"To-Do" Linky :)

This should be an ongoing linky! LOL Thanks to Mrs. B's Best for hosting this! I ALWAYS have a to-do list going and most times there's more school "to-do"s on it than anything else! I will make this brief, though. I have tried to work on a bit at a time...minus the fact between blogging and Pinterest I am over-extended :)  ...I have already begun more than I can possibly complete before school begins! I have gotten quite crafty this summer and I'm in over my head! LOL  O.K....

Here's my top 10:

1. Finish "Mod Podging" my new treasure box project (Check back with me because it is almost finished and I can't wait for feedback on it!!!)
2. Organize my "Back-to-School" first week activities! What a mess! I have some new things to spice it up a bit this year! :)
3. Get my hands on 3 more beanbags so that I have a class set!
4. Weed-eat at my mom's house for her...it is starting to look like a Honduran Jungle over there!!
5. Work on Promethean lessons....something I have been putting off for some time now!
6. Continue to organize my computer files...a bit worse looking than my mom's yard!!
7. Have lunch with friends before the craziness starts back!
8. Read up on successful grouping...sorry for the language but...I suck/stink at it! I hate doing it and feel like a failure when I try. I need to observe someone who does it well!
9. Read something for pleasure...preferably a J.D. Robb novel...(I'm secretly in love with Roarke...please don't tell my hubby! LOL)
10. Go swimming....as many times as I can!

O.K....I could have easily kept going...but you get the idea! I can't wait to read everyone else's list!

Guilty Pleasures Linky

The Resource Room Teacher

I am pleased to join this linky! We all have guilty pleasures....here are a few of mine:

• Iced Coffee...addiction doesn't even begin to cover it!   
• The ID Channel....I'm pretty sure my husband is on his best behavior because I am quite capable of forensic trickery! LOL (Stay away from the red carpet fibers! They will do you in every time!!! LOL)

• Samoas...I could eat my weight in them! Darn those Girl Scouts!!!! :)

O.K....that's probably enough!! LOL Now I'm hungry and thirsty! Link up and join us!!!

Leibster Award!

Just a quick post to say "Thank You" to Inside the Book Blog for the new award! It means more than you know! I want to nominate awesome blogs as well!

(feel free to choose the button above or the pretty pink one on the right...thanks to Tamara at Teaching with TLC!!)

Nominees:

Mrs. Trefz's 5th Grade Blog

Mrs. White's 5th Grade Class

Teaching with TLC

Will Grade for Coffee

Coder's Talk  (super site for the "tech nerd" in you)

Check out these AWESOME Blogs!! Congrats, guys!

OK ladies, it's your turn!  Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

East TN Meet-Up!

Hello again! I just ran across this meet-up ad for those of us close to Johnson City, TN and had to help advertise it! I cant wait to see everyone there!

Please contact Heather Shelton at higgystyx@yahoo.com if you are interested in coming!  Also...check out her Kindergarten blog:  Mrs. Shelton's Kindergarten!

A Few Classroom Pics :)

Hello all! I have been working in my classroom the last couple of days and snapped a few pics to share. This will just be a quick post, but I plan to get the next chapter of the book's summary posted later today! (A plumber is coming later to fix some "ünder the house"issues...so if I'm not living in a box under the bridge due to his bill...I will post later!)

This is my new box for my morning work. I have wanted one of these trays for some time now and this lovely green one was on clearance at Wal-Mart! I brought it home and ModPodged it. I am very pleased to replace my boring wire basket with this! :)

This is a sign I found at a store I am in LOVE with called Earthbound! I thought it fit!

My special class schedule...

One of my new signs this year....I used peace ribbon to border it! I found some cards at Books-A-Million (the hyperbole one is an example)...another fav card is one that says "I'm no Rocket Surgeon!" I say that to my kids all the time! I actually say..."Try it! It's not Rocket Surgery!"

I can't wait to stalk around and see everyone's classroom pics too!

"How Do You Grade?" Linky

Hi Ya'll....decided to throw my Southern roots atcha for a minute! LOL I am joining a linky over at Totally Terrific Teaching dealing with grading. Here's my 2 cents worth on grading:

I wish we didn't have to do it! A good teacher knows a child's ability and potential in a very short amount of time spent with that child.  Having said that....it is a reality in our world. I follow the school/county guidelines but with a twist. On major assignments or tests of any kind...I allow students to come in (after class) and re-take a test that they are not happy with the grade. I then average the two grades together to get a final grade and replace the original grade with this one.  For example...if a student made a 50 on a reading test and wanted to come in the same week after school and retake this test, I would allow them to do so. If that student then made a 100 on the same test...I would average the two grades leaving the student with a 75 as a final grade.  I feel like this is fair. Everyone has an "öff"day once in a while. I believe in second chances! If they feel strongly enough about it to come back to me (at my convenience after school) then they deserve another shot! Students who don't care will not take the time or effort to re-take the test. This method also discourages students from slacking and then thinking they can just re-take it after having some extra time to study for full credit. They know the grade will not be replaced...but averaged! I would love to know everyone else's methods/thoughts/opinions. :)

 

Totally Terrific Teaching...

Come join us!

Fun in Room 4B Linky: Fabulous Find Friday!

Hi all....I wanted to contribute to this awesome Fabulous Find Friday from Fun in Room 4B! Those gals over there really got it going on!!! What a great way to share things with each other! I hope to continue to participate in this awesome linky weekly! Anywho...my Fabulous Find is one that I am quite sure everyone else in the free world has discovered....Mod Podge!  I have been shellacking for wayyyyy too many years! (Sounds like a personal problem, huh?) But it's true! My awesome colleague and blogging buddy Ms. Kerri from Ms. Kerri's Krazy Kindergarten shared her enormous crafty knowledge with me and clued me in to this awesome product!  I have almost used a whole 16 oz. bottle in less than a week! I am becoming quite crafty! (I can't wait to show you my project....but it is in progress right now...so stay tuned!!!) So....anyway....I MOD PODGED my thighs together the other day and didn't realize it until I tried to get up!!!'That happens to all newbies....right???? This stuff is available at lots of craft stores....even Walmart! I ordered it from the above hyperlink...but I had to pay shipping...(also couldn't wait to try it so ran to the local craft store and got some the same day....no shipping.....but I guess I did use gas....I'll have to ponder that decision!) Anyway...I am about to need more! I love this stuff...looks like Elmer's glue and dries amazingly fast (I am quite impatient and want my projects complete yesterday!) So I am recommending MOD PODGE....(Try to keep it away from your thighs!!!) 

Is it just me....or have I had enough caffeine for today????????