Sunday, October 26, 2014

The Sunday Scoop

Holy cow. You know it's bad when even your husband (who has been known to say you blog too much) points out that it's been a while...sorry, guys! I haven't forgotten this little blog! School has been a little busy, and our family has been going non-stop enjoying fall and everything it has to offer. It's quickly become a close second to summer now that I have a kid and can really enjoy everything about it.

I'm just going to jump in with a Sunday Scoop, and hopefully I won't have such a huge gap between this post and the next. I have some school things that I really do want to share. Sometime.


Have to:
I'd been doing so well this year making sure my lessons and copies were all done by the end of day Friday, but not this week. I have most of my plans done, but nothing is copied yet. Hope there isn't a huge rush for the copiers on Monday...
I don't know how many of you have to do this, but we all have to make "Smart Goals" and put together portfolios for our teaching. I know what mine is going to be, but I keep putting off writing it. Oops!
We have conferences on Election Day, so I need to call some parents and set up times.

Hope To:
It was so much easier to get to the gym over the summer. I'm hanging in there and at least going once a week, but I would like to get back to 3 days. Saturdays have been so busy that I usually miss my chance then, and Steven and I have to rotate times in the mornings.
Keagan was/is supposed to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween this year. I thought I had it all taken care of after finding a flight suit online. BUT I tried to put him in it for a fall festival last week only to discover it was too small. Boo! Now I need to see if I can just find a khaki button down shirt to wear with khaki pants. The boy will be heartbroken if he can't use his new proton pack daddy built...

Happy To:
I've been having a lot of fun with Amanda's scavenger hunt, but I still have almost 20 items to find by Friday night. Time to get to work!


Friday, October 3, 2014

Five for Friday: It's October 3

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First, can I just say that it's October 3?


Oh, I love that movie! It's crazy to think it's 10 years old, though. If you're female and haven't seen it, you should. It really captures the essence of girls perfectly and has some great life lessons!

But moving on, it's also Friday! I've been busy this week, but in a good way. I'm really living up this fall thing, and I think I'm also just thrilled to be out of the month of September finally.

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This week, my fourth graders were working on main idea. I decided it was time to pull out ReadWorks for some practice. I love that you can search by skill and/or grade level to find something related to your current study (these only have about 5 questions), OR you can select multiple skills for 10 questions. It's great for a little test prep! I actually ended up doing some of this with all three of my grade levels.



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On Tuesday, I went to my second Pinterest party and am VERY proud of my first painted pumpkin! Unfortunately, on the way home, it rolled around and scratched off some of the paint. I haven't had time to do the touch-ups yet, but it still looks pretty good sitting on our porch! Plus Steven didn't hate it and complain that it was too girly. I need to pull out my fall wreath this weekend to match it.


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You may have seen me post about my husband and son's obsession with Ghostbusters. Well, Krispy Kreme has 30th anniversary doughnuts all month, so we had to make a trip out there on Wednesday to get some. 


This little boy cracks me up because he came out of the bathroom and told me, "Mommy, I got slimed like Peter Venkman!" Oh dear, I definitely need another girl in the house with me...

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Fifth grade has been learning about types of conflict, so I read them one of my big finds from last year, Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine.


I love finding books they've never heard of, and I actually just ordered a copy of this one for myself. The girl tells these crazy lies, and it ends up causing more trouble than she can handle. It actually covers all four types of conflict also (nature, society, man, self), so you can have students identify each type within the story. The students always enjoy it.


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The fair is in town, and we managed to get tickets from Steven's sister that were only good for Monday-Thursday. We had a lot of fun looking at the animals, eating fried oreos and funnel cake, and walking around. We're not quite ready for rides yet, but they have these cute photo-ops set up. Last year, Keagan and I took our picture "on the roller coaster", so we had to do it again! It's a little grainy because my camera phone isn't great with night pictures, but I still love it.


And I can't get over how much he's grown since last year!


This weekend, we have plans to make more fall memories by going apple picking. Yum...I want some apple donuts!

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Currently October with a TREAT!

It's finally October! I feel like the summer months flew by, but September sure made up for it. I know most of that has to do with beginning a new year, but my goodness it seems like it dragged on forever. Do you agree?


Listening: I have FIFTY-TWO kids that I am working with in grades 3-5 this year, so my schedule is jam-packed. When I finally reach break at 2, I'm exhausted. Not to mention today is Thursday. Not Friday.

Loving: The State Fair is in town through Sunday, so we're heading out tonight. I hope the rain actually holds off. Apparently there is a 1,200+ lb pumpkin, and I need a picture with a pumpkin larger than my head for Amanda's Halloween Hunt on Instagram!

Thinking: Yeah...I may start them before I pull kids again. Or maybe not.

Wanting: I love Reese's, but the pumpkins are my favorites. The break between their eggs and pumpkins should be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Really, they can come up for something to fill in the gap during the summer. Beach balls? Swimming trunks? Heck, I'll design it for them even. Maybe they'd give me a lifetime supply?

Needing: I cut them out and then start again. It's a vicious cycle. Right now I'm back to drinking one every time I get a chance. It needs to stop.

My treat: Through tonight and tomorrow, I'm putting my Halloween-themed resources on sale for HALF price!

Halloween Literacy Centers - Comprehension and Word Knowledge

Bats Research Unit

The Case of the Candy Snatcher - an activity for drawing c

Halloween Pumpkin Writing Craftivity

I hope you enjoy them! These are some of my favorite products of the year :-)