Saturday, May 11, 2013

Moms, Motivation, Big News, & a Flash Freebie

Better late than never, right?

fiveforfriday
1
We are working on classifying animals this week. I fixed up my old Vertebrate Characteristics Booklet.

vertcharc

It is amazing what a little clip art can do! I just added this to my TpT store as a flash freebie. Check it out before the price increases!

2
Tuesday night I purchased this Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed Shape Book. I printed everything as soon as I got to school on Wednesday. I opted to have the students trace the patterns onto construction paper and cut them out. The finished products were bright and colorful.

mombrkfstbed

We planted some flower seeds in our newspaper planters a few weeks ago.

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I do not have a green thumb at all, so I was pleased that they had something living to being home!

IMG_1811

3
Speaking of Mother’s Day, I am happy that we finally have hot water! There was a problem with the electrical panel that led to ordering a replacement part. Thursday after school we took the kids to the pool. It is a sad state of affairs when the pool shower is warmer than the home shower! I’ve enjoyed nice long, hot showers this weekend!

4
I’m linking this next one up with Joanne’s Student Motivation Saturday.


May can be rough. Thursday I added “bring beach towels” to the homework in the student planner. My class didn’t exactly know what “Beach Reading” meant, but they were excited!

BeachReading

Friday morning we took our books/e-readers, towels, and snacks outside for independent reading time.  It was quick, easy, and fun!

 5
Several weeks ago my principal sent me an email and asked me to stop by to talk about ideas for next year. The meeting went very well, and I’d been waiting for the all clear to share the news.
Next year I am going to teach technology and art for K-5. I am SO excited! 

I was at a conference earlier this year where I heard a presenter say that with the upcoming computer-based testing, the expectation is that students should be computer literate by second grade. A big focus in my new position will be making sure that our students are prepared to use the technology for the PARCC test.

I have taught third grade for ten years and I am excited about the change. I have been in the same classroom for nine years, so I am not looking forward to packing up and physically moving my classroom. I *might* have snuck in to my future room last week to start planning.

new room

I have so many ideas. I am really looking forward to it! It is going to be a huge change!

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Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

10 comments:

  1. Huge Congratulations! I am so interested to read about how art and technology work together! I received a netbook cart for my class through a grant last year and it has changed my class so much! The kids are able to take so much more control of their own learning!
    Heidi

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  2. Congrats on teaching technology and art next year! I think that will be exciting!

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  3. YAY! Thanks fabulous news. Technology is already so important but getting them ready more quickly is super important with all the testing that is heading our way. Congrats! I know you will be fabulous and the new room looks huge. Have fun planning. :)
    Brandee @ Creating Lifelong Learners

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  4. Congrats!!! Wonderful news for you!

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  5. Yeah congratulations! Sounds like you have a big change ahead but I bet it will be a lot of fun!

    Jessica
    Literacy Spark

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  6. Congratulations Jenny! Beach reading??!! Fabulous idea! Love it! Such a simple way to motivate students and get them reading! Win-win! Thanks for linking up and sharing!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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  7. Beach reading! Great idea! Technology is big in our future. It means that 'Ol Mrs. Welch has to catch up with all sorts of new technology too! I wish we had someone like you at our school. congrats on your new job.

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  8. Congratulations, Jenny! Excited for your new adventure.

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  9. Congrats on your new position!! That is very exciting!! Also love your idea of "beach reading!" I'm going to have to add that to the list of fun things to do in these last few weeks!

    -Caitlin
    Table talk with c and c

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  10. Congratulations on your new position! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that Mothers Day project and will be pinning it for next year! SOOOO great!
    Jean
    Diving Into 2nd Grade

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