Week #1 of Mini Marathon Training and a TPT 20% off Sale

Good morning blogger friends!  I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post.  I wish I could say I had a good reason, but I've just been busy, busy, busy!  I think it's that time of year where everyone gets bogged down with cold weather, still a while until Spring Break, and our state testing is right around the corner (wah, wah!).

This week was my first official week or mini marathon training.  As a kickoff to the Indy 500, there is a HUGE (30,000+ runners) Mini Marathon in Indianapolis at the start of May.  Part of the course takes us on the track of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is a portion of the luster of this race.  I think I have run the Mini Marathon 6 times, each time with decent scores, but I haven't run it since my marathon.

As week #1 started for me on Monday, my goal for this half marathon is speed.  I know I can finish it, but I'm trying to build speed work into my workouts.  If you've never trained for a race, start now!  There are so many spring races of various distances everywhere these days!  It doesn't matter what you look like, how much you weigh, if you have a matching Lululemon workout look, JUST DO IT!  (By the way, I own zero, zilch, nada Lululemon items...$60 for a racerback tank I can get at Kohl's for $15...no thanks!  Well, don't get me wrong, their stuff is cute, just too expensive for me!)

I am a pretty faithful Hal Higdon fan for training and always follow his training programs.  He has a variety of option for the half marathon, and because of my speed goal, I decided to challenge myself with his advanced training program.  I am scaling back the weekend 90 minute run, though, because I'm not quite there yet, but I'm hopeful!

Week #1 was underway and going well this week!  Except for Friday...some friends from my old school asked if I wanted to grab a drink after school!  This was a no brainer!  :)  I'm off to the gym here in a bit to finish off my Sunday workout and begin Week #2 tomorrow.

Anyone out there training for anything this Spring?  I'd love to hear about it!

Also, I'm throwing a President's Sale 20% off sale! I'm featured today on the math page of TPT for my St. Patty's Day Palooza Unit!  Enjoy the discount today and tomorrow!

Gotta run for now, but stay tuned for my Do's and Don'ts at the Gym List (unfortunately, I will tell you Don't walk out of the gym in only your shower towel). 

Music for the classroom, music for the treadmill, and February Currently!

Music for the Classroom
I recently went to a workshop where the presenter used a music group called The Vitamin String Quartet on Pandora.  It. Is. Awesome!  The quartet plays pop songs with strings instruments, so there are no words.  I love having music in my classroom, and this eliminates any words that might not be appropriate while letting them hear familiar songs.  I really like that it gives orchestra and music a fun spin.  The station on Pandora rotates through other musical groups, but the songs are really fun!  Try it out next week and let me know what you think!

Music for the Treadmill
As many of you know, my winter is filled with a lot of treadmill runs, so I need music.  What you might not know, is that I am extremely cheap.  I refuse to buy songs on iTunes that I can hear on the radio, so Pandora is my go-to.  I came across a station on Pandora called Pop and Hip Hop Power Workout.  What I love about this station is that the music changes so I don't get into a rut, but it's all pretty upbeat.  I need high intensity songs and the factor of the unknown is a great surprise when in the middle of a run!

February Currently
And last, but certainly not least is Farley's February Currently!  Woohoo!  Can you believe it's already February?  We're getting ready to send home Quarter 3 mid-terms!  What happened to this school year!?

Stop by and visit Farley, meet some other bloggers, and learn something along the way!

Super Sunday Sale
My store is already 20% off, but wait until Sunday and you'll get even more!  I borrowed this image from Farley's blog, but get ready to stock up!  From reading activities, poetry, St. Patty's Day, and Student Led Conferences, you won't go wrong! :)

Gotta run...it's Friday night (and yes, I know I blogged twice today...don't tell anyone!)

Free Game and a Super Sale!

My kids have always loved I have...Who has? games, so I've created several variations of the game with math facts.  One of my favorites, though, is the nonfictions conventions game.  I had a teacher who had asked to add more conventions for her upper grade students, so I created an Advanced Version!  Both the primary and advanced versions are free for you here! :)

 Also, I've linked up with TBA's Freebie Friday again!  Check out all of the other great freebies this week!

Super Sale!!

I'm also teaming up with Teachers Pay Teachers for their Super Bowl Sale on Sunday to help all of you super teachers catch some good deals and score some great products (okay, did I go too far on the football wording?).  My store is all 20% off and TpT is throwing in an additional 10% with the code SUPER.

Check out some of my best selling units and ones that might be useful in the near future!  

*Originally $5.00.  With my sale it's $4.00.  With TPT it's just $3.60! 

*Originally $4.00.  With my sale it's $3.20.  With TPT it's just $2.88!

*Originally $4.00.  With my sale it's $3.20.  With TPT it's just $2.88!

 *Originally $1.50.  With my sale it's $1.20.  With TPT it's just $1.08!

*Originally $1.50.  With my sale it's $1.20.  With TPT it's just $1.08!

You get the point...it's one of TPTs best sales and it's always worth throwing those wish list items into the cart!  I can't wait to finally get some of the things in my cart on Super Bowl Sunday!  

Have a wonderful Friday.  It's my bosses 40th today, so I need to go get all of my black clothes on! :)

Gotta run!

100th Day=100 pieces of mail! and Super Bowl!

Happy Monday!!  It's January (almost Feb.) and it's 50 degrees in Indy!  I'm also excited to share about my friends' 100th Day Celebration in their classroom...and it's a meaningful activity on this grand day!

Two Kindergarten teacher-friends (Callie and Allison) of mine are now at a new building, but I had to share their continued awesomeness.  To celebrate their 100th day they decided to collect 100 pieces of mail.  A couple of weeks before the big day, they Facebooked, tweeted, and communicated their goal of receiving 100 pieces of mail.  Each day, as they arrived, they read them to the students, kept tallies of the mail they had received, colored the states of origin, and laughed about the pictures people sent in of their teachers.

What a fun colorful bulletin board filled with love!  Oh, and the pink card with the "m" is mine! :)

As you can see by the pictures they received cards, letters, post cards, pictures and small gifts.  A close family friend of one teacher even sent $100-$1 for each day they had been in school!  The class decided to celebrate by buying next books for their classroom and having a pizza party to celebrate their accomplishments!   

After the 100th day, they made the letters available to their students to read and use throughout the day.  One class made this really cute Thank You that the teachers could post on Facebook to thank everyone who helped them.  With the hidden faces, I could use it too!! :)

Next year, they are going to request post cards, create a giant map, and map them as they receive them.  You know teachers...they're always trying to find new and better ways!  Thanks Callie and Allison for sending me pics of such a great activity to celebrate 100th Day!

It's Super Bowl Week!

Find great activities for the big week including math games, graphing activities, mapping, comparing the two teams, reading comprehension, and more!  Check it out, have some fun, and make the planning, morning work, and centers easy to prep this week!

Gotta run...entering data tonight (and watching The Bachelor)! Woohoo!

Fist to Five, Friday Freebie, and CCSS Blues Update

Fist to Five
I came across a pin on Pinterest talking about the First to Five method for students and their understanding of vocabulary words.  With part of my job in the ELL realm, I fell in love quickly...and so did my kids!  They get really excited when I say, "Fist to five.  Show me what you know about the word: ____."  Students then show on one hand their understanding of various vocabulary words or skills.  It's a quick, effective check for understanding and helps guide your instruction.  Due to my Pinterest inspiration, I cannot take credit for the idea, but I wanted a visual for my students, so I will share this!

Anyway, the premise is that a 0 (or showing your hand with a closed fist) means you've never heard of the word, a 1 is that you've heard of the word, but don't know anything about it, and it continues on to 5, which means you know the word, can explain it to someone, and could use it in context correctly when writing.

Freebie Friday
I'm also linking up with TBA's Freebie Friday to post my Fist to Five posters!  I rarely blog on Fridays, but I figured why not today!?  Come find many other GREAT freebies for your classroom!

Common Core Blues Update
Many of you read my post from Tuesday about my political frustrations with our state wanting to pull out of the CCSS after we had already adopted them in 2010.  They were supposed to vote on Wednesday, but it has postponed a couple of weeks!  I'm hoping this gives people more time to contact their representatives and slow the train rather than build momentum, but we will see!

Gotta run....have a FaNtAsTiC FrIdAy!!!

Common Core Blues

Okay, well it's 10:25, and I should be in bed watching Parenthood, but I just can't get out of the Common Core Blues!  As many of you know, I live in the great state of Indiana.  Born and raised a Hoosier, I have a lot of pride in my state, but I'm confessing I am very nervous for what lies ahead.  I am not typically a political analyst, nor do I ever talk politics with friends or family, but sometimes things just get you where it hurts.

And this one hurts.  I'm not sure exactly why it does, but let me explain the situation.  A vast majority of you have adopted the Common Core State Standards and Indiana has been right alongside this whole time.  We have spent time taking apart the standards, analyzing the nouns and verbs to decipher what our kids should know and be able to do, spent many a PD days on what this shift means, yadda yadda yadda.  We've looked through textbooks with a critical eye on how they incorporate the CCSS within their text.  Now we have textbooks based on how well they cover the CCSS.

But wait...we currently have a bill that is going to void any changes that have been made to standards since 2010!  Yep, you heard me!  CCSS would be gone just as we get going!  Our legislators believe that Indiana can develop better standards that align to a better assessment (not PARCC).  Anyway, I just feel like the word "void" makes everyone think that all of our learning and work will be void.  The connotation of this has just bugged me.

So, I wrote my senator...and he wrote me back!  I was excited to exercise my writes, although I didn't love his response.  At least he took the time to give me a detailed reason as to why he was voting to void the change in CCSS.

Okay, I am done.  For today.  The vote is tomorrow.  I may be back tomorrow.  I may be excited.  I may not be.  Can any of you from non-CCSS shed light and hope on this situation?  I know it won't be as bad I have in my head, and the way I present it to my staff sets the tone, but I had to get it all out.

Gotta run...to bed now (well after Parenthood is over).

Super Bowl, Super Cold, Super Delay!

Good evening!  Well today has been great!  Laundry, running, school work, blogging, TpTing, etc.

Super Bowl!
Last year I created a Super Bowl Unit because it was all they hype here in Indy and my kids were obsessed!  Now it will be the Ravens and 49ers with Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh.  How fun will this be.  I have updated the unit to reflect the new teams, added some activities, and did some updates.  Check it out and enjoy a few weeks of football fun!

 Super Cold
Well I can't say that MLK day was filled with outdoor activities and running with the dogs...the windchill right now is 2 degrees and dropping.  Now if you're from Alaska or Minnesota, I know you have no sympathy for me, but it is CoLd!  So off to the gym I went, with my best iTunes workout friend Grace Lazenby.  My husband was doing the stair machine, of which I have done once and swore it off.  It is really hard!  So anyway, I decided on a 30 minute workout which I dialed in through the music on my phone.  I'll fill you in on Grace later in the week.  She doesn't know that she's my best running buddy.  Actually, she doesn't even know that I exist!  Wonder if she'd go along with my inner monologue of people running next to me?  Actually, she probably would be that person next to me.

Super Delay
Did I mention that it is really cold here in Indiana?  Well, it has warranted a 2-hour delay tomorrow!  Woohoo!  So this may not mean that I sleep in, but at least I'll get a couple of hours of work done before the kiddos come in.  :)

The Bachelor is on now...gotta run!