May Currently

Good Evening!

Oh my goodness where has the time gone! I can't believe we are already in May. I feel like this year has gone by faster than normal. To start this month off I am linking up with Farly for her final Currently linky.

So this weekend has been exhausting so I am lacking the energy right now to move to a location in the house where I don't have to listen to my hubby's crazy TV shows. It makes for some weird background noise.

The lack of energy  is totally worth it though. We have company coming next weekend so we gave our home the deep, company is coming, spring cleaning. My house is so sparkly clean right now and I am loving it!! Its a little sad to think that it won't last long though. Either way I just need it to stay sparkly for the craziness of this week.

My mom, sister, brother in law, and nephew are all coming into town this Thursday. They are coming to help celebrate my sweet little girl's second birthday. I am soooooo excited to have my family here but at the same time a little sad. I can not believe my baby is going to be TWO already. Time goes by sooo fast. I really want it to slow down a little. Since I know that won't happen I am making the most of all the little moments that I can.

To make this coming week and weekend a success I really need to get over this head cold. The difficulty breathing is really beginning to drive me bananas. Today was a little better so here is to hoping that tomorrow is even better.

So now for some truth....I am sad to see this school year end but not because of the kids. That sounds bad but I have the privilege of moving up a grade with my kiddos next year so I don't see the end of the year as a sad moment with them. I am sad because some of my closest friends will no longer be working at the same school with me next year. I have been truly blessed to work with these amazing ladies and it makes me sad to think that I will not be working with all of them each day. We will all stay in contact with each other because we are friends, but selfishly I want them to still be working at the same school. We had made some great memories and will make a few more before our last school day together this year.

That's all for now. Have a great week!

Ashley

Five for Friday - April 22

Hello Again!

I can't believe that I am actually remembering the Five for Friday linky with Doodle Bugs Teaching. I usually think of it on Saturday night or Sunday some time. It was a great week but a crazy week! I am looking forward to the weekend and some to regain a tiny bit of sanity : )

I started this week off having a wonderful time playing outdoors with my beautiful baby girl (although she's not a baby anymore - insert tear) and my fur baby. We had some beautiful weather in AZ so we had to make the most of it while it lasts.

Monday when my sweet girl and I came home we found that our dog had left a yucky surprise in the house which he chose to lay in. YUCK!! So we had to drag him outside for a bath. He can not stand baths and he is too big for me to hold and spray him down so I ended up chasing him around the yard with a hose. My sweet girl that it was a really funny game and eventually helped mommy once I cornered the naughty doggy.

I had wonderful teacher moment this week. Our principal was visiting our classroom and one of my quietest, not always with it students stopped him from leaving and walked him step by step through the science experiment we had in the back of the room and the one in the windows. I was so shocked to hear him so excitedly explain it all in detail and so happy to know that he does actually listen to me (at least some of the time).

I started collecting all the decor and pieces for my daughters second birthday. That was exciting but sad at the same time. Where in the world does the time go?

My daughter loves this song! Whenever she is upset she will listen to it and it calms her down. I find it soothing to especially with the craziness of the end of the school year. Hope you like it!


Have a wonderful weekend!!

Ashley

Peek at My Week: Week 15 2016

Hi Everyone!!

So I can not believe that its been almost two months since I last blogged. Its been a crazy two months, but I am back and so ready to rejoin the blogging, instagram, teacher network world!!

I figured the easiest way to jump back into blogging would be to give you a little glimpse into what will be going on in my classroom this week. We are going to have lots going on.

This week we are finishing up our plant unit. We will be talking about everyday items that come from plants. This will be another activity for their interactive notebooks. I love interactive notebooks!! I am so happy that I decided to do one for science and social studies this year. They have added so much to my lessons. Anyway, we will also be using celery, carnations, water, and food coloring to watch how water travels through a plant. Finally we will take the end of unit test. This unit will be posted in my TpT store by Wednesday. Just need a few pictures to add to the packet to complete it.

We will end the week talking about bears. Our original plan was to take a field trip to watch the premiere of the new Disney Nature Earth Day movie  but it looks like it will not be available this Friday. So, in its place we decided to watch one of the older ones that we had not seen and do a unit of study on that. We will be watching Disney Nature's Bears. The kids will be thrilled and my teaching partner and I will have 1 hour and 30 minutes of grading time. That sounds so selfish, but it is a much needed sanity gaining moment.

We will be diving into 2D and 3D shapes this week. The kids got a little taste of our activities on Friday and they were excited. They will love all the shape building activities we have planned for this week. We will also be continuing our Smart Cookie math time tests. My kids were totally freaked out by these when we first started them, but now most of them get upset when I skip a day. They have done amazing with them. I am so proud of how much they have grown in their confidence and their math skills.

My plans for the week are below and under those are links to all the packets that I am using this week. 

Smart Cookie Math
Thankful Thoughts
Facts About Bears
All About Plants
Second Step

Thanks for reading through my plans for my upcoming week. I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Ashley

Peek at My Week: Week 8 2016

Hi Everyone!

It has been such a relaxing weekend at our house that I almost forgot about linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for her Peek at My Week linky. Go check it out and link up with us if you can. I love seeing what different classrooms are working on each week.

This week is a pretty tame week in first grade which I am super excited about. Next week will be completely bonkers so having a calm week before the madness is a nice relief. We will be reading the story Me on the Map and doing some activities that go along with this story. My favorite activity is a circle craft that shows my firsties how where we are is just a small piece of what we are a part of. It is a big project but I love how much learning happens with this story and activity. I included a photo below so you can see what I am trying to explain.

We will also be rocking some place value and time activities this week. My firsties will be so excited when they find out that their math centers will be games this week. They love games so we try to play some as often as possible.


Our Smart Cookie time tests have been going really well so far. The kids like them and I am seeing great results. It is already giving some of my strugglers confidence that they had trouble finding before because they can see they are finishing just like everyone else. We will be continuing on with them through the remainder of the school year.

Links to any packets I am using can be found below my lessons.

 Place Value Packet of Fun
Thankful Thoughts
Smart Cookie Math
Second Step

Have a wonderful Sunday evening!

Ashley

Peek at My Week: Week 7 2016

Good Morning Everyone!

It is so nice to be coming to you on a Monday morning!! I really needed this three day weekend to recoup after the flu bug hit my house and to recharge my teacher battery. Another bonus is that it is a four day week so hopefully I won't wear myself out this week.

Anyway, I am linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for her Peek at My Week linky to show you what we will be working on during this 4 day week.

This week we will be studying George Washington in social studies. My teaching partner covered Abe Lincoln last week during reading using the story Abe Lincoln's Hat so I will teach George this week. We are keeping things simple with George because of the shortened week and because we have some bigger projects coming up within the next few weeks.

We will also be attempting another STEM activity from the amazing Brooke Brown. It is one I wanted to use the Friday before last but some scheduling conflicts came up and it didn't work out. This week I really want my kids to work on the Air Mail activity from her February activity. I love how engaged they are during these activities and am so excited to see what their young minds come up with during this activity.

My lesson plans for the week are below and links to any products that I will be using this week can be found below that. 

Place Value Mystery Pictures
Smart Cookie Math
George Washington: Our First President
Abe Lincoln's Hat
Thankful Thoughts
STEM for February
 Double Digit Math Packet
Second Step

Have a wonderful 4 day week!

Ashley

Valentine Activities

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited to be coming to you today for an original post. This doesn't happen very often for me. I'm usually a little too chicken but I am trying to be braver in 2016. Tonight I thought I would share in detail our awesome Valentine's activities that happened this past week.

On Monday we partnered with our third grade friends and created our own Valentine Monster glyphs. I love creating glyphs because they always look so unique and you get to know new little things about your students. It was a little crazy, loud, and chaotic for a little bit of time but the end result is awesome and our firsties always enjoy spending time with the older kids.

On Wednesday our students finished their Valentine's gifts for their parents. It is a little paper jar craftivity. They get to write sentences about things they like, love, thankful for, etc. about their parents. The strips get cut out and then placed into their little paper jar. The jar says "Overflowing with Love." It is a sweet project and so fun to see what the kids write. I am sure their parents loved every sentence from their cute little valentines.

This week we have also been enjoying Valentine themed math centers. I have a few task card sets. I taped them around the room so that the kids had to move around a little. It completely through for a loop the first day. This was the first time they have done task cards and any change in the routine tends to send this group into a temporary tizzy. They are over it now and enjoying the task cards.

On Friday we made a book about love verses throughout the Bible. We aren't using all of them because that would take way too long; however we are using a collection of the most popular ones. I love this project!! I love giving them a solid, visual reminder that they can read over and over again that reminds them of how much God loves us. This will hang on our Bible Adventure wall for the next week or so and then I will send them home.

Well that's all the excitement I have tonight. Tomorrow I will be linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for a Peek at My Week. You can catch a glimpse of all the activities we will be using to help us study Washington and Lincoln.

Have a great night!!

Ashley

Peek at My Week: Week 6

Happy Sunday!

Good Morning! I am coming to you early this morning for a peek at my week because it is Super Bowl Sunday and we will be glued to the TV this afternoon. Go Broncos!! If you are able link up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for this awesome Peek at My Week linky.

 This week we have lots of Valentine activities. We are joining our awesome third grade buddies to make a Valentine Monster Glyph. They are so fun and the kids love having "monsters" hanging in our room. We are also working on Valentine's for our parents this week. This is a project that my fabulous teaching partner puts together. I am just there to assist.

For math this week we have all Valentine themed math centers. They will review time to the hour and half hour, double digit addition, and place value using task cards. We will also be working on some new strategies this week.

To go along with our Bible studies we will be making a book about love verses throughout the Bible on Friday. This will be a great reminder for our kiddos about how much God expresses his love for us. We will also end Friday with a Valentine exchange and a small party with just first grade. We didn't want to do anything big this year since we just finished National Lutheran Schools Week and we have Saints week in three weeks. A little calm is good for the time being.

Links to all the packets I am using this week can be found under my plans.

Valentine Math and Literacy Activities
Second Step
Thankful Thoughts
Bible Verses for Valentine's Day
Holiday Worksheet

Have a fun Super Bowl Day and a wonderful week!

Ashley