Two for Tuesday, July Currently, and USA World Cup Game!

Wow!  This is a HUGE Day!

1. It's my mom's birthday - woot woot!  Go Mom, go!  She is absolutely the best around.  I had to give her a shout out on here.

2. USA World Cup Knock Out Round!  I grew up playing soccer and played in college, so I am loving all of the new bandwagon fans.  No, really, I think it's great that the USMNT (U.S. Men's National Team for those who don't know) is getting all of this exposure.  I Believe That We Will Win...Today!

3. It's Two for Tuesday...which means 2 of my products are 50% off today only!  So here they are:

My (UPDATED) Poetry Unit

It's been updated, revised, remodeled, whatever you want to call it!  It was one of the first units I ever made, and it need an overhaul.  65 pages that cover 7 different poems, writing templates, graphic organizers and guides, classroom posters, and publishing pages for their own Poetry Journal.  It's on sale for just $2.50 today only!

Addition with Regrouping Game

This is my best-selling game, and it's 50% off too!  Just 75 cents today!

Head over to The Teaching Tribune for more great deals!!

4. Oh, and did someone say that it's the first of the month?  That's right!  July Currently with Farley, Farley, Farley!  Happy July everyone! (This means I go back to work in 14 days - yuck!)

5. And it's time to prep for the big game this afternoon!  By that I mean, keep calm and get my red, white, and blue on.  Go USA!

Five for Friday!

It's Friday!  That favorite day of the week...except during the summer! :) I've been up to a lot of different things this week!  

 Hop over to Doodle Bugs and see what everyone else is up to!

First...USA is going through to the knock out round!  Way to go USMNT!  This little guy was dreaming during the game today...

He's saving all of his energy for the next game on July 1!

Okay, this next piece is a bit embarrassing, but I'm so glad I'm FINALLY getting around to it!  So one of the very first things I ever made and put on TpT was my Poetry Unit.  It is still a pretty good seller, but it's needed a facelift and update for a loooooooong (imagine the same voice as gooooooooal) time!  So, this week, I finally got to it!  

This is a picture of my computer screen.  The image on the left is my original.  I'm still working on my cover (tooooo wordy right now), but the facelift is coming along.  I'll be excited to get it finished and send the memo to all my previous buyers! I love when I get surprises that there have been updates/additions to products I've already purchased!

I went into work for a wee bit this week.  One of my goals was to finally organize my files.  My ultimate goal is to color code all of them for different categories (RtI, Discipline, Human Resources, etc.), but I didn't have enough colored file folders at the time.  

They are now alphabetized, and cleaned out.  I forgot to take a picture of ALL the papers I put through the shredder and in the recycling bin, but it was A LOT!  It will be so nice to open my drawers to organized files that I can actually find.

Anyone dream of eating out and cooking gourmet meals during the summer?  I realized that over the summer I usually just eat the same thing, but I get to throw my turkey sandwich on the George Foreman. :)
 

Oh, and I can still be in my pajamas and watching TV!

And finally, while at school I saw this little family of ducklings (there are 5 little guys).  The sad part is that they are currently living in our courtyard which does not have an exit (it's enclosed by classrooms). We are trying to figure out a way to corral them out of the courtyard, through our building, and out to safety without making Mama Duck too upset.  Any ideas?!

Alrighty, well I'm off to a WIDA conference all day today.  Indiana just adopted them, so I need to do some catch up!  I'm hoping they are a positive change for us.

Gotta run!

Two for Tuesday: Math Games!

I'm teaming up with over 40 other bloggers (at the time I'm writing this) to offer you 2 products at 50% off!  Stock up now to print and use at the start of the year. :)

Both of my products this week are just 75 cents today!  The first is this math game that covers CCS 1.OA.A.1 - Addition to 20!  Remember, its' just $0.75.

The second one is all about Telling Time (to 5 minutes)  Again, this one is only $0.75 too!  

Pin them now.  Buy them later. Have your new parent volunteers laminate, cut, and prepare!  

Alrighty, I gotta run!  I'll be back later this week about Project Based Learning!

Monday Meet Up

Happy Monday!  I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune to share a few random facts about myself today.  Hop over to learn about some of your other favorite bloggers!

Anyone else love 4-H, have a large family, or in administration?  Don't forget to come back tomorrow to see which 2 products will be 50% off!  Hint hint...one will only be 75 cents!!

Gotta run!

Five for Friday

It's Friday!  Now usually I'm pretty excited about Fridays, but during the summer, sometimes it makes me think about how few Fridays I actually have left...and for, it's only 3 after this (YIKES)!  Here's what I've been up to this week!

Father's Day!  This was the first Father's Day for my wonderful husband.  I often tell people that I've never loved him more than when I watch him with our little boy.  To be truly honest, there is nothing, NOTHING, that I could get him that would come close to how much he means to our little man and me.  So aside from a cheesy frame with a picture, I wanted to do something meaningful.  So...I went to my good friend iMovie.  Well, actually, I've never made an iMovie, but what better way to learn!  

It's only been 3 months, but we have TONS of pictures of the little man.  So, I put together some of our favorites, some that were taken during meaningful times, some that he didn't know I had taken, along with some videos, and put them all to music with text of what little man has learned from his daddy during his short life.  Things like he can trust him, he knows he'll be there for him.  I was really excited to watch it with him on Father's Day morning, and although I wanted to take a picture of the moment, it would have ruined it.  Happy Father's Day, babe.  You deserve it!  

And now, a little less sappy! Well, I'm finally sitting down to truly dive into this book.  I've taken notes in it, skimmed it, and used pieces of it, but I feel like I need to read it front to back and soak it all in.  

Have any of you explored this book?  Thoughts?

PBL Conference!  On Wednesday and Thursday I attended a 2-day conference all about PBL.  It was terrific, and about 10 teachers from my building went too.  It was a great planning time for them.  Teachers were encouraged to pick 1, yes, just 1 standard, and then develop a PBL unit around that 1 standard.  I will continue to share out more, but here are a couple of the brief outlines for their units  (again, I said brief!)

After teams of teachers started working through their units, we then went through the THINK TANK process with a larger group of 10-15 teachers and a facilitator.  This was the process we used to go through their units.  It is a FANTASTIC process, and the teachers were able to gather a lot of new ideas to make even more meaningful connections and understandings for their students.  This protocol, and a lot of other PBL resources, can be found at bie.org.  

We hired a new superintendent this week!  We really loved our superintendent, who is retiring (and deserves every minute of her relaxing retirement!), so a new person in charge can definitely be a bit scary.  Although she comes with great references and everyone has terrific things to say, the unknown can be a bit nerve wracking.  So I will remember this...

 

And finally, the rain has stopped!  We have flash flood warnings around here, but I can finally go out with the baby for a walk now that the sun is out.  Peace out, friends!  Have a wonderful weekend.

Gotta run!

Two for Tuesday...and Wednesday!

Happy Tuesday!  I'm joining up with The Teaching Tribune for Week 3 Two for Tuesday again.  I love getting great steals from other stores on Tuesdays too!

Remember, to join, you just list 2 products for 50% off!  Easy peasy!

Product #1:
New Behavior Management Resources Set!  This includes Think Sheets, Apology Letters, writing templates, etc.  I blogged about it on Sunday for a Behavior Management Linky, so you can see more details there.  It is usually $3.00, but will be $1.50 today and tomorrow only!

 

Product #2:

One of my I have...Who has? games.  This one addresses the 1st Grade Common Core Skill of 10 more and 10 less.  A great way to review the skill, have partners work together, or to set aside for a sub to complete.  Usually $1.50...now just $0.75!

For the next two days I'll be at a PBL conference!  I can't wait to come back and share some of my learning with all of you.  Gotta run for now!

Behavior Management Linky

Happy Sunday, and Father's Day to everyone!  I'm linking up again this week with Where the Magic Happens to talk about this week's topic: Behavior Management.  

...work on behavior management from the office perspective.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, I handle a lot of discipline in my role as an Assistant Principal.  At times, I feel like it is a great opportunity to help guide students in making more positive choices.  Then there are those days when I see the same kid two or three times in one day, and I don't feel like I'm making an impact.

Regardless of the day, I've always had some go-to items in a folder for me to use.  Two of these things are a Think Sheet and blank paper for an apology letter.

However, many students don't know how to write an apology, and my frustration grows deeper when I go to check on a 4th graders letter to his/her teacher or classmate and see one sentence that states, "I'm sorry."Therefore, this year, I'm going to use this as another opportunity for learning, and high expectations, and I have created some templates for apology letters to use.  I wrote some mock apology letters and have the guidelines included so that my older students can be independent in this task.  There are also times when I am in a meeting and my secretary checks them and copies them for me to reference later.  This will give her something to reference when checking the letters.  Whether I like it or not, some students, even when in the office, don't put forth their best effort. 

I would also like to be better about communicating the steps I have taken with students with their teachers.  I want to make copies of these forms and share whether or not I contacted home more consistently.  

The forms I have used in the past are bland and boring.  The apology letters were just written on blank notebook paper (for all grade levels!).  So, I've put together some of these resources in a bit more user friendly format with this new pack.  I have it on sale for just $1.50 right now!  Hop on over to grab a copy and make your own folder for your classroom.  

            

Don't forget to check out the linky with LOADS of other behavior management posts and products!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.  We're off to celebrate the great dad's we have in our life! Gotta run!