Summer, summer, summerTIME!!! My last post was hanging in limbo for quite some time, and I finally saw and published it yesterday. Last year was a flurry of activity and clearly, the blog fell by the wayside. My class was great, but each night I came home, I was EXHAUSTED. But things they are a'changin'!!!

 I will be moving to 1st grade for next year. After 3 year of teaching fourth, I felt like it was the right time to make a change. I need to get things together and put up some of the ideas I used in 4th grade. Over the next few weeks- during JP's nap time- I will do just that. And then... I will begin looking for NEW ideas for my 1st Grade Classroom!! Wahooo!!! New ideas just get me all energized. I will be attending a Pathways to Reading training next week, so hopefully that will get me off on the right foot.

As always, I am accumulating more ideas than I could ever use- via Pinterest. Feel free to follow and share ideas with me!!

Whelp, school is in session... things are crazy... I've been slacking. I know that my last post was AGES ago, and I have vowed to get with it. I have kicked off this year as all others with such fervor that I go home exhausted each day, and I'm ready for bed around 8:30. Geeze. I'm old. :)
  My class is lovely. I have a wonderful bunch of kiddos and parental support to boot! My grade level teachers and I are especially thankful for our parent volunteer who comes in on glorious Tuesday to do our copying... if you do not have a parent volunteer, let me suggest you get one, and FAST.

Wowie! How sweet!!

I got an AWARD!!! Everyone loves awards, right?!?

So... here are the requirements

1. Give thanks to the lovely blogger that nominated you: Fourth Grade Flippper     

2. Give a link to their blog: (see above)

3. Include the award image on your blog.

4. Give 7 Random facts about yourself:

• I was raised in a wonderful vacation town in Missouri- no not Branson... The Lake of the Ozarks!!
• I live with two lovely doggies. This video is of our largest fur-child, Ramey. She obviously was ready for a walk. My hubs took video when she went after her leash.
• This will be my 3rd year in 4th grade. I taught 2nd grade for 3 years before that. I have found many awesome pros about each grade... bottom line- I love teaching and helping kids!
• I am the very lucky momma of a harmonica playing sweetheart of a boy. He is the silliest, smartest, sweetest little love.
• I worked on a parasail boat for 7 years in the summers. Best. Summer. Job. Eva!!
• I work out at Title Boxing Club. This photo, clearly, is not me. I love the workout, and how I feel after it. It has done amazing things for my bod... which is a plus, for sure. :)



www.titleboxing.com

• I am married to a wonderful man- truly the yin to my yang. I am his do-it-now, why wait- OHMYWORD-LET'S GO girl, and he is my sloooooow down, why rush, take it easy guy. I am lucky that he puts up with my shenanigans, and generally does it with a smile. It's a wonderful, precious thing to have a love like ours. It's not easy... it's work. Thank goodness we're both up to it.

The last part of this award business is that I am supposed to nominate someone... 5 someones to be exact. Whelp, I hate to say I'm going to break form here. There are so many amazing blogs that I have seen who are already sporting this award. Honestly, I haven't seen too many blogs without it. SOOOOO... if you are reading this, and you do not yet have this gem of an award, by golly, I nominate you, and i think you outghta grab this award and run with it!!!

*** disclaimer, if you are not, in fact, versatile- you should be. :) It's good for you, and studies have shown it's good for the ole' brain!

******double disclaimer: if it has offended you that I did not technically "nominate" someone, I apologize.

Hooray for my 2nd post!!

I am joining the "bloggette bandwagon", and have just completed my first "Currently".

After seeing these on pretty much everyones' blog I was quite pumped about doing one of my very own. I used Picasa to help fill it out and get it all together. Sure to do love that service.

And now... the Currently Review:

The sounds in my house do generally center around the Bubster and his activities- as I think it ought to be in a household with a 1 year old. 

Another lovely day at Title Boxing Club left me drenched after sweating out a gallon (or more) of water. Thank you new trainer guy- whatever your name was. :)

My teachie friend Christina and I have been talking about setting up a TPT account since last school year... BUUUUUUT we haven't yet. I think this is the year.

Our school hasn't posted our class lists yet, and won't formally do so until AUGUST 13TH!!!!! I know... crazy. Anyway, generally, the lists are put up and everyone looks into their "Schoolmaster" to see who's who among classes. I am more anxious this year because it's the first year I will not really know who these kiddos are until I meet them. You see, I taught 2nd grade for 3 years, so when I moved to 4th grade, the past two years were comprised of kids I already knew. But these kids coming up... are a whole new batch.

We adopted the Journeys series two years ago, and while I am comfortable and even semi-fond of the reading element, the writing needs some modifications, in my humble opinion. Sooooo... I need to get with it. Like really. Of course, each year I've tweaked and added and re-modified and undone BUT this is the year it will come together- I pray.

Oh, the reads.... Among the Hidden and the rest of the Shadow Children series. My. Kids. Loved. These. Books. They seriously couldn't get enough, and to be honest, neither could I. Usually, I try to read several books to my kids throughout the year that I have read and know that I love to share. Sometimes, I go out on a ledge and choose a read-aloud (after much recommendation) that I haven't read, and will be experiencing for the first time with my kids. Among the Hidden was that book last year. There are 6 in the series. We read them at the end of the year when they were a little more grown up, and ready for a book like this. They loved it so much that they would check the books out from the library before I could get to them so that they could read ahead over the weekend, so I had to troop it to the community library. :) I didn't mind. Anyway, if you haven't read this book. Please do.

Comprehension Connections is a standard for some language we use about reading. I skim through before school each year to refresh myself on that terminology.

I hope you have enjoyed my FIRST "Currently" as much as I have. I will be adding some information about my ideas for my classroom bulletin board for the beginning of school...

Just so you know- it's SUUUUUUPER(heroish)!!

The Iron Is Hot?!?

Whelp. I've been trying to talk myself into this for quite some time... and now, apparently, the iron is hot. To be perfectly honest, it is summer, and I have time. :)

I am excited to use this blog as an "organized catch-all" for my teaching ideas. With that said, I will surely find some (hopefully not too many) bumps in the road as I get started. My title banner took forever. :) But thanks to this fabulous blog from Songbird, I got it all taken care of without much headache. 

Stay tuned!!!