Currently December!

The holidays are here and I am so excited! I am linking up again with Farley at Oh Boy 4^th Grade for December Currently.

Listening: to “Christmas with the Kranks”. As my family is sitting here watching the movie, I am working on my website and blog. I am actually watching too. I don’t know about you, but I have trouble watching TV without doing something else. It is like, I get bored – go figure. So I am usually doing something while I watch TV – correcting papers, working on the computer, etc.

Loving: new carpet in my house. My husband and I are in an extended remodel. We made our three bedroom, two bathroom house into a six bedroom, 4 bathroom house. We just finished the tile floors and sealed them Thanksgiving morning. So, tomorrow the carpet is coming! I am overjoyed. I feel like I will have a “real house” now. We have been on concrete for two years. It just takes time and money, but at least it will only need minor details after the carpet goes in. Here is a picture of the newly sealed floor.

 Thinking: about the next 3 weeks. So much to do in school and out. At school, we have a Book Fair, toy drive, preparing auction item, and Holiday Party (and that is all on top of teaching). Then of course, there is shopping, decorating, and holiday parties.

Wanting: to start Holiday Cards tomorrow with my students. I am involved in the Holiday Card exchange with Projects by Jen. She does it every year. Each group has 30 teachers. Your class is to create and send out 30 holiday cards to all the people in your group. Then my class receives 30 holiday cards from classrooms around the country (sometimes the world). It is great to be involved in the project. She has other great projects during the year too. Check Jen out at Projects by Jen.

Needing: to figure out what I am teaching tomorrow. I enjoyed my week vacation so much, I am in denial about going back – Ha! Ha! I know I am starting a new module in math and continuing activities for Daily 5. I am going to be doing a writing piece on Native Americans and a Weather Newscast project with my kiddos. But I haven’t ironed out the details. I am going to have to work on that after I do this post.

Giving: hope to family members. Unfortunately, my husband has an uncle who has cancer. We have decided to go visit them this holiday vacation in Albuquerque. Both my husband and I have each lost a parent to cancer. It is always a difficult time, so we want to go visit him and the family.

Happy Holidays to all!

Sunday Spotlight!

Happy Sunday Everyone! 

Thanksgiving is around the corner!

I wanted to highlight some Thanksgiving products that I created for my classroom. In my classroom, the early finishers participate in math centers. My Thanksgiving Math Activities covers Multiplication and Division using Common Core Standards. When students are done, they can work on these task cards. They are mostly word problems, since my students need extra practice with those.

 

 

I have a set for 4^th grade and one for 5^th grade. If you teach a 4/5 combo as I have, you can get both grades as a bundle for a discounted price.

Each has an answer sheet for students to fill out and an answer key.

If any of these products interest you, I will have them on sale for the next 24 hours.

The teacher I would like to highlight is LeAnn. She and her sister, Jody, are the creators of Thank a Teacher. They have many products that are made for 4^th grade. I especially like the Native American units. It is always hard to find well written text for 4^th graders on California Native Americans. 

Check out Thank a Teacher.

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday to Everyone!

       I am linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching for my “Five for Friday”. It has been a busy week and only one more to go until break – yeah!

       I finished my report cards and started conferences with parents. Our report cards are a new version to align with Common Core Standards. I used Google docs this year to have my parents sign-up. It worked great! I sent the link through email and posted it on my website. The parents were able to go to the page and sign-up!

       Working on Native Americans in social studies. We are reading and seeing how each region of Native Americans is effected by their environments. We also have been creating an interactive notebook on the Native Americans.

       My students had a test today on the capitals of the U.S. That is what I will be correcting this weekend. My students are always anxious to find out their scores – so I try to grade them quickly.

       I joined “Project by Jen” for her annual Holiday Card exchange. I have done it before. It is fantastic! You have your class make 30 holiday cards and send them to all the classrooms in your group. You will, in return, receive 30 holiday cards for your class. My students loved receiving holiday cards from classes around the country (and a few from other countries).

       Finally, I am happy the new Student Council members at our school started the recycle program today. They are all trained and the custodian said they did a great job! Yeah!

Currently November!

Happy November Everyone! I got my November Currently up today – yeah!

Listening: to Big Bang Theory in the background. My hubby and I love this show. We have all the DVD’s, so we just rotate through them when we can’t find anything good on TV to watch. I am working on the computer while he watches. I find myself laughing as I listen.

Loving: the mock trial my students participated in today. We went down to the Federal Court and the students did a mock trial in a courtroom with lawyers, a court reporter, and a judge. It was fantastic! My kiddos were so attentive and they did such a great job! This was my first field trip there – definitely going there next year.

Thinking: about grades. Our grading period ended on Halloween. So, now I have to start putting my grades together for report cards. Also, starting next week, I have conferences with parents. I have a few busy weeks ahead. Thirty conferences for thirty children.

Wanting: more time in my day. I am, like most of you, overwhelmed with all I have to do each week. From personal to teaching to needs and responsibilities. I love it, but if I only had an hour or two more in the day. Well, the good news is, it always gets done. Don’t ask me how.

Needing: to go shopping. I need to go to Costco tomorrow. I have several things I am out of in the house. Plus, this time of year, there are some good deals.

Reading: Memoirs. My students wrote memoirs this last month and now I have the fun job of grading them. The good news – this is last assignment for me to grade and then I am completely ready to do report card grades – excellent!

Thanks for stopping by! Visit Farley’s blog at Oh Boy 4^th Grade to read others who have participated in the November Currently!