May All Your Dreams Come True

Building Collegiality

The last professional development day for 2014 was a relaxing and fun day.  The purpose of this day was to build collegiality.  Everyone participated in Zumba, karaoke, dodgeball, or visual arts.  Many of my colleagues suggested that we should do this on a monthly basis.  We ended the day with lunch catered from Panera Bread. A great time was had by all.



 Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

Paper Snowflakes

Making paper snowflakes will be the parent/child activity for our January meeting.  Hopefully I will be an expert by then.  I'll be sure to share the pictures. We are going to have a hot chocolate bar too!

 



The Generosity of Others

It's EXCITING to see so many families get involved with our annual Glove and Mitten Drive.  Many of our families face financial challenges. That's why I just couldn't wait for the drive to end to post the pictures.  The tree is filling up quickly and we still have seven more school days to collect.

This is the notice that was sent home.



Something to Think About

Just for Laughs

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/30962316163767793/

December Currently

December?  Really? Say what?  I refuse to get caught up in the CRAZINESS!  I am relaxing, watching BRAVO (Vanderpump Rules), and drinking coffee.  This is the perfect time to link up with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade for the December Currently.  Here goes...

LISTENING:  On my drive in this morning I heard one of my favs Melody Gardot singing Who Will Comfort Me?  She reminds me a bit of Nina Simone.

LOVING:  ALL of my Christmas decorations have been taken out.  My husband and sons brought everything upstairs (I didn't have to ask). Hooray!!!

THINKING:  I am the Gifted and Talented test coordinator and I have a PD tomorrow.  Looking forward to learning something new.

WANTING:  My husband and I are planning to go back to the restaurant we went to 25 years ago for our anniversary on December 30th.
 
NEEDING:  Cyber Monday is here and I didn't buy one thing.  I'm definitely going to take advantage of the TPT cyber sale before it ends.

GIVING:  There are so many wonderful initiatives going on at my school.  My colleagues are dedicated to giving to the less fortunate. We're collecting toys and gloves/mittens to be donated to charity.  I picked up gloves at TARGET (my favorite spot) over the weekend.

Beautiful Sentiment

It's the Best Thursday of the Year!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Thanksgiving Sale!

Enjoy 20% off on all  products and get an additional 10% when you use promo code TG2014!

ReadyGEN Concept Board Headers K-5

Let’s get organized! Download these FREE headers and use them to create a concept board. You can provide an at-a-glance overview of the ReadyGEN module being taught. Please check my store for unit/module specific concept boards.

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ReadyGen-Concept-Board-Headers-K-5-1033322

ReadyGEN Black and White Concept Board Headers K-5

Let’s get organized! Download these FREE black and white headers and use them to create a concept board. You can provide an at-a-glance overview of the ReadyGEN module being taught. I have included a sample concept board as a reference.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ReadyGEN-Black-and-White-Concept-Board-Headers-K-5-1196338

Days of the Week and Months of the Year Labels

These colorful labels can be used to teach the days of the week and the months of the year. Great for calendars, posters and flash cards. Students can put the days of the week and months in order. Laminate these labels for durability and use Velcro or magnets for flexibility.



http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Days-of-the-Week-and-Months-of-the-Year-Labels-Rainbow-Theme-1440194

Primary Handwriting Paper Pack - Landscape

This horizontal dotted line primary handwriting paper is perfect for emergent writers. There are 3 different sizes included in this pack. Prekindergarten through grade two teachers will find endless uses for this paper. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Primary-Handwriting-Paper-Pack-Landscape-946071

Enjoy!

Primary Handwriting Paper - Landscape

This horizontal dotted line primary handwriting paper is perfect for emergent writers. Prekindergarten through grade two teachers will find endless uses for this paper.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Primary-Handwriting-Paper-Landscape-915754

Enjoy!

Primary Handwriting Paper - Portrait

This dotted line primary handwriting paper is perfect for emergent writers. Prekindergarten through grade two teachers will find endless uses for this paper.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Primary-Handwriting-Paper-Portrait-912210

 Contents:

1. Cover
2. Portrait Handwriting Template
3. Credits

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Coloring and Writing Pages

FREE Thanksgiving Coloring and Writing Pages just in time to celebrate the holiday.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Coloring-and-Writing-Pages-1567832

Thanksgiving Color by Number and Sight Word Fun

Time for a little Thanksgiving fun. Keep early childhood students busy with these simple Thanksgiving Color By Number and Sight Word activities. The spaces are large enough for little hands to experience success.

 Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

A Mountain of Books

A new teacher that I'm mentoring inherited this... 

 

This is just an inkling of the humongous mountain of books to be leveled. 

 



We're  making progress - about 30% done.

I looked for an App to make the leveling process more efficient, but reverted back to Leveled Books K-8 by Fountas and Pinnell.  I made some of my own labels but then decided to purchase a set from Clutter-Free Classroom  to save time.  To be continued...
      

 

Tea with Me

Tea with Me was the theme for a meet the principal gathering held at my school on Friday.  The turnout was excellent.  Parents had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns with the principal in a casual environment.   This meeting was the first of what we hope will be an ongoing partnership between parents and administrators.   Parents were given strategies and ideas for reading at home with their children.

 I did the shopping at Target & Party City.

 
Just call me Martha Stewart...lol

Attendance Matters!

We're Working to Improve Attendance and Raise Achievement

We know that students who miss too much school suffer academically at every age and every grade.  Each month I create an attendance board to acknowledge the class with the highest attendance in our school.  I often observe students looking to see which class has the highest attendance.  I also hear students comparing the percentages and checking the graphs to see that the elements they are learning about are included.

 

I created the graphs in Powerpoint.

This board is across from the main office and new parents get to see what our school uniform looks like when registering their children.

November Currently

November?  Say what?  I'm READY to join the "Currently" fun and link up with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade.

Happy November!!!

Listening:  Sade is one of my favorites.  Now this is easy listening music.

Loving:   This weather is absolutely perfect.  I have the urge to go out and take pictures of the foliage.  I have been pinning so many cute crafts kids can make with leaves.  Check out my Craftivity board on Pinterest.

Thinking:  Attitude is everything.  We have to guard our minds from negative thoughts (and people).  We have to acknowledge and appreciate all of  the wonderful things going on in our lives. 

Wanting:  Every time I've stopped in Costco since August, I've noticed this Christmas display that would look great in my bay window.  I just avoided picking it up because, well, it was August, then September, then October.  I hope to pick it up today.

 

Needing:  I am determined to go for a walk today.  I spent much of yesterday working on TpT products and my new website.

 



Reading:  I've read 40% of The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz. I love the fact that Kindle gives percentages.  It's actually an audio book that I listen do during my commute to work.  I'm trying to put some of the teachings into practice.  Wish me luck...