Monday Made It!

Pin It Now! One thing that I love about summer is having time to craft.  I love crocheting, sewing, and decorating.  I also like making crafts and working in my yard.  I have a few things that I have been working on, and I'm excited to link up with Tara for Monday Made It.  First, I made some of those cute little magnets from clear vase gems.  My daughter and I simply used Mod Podge to glue scrapbook paper to the backs. Then we hotglued magnets to the back of that.  I gave these to our teachers at Bible School as thank you gifts.  Very simple and cute! 



I also found some small crosses and made bookmarks.  I simply cut 3 lengths of  crochet thread, tied knots in the end, and attached the cross.  These would be cute with beads or any type of charm tied to the end.

For TpT, I have been working on expanding my graphic organizer collection, and I am so exited about the results.  My Reading Literature Graphic Organizers now contains 80 graphic organizers that are each aligned with the Common Core Standards for grades 3,4, and 5! 

 My Reading Informational Text Graphic Organizers now contain over 95 graphic organizers all aligned with the Common Core Standards for grades 3, 4, and 5!  This packet is full of great graphic organizers that will get your students to think deeply about their reading!

Purchase one, or purchase both in my Graphic Organizers Bundle. You'll have enough graphic organizers for your entire school year and ensure that all Common Core Standards for Reading Literature and Reading Informational Text are covered.  



I have so many projects that I hope I get to finish this summer and share with Monday Made It.  Thanks Tara for such a fun linky!

Be Blessed!

5 for Friday and Ten Pin Linky

Pin It Now!

Warning!  This is a long entry that is full of pictures!

I have to admit that I am loving summer vacation.  I am so glad to be at home with my girls, and my husband is off on Fridays!  I love the time that I have with them! 

 I am actually combining two linkies this week.  First, I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for 5 for Friday.

We had Bible School at our church last week.  I was the assistant director and helped with the decorating.  Our theme was called Jungle Jaunt.  I was excited with how the decorations turned out.  Of course the inspiration came from teachers.  The tree idea came from  Mrs. Jump's classroom, and I found the inspiration for the jeep came from Buzzing About Second Grade.  We had a wonderful Bible School and a lot of fun! 

Flowers and landscape.  I have a super sweet, hard-working husband.  I love to look at a beautiful yard, and my husband works so hard to make ours look great. 

The lilies are some of my favorites in my yard.

It's swimming time!  The girls have been swimming for the last couple of weeks, but the water has just warmed up enough for me.  I never dreamed we would have a swimming pool.  It has been a lot of fun!

Pinterest.  I am addicted to Pinterest!  Love it!  If you don't already follow me, I'd love for you to follow my boards.  I have a new collaborative Pinterest board for upper elementary.  If you are interested in joining, please send me an email. 

#5 is actually another linky.  I'm also linking up with Just Reed for her Pinterest Party.

1.  I love this writing anchor chart from Write On, Fourth Grade! 



Source:  Write On, Fourth Grade



2.  I also love her revising and editing bulletin board.

Source:  Write On, Fourth Grade

3. I hope to do a better job with birthdays next year.  I love this bulletin board idea:

Source:  Erica Bohrer

 I also love pretty classrooms!  Schoolgirl Style has some beautiful ideas:

Source:  Schoolgirl Style

4. 

5. 

Source:  Schoolgirl Style

  

6.  Oh!  I wish I had these desks!

Source:  Inspired In Style

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Source:  Schoolgirl Style

7..


8.  I also love distressed furniture.  I just wish I had the time and talent to do this.

Source:  Blueprint Bliss

9.  I love pretty wreaths. 

Source:  BlissRanch

10.  I still want to make these.  I know they have been going around pinterest for a long time, but I still want to make some.  I had a student's grandmother that made me one, and I love it. 

Source:  Cher's Signs by Design

Be blessed!



June Currently

Pin It Now! My goal each month is to not be #500 on Farley's linky, but I somehow did it again this month.  Oh well, I'm just glad that I linked up and joined in on the fun!  I love her linky.  Now here is my currently:

 

 



• listening:  I enjoy watching college softball.  No favorite team. 
• loving:  Summer vacation!  I so needed it!
• thinking:  Vacation Bible School.  We will be busy with VBS this week at church!  I'm looking forward to a great week!  I was assistant director again this year, so mainly I'm in charge of decorating, purchasing needed items, teachers' appreciation gifts, and just helping out. 
• wanting:  Everything on my to-do list completed this summer!  painting furniture, reupholstering my dining room chairs, an old rocker, and a living room chair,  painting and organizing the utility room, cleaning and organizing my sewing room, garage, and basement.  Well, even if I get half of the list done, I'll be pleased.
• needing:  to get my garage, sewing room, and basement organized.  I'd better move these to the top of my list.
• vacation:  No plans yet, but simply enjoy relaxing, restful, and fun vacations.  If nothing else, our new pool will meet these requirements!  Splash!

Be blessed!

Summer at Last!

Pin It Now! Today officially begins my summer vacation!  I have such mixed emotions!  I know that I should be excited, but I have to admit that I am actually a little sad.  Why on earth would I be sad about summer?  Well, it means that my two sweet girls are growing up, and my oldest will be in high school next year.  I'm not sure if my heart is ready for that.  Also, I was blessed with such a wonderful class this past year.  The beginning of the year started off a little bumpy, but this group wanted to please me, and they would work hard to do whatever I asked of them.  What more can you ask for from a class?  I will miss this group. 

I was excited to find Kim's linky, "Next year I'm definitely..."  Yes, even with summer here, like most of you, I'm already thinking ahead to next year.  Here is my list!



 

I hope to make major improvements in this area.  I want to remember to encourage others instead of complain.  I became too good at complaining.  I want to spend that energy encouraging and helping lift coworkers up.  

 

I feel that this is my weakest area of instruction.  I hope to make major improvements in this area next year.  We are receiving a new reading series, and I am excited about the small group instruction that is part of this series.  I hope this will help my organization of instruction.

I hope to improve on organization.  The older I get, the more I struggle in this area.  What time I spend at school this summer getting ready for next year, I plan to work on organization. 

 

Thank you, Kim, for a great linky!

 

 

Be blessed!

Don't Miss These Giveaways!

Pin It Now! I just wanted to let you know about some great giveaways that you don't want to miss! 

Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper is having a HUGE 500 followers giveaway! Holly is so sweet to offer 4 big chances to win!  Don't miss it! 

Jeanette at Third Grade Galore is celebrating 100 followers and great giveaway.  Hurry to her blog for another chance at a giftcard and great products from TpT!

 

 

Mandy at Caffeine and Lesson Plans has a great giveaway for reaching 100 followers!

 

 

 

 

Finally, don't miss Fab and Fun in 4th 100 followers giveaway! 

 



 

Have fun checking out these great blogs!

 

Be blessed! 



Teachers Pay Teachers Sale

Pin It Now! Some teachers will be showered with gifts, cards, and thank you's today.  Others, like me get to celebrate by giving the state test.  Whoopee!  Either way, I want you to know that you are an amazing person.   If no one else says so, I want you to know that you are important, greatly appreciated, and the work you do is amazing.  Thank you!

Do you have your cart ready for check-out at Teachers Pay Teachers?  Don't miss this fabulous sale on TpT!  Most of the top sellers will have their entire stores on sale! It is a great time to purchase everything on your wishlist. 
Thank you Ashley Hughes for this cute button! 



My entire store will be on sale.  Don' forget to use the promo code:  TAD13 for an extra 10% off.

I have just added another item to my store.  End of the Year Posters and Memory Book-Auto Theme.  This will be great for your students to write about their school year.  Your boys will love these.  Don't forget to add this to your shopping cart and get these posters 28% off.

Check out this great deal today only!  



 For Tuesday only, I will be offering this item for 1/2 off plus the 28% off for a total of $1.20!  If you snatch this up for this great price today, please be sure to go back and rate this item.  Don't miss out! 

Be blessed!

Five For Friday!

Pin It Now! It has been such a busy week, and I am a day late for Five for Friday.  My five are in no particular order. 

1.  We have been busy getting ready for our testing next week!!!  Work, work work! We have never given it this late in the school year, and I am a little concerned. If my students work as hard on the test as they have this week, I think we will be in good shape!  I am very proud of how far they have come this year!

2. We also had a field trip Friday. Yes, the day before testing begins!  This is a county-wide field trip where students learn about the water cycle, water conservation, aquifers, etc.  It is a great field trip, and we had a very good time.  The students were excellent.  (Sorry, no pictures).

3.  The students enjoyed reviewing commas with macaroni.  This is an activity that I have used for several years in my classroom.  I used sentence strips that I passed out to each student.  Each child also had dried macaroni to use as commas.  Students read the sentences, placed the commas where they belong, and when I said, "Check,"  they checked the answers on the back of the sentence strips.  When I announced, "Pass,"  the students passed the strip to the next person, and we repeated the process.  The students loved it! 



4.  To review similes, metaphors, and personification, we used my Figurative Language Show Me the Card Activity.   



I called out the sentences from the teacher's list.  Students listened for the type of figurative language (simile, metaphor, or personification) and simply held up the correct card.  I could quickly see who understood the concept and who still needed more instruction.  Also included in this packet is a graphic organizer and a printable that can be used as an assessment. 



5.  My girls let me take their picture in front of our wisteria vine.  It is in full bloom and beautiful. 

Now I am off to enjoy a rainy, cold Saturday. 

Be blessed!