Finally Summer Break...Can I Get A Do-Over?!?!?!

Well summer break is finally here and it is time to look back on the past year and reflect. But honestly, all I can think of is how in so many areas, I want a "do-over."

Let me explain.. This was my first year teaching 5th grade. I also looped up with my 4th graders to 5th. It was genuinely a great year, but I still made some "rookie" mistakes! First off all I was horribly disorganized. I have never been one of those teachers that had the perfect room award, but I let it get out of hand. This may be why I was still plugging away at cleaning and packing my room long after the rest of my team had finished and packed in in to start summer break last Friday. I did get finished at about 4pm which is not bad, but I will still have some damage control to do in August.

Another area I wish I had done better was with WBT. I started out strong..taught them the 5  rules, "class/yes", "Teach-Ok", and a little of the "mirror" technique but had a hard time with consistency and especially keeping up with the scoreboard. My kids loved what we did do, but next year, I will go full-on.

I also failed miserably at saying "NO."  I took on way more than I should have responsibility-wise, including sitting on several committees, and book studies. I need to be able to control the level of commitment and balance my life. With Common Core kicking in next year, I am going to be in over my head. Plus our principal is not allowing us to team teach so I am going to be picking up both Math and Science, along with Writing.

Finally, I have not kept up with this blog!!!!! Now that summer I here, I will do fine, but once school is back on in mid-August, I am going to try not to blog so sporadically, and will share all the exciting things going on in my classroom.

So for those of you who are already on break....we survived another year!!! And to those still plugging away..the end is in sight.  Here's to a productive summer!

Finally, a huge THANK YOU to all my followers...thanks for hanging in there. I promise some fun stuff this summer!!

Pancakes...Laundry and....Test Prep...oh my!

Yes, I lead such an exciting life, don't I?  Well, this week is Spring Break and since we are staying at home this week, I am catching up on things both work and home related.

This morning I actually got to make breakfast for my son...and made his favorite, pancakes. I was going to try these(since I have seen a bazillion people pinning them on Pinterest.

But who a I kidding...I am just not that fancy (or patient!) So he got the boxed kind...no not the frozen ones, the boxed MIX kind. He enjoyed them, and I enjoyed our brief chat at the kitchen table as he wolfed them down ...counting the minuted until he could return tot he couch and his video came. At this point, I take those moments and hold them dear, no matter how brief  because I know it won't be long and he will be heading off to college (okay, that's not for 6 years, but still....)

And then of course there is the laundry....I have put it off all week and I am out of gym clothes (yes, I am going to the gym today....can;t put that off any longer either, plus I need to work off those pancakes I ate this morning!!

And last but definitely not least, on my agenda today is to start writing some plans for test prep and review. Yes, we prep them all year long for THE TEST...but when we return next week to school we have exactly 20 schools days until State Testing begins. And we are not even finished with the last 2 Social Studies units. We are already reviewing ELA and getting ready to start our 5th grade research unit and project but 20 days is not a lot of time to get this all done. I am freaking out just a little. And I am not sure why, because A) state testing is going to happen whether I want t to or not (and whether my kiddos want it to or not) and 2)it happens every year, so why am I shocked, surprised, freaked out...?!?!?! and III)oh whatever...I just need to find an interesting an hopefully fun way to review with my kiddos because i am pretty certain they have forgotten the difference between an adverb and an adjective and what the causes of World War II were. Heck, most days, they forget to put their names on their papers, LOL!! And while you are scratching your heard and asking what about Science and Math don;t forget I team teach so I only do ELA- Reading and Social Studies.

So here is my real dilemma....do I kill a zillion trees (the Lorax is sitting on my shoulder as I type this) and print off the "Essential Facts for 5th Grade" for ELA and Social Studies and pretend my students are going to even look at them, or face the reality that those trees were sacrificed so they could shove them down in their bookbags and rifle through their desks looking for them when I ask them to pull them out to review?!?!?

Or do I take a new and unique approach to review this year, and if so, what is that new an unique approach. We have tons of technology in my classroom (brand new laptops, an iPad, Activotes)....somehow I need to tie in technology because they love it, they respond to it, and it just may cement some of these concepts int heir cute little 5th grade noggins!!!

HELP....suggestions appreciated. How do you review for the TEST...leave me a comment below. 

April Currently....and a game plan for this week!

Wow, I can not believe it is April already. Time is flying by so fast! But for now, I will continue to enjoy my spring break. I have managed to get lots of stuff done around my house, and finish my lesson plans for next week. However, I have done nothing else...well that is not entirely true...I have managed to eat my weight (or close to it) in Easter candy an since I have not been to the gym since Friday, I am a little terrified to step on the scale.

Last night I logged onto my blog and started going through my feed and saw lots of people posting this month's Currently. I have not participated in a few months so I was super excited to get back into this little morsel of linky goodness!!

So here is my April Currently.....love that Farley does this every month and that so many people participate. Here is a link to her blog if you want to participate (she has a blank one of these that you can edit in PicMonkey or any other editing program)

My son has a friend over today and I am going to try and pry them away form the TV long enough to get to the Y so I can workout while they swim.  I can't believe that Spring Break is finally here but it is flying by so fast. I keep thinking about my to do list of stuff I wanted to get done this week while we are out of school. I doubt I will be able to complete it but I am going to try, including reading 3 books I brought home in my teacher bag. And who was I kidding thinking I was going to touch any of that work I brought home, lol! 

Whatever I do, I need to stay away form the Easter candy and head to the gym. If I don't I will be sorry!!!

Last but not least, my advice for other bloggers and teacher sis about sharing. I have worked in teams that were great sharers, and also with people who hoard ideas like a fat kid hoards candy bars. The latter is toxic and nobody wants to work on teams like that. The beauty of our profession is that we are by nature sharers and it is after all, about the kids, so why would anyone not want to share. I appreciate those teacher/bloggers out there that share their ideas, projects, TPT stuff (I do pay for my share of stuff on TPT as well..but who doesn't love a freebie every once in a while.   

Well, that is it for today. I plan on checking in tomorrow to see what is happening out there in bloggy land....

and good luck to my TX teacher friends whose kiddos are taking the STAAR writing tests today and tomorrow!!!

Hello...remember me????

Wow, it is hard to believe it is almost April and I last posted 2 months ago. I suck at keeping New Years resolutions, and keeping up with my blog is one of the resolutions I have failed to keep.
I am really going to try and get better about posting, especially since there are so many exciting things going on in teacher-land these days.

First things first.... I have to start off by saying a HUGE thank you to all of my followers, especially my newest ones. I finally hit the 200 mark, in fact I am currently at 201! Who would have thought 9 months ago that I could have gotten 2 people to follow me, let alone 200! In honor of hitting the 200 mark  I am going to host a little low-key celebratory giveaway. Details coming soon.

Now on to some really important stuff....Spring Break is finally here. I am hoping this week I can get back on the blogging bandwagon. I am not going anywhere, so I will have some free time to blog, and work on some stuff. I am presenting at the Upstate Technology Conference here in Greenville (SC) this summer and I really need to work on my presentation. I also need to work on grad school applications. In the middle of all that, I will be trying to entertain my 13 year old son (in other words I will be chauffeuring him all over town), as well as get my house ready to be painted and for visitors the week of April 8th.

Also, I gave up Facebook for lent so I feel like I have truly been out of touch with what is going on on the world . I can get back online on Sunday but since it is Easter, my first official day back will probably be Monday.

So that is it for now...look for another post tomorrow with some real interesting stuff.  Maybe I can keep this momentum up and post each day for the next 10 during break. Wish me luck and thanks again for following me....

Everyone needs a BTF....Best Teacher Friend!

Today's post serves several purposes....First off, I need to get back on the blogging train. Second I want to introduce you to my BTF.  That stands for Best Teacher Friend.   My BTF is Beth G. We met, almost with tragic results, on my very  first day of teaching. I say that our meeting almost had tragic results because we actually "met" or almost did, on my way to work that first day! I was driving to my new school, and I was unsure of where I was really going (I had taken a new route to get to my school that day). As I was driving down the road, minding my own business the lane to my right merged. It was one of those merge lanes with lots of lead time (in other words, drivers DID NOT have to get over quickly). No one was in the lane at the time but then all of the sudden I see an SUV to my right, I slowed to allow the driver in and they did not take advantage of my offer....they remained in the merge lane. Well being from up north, this is a pet peeve. If I am going to be nice enough to let you in, you better take advantage of it!!  Well as the end of the merge lane approached and the final warning sign to merge left was visible, the SUV sped up and CUT ME OFF. Surprisingly the Northerner in me did not kick in, and I DID NOT flip the driver off and hurl colorful words (I can only really attribute this to my nervousness and probably God placing His hand over my mouth).  The driver was now in front of me and continued to the light and turned right exactly where I was going to turn right. They continued down the road and I begin to wonder if this driver and I were headed to the same place.  As I approached the turn for my school, the SUV turned....right into my new school's parking lot. Hmmmm....as I parked and exited my car, a beautiful, tall blonde exited the SUV and said good morning. Boy, was I glad I had not gone into road rage a few minutes earlier. We were going to be working together. Little did I know, how close. As we entered the school and walked toward our first staff meeting I soon discovered, not only were we teachers at the same school, we were going to be teaching the same team and would ultimately become BTF...yep, Best Teacher Friends.

That day I met Beth G changed my life! She is truly one of the kindest, most incredible people I have met in my life. We are completely opposite, so we complement each other well.  She is Mutt and I am Jeff. She is Oscar and I am Felix. She's the Jelly to my Peanut Butter!! Okay, you get the idea. We have taught together on the same team for 4 of the 6 years I have been teaching. One year I moved down to 3rd grade and one year she moved up to 5th grade. We have team taught for the last 2 years,and we both looped up with our 4th grade classes to 5th grade this year. I think what makes us work well as a team is we don't take ourselves too seriously, we don't let the stress of the job impact our friendship, we vent to one another and we have a common goal... loving our students, wanting what is best for them, holding them accountable and encouraging them to do their best!

We are friends outside of school as well and support each other when life gets the best of us. We have been through a lot,and most of the time, laughter is what keeps us going. Our most recent life challenge is our journey to get healthy and lose weight.  She is sort of a gym rat and really does not need to lose weight. I on the other hand, use my treadmill for a clothes rack and need to take off my baby weigh.....my baby is 12  year old now, so I think it is time! We both joined Weight Watchers together a few weeks ago and go to the same WW meeting on Sunday afternoons. She also recently began attending the same church I do.  You would think seeing each other so  much would, we would get tired of each other. NO WAY!  Seeing her smiling face (she's the bubbly one of our duo!)....lightens my spirits because I know she is always in my corner.

So that's my BTF....Beth G.   Who is your BTF???

Lessons from the Inauguration.....and an update on 400 followers (Blog/Twitter Combined)

Being a native of the Washington,D.C. area, and currently living 8 hours away in the South, I am a little homesick this weekend as the nation celebrates the 2nd inauguration of President Barack Obama, our 44th president.

You see, I have been been in the crowds for the past inaugurations of 3 other presidents (Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton) and have watched others on television. I love the excitement of the crowds (despite the often below freezing temperatures), the parties (especially the ball gowns) despite never having attend this part of the inauguration in person) and the feeling that regardless of whom we had cast our vote for, we were all Americans and in participating in this event, we were celebrating a new beginning for our country.

Unfortunately, I am afraid my 10 and 11  year old students will see tomorrow as little more than a reason to stay up late tonight playing video games and sleep late tomorrow, despite the fact that tomorrow is both the day of the inauguration and  the day we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And this really BOTHERS me. You see most of my students are African American. They also live in poverty. To me this is a an issue of great importance because I feel like as a white teacher, I can't teach them about the historic significance of these two event "good enough." And I wonder why when we studied the Roaring 20's in Social Studies a few weeks ago, only a handful knew where/what Harlem was when we talked about the Harlem Renaissance.

I know I am not alone in my concern that a generation of African American has and continues to lose touch with their heritage. And I also wonder that despite it not being a part of our state curriculum, if I need to spend a part of my Social Studies time this week talking about Dr. King and the reasons why we honor him each January with his own day. And also why the 2nd inauguration of President Obama is equally if not more, historically significant than his first inauguration. Don't get me wrong, they know who Barack Obama is. We talk him a lot. We spent a great deal of time talking about his platform last fall before the election (and gave equal time to the platform of Mitt Romney). But do they REALLY get it?

And nothing would have pleased me more than to have had the ability (along with the money) to load them all up on buses and trek North to Washington to see this inauguration in person (I will do this with a group of students before I retire, even if I have to pay for most of it out of my own pocket)!  I know that most won't watch the hours of coverage on TV. In fact, if they come across it while channel surfing, I suspect most will turn the channel to Nickelodeon or more frighteningly, MTV, or pop in a video game.

So as I sit here preparing for the week ahead, I am trying to find ways to incorporate lessons (even if they end up being a few mini-lessons and some teachable moments) so that my students get a better understanding that this is their legacy, their future and they need to pay attention.

If you have any ideas that would help e out, I would greatly appreciate them. Just comment below or shoot me an email to talesfromteacher@gmail.com .

As a side note...I am only 70 followers away from reaching my goal of a combined 400 followers on my blog and Twitter. I currently have 130 Twitter followers and 200 blog followers. When those combined numbers reach 350 I will announce the details of my planned giveaway. Stay tuned...and pass the word!!

Calling all SC Techies (and those in NC, GA and TN too)!

Well, I have already fallen off the resolution wagon! No, I did not eat my weight in Ben & Jerry's (although that sounds pretty good right now)....but, I have not kept up with my resolution to blog  at least 4 times a week. And it is only the first week of the year! Yikes!

In my defense, I was diagnosed with Bronchitis this week and have had zero energy.  While I was home from school -sick yesterday I came across a post on Facebook about the Upstate Technology Conference. It is a wonderful 2 day conference full of everything technology related for teachers/administrators that is put on by my school district each year. It is open to anyone who wants to attend (but I'll warn you, registration fills pretty quickly). I presented on blogging in the classroom last year, and plan to present again this year.

Here is the link to the website. Currently they are accepting proposals for presenters and you don't even have to be an employee of our school district to  present. Registration for attendees will open in mid-April.

It really is a great conference. If you are within driving distance of Greenville (SC), I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to attend a great technology conference.

For information about the conference, click HERE.