary is Sunday too!  I was hoping to have a tasty lunch today, but we went fishing at a small lake instead...I ended up stumbling upon a hornet's nest and getting stung 3 times on my head and shoulders...ugh!  I'm still sore!  So I'm resting up and blogging even though I need to be cleaning up!

Now on to a couple of good reads...I love, love, love to read "The worst Best Christmas Pageant Ever" to my kids at Christmas time!  Those Herdman kids just crack me up!!  There are variations for Halloween and back to school too!  And right now you know I'm reading "The Daily Five" and hope to incorporate the sisters' wisdom into my classroom this fall, so that is a professional book I'll be keeping close!!

Head over to Oh Boy Fourth Grade and link up with Farley!

Now on to The Daily 5 - Chapter 4

Read To Self

I'm linking up with Tessa from Tales from Outside The Classroom who is hosting chapter 4!

Like I said before, I was really excited to start reading about each different aspect of the daily 5, and read to self was first!  I totally agree with the sisters on the importance of having time to read, and the idea of building stamina is so basic...why didn't I think of that??  And I love how they give you detailed ideas of how your lessons will go!

Something that I had never really considered before was the "three ways to read a book" that the sisters talk about.  You can read the words (of course), read the pictures, or retell the story if you've read it before.  I love this idea because it can make even struggling students feel like readers and feel successful!  But I am a bit concerned about reading the pictures.  How do you know some of your lazy less motivated kids won't just read the pictures when they're capable of more?  Is it okay if they do?

Starting out (or launching) read to self you make an i-chart.  I-charts are used to launch each part of the daily 5.  There are two things I love about these charts.  The I stands for independence, so it's a constant reminder that they're learning to work on their own.  The i-chart has two sides - one for students and one for teachers.  I really like this aspect of the i-charts.  The kids know (and help decide) what is expected of them, but they know that I have a job during daily 5 too!

After that you pick a few models (correct and incorrect), and you practice, practice, practice until you have built up your stamina!  After reading chapter 2 I made a couple of freebies for all of you guys.  One of those freebies is for building stamina at home too!  Stop by and pick it up from this post (or by clicking on the picture to go to the post) if you missed it!

So what do you think?  Will some of your kiddos just read the pictures when they can do more?  Is it okay if they do??

Don't forget to check out Tessa's post and all of the other great posts that have been linked up!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having a great day and celebrating with family and friends!

I just wanted to pop in quickly and send you guys over to Jenny's blog, http://luckeyfrogslilypad.blogspot.com/, to enter her very first giveaway! Don't miss out!

Be sure to check out Chrissy's blog, http://buzzingwithmsb.blogspot.com/, too! She's hosting guest bloggers and I'll be posting there on July 8th (my 6th wedding anniversary)!

Excuse the links....I'm blogging from my phone tonight!

Pass It On!

Friday I told you about all of the wonderful things going on for me and my little blog!  I won a couple of great giveaways and was given an award!  I didn't make it back yesterday to pass it on to others like I had hoped!  It was over 100 degrees and we spend all day out on the lake!  The water was great for swimming, tubing, and jumping off the rocks, but when we were moving even the wind was hot!  All of that time on the water has me worn out today!

Here's a recap from Firday's post telling you all about The Versatile Blogger award and a little more about me!  Thanks again, Aimee, Colleen & Sara for the award!

There are 7 rules you're supposed to follow when you get this award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

Here were my 7 random facts if you missed them Friday...If you saw them Friday skip on by them! =)

7 Facts You Probably Don't Know About Me!

1 - I'm an only child, and believe it or not, I can not remember ever wanting a brother or sister when I was little...

2 - I am named after my grandmothers whom I love dearly!

3 - I'm much more of an introvert than an extrovert!  I'm good with working alone! {But I love blogging!  Does that make me more outgoing??}

4 - I honestly wish I wasn't so shy and quiet and was more outgoing (like my husband)!

5 - I love to cook and especially to bake!

6 - School was always extremely important to me!  I was the valedictorian of my graduating classes in high school and college with 4.0 gpa's and 2 of my 3 Praxis scores were in the top 10 - 15% of all scores!  {I should've had a little more fun, I think!}

7 - My husband and I have been married for 6 years (on July 8th) and together for 9!  I hope to be a mommy soon!  I'd love to have my own little one by the end of next year!

I don't share numbers 6 & 7 (the last part) often, so it's a little scary...that's number 3 coming out in me I guess...

So now it's time for me to nominate!  

Check out these great blogs who I've given the Versatile Blogger award!

Just click on their blog button (or title) to go for a visit!

Heather from Beg, Borrow, & Teach

Jenny from Luckeyfrog's Lilypad

Okay, so I broke bended the rules a little...that's only 10.  But, lots of you have already received this award, and I was really looking for some great bloggers who haven't been given this one yet!  If  you have, sorry I missed it...but know that you and your blog are loved!
Be sure that you visit Sara from Miss Elementary who gave me this great award too, because now she's having a great giveaway to celebrate 100 followers!  You could win two of my scoot games (a combo pack for rounding and place value)!
My husband is off work for the week so I'll be spending my days with him!  Forgive me if my posts are a bit, um, sporadic! =)

What Luck!?!

I'm feeling very lucky and very blessed tonight!  Can you believe that I was given an award and I won 2 giveaways??  I can't either!!

First off, thanks so, so much to Amber from Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher (great gal, great blog...check her out) and Kayla from Primary Junction (stop by to see all of her great ideas)!  I won $25 worth of items from Amber's TPT store, and I'm excited to pick out what I want!  I won a one year subscription for my class to Samson's Classroom from Kayla's giveaway!

And, if you can believe it, there are even more giveaways going on now!  Click on the pictures to check them out!

Luna Interactive Projection Camera

HearAll Assessment Recorder        3 Units, 2 gift cards 

9 Products           Up to 21 products

Now go and enter, enter, enter so maybe you can win too!  Good luck if you do enter (or if you already have)!

Now, thank you so very much to Sara from Miss Elementary, Aimee from Pencils, Books, & Dirty Looks, and Colleen from Totally Terrific in Texas for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award!

There are 7 rules you're supposed to follow when you get this award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

So I guess I'm on step 4...I'll try not to bore you!  I'm not very exciting!

7 Facts You Probably Don't Know About Me!

1 - I'm an only child, and believe it or not, I can not remember ever wanting a brother or sister when I was little...

2 - I am named after my grandmothers whom I love dearly!

3 - I'm much more of an introvert than an extrovert!  I'm good with working alone! {But I love blogging!  Does that make me more outgoing??}

4 - I honestly wish I wasn't so shy and quiet and was more outgoing (like my husband)!

5 - I love to cook and especially to bake!

6 - School was always extremely important to me!  I was the valedictorian of my graduating classes in high school and college with 4.0 gpa's and 2 of my 3 Praxis scores were in the top 10 - 15% of all scores!  {I should've had a little more fun, I think!}

7 - My husband and I have been married for 6 years (on July 8th) and together for 9!  I hope to be a mommy soon!  I'd love to have my own little one by the end of next year!

I don't share numbers 6 & 7 (the last part) often, so it's a little scary...that's number 3 coming out in me I guess...

So because I am exhausted and it's waaaay past my bedtime (yes, sad I know...) I'll be back soon to nominate 15 other bloggers for the award!  Hopefully I'll get that done in the morning, but we're having a heat wave with no rain in sight, so tomorrow will be spent on the boat and in the water!  It might be Sunday before I'm back! =)

Thanks again, Aimee, Colleen & Sara for the award!

P.S. Remember oo.com and how you all so graciously helped me get my project funded??  There are two great teachers out there who need your help now!  Could you please head over and vote for them!  I know they'll appreciate it as much as I did!


**Shawn left a link on my oo.com & donors choose post, and he needs your help getting his project funded!  Click on the link to get there! http://www.oo.com/safkids/detail/projectid/791196
**Jessica, who many of you probably know from her blog needs help getting her project funded too!  Click on the link to get there! http://www.oo.com/safkids/detail/projectid/757894
I'd love it, and I know they would too, if you could help these two teachers give their students a little more technology in their classes!  Head on over and vote!  And remember, you can vote every day!  Check out my post if you missed it and won't to know more about oo.com or donors choose!

Daily 5 - Chapter 3

This week, I read chapter 3 of The Daily 5 which is all about routines!  If you're just starting to follow along with the book study, you can see all of my other Daily 5 related posts here.  Last week, I promised you all a freebie...if you missed it, I posted two freebies on Friday.  Go check them out here!

So, on to...

Jana, at Thinking Out Loud, is hosting this week's book study!  She posted a graphic last week that I used to take some notes as I read.  (The shoe lesson and book boxes should really be in the second column...ignore that please!)

Let's Get Together

Chapter 3 talked about the importance of having a gathering place.  My first year of teaching, I was hired (for kindergarten) about 2 hours before the parents' open house!  Yeah about 2!  So the teacher who had taught kindergarten let me use her rug and a few other things (she took a Math Recovery job in the school).  I loved having a rug, but when I was moved to third grade of course I had to leave it behind.  My room now is smaller than that kindergarten room too, so space (or a lack there of) is an issue as well.  So I don't have a gathering place in my room.  

Source

But I may have found a solution: earlier this month I found carpet squares!  We can store them easily and quickly when not in use, move them around the room from the dry erase board to the projector and screen, and even use them in all sorts of places for read to someone and other partner and group activities!  And they're even numbered (they can be used with a calendar rug) so each child can be assigned a square!  So hopefully my Donors Choose project will get funded and I'll have a great gathering place next year!

Readers have to Read

I love the I-PICK strategy for finding good fit books, but I need more!!  Where do you all get books for your classroom library?  I just got a lot of 50 books for a pretty good price on ebay, but I probably won't be buying many more...I have had success with donors choose in getting chapter books for my classroom!  My first project got us three series of chapter books and I just had another project funded for another series of chapter books (and the same books on CD)!  Have any of you all asked parents for old books or just mentioned that you would gladly take any books they no longer want or need?

A Little R & R

Routines (and rituals) are an integral part of the classroom no matter what programs you're using, whether it's Daily 5 or anything else.  A classroom full of little ones without routines is not a place where I want to try to teach!  There were a lot of things in this section of the chapter that I liked and some things I already do too but can improve.  After all, we can always improve!  Chapter 3 suggests starting every new part of the daily 5 by making an anchor chart.  I make anchor charts with my kiddos, but it's not something I do all the time.  I can definitely make more!  I just wish they would look a little more like these!

And if you're looking for a way to manage all of those anchor charts check out this pin.  It comes from Teaching My Friends!  Click on the picture to go straight to the post about her binder!

At my school we talk a lot about respect.  I loved the Debbie Miller quote from the book that basically said 'I expected them to show respect and be kind, but I didn't teach them how'.  We can't just expect kids to know what it means!  That quote reminded me of this anchor chart...I knew that we had to make this one as soon as school starts this fall!

While my loud voice isn't all that loud, a quote from the sisters that I liked was when they said "introducing one loud voice in the classroom is the quickest way to have the noise level in our classroom go spiraling out of control."  I love their idea of using a signal noise of some sort to bring students back to the gathering place rather than having to call out to them.

I could go on and on, but I'm going to end with that!  You can see a couple of other ideas that I thought were important in the graphic at the beginning of the post!  I do have one more question for you guys...does your school use accelerated reader (ar)?  If so, how does it work with the I-PICK strategy?  Do you let your kids have ar books in their book boxes to read during daily 5?

Don't forget to visit our host for chapter 3, Jana, and link up your chapter 3 post!

Brighten Your Day

Doesn't a cheerful, colorful classroom make your day a little brighter?  I know it does mine!  I'm doing a little classroom makeover this year since we're switching themes and switching rooms.  Our school wide theme is peace, love, & {our mascot}.  I don't want everything in my room to be tie-dyed though! I'm tying in the bright colors I love with our theme, and hopefully I'll be able to use it with our future themes too!  I'm linking up with Tara's "Monday Made It" at 4th Grade Frolics and Michele's "Make it, Bake it, Sew it, Grow it" at Miss Nelson's Got The Camera and

 

This pin on pinterest was something that I immediately knew I wanted to make for my classroom.  It was so easy to do and didn't take up too much time!

You just need a few supplies to get started...paper dixie cups (I used the 5 oz. size), scrapbook paper (I used solid colors - bright of course), pencils, scissors, a box cutter or knife, and some type of adhesive (I had some glue dots and used them).

The first few steps are listed on the picture below.  This part takes the most time.

Here are my covered cups (and my Roxie in the background)!

Now you're ready to hang the "shades" over the lights!  Find the center of the bottom of each cup, and cut a small x in it.  Then just gently push the light through the x in the bottom of the cup!

And voila, you're done!  I love how it turned out!

Hopefully, I'll have another project ready to show you on Friday for the Pintervention linky party from Third Grade Is A Hoot!