Wisdom for Wednesday-Tired

Welcome to:

Have you had those weeks where you are just exhausted?  Well, I've had that week, I feel like I'm going constantly and I'm just tired.  We are in the middle of testing for grade cards and testing for MTSS etc. and it has just been a busy week.  I made myself go to a Pilates class last night and at the end of the class, the instructor had us just lie still in silence and relax.  I forgot how long it's been since I've done that, you know where you actually shut your brain down and don't think of your to do list.  Anyways, I was so relaxed that within 5 minutes, I actually dozed off a little.  I know that when I get that tired that God can renew my energy and soul.  I need to take that time to clear my mind and let him do that!  

I wanted to add this little quote that I found as well because I found it very fitting!

Have a great day!

Rose Robot Cleans Up and Everyday Math Boxes

We read the story Rose Robot Cleans Up from our Treasures Reading Series.  It was about some robots that used junk to make a robot that cleaned things up for them.  The kids loved it!  So, we did some extra activities with it.  I found this cute writing from Teaching Community.  The kids had a blast with filling it out.  

After they wrote about their robot, they got to make a robot out of construction paper.  (Yikes, my room was messy with this, but they did a great job cleaning up!)

In math, we do Everyday math and we have what is called math boxes.  These pages are a review of skills that we have been learning throughout the year.  I had the students get with their shoulder buddies and I assigned them a number from one of our math box pages.  They were given 2 minutes to talk about the problem and decide how they would teach it to the class.  The hard part.......they couldn't tell what the answer would be, they had to explain how the other kids could figure out the answer.  They took their job very serious and did a great job!  Check them out!

Have a great day!

Addition with Regrouping and Kahoot!

We started addition with regrouping this week and my kids are doing great! In the past I didn't always spend enough time on the concrete part of it, such as using base-10 blocks or dimes and pennies to show what was happening.

This year in my guided math groups, I took it really slow the first two days with my lower kids and we used dimes and pennies to help us. On the flip side, my high group was adding 3-digit numbers the first day! Have I mentioned that I love guided math groups???

Anyway, even my lowest group is doing awesome! I just have one kiddo who is sometimes regrouping when not needed. That always seems to be a challenge for a few. 

*time-out :-)*

Have you tried Kahoot? It is a pretty cool website that allows you to create a quiz and students answer on iPads. The answers are color and shape coded so that helps the little ones know which answer they want to choose. We've used it a couple of ways...one where each of my color teams have an iPad and take turns answering questions. This saves on time logging in, but the kids definitely prefer to have their own iPad (of course).

*time-in :-)*

Because I usually have some kids trying to regroup when they don't need to, this year I made a Kahoot! to practice making that decision. You can use it by clicking here.

Once we were pretty comfortable with regrouping as a class, I used a couple of TPT finds to practice. This freebie came from All Students Can Shine.

She has two sets of cards (one with regrouping and one without), but I put them all out. My kiddos had to decide if regrouping was needed or not to determine which side of the recording sheet to use. 

I also used another freebie called Basketball Scoot from Teaching Second Grade. Sorry no pictures! Remember my daughter was sick? Well, she apparently passed it to me and I had to call for a sub yesterday. Feeling better today (I think). I'm sure it was great though. I used it last year and my class loves to "scoot."

Well, I hope you have a great weekend!

P.S. I have made one other Kahoot! It is for verbs with singular or plural nouns if you'd like to give it a try. You can search and find some others on the site as well.

Wisdom for Wednesday - Leaving God Out

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When I saw this quote, I knew I needed to use it for this week's post. This time of year, it is all too common to see the world "leaving God out" of the holiday season.

That said, I have to admit that I sometimes "leave God out" and handle life in my own way. I start each morning with the Lord--in His Word and in prayer--but then when I am bombarded with the "stuff" of the day I often make decisions and go through the motions of the day without consulting the Lord. 

This is something that became more of a struggle for me when I became a teacher. I have found that you are rarely alone during the day when you are a teacher, there is rarely any "quiet time." If I'm lucky enough to have "alone time" or "quiet time," I am rushing around to get ready for the next thing (or using the restroom--HA).

I have to make a decision--on purpose--to take a few minutes during the day to check in with the Lord. When I do, my day just seems to go so much better. My attitude is better because I'm able to keep things in proper perspective. Not to mention I'm not trying to handle things on my own or in my own way--and His way is always best!

Have a blessed day!

Thanksgiving Break and a Cyber Sale

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and a nice break from school. 

I spent the day Wednesday cooking and baking in preparation of hosting our families on Thursday. Thursday, of course, was filled with yummy food and time with family.

Friday morning started with basketball practice (I'm the assistant for MS girls) and some shopping (not necessarily for Christmas--my son is turning FIFTEEN this Wednesday and we hadn't found a gift yet). We ended up going in with him to get his first cell phone. He is pretty excited about it, and I can't believe he is growing up so fast. According to my daughter, "He is going to be halfway to 30!" ;-)

Saturday we (by we, I mean my husband and kids--they are awesome) worked on the stage for the upcoming Christmas concert a week from Monday. I'll be so thankful to have that finished! I had a nightmare about it being so bad my principal had to stop it after only two songs and I was going to get fired over it. I was going for a "winter wonderland." What do you think?

We went from there to basketball practice (again). We have a game tomorrow--toughest one yet! I really wish they wouldn't schedule games the day after breaks. It would be nice to be able to not worry about having practice. We actually have one scheduled the day BEFORE kids report back from Christmas break. Anyway, my daughter is the starting point guard and she is feeling sick tonight... I'm really hoping it is NOT the flu. She said she is not missing the game...we'll see...

Tomorrow is Cyber Monday and we are having sales in our TPT and TN stores. You can actually start shopping at Teacher's Notebook now if you want. Both sales are going on through December 2nd and everything in our stores is 20% off. Use the Promo Codes for even better prices!! 

     

Three weeks and I'll be talking Christmas break...crazy!

Week of Thanks-Shopping

Thanks for joining us again for our link with Blog Hoppin! 

 They are doing a week of giving Thanks!   

Today's thanks is for the letter S:

You will not see me standing in line to get a deal at a store.  I am not a shopper.  In fact, I really dislike shopping!  Although, I will say that I love getting gifts for others.  So, I am so thankful for online shopping because I can stay home and buy gifts online and don't have to go out and fight the crowds.  YAY!

Have a great day!

Week of Thanks-Kids

Thanks for joining us again for our link with Blog Hoppin!  They are doing a week of giving Thanks!   

Today's thanks is for the letter K:

I am so thankful for all the kids that I teach and get to be around each day.  Kids are so precious and that is exactly why I'm a teacher.  It's not about all the other things that go along with teaching....it is about the kids!

Have a great day!