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May 30, 2016

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's that time of year. The end of the school year. Mixed emotions abound: on one hand, I am going to miss my exceptional group of hard-working first grade students, but on the other hand, I can't wait to spend lazy summer days at the local beach with Deedle and Princess A. Oh, the conflict.

So, I've been busy, busy, busy these past few months. I spent my birthday weekend in Ocean City, MD presenting at the Common Ground Conference with my colleague, Dr. D.

We were surprised and humbled by the number of fellow educators who were interested in the daily live news program that we've developed for 4th and 5th grade students.

{If you've thought about starting your own live TV program, head here to check out the pack that I created for TPT! It has everything you need!}

Early last month, I took my firsties to Pickering Creek on their last field trip of the year to explore animal life cycles and habitats. Even though the weather was yucky, the kids still had a blast!

Every one of my students held this little tadpole without squealing, screaming, or freaking out. Proud teacher moment.

This game was just like Headbandz, except with animals!

Happiness is ponding!
Here, the kiddos are learning all about the water cycle.

As I was trolling Facebook and Pinterest for some cute ideas for Mother's Day gifts in early May, this one kept popping up over and over again:

Adorable, right?

So, I put my own spin on it, and I came up with this:

I mean, come on. What mother wouldn't love receiving this picture as a gift?

I whipped up this simple writing paper to accompany this picture, and voila! 

Click on the pic above if you're interested in grabbing this paper for next year!

After working on them since December, we finally finished our Animal Research Projects in writing! I know what you're thinking: you've been working on them since when? As I've posted here before, I happily work at my own pace, and I like my students to do the same thing. Don't worry, though: we continued with other long-term writing projects and "on demand" writing assignments while we worked on our research projects. 

I love the look of pride on this little guy's face. His cover is amazing!

We had our "Author Celebration" last Friday, and it was a huge success!

We had so many family members come and join in the fun! Animal crackers and goldfish for everyone!

Last weekend, after 9 months of "training" {I use that term loosely...we ran a few long runs and a handful of mid-week maintenance runs}, SpurDog and I ran our first {and possibly last} half-marathon! I was anticipating warm temps and sunny skies, but instead,  it gully-washed and was in the mid-fifties for all 13.1 miles.

Not sure how I managed to maintain this silly smile throughout, but I did, and we finished! Check that off the bucket list.

By later that afternoon, however, I thought I was going to die. This was the text I sent to SpurDog. While my body felt better by the next morning, I woke up feel totally crappy: sore throat, cough, congesting, headache. A week later, I don't feel much better. Bleccch. Lesson learned: when running 13.1 miles, try to do it in decent weather.

As of tomorrow, we only have 8 1/2 days of school left. Say WHAT? Where did this year go? It amazes me, though, that even as the school year winds down, my kiddos manage stay engaged and are still willing to help one another out. They are a remarkable group of children!

I love catching them being kind to one another. It's even better when they don't know that I've been watching and noticing!

One last thing: Caitlin from Cait's Cool School, Ashley from The Sassy Schoolteacher, Michelle from Pocketful of Primary, and I are up to something BIG!!!! I mean, BIG!!! So, all Maryland teacher bloggers, stay tuned!