Happy Monday...Random Post

Happy Monday, y'all!  It was a crazy, busy weekend so I didn't get to link up with Doodle Bugs like I wanted to...so here's my random Monday post.

On Friday, my kiddos presented their Skeletal System Projects.  You can check out my project menu for free here if you'd like to snag it!   Anyways, I took pictures of the kids performing in their skits (complete with mustaches and lab coats, LOVED it) and singing their songs but in each pic I took, I happened to get one of my few kiddos who isn't allowed to have pics posted online.  So instead I just have a picture of one of the posters that the kids made, lol.  They all got super creative and were really thorough!

We are in full test prep mode now (we test in a little over two weeks).  In order to review, I created two weeks worth of homework pages with word problems that spiral back to review our Math Common Core Standards.  If you want to check it out, click on the pic below.  Oh, and if you comment below before this time tomorrow, I'll do a random number generator and pick one commenter to give a copy of this packet to.  Please be sure to leave your email in your comment!

So as you all know, last week was Teacher Appreciation Week (I hope you were all were spoiled!).  I was certainly made to feel appreciated and I received many thoughtful gifts and cards from my students and their families.  But hands down, this was the best gift to me.  One of my sweet boys wrote this note.  Check out the last line...MELT.MY.HEART!

Now, I want to share a few non teaching related things.  =O)  Our church has a wonderful Ladies Ministry called Immeasurably More (based on Ephesians 3:20-21).  I was a table hostess and truly enjoyed serving the ladies at my table.  It was a great night of food and fellowship.  Here's a pic of the table I decorated: 

Finally, I had a terrific Mother's Day with my sweet family and enjoyed a yummy dinner (cooked by my hubby) with my parents and in-laws.  My awesome mom surprised me with this wreath that she made for my door.  Isn't she talented???

Well, I'm off to bed...we had Field Day today and I played Capture the Flag and Secret Agent Dodgeball with my kiddos so I am WORN OUT!  I probably won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow, ha, ha!  Have a blessed night!

Five for Friday and Currently!

Hi everyone, I've been wanting to link up with Doodle Bugs for the past few weeks and just couldn't seem to get it together (story of my life lately!)  So I finally have found the time to link up!  Yay!

1.  I can't believe it's time for Farley's Currently linky again!  I feel like I just linked up for April's Currently (and I haven't posted since then...so sad).  If you've never linked up, you have to check it out. 

2.  So, we've recently worked on 3.NF.2  and have been learning how to plot and identify fractions on a number line. We started by watching this video from Learn Zillion (my go to website...LOVE it): Learn Zillion. We did several days of drawing fraction models above our number line as the video shows. So then we wrote our names and related our names to a number line. The whole name represented the whole and each letter represented part of the whole. The kids seemed to really enjoy this simple activity and it helped solidify their understanding of the number line!

3.  In Science, we've been learning about the Skeletal System and my kiddos have been super excited about this unit!  I gave them this project menu (that you can get from my TPT store for free by clicking on the picture).  This has been highly motivating because first of all they get to choose which projects to complete and also because some of the activities are just plain fun!  The projects aren't due for another week so I hope to get some pics up then!

4.  Not too long ago, my team gave the third graders a practice EOG test (or READY now) because our kiddos have never taken such a lengthy paper/pencil test.  (They test each quarter on the computer through ClassScape assessments but their end of year test is paper/pencil and they have to bubble it all....)   Anywho, one standard that my students are still need practice with is RL.3.9 so I whipped up this little graphic organizer to help them compare and contrast two stories.  You can grab it for free at my TPT store (just click on the pic!)

5.  Finally, I just have to praise the Lord for how he's working in my son's life!  Last night he was acting up alot (nothing major, just typical little boy stuff) and I was talking to my hubby later about whether he seems to really understand repentance or not because usually we have to tell him to ask for forgiveness in his prayers.  Well, we pray every morning together at his school and this morning his prayer was simple but perfect.  He said, "Dear God, please forgive me of my sins.  Thank you for giving me a fresh start today!"  Remember y'all that you are forgiven!  Enjoy your weekend friends!

Currently April

Hi there!  I hope that you all had a blessed Easter and took the time to celebrate our risen Savior!  My youngest son had an upset tummy so we didn't do as much celebrating as we'd like.  Luckily, my hubby did snap a few pictures of my two sweeties (before the little guy got sick).  Aren't they the cutest? (I'm not partial or anything, of course!)

So now I'm linking up with the fun and fabulous Farley!  I love her Currently linky!  It's such a terrific way to find new blogs. 



 

 

Have a super day!

Five for Friday!

So I've been away for awhile and there's no better way to make a comeback than to link up with the fabulous Doodle Bugs!

 

So here are my five for the week...and let's just say I'm shouting a big TGIF!!!  (Will Spring Break ever here???)

 



1.  First up is a pic of my sweet boys enjoying the swings at the park!  They are a big part of why I haven't blogged in over two months. My oldest son was hospitalized with a blood disease called ITP back in January and we had a month packed with doctor's appointments, blood checks, etc.  Then it was his birthday and we had a big Star Wars party for him and it took me the rest of February to recover, lol!  I think I might be back on track now that it's mid March!

2.  Next up are some pics of Social Studies posters that my kiddos made.  Anyone else out there struggle with Social Studies???  It is certainly not my strength as a teacher (perhaps because it's not an interest to me...but I am really trying to get better)!  Anyways, one of our Essential Standards is for students to understand how people, ideas, and events cause change.  So I put my kiddos into groups, assigned them some text to read and discuss, gave them some bulletin board paper, and they went to work.  These are just small parts of the posters but they were terrific and they did awesome oral presentations to go along with them.  I had to include the bottom poster...notice the Essential Questions that they created at the top (don't notice the grammatical errors though, ha!)  Gotta love those kiddos...they know all about the EQs! 

3.  Usually I give the kiddos a worksheet to color and construct to help them understand that the earth revolves around the sun and the moon around the earth.  This year I decided to let them draw and color their own....they look way better/more unique....enough said!

4.  Elapsed time (especially with a number line) just might be the death of me...but this video from Learn Zillion definitely helped it click for some of my kiddos:  http://learnzillion.com/lessons/577-solving-elapsed-time-word-problems-to-the-nearest-five-minutes  Got any other tips???  I'd love if you comment and share them below.

5.  Lastly is a non-teaching random but I just discovered this show and just may have watched all there is so far of season 2 within the last week.  I am not a big TV person at all but I am addicted....and now I'm going crazy because there are no new episodes yet!

 

Well thanks for sticking with me friends and a special thanks to all of my new followers.  I realized I've surpassed 400 followers since I last checked.  I hope to have a fun freebie for you all soon.



Division Word Problems FREEBIE

Stop the pressess...I'm posting twice in one day!  I know that's a big blogging no-no....but I hope that since I've been so slack on blogging lately and since I'm posting a freebie, you'll forgive me! =O)

I try really hard to engage my students in math with games, hands-on activities, and other fun methods but let's just face it...sometimes, I want to see on paper and pencil how they use their strategies to solve problems.  Tomorrow we're diving right back into our unit on division and I whipped up a few pages of division word problems.  I wanted to share them with you all because I'm sure some of my fellow thirdsters (and other friends too) could use it.  Click on the pic to go to get the file!

Happy New Year...January Currently

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that you all had a fun night last night.  My husband and I spent most of the night being entertained by our kids (especially our youngest who was bouncing off the walls until about 10:30 last night and he normally goes to bed at 7 every night!)  It was really the perfect start to the new year because other than God, my hubby and my boys are the most important things in my world!  I hope that your New Year's Eve was spent with those you love most.


I've been horrible at blogging lately so I'm hoping that linking up with the super fab Farley for her January Currently will help me get back in the posting swing of things.   Here goes:

I hope that you all have a blessed new year and a great first day back (whenever it may be for you!)

We Can Make It...Flash Sale

So if you're like me, you are purely in survival mode right now.  There's lots of baking, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, and cooking left to do.  Oh yeah, and I have to keep my sweet third graders engaged in learning.  So since I'm sure you're having the same issues, I thought I'd throw a flash sale!  All products in my store are 20% off through Wednesday.  Maybe you can grab something to help your next few school days go more smoothly.

Included in the sale are my newest packs, my Skating Scoot and Slapjack Multiplication Pack and my Multiplication and Division Activity Pack.  You can click on the pics to go right to my TPT store.

Have an amazing next few days with your kiddos! =O)