Five for Friday!

A couple of weeks ago, I started my Five for Friday post and I'll be darned if I didn't have time to go back and finish it. This week, I'm making sure to finish because I have some fun stuff to share!

1. Halloween was a blasty! Let me just say how awesome my neighborhood is. There are....let me see....EIGHT families with babies 2 and under on my little street. Plus a few more with kids that are a bit older. We all got together and had a block party. We had chili, one guy was grilling hot dogs, there were TONS of sweets and candies, and we just hung out and talked. We had so much fun! This was the first Halloween for my sweet Olivia and she loved looking around at all the people and puppies and other babies. Bless her heart -- she was so worn out by the time it was over that she was falling asleep in people's arms while she was being passed around from person to person. We also went to Boo at the Zoo a few weeks ago and she went as a peacock. Momma, of course, had matching eye makeup to coordinate. Love having a living doll baby. :)

This picture basically sums up the party. Love. 

{This is my best pal, Deanna. She was having her turn with Olivia when Olivia decided she had had enough.}

2. I am loving Goodreads. Are you on Goodreads? I have been making sure that I am reading every single night, even if it's for a short bit. I have SO MANY books in my "To Read" list...and I'll never get through unless, um, I actually READ. I want to read a Stephen King book, but I still (after almost a year) haven't finished Beach Music by Pat Conroy. So, I'm finishing that one and then once I'm finished with that one, I'll allow myself to start a Stephen King novel. Any suggestions as to which one I should start with? I'll add it to my Goodreads "To Read" list.....

3. We are still doing SciFri in my room every Friday. {Or at least attempting it on most Fridays...} On most days, we only have about 10 minutes of class left over for SciFri, but it's just enough for them to look at a cool science magazine or search our Twitter feed for something interesting. Some days, however, like today -- we have 25+ minutes for SciFri! I tend to feel like the kids kinda get off-track if they have more than 10 minutes, so I searched high and low for something cool to share with them that is science-related. I am thinking about reintroducing my Daily Discoveries on SciFri, but I'm also toying with the idea of introducing a "Creature Feature" and have some neat nonfiction articles for them to read about a new species that was discovered, or maybe even just about an interesting species that they may not even know about. Then I could tie in some CCSS work into the mix. I found a couple of neat websites that I thought I would share! I shared a few articles from these sites and the kids really enjoyed reading about real stuff that's actually going on in the world, like, right now. Check them out if you are a science buff {like I'm pretending to be}. I

Science News Magazine
Student Science

4. On a completely random note, Christmas is 53 days away. This post is exactly how my brain works. I jump from one thought to another. I actually had something else that I was going to share until this thought popped into my mind. So, have I done any shopping, you ask? The indefinite answer is NO. However, I have started to at least think about what I am going to get a few folks. Ok, two folks. And my list has 752,001 people on it. Not an exaggeration.  Good luck in your shopping endeavors this holiday season.

5. The big clipart bundle offer on Educents is ending in a few days! If you have no idea what I'm talking about - click here! It's a great deal on clipart featuring 19 artists and it's filled with graphics, fonts, borders, and digital papers. Don't miss out!! And please join Educents! You'll love it. I included my Carnival clipart pack in the bundled offer, but there are still over 1,000 fonts, graphics, borders, and digital papers in this offer.

Link up with Doodlebugs Teaching for this Five for Friday!

It's About Time for a Link Up!!

So on Friday, I started my post for Five for Friday...and then never went back to finish it. There aren't enough hours in the day and it breaks my heart. I am having to choose between adding new stuff to my Etsy shop, adding more goodies to my TpT shop, blogging, exercising, family time, grading papers, creating fun and meaningful lesson plans, making homemade baby food for my sweet girl, and trying to keep my house clean. It's exhausting being a teacher, wife, and mother!! But I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

I have been making lots of fun stuff. The first thing I want to share is my baby food. I LOVE making my daughter's baby food. I'm a baby food-makin' machine. I make her food on Sundays and it will typically last at least a week, and sometimes, if I make enough, it will last two weeks. I just freeze it it these cute little OXO containers that I found on Amazon (my 2nd BFF, first BFF being Target).  Wholesomebabyfood.com has helped me exponentially with recipes and making/storing my baby food. It's awesome and highly recommended for all you mommas out there!! I just use my food processor and it's really so easy. I usually just bake whatever I am making for her along with my dinner, so there really isn't a whole lot of extra steps to make it. Zip, zap, done!

The next thing I've been busting my rear making is CLIP ART!! Now here's a question - is it clipart or clip art? Who knows. 

I LOVE making clip art [clipart]. I have so much fun finding inspiration through just looking around outside, or on clothing patterns, or in even on some of my daughter's toys. I find inspiration basically everywhere I go. I WISH so bad there was more time to fit in making all of the creations I have in my brain. I have a mile-long list of different clip art packs I would just LOVE to sit down and make. All I know is during Christmas break, I know EXACTLY what I'll be working on!!! I've managed to make a handful of stuff, all of which are on my TpT shop. Here's a peek:

I'm very much obsessed with this new hobby. I wish, wish, wish I had more time. I'd have a gazillion creatives to offer!! There are lots of these in the works, but it's a long process to get them completed and up for sale. I've got a Christmas one, a butterfly one, and about 10 different background packs that I'm working on. Who the heck knows when they'll all be done!!!???!!! 

One more thing about clip art...I got an amazing offer to be a part of an Educents clipart bundle that will be rolling out this weekend. There are over 1,000 clip art elements that are going to be offered in this bundle...and you DO NOT want to miss this offer. It's going to be VERY reasonable and if you are a clip art user (what teacher isn't???!!!) - make sure to be on the lookout for the clipart bundle that will be coming your way this weekend.

Speaking of Educents...have you heard about this? It's basically Groupon for teachers. They offer all sorts of  teacher-type products for a big ole' discount. They've even done bundles of resources from TpT products. I highly recommend becoming a member. They also have a blog and I actually starting following it this weekend. I found a really neat online book catalog resource on there. I made a mock online library to test it out (I will probably not teach science for the rest of my career, so I figured I'd better start cataloging my books now, right?) - and I really love it. So that's my next Made It. My online library. I don't have very many books in there right now, but I will later. Go to classroom.booksource.com to create your own classroom library. It even has a feature to let students checkout the books in your library. All you have to do is add your students' names and then they login in to checkout/check in books that they borrow. I love it.

I really only have these three Made Its to offer, but I will also say that I am working on getting some Common Core resources up on my TpT site. {I know, right? It's about time!!} I am focusing right now on math because....it looks like I'll be teaching math along with science next year! I am very excited about it, but I'm a little overwhelmed with this prospect. I want to really familiarize myself with Common Core, since we are making the ole' switch-a-roo. 

Thank you to Tara for hosting the Monday Made It linky again! 

Science Book LINKY PARTY!

Never had a linky party! And I have to be honest, it's because I'm terrified that no one will join it. {Sad face. Poor me.} So - please, please, please - I'm begging you! Join me!

Recently, my school was so very fortunate to have the Reading and Writing Project team come on down to good ole' Alabama and host a week-long training conference. My school is officially a Home Grown Institute! So proud to work for Mountain Brook City. And I am SO GLAD that I attended this fantastic workshop. Even though I teach science, I still gained a TON of insight about the workshop approach and my goal this year is to use some of the strategies that I learned about in my science classroom, even if it's as simple as reading aloud and conducting "turn and talks".

I was so inspired by the workshop, that I started really digging to find science-related fiction novels or books to use in my fifth grade classroom. Turns out - THIS IS REALLY DIFFICULT!! I did find {and read} a few...but I am really curious to see what else is out there. So, let's play! Share with me any science-related fiction OR non-fiction texts that you use in your classroom.


Here are the ones that I found that I think would be good. These are all fiction books.

Jake Drake, Know-It-All by Andrew Clements
I just really liked the story of this one. It's cute, easy to read, doesn't take long to get through, and offers a ton of insight to the scientific method. I think this would get kids really excited about coming up with their own experiments and projects.

 

Mind Games by Jeanne Marie Grunwell
This one is definitely too advanced for early elementary kiddos, but might be OK for fifth grade, depending on the maturity level of the class. It's a great book to get students to start thinking about the possibilities of science experiments.

 

The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound by Sally Wolf

I liked this one - but more for just structure of journaling. It shows students that journals don't have to be perfect and can include notes, poems, ideas, and thoughts. 

Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
This one was perfect for younger students. It would be a good one that would lend itself to making inferences and demonstrating that. It's KINDA sciency - in that it's space related. It's just a cute fun book. Plus it deals with babies - and since I just had a baby...well, I'm still in baby mode. Definitely for younger students.

 

Runt by Marion Dane Bauer

This one is a good one to read during an Ecosystem study. Very cute, but the underlying message deals with how wolves relate to one another as well as other species in the wild. 

 

I've found a few more, but haven't read them yet. Even if you don't have any science-related books, I'd still love for you to link up and nonfiction texts that you use in your reading workshop. And I'd love to hear your strategies! Please, please link up!

Make sure when you link up that you include the link to your post and please also include a link back to this linky party somewhere on your post.

Don't forget about my GIVEAWAY that's ending on Wednesday! Link up here, then go enter! Thanks a bazillion!!

Monthly Goals Linky

I'm linking up with Jess from I {heart} Recess to share my goals with my fellow bloggers. I know, I know. I am SO breaking the rules by posting twice in one day, but I can't help it. My daughter is being awesome today, so I need to take advantage of it and post away. I've already scheduled two more posts for later this week. I'm Johnny On It today.

Personal: So, I had a baby on Easter Sunday. And I'm happy to say that I am now 3lbs less than I was before I got preggo. This is good news! {I'm still at least 10lbs from where I should be...} But I have to be honest and say that it has ZERO to do with my working out and more to do with breastfeeding. Man! That's they key to losing weight right there. Amazing. I am kinda working out on a weekly basis - but it's not hard core stuff like I am used to. It's just really difficult to squeeze in an hour workout at any point during the day with this little sweetie to distract me. One school begins, I am hitting the pavement as soon as I can get all my stuff wrapped up for the day. I'm also joining a boot camp again - they offer one at my school - and I'm super excited about it! I was pregnant when I joined last year, but I was still able to hang in there. Now that I'm not with child anymore, I have no excuses!! Yikes!


Organization: Last year was my first year teaching. {I'm 30 years old, but I switched careers in the middle of my life.} I went through a TON of different ways to organize all of my teachery things and I never, ever felt organized whatsoever last year. THIS year, I know what to expect. I know what I need, and I know what I don't need. I've created several binders and sheets that I know I will use and my *goal* is to stick with what I have already created and planned for throughout the entire year. I have a feeling this year will be much easier on me than last year was, simply because I've experienced it!


Planning: I have been major struggling with the Light Unit that I taught last year. I was SUCH a mess last year when I taught that thing. It's 7 weeks long - and a lot of the material is really difficult to understand. We have the Carolina Biological kit that accompanies this unit, but it's for middle schoolers. And let me tell you - it was DIFFICULT. I got a headache every time I tried to read it and make sense of it. This year, I'm still using the core content, but I'm scaling it down a bit. It was really too much for my fifth graders. We found ourselves very frustrated last year because the kids and I were both confused. It was awful and I was HORRIBLE at teaching it. I recognize that and I knew i had to do something to make it better and more enjoyable for all parties involved. I've been working on it and I'm almost done, but this was definitely a major goal that needed to be reached.


Professional: Since I attended the Reading and Writing Project training this summer {even though I teach science, I was still fortunate enough to be able to attend ---how awesome is that?!} - I was blown away and inspired. I have to implement the workshop style approach in my classroom and I've been searching high and low for science related fiction and non-fiction materials to help me. I don't know if it will be perfect, but I am definitely going to try. I just love the idea of the workshop because it really puts the kiddos in charge of their own learning. It will be a work in progress, but I think it could really work in science.


Students: Last year, I did not post learning targets. And the kids never really had easy access to each goal that we were trying to reach every day. {I know that's probably terrible, but I'm learning from my mistakes!} This year, I have a Focus Wall in the works, and "Goal Cards" for each student, which will list each learning target for each unit of study that we cover. They will receive a copy of the learning targets for each respective unit of study at the beginning of each unit. There is also a place for them to check once they've mastered each target. Of course, I will also have a copy and I'll ultimately be the judge of when they've mastered them, but it puts the responsibility of what they need to learn on them. I love it! I've also got a new anecdotal note system which goes along with this that I will share on a future post.


Motto: Pain is Temporary...Pride is Forever! I think this saying can be applied to any facet of life. Keeping up with these goals may be painful at times...but the pride that I will gain from keeping them will last a lifetime.

Thanks so much to Jess for providing the cute graphic to go along with this linky. Link up with sweet Jess from I {heart} Recess to share your goals!

Monday Made It {Late, As Usual} and Last Call!

So I'm linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics - a day late. Having a kid + summertime + lazy me = late post. Sorry!

I'm super duper excited to be linking up this week because I am venturing out into the world of clipart and I cannot get enough of it! I'm obsessed. And I'm so happy to share my creations with the teaching world. My clipart is simple, no frills, and can be used commercially without the requirement of providing credit. I'm happy enough to have my clipart used! 

Before I went back to school to pursue teaching, I was a graphic designer {BrownCow Creatives was/is my brand that I "did" freelance under...if I ever did freelance. Ha!} . But I never had the confidence to draw clipart. This summer, however,I'm staying home with my newborn trying to find ways to occupy my time and I started doodling. Turns out I love it! I'm not so great at drawing people figures, but I'm sure with practice, I'll get there.

So far, I've created some Chevron backgrounds:

A Weather Pack:

A Back to School Pack:

And my favorite, a Halloween Bundle:

For the Halloween Bundle, I started playing around with different frames. I didn't think I could make frames, either! But I did it. Too much fun. I'm losing sleep {double time, since I also have a baby}, but I can't stop. I have a Christmas pack in the works, which I started last night. I turned on a little Christmas music to set the mood. Ha! Christmas music in July. What a nut I am! I'm also going to have a sweet shop pack, a space pack, and a few more choice holidays before the year is up. 

I'm giving away my first three creations, so make sure you enter! Last call, because it ends tomorrow!

I'm also getting ready for going back to school and I'm becoming more and more obsessed with getting organized. So, I made some binder covers and spines for my plethora of binders.  I'm getting very anxious for the school year to start!

So that's what I'm working on. Looks like lots of teachers out there are gearing up for the school year, too. Link up with Tara and show us whatcha got!

Testing...

So it's almost that time of year. It's standardized testing time! Every teacher's FAVORITE! Ok, no.

But seriously, I have been worried about this time of the year since the beginning of the school year because I am terrified of these things. I just don't like the thought of the possibility that my kids won't do well on it. And there is ALWAYS that possibility, no matter how hard you try. And especially being a first year teacher. It is what it is though and there isn't really much I can do once those tests hit the desks.

I am going on maternity leave soon, too, which makes it even more nerve-wracking for me because I won't even be there to help review. I do, however, have a fabulous sub and I am 100% prepared for her to take over. I created a little packet that has a few tips and tricks for students to try and spot as they are taking their tests. Because, you know those test-making meanies LOVE to try and trick our buddies. Let's do this!

My test-prep packet is obviously centered towards fifth grade science, specifically the Alabama COS, but you could use it to get some ideas on how to maybe put together your own little packet to help prepare your students for the looming tests that are fast approaching.

Click here to download this freebie.

Hope it helps. Happy testing. Ugh.

Monday Made It! {Wednesday Edition}

I'm way overdue for this post! Just had a lot going on...but here I am! I'm linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics again for my favorite linky - The Monday Made It linky!

I have a Home Made It that I am super proud of. The mister and I are expecting our first baby here any week now and I really wanted to get those super fantastic professional maternity photos done. That is, before I found out how much daycare, diapers, and just having a baby in general was going to cost us. And don't get me wrong, photographers charge a heavy price because their work is so great and I definitely think that they have every right to do so. But, I just can't afford that on top of everything else. Soooo....I did a little maternity photo DIY! After all, I do have photo editing software and I can edit the fool out of some pictures (since I was a Graphic Designer in my previous life) AND since my husband bought be a killer Sony DSLR camera last Christmas.  So, here are a few of the before and after pics that we did! For FREE! I love free.

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER: 

And of course, what family photo would be complete without the family dog? 

Our baby girl, Lalya,  is very excited to be a big sister. {Or so I keep telling her that...she has no idea what's coming to her. Poor thing.}

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We took a lot more, but I just wanted to share a few since this is a teaching blog and all. :)  I'm actually in the process of creating a mommy blog...I'll include that in my next Monday Made It post. I just like the idea of making a blog to track all the cool stuff Miss O and I do together and then be able to have it printed. Did you know you could have blogs printed?! I'm so excited. More on that later.

Next, I am SO EXCITED and proud of my newest addition to my TpT store. I spent several weeks - like 6 total to be exact - creating my Properties of Matter Unit packet. I love it and I cannot wait to use it again next year. Hands down, best unit of study I taught all year. Super fun!! This monster of a packet is 77 pages long and has at least 15 different experiment or demo ideas, including the Elephant Toothpaste experiment I talked about last week. Please check it out if you are getting ready to teach Properties of Matter! I would love for you to use it in your classroom. It's a COMPLETE 5 to 6-week unit from start to finish. All you'll need to do is get yourself the materials required to do the experiments and make some copies for your kiddos. Click here for more exciting details. Here's a peek:

Ok, folks! That's all I've got for right now. I'm looking forward to posting a new Human Body packet  AND a new Light packet soon - maybe within the next few weeks. I'm already looking forward to and planning for next year! I can't believe how fast the time goes. 

Link up with Tara! {It's never too late!!}

Five for Friday!

I'm linking up again with Kacey from Doodle Bugs for her awesome Five for Friday linky! I love randomness more than the average person, so I am all in on this linky!

1. We are wrapping up some excitin' experimentin' in science class this week. We started off the week with a BANG! We made Elephant Toothpaste!! Check out the pics and then click here for the recipe and simple directions for this perfect hands-on example of a chemical reaction.

2. I found a new love this week. It's in the form of Pad Thai. If you live in or around the Birmingham area, please take your little fanny to Tin Drum and get you a bowlful of heaven. Tin Drum is located in the Summit Shopping Center right off of good ole' 280. If you don't live in or around the Birmingham area, well, I'm just as sorry as I can be.

3. This week was the Writer's Festival at my school, and to celebrate, we had three fantastic authors come in and talk to our kids. They were SO GREAT!! Here are a list of the authors that came to visit and some of their most popular works:

Kimberly Willis Holt, author of My Louisiana Sky and When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.

          

Eric Berlin, author of The Puzzler's Mansion, The Potato Chip Puzzles, and The Puzzling World of Winston Breen. 

      

Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty series.

Each author had their own unique activity for the students to do or participate in. I especially loved hearing how these authors get their ideas. It is so very inspiring to listen to them discuss how their ideas began as something so small and blossomed into something so fantastic. I think it really gives students encouragement and hope to want to pursue their dreams. {CORNY!! But oh-so-true.} I think meeting an author is a truly encouraging experience and I hope all students - or all people for that matter - get a chance to meet and talk to a successful author one day.

4. It's supposed to snow this weekend. I know that isn't a big deal to most folks in the country, but in Alabama, it's mad chaos. EVERYBODY PANIC. And buy out all of the bread and milk. Why do people buy bread and milk if they're going to be cooped up all day?! I don't get it. I'd be buying pizza and steaks. 

Geez, this pregnancy makes me sound {and look and feel} like such a piggie.

5. My unborn daughter FINALLY has a full name: Olivia Reese. I am so excited about it!! I love it. I cannot wait to meet this little creature and snuggle her in my arms and smell her. I love the smell of babies. Especially freshly bathed babies. Olivia will be taking LOTS of baths. 5 weeks and counting!!

Please link up with Doodle Bugs and share your random thoughts for the week!!