Cool Way to Scrapbook: [SmashBook]

The other day, I blogged here about my trip to Marshall's.  In addition to finding awesome Washi Tape Page Markers, I also found this SmashBook!!

This scrapbook comes all set to go in a binder, with the pages inside, preprinted backgrounds with pocket folders, too!

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty busy lately, and just don't have time to get to the craft store, purchase all the fun papers and books to put everything together.  This comes complete in a package where you just get your stuff, design and glue!!! (The glue and pen even comes WITH the book!)

Run to the craft store and go grab your SMASHBOOK!

High Five for Friday: 9 Days!

Another week down! Summer break is almost here! Bring it on!!

A few highlights from my week:

1. Family Fun Day on Saturday. My sister hosted my mom's entire side of the family at her house on Saturday. My mom is one of five children and there are fourteen grandchildren (cousins) on that side. My gosh, it was so much fun! We decided that would be our first annual kick-off to summer party. We're making it a tradition! 

2. Yummy dinners made by my husband. Our weeks have been so hectic and we've been grabbing dinner out on some nights or making very quick, low-key, easy stuff. This week we tried to get back to making some normal meals. My husband made a fantastic spaghetti sauce-- mmm! So good!

3. Watching the Stanley Cup Finals. Poor Rangers! They fought really hard and played really well these past few games. Double over time? I mean, really?! We enjoyed watching these past few weeks, even though it was heart-wrenching.

4. Surviving bad hair days. This had to make the list. This past week has been killer in terms of rainy, muggy, humid weather and this always equals bad hair for me. I'd leave my house looking one way and show up to work looking like I'd been electrocuted. Gross!! Ready for nice weather!

5. Single digit countdown! Well, we're finally in single digit territory. 9 days! 9 days! 9 days! I have it plastered everywhere in my classroom.

We're linking up with Lauren Elizabeth and the ladies that host 5 on Friday! Click on over for more awesome stuff! 

High Five for Friday: 9 Days Left until SUMMER!

Today was one of those days...where I was thankful the weekend was upon us. I don't know what it is, but the home stretch to summer vacation is always the hardest to get through.  I feel like I'm wishing my life away when I always look toward the next long break, but I just can't help it!  We have 9...NINE!...days to go, and all of us, including the kids, can taste summer.  The weather is warm and humid, and summer is calling our name.  It's time for a break!  Nonetheless, this week was another great one, and I am happy to give you my run-down from the week!

1. Tom and Katrina got married!

There's nothing like a great wedding for good friends.  The particular place where the reception was held was one that I've been to many times.  The place doesn't disappoint and the company was even better.  We had a ball!  Congrats to the Newlyweds!

2. Having a Good Class

We have been working SO hard in school, and the kids have really proven over the past couple of weeks that they are ready to move up to fourth grade.  We've been having intense debates on topics that you wouldn't expect eight and nine year olds to have.  Imagine those kids discussing unequal pay between men and women.  It was pretty intense!

3. Getting my hair done!

Tonight I saw Desiree for my five-week hair touch up, and I added highlights!  I haven't had highlights in FOREVER and I absolutely love them!

4. Cracking up at Dawn's Post about LoveTeach

Oh. My. God.  This blogger is my favorite, too.  Every once and a while, I check in to see what this girl is up to, and man, her posts have cracked me up.  This week, I was hysterical laughing, on my couch, by myself, laughing at LoveTeach's latest posts.  Please.  Go read it now. :)

5.  I made it through my first week on the Whole30.

On Thursday, I cheated and hopped on the scale.  I shouldn't have.  It's a major rule in the program to wait it out until day 30.  I couldn't wait...I got on...and I am three pounds lighter so far.  I will admit.  I MISS SUGAR.  I apologize to anyone if I was grouchy this week...I did get a lot of my opinions and feelings out there...which I think was positive!!

Have a wonderful, restful weekend! 

[Washi Tape Obsession]: Page Markers!!

Oh. My. Goodness.  Washi Tape Page Markers.  I'm in LOVE!! Today I was strolling through Marshall's (it's right across the street from my school...so dangerous!) and I came across these Washi Tape Rolls that had page markers on them!!! I think this idea is absolutely incredible.  

I went to town on my latest issue of Real Simple, and marked up things I loved.  

How incredible is this tape for newly engaged brides as they scour their stack of bridal magazines?

What about if you're planning to remodel a room in your house and you're looking for ideas?

Maybe you want to leave hints to your hubby to start shopping for your birthday or Christmas?

Whatever the case, these Washi Tape Rolls were a complete find...and I think you need to hit up your closest craft store and get yourself some!!!

Common Core Lesson Tracker

I had a ball discovering so many great blogs on Scholastic's Top Teaching site. Scholastic has 10 fabulous teacher bloggers that share really amazing ideas that are taking place in each of their classrooms. In the past, I kept up with a few favorites regularly, but this year, I was so wrapped up in learning the new curriculum modules from New York State, that I barely had time to look into anything else.

After finding a super cute Summer Bucket List activity through 3rd grade teacher, Genia Connell's blog, I decided to poke around some more. I was happily surprised to come across these Common Core Math & ELA Lesson Plan organizers. I know what you're thinking... we don't need another organizer to help us plow through the Common Core standards! I know- there are so many resources to help us break down each standard and align our curriculum and lessons to them, but this one incorporates a great checklist AND they're editable! Adjust them to meet your likes and needs! Click here for grades K-5!
Click here for grades 6-8!

I really, really love that these checklists come with columns to show when these standards were introduced, practiced, practiced some more, and then assessed. 

Genia explained that these tracking sheets helped her in various ways:

• Since I began using these tracking sheets, I feel like I am getting a much better handle on what the standards are and how they all fit together with my curriculum.
• I’m paying closer attention to make sure adequate practice time is being provided. If an assessment shows there are students who are still not proficient, then I know I need to provide additional support for that standard.
• My teaching has become more focused and efficient. I look over the organizer while planning lessons and look for ways to add in ideas from several different strands and learning modalities to my weekly lessons.
• These sheets can be a tool to include with any artifacts you may need to provide for your teacher evaluation. They are an easy way to demonstrate you have a purposeful and thoughtful process in place to help your students meet all the required standards.

I hope these are helpful to you in some way! :-)

In the Classroom: Summer Bucket Lists!

I've been a follower of the Scholastic Teacher Blogs for a while now. I loved following Beth Newingham and Angela Bunyi a few years ago. Amanda and I found Beth Newingham's website before she started blogging for Scholastic. I embedded the link to her classroom website because the resources she provides are just amazing. We were in awe of her then and I still am! How does she do it all?! Both Beth and Angela are rockstar teachers. Make sure you click over to their blogs/websites for some incredible inspiration.

I was perusing the internet today for new ideas for summer reading and writing activities. I have some great stuff to share with you, but wanted to share this adorable activity first: Summer Bucket Lists.

I found this through the Scholastic Teacher Blogs, specifically from Genia Connell, who teaches 3rd grade. It seems as if many of the teacher bloggers have wrapped up their year on the Scholastic blogs, but be sure to click over there. You'll find great ideas that you can tuck away for next year!

Even though I teach 6th grade, I fell in love with the cute assignment and will find a way to incorporate this into my Summer Reading & Writing Unit next week. I love how adorable the decorated buckets are! So cute!! Genia offers printables for a bucket template and the Summer Bucket List. Click here for both! 

Genia had her students add personal and academic goals that they would complete before the end of the summer. Some of their academic goals were: 

• Read the classic book, Charlotte’s Web
• Read a chapter book without pictures
• Learn all my nines in multiplication
• Read for an hour straight because I have never done that before

And some of their personal goals (so cute!) were:

• Make a lemonade stand
• Learn how to ride a skateboard
• Eat a cannoli and a lobster tail
• Sleep outside in a tent
• Donate my hair
• Ride a non-kiddie roller coaster at Cedar Point
• Save my money to buy an iPad

I'm so excited to incorporate this into my plans next week. We could use a break from writing paragraphs and essays! Let me know if you've tried this in your classroom before or if you plan on trying it this year! 

[The Fatherhood Project]: A Letter To My Kids *SoulPancake*

I love this song!!

SoulPancake never disappoints, and as we approach Father's Day this weekend, I couldn't help but share another video with you.  This time, filmmaker Corbyn Tyson writes a letter to his three children, telling them what he hopes for them in life.  He tells them how to be happy, what to live for in life, and how to fall in love.  Corbyn tells his kids how they changed his life, and how he lives for them.  I will tell you, it's worth the watch.  I think you'll love it.

I think all dads should write their kids letters.  Sometimes it's hard to know what to say, and how to say it, but I will tell you that some of the best letters I have are from my dad.  His wisdom is like no one else.  I won't ever forget one of my best friends telling me as we were growing up, to ask my dad for answers, because "he knows everything."  He's lived it, experienced it, and loved it.  My dad is pretty incredible, and I promise you, that if you're a dad, I'm pretty sure your kids think the same thing about YOU!

MUST HAVE APP for TEACHERS: Confer!!

A few years ago, my colleagues and I applied for a grant to use iPads in our classroom to collect student data. We specifically wanted to use the Confer app to record data from our reading and writing conferences. This was normally done through paper and pencil and each year I struggled with finding a system that worked for me. I went from using notebooks, to binders with sections for each student, to random sticky notes plastered on notebook pages. Nothing ever seemed to work... until Confer!

Confer is an awesome app to use in any classroom- and I mean that - any classroom! I could easily see my math colleagues using this app to record teaching points, strengths and weaknesses, during math conferences/guided practice.

The Confer app is all about customization- it's all about you! You can create as many classes as you need. This allows for better organization and easier usability. I teach two classes of 25 students each and I love that my students are separated on my Confer app, too. Everything is very user friendly. You can directly import a class list/roster into Confer or simply type in each name as you go. You are also able to type in their reading levels/scores and there's a function to sort kids into groups that way.

I often work with Special Education teachers - You can share the data! You're able to share through email, Dropbox, a spreadsheet, or syncing through a cloud. Obviously, this data is even more powerful when you can share it with colleagues-- the case manager, ESL teacher, or intervention team. If another teacher has Confer, you can send them the data and it will automatically import everything onto their system. Amazing!!

Quick and easy data! Teacher lifesaver! Confer allows you to quickly create and save notes during conferences. This used to take me forever by hand. With Confer, you can write a general  note or add a note to any/all of the four fields: tags, strength, teaching point, and next step. When you add notes- it will save the text so that you can quickly add the same note to any student without retyping the entire thing! Unbelievable, right? When you're working with a small group, Confer has a feature that allows you to add the same note to multiple student profiles at once. Life. Saver!

Sorting students. You can sort students and data in multiple ways!

*By date- Confer will provide you with a list of students starting with who you haven't seen in a long time. Prior to the Confer app, this was my biggest frustration! 

*By level- This is obviously helpful for guided reading/math groups. 

*By specific need- Confer will sort through your tags, teaching points, or strengths and group kids based on a similar  need. 

Confer has definitely helped take my formative assessments to the next level. I can quickly and easily collect data, have that data at my fingertips, and then sort through the data to create effective and personalized teaching points/lessons. The developer, David Lowe, is always updating the app and was a great resource when we contacted him through email. We also took a webinar with him! 

Here's a fantastic video made by David Lowe as he introduces the Confer app:

Using Confer has made me feel like I actually have a teaching super power! It's an incredible resource and will change your life completely. I promise! Let me know if you have any questions about the Confer app! I really enjoy using it and I'm confident that you will too! 

Zen Shorts: A Heavy Load

Have you ever read the children's book titled, Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth?  If not, I highly recommend it for your child's bookshelf!  The book has many different short tales from China.  The panda bear, Stillwater, tells the tales to the children in the story as it applies to their life.  

One of the stories, A Heavy Load, is one of my favorites.  I hope you enjoy it!

Two traveling monks reached a town where there was a young woman waiting to step out of her sedan chair. The rains had made deep puddles and she couldn’t step across without spoiling her silken robes. She stood there, looking very cross and impatient. She was scolding her attendants. They had nowhere to place the packages they held for her, so they couldn’t help her across the puddle.

The younger monk noticed the woman, said nothing, and walked by. The older monk quickly picked her up and put her on his back, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other side. She didn’t thank the older monk, she just shoved him out of the way and departed.

As they continued on their way, the young monk was brooding and preoccupied. After several hours, unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. “That woman back there was very selfish and rude, but you picked her up on your back and carried her! Then she didn’t even thank you!”

“I set the woman down hours ago,” the older monk replied. “Why are you still carrying her?”

You are... [Feel-Good Revolution!] MUST SEE!!!

For the past few months, I've stalked followed Shop Compliment on Instagram. I stumbled upon one of their images, quickly pressed the "follow" button, and soon became addicted to clicking through each and every photo. Shop Compliment is a jewelry line of rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings and every item has a personal message attached to the box; a personal stamped message, with some examples being: "You are my soul mate friend," "You are appreciated," or "You inspire me to be brave." Once you select and purchase your jewelry item, you can decide on what you want your personalized compliment to be! Not only was I blown away at how unique this was, but I was reminded of how Amanda and I discussed these powerful statements a few months ago when discussing a possible Etsy shop endeavor. One statement can say so much and truly have an impact on that person's day.

Shop Compliment's messages align with what Amanda and I want to embrace (and try to embrace here at 730 Moments to Share blog)... spreading uplifting messages, building each other up, helping people refill their buckets.

I fell deeply in love with Shop Compliment when I learned that the founder, Melissa, was a teacher. She recently took a leave from her job to pursue Shop Compliment further. She often mentions teachers and teaching on her Instagram and I LOVE how she worded the importance of keeping your spirit happy and finding other ways to fill your bucket:

But like any educator knows, the time and energy teachers put in to their work is enormous and exhausting, and it's super important to find ways of keeping your spirit happy, or as I like to call it, "your love bucket filled." When we were little, my mom taught my siblings and me that every one of us has a little bucket in our soul that needs pretty active attention.  When we are feeling down, our buckets are empty and it's impossible to be loving to others with empty buckets.  And so we must find things to keep our love buckets full for ourselves.  For me, it's creating--be it writing, dancing, singing, cooking, painting, or making jewelry.  But I'm also able to refill my bucket by filling someone else's.  When we notice the people around us could use a boost, it's our job to do something kind to refill their bucket.  Something to uplift. Something to build them up. One easy way is to give them a sincere compliment.  

She posted the photo below the other day on Instagram, with this caption:  This pink gratitude necklace is headed out of here today for a teacher appreciation gift. And it's got me reflecting on my time as a classroom teacher. Teaching. It's the hardest/most rewarding job in the world and it fills my heart to see parents thanking the teachers in their students' lives who are making a difference. // this compliment also makes me reflect on just how blessed I've been in the last year. I owe much of that blessing to the love and support of family, friends, customers, strangers, this IG community and beyond. Thank you for loving me and helping me grow! 

Shop Compliment welcomes their customers to the "feel-good revolution" when they enter their website. Melissa often uses the hashtag #feelgood on Instagram photos, too. She commented the other day about "what a blessing it is to work in an environment where so many loving words, kind thoughts, and encouraging sentiments are shared." Imagine living and breathing that daily? How amazing!

Shop Compliment's Instagram is filled with positive messages daily. They're the best reminders! 

I hope you follow Shop Compliment on Instagram. Please consider checking out their website, too! What a great idea for bride's and gifts for your maids! 

Whole30!

You've been with me when I did the Slow Carb/4 Hour Body diet...but I'm trying something new!  It's called the Whole 30!   It's a complete overhaul of your eating habits, and a form of the Paleo diet.  You cut out anything in your diet that isn't real, clean food.  If you go to buy something at the supermarket and you can't read the ingredients, you don't eat it.  You don't eat dairy or sugars, and processed foods are  a no-no. 

Yes...you may think I'm nuts, but I'm ready to kick my body into gear!  We leave for Portugal and Spain in exactly 40 days, and I'm ready to get my body into top shape before we go!  

This diet is very similar to the 4 Hour Body diet, only you stick to three meals a day, with no snacking in between.  You focus on healthy, organic/grass fed/natural proteins and vegetables.  You eat minimal fruit, and your body becomes happy and alive again.  

I'll be honest...there are some things that I truly love, including coffee, but I think it will all be worth it.  Also...there's no drinking for the next 30 days, so I'll be celebrating the end of the school year with other forms of celebration that don't include alcohol.  A new body is worth the sacrifice!

Here's what I made tonight to get ready for the week:

Breakfast:Fajita Omelette

Lunch: Green Fajita Chicken

Dinner: Easy Pan Fried Lemon Chicken

Since I live alone, I don't mind the ease of eating the same thing every day for an entire week.  It's just easier, and more convenient.  I find that cooking ahead of time avoids unnecessary snacking.  

Let me know if you're doing the Whole30 diet, and if you have any suggestions, please share!

End of The School Year Fun!!

We're winding down the school year with just 11 school days left (but who's counting??)!  I was thinking that since our entire last week of school will have full days, the kids are going to need something to look forward to!  I'm going to choose 10 activities, one for each of the last 10 days of school.  Each day, the students will choose an envelope with that day's number on it to reveal what the day's activity is.  My friend Allyson did this with her students last year in Florida, and she said the kids had a ball!

Here are some of my ideas!

Sit anywhere you like!

Write with a pen!

Picnic lunch!

Math Game Day!

Work with a partner all day!

Reading Period Outside!

Write in cursive all day!

Write a letter to your favorite teacher!

Hang Man Competition!

Mad Libs Day!

Some teachers put their ideas in balloons, but I think I'm going to do the envelopes with numbers on them!  

No Red Ink! - A Favorite Technology Resource in the Classroom

I'm extremely fortunate to work in a school with incredible technology resources. My classroom has a permanent laptop cart filled with Dell Mini laptops for each student. As you can imagine, we use these all the time, especially for research and writing projects. I'm always looking for new resources to use on the computer with my students...anything to make class more fun, engaging, and interactive. Last year, I stumbled upon NoRedInk (No Red Ink) and it's my go-to website for helping students improve their spelling and grammar.

NoRedInk is FREE! It was created by a high school English teacher to help students improve their grammar/writing skills. The program is completely web-based and students can only sign up/log on with a class code from the teacher. The teacher has the ability to assign specific skills (practice exercises) to some/all students and assign quizzes. From there, the system displays color-coded heat maps to help teachers track progress.

I love how it teaches and explains while practicing. 

An example of the personalized questions... Justin Bieber!

Snapshot of the color-coded heat maps for teacher data. 

Once students sign up, they're asked questions about their favorite celebrities, personal interests, and Facebook friends, etc. NoRedInk uses these responses to personalize questions, in hopes to make the practice and exercise fun. The system also adapts to each learner's strengths/weaknesses as they move through the exercise. It's a fun, personalized way to get better-- without all the red ink! ;-)

Take a look at the short video below, the founder of NoRedInk explains the program:

I really love this program and my students really enjoy it, too! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below! I'd love to help you get set up! :-)

iPads in the Classroom!

I follow Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits blog on Bloglovin', and although I'm not a primary grade teacher, I'm intrigued by many of her posts and find that I can modify them for the upper grades. She's a rock star teacher and I wish that she taught in my district so that I could peek into her classroom and learn from her! Yesterday, she blogged about using iPad's effectively in the classroom. These tips would be great for ANY classroom that has access to iPads and that's why I'm sharing her tips here! 

1. Begin with iPad basics: Set clear expectations (6 rules to follow) and earn your iPad Citizenship! How adorable is the license below?! :-) Again, I can see these lessons being important in any classroom, for any age. Yes, some kids know how to operate an iPhone or iPad at the age of 2, but there are definitely routines that you want your students to follow to ensure success. 

2. Using Movie Maker to take ownership and highlight student learning. I love how quick and easy these videos are on the iPad! No fiddling with cameras and plugging wires back into the computer. Use the iPad! I love the director's sheet for planning and the project requirements checklist! 

Click on over to Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits blog and check out her full post on Effectively Teaching withiPads.  She shares a great video detailing the use of iPads in the classroom and she also has a link to her Teachers Pay Teachers page so that you can buy her bundle of lessons. 

I don't have iPads in my classroom for every student (one day, hopefully!), but I did apply for a grant a few years ago with my humanities colleagues to pilot one for teacher data. We use the Confer App to track data in reading and writing conferences. The app allows you to input student reading levels and group students based on levels or other teaching points. I really love Confer and I'll blog more about it this week. If you haven't checked it out yet, click here to learn more. 

Tonight we're linking up with the Show Licious Craft & Recipe party! Click on over for more awesome stuff!