Tell All Tuesday 2.0 Summer Snapshot

Summer...I love it!!! I am thrilled that Diana at My Day in K and Jayme at Teach, Talk, Inspire decided to host Tell All Tuesday again!!! I love it!!!

This week we are suppose to give a snapshot of our summer! That is easy and so much FUN!!!!

My summer is all about time with Joey!! We are loving every minute!!! Our summer kicked off with Joey being a flower girl for our cousin's wedding. She did a great job and it was a wonderful time with our family!!!

We spend a great deal of our summer, POOLSIDE!! In the short 16 months Joey has been home, she has established herself as a FISH!!!  She loves all that is water!

Another great highlight of our summer was Joey's first Cubs game!!! Growing up, I went to See the Cubs with my parents and brother!!! We are huge Cubs fans and it was so fun to take Joey!!!

That is a quick snapshot of our summer!!! Now go link up and share yours!!!!

Drum roll please.....

On Tuesday, I shared the following truths and a lie!

1.  I am starting my 10th year of teaching with my 5th principal in the same classroom.

2.  The first time I ever left the USA was to meet my daughter for the first time.

3.  I am living with my parents and three year old, while we search for our forever home.

So which one is the lie?!?!?!

NUMBER ONE
I am starting my 10th year of teaching, with my 5th principal, but I have been in FIVE different classrooms!  It appears five is a significant number!!!

I have only left the country twice and both times it was to go to Haiti for Joey's adoption!  The first time to meet her and the second time to bring her home!!!!  And we are currently living with the best parents a girl could ask for, as Joey and I search for our forever home!

Thanks for checking back!!!  Don't forget to drop in next Tuesday, as I TELL ALL!!!!

Writer's Workshop...Building GREAT Writers

Writing…is it your favorite thing to teach? your least favorite? For me, it has always been the hardest;  hard to find time in a very scripted schedule, hard to figure out how to tie it in with our pacing guide for ELA!  Hard for so many reasons!  This year my teaching buddy/1st grade teammate/across the hall neighbor and I sat down before the year started and created a map of ELA and Math.  We wanted to create more opportunities to WRITE!  As I began planning for our March, I was given our district writing assessment topic.  It was to compare two Dr. Seuss books and choose a favorite.  That worked out great since we were going to read two different Dr. Seuss books.  

Next on my agenda was to find a way to teach the traits of writing.  Where do you go when you are looking for resources?  Pinterest & TPT!  I realize that some might argue, they are not the best resources…I however disagree!  I love that what I find has all been used in the classroom and created by people who “get it”.  I was lucky enough to find Writer’s Workshop (with the help of Mr. & Mrs. Fix It) by Lyndsey at A Year of Many Firsts!

I love how this unit was organized!  I created a schedule with the time we had available, and plugged in the components that I thought would allow my firsties the best opportunity to understand the writing process.  I also added some ideas from Pinterest!

This pack is amazing!  I love how it broke down the traits of writing in a way for the kids to understand!  In the past, I was always jumping in and expecting the best...this gave my kiddos the chance to do each part and fine tune their skills.

One of my favorite parts was drawing a picture of "What Do Writers LOOK Like?".  These pictures amazed me!!!

Another part of the pack that I liked was the opportunity to brainstorm topics they could write about.  The ideas were flowing and it really gave us a glimpse into their lives and personalities!

When all was said and done, I was so pleased with the finished products.

I would highly suggest checking out Lyndsey's Writer's Workshop pack!!!

And check out what Lyndsey has to say about her own creation, here!

Tell All Tuesday 2.0

 I am so excited about joining up with Tell All Tuesday 2.0!!!! My Day in K and Teach Talk Inspire have brought back this awesome linky!  

This week it is "Two Truths and a Lie"!  You need to blog 3 things about yourself, 2 that are true and one that isn't.  Then link up with them and other people will guess which one is the fib!  After three days you come back and tell the truth!!!  So here it goes!

1.  I am starting my 10th year of teaching with my 5th principal in the same classroom.

2.  The first time I ever left the USA was to meet my daughter for the first time.

3.  I am living with my parents and three year old, while we search for our forever home.

Not many details, but which one do you think is the one I am stretching the truth on?  Let me know in the comments!!!  And then come back and see if you are right.  

So what are you waiting for....go link up!!!!

Wanna know which one I fibbed on???  Click here!

Sunday Scoop

It's Sunday, time to share my Scoop! Is it wrong that I am secretly happy it is going to be a rainy Sunday! It will help me accomplish my to do's!

HAVE:  Reading Stations are re-grouped (after some BIG changes discovered  through progress monitoring) NOW the new activities have to be prepped! Our Safari Unit is off to an AMAZING start, I would love to find some awesome websites where we can see some of the animals we are researching!! Pay bills, enough said!

HOPE: Living in the Midwest, I know the seasons are unpredictable! But this girl is ready to switch out her closet!!! A rainy Sunday=SNUGGLES with Joey!!!

LOVE: Yes, I 💗 to watch golf!!! And today is the final round of the Masters!!! Seat for one (well actually two, my dad will be watching with me!) in front of the television.

Ready to Rock-Out another awesome week!! Be Happy, Be Positive, Be You!!!!

Peek into My Week

First week after Spring Break, go easy? No way! We are kicking off our HUGE Animal Research Unit!!! I am so excited and if Day 1 is any indication of the excitement we will see during this adventure.... then this is one for the books!!!

Here is a quick peek at our week...

Stay tuned & grab a seat, our Animal Safari has begun!!

Sunday Scoop

I must say that even though it is Sunday and Spring Break is almost over, I am excited to go back and crank out our last 37 days!!!

Have: We are starting our Animal Unit tomorrow and our safari guides need big brown paper bags!!! Laundry, so we can be presentable for our week back at it!! Pack up all the things for the week that are EVERYWHERE!!! I spent a little time prepping for our fun unit and now it's time to make sure everything gets to school!!

Hope:  I have a plan for April (personal & professional) and I really want to stick to it!! And I might be obsessing a bit about our house selling... BUT hearing the word SOLD would be music to my ears!

Love: Joey & I had a great Spring Break and I am going to miss our slow moving mornings and cuddles, so we are going to hit the playground and have some fun!!!! What better way to wrap up Spring Break!!!!

That's my scoop!

Currently

April!?!?! What!?!? I don't know how when we head back after Spring Break, we only have 37 days of school!!! I love summer, but whoa! There is still lots of learning to do in Room 105 and lots of "house" things to do at home!!!  Excited to link up with Farley for Currently!!!

Just started watching Fuller House!?!? Love! Anyone else?

Spring Break was all that and a bag of chips, and I didn't even go anywhere!

Decor for a new house & my classroom next year, I love planning!!!

Seriously, let's hear the word SOLD sooner rather then later!!! This teacher would love a summer getting settled into our new home! 

However, PATIENCE needs to become my friend because I am certainly not in the driver seat!

Animals in April is our unit when we head back and I am so excited!!!

2016 Teacher Blogger Retreat...AMAZING

How do you wrap up an amazing weekend of networking, friendship, motivation, and fun into a blog post?  I am not sure, but I am going to try!  This was my first year attending the Teacher/Blogger Retreat, and I certainly hope it won't be my last.  

A look back...

5:30 a.m. DEPARTURE 

In order to arrive on time, we had to start our adventure early...but look at these smiling faces!  My travel companions, Molly at Miss K's Little Rays, Stephanie at School Days with Steph, and Sara at Life in the Fast Lane.

12:30 p.m. Let the fun begin!!!

I am looking back and realizing I was horrible with pictures!  Our afternoon started off with the amazing Holly from Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Connections!  The room at French Lick was filled with awesome teachers some who I felt I knew because I read their blogs and Instagram and some I met for the first time!

Holly shared a video made by Chad at the Male Kindergarten Teacher,  What is passion?  Passion is what its all about and it was also the them for the weekend.  Take your PASSION and make it HAPPEN!!

We also got to hear from Amy at TPT!  It is amazing to me that a company like TPT is so invested in the people who actually work in the classroom!!!  Amy was awesome to listen to and a great keynote speaker.

One of the big highlights for me was the round table sessions!  I loved that we got to go to four 15 minute sessions.  I picked four different topics, Twitter, Brag Tags, Writing, and Tech in the Classroom.  These are all things I want to incorporate into my room and I learned just enough to get me started...as well as have the resources to assist me.  I will be sure to blog about all of these separately as I don't want to forget the information.

Another great highlight was the grade level teacher gift swap!  Everyone who brought a gift sat in a circle...a huge circle and we passed gifts, while playing musical gifts.  I got a Paper Pro Stapler from an awesome teacher, whose name unfortunately I didn't get.  I love it!

You hear of the stars getting swag bags at the award shows, well thanks to the great sponsors we got to feel like stars for the day!!!  We were able to fill a bag of great teacher gifts.

After an afternoon of inspiration and motivation, we took a little break to experience 

the French Lick Resort. We had a great dinner at the Power Plant Pub and even checked out the Casino, where we didn't win:(

After a little relaxation it was time to get our 80's on!!!  A huge thank you to GoNoodle & TPT for sponsoring a fun night out.

As I type this I am getting lots of help from my favorite three year old, so this isn't the best but it is my life!  My reflection in one sentence....I am so grateful to be a teacher and grateful to have had this opportunity to hang out with teachers who get it!!  

I am ready to take my passion and make it HAPPEN!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Holly is an amazing lady, with some amazing friends that pull off an AMAZING event!!!  But I think Holly would agree, there must be a huge shout out to the sponsors as well!!!  The following companies value the work we do on a daily basis and for that I am sending a big cyber hug and some love!!!  Please support these sponsors!

The following sponsors LOVE to support educators!

 

   
  

 

  

    

 

  

Wanna know what others have to say about this event?  Check them out!!!!

 

An InLinkz Link-up