Blog Hoppin' Back to School Week

Friends.  This is one of my most favorite weeks of the year!  It's Blog Hoppin's back to school week, where they pick a different theme each day for a week.  It's also a time when I generally tend to over commit myself.  Maybe this is really the week where I learn how to use the schedule post?  Stay tuned for that.  Without any more babbling I'm going to link up for Monday of BtS Week.

First up, let's talk about family.  Now I have the song We are Family! stuck in my head.  So, there's that.  But seriously, my family is fantastic.  I want to say the best, but I bet y'all are pretty fond of your families, too so I don't want to get anyone panties into a twist.  So we'll just say fantastic.  Because that's absolutely true.

Here's a picture of me and the hubs at our wedding.  Obviously.  Per the dress.  (As a side note, I wish it was acceptable to dress up in your wedding dress outside of your wedding.  I would wear that at least a few times a year.  That dress is my jam.)

This nugget here is the legitimate love of my life.  (Don't tell the hubs!)  My four year old niece is adorable.  I love hanging out with her, and it hurts my heart that we don't live nearby.  This is a picture from Christmas morning.  G got a make-up set from Santa this year and she had to do our make-up so that we looked beautiful.

This picture makes my heart happy, too.  It has almost all of my favorite people in it--the hubs, my parents, my super bestie and her boyfriend.  I wish all of these people lived close by to me.  Instead I settle for soaking up as much of them as possible whenever I'm back in Cincinnati.  I'm sure you're starting to get bored of pictures of random people, so I'll start moving along.

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Starbucks.  My sweet pup.  Color-coded calendars.  Running.  Drinking wine with the girls.  Watching re-runs of Friends.  And Criminal Minds (who am I trying to kid?).  Reading.  Especially reading an entire book in a day.  Baking.  Gum.  Shopping.  Visiting home and spending time with my fam.  

IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

If I wasn't a teacher, I would want to be the President or a Supreme Court Justice.  Or an NFL coach.  Or a baker.  (Clearly, I'm assuming that actual skills aren't a prerequisite.)  

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Friendly.  Out-going.  Team-oriented.  

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"Yes.  I'd love to stretch a 20 minute meeting out to fill an hour!"

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Um, so this is weird, but Abraham Lincoln.  And Jennifer Lawrence, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler.  All together.  

IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

There's No Such Thing As Perfect.

YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

I don't know if this is really a superpower, but I want to speak all the languages of the world.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

I know this is awkwardly long, but I LOVE this Teddy quote.  Also?  I sort of wanted to invite Teddy to my birthday party, but I was trying to tone it down a little.  

IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone.  Or Yesterday.  It's hard to decide.  It's unlikely that I'll end up on American Idol though, so I don't think a decision is necessary.

ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL

Probably morning person.  Especially if I can get a few cups of coffee.

SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU!

I have a problem that I call Feelings Face.  It's basically the total opposite of Bitch Resting Face (BRF).  In BRF people are nervous to approach you because you look so aggressive.  With Feelings Face nobody needs to approach  you because they can already tell exactly how you feel.  

I'm sure that's more than you ever wanted to know about me.  I can't wait to hear more about you, and I can't wait to participate in the rest of BtS week with Blog Hoppin!  Have a great night, friends!

xoxo

Sale Time, Y'all!

Hello, friends!

Unless you don't follow any other blogs, I'm sure you already know that there's a HUGE Teachers Pay Teachers sale going on right now.  In most stores you can get almost 30% off.  (To be honest, the math confuses me a little.  Tpt gives 10% off with the code, and most teachers put their store at 20% off, but for some reason it only shakes out to 28% off.)  But still.  A discount is a discount, yes?

So if you're in the shopping mood, and heading back to school shortly allow me to make a few suggestions.

I use these data folders weekly, usually starting after the first six weeks of school.  I send them home on the same day each week (one year I did Tuesdays, and one year I did Wednesdays).  Students create a graph to show their scores on a quick weekly check-in.  I used assessments that monitor fact fluency, because that was a first grade power standard in my school, and a quick Fundations check-in for whatever unit we were currently studying.  I also had students write a note to their families about their work that week, and I had parents sign a sheet saying that they had looked over the folder with their students.  They also had to make a comment, which ultimately showed whether or not they had actually looked over the folder.  

I also have several bundles of math tasks in my store.  Math tasks are basically really open-ended word problems, but they usually have multiple correct solutions.  I've blogged about math tasks in the classroom here, here, and here.  But even if you're running a more traditional math block these tasks still definitely can be used to push your kids' thinking.  I have some tasks that focus on place value, as well as addition and subtraction.

This is the last product I'll highlight today.  This is a quick, informal check-in that I created for students struggling with rote-counting and number sequence.  I used it with first graders who were below grade level, and I definitely think it would also be helpful for kinderbabes as well.  It assess rote counting, number id (to 30), and 1-to-1 correspondence.  I would give my strugglers this assessment every time we finished a targeted unit to see if they were picking up the skills I was hoping for/making progress towards those fundamental skills they needed to shore up.  It was also helpful data when I took them to student support team meetings.  With the sale it's under $1.00.  It's a win-win.  =)  

One last reminder--during the TpT sale you can also use your credits that you get for reviewing products.  So if you've recently purchased items make sure you go back and give feedback to those sellers today so that you can use some credits towards your purchases during the sale.  

Have fun filling your cart!

xoxo

August Currently

Y'all.  How can it be August?!  I literally feel like June 24th (my first day of summer break) was just a few days ago.  This summer was so busy, with a week long visit from our nephew and a 10 day trip back to the Midwest that I refuse to believe that it's almost over.  For the first time in I don't even know how long I have not been to a pool or a beach all summer long.  That's a shame.  A damn shame.  As I generally take up residence at the pool over the summer.  But, it just didn't work out that way this year.  C'est la vie.  Well, I don't want to spoiler alert anything, but I'm linking up with Farley for the August Currently.  The design this month is super cute.

We got a new puppy almost 2 weeks ago, and she's so dang adorable.  I just want to play with her all the time.  Except that puppies are like babies, so after like 2 minutes of activity she wants to sleep for like 20.  It's so nice that she's gotten along with basically every other creature she's met, and she loves kids.  She's just been such a love bug.  Tonight, I took her to a grill-out (the reason this is a evening post, and not an afternoon post) with a bunch of friends, and a few dogs.  It was great!  Everyone had a great time.  I definitely am putting off a few things until tomorrow that I had planned to do today, but I figure that I'm allowed to have a fun evening with friends, yes?  

One last thing, friends.  Tomorrow (well, technically I think in an hour and a half) starts the TpT Back to School sale!  I'll be back with a more detailed blog post tomorrow, but I just wanted to let you know that I am participating and everything in my store will be 20% off, plus you can get an extra 10% off with the code BTS14.  I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a Fundations bundle?  I don't have my units bundled now, and I know that not all of them are out, but I was thinking maybe bundling by 5s for now, and then I could also offer a 10 as well, once I complete more.  Is that interesting, or a waste of time?  

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the waning hours of summer.  =)

xoxo

Sunday Smorgasbord on Vacation

Hi, sweet friends!

Currently, I'm enjoying my second cup of coffee with my brand new puppy sitting under my chair, my nephew watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates in the next room and a beautiful Midwestern backyard right out the windows.  (But it's literally 100% humidity outside, so we're definitely doing this blogging inside.  That's a little too much stickiness for me.)  Without any more babbling, I'm here to share my Sunday randoms with you, courtesy of one of my favorite bloggers, Michelle over at Fabulous in First.  You can check out her blog here.  Seriously.  Check it out, if you haven't before.  She's all types of fantastic.

{ONE}

Mr. Spouse and I finally added to our family.  We got this sweet, new puppy earlier this week.  On Tuesday, to be exact.  =)  She's such a little love bug, and she's been so well behaved!  We picked her up from a rescue and then we drove from DC all the way to Indiana on Wednesday.  We've been hanging out at our sibling-in-law's domicile since then, and they have a bigger dog, who has in turn made Sadie believe that she is also bigger than she is.  

These are post-play pictures, after they've tuckered each other out for the moment.  =)  Then they take like a 30 minute break and get going all over again.

{TWO}

I'm working on reading this great book right now called Smarter Charts.  It's a really great book about how to give your instructional charts more bang for their buck.  The authors focus on literacy strategies, but as you read it's easy to see how the same ideas could be using for math or science charts.  I think that the biggest take away for me has been that if you want students to use the charts you have after you've made them you have to teach the charts to kids.  It sounds so simple, and maybe it makes me sound like an idiot for not knowing this before, but that has totally been my biggest light bulb moment while reading this book.

  If you're looking for an easy read before you head back to school this book is definitely it.  It's incredibly easy to read and the layout makes it very useful.  I've read teacher books on occasion that are really dense and you have to put a lot of effort into reading them.  That's totally not this book.  It's really user friendly and there are multiple times during each section that I feel like I could use the idea/strategy/method right away.  I mean, it's summer, so I don't need to use right away, but it's on the docket for back to school charts.  =)

{THREE}

I FINALLY posted something new in my TpT store!  It's been so neglected.  :(  I always have great intentions, and then it's just hard to follow through on them all the time.  But, I just posted a new Fundations sort for unit 6.  If you're not familiar with Fundations, unit 6 is the unit when students are introduced to plurals, and the suffix s.  It aligns really well if you use Fundations, but it is also useful to introduce students to building regular plural words.  As it says in the product description, it DOES NOT include words that are made plural with -es or -ies.    You can check it out here.  So far, I have activities for the first 5 units of Fundations, and I'll continue to add to them.  I'm hoping to have units 7 and 8 up in about a week and a half.

I've been sitting at the island entirely too long now.  I need to get some family time in.  And maybe a third cup of coffee?  Have a great Sunday, friends!

xoxo

Kicking Off the Cobwebs

In real life, I've already started this flippin' flappin' blog post about 100 times, but for a wide variety of reasons it hasn't been finished.  Until today.  This blog post is my Everest!  ;)

First, I'm so excited because I'm really close to putting up a new product in my incredibly neglected TpT store.  I just need to go over it again to make sure that all the formatting is right and there aren't any mistakes, but it's hard to look at it so many times in a row.

Secondly, I was at Target last week to pick up a new planner and I found the CUTEST stickers in the Dollar Spot.  I only got one of each because sometimes the hubs doesn't understand how school literally hemorrhages money from our bank account every summer, but they're so cute I would have bought like 5 of each if I wasn't in a hurry and trying to track the budget.  But seriously.  Check your dollar spot for these.

This pack of stickers says things like "I heart math", "Science rules!", "You+Math=Fun" and other super cute stuff like this.  Totally motivational for kinderbabes, or at least I think that if I was 5 or 6 I'd be really motivated by these ones.

These ones are nice because they share information with parents, like "completed with teacher's help", "please correct and return", or "completed together in class".

And this I just found in the back to school aisle, but it was so funny that I had to take a picture.  I laughed all by myself in the back to school aisle at Target.

I thought this notebook was so hilarious!  It doesn't help that another friend of mine says yolo all the time.  Like "should I call this guy back?"  YOLO!  "Should I eat nachos and wings?"  YOLO!  Oh, man.  I'm laughing even here right now writing this blog post.  This picture just gets me every time.

I promise next time I blog it will be more content, less fluff.  =)  I'm reading Smarter Charts right now and if you haven't read that then I would definitely recommend it before school starts.  It's a really quick read.

Okay, y'all.  Try to enjoy the rest of July.  I know that most of you are probably in various degrees of back to school prep mode.  I'm heading to a new school though, so really, I have no idea what back to school will be like.  It's driving me a little crazy, but I'm trying to be as zen as possible about the entire situation.  Have a great weekend, friends!
xoxo

Currently, it's July.

Y'all.  I am giving myself one big giant pat on the back right now because even though I still haven't gone to the gym or the grocery, I AM linking up with Farley for her July Currently on the actual first of the month!  Whoop, whoop!  We have to celebrate the small victories, right?!

I really can't believe that it's already July.  To be fair, I think that part of the problem is that we were in school until June 23rd, so even it's though it's already July my summer break just started.  I also think that's why I'm having these motivation problems today and decided to blog instead of going to the gym or grocery.  So without anymore rambling, here's my July Currently.

Guys, I have to make a real and honest confession:  when I was writing my Currently I was listening to the Today show, but now it's over.  Now I'm listening to/watching old re-runs of Real Housewives of New Jersey.  I'm so embarrassed to admit it, but not so embarrassed that I'm turning it off.

Y'all.  Are you into the World Cup, too?!  I'm SO JAZZED!  The hubs went into work early this morning, so that he could work a full day and still leave in time to watch the game.  We're heading downtown to watch the game at a bar with a bunch of friends who are also planning to leave work a little early.  I actually was hearing somewhere recently that DC has the highest World Cup viewership, which seems surprising when I think of larger cities, but when I look around at how many people are out during the day and how I know our friends who aren't out are watching at work I think "eh, maybe that's right".

I've had such a hard time getting motivated to work out this week.  I just keep crossing other things off my to-do list and then I realize I'm out of time and I didn't work out.  I guess it's good that I'm getting other things done, but it's sucky that I'm not working out.

I realize in the scheme of life that puppy adoption is not the most important thing, but the hubs and I went to an adoption event at a pet store and these puppies were SO CUTE.  I honestly wanted to just pick one up and take it out with me, but I'm pretty confident that's not how the actual adoption process works.  So we filled out an application and now we're just waiting for them to call us back.  Which I'm sure is taking a little longer because literally EVERYONE leaves DC for the 4th of July.  But if this is how anxious I get about adopting a puppy I don't think I would ever make it adopting an actual baby.

I absolutely LOVE the 4th of July; it's such a fun holiday and DC really makes it a big deal.  One thing that's super cool about DC is the Capitol fireworks, but what's even cooler is that if you can get yourself to a roof deck of some type you can see the Capitol fireworks and then afterwards you can see all sorts of other displays in Maryland and VA at country clubs and stuff like.  It's like almost an hour of panoramic fireworks.  Last year, we watched on our own roof and then went to the pool afterwards.  It was really amazing, but we've moved since then and we don't have access to a roof deck anymore, so I think we're heading over to some friends' house, with our nephew in tow.  We're hosting our nephew for 4th of July; we told him for Christmas we would fly him out to DC for some time over the summer and we thought he might like 4th of July.  I don't even know how many groceries to buy for a growing teenager, so that's going to be interesting.

I hope you all have a great 4th!!
xoxo

How Children Succeed, Teacher Treats, & More

Greetings, friends!

It's my greatest hope that by now everyone is finished with school.  I can't imagine still being in school.  (And if you are I apologize!)

I have a lot of thoughts to share today, so grab a Diet Coke, or a water with some cucumber and lime in it (my current favorite) and settle in.  =)

First, I want to recommend a book to everyone.  I already recommended it on IG, so I'm sorry to be redundant, but this book is so smart.  The entire time I was reading this book I just kept thinking "Yes, yes, yes!  You're exactly right!"  I read it really quickly; in a week, and if I hadn't been in school part of that time I think I would have read it even faster.  So, the basic premise of the book is that reforms targeting reform schools haven't been successful in closing achievement gaps because reforms aren't targeting the "right parts" of kids.  I feel that's a terrible synthesis, but it was so engaging and I really think the author is totally on target with his ideas.  I don't want to give away the entire text, so I'm not going to share too much. If you're an urban teacher, I firmly believe you should find the time to read this book this summer!  It's absolutely relevant to anyone in education, but it's particularly relevant to teachers in urban education.

Next up, I finally got around to ordering some gorgeous teacher goodies from C. Jayne Teach!  If you're not familiar with her goodies, check out her website right here. She makes adorable products to make teaching easier.  When I finally got around to checking out her shop, it was really difficult to stay within my budget!  Her products are all adorable!  I know that a lot of other teacher bloggers have purchased her Teacher Anchor and that it's gotten a lot of positive reviews, but I'm going to a new school next year, and I don't totally know how planning works there, so I was nervous to commit.  But I got some ADORABLE stickers with my name on them so I can tag things that belong to me before I loan them out to other teachers.  Super cute!  I kind of want to tag everything in my office with them, but I already know those things belong to me so that seems a bit superfluous.  I also ordered her Student Conference Notepad, which is so dang cute!  It has spots for reading, writing, and math as well as each day of the week.  And each sheet is 8.5x11 so if you want to put it into a binder for tracking it will measure the same as a standard sheet of paper.  I can't wait to use it with my kinderbabes next year!  I think the only downside for me is that the boxes are a little small, and I have GIGANTIC handwriting, but that's totally a personal problem.  Not a design problem.  Here's a pic I snapped of my order.

Also, I was sort of a moron with this order.  At first, I forgot to put the personalization in my order for the stickers, and then I had a panic attack because when I tracked the package USPS said it was already delivered and I hadn't received the package yet.  Both times Chandra was so patient and nice to me.  She totally didn't make me feel like an idiot and she was incredibly helpful and responsive.  I would absolutely recommend ordering from her shop!  I really can't say enough about how adorable her products are, and how easy it is to work with her.  Plus, I would way rather support another actual teacher and human that I (kind of) know over a corporation.  Small business, whoop, whoop!

Lastly, this is something that's been weighing on my mind this whole week, especially as I read How Students Succeed and this super smart blog post from Carolyn.  One of my love bugs this past year is such a mess; he lacks a lot of foundational skills and is constantly seeking sensory stimulation in literally almost every way possible.  He has terrible impulse control and really struggles to pick up on social cues and meet classroom expectations.  It's really difficult for him to be independent; even when he's engaged he's coming up to me about every minute for some positive reinforcement.  BUT he's really sweet as pie.  A complete and total love bug.  However, it was incredibly challenge to manage him daily with 24 other kids in the classroom.  The point of this and what's on my mind is that there are definitely times this year when I lost my patience with him, and I feel really guilty about that.  I know he has a rough time at home and I know that I need to be a positive model for him.  It was really difficult, and I feel like I let him down at times and I think that I feel additionally guilty about not going back to the same school next year and not being able to continue to be a part of his life.  Have you ever had that lingering feeling that you didn't do your best for a student?

Okay, y'all.  Thanks for sticking with me through all of this!  Have a great weekend!  I'm hoping to get some new products up on Monday, so keep an eye out for that.  =)
xoxo

I love a good party.

Alright, y'all.  I made it!  Teachers have one more day of school here in DC on Monday, but we're all done with the childrens.  I'd be lying to your face if I said this wasn't an incredibly difficult year, for a wide variety of reasons, but we finally made it through.  I just have one more day of classroom packing, and then it's summa time.  Wooooooo!

Once again, to celebrate a glorious end to the school year and an all around great weekend I'm linking up with one of my blog crushes, Michelle over at Fabulous in First for her Sunday Smorgasbord.  (By the way, I literally always have to say the word "smorgasbord" really slowly as I type it so I don't misspell it.)

Without any more rambling, here are my Sunday randoms.

{ONE}

I've got World Cup fever!  Y'all I get so dang excited about the World Cup...almost as excited as I do for the Olympics.  Maybe even a little more excited because it happens less often?  I love global competition.  Today, we're going to a neighborhood watering hole to watch the US/Portugal game and I'm so darn excited.  Can you hastag in a blog post?  Because I'm so into #1nation1team it's not even funny.  

{TWO}

As I shared in an earlier blog post, I'm switching schools AND grade levels for this upcoming school year.  The amount of things I don't know about what I'm doing come September gives me daily anxiety, and I was honestly just thinking the other day about whether I had made the right choice, and then yesterday I got a little care package from my new school.  It was the sweetest thing.  I came home from a board meeting and I saw that there was a package outside our door.  I hadn't ordered anything lately, and I didn't think Mr. Spouse had either.  I picked it up and the return address was my new school, so I figured they had mailed some forms to fill out and a welcome letter, but I looked inside and it was full of swag!  It was so cute!  There was a letter from the principal, letters from current students welcoming me to the staff, some school swag, and 2 books to read!  I'm already about 50 pages into this book, and I can't get enough.  Hubs has tried to talk to me multiple times today and I just keep saying "yes", "uh-huh", and "sure".  

This book is so smart and incredibly fascinating.  I would recommend it to any teacher, but ESPECIALLY to teachers in urban areas.

{THREE}

Sometimes I have really great ideas that turn out to be not so great.  This week's is committing my first 3 days of summer vacation to norming the DC-CAS, DC's standardized test.  I do it because generally it's pretty easy work, they pay well, it's cool to meet teachers across the district, and it gives me an interesting insight into standardized testing, even though I've never taught a testing grade.  However, I now have had more exciting offers come my way and wish I could do funner things the first 3 days of break than norm a test.  #liveandlearn

{FOUR}

As I mentioned earlier, I'm going to be teaching the kinderbabes next year.  Almost all of the teacher blogs I currently follow are aimed at the 1st/2nd grade band.  A few outliers here and there (Fifth in the Middle, Oh Boy Fourth Grade), but I'm looking for really excellent kinder blogs to follow as I only have a few on the roll right now.  I currently follow Cara Carroll at The First Grade Parade, Tara at Little Minds at Work, Greg at Smedley's Smorgasbord, Hadar at Miss Kindergarten and Elizabeth at Kickin' It in Kindergarten.  I'm pretty sure those are the only kinder blogs I follow.  I'd love some more suggestions!  I feel like reading about other K teachers will help easy my anxiety.  =)

Enjoy the rest of this lovely Sunday, and if  you still have nuggets to teach this week I hope they are calm and mellow!
xoxo

Sunday Smorgasbord

Y'all. I am so dang excited to link up tonight with Michelle over at Fabulous in First.  (She doesn't know it, but she was the first teacher blog I ever followed and I think she's so dang smart and creative.)  To celebrate summer, she has an adorable weekly link up where you share basically anything you want. So I'm going to share a few random parts of my life, and if you feel compelled/inspired to do the same you can find her blog right here.
                                                  

{one}

*Dramatic pause/sigh*  I. am. still. in. school.  And we have 2 more whole weeks, plus a teacher work day.  (That means I'm workin' for the man until June 23rd, in case you're not sitting near your calendar.)  Thanks, worst winter ever, and all of the federal holidays ever.  At least starting this week we're starting end of year celebrations.  This Tuesday is Field Day, one of my most favorite activities every year.

{two}

Yesterday, we had our housewarming party.  Yesterday was June 7th.  Y'all, we moved in February.  I don't know why we always do that.  But the weather was beautiful.  We fired up the grill and it was so nice we were even able to hang outside and use our new Tiki torches.  I always hate how much work you have to do before you have a party, but I sure do love having them.  I just love when all the people I like the most are all together for any reason--housewarming, wedding, just a Friday night.

{three}

This past week I started a pretty intense diet.  One of the fitness blog's I follow does some seasonal Shreds, and I've been making excuses to myself about why I haven't been losing the weight for about 6 months now and I finally decided it's time to do something about it.  It's a pretty serious adjustment--no Diet Coke (say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!)--but I'm totally on board to build a better, stronger me.  However, I will say that these guys have totally gotten me through this week.  They generally hold me over from breakfast to lunch.  I've tried a couple different types this week but these Almond & Coconut ones where the best.  By far.

They totally kept me on track.  They're sweet without being over the top.  I just really can't say enough good things about them.

{four}

One of the most adorable of my nuggets made this picture for me earlier this week and gave it to me.  She said "Here, Mrs. Wilser.  I made this for you.  It's a picture of Egypt.  I read about it on RAZ Kids."

 I love how spongey first grade minds are.  And I love when they love to learn.

Okay, kids.  That's all you're going to get from me tonight.  It's 9:55 and I still have a few jobs to finish before I can call it a night.  I hope you had a great weekend, and that the summer breakers amongst us take advantage of their no alarm mornings.

Happy Monday!
xoxo

June Currently

Hold. The.  Phone.  It's June?!  What the heck happened to May?!  I really feel like I just celebrated my birthday.  But really that was almost 6 weeks ago.  So dang crazy.

Here in DC we still have THREE FULL WEEKS of school.  It's true.  My summer break doesn't start until June 24th, and then because I'm going to a new school and have new teacher orientation I go back August 6th.  We're also hosting one of our nephews for a week over the summer, and we have some family travel to do.  I know that every summer feels crazy, but I really think this one is going to zoom by.  Well, without any further ado, here is my June Currently.

I think all these things are pretty straightforward, so I'm going to leave you all here and take myself outside in the sunshine.  =)  Have a great Sunday, friends!

xoxox

The times. They are a-changing.

Hello, friends!

Every time I start to type a post on my sad little blog I make all types of resolutions about how I'm going to be better.  It's just so tricky for me to find that balance during the school year.  It's at the very top of my summer to do list, and I'm hoping to find lots of inspiration in the relaxation (or crazy busy-ness) of the summer.

I'm here today to share some incredibly exciting news.  (Well, at least it's incredibly exciting to me.)  After 4 years with my current school, I decided to take a new position at a different school next year.  Teaching kindergarten!  Which is funny, because if you know me I always swore up and down that I would never go younger than first.  But, the school that I'm moving to has all the things I'm looking for, so I'm testing the waters of kindergarten, and I figure if I decide it's not for me I can probably adjust grade levels again in a year or two.  Right??  While I have no idea where/what I'm going to do with all the stuff I've accumulated over 4 years (no garage, live in an apartment), I am really excited for a new start in the fall.  It will be hard to leave the friends I've made over the past 4 years, but I'm pretty confident that I made the right decision.

Over the summer I'll probably start to transition to some more kindergarten based content, but I'm hoping to still share some first grade shenanigans.  I'm also planning to read Smarter Charts over the summer (I've heard a TON of great things about that book!)   In case you're not familiar, basically the author talks about how to make charts useful to kids by illustrating processes and making charts interactive.  

And I'm also planning to finish Putting the Practices Into Action, a great book about the SMPs (standards for mathematical practice) in the Common Core.  I actually got this book (an embarrassingly long time ago) at a PD and started it, but then got busy with school and didn't finish it.  I'm excited to go back and re-read/finish it because it has tons of actionable ideas for a variety of grade levels and it's a very easy read.

And in non-teacher related news, I'm planning to read The Fault in Our Stars.  Just because.  Should anything else be on my summer reading list?

Enjoy the rest of the week!
xoxo

A prize for teachers!

Okay, y'all.  I can't even really properly express how proud I am for actually doing some weeknight blogging.

I really think that I'm close to having some more closure on my life for next year, which is making me feel a little more zen.  Tonight I just wanted to share a super exciting treat that I'm sure other (nerdy) teachers will feel just as excited about.  I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with this amazing and super great math program called Splash Math.  It's available for K-5 and it's basically a self-paced math site that lets kids practice all their grade level standard.  I LOVE it because it auto-differentiates, and it collects data on each kid.  And, here's the best part!  Normally, because of how totally fab is, Splash Math charges you either per kid, or a particular amount for an entire class, but until the end of the year Splash Math! is giving you an entire class of kids, activities, and data tracking FOR FREE!  That's right, teacher friends--FREE!  You can sign up your entire class for the rest of the year using the link above.  It will guide you through the entire process of registering.

I hope you all enjoy the last few days, or weeks, of school with Splash Math.  =)
xoxo

May Currently...WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

I canNOT believe that it's already May!  The Derby is already past and tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo.  How can that be?!  And while everyone else in the entire world is counting down until they are out of school I'll be in school all the way until JUNE 21ST!  Yikes.  Serenity now.

Anyway, I figure it's okay to be tardy to the party this month, considering how crazy my April was.  I mean, really, that month literally just zoomed by.  And every dang month I swear I'm going to blog more and then it's the next dang month's currently.  I really don't understand how this keeps happening to me!  =)  I'm going to try and blog once a week this month.  Without any further ado, here is my May currently.

Honestly, I think most everything in my Currently this month is pretty self-explanatory.  I would just like to encourage everyone to check out Fabulous in First.  It's the first blog I ever read, and I still love to check it out.  I also love her TpT store; she has so many incredibly helpful products.  

Happy Cinco de Mayo, y'all!  

xoxo

Super Focused

Okay, y'all.  The entire month of April has been super crazy--my parents came out to visit, it was spring break, we went to NYC, the twinnies moved to North Carolina, it was Easter, I turned 30 (ack!), and my siblings-in-law came out for my birthday.  Then, it was May.  Seriously.  So pardon the dust that is gathering on the blog.  We're going to kick it off today.

First, I'm here to tell you about an AMAZING giveaway going on at the Primary Chalkboard.  (By the way, if you don't follow them you should.  It's an amazing collaborative blog.)  They're giving away $35 to TpT right before the next sitewide sale.  Great timing, right?!  You can enter the most amazing contest on the face of the planet right here:  you get a giftcard, you get a giftcard, EVERYONE GETS A GIFTCARD!  Sorry--I couldn't resist doing my best Oprah impression.  But seriously.  Go enter the contest.  I'll be back later today after Jillian Michaels kicks my hinney and I go to Eastern Market to share real classroom things.  =)

xoxo

I did it!

Hello, friends!

We still have one more day of school before spring break, but I wanted to share a quick update.  As I mentioned in this moment of brutal honesty I've really been dropping the ball on math instruction for a few months and I vowed to do better.  (A coworker of mine is really fond of saying when you know better you do better.  And I definitely do so I am.)  So for the past month, basically, I've been assessing my kids 3 times a week and really trying to use that data to meaningfully group and reteach my kids.  One part that I've REALLY liked about this personal push is that I've been really pushing my highest math group much more often, and I'm really seeing growth out of them.  For example, right now we're in a unit on data, time, and measurement and I've been able to not only push my high group to create their own questions, data, and graph, but I was even able to teach them in a small group how to use a scale other than 1 on their graphs.  It's been so nice to be able to challenge my highest group, as opposed to constantly pushing up the lowest groups.  I'm sharing my skip counting by 5s on a graph activity with you, should you be interested as well--for before or after spring break.  =)  I've honestly never done this before, but if I understand technology correctly, you should be able to click this link and download the activity.

Enjoy your spring, friends!

I am so late to the game.

Y'all.  I'm so late to the game and I've been so distracted by testing and report cards that I didn't even realize there was an April Currently up until this morning.  *So embarrassing!*  This is beyond fashionably late, but this past week was CAS for us and even though first grade doesn't take the test we still feel the effects--no specials, recess duty every day, and no Sp. Ed. support for the entire week.  Just me and my 26 love nuggets for 5 straight days.  Buuuuut we made it out the other side (Phew!  And also?  Just barely!) so now I can share my Currently.

I've set some very ambitious goals for myself today--do all the laundry, do the taxes, go to the grocery, AND get the lessons planned, so I'll be leaving you here, but you'll see me at least one more time before spring break.  It's a promise.  

Enjoy the springtime weather, friends!

xoxo

Hey, there! Remember me??

Hello, sweet friends!

I hope that everyone is doing well!  It has been an insanely ridiculous amount of time since I have last updated this little blog of mine, but first we moved and then it took Verizon 138945309 years to install our internet.  (To be perfectly honest, we still don't have internet.  I'm staying at school late today because enough is enough.)

I don't know about y'all, but I am ready for spring!  We just had a snow day yesterday (Snow Patrick's Day), and I am about finished with the cold.  Mid-March is time for weather to start getting warmer and flowers to start blooming.  Not for 6 to 8 inches of snow to be dumped on my city.

So, I was inspired by the amazing Katie King (who you might know as the Queen of the First Grade Jungle) in this post to admit something to you all:  I have not been teaching math the way I should this year.  I've rationalized it a ton of different ways, but the bottom line is I need to raise the bar, both for my kids and myself. I'm part of a fellowship this year, and now in our third cycle we're studying formative assessment so for the rest of this math unit I'm going to assess my kids in some way every day--exit ticket, mini-quiz, journal response.  But every day I'm going to hit those kids with some type of check in and then I'm going to reteach the one who aren't getting it the very next day during math work stations.  I'll be trying to update the blog 2-3 times a week with details about how it's going, and hopefully some freebies that you can use as well in your own class.  Hopefully we can all learn something.  I believe that teachers sharing ideas with each other makes everyone better.

I hope that you're all staying warm and getting ready for spring!
xoxo