Guest Blogger- Patty from 2nd in Line and a Chance to WIN!

Thanks, Patty... my BBFF (that would be Best Blog Friend Forever!) from 2nd in Line for guest blogging for me today!  I know you're going to love love love what she has to say!  So, while the ham is in the oven or later tonight when you are busy digesting, check out her post and then take advantage of the "Spring Cleaning" sale lots of us are doing at TpT and TN... everything in my shop is 20% off until the end of tonight!... and Happy Easter! 

If you are here, it's because  you love Christina and all that she shares with you. That's exactly why I'm here. Christina was instrumental in getting me started in blogging over a year ago. She and I have met at several different training sessions in our county. (She even wanted to teach in my building. . . That's another story, and one that I wish would have happened. Can you imagine if you got to teach in the same building as her!) And that my friends was the beginning of our friendship. I truly love having her in my back pocket, knowing she is there to help me anytime that I need it.



Christina is on a long over due VACA and she asked me. . . ME. . . ME to fill in for her while she's gone. Talk about a boost to my ego! Thank YOU Miss Christina for allowing me this gift to write for you today.


My name is Patty and I have been teaching 2nd grade (and only 2nd grade) for 34 years. Yea, that's a long time and also probably a lot longer than some of your ages! I started my blog, Second in Line, last winter when I had a student teacher and some extra time on my hands. In August I decided to start selling the stuff that I made on TPT. I only have about 39 things in there, but those things are labors of love and things that have helped my 2nd graders a lot.


Today I want to highlight one of my most recent activities that I made. (I actually have to give credit to my teaching partner Cathie who teaches across the hall from me. She has a way of thinking of things in a very logical way that gets to the core of what kids need.)

I've titled it Eggstra Value.  It can be played as a SCOOT game or used in a center for math. Each card has a written number. The students must write down the number that matches the words. It helps them to sort out the values of each number and to write it in the correct place.  There is a recording sheet for the students to put their answers on and an answer key is also included so it can be self checking.



I like this idea because it benefits both the reader and the math-er (is that a real word? If one who reads is called a reader, then what do you call one who does math? . . a math-er!)  Kids need to know how to read the words and where to put them in the place value positions. I believe this activity gets this practice in for kids.



I am going to give this activity to Christina as a gift for allowing me to guest blog for her. But I would also like to give it to 3 other people. All you have to do is to go over to my blog, leave a comment with your name, email address, and the grade you teach. I too am on vacation right now, so when I return, I'll have my husband pick 3 random numbers that match up to your replies and I'll get them sent to you, probably on Sunday or Monday.

Happy Easter!

Patty

Guest Blogger- Gina with Tips for Prioritizing and Organizing!

Before I introduce you to your guest blogger today, just a reminder that I'm having a Spring Cleaning Sale at TpT and TN!  Everything is 20% off today and tomorrow!  If you're looking for me, not only am I in Massachusetts this week, but I'm also gust blogging over at Creekside Teacher Tales today for my sweet friend Tracy who is on vacation too!  I hope you'll pop over there to check out my post on my favorite read alouds...

And here's my guest blogger...

It's Gina today... and I'm so happy to have her!  After moving to 3rd grade this year, I've loved connecting with other 3rd grade teachers and Gina is a great one!  I know you're going to love her post about holding it all together... which is not an easy thing to do!  Thanks, Gina, for sharing your insight... and for being here for me today!

Hi everyone! I'm Gina from Third Grade Tidbits. I am sure you can guess that I currently teach third grade (this is my 5th year in third). I am not sure what I will be teaching next year but I do love the age group I am with right now (and I do have the most amazingly sweet class ever.) I am so honored that Christina has let me come over to her fantabulous blog and guest post while she is enjoying a lovely break. Are we all jealous? Or are you on a break too? Mine is long over. But while I was on mine, I got to thinking about what I call the juggling act.

The- mom, teacher, wife, person- juggling act. It has taken me a long time to figure it out, and I am still not sure that I have it all figured out. I am sure I can't be the only person with this problem, so I wanted to share some things that I have figured out the past (almost) 2 years (since my daughter is almost 2- pre Payton I didn't juggle. I just worked- a lot). 

The first thing that I had to realize and accept is that there is one of me, 22+ kids and parents, a lot of administrators, and tons of paperwork. There isn't enough time in a day for it all. Once you get past that, follow these quick easy tips to help juggle without dropping the ball.

Now that you have realized you can't do it all, you need to prioritize your time. I get to school about 20 minutes before my kids. I wish I could say it was more, but I value my sleep too much. I do not stay late. (I can't due to our current child care situation.) Do I bring work home? You bet. Do I touch it every day? Not a chance. But it is there just in case I have down time. Utilize your planning time for PLANNING. Allow no more than 30 minutes (or choose your own number, I chose 30 because we have 30 minutes of Chinese daily so I pick one Chinese class) of your scheduled planning time for the busy work paperwork. Use the rest of your planning time to do your lesson plans, find amazing resources on TpT, grade papers, prep materials, whatever it is YOU need to do.  For me this is always completing things on my to do list for the week and planning for the following week. 

Another time saver is to bring a stack of papers with you every time you take your kids somewhere. In my case, we have 2 class restroom breaks a day. I bring papers with me and grade them. I also bring them when I am picking my kids up from support so that the few minutes I am waiting for them I can grade papers. (And to make grading more fun, get yourself some pretty colored pens that are happy.) I don't have any papers to grade with me, so instead I am showing you a picture of a portion of my pen collection (I may be a little bit more of a pen addict than the average teacher.) These are my current favorites. Just look at my plan book and planner up there- everything is better in pretty colors. 

When you get home (ESPECIALLY) if you have kids, don't spend ALL your time working. Yes I admit that I do work when I get home. Usually it is finishing something on my to do list for the next day. But don't work your entire night away. Enjoy time with the family. Once the kids are in bed, work for a set amount of time (I give myself about an hour). What doesn't get done, move to the next day. Start with the most important this way you get necessities done. If they are all equally important, I like to start with the shorter ones so that I can feel like I accomplished something (crossing things off my list makes me feel better). 

The most important thing is to take time for yourself. At the end of the day, you need to be happy with yourself. If you let yourself get overworked, drained, etc, you aren't going to love your job anymore. And we as teachers know that loving what we do and why we do it is the most important thing. Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and step away from it all. Get your hair done, get a mani/pedi, read a book, go on a hike, anything that works for stress relief for you. 

And since this post wasn't full of content and pictures, I thought I would share a little freebie with you. Nothing fancy, but if you read my blog, then you know I am obsessed with to do lists. This one is made to match my blogging calendar that makes me smile. Click the picture to take you to the file on google drive. 

It's a Spring Cleaning Sale!

Time to clean out those wish lists on TpT!  Thanks Krista for making this cute graphic!

 My store at TpT     or     Teacher's Notebook

A bunch of us are having a Spring Cleaning sale this weekend!  I'll have everything at TpT and TN at 20% off on Saturday and Sunday!

Enjoy and check out your other favorite sellers to see if they're in on the sale!

You can also grab some end of the year goodies at a sale price...

My set of fillable end of the year awards has something for EVERY student... over 40 awards and you just type in names, print, and watch the smiles!

I've also got four cute end of the year/welcome summer candy bar wrappers in my Sweet Treats Wrapper set!

And, of course, flippy books for a variety of subjects, Fry Phrase Fluency packs, and fun classroom and hallway hunts (which are like "write the room" type activities) for ELA and I'm adding for math too are all on sale!

You can check out everyone who linked up below!

April Fool's and See Ya!

Today I did "early April Fool's" at school...

We started with a fake spelling test.  Notice how I had to put on the test paper that they needed to STAY QUIET because I have a few smarties who I knew would figure this out quickly...

Then I tried to make it up to them by passing out some brownies.  I mean BROWN Es.

Bwahahaha!

It took them a minute to get the brown e's... and, of course, we ate real brownies later on in the afternoon!


And... last... see ya!

I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow and won't be back until April 8th!

I have a GREAT list of guest bloggers lined up for the whole week... starting on Saturday, March 30!  I know you'll love 'em!

Happy Spring Break!

I'm Glad You're one of my Peeps!- an Easter Treat for my Kiddies (and yours too!)!

So, this is probably too late for you for this year... sorry I stink at doing things in a timely manner!  But, I've got a treat for my kiddies and you can have it for yours too!

You just need to print these tags (I'm so glad you're one of my Peeps!"), put them in a clear bag with Easter grass, and add Peeps!

Done!  I could only find swirly bags, but it's still cute!

Your hubby will even help you and he'll be thrilled about it... see how happy mine is?  Please ignore the messy table... we're getting ready for our vacation and the house is a pit!

The things that teachers' spouses have to do for the betterment of kids!

He really didn't mind... I don't think!

Here's the file- just click the picture.  It's a Powerpoint file so that you can add your name to the cards if you want (just add a text box or Word Art) or you can print them as is... super cute!

I'd love some comment lovin' if you like it!

Something TOO Cool for School... at School!

Today we had an assembly about friendship, kindness, and encouragement and it was too cool for school... it was AWESOME!

It was by the Conquerors International Strength Team... we got to see phone books ripped in half, a horseshoe bent into an S, a metal bar shaped into a U while being held in the dude's MOUTH... a baseball bat cracked in half and breakdancing!

If you're a Michigan teacher, you MUST look into having this group at your school.  The group we had was based out of Grand Rapids, but I don't know if there are other groups in other states... but if you're looking for a life-lesson learning assembly that holds your students at rapt attention... this is the one!

They are a Christian based group, but the show was neutral and just about being a good person... it was super cool!

Check out the website HERE!!!

It's Been a Computer Filled Day... Updates, Linky, and Giveaway!

I have literally been on the computer since 9:30 this morning.

I have done my 50some ELA report cards and the 26 for my homeroom.

I have e-mailed, lesson planned (we use lessonplanedu.com and I LOOOVE it!), and worked on files.

The files are all updates... so if you have bought any of these, please re-download!

I am in the process of adding a little more to all of my $3 classroom/hallway hunts.  Today I updated 10 of them.  I added "I can" statement cards to all of them and also added a 2nd activity to each one.

I updated:

A Feast of Fractions
Be a Base 10 Star
Find the Force- Contractions from Pronouns and Verbs
Hunting for Adverbs
Tick Tock... Time hunt to the hour and half hour
Tick Tock... Time hunt to five minutes
Totally Awesome Adjectives
What's Missing?- ch, sh, 
Word on the Move syllable hunt
You're Going Camping- a your/you're homophone hun

Phew! 

A linky!!!

Mrs. Reed at Flying into First Grade is having another "Let's Get Acquainted" Linky party.  Last week I joined her "Two truths and a lie" linky and admitted that I, the lover of all musicals, has never seen "The Sound of Music".

Today she's having a NOUN linky and we have to share our favorite person, place, thing, and animal!

So...

My favorite person...

My hubby!  We've been together since 1997 when we were in high school!  We were married in 2004 and the rest is history.  I love this guy!  He's supportive, fun, handsome, and loves me at my worst...

My favorite place...

NEW YORK CITY!!!!  We went in the summer of 2011 and I would do just about anything to be able to return.  I was born for the hustle and bustle of city life.  I love that place!  I WANT TO GO TO THERE!

My favorite thing...

LIONS football!  Though I do often wish I could go back to that time in my life when I didn't care a snit about football, I do love it with all of my heart.  Sundays during football season are a hyped up day in my house.  We're wearing our Lions gear, shouting at the TV, and singing the "Gridiron Heroes" song whenever there's a touchdown!  I'm trying to talk hubby into getting season tickets this year... I feel like I have him really close to breaking!  Here we are at the game last year!

My favorite animal...

I feel like it's cheating if I choose my own two dogs.  Though they are my favorites.  I mean, look at this picture of my Sam and try not to go, "Awwww!".  I know you're doing it right now!  Click on it and check it out when it's nice and big... he's so stinkin' cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My love though, is otters!  They are so dang cute!  We recently read about them in class and I gushed over how much I love them and one of my sweeties brought me a little stuffed otter the next day!  Too cute!  I think I love them so much because they remind me of Sam!  Look at this pic... see the resemblance?

And... last... a GIVEAWAY!  I'm helping Rachel celebrate her bloggy birthday by giving away the winner's choice of any of my classroom or hallway hunts!  You can click that last link to check them out and start thinking about which one you want if you win!

I hope you'll head over and shoe Rachel some bloggy b-day love!

I Cannot Tell a Lie... and a Linky!

Earlier this week I participated in a super fun linky party hosted by Mrs. Reed at Flying into First Grade.  The rules were simple... tell two truths and a lie about yourself and see if your readers can guess the lie!

So... here's what I said:

*I once tripped on a piece of citrus fruit and broke my arm.
*I have never seen "The Sound of Music".
*I have been to a Target store in every state I've ever been to.

So...

TRUTH-
I once tripped on a piece of citrus fruit and broke my arm.  I had actually broken it while roller skating and one of my parents (who shall remain unnamed) didn't think it was really broken.  Then we were at someone's house and I tripped in their yard on a grapefruit or orange or something, landed on the already hurt arm, and... BROKEN!

TRUTH-
I have never seen "The Sound of Music".  Cue the throwing of rotten tomatoes at me.  I know, I know!  For all of the musicals I HAVE seen... which I'd love to bore you with, but you'd probably stop following my blog because the list is long... this is one I've never seen on stage OR the movie.  I know.  I stink!

LIE-
I have been to a Target store in every state I've ever been to.  No...  I haven't.  Shocking.  As a HUGE Target lover, it is now my goal to go to Target in every state I travel to.  So now I drag hubby there on all of our vacations!  We'll be doing to Boston for Spring Break so I should start mapping out my trip now and finding Targets to visit along the way!

And a linky...

Have you seen this?

I'm hosting a linky party to spread love and cheer throughout the bloggy world.  Just post about a blog you love, grab the button, link up, and then let your friend know that someBUNNY loves their blog!

There are already lots of people linked up... I'd love to see you there too!  You can click that oval button to head to that post and find out who I think is special, find some great new blogs, and link up too!

Can't get enough of that AH-dorable graphic?  Spend some more time with that bunny graphic in this Easter inference activity in my TpT store!  I did it with a small group today and they had so much fun!

SomeBUNNY Loves Your Blog Linky!

If you're ready for Spring Break... raise your hand!  Do you see mine waving like crazy?  Don't get me wrong... I love my little people, but I'm tired!  I'm hanging in there... just waiting for that magical moment when the bell rings, I can send my kiddies off, and come home to leave for Boston...ish!  Not Boston BOSTON but close enough.  I'm so excited!

I'm thinking this is a good time for some blog morale... especially if you're like me and feeling ready for a break!  My blog feels like it's in a little slump and I'd love to fill a bloggy bucket to fill mine too!

So, for that reason, I'd like to let Kelley from Teacher Idea Factory know that SomeBUNNY loves her blog!  I love her style, her pictures and ideas she shares, and I love being able to get my first grade on whenever I'm in need of seeing some work and fun in little people land!  Thanks, friend, for sharing, caring, and making the bloggy world a better place!

Check out Kelley and let her know that someBUNNY loves her blog!

If you'd like to let someone know that you love their blog, feel free to blog about them, let them know, and then grab the button and LINK UP your post here so that everyone can go and find these amazing blogs!  Maybe you'll spend your Spring Break discovering some new bloggy friends through this linky!

Watching Predicting Come to Life...

Last week we did a super activity that really made the process of predicting come to life for my 3rd graders.

I love Robert Munsch and all things comprehension... so when this favorite comprehension skill book suggested using a Robert Munsch book to teach about predicting, I was so excited!

The book has prediction cards for the book David's Father by Robert Munsch.  The cards have pictures on them of many things in the book- milkshakes, tires, cars, fork, snails, boy, girl, etc... and you are to pass out the picture cards to the students, have them make and share their prediction about how their cards fit into the story, and then you read the story to check and confirm predictions.

So, I passed out the cards and we sat in a circle while each student told what was on their card and what they thought the significance was to the story... it was so stinkin' cool.  As we went around the circle, students were using other students' predictions to make their own predictions about their cards and we got to talk about how, as you read a text and learn more information about what's happening, your predictions are constantly changing based on new things you learn and you are constantly re-evaluating your predictions to match what you've uncovered as you read.

It was seriously so cool and a clear way for students to see the process and thoughts we have as we make predictions about things as we read.

I'm such a dork when it comes to reading comprehension.  I love it.  Teaching it is my passion and I just LOVE how good readers are accessing all of these strategies all the time on such a subconscious level... but someone had to teach us all how to do those things so we could do them!  This lesson was the ultimate in showing how predicting works... how good readers make and confirm predictions in a text.

Then we read the book.  Well, we would have if the ghost that lives in my classroom hadn't borrowed the book from me and not returned it.  Of course, no student had ever borrowed the book... it was that ghost.  Not that I really care, but it would have been nice if someone could have just said, "Oh yeah, I borrowed that book and left it at home/lost it/fed it to my dog...".  So, my colleague found a the book on Youtube and we watched/listened to that.

I heard murmings all through it from students who were excited that their predictions were similar to what was happening... and also lots of "Oooohh!  So THAT's what that was for!" or "Oh.... so now I think that....".

So, that's my great prediction lesson from the past week!  Do you have a favorite book for teaching predictions?  Feel free to share below!

Two Truths and a Lie Linky!

How fun!  Mrs. Reed at Flying into First Grade is hosting a super fun linky party and I just had to get in on the action!

It's two truths and a lie...

So, I'll tell you three things about me and you decide which one is the lie by leaving me a comment!

So... here goes...

*I once tripped on a piece of citrus fruit and broke my arm.
*I have never seen "The Sound of Music".
*I have been to a Target store in every state I've ever been to.

Which ones are true?  Which one is a lie?

I hope you'll join the fun!

Peege Giveaway Winner!

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

I'm just popping in to announce the winner of the Peege giveaway...

Congrats to...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered!  I hope you'll check Pam's beautiful creations out... here's her FB page and her website!

Last Minute St. Patty's Freebie!

I'm feeling generous and yesterday was my 1 year TpT-aversary and I have slacked in the blogging since last week as I've been sick... BOO!  I even missed my first sick day all year yesterday.  I got a glowing note from my sub and, when I thanked my kiddos for it, one little lady's eyes were literally bulging out of her head while others were frantically shaking their heads "No" at the thanks.  I said, "I take it you didn't make great choices then?" and got a lot of "Nos" back.  I was still feeling woozy this morning, so I let them off the hook.  Loved the shocked expressions though when I began to slather on the praise!

Anywho, today I'm sharing a little last minute St. Patty's Day freebie with you!

This comes from my "Sweet Treats" pack on TpT.  The pack has 34 different holiday/event Hershey bar wrappers that you can print and use in class.  I used mine for Valentine's Day and they were a huge hit...

 

I'm happy to share the St. Patty's Day wrappers with you!  I usually do a little something for St. Patty's Day and this was so quick and easy and loved by my kiddos at V-Day that I'm sure they'll be excited to get another one!  {PS- this gal loved the price tag too!  It was something like $0.52 per bar or some crazy amount!  Hooray and thank you to my best best friend, Target, for selling them so cheaply!}

The file on TpT is a zipped file that even has an editable file that allows you to type a message on the wrappers... Google Docs isn't liking my zipped file right now.  I've tried twice to upload it but it just freezes... so I'm just sharing the PDF of the wrappers... but I hope you'll love it anyway!

Click the pic to download!

On a side note, if you have already bought this pack, I added four new ones tonight you can give to your kiddos as a good-bye and to welcome in SUMMER!  Just go to your dashboard and re-download to enjoy the update!

Speaking of St. Patty's Day... you can still enter to win a beautiful PEEGE!  I'll announce the winner on St. Patrick's Day!

Wondering what a PEEGE even is?  Haven't entered yet?  Click HERE to head to that post to learn more!

Phew... one more thing...

I posted about this recycled St. Patty's freebie a bit ago... but if you missed it, you can click again to get a gentle reminder!

That's it!  Now that I'm no longer sick and feeling slightly more human, I'll try and do better with my blogging this week!  We are working on a cute little main and helping verb bulletin board today... so hopefully I can get a picture of that up this week too.  It's an oldie, but a goodie for those of you who have been on Pinterest or the blogging world for a little while... but they were so excited when we started working on it today!!!

Winners! Workouts! And a Want One?

Winners...
Congrats to a Michigan gal... #22 Jessica from Apples and Papers and #52 Lori... your numbers were selected by the hubs and I'm e-mailing you both the three math hall hunts I posted yesterday!  Thanks to everyone for your snow day condolences.  I do love those random phone calls... but I also love not having a Monday as my last day of school!

Workouts...
My elliptical machine broke tonight!  I had just hit the 15 minute mark, 4 miles in... and... ka-blooie!  A horrible noise, some slightly tippiness... and I decided to get off and wait for hubby to get home.  He just finished examining it and a piece of metal on the inside is totally broken.  BOO!  I guess it's back to workout DVDs for a while.  Noooooo!  I need that elliptical!  I need to keep track of my mileage.  And calories burned.  And time!  And listen to my music!  My scale said I lost 3.5 pounds last week after some obsessive Weight Watchers and working out... Blerg!

And last... a Want One?...

Just a remind that you can win a beautiful PEEGE made by my friend Pam!

Click the picture to head to that post to enter!  Winner announced on St. Patty's Day!

Snow Day Woes

Woes?  On a Snow Day, you ask...

I never thought this day would come.

The day when I was bummed when my phone rang at 5am to announce a snow day.

But it happened.

And, if you heard a loud groan coming from SW Michigan this morning, that was every teacher in my district simultaneously bumming out because this snow day puts us over our limit... so we'll be having to make this day up.  Our last day of school is May 31.  Or was.  I guess now we'll be heading back in for a last day on a Monday. Providing there are no more snow days between now and then!  CRAZY!

I did have a productive day though...

I finally watched the finale of "Top Chef" (*SO* wish Sheldon could have made it to the finale!!!), worked out, picked up the house, and added three new hallway hunts to my collection!  These are for math though... this gal's branching out!

Here's what I made today.  Want to win them?  Just leave me a "hello" and I'll have hubby pick a random number tomorrow to win, win, win all THREE!

 

Base 10 Blocks to Numerals

  

Time to the hour and half hour          Time to five minutes