Five for Friday (April 12)

Happy Friday! Whoohoo! Boy did this week go S-L-O-W! Who is ready for summer?

I am linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly Five for Friday. Here are my 5 random things about my week.

1. On Tuesday our wireless finally started working. (Check out this post for more information.) I introduced the Class Dojo to my students and explained how the system worked. They loved it! Especially changing their avatars. I have already had a couple of parents sign up for automatic weekly reports. I am sending paper copies from for the next couple of weeks until we get the hang of it.

2. We planted grass on Monday. We are 5 days in...so far so good. I haven't managed to kill any of them yet. I even have a couple of the seeds sprouting! (Phew...thank goodness.)

3. Here is a better picture of our gross worms. Aren't they HUGE? My students love looking in the terrarium and finding all the worms slithering around.

4. We have been using this wonderful plant unit from Lindsay at The Teacher's Wife along with our science kits. Here is one little plant crafts in the unit. (All the parts of the flower are labeled as well.)

5. Can you see me? I'm the one with the scarf. (Haha) I'll be one of these fans tomorrow when I go to the Seattle Sounders game. I can't wait.

 

 

Have a good weekend.

Ewww...worms

Happy hump day! Boy can this week go any slower? I have already had 2 meetings this week, so this is going to be a quick post.

Take a look at we got today after school. Eww...worms.

They came in a Styrofoam container. I dumped them into the terrarium. They are HUGE! I think some of them were frozen because not all of them were moving.  I'll have to check all of them tomorrow. (Insert shudder. Yuck.) My students haven't seen them yet. They will, of course, love them. However, they will have to wait a couple of weeks before we use them.

Monday and Tuesday we worked on using inches to measure different items in the classroom. Today we measured "giant" feet using non-standardized units. Just about every student wanted to use the paper money. (Haha)

We are almost through the week. (I just have to keep telling myself that.)

Phew...I made it! And a Freebie!

Oy! What a day! Today was our first day back from Spring Break. Thank goodness it is over.

Have you heard of Class Dojo? I found out about this website last year. It is this wonderful online system that you can monitor from your phone or I-Pad. It is really easy to set up. All you need to do is input your class list and your class rules. As your students are following your class rules, they can earn points. At the end of the week, Class Dojo calculates the points for you and sends reports to their parents. I thought this would be a great way to inform my parents about their child's behavior.

(Rachel Lamb from The Tattooed Teacher has a wonderful tutorial about how to get started.) Last year, I couldn't figure out how to make it work in my classroom. The wireless was spotty and I didn't want to be tied to my computer to input the points. Fast forward a year later, I am in a new district and a better wireless system. I spent Spring Break trying to figure out how to incorporate this in my classroom. Then I get to school today AAANNNNDDDD no wireless Internet. No wireless Internet = No Classroom Dojo.  Darn the luck. Doesn't it always work that way? I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

Today we started our new math unit on measurement. We measured different places in the classroom using our feet. One student measured and the other student counted.

We made a great anchor chart of words that remind us of measurement.

It is a little hard to see but we also started our new science unit on plants. We started off by talking about what plants need.

Then we planted alfalfa seeds. Take a look!

I kill ALL the plants I have ever owned. I am a little scared that these ones won't last much longer. I am keeping my fingers and toes together and hoping for the best.

Now for the freebie. I have been playing with trying to figure out how to use QR codes. This is my 1st attempt at making an activity with QR Codes. Download your very own copy here. I will be using these next week.

 

 

I also included the same activity without the QR Codes.

 

Have a great week!

Five for Friday Spring Break Edition

Hey All!

I am linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. I have to say this is one of my all time favorite linkys.

One

This year I attempted to make my own Easter dinner. It turned out so delicious but I had a ton of leftover ham. So I searched Pinterest (What did I ever do without this site?) for a delicious round 2 recipe. I found this White Bean and Ham recipe. Yum Yum!

 

 

Two

My mom and I had a girls day. We got facials and had lunch at this cute little place right on the Puget Sound. My mom also brought me these beautiful flowers from her garden.

 

 

Three

When we get back to school from Spring Break, we will be diving into measurement. I started making my new unit. Take a look at one of the activities we will be doing.

 

My students will be racing matchbox cars and measuring the distance. I did this activity last year with my students and it was a HUGE hit! What's not to like about racing matchbox cars?

 

Four

For months I have been stashing my center pieces into a box and telling myself "I'll deal with them later." Well, my box is overflowing and it is an eyesore. I took a day from my break to organize my centers and try to come up with a system that would make it easy next year when I try to use the centers again. I forgot to take a picture of the before but here is one during the process.

 

 

Five

 

Did you see that Teaching Blog Addict is turning 2? They are hosting a GIANT linky. There are over 500 freebies under the 1st and 2nd grade category. I spent the morning downloading, printing, and cutting all the wonderful freebies I snagged.

 

 

Enjoy your weekend.





Let's Talk About Blogs, Baby!

Happy Thursday!

I am sad to say that my Spring Break is almost done but I am excited to try all of these things I have been planning while on break. (I know I should just enjoy my break, without working but I can't seem to help myself.)

I am linking up with Melissa at First Grade Smiles for her "Let's Talk About Blogs, Baby" Linky. This linky is all about talking about blogging. Since I am still pretty new to blogging, I thought this was a fabulous idea!

I tried to fill the answers in the box but it was still too small. So my answers are underneath:

Why do you choose to follow a certain blog? What is it that sparks your interest the most?

The main bulk of the blogs I have found are through giveaways or Pinterest. I also tend to follow blogs that also follow me. I continue to check on the blog because I enjoy reading about what they are doing in their classroom, they show lots of pictures, and they have great ideas.

When you leave comments on a blog, do you expect a response? If so, do you prefer it to be by email or do you check the box for replies to be sent to you?

I don't expect a response but I am always happy when I get a response. I am often responding to several blogs a day so I forget which blogs to check back for responses. As a result, I prefer to respond by email.

What is your favorite thing about reading and following other blogs?

I love reading what other people are doing in their classrooms and new ways to approach topics I am also doing.  I have also enjoyed meeting other teachers from all over the world.

What turns you off when reading other blogs or about comments you receive?

I am still pretty new to blogging, so I have not received anything but nice comments. I realize and understand the desire to promote your products. However, if that is ALL the posts are about, I tend not to check as often.

Do you follow any blogs by email? If so, how many?

I do not follow blogs by email. I do follow them by facebook though. I tend to check my facebook account more often than my email.

What program do you use to make your products?

I used to use Word but I switched to Power Point a couple of months ago. It is so much easier! I have also heard of people using Photoshop but I have not attempted that program yet.

Don't forget to link up at Melissa's website to submit your own answers.

Currently (April)

After reading some of my favorite teacher blogger's posts today, I am SO happy we had Spring Break on April Fool's Day. It would have been non-stop practical jokes ALL DAY LONG.

Well I am linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for my first April Currently.

Listening: I love Mythbusters. Some of the experiments that they come up with are really interesting. I am always amazed how they figure out how to make the experiments work.

Loving: On Thursday, I got my I-Pad from Donor's Choose. Perfect timing for me to play with figure out all the apps before I let my students loose on it. Any app suggestions for math and literacy activities would be a ton of help. (Preferably if they are free.)

Thinking: This year I really needed Spring Break. I am looking forward to a week of relaxation.

Wanting: I recently bought the I-font app. I have only played with it a little bit because I was getting ready for conferences. However, I am planning on making some time this week.

Needing: I have a ton of leftovers from Easter. My plan was to try to figure out a couple of different ways to use the same ingredients. (There is only so many times I can eat ham.)

Advice: Everything happens for a reason. My mom always tells me this when I am trying to wrestle with an important decision. Usually, at the time, I don't want to hear that (haha) but it is so very true.

Don't forget to head on over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade to link up with your own currently.

Happy Monday!

Let's Get Aquainted Part 3

I am linking up with LaToya again for another fabulous linky party. This week it is about all of your favorite things. Click on the picture to link up.

Favorite Place to Shop: Nordstroms and Amazon

I love Nordstorms. They have the best shoes. Thankfully, I am not close to a Nordstroms. Otherwise I would spend my entire paycheck there. However, my other favorite place is Amazon and I can access that store whenever I want.

Favorite TV Show: Big Bang Theory and Criminal Minds

I love cop dramas but my favorite is Criminal Minds. I have been following it for years and I am totally invested in all the characters. When I need a pick me up, I watch The Big Bang Theory. It makes me laugh so hard!

Favorite Sweet Treat: pistachio gelato

It is so much creamier than ice cream. It is delicious! Perfect on a hot sunny day.

Favorite Food: Sushi

I love sushi. There is a place near my house that makes non-traditional sushi. They have similar rolls but they are all unique to that particular place. It is just as good.

Favorite Restaurant: Cosmo's

I really like to support local businesses. This place has great homemade pasta and bread.

Now head on over to Flying into First to meet some other bloggers. Head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to catch the last hours of the sale that I am throwing.

Have a good week.