It's Currently August!

Wait, what?!  Where did the time go?  I feel like we just started summer vacation.  I know many teachers are already back to school, but, we don't go back until the end of August.  Anywho, here is my currently:

Listening:  I think I've said this before, but, I love Songza!  So many different playlists to match my moods or activities!

Loving:  I do still have a few more weeks of freedom left, but, I feel like the walls are closing in already!

Thinking:  My hubby is on a work trip that has been extended by a few days.  I sure am missing him!

Wanting:  Ugh, the weather hasn't been terrible here, but it doesn't feel like summer.  It's been mainly in the 70's and we've had a lot of wind and rain.  Not a good beach/pool summer.

Needing:  Honestly, I feel so content right now....I don't really "need" anything.  I'd "like" a lot of stuff/things/people/food, etc., but, I'm not in need.

1st Day:  We have a PD session that lasts 2 days (27th & 28th) then the kids start back on the 3rd of September.

Head on over and link up with Farley!

Happy July!

Here is my July Currently:

 

Listening:  Watching Devious Maids before I head to bed!

Loving:  I am officially on vacation!

Thinking:  I know I am on vacation but I can't help to think about what I want to work on for next year!

Wanting:  Can't wait to be on vacation in NH!

Needing:  I need to pack for our NH vacation!

4th of July plans:  The tropical storm is coming!  Looks like we will be spending it inside!

Head on over and link up with Farley!

New theme, new background!

I've had some extra time on my hands at night lately, so I changed up my blog style.  It matches the nautical theme that I will be doing next year in my classroom.  I have been working on getting things little by little to decorate my classroom.  It is a lot of fun and I cannot wait to start setting everything up!  I received a lot of great stuff from Creative Teaching Press via a great giveaway that Kerri hosted on her blog.

  Here is a quick peek at some of the materials I received:  

Jack O' Lantern Border

Sight Word Readers

Birthday Crowns

Motivational Poster

Nautical Bulletin Board Set

Borders!

All About Me Booklets

Postcards and Stickers!

I can't wait to use these products in my room!  Thank you again so much to Creative Teaching Press and Ms. Kerri!

 

June, June, June....

It's the month that many teachers in the Northeast look forward to.  And, I usually do too.  But, this year, I wasn't because I knew my hubby would be traveling a lot for work this June.  So here it is, the first of June and I am dreading the next 27 days.  Not because of school, but, because hubby will be in and out a lot.  :(  Anyway, to keep myself busy I worked on my Currently.

 

Listening:  DD got Disney Infinity at Easter time.  She has slowly but surely been learning how to play.

Loving:  I love that my family, neighbors and friends are very supportive and have offered to help in anyway they can this month.

Thinking:  I am super excited about my nautical theme for next year.  I cannot wait to get started on it!

Wanting:  I hate to wish the days away, but, I'd love for hubby to be done traveling!

Needing:  I was up at 4am to take the hubby to the airport.  I am ZONKED!

Bucket List:  Like I said, I can't wait to work on things for next school year!

                     Can't wait to spend time with my little family.

                     Read, read, read.  I never get to do enough of this!

Head on over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade and link up with Farley!

May Currently!

Listening:  I love this show even though I hate the blood and guts and am a complete hypochondriac!

Loving:  I love that it is May.  It means summer is on the horizon.  Well, hopefully!  The weather hasn't been very seasonal around here.

Thinking:  I already have a theme for next year; see my last post!

Wanting:  I can't wait for May 16th.  I am graduating with my Masters!

Needing:  Like everyone else, I need a nice, relaxing vacation.

Surprise:  Head over to Clutter-Free Classroom.  Her blog is great and she has a lot of great products!

Anchors Away!

I know it is only April.
I know there are still 59 days until the last day of school.
But, I have already chosen a theme for my classroom for the '14-'15 school year!

  I am going nautical next year!  I love everything nautical; home decor, fashion, etc.  This is the perfect theme for me.  So, being the eager beaver that I am I have started collecting ideas on Pinterest, and, I have started shopping for and making crafts!  I recently found out that a Hobby Lobby opened up near me!  I know these are fairly common down South but there are hardly any in the North East.  My daughter and I were on spring vacation this week so we went on an adventure to find said Hobby Lobby.  You guys, I fell in L.O.V.E. with the store.  We were there, in our glory, going up and down every. single. aisle.  I don't even know how long we were there!  We grabbed a couple million things and headed home.

  I had two crafts in mind when I went in there so, I grabbed the materials I needed there.  This is the inspiration for my first craft:

This is a wreath sold on Etsy.  I am doing a navy and lime green nautical theme, so, I bought a foam floral wreath form (couldn't find it on the site, similar), navy craft cord, white craft cord and lime green ribbon.  I started working on this the other night.  I wrapped the foam with the cord and then realized that my glue gun is at school!  That's okay!  I still need to get the natural cord and a wooden anchor.  Here is what it looks like currently with ribbon in one spot just so you get the idea:

 

I can't wait until I can finish it!  It is going to look great.  I think I spent $13 total on this project so far.  The cute wreath above sells for around $50 I believe!

Ok, next project I just created on my own.  I wanted a cute nautical monogram.  So, I picked up a wooden letter "S", navy acrylic paint, white acrylic paint, brushes and navy ribbon.  I painted it today and it looks like this:

 

I am just going to hang it on ribbon and that is it!

So, there you have it ladies and gentleman...my theme for next year.  Have you started planning anything for next year?

A little bit of this and a little bit of that!

Hi there!

  So, I come with some great news!  I have finally reached permanent status in my district!  The even better news is that I do not have to bid to get a position!  The position I am currently in is mine!!!!!!!!!  How exciting right?!

  I am also graduating with my Masters degree in less than a month.  Super exciting as well!  Can't wait to walk at commencement.  It's taken almost 4 years to complete my program because of work, having a little one and just life in general.

  Here are a couple of shots of what's been going on in my classroom the past few weeks:

 Discussing the old March saying

Writing stories!

New desk set up/work in progress

April Currently!

Yikes!  It's been a whole month since I have posted!  I have been so busy with work and a grad class that I haven't really had the time to post, take pictures, etc.  I really need to try to get better with that!  Without further ado, here is my April currently:

Listening:  I have 4 episodes of The Voice on the DVR that I need to get through!  Ahhhhh!  I don't even have time to watch TV!

Loving:  It has been winter here for what feels like FOREVER.  Every time we think we are getting warmer weather, a storm comes and it SNOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!  This week looks like our first spring-like weather week.

Thinking:  It's about that time of year again where the feeling of "Where will I be next September?" comes.  This year I have earned bidding rights and may be able to finally score a permanent position.

Wanting:  I really want to go on a cruise.  We were supposed to be going on a cruise this Summer but we had to cancel due to hubby's promotion.

Needing:  I need to relax.  I have so many things swirling through my mind, it's making me crazy!

Hours/Last Day:  My hours are 8:10-2:30.  The kids hours are 8:25-2:30.  Our last day is June 24th thanks to snow.

March Currently

Hi there!

I have been a super terrible blogger lately!  I have not had any time to blog or even take pictures of the happenings in my room lately.  Between vacations, snow days, IEP meetings, testing, etc., I have had no time!  I recently added two more kiddos to my roster and it's been a challenge trying to accommodate one of them! I figured linking up with Farley for the March Currently would be a good way to get a blog post in!  Here is my March Currently:

 

Listening:  I love Songza!  I have the app on my iPhone, my iPad and I use it on my laptop as well.  I really like it a lot better than Pandora!  There are no annoying commercials that pop up on the free version of Songza like they do on Pandora.  It really irked me when I would be listening to meditation/relaxation stations and have an ad come on at a very loud volume.  I also love that the concierge option on there has different playlist for different activities!  Check them out if you haven't yet!

Loving:  I am so glad that it is March!  Good-bye SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thinking:  I cannot wait for DST, planting our vegetable seeds, warmer weather and FLOWERS!

Wanting:  Oh my, head!  I am sooooooo excited that all things nautical are in this season.  I need to get myself some adorable seafare wear to go with my new Sperrys!

Needing:  Yes, it may be the first day of the Meteorological spring but it is FREEZING here.  We are also expecting a snowstorm tomorrow night into Monday.  :(

??????:  I looooooooooooooooooooooove the Wahlbergs.  Being from Massachusetts I have such a love for those boys.  The hubby and I have been loving their new show on A&E that is based around their restaurant Wahlburgers.  We have yet to eat there but it is definitely on our list!

Head on over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade and link up!

February Currently!

It is finally February!  I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel that is winter!  Or, maybe not.  It's snowing right now...It's been snowing all day.  It's going to snow again Wednesday and this weekend.  Oy!  Well, anyway, I am linking up again with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade.

 

Listening - I love, love, love, The Carrie Diaries.  That is all!

Loving - I filled this out on Saturday night.  We had gone to my colleagues Chinese New Year party and it was fun!

Thinking - Ahhhhhh, February vacation.  I cannot wait.  I want to veg out, I want to hang out with friends and spend time with DD.

Wanting - Winter to end.  'Nuff said!

Needing - I desperately need to do some clothes shopping.  Ever since DD was born I very rarely shop for myself.

Okay, are you ready for the 2 Truths and a Fib?

Fib:  I've never been to Disney.  Total fib, I've been twice.

2 Truths:  My hubby really is only 2 days older than me and I HATE snakes.  I can't even stand to look at a picture of one!

Well, that is all for now!  Thanks for stopping by!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year!  Today we celebrated the first day of the Chinese New Year.  We have been reading some great stories to learn about this holiday and the Chinese culture.  Here are a few that we have read so far, if you click the picture it will take you to the Amazon link:

 The Runaway Wok

My First Chinese New Year

I use this one to introduce the holiday.  It's very basic and explanatory.

Sam and the Lucky Money

The Dancing Dragon

I still have a few more to read, but, we have plenty of time considering that the New Year period lasts 15 days!  My colleague adopted her daughter from China 10 years ago and has kept the Chinese holidays and traditions for her.  She is very well versed on Chinese New Year so we can really spend some time on this holiday.  Here is the dragon that all 5 Kindergarten classes contributed scales to:

It has a looooooooooooooooooooooong tail!

We also have some pretty lanterns to show off our visual thinking exercise:

Did you do anything to celebrate?

 

Happy MLK Jr. Day!

Happy MLK Jr. Day!  My Kinders and I have been working on our special project.  I finally got to hang it in the hall the other day.  Here it is:

 

 Here is a closer look:

The heads and bodies are from The Mailbox Magazine.  I made the hair for myself and all of the students.  The students colored their faces and their shirts.  This is the second year I have done this project and I absolutely love it!  The two outer posters came in a pack that I just bought at Target in the Dollar Zone section.  The MLK portrait is a coloring sheet that I enlarged and had colored.  We have spent quite a bit of time talking about being fair and being accepting of everyone.  We also discussed how we are all different and that it is a wonderful thing!  What have you done to teach the legacy of MLK Jr.?

Positive Reinforcement

I thought I'd take some time to show two quick and easy things we do in our classroom to reinforce great behavior and hard work.  The first thing we use is the good ole' sticker chart.  My wonderful volunteer makes a chart that corresponds with each month.  This month it is mittens:

Aren't they cute?  We mainly give stickers for great behavior, if the class is working quietly as a while and when they complete testing (DIBELs, DRAs, etc.).  We also set a goal of 10.  If they get ten stickers on their chart before the end of the month, they get to go into the prize bin!  It is really simple and it gives them a goal to work toward.  They get to take their charts home with them at the end of the month too!

The next reinforcement we use are tickets!  The student earn tickets based on their coloring.  We follow the 3 Star Coloring rules as seen here.  That is not my chart, but, that is where I got the idea!  We have the chart hanging in the room and often remind the Kinders about it.  Here is the picture of our ticket bucket:

So, if they earn 3 stars on their coloring they receive one ticket.  If they go above and beyond and get 4 stars they receive two tickets.  Every week I pick one boy and one girl from the bucket and they get to go to the special prize bin! 

These systems have been working well.  What do you use in your classroom?