Bloglovin', Instagram, and Currently July

So, I'm jumping on the bandwagon and saying goodbye to Google Reader and hello to bloglovin'!

 

(photo courtesy of Oliver + S)

I have to admit, I didn't use Google Reader all that much...but after checking out bloglovin' and seeing that they have an app for my smartphone - sounds like something to keep me occupied once my turns run out on Candy Crush when I'm waiting at the doctor's office, procrastinating, etc.! :)  Not sure if Google Reader had an app....I normally go thru my blog scroll and enjoy reading the posts on my computer. :)  

Anywho, looking for a cute button to post on the side for bloglovin'.
  
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I just need to remember to post more on my blog and maybe a little less on Instagram.  I have fallen in LOVE with Instagram.  I mean, to the point that I'm looking at "Minecraft" things for my son and showing him!  Hah!  I mean, the child already has a page I dedicated to him on Pinterest. :)  If I keep showing him things like this, I'm going to have to change his regular cell phone into a smartphone!!!! Yikes!

So, on to Currently.  A little early, a LOT scary when I look at my "to do" list (including Zumba - I REALLY need to blow the dust off the DVD and just DO IT!), and making me super anxious to get in my classroom and start setting it up!

Thanks Farley for doing this each month! :)  I find so many new blogs out there thanks to this!!!  Be sure to check out her newest link "Teacher Block Partay!" to find your grade level blogs!

*Don't ask me why it's so hard to pick a time during the day - when other than doctor appointments and IEP meetings - I have the whole day to choose from to stick in that DVD and do Zumba!  I have a hard time losing weight and this is the one guaranteed thing that does it for me.  Sad, huh?  Maybe now that I've put it in writing for the world to see, it'll shame me into doing it! LOL

*I'm trying to be "pinspired" to organize my house.  I would be ashamed to show you a pic of how my house looks.  I keep trying that "room by room" routine, but I can't seem to get a room done in one day and finished!  Speaking of which, after I finish this post, I'll be finishing up my daughter's room and hopefully posting "before/after" pics on Instagram (to inspire me to do more!).

*Tip/Trick: I have been guilty of doing that - creating something cute and posting it on TPT or TN and then not using it in my class.  I find that if I do it for myself and my kids, then those are the items that sell!  Plus, I can always give a "kids approved" endorsement :)

Make sure to hop on over and link up with Farley! :)

On the Hunt: Classroom Theme!

Is it just me, or is it fun to have an idea in your head and go "on the hunt" for items to match your theme? Whether it's a theme, favorite author, or whatever - I love searching through stores like Goodwill, Michael's, Walmart, etc. to find that "certain something."

I'm now currently working on ideas inspired by others and their themes/ideas for the classroom.  You can look at my Pinterest pages on Back to School, Classroom Themes, and Classroom Ideas for more!

Here's a peek at my "finds" this past week:

Walmart 

dry erase dots from A.C. Moore:  I plan to put my objectives on it (I won't have to take up precious board space and I think it'll really add to the room!)

 This was a GREAT find from Walmart:  red plastic toy chest $4!  I plan on putting my "treasures" of books in there for our monthly book exchange!

 Goodwill:  TON of books plus cute pillow to use in the room (obviously a teacher had retired and donated her books...my daughter even claimed a few before I use them in my classroom!).

 Big Lots:  $5 in stationery section

 Staples:  Those wonderful peacock folders were 50 cents each; other folders (grabbed for my older son) 99 cents each.  Staples is also having a great deal for $10 you get a 15% card on your whole purchase 1x/day until almost the end of September!

 Local teacher store, which unfortunately is closing in October. :(

 Another Goodwill day - see the Star Wars and monster trucks???  Anytime I find those I grab them for my boys!

Another GREAT find:  Michael's....the lamp was less than $12 and the clipboard was less than $3 on sale!  Also safari ribbon, clothespins, safari stickers, and glue dots.

 

Future purchase:  Saw this on my way out of Office Depot - plan to use my Staples card on it! :)  Soooo cute!

Sneak Peek of some of the items I'm working on:

Safari-themed rules

 Homework Punch Card (students turn in homework each week of the nine weeks, they get a trip to the prize box)

Voice-Control poster

 

So, that's what I have so far...hopefully be able to put it in a bundle for the items more "original"...the ones where I am basically borrowing the idea and making it 2nd grade friendly, I'll post as a freebie :)

Bloggy Vacation, Instagram, and Yikes! Room Theme???

So, um, I took a little bloggy vacation and finally joined the ranks on Instagram!

My friend really encouraged me to take part in "Teacher Talk Tuesday" (#teachertalktuesday) on Instagram so I created an account.  You can find me as "adventuresinsecondgrade".  Please feel free to follow me!  Right now, I have the pics that were on my phone from our last day of school with Field Day and our Minute to Win It games! 

So, other than that, I have to admit, I haven't been very productive, other than trolling thru Pinterest, telling myself that it counts as my "1 teacher thing/day" I promised myself this summer! ;)  That, and helping out a friend in her classroom pack it up and start getting it organized!  She's already created a theme AND colors for next year! Whew!  Made me start thinking of my own theme...something with meerkats, but not quite sure WHAT...safari?  zoo?  Hmm...thinking on that one.  (Add another thing to the list!).

A big part of my to-do list was to clean up some of my end of year unit activities and share them!

In second grade in Virginia, we study ancient China and Egypt.  It's fun, especially since several years ago I earned a Playmobil grant and have many of the Egyptian line in my classroom for students to create with! 

One thing I created for my kiddos this year was an activity booklet on both cultures.  After my success with the paper bag books during our Famous Americans unit, I wanted an "active" book for them to contribute to as well as help me check that they were comprehending!

So....after many fights with the copier, I finally managed to have the booklets in order so that you can copy them double-sided.  When I say fights, I mean.....after doing a set of Egyptian ones BACKWARDS I told my kids it was okay, because in the Arab world they read stories right to left, not left to right, so we were okay. 

They liked that idea so well most of them decided to write their names backwards on their book!  Ha ha!  They are ALL too familiar of my fights with the copier (and that sometimes, the copier wins!).

So, without further ado, here's a peek at my books! I'm pretty proud of them! All clipart was from public domain or Microsoft.  I created them in Publisher but locked 'em into PDFs so I couldn't mess them up anymore! :)  Click {here} to see them closer in TpT and {here} for Teacher's Notebook for Egypt and {TpT} and {TN} for China.

So, I hope you'll check them out and tell me what you think!  My goal is to blog at least once/week (if not more) about what I'm doing to get ready for next year and *hopefully* share a few freebies! :)

Thoughts of Oklahoma and a Way to Help

I know many of our thoughts and prayers are going out to the families and victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes. 

I received an email tonight from Teacher's Notebook, who are reaching out to the teacher community in creating a bundle that will ultimately help these people. 

If you are a seller on Teacher's Notebook, donate a product that can go into this bundle.  To quote TN, "100% of proceeds of sales from this special bundle will be given to relief efforts to aide the Moore, OK victims."

You can't ask for more than that!  Please click on the banner below, or on the sidebar, for more information.

   

UPDATE:  I purchased this packet and let me tell you, it is AMAZING!  No matter what level you are, you're bound to find something from the 500+ items that have been donated!  At this typing, Teacher's Notebook has raised over $47,000 for the relief effort....100% of the profits go towards the relief effort.  Also, I believe, the teachers at the two elementary schools are getting the bundle for free!  Definitely worth checking out! 

 

Going Crazy While Trying to Stay Sane! (Plus a Freebie or 2)

Well, gosh, isn't that all of us at the end of the year?

It's been a crazy two weeks.  This past week, my daughter got the "stomach bug" that's been going around, so I was in and out of school, which has been hard as we try to finish our final math unit (measurement) and go into review mode for our end-of-year tests next week!

So, thought I'd show you what we've been up to and share a little freebie I created for a summer packet!  More on that later....

First, our measurement unit was rushed, but we had a little fun with it by measuring our feet in first inches, then centimeters.  I cannot remember who published this idea, so if it yours, please credit yourself!

Had fun with our unit on Egypt by creating an Egyptian scene (the pieces are Playmobil I received from a grant several years back - if you haven't heard of the grant, go to their website and apply!  I received "sixth place" but still got plenty of good things!).  Those are hippos and crocodiles in the Nile. :)

Then, our grade level did a rotation on ancient China and Egypt.  I reviewed the Chinese contributions and we made kites, students chose 4 of the contributions (besides kite) to illustrate, and then wrote the contributions on the tails of the kite.  I added a straw to the back of the kites to make them a bit sturdier (I have no idea if they'll really fly - I must have answered that question dozens of times! I haven't heard the results yet, either!).

We have a fabulous world carpet that students play a game to learn the continents.  I substituted my reading focus wall to put up the USA map so students could learn their places around the country.  They loved finding the places as much as jumping around the "world" on the rug! (The labels are just sentence strips and the map I've had for years - used permanent marker to draw mountains, etc. and added a map key that I wrote right on the bulletin board paper!).  With all that practice, they aced their standard!

We created the "Summer Bucket List" by Kristen Clements that turned out super cute!  I had a 5th grade teacher who was so impressed, she did the same for her class!

Finished our prefix/suffix unit with creating flowers to make our "grammar tree" look a bit more festive outside our room.

Shared "Flat Stanleys" that had returned from adventures!

For the end of year gift/summer review for my students - well, I knew they would not be happy doing worksheets at home and honestly, after trying to work with my own kids, I know what a struggle it is!  I brainstormed and came up with activities the kiddos could do that would make things fun, as well as mirror some of the games we've played in class!  When I presented it to them on Friday (I had one student whose last day it was - she's heading to England!) they were super excited!  I got most of the items at Dollar Tree.

I added a few things in there that they might not have at home, but for the most part, tried to make it "user friendly" so that students wouldn't have to hunt for materials (or the parents wouldn't have to go out and buy a lot!).  You can find the Summer Review Activity Packet at Google Docs.  Its in Powerpoint format, so if you'd like to make changes and personalize it, you can!  I paired it in their buckets with another freebie, You Can Even Read a Cereal Box by Cynthia Vautrot.  Love her idea!

So, how are you ending your year?

Currently, Sales, Sales Everywhere!

Do you feel appreciated?

Both TpT and Teacher's Notebook are throwing Teacher Appreciation Sales!

Teacher's Notebook has a sale,drawing, and information about a grant on their site.  You can save up to 55%!

Teachers Pay Teachers also has a sale that goes from May 7-8 (although a lot of sales, like mine, start today) where stores give you up to 20% off, then TpT on the 7th and 8th gives you an EXTRA 10% off (making 28%).  

I have to admit, I didn't hear about this sale until the weekly Sunday email....not sure if I missed something, but a couple of my fellow sellers said they never received an email beforehand either.  Not sure if it's a communication snafu on their part, or something on mine.....nor did I hear about being paid monthly?  Anywho, the email's still up because I went directly to TpT and signed up for a sale!  Who doesn't love a sale???

 

 And now, hooking up with Farley for the May Currently!

 Kind of self-explanatory.  Not sure if I should switch that "wanting" and "needing"!

I'll focus on my "bucket list."  During the year, I started out well with a friend of mine doing Zumba right after school in the classroom.  We'd cover the windows and door and get moving!  It was great - no need to worry about fitting it in between schoolwork and dinner, etc.  Then, her schedule changed and she couldn't stay anymore. And you know how that goes - I lost my motivation, told myself I'd do it "later" because I had to get things done before going home, etc.

So, I gave myself a "break" and promised myself that YES, I WILL do it this summer!  I tried to do this last summer and got oh-so-lazy.  This year, though, I am thoroughly disgusted with my body so that will be motivation enough! :)

BG/WC - we have season passes, live hour and a half from Williamsburg VA so it's usually a weekly thing and it's part of the loads of fun I have with my kids during the summer being a "stay at home" mom!  

Cleaning up my digital files - yeah, I have things in there I have not used since creating them in 2009 or before! Yikes!  I'm going to copy my network folder onto my external hard drive and work on at least a folder a day.  It's also a great time to clean up those flash drives!

Then, when I can, I'll upload it back onto the school's network folder later in the summer.  Plus, I have some great ideas that I made in the past, but the end result didn't exactly meet what was in my head, so having a little "redo" party and revisiting those ideas!  Thanks Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers/Notebook for putting this pressure on me!!! Just kidding. :)

Sooo...that's it for now.  Going to head out and do the rule of 3 for Farley (I find so many interesting blogs that way!).  Then getting ready for Monday - yikes!  Excited yet nervous - will I get it all in before May 28????

Keeping Busy With a Hodgepodge of Activities!

Feel the same way?

With the end of the year fast approaching (yikes!  16 days - scary but exciting at the same time!), we're starting to begin review mode with centers and other areas as we're still trying to finish up units!

So, I thought I'd show you what I've been working on this week.

Our butterflies emerged from their chrysalis!  We said goodbye on Wednesday (all 5 made it!).  It was hard, because at first, they didn't want to come out!  We made sure to release them in the field behind our school, near the woods and away from the playground and bus loop!

 Our "Flat Stanleys" started coming in this week!  So far, our Stanleys have visited Newport News (VA), Utah (Great Salt Lake), Texas (Austin), and California (Fort Irwin).

We are finishing up our prefix/suffix unit and I was rather disgusted with some of the sheets I had because they combined prefixes (which is a good thing because it saves paper, right?) but was wrong for the order I was teaching it in!  My kiddos do better with an activity on the carpet and then an independent one at their seat to "seal" their learning.

So, if you're not happy, change it, right?  I created a set of activity sheets with ONE prefix or suffix per page, and made them look fun so my kiddos would enjoy themselves as well as learning (very important this time of year to catch their attention!).  

I also played around with some shapes on Microsoft Publisher and created flowers.  I always do a flower activity to decorate our tree in the hallway with prefixes and suffixes!  I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out!

I also had a few review items I've made previously and then realized I hadn't shared nor had I put them on TpT or TN!  These I've either already used or are using them for review (or both!).  Click on the pictures on the ones you'd like to check out closer!

Okay, well, sorry for the double blog post today but Blogger's schedule kinda messed me up with the announcement of the Teacher's Notebook sale/drawing.  I also saw where they are offering a $5,000 scholarship to an online university for a Master's in Teaching!  That's in addition to the drawing they're holding for the $100 Oriental Trading Gift Card.  Wow!  You can click on the link in my earlier post to take you there! (I'll be adding a sidebar one soon!).

Be sure to check out my sale thru the 10th - everything in my store SHOULD be (I say should because I found one item that had gotten overlooked!) 50% off and with TN's extra 10% off, that's 55%!!!!!  Please be sure to stock up - it's a great opportunity!  Several items are less than 50 cents!!!!