Viva Las Vegas! TPT Conference Linky Party!

Hi everyone! I'm STILL on a Vegas high! I am so thankful that I had the time to make the trip again this year. It was BIGGER and BETTER than last year (I wasn't sure that was possible) and I'm linking up with Elementary Entourage to share some of my highlights of the trip. 

Get ready for picture overload! I just had to share the many pictures I took with various bloggers because although I took many notes during my sessions on Thursday and Friday, the networking with other teachers was what really made the trip for me. If you are an introvert like me and large groups of people make you nervous, going out of your comfort zone is not the easiest thing to do. I can be loud and talkative but that doesn't mean I'm an extrovert…I know there are some of you nodding your heads right now. I love my job but recharging by myself everyday is essential. Vegas was a little intimidating last year and I was more nervous this year because there were even more teachers attending. However, there is something to be said for meeting those bloggers you talk to virtually in person! I am so proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone and would do it all over again. The connections made and discussions that took place to face to face are invaluable. If I thought everyone was great from meeting in the virtual world, they were even more awesome in person. I met so many celebriTeachers (thanks for the term, Matt!) and all of them were so down to earth! Teachers just like you and me! 

The first picture on the left is my roomie of two years running, Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching. I LOVE this gal so much and we just have a blast together. Joanne was wonderful too because she let me recharge my introverted self at night. I was exhausted each night and just fell asleep literally in seconds of hitting the bed. The time change didn't help matters either! No, we didn't plan the chevron but isn't that great? The picture on the right is Joanne and I with Matt from Digital: Divide and Conquer! He was at the top of my list of bloggers to meet in person and it was so funny because Joanne and I were walking past this cafe and we heard our names being called. We looked over and the only guy that we could possibly think that might know us was Matt. I wouldn't have recognized him just walking past but we both said, "Are you Matt?" When he replied, "Yes" we might have squealed just a little. Matt is simply amazing and I just love his innovative ideas and quirky sense of humor.

Here is Joanne and I with Matt's sweet wife, Jodie!

Here is the sweet, talented Catherine from The Brown Bag Teacher that I was able to talk with again this year (on left) and I met Jennifer Findley from Teaching to Inspire in 5th for the first time! Jennifer was so great to talk to and one of the most humble and truly kind souls that you don't get to meet in person that often. I just loved her!

Here is Kristen from Ladybug's Teacher Files! I didn't recognize her at all (she's kind of incognito when it comes to pictures) but I about fainted when I introduced myself and found out who she was! I have followed her tutorials and organization work for years. She was so sweet in person!

Here is my group of BBB's with Megan Favre from I Teach. What's Your Superpower! This blog was designed by Megan and I absolutely love her work! Oh my goodness, is that girl talented or what? Of course I LOVE my BBB's (see more about this wonderful group in the last picture XXOO). From left to right is Diane from Fifth in the Middle, Emily from I Love My Classroom, Michele from Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans, me, Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching, Megan Favre from I Teach. What's Your Superpower?, and Jessica from Ideas by Jivey.

 Here are two of the lovely ladies that I couldn't wait to meet from the collaborative blog, iTeach 4th. Heather Renz from Mrs. Renz' class, Meg from The Teacher Studio, and below Layla from Fancy Free in 4th. These ladies are amazing and I am looking forward to collaborating with them more!

Here is Rachel Lynette from Minds In Bloom on the right. I saw her present last year as well as this year and always take away so much from her presentations. She is simply amazing and inspiring to listen to!

Here is Krista Walden from Creative Clips and Creative Chalkboard! Eeek! 

So sweet and down to earth in person! 

After a full day of a morning meet up and workshops on Thursday, we decided to go to dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. It was great and had a huge menu selection at reasonable prices. Then, we walked the strip for a bit. I had to share a few pics of my encounter with Chewybacca. It started out sweet and innocent until he wanted to dip in for a nose rub! Haha! He had this weird voice box and I couldn't help but scream. It must have been hysterical to witness!

I was so thrilled that it was UFC fight week when we were in Vegas. I'm a huge fan and although I didn't get to see anything UFC related, it was cool watching various happenings in the hotel and people walking around with UFC lanyards. I kept thinking I would see a famous fighter but no such luck.

We are already to Friday and here is Lisa from Learning is Something to Treasure. She was SO sweet and I've been following here for awhile now.

Here is Meg from Teacher Studio again and on my right is the amazing Melissa from More Time 2 Teach. She just amazes me because she is the organizer behind iTeach 4th, iTeach 3rd, and iTeach 5th! Wow!

I LOVE this collage below because these four ladies all have something in common! Last summer when I found out I was going back to teaching math on my departmentalized 4th grade team, I turned to these bloggers over and over again for inspiration on how I wanted to organize and structure my math blocks. Clockwise starting on the left is the wonderful Stephanie from Teaching in Room 6. Her ideas on calendar math and spiral math homework are a must read. Next is my dear friend Tara from 4th Grade Frolics. I remember her blog was the first blog I actually came across and the reason I decided to start blogging. I have wanted to meet her for years now! I use her math meeting ideas and board templates every day and also my math workshop board came from her store! Next, is the inspirational Jennifer Runde from Runde's room! I use her interactive notebook daily in my class as well. Finally, there is the sweet Elizabeth from Fun in Room 4B! Her serious of posts about math workshop were so helpful last summer when I was trying to figure out how to use this model in my math block. She was do down to earth meeting her in person and I am excited to keep building on these friendships and collaborating with some amazing teachers!

 Here is some of my friends with the man of the hour himself,
Paul Edelman! EEK!

My dear friend Erin from I'm Lovin Lit was a busy girl presenting both days but we finally got a good picture at the end of the day Friday. I won't bore you with all the "not so good" pictures her hubby took trying to get this one. Haha! Erin is so amazing and I am truly inspired by her everyday! When I start to doubt myself trying to divide my time between work, kids, and schedules, I always think of Erin who has not only two, but THREE kids herself! I took so much away from her session again this year.

 Finally…Friday night dinner at I (Heart) Burgers! Yummy!

 Isn't Michele cute getting ready to eat?

The gang at dinner! LOVE!

I saved the best picture for last. These are my BBBs (Best Blogging Buddies). Some of our BBBs couldn't make the trip but these ladies are the #1 reason I made the trip again this year. We talk daily via social media and their love, support, and guidance in not only teaching related matters but personal matters as well has been the best thing that has happened to me on this journey! I am so thankful and blessed to have them in my life. In the back row starting on the left there is Michele from Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans, me, Diane from Fifth in the Middle, Emily from I Love My Classroom, and in the front Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching, and Jessica from Ideas by Jivey.

Okay, so maybe THIS is the best picture. Haha!! Jessica's face is absolutely hysterical. This was after happy hour on Friday. :) Jessica presented for the first time this year and I can only imagine all the time and effort that went into that. Her session was incredible. It focused on writing common core passages and questions (which so many teachers are looking for) and she left time for teachers to really answer questions. I learned so much in this session and have already started revamping some products based on her advice! 

Bottom Line? There is only so much motivation I can get from reading motivational handouts, books, etc. It's the real conversations that take place whenever a group of teachers get together (not just TpT conferences but wherever) that leave you feeling refreshed and motivated to improve your teaching. That's what TpT has done for me. I know I am a better teacher because of TpT and what I have learned by being immersed in this community. Blogging and creating products have been on the back burner this year but I am always working to improve as a teacher. I feel so blessed to have a job I love and the motivation to always continue to strive for improvement! 

 I am still enjoying vacation since I flew from Vegas to Seattle to visit my best friend from high school since I was already out this way. She has a little ten month old baby and I am loving my time with her catching up! I go back home to NY on Wednesday and am already missing my two kiddos. At least we have the rest of the summer ahead of us since we start back at school in September. 

Head over to Elementary Entourage and check out the rest of the Vegas happenings from other bloggers who have linked up! Hope to see you there next year if you are a blogger considering attending! :) It's worth it!

Check back tomorrow for Tried It Tuesday! 

Link up anything you have "Tried" at school or home!

iTeach 4th! Check out my post today on Take the Leap with Math Workshop!

As we are settling into summer and planning for next year already, have you been thinking about using a math workshop model? Check out my post today at iTeach 4th to see how I got started last summer. Click on the logo below!

Tried It Tuesday {50 Shades of Gray}

Happy summer! Many of you who start school in August have already begun your summer vacation. You made it! I hope you are relaxing and taking time for yourself. :) In NY, we don't start break until June 25th but this month is already flying by!

It's Time for Tried It Tuesday! 

What have you tried at school or home?
If you've never linked up with Tried It Tuesday, just link up any idea school or home related and what worked or didn't work. Simple! 

My Tried It:

50 Shades of Gray
Ok, how could I resist using 50 Shades of Gray in my title for this post? Haha!! When I started looking for just the right shade of gray to repaint my bedroom, who knew there were SO many very different shades of gray? It is the "new beige" I hear. I learned all about "greige" too (a combination of gray and beige). There were countless hours I spent looking at photos online and on pinterest trying to figure out what might work in my bedroom with the natural woodwork. Most grays look great with white woodwork but I didn't want to paint my natural wood in my 1914 home.

Here are some inspirational photos that helped me narrow down my choices to four paint sample colors. I searched for grays that seemed to work with natural wood.

Sherwin Williams Argos

Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter (I love this color scheme and went with the teal/blue accents in my bedroom).

Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray

I highly recommend buying the little sample paints and actually painting the walls in your room. Here are the four paint samples from bottom down:

Argos

Mindful Gray

Revere Pewter

Amazing Gray

I wish I had a better picture of the paint samples with the lighting and woodwork. Argos looks the most gray here (top) and the others look almost tan in comparison, but it was too cool of a color for my woodwork I thought.

Here is a better picture of my natural woodwork before painting. I fixed a crack in the plaster above the door with joint compound and tape. There are also some holes speckled that you can see.

I finally decided on Mindful Gray (Sherwin Williams) and am SO pleased with how it turned out. My phone actually bit the dust last night (iPhone 5 won't even turn on) and it doubles as my camera. I have to get something done about that today and then will try for some different pictures in different lighting. It's amazing how a wall color looks differently during different times of day.

My room still needs finishing touches but I am loving it. I bought a little 22" TV that I put on my dresser and watch Netflix at night to my heart's content. I just started watching "Orange is the New Black". It's very fascinating and I don't think I ever, ever want to go to jail! LOL This is the first time I've had a TV in the bedroom since college (since my dorm was my everything room) and I forgot how convenient it is!

 Euro shams and duvet cover are from Pottery Barn. It is the Samantha Damask design in smoke gray. The standard shams and quilt are also Pottery Barn. It is the Pick-Stitch quilt. Both items are on sale right now so they be discontinuing them? I chose a teal accent color and the pillow is from TJMaxx.

 I desperately need something else in the corner but I love my little teal chair from Target.
It comes in other colors too!

 I bought this Momeni Suzani hook rug in grays and blues on Amazon.

One more thing (classroom related) that I am trying are these math games by the Angela Watson. I am using the fraction and geometry ones now and they are wonderful. Once I had all the pieces laminated, I just have about nine baskets of games and students can rotate a couple games during some downtime at the end of the year. It is a change from some of our normal math workshop things and they think they are just having fun! Little do they know...

Grab the button and link up!

This link up will be open for the month! Link up once or more than once! Thanks friends. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday Made-It {Baby Shower, Mother's Day}

Oh my goodness!! I haven't linked up for Monday Made It with the wonderful, sweet Tara at 4th Grade Frolics in SO long! I love this linky and have a few things to share. We are in the home stretch now. Last day with students is June 24th but there is so much to do before then. I am loving the warmer temps…finally!

So…my baby sister is having a BABY! She is due at the end of August but we just had her baby shower a week ago and it turned out super cute! My older sister made her invitations. She went with the hot air balloon theme. :)

Table with cookies and flowers (real Gerber Daisies that looked fake!) on table as guests enter. 

Table cloth is burlap fabric.

 Pinwheels made from paper

 Chalkboard frames from Michael's

Card basket from Michael's and my sister made the hot air ballon decoration using strips of paper, burlap and pinterest directions! Love it!

 Pom poms hung from ceiling made from tissue paper. We had about 12 of them and people took them home after for decorations in teen rooms and offices!

Banner from burlap and cut out letters from scrapbook paper. It says "Welcome Baby Brown".

Better view of banner but this was not at the shower.

 Table decorations. My sister made the Mason jars by painting them with acrylic paint and lightly distressing them with a soft wire brush (to avoid brush marks). Those were door prizes for games when we ran out of other prizes.

 "Wishes for Baby Brown" idea that I got from my friends at Pinkadots Elementary. These turned out super cute and I am taking the completed wishes to place in a photo album to give to my sister and brother-in-law as a keepsake.

One game that we played was "The Price Is Right". Everyone loved this game and it was quick. This was another idea from my friend, Theresa at Pinkadots Elementary!

I bought all the items for "The Price Is Right" game and held them up for the audience to see. Since the baby's sex is a surprise, I bought two of each burp cloths, socks, and change of clothes. The one they don't need can be take back using the receipt. One guest was only $0.82 away from the correct total!

We played Baby Bingo where guests wrote down gifts they thought my sister and brother-in-law would receive. This kept the audience active during the opening of presents. We had many little prizes to give away and then started giving away the flowers on the table in the painted Mason jars for bingos. I wrote "Brown" at the top instead of "Bingo".

Here is a picture of me (far right) with my mom and two sisters at the shower. We coordinated colors! :)

Mother's Day is over, but this would also be cute for Father's Day or an idea to pin for next year. My students created Wordles for their moms and I laminated them. They turned out cute!

The only advice I would give is to have students copy the words they type in the box before hitting "create". If for some reason, they lose the page, they would have to start typing all over again. If they copy it first, then they can just paste it again. This happened several times and saved many students!

Here is a project I completed in the past for Father's Day and I have a freebie in my TPT store for it.

 I "made" these pencils by placing duct tape at the top and writing student numbers on them with a sharpie. I used three different tapes for my three blocks since the numbers repeat for the three blocks.

 I blogged about my pencil challenge here a month ago and I am so thrilled to report that it has been working! Only six students out of 50 have not met the pencil challenge the entire month and the rest all have the original pencil! It has been great because if a student even thinks about "wasting time" to get a pencil, I just say, "So, you are out of the pencil challenge?" Since most students are keeping this pencil as a back up in their math boxes, they respond, "No! That's right! I have an extra pencil in my box." The pencil must be always sharpened and ready to go to stay in the pencil challenge as well so it works well as a backup. They can only sharpen pencils in the morning, at snack time, and right after class.

I thought this was cute. We received these from the Parent Teacher Association for Teacher Appreciation Week but it would be great for back to school.

That's it for now! I am looking forward to getting my Made Its on for next year come July!

Don't forget Tried It Tuesday is new tomorrow for the month. 

Link up anything all month that you have Tried, new or old, school or home!

Have a great rest of your week! :)