Sunday, June 30, 2013

Currently in July


Farley, over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade is hosting her monthly "currently" and I can't believe it's already July! Time is flying by.

Listening: I'm a huge fan of country music, and I always think country music is the perfect addition to summer time. Sun, surf, an ice cold beer, and a little country music.

Loving: My family just returned from a little trip to the mountains. I absolutely love Lake Tahoe, it's so gorgeous and there are a ton of things to do: biking, swimming, boating, shops... and casinos. Sadly I did not walk away a winner... but a friend who was there at the same time, she won $1100 on a Wheel of Fortune slot. I was not as fortunate.

Thinking: I'm heading down to Disneyland on Wednesday, and I'll be spending three days at both Disneyland and California Adventure. I absolutely love all things Disney, so obviously I'm excited!

Wanting: It's been ridiculously hot here in northern California. Multiple 100+ days. It's 9:45pm and it's still 87 degrees outside. On Tuesday it's supposed to be 113. That's just too much.

 Needing: My car just returned from Lake Tahoe, and man does it show! It's covered in dirt, dead bugs... all those lovely mountain things. I need to wash it. Desperately.

Tips, Tricks, or Hints: I always try to do something over the summer that I enjoy... this summer I'm going to 2 different country concerts with friends. I'll be seeing Luke Bryan and Brad Paisley in August. I love seeing live music. There's nothing like it.


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Common Core

I don't know about you guys, but one of the main things I'm trying to work on this summer is getting myself ready for common core. Even though my district is not officially adopting it until the 2014-2015 school year, many teachers at my school are using this upcoming school year as a transition. To help keep my mind organized I made this fun and organized way to keep all the standards straight, and I also wanted to give myself a spot to write down any resources I may come across that works with the new standards.

I'm giving away my product for free at my Teacher's Notebook site, though it's specifically for 5th grade. Feel free to download it, if you feel like it would be helpful! Click on the picture below to be able to download!

Monday, June 17, 2013

2013-2014 Calendar

The last day of school was last Friday, and yet, I've already made a calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. I like to plan out my time, figure out some big projects and ideas over the summer before I can even begin to start thinking about the next school year's day to day stuff.








I bought a whole bunch of fun digital paper and clipart from Honey Dew Design's shop on Etsy, and I can't wait to buy more and update a lot of my previously made items.





I've uploaded the file to my Teacher's Notebook shop, if you're interested in checking it out! It's got both a color version and a completely black & white.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Optimum Organization Linky Party

I'm joining Kristen at Ladybug's Teacher Files and Elizabeth at Fun in Room 4B as they host a summer linky party all about organization! One of my favorite things. I'm kind of obsessed/neurotic about organization... something I inherited from my military father.

This has spilled into my classroom and I must say, I truly try to stay organized throughout the year, but we know what a struggle that really cane me.

One thing that helps me stay organized is my "Communication Folders" to hold all the kids work throughout the year. I have a premade set of 35 folders. I love the plastic Five Star kind with pockets and 3 hole tabs because they are so durable I can get a lot of use out of them. My current set I just started using this year, so I hope they last awhile. Each one has a label I made last summer, to keep things simple.

 My students take the folder home once every two weeks, with the work, tests, etc. that they've done during that time. I like the parents to stay updated, so I try to make sure I send things home on a regular basis. I don't want anyone to be surprised if a grade isn't what they had hoped!
 I also include a sheet where the kids fill out what assignments are inside the folder, and then I have a section for the parents to sign and send comments, if need be.
I got this sign from Kristen over at Ladybug's Teacher Files and it's helped keep all my students' work extremely organized this year.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

I've been a bad, bad, blogger

To say I've been neglectful of this blog would be putting it mildly. There's plenty of excuses... life has been crazy, the change in grade levels took up a lot of my normal blogging time, I'm lazy, etc. etc. And while I haven't been blogging myself, I've still been scouring everyone else's blogs and being a bonafide lurker. So when I saw Farley was having another "Currently" this month, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to ease back in to the world of being a participating blogger.
Truthfully, I've missed blogging and talking with everyone. And I'm excited to be back. I look forward to reading everyone's blogs... my old favorites, and new ones too!

Listening- I'm a huge hockey fan, and while my beloved Sharks were knocked out of the playoffs in the last round, there are a few games left. I'm watching as I do other things, so in reality I'm just listening to the game.... oh! Bruins just won! They are leading the series 3-0, which means one more game and they knock out the Penguins.

Loving- My new explorer! I finally got a new car. My mustang was 9 years old and even though it was in really good condition too, I wanted a bigger car. I had an explorer in college, and I'm so glad to have one again. It's shiny and black, got a lot of bells and whistles...

Thinking- I've been obsessed with Interactive Notebooks and I'm been spending a lot of time planning how I'll use them next year with my fifth graders. Pinterest has been a huge guide in my journey!

Wanting- To find more time to blog. I've been neglectful. I want to get back into blogging and join the world of fabulous teachers that I've been reading for years.

Needing- I'm trying to pretend that I don't still have report cards looming over my head. I'm almost done, it's just the dreaded "comments" section left.

3 Vacay Essentials- (1) A good book. Summer is when I do most of my reading and since getting my Kindle I've been reading like crazy. (2) iPhone... what did I ever do without this thing? (3) Chapstick... am I the only one obsessed?!