13 in '13

Hey all!

I have finally made it to Winter Break! Thank goodness! I know I hear teachers everywhere saying the same thing.

I am linking up with Hadar at Miss Kindergarten, Traci at Dragonflies in First, and Kristin at A Teeny Tiny Teacher to share my 13 favorite things about the year 2013.

13. Favorite article of clothing

I love the infinity scarves. I am actually running out of room in my closet because of all my scarves. I think I'll have to get a bigger closet. (haha)

12. Favorite Movies of 2013

Even before Paul Walker died, I loved these movies. Are they going to get a Grammy, probably not. However, they are always entertaining.

11. Favorite TV series

I love the Big Bang Theory! I can always count on it for a good laugh.

10. Favorite Restaurant

I love this sushi place down the street from me called Trapper's Sushi. My boyfriend and I go there at least once a week. They have some very unique sushi rolls, including some that are deep fried and topped with jalapeños. Sounds weird but it is surprisingly delish. 

9. Favorite new thing you tried

At the beginning of the year I went to a Zumba class at my gym. I love it. I was surprised at how go of a workout it actually was.

8. Favorit gift you got

A couple of weeks ago I got myself a Macbook Pro for an early Christmas present. I absolutely love it! 

7. Favorite thing you pinned

For whatever reason, the widget is not working at the moment. I have a feeling it is operator error but I can't figure it out right at the moment. It is a pin about how to organize your small group materials to make them easily accessible.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/261701428320036494/

6. Favorite blog post
The blog post that is my favorite is the one I did this summer about Whole Brain Teaching. I am still figuring things out but I have enjoyed incorporating the Whole Brain strategies into my lessons.

http://msrichardsmusings.blogspot.com/2013/07/i-got-bit-by-whole-brain-teaching-bug.html

5. Best accomplishment

This blog! I started blogging in January and I have enjoyed meeting so many people. I have been slacking a bit trying to devote my time to my National Boards. Yikes! I knew that it would be a lot of time, but I was still not prepared for it. When this is all over, I will be writing blog post on a more regular basis. I promise.

4. Favorite picture

My sweetie and I at the Kenny Chesney concert this summer. Good times had by all.

3. Favorite memory

I got to go to Europe this summer. It was a blast. I am already planning on when I can go back.

2. Goal 2014

My goal is finish my National Boards. I am still trying to figure out how to balance life, my students, and devoting enough time to writing my papers.

1. One little word

I think this quote says it perfectly.

Don't forget to head over to Traci, Kristin, or Hadar's blogs to join in the fun.

Look What We Got!

Hey friends! Remember me? I used to blog on a regular bases and actually reply to emails in a timely manner. Sigh...I can't wait until this year is done.

I did manage to enjoy the cyber sale at Teachers Pay Teachers. Did you already head over there? Wowza! There is good stuff to be had.

I bought a ton of clip art this time around from 2 of my favorite clip art creators: Krista Wallden and Melonheadz.

I also got a couple of other random units from other teacher authors. The Fry Phrases are from Christina Bainbridge. Christina includes a tons of activities for students to practice their decoding skills. I also picked up 2 "One Breath Boxes" from DK Coleman. She offers a free One Breath Box on her TpT store. I downloaded it and tried it out with my kids. They loved it! I bought two more units with some of the harder words for later in the year.

What did you buy? Don't forget to link up with Blog Hoppin' to share what you got.

I think I am going to head back to TpT for round 2 before the sale is done.

November Currenly

Hey all! It's me, Krystyn. I am alive. It had been pure craziness in my world lately. Sorry for the lack of blogging. I have missed it!

It's the beginning of a new month and you know I can't resist contributing to my favorite linky. Head on over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade for all the details on how to participate in this linky. You can also check out all the other people that have linked up.

Listening: My sweetie is watching the Manchester United game. I always make him watch all my cooking shows and dramas, he can take over the TV on Saturday and Sundays.

Loving: Yesterday, I got to enjoy an entire day free of sugar filled students. Instead I had to sit in a 3 hour training. (In my mind, SO much better than dealing with sleep deprived, sugared-up students.)

Thinking: Today is the next Sounders game. We are in the playoffs against Portland. This is a huge rival so it should be a great game. Unfortunately, it is raining so hard it work me up. Hence, the thought about trying to find my rain gear.

Wanting: My computer is slowly dying. This is my 3 laptop in the last 6 years. I figure it might be time to spring for a Mac. Everyone I talk to loves them. I just have to rationalize the amount of money. :)

Needing: I am definitely feeling the pressure this year with trying to complete my National Boards. In addition to that, next week are Parent/Teacher Conferences. This year they decided to switch things up and make them student-led conferences. Which is a wonderful idea but I have never done them before and our district is not offering any training on them. (AHHHHH!)

Yummy Pin: Doesn't this look delish? Yum-o!

TpT Flash Sale

Hey all!

Teachers Pay Teachers just announced they reached 1,000 Facebook friends. To celebrate, they are having a flash sale until October 14th.

Graphics by Krista Wallden and Ashley Hughes. Fonts by Jen Jones.

My store is also 20% off. Don't forget to enter the code FB100K to receive an additional 10% off. Head over there quick before the sale is over.

Now, I have a LONG Wishlist that I need to prioritize.

Happy shopping.

October Currently

Hey all!

This is absolutely one of my favorite linkys by Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade. I figured I would take a short break in my paper writing to write this quick post.

Listening: Every Saturday and Sunday morning, NBC plays 3 English Premier games. My sweetie and I watch it with our morning coffee. Since I make him watch Project Runway and Grey's Anatomy I figured I can spend my weekends watching soccer.

Loving: Yesterday and today has been absolutely beautiful in the Pacific Northwest. It is sunny but just a little chilly so I can still wear scarves and boots.

Thinking: On Tuesday I have my cohort meeting for my National Boards. I am supposed to have 1 completed entry to turn in to them. (Eeeek!) I have about 4 pages to write to get there.

Wanting: Lately when I have had the chance, I have been reading some of those free books from Amazon. I don't even remember the title of the one that I am currently trying to read but I love how mindless it is. It is a perfect break from analyzing my teaching practices. I just need to make sure I don't get lost in it and spend hours reading instead of the other things I need to do.

Needing: Somehow I forgot to grab my lesson plans off my desk on Friday when I was packing up. I have to make a trip into school to grab them before I can start my lesson plans. Good thing I live close to school.

Trick: When you are getting ready to transition and you say "be ready by the time I get to...", skip count by different variables to keep your students paying attention. Lately I have been skip counting by 2's forward and backwards. It doesn't take long for my students to realize I am not counting by 1's and they get extra practice with skip counting.

That's all for me today. I'm going to go hide in my room to working on my National Boards.

Crazy Year!

Hello followers!

This week has been a doozy. I caught all that crud that my students have been passing to each other last Sunday. Take a look at my coffee table.

Yuck! I couldn't stop sneezing. I have never been sick this soon in the school year. I even considered writing sub plans. It was that bad. I hate writing sub plans, especially on Day 10 of the school year.

As I was lying on the couch this week with flannel pajamas, a hoodie, 2 fleece blankets, and a mug of tea, my sweetie reminded me that I probably got sick because of all the things I am doing this year.  As many of you already know, this year I am in the process of getting my National Board Certification. I also realized that I am going to have to prioritize. I have decided that while I am getting my National Board Certification this year, I am going to have to put my blog on a bit of a hold. I still plan on posting but they are not going to be as frequent as they were in the past.

I would love for you to follow me on Instagram at @msrichardssmusings, Facebook at Ms Richards's Musings, and Twitter at @krystynrichards.

Before I go, take a look at our science activity that we did this week. We explored balance with these "trick crayfish" from our Foss Kit. This is my favorite activity from the kit.

We even walked around the school balancing the crayfish on their fingers. The kids LOVED it!

It is cloudy day in Washington today. Perfect day to watch movies on my couch and plan for next week.

Enjoy your weekend.

Open House, First Day Back, Five for Friday...oh my!

Phew! This week completely took it out of me. I forgot how tiring the first week back is. The sad part was we only had school 3 days this week. I am linky up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday.

One: I spend my Labor Day weekend driving across the state to go to my friend's wedding. It was beautiful. Take a peek at these adorable center pieces. All of them were different and had specific mementos about the couple's relationship.

Two: I finally was able to get my minions finished and up on my bulletin board. The parents and students that walked by my class LOVED the minions. One of my students from last year wanted to know where his name was. I had to gently explain that he was in a different class this year so he didn't have a minion. (Awww)

Three: On Tuesday we had our Open House. All the elementary schools have Open House on the same day in our district. I had about half of my parents and students show up. (Yeah!)

Four: I took pictures of my students with this cute little sign I made up to mark the first day of 2nd grade. I am not quite sure what I am going to do with them but I wanted to make sure I captured their first day.

Five: In spite of my exhaustion, I met up with my family to watch the USA vs Costa Rico soccer game. Even though we lost, we had a REALLY big tv to watch the game on.

I am off to try to plan my lessons for next week so I can try to go to sleep early tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend.

Currently (September)

Hey all! I have been seriously neglecting this poor little blog of mine this summer. I am not sure how the summer flew by so fast. I couldn't resist linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for this month's Currently.

Listening: I love watching the Food Network. More often than not, it is what is on in the background.

Loving: Fall is my favorite season. I love when the leaves start to change and the air gets a little chilly. Plus Starbucks has Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Yum yum!

Thinking and Wanting are pretty self explanatory.

Needing: School starts Wednesday so I need to figure out what we are doing for the first couple of days of school. I had a schedule all figured out then they changed my start/end time of school, as well as, my specialist schedule. So I had to change everything and start all over.

My goals this month are to make sure I stay on track with my National Boards and to work out. This year is going to be crazy. I have to remember to take time for myself.

Another goal that I forgot to add would be to be better about posting on my blog this month.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend.

Classroom Reveal 2103

Phew! I can't believe how fast this week has gone. I am in full-on classroom readiness mode. Like everyone else, we have had all kinds of Professional Development this week. I am pretty much done with my classroom so I figured I would link up with Courtney from Swimming into Second and Jessica from Tales from a First Grade Teacher to show you my room.

If you follow me on Instagram @msrichardssmusings you have already seen most of these pictures.

Numbers, Bucket Fillers, coat hooks

From my kidney table

"Carpet" area. I hate this rug but it will have to work for now.

Classroom Library

Reading Genre Posters

Teacher area

Small Group

I still need to find a spot to put the objectives. Any suggestions?