Monday Meet Up!

I'm linking up the The Teaching Tribune's Summer Bloggin' Linky Party!  Last week, was all about introducing a buddy.  I didn't get it up last Monday, so I wanted to introduce you to my buddy today!

This is Jean!  She's an Aussie blogger.  (I've always wanted to visit Australia)  She blogs at The Teacher Gene, and she's just started, so head over there and give her some love!  She's also on TPT, and she has some fabulous products!!

This week, we were supposed to share about us, so here goes!

I'm starting my 16th year teaching next August.  Boy, that sounds like a really long time.  I should be pretty good at this by now.  ;-)  Next year will be my 9th year in second grade.  I absolutely love teaching second grade.  They're old enough to "get" the whole school thing, but they're still pretty innocent.  Seven is such a fun age to be!  I got my masters degree three years ago, and last summer, I finished up my ESOL endorsement.  Last school year, I had all of the second grade ESOL students in my class.  All 20 of them.  It was one of my hardest years ever teaching, but they were probably my most favorite group ever.  They were so sweet and so hard working, and they made SO much progress.  Seriously, I was almost in tears reading with them at the end of the year because they had gotten so much better.  I'm missing them.

My favorite TV genre is probably crime shows.  I've watched every episode of CSI ever made (even the really bad Laurence Fishburne ones).  I also used to watch Criminal Minds until it got WAY too freaky for me.  Probably not a good thing since my husband works nights.

Since summer started, I've done some serious reading.  I've read biographies of Queen Victoria, Catherine the Great, and Elizabeth of York (Henry VIII's mother).  I've also read The Lady in the Tower about Anne Boelyn, and I'm working my way through a biography about Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch.  I love to read, and I hate that I can't get enough time for it during the school year.

In my free time, I volunteer for a great organization for moms called The Mommies Network!  They have online chapters in almost every state.  The great thing about it is that TMN has online forums, and local chapters where you can meet other moms face to face.  I've been a member since 2007, and have met some fabulous friends!

Head on over to The Teaching Tribune to meet other great bloggers!!

Getting Fit - Exercise

Loss for the Week: 1 lb
Total Loss: 1 lb

It's "Get Fit Friday Sunday!"  (Hey, it's summer.  I'm having a hard time remembering what day it is.)  I'm talking about exercise today.  I'll be honest.  Finding time to exercise (and actually exercising) is something that I continually struggled with.  A few years ago, I joined a gym, and I really enjoyed the classes and watching TV while I walked on the treadmill, but once my youngest was born, it was almost impossible to find time to go after school, between working, nursing, grading, and keeping up with three older boys.  So, I ended up donating my fee to the gym for almost a year.  I would do really well in the summer going to the gym, but once school started, it was back to missing more than I went.  I got tired of wasting the $40 a month, and cancelled my membership.  I still miss the classes, but I know that I wouldn't get there as much as I should.  Maybe when my kids are older, and I don't need to be home as early I can go back.

I decided that since it was so hard to go out to exercise, I'd find something that I could do in my house.  I got Jillian Michaels's 30 Day Shred, but I never made it much past the first phase.  I was trying to get up in the morning before work, but I am not a morning person.  If you're interested, I have a barely used DVD for sale.  ;-)  Then, I got the Wii Fitness Coach, but again, it was just hard to get up in the morning to actually do it.  I wanted to exercise in the morning when the house is quiet, plus, with four kids, actually getting the TV for a half hour or so to play an exercise DVD is close to impossible.

So, I gave up for a while, but I need to exercise in order to lose weight.  It doesn't matter how much I restrict my calorie intake, if I don't exercise to boost my metabolism, I don't lose.  I knew that this summer I needed something I could actually stick with.  Here's my plan:

Morning:  I have the free 7 minute workout app on my phone.  I downloaded it during the school year, and it's something I can actually do in the morning.  Seven minutes is easy, plus it doesn't require any special equipment or clothes.  I try and do it five mornings a week.

Evening:  It's summer in Georgia, which means it's hot and humid.  That means that you can't go out and exercise at all during the day.  I walk at night (around 7 pm).  Supper is done and cleaned up, but it's light enough outside.  One trip around my neighborhood is about 3/4 of a mile, and I I do two trips.  My neighborhood also has some killer hills, so my thighs get quite the workout.  Twice around is a 30 minute walk.

Before Bed: 15 pushups and 15 situps  (Having four kids has killed my abs, so I need to get in as many situps as I can.)

That's my plan!  Free, and easy to do even when school starts back.  Hope it encourages you!

June Currently!

I have never done a "Currently", so I'm pretty excited about this!  I'm linking up with Farley from Oh Boy Fourth Grade with this month's Currently.  So, here goes!

Since the kids are in bed, it's my turn to get the television, so I'm watching Rachel Maddow.  Love how smart she is.  (And how excited she gets about geeky stuff.)

The weather has cooled off here in Georgia, so I'm able to have the windows open today!  Unfortunately, June will return tomorrow with its tropical moisture, and we'll be back to A/C and sweating.

I go back to work 8 weeks from tomorrow!  Crazy, right?  So, I'm already starting to think about my themes for next year and what I need to do to get prepared.

My ten year old is off to Boy Scout Camp this week!  It's his first time away from home for this long, and I'm pretty nervous.  We haven't gotten a phone call yet to come and get him, so I'm thinking he's probably having a good time.  He'll be home on Saturday, and it can't come soon enough.  My twelve year old leaves Sunday for the same camp (they're in different troops).  He went last year and had a great time, so I won't worry quite as much about him.  :-)

I was able to get out and walk around the neighborhood for a half hour, but now I need some water.  I'm too lazy to get up off of the couch, though.

I've decided that this summer is the year I finally get my house organized.  We're thinking about moving next summer, and we all know how busy the school year is, so if it doesn't happen this summer, my house will never get organized.  I'm also trying to lose 15 to 20 pounds.  Hence the walking today.  Hoping that next fall, I'll go back to school at least two sizes smaller!

Resuscitating the Blog (And a New Feature!)

Yeah, so it's been a few weeks almost six months since I last posted.  I'm trying to slowly figure out how to fit this blogging thing into my life, so there might be some fits and starts before I get it all worked out.

I've decided that one way to ensure that I'm posting more frequently (and not stuff that's dreadfully boring) is to do at least one weekly feature.  So, I'm going to start with "Get Fit Friday!"  Yes, I worked for hours on that name.  ;-)

I've been wanting to lose some weight and start exercising for the longest time, but I've never found anything that worked out for me and my schedule.  I'm working on a plan this summer that I think is something that I can start in the summer and continue throughout the year when things get completely crazy.  And, it won't cost you a dime!!  (Full disclosure: I am using Weight Watchers which costs money, but there are free alternatives as well.)

So, follow along this summer as I take you on my trip to getting fit!!

My Introduction to Dropbox!

One of my favorite non-teaching bloggers is Rachel Held Evans.  Her way with words is something that I envy (a lot), and most of her posts will make you either laugh or cry.  This post did both.  She is in the middle of writing a book and proceeded to spill a chai latte all over her computer.  She spent a long couple of days wondering if her entire manuscript was lost.  I cannot encourage you enough to read the post.  It really is excellent writing.

Now, I'm not writing a book.  (Definitely not!)  But, I do have LOTS of files on my computer that I would hate to lose.  While I do try to back up the ones on my school laptop on the server at school, that's not always possible.  And my school laptop is almost six years old, which is almost elderly when you're talking about technology.  As a result, it dies.  A lot.  And when it dies, it needs to be re-imaged, which means I get it back just like it came to me the first time.  Every single file that is saved on my C Drive is gone.  So my constant fear is that it will die during a long break like Christmas or Summer.  Then, everything I've worked on for school would be gone.  Kaput.  Lost in the netherworld forever.

As a result, I've thought about how to save my work so it's not lost forever in a disaster of fire, flood, or pestilence.  And I've found Dropbox!  I know this site may be familiar to most of you, but it's all new to me, and I think I'm in love!  It was so easy to install and add files to.  I have Chrome as my browser, so it's easy to get to Google Docs, but it's harder to upload files to that.  I'm probably going to save my stuff to both, because I don't want to lose anything.

If you don't have a quick and easy way to save all of those great activities you've been creating for your classroom, I would definitely recommend Dropbox!

And, I can't leave you without a picture.  This was our day today.  While we didn't have snow, we did have single digit temperatures which only happens every couple of decades here in metro Atlanta, so schools were closed.  This is my two oldest playing on their Kindles with the new apps they were able to buy with the Amazon gift cards their aunt gave them.  It made for a quiet afternoon.  I think, however, that we're all ready to get back to our regular routine.  If only I could get school to start every day at 10:00 am. . .

Shepherds and Centers

What a weekend!  We had our Christmas Program at church today.  I got to spend time with a very cute shepherd.  :)

I had to help corral 30 of his fellow shepherds as well.  It was definitely interesting.  They did a great job though!!

I've finally finished my Winter Literacy Centers!  We've been using them this month, and I've been creating one or two a week for my students to use.  (Having them use them also means that I was able to work out some of the kinks.)  They cover the 2nd grade Common Core Standards, but they could be used for advanced first graders or for remediation in the upper grades.  I use them during my Daily 5 Word Work time twice a week.  It's a great way to review the grammar standards that there never seems to be enough time to practice.  They've been uploaded here in my TPT store!  (You can also click on the picture to go to my store.)

I hope everyone has a great week!  We only have five school days left before Winter Break!

Five for Friday. And a Freebie!!

It's the end of another week, and I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching with my Five for Friday!  We've had a busy week.  We started on Monday with our Elf arriving.  The kids named her "Jessie".  One of the choices was "Sparkles", and I was hoping that would win the vote, but luck wasn't with me.  So far, Jessie has brought the kids pencils and chocolate bells.

(Am I the only one who thinks the elf has really creepy eyes.  She's always staring at me!)

Here's a really cute video we watched together.  They loved it!

On Monday, we also made Hot Chocolate.  I made it, and the students wrote down the steps.  Then, we talked about using transition words in a how-to paragraph.  Finally we wrote the final copy of a paragraph.  We'll finish out the week by making this Hot Chocolate Craftivity that I got from Third Grade Bookworm.

Here's the recipe I used:

Creamy Hot Chocolate - serves 24
Adapted from www.mrshappyhomemaker.com

1/2 gallon milk (I used 2%, but whole milk would be divine!)
2 quarts half & half
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz bag chocolate chips (semi sweet or milk chocolate)
Mini marshmallows

Add first four ingredients to slow cooker.  Stir to combine completely.  Cook on low for 2 - 3 hours or until hot.  Serve with mini marshmallows.

Here's a picture.  The pic isn't great, but the hot chocolate was delicious!

Wednesday, I had someone from our county's ESOL office visit my classroom for the whole day.  She was also my instructor last year when I was getting my certification, so she is a wonderful resource!  It was so nice to have another person in my class.  I could really get used to it!  She also had some suggestions of ways I can help my ELs become more comfortable with academic language.  Plus, she's fluent in Spanish (which I am most definitely NOT), so my Spanish speaking students loved it!

And, finally, we've been stuck inside almost the whole week with rain.  While it's been in the 70's here in Georgia (and I know that's not the case for much of the country), no recess the week after Thanksgiving Break makes for stir crazy children (and teachers).  Here's hoping that next week will be sunny and beautiful!!

If you'd like to use the unit, it's free in my TpT store!  Just click on the pictures to go download it.

Enjoy Friday!  I've only got two more until it's Winter Break!!