Tell Me More Linky, New Year's Resolutions, and more!

Normally I post a Monday Made It on Monday, but due to my being out of town last week the only thing I made was a huge pile of laundry. But, do not be dismayed! On my trip I saw so many link ups that I was unable to participate in that I have loaded this post with them. First up: Amy at Step Into 2nd Grade is hosting the Tell Me More Linky Party.  I've enjoyed reading all of the other posts so here goes....

1.  Hubs and I were engaged after just ONE date!  We met in Alaska, talked on the phone for about 6 months, saw one another for about 12 hours where he met my family, and were engaged the next day on an airplane somewhere between Baton Rouge and Dallas.

2.  My first year teaching was in Tacoma, Washington.  One day on the way home I was sitting at a red light (right next door to my school) when all of a sudden 5 unmarked police cars pulled up, cops jumped out and pulled guns and pointed them at the store right where I was sitting.  Needless to say, I ran the red light.

3.  That same year, I experience a 7.5 earthquake during the school day.  It was quite terrifying given the fact that we lived at the base of Mt. Rainier.

4.  I live in the South, but I think I was misplaced.  If given a choice as to where I would live, I would choose the Oregon coast hands down. 

New Year's Resolutions Linky
My blog friend, Amanda, over at Teaching Maddeness is hosting a New Year's Resolution linky this week.  Like her, I normally don't make resolutions.  I have a very difficult time keeping them.  I am really good for a few days, but then I completely fall off of the wagon.  But, I do a little goal setting for the new school year.

This year I plan to...

1.  Disconnect by 7:00 pm each night.  I have a bad habit of staying on the computer, iPad, etc. until it is time to go to bed.  This year, I am planning on unplugging early to spend quality time with the hubs.

2.  Leave the building by 5:30 pm.  I did NOT do this last year.  My day began EARLY - I was in the building at 6:30 and very often stayed until almost 7 and sometimes later.  Terrible, terrible, terrible!  I had NO life last year.  I plan on reclaiming it this year.  That means working smarter.

3.  Do ALL Grading in the building.  This may be hard for me to do, but I plan on maximizing all of my time - all of those planning periods, early mornings, etc.

I refuse to make any more than 3 because that is just too many for me to handle.  Join us over at Amanda's to share your resolutions.

To Do List Linky...

The beginning of the year is often overwhelming to me, even after teaching for 12 years.  My to do list is a MILE long and continues to grow and grow and grow.  I don't think I ever finish adding to it, but I ultimately prioritie and end up giving up on some glorious ideas.  This year, Lorraine from Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies has provided me with the PERFECT  way to get myself organized.  She is hosting a To Do List linky party. I saw it last week, but I was out of town and unable to add my ideas.  But, I'm back and the way my schedule is over the next 3 weeks, if I don't have a to do list, I'll never make it.

To Do List:
1.  Cover bulletin boards with black fabric.
2.  Create borders with tissue paper.
3.  Purchase hot glue sticks for some of my bulletin board features.
4.  Organize library and book baskets.
5.  Purchase an oil pan for my beginning of the year board.
6.  Start and finish iHelp board.
7.  Create birthday board (take pictures later)
8.  Nametags
9.  Binder pages
10.  iPad Expectations posted
11. Word Wall letters
12. Technology Timeline
13.  Engineer of the Month board
14. Get grocery bags for school supplies
15.  Make 1st day frame
16.  Make new teacher's stool
17.  Organize costume box
18.  Pick up Teacher's Editions for new curriculum
19.  Teach 3 more technology classes.
20.  Student Work area
21.  Writing Center

I'm sure things will be added this week.  I have a TON to do and LOTS of ideas.   Heading to check my Pinterest board now!

Head over to check out Lorraine's to do list or Link Up!

Wow to Williamsburg...

This past week I have been in Colonial Williamsburg with the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute. One word sums it up...AMAZING! We spent the week completely immersed in all things 18th century (before the Revolution = British colony). I lived in a colonial house on Duke of Gloucster Street that Thomas Jefferson stayed in, we Led the streets George Washington and John Adams strolled, and ate in taverns where all 3 dined. To say it was overwhelming to experience that much history would be an understatement. At this moment, I am sitting on the floor in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport waiting for my flight home. Look for upcoming posts about my experience and ideas for your classroom in the coming weeks.

Guilty Pleasure Linky Party...

I am so excited to be joining Ashley from The Resource Room Teacher this week for her Guilty Pleasures Linky Party. 



I've blogged about a few of my guilty pleasures on my personal blog, but not here.  So here it goes.

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1.  Dunkin Donuts Coffee - I've lived on the West Coast and while I was there, I was a Starbucks snob by default.  However, over the years, I can't handle the bitterness of their coffee.  When I lived in Seattle, I only ordered their white chocolate mochas or a latte so I didn't taste the bitterness, but I don't drink those anymore.  When I started drinking regular coffee, the Starbucks brand was terrible - even their new Blonde Roast. So, I tried Dunkin.  Honestly, I tried Dunkin because it was the ONLY coffee shop near my house in South Carolina.  I was so thankful that my little town finally had matured.  I stop almost every morning to get a cup of French Vanilla Roast with cream and sugar.  Yum!  I haven't had many this summer though because I've been being frugal and brewing my own.  (Still trying to perfect the perfect cup)

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2.  The Bachelorette  - I know, I know - no one should watch this trash, right?  At least that is what hubs says.  I can't help it though.  I'm drawn in like a moth to a flame.  And we all know what happens to that moth when it gets in the flame.  I love the drama - the whining guys, the crazy women, and this season, I'm loving that Emily has guts to tell 'em like it is.

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3. Burt's Bees Chapstick, Carmex, lipgloss, etc. -Every winter coat has a tube, every pocketbook, and some have about 4 or 5.  I'm headed to Williamsburg this week and made sure that I have about 5 tubes to get me through the week.  I don't think I've ever finished a tube, but I love them anyway.  I don't go anywhere without a tube and often find it in the washing machine because it has been stuffed in a pocket.  I buy a tube almost every time I go shopping.

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4.  Mexican Coca-Cola - I love my Mexican coca-cola.  It is sweetened with cane sugar and not high fructose corn syrup.  You can find it at a little restuarant in my town and a Hispanic grocery store by the case.  For Christmas a few years ago, my hubs bought me an entire case for myself.  Love that guy.  But, there is NOTHING like an ice cold coca cola on a hot day.  Even better if it is poured over crushed ice.

Head over to The Resource Room and check out the linky party.

Blog Award

Wow, I have to say that I am impressed with all of the teachers in the blogosphere this week.  My little space of the world went from 6 followers last week to 31 this week.  Thank you for making a girl feel loved.

Speaking of feeling loved, Ms. Goodwin over at ilive2learilove2grow awarded The Loop the Versatile blogger award.  I am so humbled.  Thank you Ms. Goodwin.

There are a few rules to this award that I must at least try to follow.  I know that MANY of the blogs I read have received it recently, so I don't know if I'll be able to get 10.

Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Include a link to their site.
3. Include the award image in your post.
4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 5-10 other bloggers, include their link, and let them know. (I will be breaking this one because I already received the award, but could not figure out how to show the button in my sidebar).


7 Random Facts About Me
1.  This is my 13th year of teaching.
2.  I am horrible at Scrabble.  My husband is AMAZING and kicks my tail EVERY time.  I'm not talking by 20 points, more like 200 points.
3.  I'm an obsessive reader.  I hate to leave books that are unfinished.  So, usually in the summer I stay up until the break of dawn finishing books.
4.  My Jack Russel Terrier, Taku, is spoiled rotten. He even lets me hold him and rock him.
5.  I drive a red Mazda Miata convertible.  It's my "I Can't Have Children" car.
6.  I met my husband in Alaska.  We had one date and decided to get married.
7.  I absolutely hate cooking.

Tech on Tuesday...Chicktionary

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When I first received my iPad, I went into download mode like crazy.  If the app was free, I tried it out.  If I didn't like it, I had no money invested and very little time, so I simply deleted it.  As I matured in my iPad app search, I began seeking out apps that allowed my students to create so I didn't download any games.  However, I've discovered a way to use gaming in my classroom and I cannot wait to share how to use Chicktionary.

Last Year
The most obvious way to use this little word game in your classroom is reinforcement for spelling or words.  Students rearrange chickens with letters to form words.  We did this in my classroom and turned it into a little competition between students.  Who could generate the most words?  It was motivating and engaging.

This Year
ALL of my students will have their own iPad so it will be really easy to implement this new idea.This year I plan to use this in math.  I'm moving to 4th grade and my standards include mean, median, and mode.  Students will play the 3 minute fast play round to create words.  After the 3 minutes, students will graph their score.  Students will repeat this 2 more times for a total of 3 graphing each time. 

After playing 3 rounds, I will introduce the concept of mean, median, and mode.  We will then use the data that was collected to calculate mean, median, and mode.  Students will graph the class averages and we will crown a Chicktionary king or queen.

After teaching the concept, students will then have opportunities to repeat this same sort of activity using other games such as Angry Birds, Temple Run, etc.

Gone are the days of using fake test scores to determine mean, median, and mode.

I had planned on sharing a recording sheet, but I haven't determined the End Use agreement for clipart and I haven't created any of my own :(

Stay in the Loop
Shasta

Made It Monday...

If this posted correctly, I'm currently in Williamsburg, Virginia at the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute.

Technically, I haven't made anything this week other than a huge mess.  I did get a few housekeeping things done for my class this year, but that is about it.

1.  Word Wall Words - I'm changing grade levels (moving to 4th) so that means new word wall words.  I decided to get a jump on things and print them ALL out before school ended.  Talk about a daunting task.  I went through 3 packs of colored card stock.  Each word under a letter is supposed to be on a different color of paper.  I have to fudge it because the letter T had 27 words.  So, if the color duplicates I'll just add a pattern around it.  Anyway, I had to cut all of those bad boys out this week.  I figured that while I was sitting in my recliner catching up on Days of Our Lives I could be useful.  Can we say painful?  I don't even have a picture to show what the pile looks like.  The next step will be to organize the words by week.

2.  Back to School Packet - I had copies left over at the end of the year on my printer so I used them to get ready for this year.  I printed out my back to school letter, Meet the Teacher information, Student Questionnaire, etc. This week I organized it all.

3.  Engineering Design Process - See the back wall of this picture...it houses my Engineering Design Process gears.  I loved them last year, but when I went to take them off of the wall, the foam ripped, so I'm spending some time redoing them for the coming year.  I loved the bright colors and plan on repeating the same style.  The only thing that may change is the size of the letters.

**I would love to be linking up with Fourth Grade Frolics, but since I'm out of town and the link is not up yet, I can't.  Will do when I return.