Friday, January 31, 2014

Five For Friday!

Happy F-R-I-D-A-Y!

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching again for the Five For Friday linky party!

Here are five very random things about my week...




This week, Sam & I found out where we will be staying in San Diego!  I'm going out on a bit of a limb here by sharing this with you, as you never know if this information will change, but as of now, we will be living here for about 7 weeks:
This is the Residence Inn located in the Gaslamp Quarter, which is right by the harbor.  Kayla and I stayed in this same area a couple of years ago, and I LOVED it! The Gaslamp Quarter is a historic downtown area filled with restaurants, pubs, boutiques, theaters, and museums. Sounds pretty fabulous, right?
Kayla and I had the absolute best, but also a very short-lived trip to San Diego. 

Even though we only had one full day in SD, we made sure to check out the zoo, of course! I was crushed to leave so soon  after arriving, and remember thinking, 'I HAVE to come back here someday!' I can't believe it's actually happening!



Yesterday I posted my most recent product, Grade 4 Common Core Math Vocabulary Posters, which goes along with Topics 9-16 of the enVision MATH program.  Between division, fractions, measurement, and geometry, the second half of the 4th Grade topics are very vocabulary heavy.  These posters are eye-catching and are fab to use as visuals during your lessons and/or as a reference on a math bulletin board or word wall!


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878
I think you can see from the collage above, how language-based this program can be.  Craziness!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-4-Common-Core-Math-Vocabulary-Posters-Topics-9-16-1087878

For more information about the Grade 4 Common Core Math Vocabulary Posters, head to my product description on TpT.  You can also head here to read about the posters for Grade 4 Topics 1-8, and/or read my blog posts about Grade 3 Topics 1-8 and Topics 9-16.



I am participating in another GIVEAWAY which starts TOMORROW and runs until Saturday, February 8th!  This time I am donating The Blustery Blizzard Roll & Sort, a hands-on noun, verb, and adjective activity with a winter theme.  If you'd like to read  more about it, hop over to my TpT store here or check out last week's Five For Friday post.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Blustery-Blizzard-Roll-Sort-A-Winter-Themed-Grammar-Activity-1035545

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Blustery-Blizzard-Roll-Sort-A-Winter-Themed-Grammar-Activity-1035545

Check out the S.O.L Train by Pam & Brittany if you'd like a chance to win The Blustery Blizzard Roll & Sort as well as MANY other fabulous prizes.  

http://soltrainlearning.blogspot.com/
http://soltrainlearning.blogspot.com/



I subbed in a Kindergarten classroom this morning, and was able to attend the K-2 school's Olympic-themed "All School Meeting".  It was so fun, I just have to share it with you!  The school was split into teams or "countries" that participate in the Olympic Games. A Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade classroom joined together to represent each of the chosen countries.  For example, the Kindergarten class I was with represented Australia, along with a 1st and a 2nd Grade classroom.  The assembly began with a song, in which each country greeted the school in their own language. 

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/research-reports-flags-country-flags-443-2-1
Of course each team was decked out with their country's flags.  (Click on the picture above to head to print out a variety of flag coloring pages). 

http://www.kidspot.com.au/kids-activities-and-games/Australia-Day+54/Sydney-Opera-House-hat+12616.htm
The little Australians also wore a DIY hat, like the one above, to represent the Sydney Opera House. Too cute!

During the assembly, the principal gave a brief background of the Olympics and explained their school would be completing a large bar graph on the gymnasium wall to keep track of each country's winnings in the real Olympics.  It looked very similar to the display seen below.

He also announced their school would be holding their own MATH version of the Olympic Games.  Go MATHletes! :)  After each team was revved up, a real Olympic torch was used to "light" a large DIY "torch" that will be "kept lit" for the length of the competitions.


The school-wide assembly concluded with some traditional Opening Ceremony music.  Winners will be announced at their next school meeting in about a month. :)


Last, but not least, my little bro's birthday was earlier this week.  Happy 26th, Jeff!  I remember peeking at you in your bassinet at the hospital on the day you were born, when I was only 3.  I was very excited to finally be with you, and Mom & Dad again...I was also mesmerized by the smokestacks I saw out the hospital window at the end of the hallway.  The things we remember! Love you, J-Bear!



That's all for now...

XO <3, C










Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Giveaway Time!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

This post is going to be short and sweet.  I am here to announce I am participating in a couple GIVEAWAYS with other bloggers/TpTers.  To make things less confusing, I will share the first giveaway with you today, and the second later on in the week.


I donated my Heart-to-Heart lesson / activity to the "300 Follower Giveaway" by Amy from Eclectic Educating, who will be giving away many fabulous prizes to a couple lucky winners! 



With the Heart-to-Heart activity, your kiddos can celebrate Hearts Day by creating a Valentine's Day Figurative Language Booklet. They will make a separate page for various kinds of figurative language, including similes, metaphors, idioms, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole.  For more information, click here to read my blog post about this product. :-)

To enter the Eclectic Educating Giveaway, hop on over to Amy's page here, but do so quickly because the giveaway ends on Friday! :)

Good Luck, everyone!

XO <3, C

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Valentine's Day Linky Party!

Hello everyone! Valentine's Day is right around the corner, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to host my first linky party! Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. I know most people feel it's a commercial ploy, but I love the simplicity of the holiday. It's quick, easy, and doesn't have to be over the top. Plus, it's a way to spice up the very looooong winter we have here in New England. (I also do not mind receiving large bouquets of pink roses, either!) 

Frame by Creative Clips

For this linky party you may post a link to your blog or TpT store, highlighting a Valentine's Day freebie, idea, or paid product.  If you choose to link-up a blog post, don't forget to copy and paste the above graphic into your post and link it back to the party!

Check out the product I will be adding to the linky...




I created Heart-to-Heart with upper elementary students in mind.  Your kiddos can celebrate Hearts Day by creating a Valentine's Day Figurative Language Booklet. They will make a separate page for various kinds of figurative language, including similes, metaphors, idioms, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole.



On each page, students will record the definition of the kind of language highlighted, create a Valentine's Day related sentence with an example of that type of language, and illustrate their words.



There are many visuals provided in the product to help students review the concept of figurative language and the meanings of each type.



A vocabulary poster for each kind of figurative language is included, as well as a word bank to inspire creativity!


Heart-to-Heart is perfect for a language arts center, whole class assignment, or as a classroom Valentine's Day celebration activity!


Check out this product on TpT for more information. I hope you will find this useful for your classroom!

Thank you to everyone who joins my first ever linky party!

XO <3, C

Friday, January 24, 2014

Five For Friday & I'm Still Alive...Again!

Oh man oh man.  I know I wrote that blog post entitled "I'm Still Alive" about 2 months ago, letting everyone know I'm still here and blogging...hmm.  I guess that didn't work out to well.  This time, I am really trying to get back on the blogging scene though.  I swear!  Christmastime just became very busy, even for me, Miss I-Only-Sub-Now. :-) 

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with where to start with this blog post, because a lot has happened in the past 2 months since I last wrote, so I thought I'd link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five For Friday linky (Sam hates that word...linky). This way it's okay to be totally random.  Plus I've secretly always wanted to join this link-up!


http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-for-friday-linky-party-january-24th.html

 

Last week, our family celebrated Sam's 29th birthday.  I can't believe he's 29!  God, he's SO OLD!  (I'm only saying that because I turned the same age 16 days before him).  To celebrate, we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Agave, with a large group of friends and his co-workers for some Mexican.  We had such a fabulous time!  I also made him Funfetti cupcakes, of course, because those are our fave!  This time, I tried something a bit new...



As you can see, they were stuffed with Oreos, and there was really no science behind it.  Just plop them right on top of some batter, and cover them over with more! MMMmmm!
Here is the birthday boy, himself! :-)




Saturday morning we received an unexpected snowstorm!  We ended up with about 7 inches. Poor Dudley has been so cooped up lately due to cold weather & icy conditions, so we decided to take a walk during the storm.  We went right over to Dudley's favorite place, large fields owned by a private school, where he could run around to his little heart's content. We were SOAKED by the time we arrived home.




I came down with the flu on Monday, which doesn't make for a very interesting week to share with you.  It was AWFUL, but really only for 1 day.  My fever climbed throughout the day and topped off over 103.  Sleeping wasn't fun at all, but luckily the next couple days I was only feeling a little off.  Definitely a far cry from my 10 day fever with mono last year, and for that I am THANKFUL!  Even so, just being trapped in the house for the past few days has already made me develop a case of the winter blues. 


I did get a chance to book a few more hotel...okay, motels, for our cross-country road trip that is coming up very soon!  Yup, we have a START date for our trip to San Diego...finally!  After we received the start date, I was able to start to break down our road trip day by day, and then start the motel reservation process.  Right now I only have one more to book for the way out there. We still aren't sure where we will be living once we arrive, but it could possibly be in La Jolla.  More exciting news on this subject- Mom is coming to visit us in March, and G & L, our family/friends, will be house-sitting and STAYING at our house while we are gone!  Hoooray!
www.roadtripusa.com
We'll be taking # 6 to Atlanta and then heading to San Diego via #10.  Can't wait!


I recently uploaded a couple new products to TpT.  One has a Valentine's Day theme, which I will share later, and the other is very chilly...

The Blustery Blizzard focuses on nouns, verbs, and adjectives, but since many find grammar to be a bit dull, it is very HANDS-ON.  There's only so many grammar worksheets and workbook pages a child can take!

Partner up your kiddos and provide them each their own mat and set of WINTERY-themed word cards! Next, your students will take turns rolling a 6-sided die and use the key on the activity's instructions to understand the meaning of each number they roll. Some numbers will prompt them to choose a word card with a certain part of speech (NOUN, VERB, or ADJECTIVE), which they must place on the correct section of their sorting mat. Other numbers will prompt students to remove a word card from their mat or skip a turn. If they roll a 5, WILD, they're able to choose any word card to add to their sorting mat!  The object of the game is to be the first student to have all of his/her cards sorted correctly.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Blustery-Blizzard-Roll-Sort-A-Winter-Themed-Grammar-Activity-1035545

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Blustery-Blizzard-Roll-Sort-A-Winter-Themed-Grammar-Activity-1035545
 I would love for you to take a look at my grammar activity at my TpT store here, and I hope some of you will find it useful in your classroom!

Well friends, that just about finishes up my "Five For Friday"! Cheers to the weekend!

XO <3, C