It is the beginning of  a new year and my little blogs 1 year anniversary. I am linking up with Meghan Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her monthly Currently Linky party.

Listening: My youngest is 9 and L-O-V-E American Girl EVERYTHING. She inherited my oldest's, who is 15, dolls and plays nonstop with them. My husband built her dollhouse last year for Christmas and she is constantly creating and designing for it. Just last week she asked me to save the cereal box so she could use it to create something fabulous for her dolls. Needless to say, Hobby Lobby is one of her favorite stores. The new girl of the year is coming out January 1 and we expect the catalog in the mail Friday. She has been playing some games on the AG website this evening. 

My oldest is 15 and headed out to a New Year's Eve party/sleepover. The hair drier was drying and the curling iron curling. 

Loving: I love this time of year. This, in addition to a new school year, is my favorite. I always feel like anything is possible. A year ago today, my oldest was in bed recovering from a fractured vertebra. Now she is out and about. It is amazing what can happen in a year. Thanks be to God for everything!

Thinking: We don't go back to work until Monday and then kiddos come on Tuesday. I'm going in on Friday to clean, and organize, copy, and prepare for the next semester. This is always a time I like to give my room a little refresher. The butterfly feeling comes from being excited to get back to work and see my kiddos! Two weeks is a long time in a first graders life!

Wanting: I'm headed in to make a cup of joe and finish the season of The Missing. I'm at a really good spot and can't wait to see the next episode.

Needing: As much as I love putting up the Christmas decorations (and I do!), I love taking them down. The stark cleanliness of the house makes my heart sing! I always do this the Sunday before heading back to work. At the end, it feels like the house has taken a deep breath. 

Yes: To taking more risks professionally. My goal is to blog 2 times a week to share what happens in my room. Not to share the perfection (which rarely exists, but don't you think other teachers have it? I know I do) but to share the reality. 

Maybe: The Parent's Association at my school awards a Teacher Fellowship grant to one teacher each year. You decided what you want to apply for, write up a grant, and present to a board. We don't have a Leveled Bookroom at my school and I'm thinking about writing a grant for this. I'm trying to get a couple other teachers to go in with me. Maybe.

I wish: For honesty and truthfulness always.....Sounds funny, but when you meet me, you get me scars and all. I just wish people would just be themselves and not try to be someone else in order to fit in in the world. 

Well, that's me currently. 

One year later and getting hang of this blog thang. 

One year later and trying to get the hang of the TPT thang. (good gravy, I've feel like I've been working on the same product for EVER!!! How do others crank out the products? Honestly...I'm on a learning curve!!)

Oh my stars....if you made it this far you are a Saint and thank you for reading. 

Love ya!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

2015 is right around the corner......I can't believe it! Time does fly by when you're having fun AND 2014 was great fun! I'm linking up with Jessica at Second Grade Nest to share some of my goals for 2015.

Write a grant for a leveled bookroom at our school. We need one desperately. Does your school have one?

I want to write at least 2 blog posts a week and create more products for my TPT store. 

I have so many things I've created for my classroom, I just need to get them store ready. 

I want to read the entire Bible. I've already started and am loving it. 

I should add a suffix -s to the end of goal....

Be ready to run a 10K by summer.

Read more for pleasure.

I want to completely cut SUGAR and FLOUR/WHEAT out of my diet. I'm usually pretty good about it but then I fall off the wagon. When I'm good, I feel fantastic. When I'm bad, I feel awful.

I also want to give up my worries to God and listen when he answers!  

I can't wait to reading about everyone's resolutions.

Happy New Year and here's to a fantastic 2015!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

Winter break is upon me, and I-am-a-happy-camper!  The kiddos and families were really ready as well.

I've spent the last several weeks thinking about what to give my kiddos for their gift from me.

I've done Snowman Soup including mug for several years. One of my kiddos that is a freshman in college still does not let anyone use his mug at Christmas time.

But, this year, I wanted to do something.  One of my colleges purchased fleece and cut scarves for her children. I think I'll do the scarves next year!

This year.......I decided to make peppermint flavored play dough and it was a huge hit with each sweet kiddo!

I used the playdough recipe from Instructables. It included pictures of each step.

These pictures show my youngest kneading the dough. She informed me she was a master kneader.

I should have cooked it a bit longer but we added more flour and everything turned out great!

I added Peppermint Essential Oil during the kneading.  I didn't measure just used my nose to tell me if it was enough.  

I saw on Pinterest (but forgot to pin! insert sad face here) another teacher who used white-topped containers decorated like a snowman for her play dough. I found these oval shaped containers at the grocery store and thought they would work just fine. I used a sharpie to draw on the "coal" eyes and "carrot" noses. 

Before I placed each ball in its container, I added a special surprise to the center. This idea comes from The Clutter Free Classroom. 

I poked a hole in each ball and added several drops of food coloring, closed the hole, and placed the play dough in the container. 

NOW...THIS NEXT PART IS VERY IMPORTANT. 

Once I passed out the play dough to everyone and the cheers died down, I gave them a plastic baggy. They put the play dough in the baggy and began to squeeze and knead the dough. The color was discovered and incorporated into the play dough. 

The bag keeps their little hands, clothes, carpets, desks, tables.......really every surface.....protected. Once the color is incorporated they can take it out of the bag and play with it! 

The room smelled wonderful and the kiddos were very happy.

Another year of classroom gifts complete. 

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!  Today is Christmas Eve and I'm linking up with Abby at The Inspired Apple for her Christmas Conversation linky party!

Love to read about everyone's Christmas traditions! Have a safe and wonderful season. See y'all in 2015!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

I've been thinking about this all week. One week late is not too late is it? Is it? I'm linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade this month to share the love!

Listening: My pup is a lab/springer spaniel mix called a Springadore. Love her. She follows me to every room. Now she is very tired and snoring very loudly!

Loving: This is my favorite time of year. We finally got the tree up yesterday and all my holiday collections - Santas, Nativities, Snowmen, and Nutcrackers are out on display. Love how it feels right now AND by January 2 I am ready to put it all away!

Thinking: I think I can get just about every gift (Christmas and Birthday for my oldest) online this year. There are a couple I have brave the dreaded stores for this year. My goal is to be done by next weekend. I. THINK. I. CAN.

Wanting: These next 2 weeks to be as stress free as possible. I'm just going to take it one day at a time and enjoy these moments with family and friends.

Needing: I need to copy and staple my homework packets for tomorrow. This will be the last homework packet until after the break!  Yea!

Giving: I'm sending happy thoughts to everyone. Focus on the positive and leave the negative nellies behind.

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

I'm so excited to be nominated by Jessica Lamb at Caffeinated Curriculum  and Martinique at Ms. Perry's Peaches for the Liebster Award. This is an award for new bloggers with less than 200 followers. The first part is me answering the following 11 questions, so here I go:

Why and how long ago did you start blogging?

I started blogging in January 2014 but you can see there is a huge gap between July and November! Still working out the kinks for posting. 

Several years ago teacher websites were all the rage and I loved looking at teachers I had connected with through a Yahoo Group listserve. I decided to created my own and did with great success. Then I changed grade levels and took it down. When I started following a few blogs I found from TPT, I began wanting my own in order to share. So, last January I jumped in head first!

What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?

Honest! I am not a "toot your own horn" person at all. I will "toot" everyone else's horn out there but find it difficult to say "look at me!" (Maybe that is why I haven't invited all my friends on FB to like my page?) My hope is that my posts are portraying the honest truth of what is going on in my classroom and not painting an unrealistic picture. 

Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before?

I just learned how to put a watermark on my pictures! Yea! I looked up my question and followed the directions using PicMonkey. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Now, I'm working on getting that FB tab to pop out! 

What is your favorite past time other than blogging?

Even though I am in front of kiddos and parents all the time and I love my girlfriends and time spent with them, I am a true introvert. I love time alone. 

Alone time to run outside or on the treadmill and as funny as this sounds....alone time to clean and fold laundry. I am happiest when my house is spotless. I also love spending time with my girls and husband and love spending time with my girlfriends over a glass of wine!  

How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?

That is what I've struggled with....see gap between July and November....since beginning my blog. I'm going to venture to say couple hours a week. 

What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?

I love teaching blogs and baking/cooking blogs. I'm a big visual person and always love seeing what everyone else is doing in their classroom. 

When I began my blog, my daughter began her blog called If You Give a Girl a Whisk. She is a freshman in high school and loves to bake. It is a great little blog. She too made mention that she hasn't posted in a while because she has been so busy with school! 

Where does your blog inspiration come from?

The first blog I really fell in love with was Oh Boy 4th Grade when I taught 4th. When I moved to 1st, I continued following Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade and found Reagan Tunstall at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits and Cara Carroll at First Grade Parade. I loved how honest they both were. Not to mention they are Texas girls and I'm a Texas native. 

Which post that you've written are you most proud of?

My second post is the one I like the most so far. It was First Week Back after Winter Break. I shared what we were working on that week with pictures and all!  

Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have been postponing it for a while now?

Yes.....my classroom set-up pictures. I think I'll get that done over winter break. 

What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

I love the journaling aspect of blogging. This is a place where I can document my classroom. A place where I can look back at the years and repeat or change based on my current year. Being nominated for the Liebster really put a zing in me and made me feel like...I can do this. 

Which recipe, project, or idea on a blog would you be most likely to try yourself?

I have purchased (but have not used yet) Reagan Tunstall's from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits Math Journals. She just posted another article about them yesterday that I'll read after this. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around how to use them in my room with my kiddos!  I have a long processing time when it comes to new things. 

My Liebster Nominees:

1. If You Give a Girl a Whisk

2. Teaching with a Smile

3. Teaching in Room 605

4. Rockin' in First Grade

5. Mrs. Wilson's Wolves

6. Ms. Hamm's First Grade Funland

7. A Teacher's Journey in Second Grade

8. Mrs. Sullivan's Second Grade

9. Shenanigans in Second Grade

10. Second Grade Supreme

11. 4th Grade Rocks!

I can't wait to read y'all's responses. :)

Now that you've been nominated, here are the "official" rules for accepting:
1. In your post, link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and "shout out."
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you (the ones I answered above).
3. Nominate 11 blogs of your choice that each have less than 200 followers. Provide them with 11 questions to answer or have them answer the questions above.
4. Let your nominees know that they've been nominated and provide them with a link to your post so that they can accept.
5. Send your nominator a link to your post so that s/he can learn more about you as well! (You can just put your post link in the comments below!)

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

It has been ages since I blogged about anything. Just like everyone, I NEED MORE TIME! 

If I didn't sleep or eat I'd have all the time in the world. 

I just discovered this linky and decided to link up with Teaching Trio for The Sunday Scoop.

Here is what I'm doing this Sunday! 

3 Things I Have To Do:

1. We went to my families in Texas for Thanksgiving and had a blast! We returned yesterday and now it is time for everyone to unpack so I can complete the laundry from the trip. I usually try to do a couple loads at Mother's before I leave but didn't do it this time. 

2.  I was on top of it before the break and completed my planning for the next couple of weeks. (pat on the back)....I don't normally pat myself on the back but I was sooooo excited to accomplish this that I want to shout from the rooftops! I just have to review my plans and put together my kiddos homework for their Monday to Monday packet. 

3. My alarm just went off on the microwave telling me it is time to go run. I usually go in the evening but I have plans this evening so I'm going in the afternoon. As soon as I'm done here I headed outdoors.

2 Things I Hope To Do:

1. I did get this done! A Facebook page for my blog. I think this will be the first Facebook post. I'm taking a deep breathe and jumping in to put myself, my blog, and my TPT store out there more. Does that cause anyone else anxiety or just me?

2. Our school is working hard to educate our stakeholders about the importance of 21st Century Skills across the grade level. Our grade level is responsible for having a short video about how we are implementing this skills across the 4 first grade classes. I'm responsible for talking about the "Digital Playground" our kiddos participated in over several weeks. This was a 4 week rotation where each class participated in "playing" with augmented reality, digital book making, photography, and app exploring while honing their collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity skills. 

1 Things I'm Happy To Do:

1. My oldest daughter and I have been part of a Mother/Daughter Book Club for the past 5 years. The moms decided beginning this summer to branch off and create a Mothers Only book club. We have our second meeting this evening. We eat supper and visit before discussing the book of the month. Tonight we are discussing The Great Gatsby. Love getting together with this group of women.

Hope your Sunday is super and your week is grand!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

I am so excited to share with you a blog that I am sure many of you know about already. Jessica at A Turn to Learn has the best tutorials on so many topics.

This morning I was reading some of my favorite go-to blogs and started looking at classroom setups. I decided that I wanted a Welcome bunting for my room but being the controlling, OCD, particular person that I am I wanted to create it. I knew just who to go to for step by step directions!  

Here is a picture of what I created. I used the chevron backgrounds from Anchor Me Designs and those fantastic blackboard circle frames came from Graphics from the Pond. I also used Kimberly Geswein Fonts.  

Once I get back to school I'll laminate, cut it out, and assemble using some type of cute ribbon.  

If you want to create your own bunting here is a direct link to the tutorial. 

Have a great day!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

Hello everyone.  I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune for Worksheet Wednesday. 

I created the sheet below to go with the book Leo the Late Bloomer. 

I like to use it during the first few days of the school year!

It is a Google Doc and you can download it here for free. 

Enjoy!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune today for Monday Meet Up!

Now.....head on over to The Teaching Tribune to meet someone new!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

I'm linking up with Mrs. Jump's Class again for Book Talk Tuesday. 

One of my favorite books to begin and end the year with is Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus.

Every year we receive a new class of sweeties. They come to us at different developmental stages. This book helps share the important lesson that everyone is different and learns at different rates.

Leo is a sweet little tiger with some challenges. He begins the school year unable read, write, or draw very well at all. With perseverance and the support of his family, he is able do all of these things by the end of the year. 

I've also included the response sheet I use with my kiddos. Click here to download.

What are some other books you like to use at the beginning of the year?

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

What....really....July already!  And time to link up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her July Currently!

Listening: Lonesome Dove is one of my all time favorites. My husband just has to say "Oh that Gus" and I get a little teary eyed. 

Loving: Our summer routine is great!  I get up early, have coffee, workout, get dressed, and then work on some of my summer projects around the house. My girls get up and do a little summer review after breakfast. We all get comfy in the living room after lunch and read for a while. I'm reading The Next Step in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson and  Positive Discipline in the Classroom and reviewing Teaching with Love and Logic. I've been trying to find a non-school related book to include. Any suggestions?

Thinking: I live in New Mexico but grew up in Texas. All my family is in Texas! Wish we lived closer so I could see everyone more often. 

Wanting: We just replaced a lamp in my youngest daughters room and I want to recover the old lamp for my classroom. I've found some You Tube videos to watch. We'll see how it goes. 

Needing: Laundry is going and we leave Thursday for a long weekend. Once everything is washed the girls and I will start packing. I don't love packing or unpacking for that matter. 

4th Plans: We'll get to Fort Worth on Thursday for the 3rd Annual Harris Hootenanny! This is my husbands side of the family and it is huge. Can't wait to see everyone! 

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

Happy Saturday Everyone!  

I just uploaded my very first paid item on my TPT account!  I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I spent yesterday designing and watching You Tube for tips. What is it you ask? 

I always create new binder covers for each new year. 

While working on mine, I created a few for my store!  

I had a great time learning new tips. This can be addictive!! 

Now I'm off to run on this beautiful morning. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

Our 21st Century Coordinator is hosting several Techie Tuesdays throughout the month of June. I was out of town for the first 3 but made it for the latest one.  One of my colleagues gave a presentation on Evernote. She discussed how she uses it to plan and organize her lessons in her 5th grade science class.

It was fabulous!

Evernote is designed for note taking and archiving. A "note" can be a typed or handwritten piece of information, a voice recording, or a photo. You can also upload file attachments. 

I started thinking about using it as my "gradebook." 

I don't give grades, but I do document all the time to support my professional observations about student growth and the report card. 

This spring, I read a post on Cara Carroll's The First Grade Parade about one of her colleagues having the kiddos snap a picture of the hands-on activity they were working on in order to show her their progress. Genius!

I also saw another blog post about a teacher that uses Evernote to document and comment on her students' writing. Another Genius idea! 

At the end of the year, my next door neighbor (at school....we share a door between classrooms...It is awesome) were discussing keeping digital documents of kiddos work and not 50 million spiral notebooks along with copies of the work when Evernote popped into my mind! 

I immediately signed up for a free account.  I'll probably upgrade to premium before school starts.

I've been watching some tutorials on you tube and talking about it more with my colleagues.

I'm going to jump in with both feet and give it my all.

As I set up everything on Evernote, I'll post some pics!  

Do you use Evernote?

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess