Thank you blog friends!!

Kimberlee from Two Fulbright Hugs, Mrs. Lindsey from Lovin' Kindergarten with Ms. Lindsey, and Laura from TIPS: Teach, Inspire, and Prepare Students have given me the Versatile Blogger Award! A BIG THANK YOU to you ladies for recognizing me and my blog!!! I appreciate it a lot! Please check out their wonderful blogs. 

Here are the rules....

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Include a link to their site.
3. Include the award image in your post.
4. Give 7 random facts about yourself
5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.
6. When nominating, include a link to their site.
7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated. 

Here's 7 random facts about me:
1. I come from a family of teachers. My mom taught first grade for 
    34 years and my sister has been teaching for 18 years. 
2. I am a big Boston Red Sox fan! Go SOX!!
3. I studied French and Spanish in high school & college...I can 
    UNDERSTAND more than I can SPEAK. haha!
4. I am married to an amazing chiropractor, who takes GOOD care 
    of me and all my school stress. We met when we were 9 years 
    old.
5. I am an avid reader! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read! I have over 
    400 books on my nook (all read at least once!).
6. I have taught both of my children (my daughter when she was in 
    2nd and just had my son this year in 1st). Both times were 
    wonderful experiences for me!
7. I LOVE to stay up late AND sleep in but HATE waking up 
    early. Guess that's why summer is my favorite time of year! ha!

Great blogs I've nominated:
Sweet Life of Second Grade
Just Wild About Teaching
Lessons with Laughter 
Sweet Seconds
First Grade FUNdamentals
Hangin' with Mrs. Cooper
Primary Punch
First Grade Garden
Smiling in Second Grade
F is for First Grade
The Hands-On Teacher
Fluttering Through First Grade
Mrs. Green's Little Green Beans
Lovely Little Learners
More Time 2 Teach
 
 

Vacation and Currently

Just got back from camping in Lake Tahoe for 5 days. I can't really call it "camping"; I mean there was a tent and dirt but there was also a swimming pool, clean bathrooms and showers, a general store, movies for the kids, an ice cream social, and PLENTY of s'mores! My family had a wonderful time at the lake, swimming, hiking, and just relaxing. Exactly what I needed!

This is my second time linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy Fourth Grade... for CURRENTLY. I love seeing what everyone is CURRENTLY doing. :) Check it out and link up too!

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions

So I have this problem EVERY summer vacation--as the school year ends, I'm thinking of ALL the things I want to do/work on/create/organize for school during my summer vacation; but I also think of ALL the things I want to do at home read(books not related to teaching), scrapbook, workout, organize closets, clean, make crafts from Pinterest, be lazy, watch movies/TV (since I don't really watch during the school year), etc. Each day I'm torn between what I should be doing and what I want to do! Help!!! Summer isn't meant to be working but there are things I'd like to do for school, especially after blog stalking and being on Pinterest each day. I think I have a touch of ADHD because I'll start scrapbooking and think "Oh, this would be so cute in my classroom" and then I get sidetracked and start doing a school project, which then makes me think "I'm supposed to be on vacation, not doing school work" and I end up getting NOTHING done!! 


Is it just ME?! Does anyone else have these problems??? Tell me what works for you if you're able to enjoy summer doing things you love AND still get some school things done without it feeling like "work". 

I'm on my third week of summer break and I want to feel productive, yet relaxed...is that possible?!? haha!

Quick and easy reading pointer

Here's a really quick and easy reading pointer your kids can make at the beginning of the school year. You can use any size wiggly eyes, craft sticks (colored or plain), foam letters, and Sharpie markers. I got my supplies at Michael's but I'm sure Wal-mart has the same things too.

Using the kids' names to make the pointers means no arguing as to whose is whose.  :)  My class loves that they all have their very own reading pointers to use whenever they want.

**A tip when using the "peel and stick" foam letters. The back of the letter that is not glued onto the craft stick will be very sticky. If you sprinkle some baby powder on the back and rub it in with your fingers, this will get rid of the stickiness. Everyone will be happier when the pointers don't stick to the pages of the books! :)

Happy Reading!

Pinterest project

Happy Monday everyone! I spend free moments in my days (and nights) checking out Pinterest and pinning like a mad woman! One of the things I pinned was this cute bell used for positive behavior reinforcement. The idea behind the bell is this--Johnny is off task but you see Jenny working quietly, so you ring the bell and praise her for doing the right thing, which will hopefully, redirect Johnny. Each time the kids hear the bell, they know someone is going to be recognized. Click on the picture to read all about it from the Littlest Learners blog.

 

Here's my new bell!

 

I got the bell at Office Depot and the jewels at Michael's.The jewels came in a pack of 3 sticky backed strips, which fit perfectly around the edge of the bell. It's a little hard to tell but mine are purple (my favorite color). I might want to use a paint pen to write something cute on the silver part of the bell; just not sure what exactly.

I'm excited to use this in the classroom this year. It reminds me of my psych classes and Pavlov's dog. I will be doing some "training" with my students! haha!

 

Bookshelf makeover

One thing I've been wanting to do this past year is paint some bookshelves from my classroom. I was very lucky to have my dad make some bookshelves for my classroom a few years ago. At the time I wanted them red. I loved the bright color and they were a great addition to my classroom. Fast forward 6 years and I'm tired of seeing red! There were 4 big shelves to sand, paint, and paint some more...but I finished my first item on my summer to do list!

Here's the before...

and the after!

Black fits my color scheme better and I want to add "pops of color" with baskets. Now I won't be limited with my color choices. I'll be taking the bookshelves back to school this week. Now I'm on to my next project of organizing my monthly files!

Finally finished and a new blog

I finally finished the school year yesterday!! I'm so excited for summer vacation to begin...and I'm exhausted from the last few weeks of school. This was a great year with a wonderful class! We had an end of the year fieldtrip to the bowling alley Thursday. When we came back to the classroom, all of the parents gave me a standing ovation and the kids cheered for a great year together! It made me feel so good! Great parents, who support their child's education, really do make a difference. :) 


I've cleaned up my classroom but will be heading back to clean up my huge storage closet and files. I've a got a week to work on it before I need to turn in my classroom key. I'm so glad summer is here! My to-do list is growing! I'll be sharing ideas as I check them off my list. :)


My sister, who teaches 2nd grade, has created a new blog--Sweet Life of Second Grade. She's very creative and eager to share her ideas with you! Go check out her blog and tell her I sent you to say hi!


Happy summer everyone!!