The FIRST Tried It Tuesday Linky!!

The results are in...Design #2 it is!! 

  The button was designed by the fabulous Michelle at 3AM Teacher!  Isn't she so super talented?!?  Check out her store by clicking on the picture below.   She also updated my comment and reply section:)  I LOVE the way it looks now!

Thank you so much for all your comments and support.  It really means a lot as I "attempt" my first linky party (which I hope will continue for many Tuesdays!).  You also made my decision so much easier on which linky button to use.   So, I hope you will grab the cute button and link up today or anytime this week!
What is 'Tried It Tuesday'? 1.  Write a post about any"thing" you have...TRIED! 2.  Describe what worked and maybe what didn't work. 3.  Keep it simple and focus on one general topic.  You can link another idea next week:) 4.  Link your post back to this post.

I originally thought this linky could be something you "recently" tried.  However, that might be silly because some of the "things" that teachers have "tried" could be strategies or tools that they have been using for a LONG time!  

Many readers would love to see how it works (or doesn't work) for YOU!!  One thing I have learned from blogging is that there are so many ideas out there and the possibilities are endless! Don't assume that everyone knows about what you do 

or that everyone must already use it.  That is not the case!

"Tried It" Ideas....

• instructional strategy
• teaching product/resource
• management strategy
• technology tool
• recipe at home
• personal interest/hobby
• website 
• ANYTHING GOES!

I thought this linky would go well with my "Flipper" theme since teaching (well, life!) is all about trying out "things" all the time...borrowing and tweaking them to your style. 

Sometimes it works out and other times it doesn't! 

Posts about things we "tried" in our personal lives are fun to read about too!

My Tried It Tuesday: KidBlog.  

I was super excited to use kidblog this year in my classroom!  See my post original post here. There was a lot of buzz about this in the blogging world last summer. I am STILL excited about using this tool in my classroom... It is an amazing (FREE) site and the students do LOVE it! My problem is that I haven't used it since January. Every year after Christmas, the panic sets in.  The test is only a few months away! Do students get to type on the test? Nope. Did Kidblog take a big chunk of time when we used it? Yes, definitely at the beginning.  The students want to add an avatar and make their page customized.  They want to comment on their classmates blogs.  Who cares if what they write is meaningful? hmmm...It was like a chat room and that was not how I envisioned it!  Part of me was so excited that they were excited and another part of me was thinking, this is taking forever!  Only a couple students were tech savvy enough to do make an avatar on their own (without asking me first!) and then everyone wanted an avatar.  So, being the nice teacher I am and not wanting to squash their excitement, I walked them through going to photoshop to make an avatar.   Well, we were in the lab, and if you have ever taught in a computer lab while the students are on the computer, it is quite a challenge when you are not used to it! Anyway, one tweak I made to Kidblog (when we were using it) is this post to my students:

As I sit here on a lovely Sunday afternoon watching a Bills game and reading your progress on the November Book Reviews, I am compelled to write about a few issues I have seen occurring on our blog.

1.  Please do not use neon yellow, blue, or green for colors when writing your posts or comments.  It is too difficult to read on the monitors.

2.  You must write using CUPS as you would on paper.  The computer alerts you when a word is misspelled by underlining it in red.  So, why am I seeing so many spelling errors?

3.  Using proper CUPS means that we do not use 5 exclamation points or 3 question marks instead of one on your posts.  

4.  Don't forget that you will be graded on your book review and this includes proper use of CUPS.  There is a time and place to use texting shortcuts but our blog for ELA is not one of them.

5.  I will be developing a rubric to grade your use of kidblog over the course of a semester (starting this 2nd quarter since the 1st quarter is over).  If you stick to clean, meaningful comments and posts using proper CUPS, then you will receive an A for this writing grade. 

Here is a sample book review from Jackson that is a great model for what I expect.

Title: The Sea of Monsters

Author: Rick Riordan

Genre: fantasy

What is this book about?  The book is about Percy Jackson who goes on a quest to save his best friend Grover. Grover is trapped on an island that is home to a cyclops. Percy also has to go to the island to get a golden fleece to save Camp Half-Blood.

What is my favorite part?  My favorite part is when Percy finds out that he has a half brother that is also a cyclops. He found he was a cyclops in the second chapter of the book. His name is Tyson.

What is my overall recommendation and why?  My overall recommendation is that it is a great book and read it if you like fantasy stories or Greek Mythology.

We discussed my post above in great detail as a class using the SMART board.   BUT, I still get students who like to test me (as if I won't see it eventually...the teacher has to approve all comments before they are visible).   These comments are waiting to be approved:  

That might be REALLY flattering (THE BEST YEAR EVER....), but it goes against my rules!  I also love how they capitalized "LARGE" but not "john".  Yep, that has to go!

I am not "trashing" the comments yet because when we go back to the lab, I will bring this screen up and give the students a friendly reminder of what NOT to do:)  

It just bothers me because in the time it takes them to write the obnoxious amounts of characters, they could be doing something more educational.  I know kids will be kids...

The last post I had the students write about was their New Year's Resolutions.  They all worked on them at different times during Work on Writing (I have four computers in my classroom).  They had to write about two resolutions, one for home and one for their writing.

The students have done a nice job overall and I may finally get around to grading all of the entries over my spring break:)  It takes hours to go through each assignment, make comments, and approve comments from other students.  It is worth it though.  The students love to see the notes from the teacher and their classmates!

And another...same student who didn't follow the rules about the exclamation points is writing in neon green...a no, no in my rules:)  Again, spending too much time on making the text look like a rainbow instead of proofreading.

So, the bottom line is I love kidblog, the students are excited to use it, but its management and the pressure of the state test has taken away some of the time I could devote to it.  

However, when and if the PARCC tests roll out, they are "supposed" to be all digital.  

I can feel confident that using Kidblog in writing IS helping students prepare for the assessment expectations.

What do you think?  Be sure to check back and see the other link ups!

In Need of Opinions! Hosting My First Linky Party Tuesday!!

 I am TRYING IT!  My first linky party!!  Yay! 

                       Design #1                  Design #2

Originally, I was planning on hosting the linky on Thursdays, but then the AMAZING, TALENTED Michelle from 3AM Teacher started working on the buttons above for me!  I just LOVE them and thought maybe the linky SHOULD be on Tuesday!  Michelle agreed since there are a lot of end of the week linky parties already.  Tuesdays it is!

Click on the link above to take you to 3AM Teacher's blog store!  Her work is truly inspiring and she works so fast (I guess that is how she got the name "The 3AM Teacher"!).  She also updated my comments section and I finally have the "reply" button...yay!  

If you like the comment set-up, check out this service by Michelle here!

I need your help!!  Being the amazing designer she is, Michelle sent me OPTIONS of buttons to choose from (actually four different ones!).  How can I decide? I narrowed it down to these two and they are BOTH wonderful!  So, I thought I would see what my followers think.  Design #1 is easier on the eyes and not "so loud" but, at the same time, I like the colorfulness of Design #2.  What do you think??  Please leave me a comment and help me make up my mind!  If the vote seems to be split, I could always offer your choice of which button to link up...Is that taking the easy way out?  

I hope you will stop back this Tuesday and link up for the first "Tried It Tuesday!"  

You might be wondering, "What is Tried It Tuesday?"

My idea is that you can do a quick link up (I am all about quick link ups in the middle of the week) of anything you have "tried" and tell everyone how you LOVED it...or maybe how it was an EPIC FAILURE...haha!  Anything goes!

...you tried a new lesson plan or teaching strategy

...you tried a new teaching product (you can promote your product or another's!)

...you tried a new management strategy

...you tried a new technology tool

...you tried a new recipe at home

...you tried out a new website 

ANYTHING GOES!

I thought this linky would go well with my "Flipper" theme since teaching is all about trying new strategies and ideas all the time...borrowing and tweaking them to your style. 

Sometimes they work out and other times they don't.  

Also, we all have things we "try out" in our personal lives and those are fun to read about too!

So, which link up button do you prefer??

Lie Revealed and Friday Flashback!

Before I start my Friday Flashback and link up with the amazing Amanda from Teaching Maddeness, I wanted to reveal my LIE!  I was giggling reading the comments about which one my blogging buddies thought was the lie...hehe!

Again, here were three things about me (two truths and one lie)...post with pics is here

1.  My favorite vacation destination of all time is Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL!  

I first made the trip with my parents when I was 5 and my sister was 7 (my youngest sister wasn't born yet).  Since then, I have been back 8 times and always have a great time, no matter my age!  Right now, we are planning to take our own kids next year at ages 4 and 6.  

I can't wait!

2.  I worked at McDonald's for 5.5 years throughout high school and college.  I went back and forth working at my home time store and college store.  The time always went by fast and I love how busy it was.  During college I worked the 4:30 am to 1:00 pm shift on the weekends.  Try that schedule with a roommate who partied until 3:00 am!  Oh... the fire alarms in the middle of the night that happened frequently were great too:)  My husband and I even met working at McDonald's when I was 16 and he was 17!  

3.  Speaking of my husband, here we are at our wedding:)  He is my best friend and ONLY boyfriend I ever had in my life!  We started dating the summer after I graduated high school and dated all through college while attending colleges 100 miles away from each other.  

We never broke up and I have never had another boyfriend!

The lie was....#1!  Sadly, I have NEVER been to Disney! This is not really by choice but I have never had the chance to go:(  It was on my mind because I knew I wanted to take my two kids as soon as I felt they were old enough.  Well, next February they will be 4 and 6.  We just booked a one week trip to Disney for Feb. 2014!  Yay!!!  I am beyond excited for my little family:)  I will be emailing anyone who chose #1 to choose an item from my TPT store!

Now marching on....my Friday Flashback!  This week was like a blur.  It was the last week before a two week spring break in which the state tests are the second week we come back (ELA followed by math).  I was torn all week between my students, my own health, and my daughter's health.  

Monday:

This was the day after St. Patrick's Day and I just had to make some "positive character trait gold coins" like the ones I read about here on Ideas by Jivey.  She has quickly become one of my favorite bloggers!  Check her out:)  Mine are on basic yellow construction paper but I did laminate them since taking the picture and plan on putting them on the side of each student's desk.  They just loved playing scoot (I played with them!) and writing a positive character trait on each coin.  

There was a buzz of excitement when they were back at their desk and read their coin!  

 On the back of each coin, we glued this quote:

Wealth stays with us a little moment if at all,

Only our characters are steadfast, not our gold.

~Euripedes

Tuesday

I had an all day writing workshop on the modules for the Common Core.  I had to leave at the half day point to go home to my sick, feverish daughter:(  The workshop was great and I have a couple things I would like to share with everyone after I try them out.

Wednesday

Daughter still has the fever...hubbie stayed home.  This was 5th grade science fair week at our school.  The other grades always place science related projects in the hallway.  We still have our natural disasters projects (you can read about those here) on display and added the fourth graders "reuse projects" to the tables.  The students bring recyclables from home and repurpose them for another use.  It is wonderful to see their creativity!

Thursday

Daughter still has the fever (over 104 at night) and she went to grandma's....crying all morning for me to stay home.  It is so tough being a working mommy sometimes:( So torn!

We played King's M & M's to demonstrate the Stamp Act before the American Revolution.  I actually used skittles this year due to a peanut allergy in my room:)  I found this link to the directions.  When we play, the students who lose their M & M's (skittles) never get them back and I do not give them more candy.  We discuss this before beginning and I think it makes it more meaningful to have them feel a little hurt when their candy is taken away, knowing they won't get it back.  I tell them that they didn't "earn" the skittles, so it is not nearly as bad as the colonists losing money that they earned and need for their livelihood!  A student said to me this year, "I would rather lose money than skittles!" Haha!!

A room mother dropped off these darling Easter containers filled with jelly beans.  She works with adults with disabilities and they made these for us!  The bottles are recycled little water bottles and the color around the bottles is decorative duct tape.  Then there are white little paws over the duct tape.  Those are muffin cups for the tops with ears laminated and stapled to the cups.  Aren't they cute?  They made the little "goodie" bags I made them for Easter seem pretty lame.  I won't show you a picture of those!

Friday

Daughter STILL has the fever and we had to cancel her tonsillectomy that was scheduled for today.  I stayed home with her since I already had taken a sick day for the surgery.  My two week break started today and I was so pleased that we could have her surgery and I wouldn't have to worry about taking so much time off of work.  

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans...

I have also been so sick this week and it was by the pure grace of God that I made it to Friday.  Finally, today I was able to go back to the doctor and got a stronger antibiotic this time to get rid of this sinus infection.  Better days are ahead:)

So, there is my week in a nutshell!  

I can't wait to knock some items off the to-do list over break:)

I started working on a little something today with the help of the super talented Michelle from 3am Teacher.  With her help, I should have a reply option soon in my comments I NOW have a reply option in my comments!  Yippee!!
Check out the 3am Teacher's post here about this add on!

I also have Michelle working on a linky button for my very first linky that I hope to start next Thursday!  I am planning a weekly Thursday linky...light and fun!  It is pretty nerve racking because I keep thinking that nobody will link up, but then I just decided to go for it.  What's the worst that can happen?  I hope you will stop back and see what I have planned:)

Get Acquainted Linky-2 Truths and a LIE:)

Latoya at Flying Into First Grade is having a super fun weekly linky party!

This week's topic is 2 truths and a lie!  

See if you can comment and guess which of these claims about me is a lie.  

Check back at the end of the week to see if you were right in another post.  

How fun!  Now, let's see if I can you a little about myself...

1.  My favorite vacation destination of all time is Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL!  

I first made the trip with my parents when I was 5 and my sister was 7 (my youngest sister wasn't born yet).  Since then, I have been back 8 times and always have a great time, no matter my age!  Right now, we are planning to take our own kids next year at ages 4 and 6.  

I can't wait!

2.  I worked at McDonald's for 5.5 years throughout high school and college.  I went back and forth working at my home time store and college store.  The time always went by fast and I love how busy it was.  During college I worked the 4:30 am to 1:00 pm shift on the weekends.  Try that schedule with a roommate who partied until 3:00 am!  Oh... the fire alarms in the middle of the night that happened frequently were great too:)  My husband and I even met working at McDonald's when I was 16 and he was 17!  

3.  Speaking of my husband, here we are at our wedding:)  He is my best friend and ONLY boyfriend I ever had in my life!  We started dating the summer after I graduated high school and dated all through college while attending colleges 100 miles away from each other.  

We never broke up and I have never had another boyfriend!

Now, which ONE of these three would you say is a LIE?  I will choose a random correct responder to win one item from my TPT store. 

Be sure to leave your email if you are a "noreplycomment" blogger!

Check back to the other "2 Truths and a Lie" posts here!

St. Patrick's Day Sale!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  

I am going to check out all the amazing TPT products on sale today.  

Check out Mrs. Wheeler's First Grade Tidbits linky party and everyone hosting a sale today!

Here are some products that I have on sale in my TPT store:)

I am off to take a little nap on a lazy Sunday:) 

 TPT shopping later tonight!  

What can I stock up on for the spring?

This is the forecast for the upcoming week.  Spring can't come soon enough!

Five For Friday TGIF!!

TGIF is the phrase of the day!! 

It has been snowing and blowing the past two days like it is January, 

my sickness (cold, fever, blah) is back with a vengeance, 

and it is crunch time for the state tests.  

If that doesn't deserve a TGIF, I don't know what does.  

Good thing I can do a link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to brighten my spirits:)

1.  Pen Pal Letters-We have the best pen pals from Indianapolis this year!  Since we live in a rural district, I wanted pen pals from an urban area.  Jill replied to my blog post plea here and we just exchanged our third set of letters back and forth!  In the last set, I sent a video message of the whole class and each individual saying a quick "hi" to the pen pal and word about themselves.  We just received a video and letters back from them and my students were so thrilled!  I love the buzz of the classroom as they read their new letters:)

2.  American Revolution (FINALLY!)  I am so far behind in everything this year it seems and social studies and science are no exceptions.  This is my favorite unit in social studies and we started these pockets to hang on the students' desks this week.  

This is the Boston Massacre pop-up.  The students really love the activities that go with this unit!

I use this book for the resources that go with the pocket folder.

3.  American Revolution #2-In ELA (different grouping than my homeroom-social studies group but there are some crossovers) we started reading "Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?" by Jean Fritz.  I love all her books and the interesting, fun spin she gives to historical events.

4.  Math Review-We studied area and perimeter weeks ago and I added this tic-tac-toe game that I found on TPT to my math centers as a fun way to review both concepts.  With the test approaching soon...dun dun dun...any review of concepts that will surely be tested is always a good thing!  

One side of the card has a question.  Students answer the question and show their work on the recording sheet.

 Next, they flip the card over and if the answer is correct, they put their "x" or "o" on that spot of the board.  If they are incorrect, their partner gets to place their "x" or "o" on the board.

5.  My Little Buddy is 3!!!  I can hardly believe that my little guy turned THREE today!

Seriously, where does the time go?

He only asked me about ten times today, "Mommy, am I three now?  Today?"

He has the sweetest little soul and just melts my heart!

When we brought him home from the hospital three years ago, it was 75 degrees (yes, mid March in WNY).  I actually like colder temps but the 20's can go now!  

Fifty degrees would be all I ask...please? 

Have a great weekend everyone whatever your weather is like:)

Monday Made It!! (classroom jobs)

It's Monday!  I am excited because I can link up with my favorite linky party and the amazing Tara at 4th Grade Frolics!!

Made It #1-I decided to do a major change with my classroom jobs (I know it's March!) but I couldn't resist!  My books from my personal library keep getting misplaced or not returned.  It is so frustrating when I just happen to find six or so books in a student's desk or they have gone missing entirely!  Ugh!  I have spent a lot of time (and money) building up my mediocre library.  A better system was needed.  I have tried the self check-out system but the same students were not returning their books and either not signing them out or in and it was nearly impossible to keep track of who last saw the book.  Then, I saw this post from the Peanut Gallery's post at All Things Upper Elementary.  This setup is amazing!

Did I mention that I WISH I had that many books in my library?  I would need more shelf space first though!  Her system was so inspiring that I knew I had to make a change.  It could not wait until next year!  So, I began searching for ideas for classroom job applications.  Why stop at just a classroom librarian?  I have always had a "teacher's helper" but the more I read, the more I realized I could have many more jobs in the classroom.  I found this FREE editable classroom job application on TPT and edited it for my needs.  The students were ecstatic when they found out they would be applying for various (new!) classroom jobs!  They couldn't wait to find out their new jobs.

Once the students applied for jobs, I made a job calendar for March and April based on the students' top three choices.  There really is a job for everyone and even my most reluctant helpers were excited (well, at least mildly:)  

I made this job chart...well, sort of made it on my own.  The adorable owl graphics are by Tracee Orman and you can find them here at TPT.  The chevron frames can be found here and the borders by the talented Megan at I Teach, What's Your Super Power below the owls are here at TPT.

I laminated the signs and put the magnetic strips on the back.  The little magnets holding the students names are Oxo magnets and they are super strong!  Pictured below is the little basket holding extra student name cards.  I knew I would find a handy way to use this magnetic basket I bought at Dollar General last summer!

The student jobs I have are:

• homework handlers (2)
• administrative assistants (2)
• classroom librarians (2)
• attendance assistant (1)
• pencil police (2)
• line leader (1)
• board boss (1)
• classroom caretaker (1)
• homework checkers (varies based on needs)

Some jobs change every week and some change every two weeks.  So far, this has been working better than I ever could have imagined.  It might be because it is new but I hope changing the jobs often keep the interest alive.

I am using this box with index cards for my classroom librarians to keep track of books checked out and check them back in after they are returned.

Made It #2-I added these labels to two baskets inspired by the Peanut Gallery's post again:)  Students place their index card in the book before placing it in the book return basket.  My classroom librarians make sure it is shelved properly and check off the return on the index card.  The book hospital bin is for books in need of repair and donations to the library that need to have the AR level sticker added by the librarians.  So far, they are loving this job and I am loving the help!

Made It #3-Besides the classroom librarian job, the pencil police job was the most desired job on the applications.  These helpers have the privilege of keeping pencils sharpened and placed back in the "ready to write" can.  Why do they like it so much?  Because they love using the Quietest Pencil Sharpener!  They also monitor the sharpeners use and make sure no one is using it to sharpen colored pencils or special pencils with foil wrapping.  

I wanted to find a way to mount this sharpener on the wall above my old sharpener.  The clamp did not hold well on any of my counters and I was so nervous that it would get knocked on the floor.  One of my awesome maintenance guys came up with this contraption for me!  He received a nice bag of my homemade chocolate chip cookies in return:)

Made It #5-I really cheated on this one but wanted to share this great resource with you.  I downloaded and printed this fraction dominoes game from Jivey at Ideas for Jivey and my high school volunteer cut out and laminated them. I have had her volunteering for two weeks every other day and it has been like heaven!  I also used a simplifying fractions game freebie from her store.  You have to check it out!  She is having a 200 follower giveaway right now with amazing prizes!

Made It #6-I also downloaded and printed these idiom and main idea task cards from the task card queen, Rachel Lynette.  I just love her task cards!  My students BEG to play scoot and I also use them for practice at Daily 5 centers.

Made It #7-I updated my Natural Disasters Project pack to make it TPT ready (thanks for the comments, friends!).  My students loved this project and it is great for promoting informational text and many core standards.  Check it out here:)

Anyone here a Bachelor fan?  I cannot wait for tonight and will be sad when the season is over:(  Mondays are so AWESOME when I know I can come home and reward myself with an episode of Sean!  Will he find love????  

Two more weeks for me and then a two week spring break!  It will be a staycation since we chose my vacation time to have my daughter's much needed surgery of tonsils and adenoids removed.  It should be restful vacation and I am really looking forward to the first break since Christmas!  It has been a long haul!  Have a great week everyone!  Go back and check out the other Monday Made Its!