Currently January 2015

It's hard to believe that 2014 is almost over!  Mainly because, on breaks from school, I can't keep track of what day of the week it is, let alone the date!  Haha!

Thanks to Farley, I know that it is time for the Currently January linkup!  Here's my Currently....

Listening... 

It's 39 degrees here!  Brrrr....so I have a fire going to keep us all warm and toasty!

Add The Walking Dead marathon to that, and it's a pretty perfect day!

Loving...

Now that all the Christmas festivities are over, I'm loving all the relaxation time.  My fur babies are getting pretty spoiled.  I mean, the dogs haven't had to spend more than an hour outside since school got out.

They pretty much have claimed their place on the couch next to me and rarely move.

Thinking...

In order to supplement our amazing (hehe!) teacher pay, I am also the registrar for our city's soccer league.  And registration opens tomorrow.  

January is going to be crazy busy.  Soccer, soccer, soccer.  And I don't even know anything about the sport...except that there are some pretty cute players in the big leagues!  

This is my first (of hopefully many) seasons.  Wish me luck.

Wanting...

My boyfriend to hurry up and get over here so I have someone to enjoy this TWD marathon with me. And look who showed up as I was writing this...

Wahoo!!!  He's here!

Needing...

This couch is my best friend.  Seriously.  It never does me wrong, contours to my needs, and keeps me warm and comfortable.  

But, I need to put some space between us.  

There are dishes to do, laundry to put away, a junk room to clean, and, not to mention, an expanding waistline occurring.

It's for the best, my dear couch.  I promise.

Yes, Maybe, I Wish...

Yes to getting healthier.  I have a meal plan ready for next week.  Working out is going to be super important.  And I have my "3 Weeks No Cheats" up from For Blogness' Sake to help wipe out some of my bad habits.  Pray for me, please.

Maybe (*wink) I need to expand my comfort zone.  I have my family, my couple of friends, etc.  Everything I do is within a very clearly defined bubble that I have created.  New people make me nervous and I'm not great with small talk.  But I need to really work on getting outside my comfort zone.  God put all these amazing people on this earth, and I need to meet them!

I wish that I could write a book.  I am a book consumer.  It's a problem.  I probably read about 10 books a month.  It would be so amazing to actually write a book.  One that people enjoy reading as much as I enjoy reading all the books that I do.  Hopefully, one day I will!!!

Head over to the Currently January 2015 link up to have some fun!

A Sale to End Out 2014!

2014 has been an amazing year!  In order to celebrate, I'm closing it out with a sale in my TpT shop.
Check it out to see what finds you can grab!

I have Math products ranging from 4th - 8th grades.

Have a great end to 2014!!!

Sunday Scoop 12-28-14

It's time to link up with Teaching Trio for the last Sunday Scoop of 2014!

Here's my plans to finish off 2014.  Hopefully, I can get them all done by Wednesday!

I have to.....

Get this Christmas decor put away!  Doing that will also help to (start) on cleaning the junk room.  

Junk room = Workout room

Clearly, I can't work out when the Christmas tree box is on the treadmill, wrapping paper, boxes, and tissue paper all over the floor, and ribbons on the Bowflex!

Numbers 1 and 2 do not sound fun at all.  But they are necessary.

I also have to get my activities ready for the first couple of weeks back.  Which won't be hard, but will be me sitting on my bottom for at least a day.  Hence, the need to get the workout room ready!

I hope to.....

I really, really, really want to finish January's lesson plans.  I like to be on top of things.  Plus, I am the registrar for our local youth soccer association, and January is registration month.  It'll be crazy busy.

Getting the workout room ready goes hand-in-hand with making a meal plan.  I really need to get healthy.  

Not healthier.  Healthy.

I love all foods greasy and fattening.  And doing any activity that doesn't make me sweat.  So, obviously, I need to change!

Third Grade Tidbits Slim Down Saturdays are coming back.  And that is one linky that I'm hooking up with.  Hopefully, it will help me stay accountable!

I'm happy to....

Watch my Texas A&M Aggies kick some West Virginia bootay tomorrow afternoon!  

Gig 'Em Aggies!!!!  #BTHOwv

Have a great week everyone!!!

Fav 14 of '14

Linking up with Kristin, Hadar, and Traci for fourteen favorites of 2014!

14.  Favorite Quote

With new state Student Expectations, at a much more rigorous level than ever before, this year has been stressful, to say the least.  However, I have never doubted that my students can master these new expectations, just that i could come up with engaging lessons to make sure that they have fun while learning.  It's been a great year so far, with a lot of late nights and convincing my boyfriend to help me cut out activities!  Working hard so my students are successful is a no-brainer! :)

13.  Favorite Article of Clothing

Tunics!

I LOOOOOOVE this tunic!  I know that you can't see it all in this picture, but, seriously, I hate full body pictures!  Haha!  It's flowy, long, and perfect for the always comfortable leggings!  Anything from Mint Julep is wonderful!

12.  Favorite Movie 

Channing Tatum

Need I say more?

Super corny, but so stinking funny!  I can watch this movie over and over.  Sure, it's not a brain movie, but, sometimes, my brain needs a break (and my eyes need some candy ;) )!

11.  Favorite TV Series

So sad it's over.....

I cried....

Don't get me wrong....I can't miss The Walking Dead, any of the Housewives, Big Bang Theory, Scorpion, or any of so many others (I'm a TV fanatic) but this series ending just tore. me. up. inside.

10.  Favorite Restaurant

It's a running joke with friends and family that I hate to leave my small town.  Going the 11 miles to the closest big city just seems like such hard work!  Haha!  Good thing my favorite restaurant is right here in Forney!

And, yep, that's the best (and only) picture Google Images had for Madres Cocina!  Best Mexican food in town.  In fact, I ate there tonight!  Yummy!

9.  Favorite New Thing I Tried

Getting to school 20 minutes earlier each day.

I know that this is normal for most of you.

But I love my sleep.  Seriously, love my sleep.  I have 8 alarms that go off on my phone each morning, plus one in my bathroom.  So getting up earlier is hard for me.  But, I try to do it at least 3 days a week, and I love it!  There's so much more time to get ready for the day! Haha!

8.  Favorite Gift I Received

I have received so many amazing gifts this year, but I absolutely LOVE this one.

One of my students gave me this for Christmas, and I use it everyday already!  I'm not much of a purse person, and this fits my cards, phone, and chapstick....all the things I can't do without!

The Zulily gift card from my boyfriend is my other favorite gift.  I can't wait to get all the cute clothes I ordered!

7.  Favorite Thing I Pinned

Nothing.  Nada.  Nil.

I don't pin.

Mainly because it takes up so much storage on my phone to have the Pinterest App, so I can't stay up-to-date on all that!  I'm doing good to stay current on Instagram and Facebook!

6.  Favorite Blog Post

My Turkey Feather Fractions blog post was fun for me.  Mainly because I overcame my fear of craft projects, and it worked out perfectly!

I may have done alot of the pre-cutting to save time, but my students really enjoyed it.  Especially the part where we displayed them in the hallway.  Now onto more craftivities!

5.  Favorite Accomplishment

Starting my blog!

My sister had been after me forever to do it.  But I was scared!  

Finally, I put on my big girl panties and did it.  It has been an adventure, but it's so much fun!

4.  Favorite Photo

Any picture I have with this girl is my favorite!  But this one shows (the sadness of) her cheering for the Texas Longhorns instead of the Texas A&M Aggies.  I've been trying to convert her, but her daddy has her pretty brainwashed!  Haha!  She prays for me and my boyfriend to love the Longhorns, but I keep telling her that He loves the Aggies too!

3.  Favorite Memory

Going to the State Fair of Texas with my amazingly handsome boyfriend.  We had such a good time riding the Ferris Wheel, listening to concerts, walking around the fairgrounds together.  Just a great day!

2.  2015 Goal

To be a better person!

There is so much I need to work on.  I need to be healthier, more understanding, more compassionate, more patient, more loving.  I pray everyday about these things, but I need to really focus on being the best that I can be.

1.  One Little Word

I'm going to go with Kristin on this one.  

Humility.

I definitely need it.  I'm not married, and I don't have children.  So my life is pretty much about me.  What I want to do.  When I want to do it.  And I'm lucky enough to have a boyfriend that is super laid-back and pretty much lets me be me.  

Which is a problem.  I need to learn to focus more on others.  

As my niece says, "Don't be prideful, Anna!"  

Humility is my word for 2015.

There's my 14 for '14!  Link up and read all the amazing posts already linked!  

Winter Math Stations...Just a Little Late!

I've been meaning to blog for over a week now.  Isn't it crazy how time flies at Christmas?!?!?  One day, I'm at school corraling my students at our Christmas party, and it seems like only hours later it's time to open presents on Christmas morning!  At least there's a full week to recover from all the fun of the past few days!

The week before Christmas break, my students reviewed (almost) all of the material that we have covered so far this year with my Winter Math Stations.

After they got over the shock, that, yes, we are working Monday - Thursday of the week before the break, they got down to business!

The kiddos just love group work, and I do too!  On top of getting to see them working together to master the concepts, the conversations that they have about math are just amazing!

(Is it obvious that I tell them to not look at the camera! Haha!)  I am so blessed to work with these students.  The "high" students genuinely care about helping students who struggle with some concepts.  I love hearing the way that they help their fellow students understand, and I'm filing away those explanations that work for tutorials and next year!

The students really loved working on the stations.  I was out sick one day, and the substitute said that they were perfect and on-task the whole time.  PTL!

Now, I am on to planning and getting prepared for January.  I'm about to print and prepare Teaching with a Mountain View's Multiplying and Dividing Fractions and Whole Number Task Cards for the week we get back.  Love her stuff!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas Break!

Christmas Conversations Linky

This week has been crazy!  My kiddos have been SUPER good (PTL) and working hard on their Winter Math Stations.  Tomorrow is our Spelling Bee, Christmas Craft day, and Christmas Party hosted by our district administration.  And, of course, Friday is party day! Can Friday at noon get here faster, please? Haha!

So, it sounded like a great idea to link up with The Inspired Apple and focus on what Christmas means to me....which is way more fun than thinking about the glitter nightmare that will be happening in my room tomorrow!

I can't wait to really enjoy the Christmas season with my family this year.  It's so much more fun with my niece than just us adults!

Just for fun, check out these flashback Christmas pictures! :)

Have a wonderful week before Christmas Break!

Deck the Classroom!

Christmas season is the absolute best!  There is just an excitement in the air that can't be contained.  I'm linking up with my sister at Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons for her Deck the Classroom linky.  Can't wait to see how everyone's classroom is looking, as well as all the fun activities going on in the classroom!

I finally bought a Christmas tree for my classroom (after 9 years!) and I love it!  The bright colors go perfectly with my room.

Teaching 4 classes of Math means that there isn't a whole lot of time for Christmas crafts, but I did manage to get a little one done!  After we had finished learning how to add and subtract fractions (without Mixed Numbers), my students worked out a problem on a Christmas light outline from Phenomenal First Grade, and, I have to say, the bulletin board turned out pretty cute!

The students also worked in groups to help Mrs. Claus find where the elves hid her Christmas decorations!  They loved this activity!

I have a student this year who does not celebrate Christmas.  So when we do anything Christmas related, they do a similar activity without the Christmas theme.  But next week, I wanted to do a review of all the concepts that we have learned this year.  Last year, I made Christmas Math Centers. I needed to update the material to reflect the new student expectations for this year, and I just decided to make a completely new set of Math Centers with a winter-theme.  Since we will be spending 3 days on this, I didn't want anyone to feel left out!

I laminated them and cut them out today, and I can't wait for the students to jump into this activity next week!

Outside of school has been full of Christmas activities too, and (just because it turned out so pretty) here is a picture of my boyfriend and me at our town's Christmas on Main.  Aren't we just so cute?!?!

Link up to show off your classroom Christmas decor and activities!

Happy Hump Day!

Helping Mrs. Claus - Adding and Subtracting Fractions

Today my students are helping Mrs. Claus find where the elves have hidden all her Christmas Party decorations!  The elves left clues in the form of Math word problems.  Students had to solve the problems to find where the decorations have been hidden.

Before we started, I told the students this dramatic story about how the elves thought they were funny, but they were stressing out Mrs. Claus.  She needed their help ASAP!  Haha!

 It was a tight fit to get 8 groups of three in my room, so we only switched the centers around instead of the students moving.  However, I knew that we had plenty of time to do eight math centers, so I wanted them to get as much practice as possible on adding and subtracting fractions!

The students loved these Math Centers, and, for some reason, were fascinated with all the "E" names for the elves!  

This is one of the Math Centers.........

The answer sheet corresponds with each center.  The students answer the questions based on the answers from the centers.

Here is the link for this activity!

Have an awesome week!