I'm joining the Insta craze!

I finally broke down and joined Instagram. I had a personal account about a year ago and I never really posted any pictures. So I am going to try to be better about posting pictures from my classroom. Rachel and Natalie from What the Teacher Wants and Michelle from Apples and ABC's is hosting a linky every Tuesday. All you have to do is upload a picture from your classroom on Tuesday using the hashtag #teachertalktuesday. Easy enough, right?

The idea is that if everyone uses the hashtag we will be able to easily find the pictures posted by other teachers.

Now the trick is to remember to take pictures.

Five for Friday on a Saturday

Hello All!

Spring Fever has had my class hard this week. The sad part is, we still have 30+ days of school left. (I realized my summer counter is counting the weekends too.)

I am linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday.

1. Yesterday we got together with our Kindergarten reading buddies. We decided to make encouraging sayings and notes for our 3rd graders taking the state tests. In 2nd grade we don't have any state tests to take...yet.

2. We celebrated Earth Day by making these adorable crafts.

3. We did Lorax inspired reading and math activities all week. 

4. I just finished this new plant unit. Head on over to TpT to check it out.

5. After the crazy week I had, I enjoyed this lovely beverage.

Have a good weekend.

Tell Me Something Good Linky and a Giveaway

Today was the 2nd beautiful day in a row! I could get used to this. However, I have noticed that it is SO much easier teaching when it is raining outside than when it is beautiful. Go figure.

I saw this wonderful linky from Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade. All you have to do is talk about 2 "good" things that are going on in your life. (One at home and one at school.) I love this linky because I think it is too easy to forget about the wonderful things that are going on, and only focus on the bad. Especially with the bombings in Boston, the explosion in West, and the floods in the Midwest these last couple of weeks.

Something good from school:

All year long my students have been fighting me every time we write. For example, we would brainstorm ideas to write about as a class and students would still say they had nothing to write about. I was pulling out my hair...Oi! Finally my co-worker and I found these adorable squiggle stories. (I talked about them in an earlier post here.)  My students LOVED them! A couple of days ago, I actually was able to get all my students working on their writing. Picking topics that they wanted to write about. Huge success! I was so excited. Now I just need to figure out how to replicate it. (Hahaha)

Something good from home:

I just put my check for my trip to Europe in the mail today. I just a couple of weeks I will be going to this lovely city, Vienna.

I also only have 55 days of school left. That, in itself, is something to celebrate.

Don't forget to comment and follow my blog for a chance to win my new Plant Unit. I'll randomly pick people tomorrow night. (Don't forget to leave your email address.)

Happy Thursday!

Plants, Plants, Plants!

Hello All! We had a furlough today so I enjoyed our first warm day of Spring by lounging in the sun. It was wonderful. Speaking of sun...take a look at our plants! Yesterday we planted potatoes too. My students love watching their plants grow.

This is after we "mowed" our plants.

I am so happy I didn't kill them! I was really afraid that they would all die. My tank full of worms is still alive and kicking too. (I talked about it here and here.)

I finally finished my plant unit. (Yeah) It is on sale today and tomorrow. Click on the picture to go to my TpT store. Take a look at some of the activities in action.

Here are some of the things that are included in this unit.

ABC Order 

Growing Tall Word Sort using Long O and R-controlled vowels

Olive the Homophones

Growing Grab, Tally, Graph

A Forrest of True and False

In the Nick of Time

Money Match-up

Plants Can, Have, Are

I Promise Earth Day Mobile

**All the activities included have a black and white version.** 

It is on sale today and tomorrow at my TpT store. For a few lucky followers I am giving this unit to you free! All you have to do is follow my blog and leave me a comment. I will be posting the winners on Friday. Good luck!

Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

I am not sure how it happened, but it has been a week since I last posted. (Ekkk!) I have been busy busy working on my Where the Green Grass Grows Plant Unit. We are knee deep in plants right now, so we are slowly working our way through the unit. (I'll post pictures tomorrow.) Here is a sneak peek of the unit.

Today was so C-R-A-Z-Y busy. We had the Mayor come in to read us a story about economics. My students were so good. (Thank goodness!) We also had volunteers come to our school today for Earth Day. We planted flowers and pumpkins in our garden. Here we are in action.

We didn't get to it today, but we will be doing this adorable Earth Day activity tomorrow. I got the idea from my co-worker.

We already brainstormed ways we could help the Earth. Students will be picking 3 things they think they can do. I picked: use my cloth grocery bag more, recycle, and turn off the lights. I am the worse about using my cloth grocery bag. I even have it in the car and I STILL forget to use it. My goal is to be better about bringing it with me.

This weekend I was able to enjoy some non-work related things. We went to the troll under the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. It is this random little statue under the bridge. I'm not really sure what the story is about the troll but I love finding these hidden treasures. It adds so much character to the city.

We also stopped by my brother's new house. Take a look at his door knocker! How cool does this look?

 Have a great week. What did you do for Earth Day?

Let's Get Acquainted Linky (Skittles Game)

Hello All! I'm linking up with Latoya for her "Let's Get Acquainted" Linky Party. 

This week it is all about the Skittles Game.

TOPIC - Skittles Game

 

Here is the code:

Red- Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

Orange- Favorite Memory from College

Yellow- Favorite Sports Team

Green- Favorite Fast Food Place

Purple- Wild Card(Tell anything about yourself)

Red- Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

I love pistachio gelato. It is so creamy and delicious. Doesn't this look great? Yum!

 Orange- Favorite Memory from College

I grew up in Washington State. When it came time to go to college, I went clear across the continental United States to go to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, I found one of my best friends Katie. Living in Washington, sports are not really a big thing. (Not the case in Massachusetts, in case you're wondering.) Every Sunday we would watch the Pats, Sox, or the Celtics battle it out while we were doing our homework. 

At the Crab Pot in Seattle.

Yellow- Favorite Sports Team

I LOVE the Seattle Sounders. I try to see as many games as I can. All of the fans are so involved with their team. We know all the chants, cheers, and players. I think it adds to the experience. I also love the New England Patriots.

Green- Favorite Fast Food Place

I love Taco Del Mar. It is not the best Mexican food I have ever had but it is good for a quick fix. Plus their Taco Salad is delicious.

Purple- Wild Card (Tell Anything You Want)

I used to be a synchronized swimmer, a water polo player, and a competitive swimmer. (Do you sense a theme? :))

Today I also had my observation. I totally rocked it! (Whoop whoop) I introduced this QR code measurement game for my lesson. It actually went better than I expected. I am always nervous for observations but my kids were so engaged with the activity that it went so quickly. I barely noticed my principal leaving my classroom.

Here is the activity we did. Click on the picture to download the freebie. (There is a QR code and a non-QR code version too.)

Happy Monday!