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!

A Labor of Love

The past few months have been (to put it mildly!) NUTS! Between field trips, unexpected celebrations, and assessments, I've barely had time to come up for air. I'm so thankful for Instagram, though...it has allowed me to continue to post about the wonderful things that are happening in our classroom without a huge time commitment.

So, why has life been so crazy? Well, at the beginning of February, I was once again fortunate to be asked to represent my school as the Teacher of the Year. I never expected to go through the process more than once, so I was very flattered to be asked two years in a row.

The dinner that our county puts on to honor the Teachers of the Year is simply amazing! Our high school's culinary arts students prepare the meal, and they always outdo themselves. I was blessed to have my family join me at the banquet, as well as my work friends and colleagues. It was a very special evening. I didn't win County Teacher of the Year, but I'm still very grateful for the opportunity.

I've also been hard at work during the past month on what can only be described as a labor of love. At the beginning of the school year, one of our fifth grade teachers, Dr. D, asked me to help him develop a before-school broadcast club (somehow, I've developed a reputation for being somewhat tech savvy). He envisioned creating a program that allowed students in fourth and fifth grades to produce a daily news broadcast that is streamed (LIVE!) to the entire school each morning. Thanks to many early mornings and a lot of collaboration, Dr. D's vision became a reality!

We even had the opportunity to present our program at a Board of Education meeting in March. The Board members seemed very impressed by the students' hard work and dedication.

Dr. D and I will be traveling to Ocean City, MD this Thursday and Friday to present our program at the Common Ground Conference. In preparation for the conference, I have been working hard to put together a packet for Teachers Pay Teachers that will give teachers everything that they need to start a similar program at their schools. I finally finished it this evening! 

Included in this packet, you will find:

- A description of the program

- The CCSS addressed in the pack

- Instructions for setting up your studio, including a list of needed resources and a picture of our studio

- Student application, parent permission, consent and release

- "Teacher Feature" sign-up sheet

- Job checklists

- Job assignment recording sheet

- Reminder stickers

- Basket/folder labels

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This is the cover page of the packet. I heart Creative Clips clip art. She never disappoints.

Here's a sample of our script. The script is totally editable to meet your school's needs.

I'm loving the student application that we developed. A huge part of the program is developing a work ethic and learning responsibility, and the application clearly outlines the expectations that we have of our students.

I even created reminder stickers to help students (and parents) remember what time to be at school on the days that they are participating in the program.

For at least the next week, this 53-page resource is ON SALE for $8.00! Click on any of the pictures above to head over to my TPT store.

I can honestly say that helping to get this program up and running has been one of the highlights of my school year. I have loved getting to work with some of the older children (many of whom are former students), and I've had the opportunity to work with a colleague with whom I may not have had the chance.

My Kindle is calling me. Enjoy the rest of your Monday!

Staff Shout Outs

Every teacher knows that awful slump between Thanksgiving and Christmas. You know you only have a few short weeks until Winter Break, but the days seem endless, your students are pumped up about the holidays, and you have gobs of paperwork to get finished. The mood in the teacher's lounge is just awful. Everyone is stressed out, tired, and grumpy. It's so easy to get caught up in the negative vibe that you find yourself complaining, whining, and griping along with your colleagues.

So, I did what any other teacher would do: I jumped on Pinterest for inspiration, and I found some great ideas to help improve staff morale.

I loved this adorable Shout-Out bulletin board from Vickie over at Primary Press!

Teach, Create, Motivate had these cute shout-outs on her blog!

I asked my administrators if I could put up a staff shout-out board in our lounge, and they enthusiastically told me yes! So, I created my own little pack that I hope you can use, too. Just click on the pics below to grab them.

Somehow, I managed to lop off the bottom of the board in this picture. Oops!

It may seem like a small thing, but a little positive thinking goes a long way!

Hope you enjoy what's left of your week!

The 100th Day of School

I am really counting my lucky stars that I (unintentionally) had my students celebrate the 100th day of school a day early. Apparently, I can't count. It worked out for the best, however, because today (the real 100th day), we were closed for snow!

I invited my students to dress like they were 100 years old, and good golly, were they adorable!

We had an abundance of gray hair, glasses, and canes. 

Instead of having my little guys complete seat work first thing in the morning, I used Molly's super cute Hidden Hundreds activity. 

I projected Molly's example for my students. They loved coming up to the Smart Board to hunt for the hundreds!

They were so absorbed in this activity that they barely looked up for almost thirty minutes!

 I know I shouldn't say this, but I'm pretty sure this one is my favorite.

Obviously, I teach on the Eastern Shore. This little guy's pic has ducks, geese, and jellyfish.

My favorite part of this picture is the little dog in the bottom corner.

After we finished these, we moved directly into our math lesson. First, I shared Brain Pop Jr.'s video about the number 100. Then, we practiced counting to 100, using this catchy little ditty.

I couldn't help but sing with them!

I used Meet Miss Parker's adorable Common Core-aligned math pack for our rotations. This is the third year I've used these activities, and they are always a huge hit with my students.

I love how comfy these two little guys look, playing "100 Tallies."

It cracked me up to see these two "little old ladies" hike up their skirts and get down on the floor to play "The Hundred Flat Race."

We finished up our math rotations after lunch, and then, it was on to language arts. We read "100 Hungry Ants" together, and afterward, I had the students write to tell what they would do if 100 hungry ants came to their picnic.

Click on the picture above to go grab this simple freebie.

Do I have some kind-hearted firsties, or what?

Finally, we wrote about what life will be like when we are 100 years old. I downloaded Kelly's cute little freebie (I really liked this particular writing activity because it came with a great kid-friendly graphic organizer). Apparently, there will be a lot of gray hair, glasses and canes!

"When I am 100, things will be different. I will have white hair. I will have glasses and a wrinkly face. I will be a grandpa and I will spend so much time with my grandchildren. I can't wait until I am 100 years old."

"It will be weird when I am 100! When I'm 100 years old I will read in my bed. I will wear glasses. I will drink coffee. It is weird to be 100!"

I'm trying to decide if I'm offended by this. I already read in my bed, wear glasses, and drink coffee!

All in all, it was a great day, and I can't wait to see what the next eighty days will hold!

I believe I've earned a nice glass of wine and a new Diane Chamberlain book on my Kindle this evening. Make sure you take care of you, too!

A Catch Up Mash Up

Phew! I have some time to come up and breathe, so I thought I'd stop by the old blog and catch you up on some of the things I've been up to.

First, do you notice anything new about my blog? It's OK if you don't. It's a subtle change. I've added an Instagram button to my sidebar, so now, you can follow me on Instagram, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest! I'm all about Instagram. It's quick, easy, and I can post a picture as soon as I take it. Instant gratification! Check it out!

I also taught myself how to create my own desktop organizer, using this amazing tutorial. I'm a basic, black-and-white kind of gal, so I kept it simple.

Definitely basic, but it serves a purpose.

Now, my desktop looks like this! Much more organized, and I can find things much more easily now than I could before.

OK, on to the next update. During the month of December, the Kindness Elf, Noel, came to visit our classroom! I started using Erica Bohrer's fantastic (FREE!!) resource last year, and I was amazed by the impact that it had on my students.

I picked up this sweet little $3 ornament at Target last year. Adorable, right?

Here, my firsties are working hard to write notes of appreciation to our cafeteria staff. 

The finished product. 

"Thank you for making us breakfast."

My families truly went above and beyond when Noel asked the children to bring in donations for the local food pantry. It's hard to see in this picture, but the students brought in so many boxed and canned food items that the crate in the middle was literally overflowing! So was my heart.

We've also been working really hard on our animal research projects. I've been doing this project with my students for the past three years, and it is always a huge hit! (I've blogged about it before here). This year, my students have moved through the project much more quickly than in years past, and their work has been amazing!

This picture warms my heart. All three students are completely focused and engaged in their research. I love it!

I love that the kiddos find a spot in the classroom, flop themselves down, and get right to work with little or no prompting.

I adore this picture. This little guy was so proud of the cover that he created for his project. Check out that shark illustration!

You may have heard that the Mid-Atlantic experienced a little snowstorm recently. OK, it was a pretty big snowstorm. Fine, it was a blizzard. We didn't get hit as hard here on the Eastern Shore as the folks across the bridge did, but we still got our fair share.

We ventured out, right at the peak of the storm, and I can honestly say that I haven't experienced wind and snow like that in a mighty long time. 

Princess A and Deedle, braving the storm. 

We have already used four snow days, and it's only early February. Here in Maryland, we usually get the most snow late in the winter. In fact, they're calling for more snow on Monday evening and into Tuesday. 

Hmmmmm. That will definitely mess with my 100th Day of School preparations!

Speaking of the 100th Day of School, I actually thought ahead this year, and I took these awesome pics of my students to accompany the writing that they will be doing.

These are a few of my favorites. I just searched "aging apps" in the App Store, and I downloaded a freebie. It took me five minutes to take pictures of each child, upload them to my computer, and order prints. They arrived in the mail yesterday, just in time for Tuesday's (fingers crossed) celebration.

I've been a slacker when it comes to running lately, mostly because I've discovered Piyo. Now, I'm not one who likes to pay for something before I try it (call me cheap, I'm OK with it), so one of my good friends lent me her copy of the DVDs. I was skeptical at first, but after the first few workouts, I realized that I was using muscles that I didn't know that I have! I'm a believer! Don't get me wrong: I still love my runs, and although I didn't run my first half-marathon this past October, I have plans to run my first this spring. So, before I completely pig out on Super Bowl food later today (think ribs in the crockpot and cheddar brat meatballs with three dipping sauces), I'm going to head out for a long overdue run. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and RELAX!