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!