A Rule to Live By

 

Especially at the beginning and END of the school year, teachers become crazy busy!

Just breathe and remember that everything will get done - the end of the year will come and go - no matter how much or little you work your weekends away.

Take time to step away from your computer & LIVE LIFE! :)

 

 

 

 



'Cause I'm Happy... that it's Our Week!

 

Just taking a moment to send a BIG thank you to all of my fellow teachers!

The work you do everyday - day in and day out - is truly remarkable.  You rarely get credit or thanks for all of the work that you do each day wrangling, entertaining, consoling, etc. :)

And yet you do it ANYWAY!  Amazing.

 

Let's celebrate this week with a fabulous sale.  Because as teachers, you deserve it.

 



Spring Break Friday Edition!

Is it really Friday of Spring Break week already?! Ugh! It's been an Ahhmazing break, but it's definitely left me totally antsy for summer.  HURRY SUMMER!

Our kiddos have 7 weeks left yet... & let's be real: it's going to be a loooong 7 weeks.

 

 

Back to Spring Break though.  Adventures! Adventures! Adventures!

The elementary teacher in me always starts off any adventure with the Bear Hunt song. Can't you just heart it now?? "We're goin' on an adventure!" {C'mon people, don't tell me I'm the only one with an elementary school soundtrack constantly playing in my head!}

 

1. We kicked off the week with some Easter celebrating in our hometown.  It was a gorgeous weekend, so a little walk near the World's Steepest Vehicular Inclined Plane {say that 5x's fast} was in order.

 

2. FINALLY it was off to Savannah for a "honeymoon" adventure!

We stayed at the Old Harbour Inn on River Street {It was a combination of a hotel/bed & breakfast.  Just adorable and perfect for Savannah's old historic town feel.} & took lots of "selfies" while strolling through the historic city.  We LOVED the Savannah SlowRide pub tour we took & even made some friends who were from our hometown - what are the odds?!

 

 {The SlowRide's fun party lights are responsible for the variety of photo colors.}

 

3. We had dinner on the rooftop of the Bohemian Hotel & at the Olde Pink House {just to name a few} where the adorable waitress helped us celebrate!

 

4. We ate, ate, ate, ate, AND ATE! No joke. Somehow this vacation turned into what we thought was our complete license to splurge!  But just let met tell ya - it was ALL FABULOUS!  If you ever need to know where to eat in Savannah, I'm your girl!

 

5. We ate so much downright delicious food, that within a half hour of arriving home, I felt the need to hit the gym for not one, but TWO hour long workout classes in a row, followed by a short run.  It was definitely necessary. :)

 

 

I'm going to try and make the most of this last little bit of spring break.  Although mounds of laundry seem to be looming between me and the sunshine - better get it done!  Happy Friday!

 



IT'S HERE!!!!!!!

SPRING BREAK!!! Aaaa, there have never been two more beautiful words for a teacher in mid-April.

 

The hubby & I are headed on lots of adventures for Easter weekend and our "quasi-honeymoon" this week.  But, before I get to all of that excitement {it's so hard to hold back though}, here's how we spent this last, short week before break.

 

1. Let's kick it off non-educationally, with these BREATHTAKING Cherry Blossoms!  We spent a bit of our absolutely gorgeous spring weekend site-seeing in DC and loving everything about these perfectly, pink-tinted flowers.  Thank goodness we went early in the morning - when we left in the afternoon, the city was crazy PACKED!

  

2.  We began learning about biographies and autobiographies.  I used a fabulous mini-lesson from Tanny McGregor's Genre Connections to introduce the two non-fiction text types to my kiddos.  I told all about myself while looking into a handheld mirror, then turned the mirror on one of my kiddos and told all about them.  After discussing what was similar and what was different about how each story was told, I introduced the two terms.  Tanny's mirror idea made it so concrete, that even my strugglers are already set on the two genres!  The mirror will also be a great segway into "artifacts" next week.

 

3.  Math Bins are one of our favorite times of the day.  Second graders go coo-coo for hands-on skill practice.  These Egg-y Math "Baskets" were the perfect way to review our math skills this week.  Read more about them {HERE}.

 

4. April is a poetry celebration month!  Even though we use Lucy Caulkin's Common Core Writing program, we are encouraged to use it more as a "guide" or "resource" for our Writer's Workshop.  With poetry, I use her unit as a guide for mini-lesson ideas, but incorporate them into more structured poetry types and prompts.  We've worked on Autobiography poems, Cinquains, and even tried our hand at these adorable shape poems.

  

5.  I've been super busy packing for our Easter and Savannah Adventures! So much to take, so little space!

 

 

I'll be back late next week to tell you all about our break! :)

 

 

What were you up to this week? Go link up with Doodle Bugs!

Gettin' Eggy!

Only 3 more days till Spring Break! 3 days! That's it!  Anyone can get through 3 days... plus I've set up these adorable Egg-y Math Bins for us this week.

After thinking that some Easter Egg math centers would be fun, and then not having a second thought about it, I was reminded just how easy and educational Easter Eggs can be with this great post.

 

My sweet second graders will be spending these last few days before spring break, reviewing some of our favorite skills with Easter Egg matching math "baskets."  {Found these sweet little plastic baskets at good old Wal-Mart for a measly 97 cents!}

 

 

We've got double digit addition...

 

 

Double digit subtraction...

 

 

Fractions...

 

 

Balanced Equations...

 

 

And one that is an ELA Fast Finisher Basket on Antonyms.

 

 

My kiddos are LOVING these! But of course, I have keep them accountable!

These little recording pages should do the trick!

 

{QUICK - Grab your own eggs, baskets, & recording sheets and you'll have an EGG-tastic Eastery week!}



Shhh! Wordless Wednesday.

Inspiration to rock those tests!

 

 

 

 

 

 



This is NOT a Prank... It's APRIL!

It's finally April! Today was surprisingly easy - 2nd graders are so mature when it comes to April Fool's Day.  Only one little one told me my hair was white.  Really?!

I'm shocked, but not at ALL disappointed that my kiddos took absolutely zero interest in this classically crazy day.

I also chose not to instigate & didn't mention that day once - {lame} I know, but it was the BEST April 1st of my teaching career to date.  Just glorious!

 

 

Check out all of the fun April happenings here!

 

 

Listening: Big Bang Theory is a pretty regular background sound in our house.  It's one of those "we both agree on" TV shows.  Not to mention that they're replayed constantly.

 

Loving: It was 60 and SUNNY today!  I kept peeking out the window from my guided reading table alllll morning.  And {WOW} did my face DROP when I realized I was the INSIDE teacher during recess today... REALLY??!! Talk about Sadsville.

I made up for it with an outdoor run once school was over - perfect running weather.

 

Thinking: We just started the 4th marking period, but because we didn't realign the calendar with all of our snow days this last "nine week" is more like twelve weeks! I know what you're thinking... that's crazy! {I just go with it, even if I don't understand...}

 

Wanting: The Mr. and I are doing a little Spring Break traveling.  We'll be heading to Savannah, GA in just a few short weeks for what we're calling a "pseudo-honeymoon."  With getting married mid-school year & the hubby set to deploy sometime this summer, planning any long or far away honeymoon is

just.not.happening.

We're super excited to spend a few days in the south though!

Any good ideas for things to do in Savannah?!

 

Needing: I think having a least one or more snow days/delays a week for the better part of the 2nd and 3rd marking periods has me spoiled.  5:30 AM and I are not the best of friends. :)

 

Hours & Last Day:  I typically try to be at school {ok at least leave for school} around 6:30.  I work my butt off all day and happily walk out the door most days around 3:45.  After an allergy shot and/or a trip to the gym, I head home around 5:30, & try my best to do very little work at home (unless I'm home alone).

When I student taught, my cooperating teacher told me, "Teaching is your job.  Teaching is not your life."  I LOVE that motto and have tried to stick with it.  I love and do my best at my job, but there's got to be more time for family & friends.

And I don't even want to talk about our last day - we've got no snow days built in.  Ouch.