Luckeyfrog's Lilypad

Mother’s Day Gifts- Last Minute and EASY!

2013-05-09T01:03:00.001-04:00

Whew- exhausted! I’ve been sick since last week. I’m on antibiotics, but this sinus infection is just not done with me yet. I’m getting better, though!

Are you like me, and just now working on a last minute Mother’s Day gift with your class?

These flower pens are easy to make in a day, especially if you work with a small group at a time, and they’re pretty cheap.

What else have we been up to?

Well, long-term followers might remember that my class ran a lemonade stand for charity in May last year. You can read all about it here.

We’re preparing to run the second annual lemonade stand this Friday!

Today we analyzed some advertisements with a simple freebie from last year. (You can pick it up here- it’s great for author’s purpose in depth in the upper grades, and really engaging in those last couple weeks of school!)

Oh, and this week we’ve also had state testing, chicks hatching in our room, an author visit, and lots of time finishing up our books for Young Author’s week.

We’ve been so busy that one of my kids told me today, “Are we going to have our reading rounds in the afternoon? I actually kind of miss reading.” For some kids, that would be normal… but for this guy, it made my heart sing to think that he is finally loving reading!

Weeks like this are why I love teaching- SO much fantastic learning (state testing aside)- but they wear. me. out! I’ll be ready for the weekend for sure :)

Week of Doom Approaching, in 3, 2, 1…

2013-05-04T22:30:00.001-04:00

Some weeks you try out a new pin, and it works.

This was my Pin of the Week. I started with a sore throat Sunday night, and got gradually worse until scrambling for sub plans on Thursday to get myself to Urgent Care.

See, I didn’t get anything ready because we just have too much going on for me to be absent. But, well, my body didn’t really listen to that, but let the sinus infection take charge.

Once I was medicated, I came back to school but didn’t eat a big enough breakfast, so my medicine did not agree with my stomach. Friday morning I had a lovely Teacher First and, well, got sick right in front of my class.

Yeah, nothing helps kids focus on their work like their teacher over a trash can in the back of the room.

I went home at lunch.

(Please tell me I’m not the only one who has traumatized her class in this way? They were so concerned. Of course, they were so concerned right in the moment when I needed them to be independent for just a minute please, but it was still sweet.)

ANYWAY.

Everyone else seems to be excited that we are almost to the end of the year. For me, there are FOURTEEN days left. And while I’m ready for a break, holy cow. There is WAY too much to get done in fourteen days. Plus, I might be moving away from my school this summer and I’m not ready to be done teaching here. I’m a nerd, but… I love my job, and I love knowing I’ve done it well, and I need more time for that!

Surely I’m not the only one who feels this way?

Next week we will be doing our state testing (which should have been done last week, but the testing company our state paid $95 million to had major computer issues). As a member of the social committee, I’m also helping with our retirement celebration on Wednesday. On top of that, it’s our Young Author’s Week- we will have a visit from an author (Keiko Kasza) and share our (unfinished) books with a first grade class. The rest of the week will be spent finishing our books, creating our Mother’s Day gift, and getting ready for the lemonade stand my class is running on Friday during a schoolwide running event, after seeing an orchestra performance in the morning and enjoying the pizza party they earned on the same day.

So yeah, sinus infection, there is NO TIME for you.

Oh, and my husband graduates college that same night and his family is coming to visit for the weekend.

(Hence all the question marks about my summer/ future. Husband is still looking for a job, so… life is sort of up in the air until that one falls into place. Crossing my fingers that I don’t have to work this summer- I’ve never done gone a summer without working!)

I have been a terrible blogger, but I plan on posting tomorrow to recap some ideas from this time last year (because most of you weren’t following me then, which is actually pretty awesome).

I super hope that your life is a bit less crazy right now. To be fair, other than the sick, most things in my life are going really well and are super exciting- it’s just a lot at once! :) Make sure you link up with your Currently with Farley!

Classroom Pencil Sharpener Success!

2013-04-29T16:24:00.000-04:00

By this point in the year, my students’ pencil supplies are running low and my pencil sharpener is starting to become sort of dull. (Anyone else?)

I took a chance on the Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener that you’ve seen all over blogland, and I’ve been suitably impressed as we’ve tried it out the last couple of weeks.

I have to say… I never watched the video on how to use it, but even so, it only took me a few minutes to figure out.

First, secure it to the table. (If you have a table without a rounded edge, this would probably be better. Mine slips from time to time, but it’s no big deal.)

Next, pinch.

Then, pull.

After that, keep pinching while you put a pencil in.

Stop pinching, let go of the pencil, and sharpen. I have my kids put their hand over the top of the sharpener to help keep it steady.

This is the step that I think makes this thing work so well. You know how some kids only hold the pencil kind of in the sharpener, and then it takes forever and never really sharpens all the way? Well, this sharpener holds the pencil in for them- and gradually pulls it in until it’s sharp enough!

Plus, it’s held in evenly, so you don’t end up with the wood in the way of your writing, or the wood shaved so high on one side that the lead instantly breaks when you try to write with it.

If you remember, my kids sharpen 2 pencils at the beginning of the day as part of their morning procedures.

(CHAMPS morning procedures chart here, if you haven’t picked up this freebie!) If they need a pencil after that, they have to just take it out of the Sharp bucket.

Since getting this pencil sharpener, my kids have actually unplugged the old one, and I haven’t had kids needing to trade pencils hardly ever during the day. My student Pencil Sharpener in charge of emptying the clear bin each day (or whenever he notices it needs it), and it’s a simple, easy drawer system.

I never thought 3rd graders would be so excited about a pencil sharpener, but they figured out how to use it quickly and love it.

Teacher appreciation week is coming up… perfect time to give yourself (or an awesome coworker) a little gift that will help with the pencil chaos of the last few weeks of school! Even better? These are sold by a teacher, and they cost considerably less than most electric pencil sharpeners.

You can check out this pencil sharpener at Classroom Friendly Supplies. I highly recommend it!

The Sunday Five

2013-04-28T13:06:00.001-04:00

Hello friends! It’s been kind of forever since I wrote a real blog post. I am blown away that we are almost at MAY (are you kidding me?!) and our schedule has been so jam-packed lately.

We’ve been doing lots of review to prepare for our last round of state tests next week, and I am trying out a sort of math centers approach that I may use more often next year.

I got to review a couple of new Scholastic products this week, and I’m excited to tell you more about them soon. Have you heard of Knowledge Quest yet?

My kids got to go to a special nanotechnology field trip at our local university. How many kids learn about the Higgs-Boson particle or get to try on a clean room suit in the 3rd grade? (Also- SO cute!)

One of my tutoring students and I created a “Happy Journal” for him. It was one of those spontaneous ideas that worked out much better than expected! I’ll be posting about it later this week.

Okay, this was technically last week, but I’m counting it. My husband had his last improv comedy show with his current group, since he’ll be graduating in 2 weeks! This is him playing “Helping Hands”… he smelled like peanut butter for the rest of the night. (TOTALLY not complaining.)

That does mean it’s getting to the awkward time where everyone’s asking about next year, and if I’m going to be at my school, and honestly… I don’t know! The husband is in the oh-so-fun world of the job hunt, so our future is a little up in the air right now.

It will all work out, though. :) Hopefully soon!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! Link up at Doodle Bugs Teaching!

A Way to Help Others!

2013-04-18T10:28:00.002-04:00

Whew! I am down to 25 days left til summer- and instead of getting me excited, I feel a little panicky. We've got SO much to do, and I know it'll feel like such a whirlwind!

I know I haven't posted anything about my classroom in forever, but I wanted to share about something amazing happening. In light of recent events in the news, it makes me feel great to see good happening, and to be able to help it spread.

A girl I knew in high school has been in the adoption process for some time now, and she and her husband just found out they have been matched with two siblings from Ethiopia. Their referral came MUCH much sooner than they expected, which is a huge blessing- but they need to raise $17,000 to bring the two children home with them.

They are thrilled and excited, but the task at hand is daunting. If there is any way you can help them bring these two orphans home, please visit their blog here and read about their story: http://thegrubersblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/referral.html

They have been so blessed in this journey so far, and are even running a donation giveaway for a Keurig right now. (If you donate, you will be entered in the giveaway!) As teachers, we sometimes see kids who don't have a loving, supportive, safe home- and we know just how important it is.

Seeing recent posts by Amy Lemons about her newly adopted daughter makes me all the more excited for them!

Even if donating isn't in the cards for you right now, I hope you'll keep them in your prayers and pass their information along to anyone you know who might feel called to help. Thank you SO much! :)