Five for Friday! :)

Time for a Five for Friday Link Up!  

One...

I am out of school for the summer!!  Wednesday was our last day.  I love teaching, but I LOVE summer!  I am excited to spend some time in the sun and hang out with my kiddos!

Two...

My baby is headed to first grade!  He has had an amazing year and an equally amazing teacher! Here is my little Bear on his last day of Kindergarten! :)

Three...

My oldest will be a fifth grader?!  How did that happen?!  Only one more year in elementary school with her mommy.  Next year I will be a puddle of tears!  My Chloe is in the purple shirt and khaki shorts in the front.  This was taken on the last day of school with her girl classmates and the most amazing teacher ever!  Chloe and I love you!!

Four...

I have time for crafting!  Yesterday, I made this wreath!

Five...

BIG NEWS TIME!!!  I have accepted a new job!  I will be teaching special education at a brand new school in the county that I live in.  I will miss my teammates and friends at my current school, but this opportunity is such a blessing!  I am beyond excited!  I can't wait to take all of you along on my journey!

God has blessed me BIG this week!  He is good!

Kim

Last Day!

Today was the last day of school!  Congrats to all of my teacher friends for making it another year!  I love my kids and teacher friends near and far!  Have a wonderful summer!!

Things That Make My Heart Smile

Today was one of those magical days that makes you say, "Geez, this is why I became a teacher!"

Every year, our intermediate students get to go to the YMCA to swim if they gave their best effort during our state testing.  I had a great time swimming with one of my students.  I have blogged about this sweetie before and our trip to the pool and this year was just as special as last.  This particular student had never been swimming in a "deep" pool before last spring (and she was in 4th grade), because of some physical disabilities.  She had the most wonderful time last year and this year she couldn't wait to get in the pool.  Her smile as she jumped from the edge of the pool into my waiting arms just made my heart smile.  You see this student is a quadruple amputee and has a few other physical disabilities that makes walking, moving independently and definitely swimming incredibly difficult.  However, when she is in the water she becomes light and carefree.  Although she can't swim and won't let me let her go, she joins in with her friends of games of Marco Polo and has a wonderful time.

This is why I became a special education teacher, to help students with the most difficult of disabilities become successful and feel accomplished in some way.  Although this little girl can do several amazing things, to see her in a pool having a wonderful time and moving so freely is heartwarming.  I could see this year after year and never tire of it!

To her I say, "You go girl!  I love being part of your life!"

Kim

State Testing Time!!! AAHHHH!!

This week begins state testing in Kentucky which is now known as K-PREP.  These five letters strike fear and angst into many students and teachers across the state!  It is the time when everything you have taught all year is put on the line as the students begin to "show what they know."

I think at this point it is so easy to stress out,  but then you have to remember that if you've done your best, then they (the students) will do their best!

If you are a parent, here are some testing week suggestions:
1.  Send your child to bed early.  You don't want them to be sleepy during testing!  We need alert and well rested students.
2.  Eat a healthy breakfast.  A good brain runs on good nutrition!
3.  Encourage your child to do their best.
4.  Remind your child that this is the time to show what they have learned, but still keep in perspective that this is only a test of knowledge, not of self-worth.

If you are a teacher, here are some testing week suggestions:
1.  Go to bed early!  More rest...less stress!
2.  Eat a healthy breakfast.  Your body will run best on good nutrition, too!  Just be careful not to drink to much coffee (or anything for that matter, because potty breaks are few and far between during testing!)
3.  Encourage your students to do their best!
Here are some cute testing motivators that I found for free:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Motivational-Testing-Notes




4.  Keep testing in perspective.  The students are going to show all they have learned.  Encourage them to give it all they've got, but remember this is a test.  It does not determine your self worth either!
5.  And...when this week is all over...go for a massage, or a night on the town, or something to unwind and relax!

For some other motivation for making test motivators check out my Pinterest Board:  Testing Motivators

Good luck this week to my fellow Kentuckians!  Good luck to all of you across the nation!
Kim

Next Year...Decor

As this year comes to an end, I begin to think about next school year.  I always wonder about the kids I will have, the things I did this year that worked well and what I would like to change, and my actual classroom looks.  I thought it was funny last night when a colleague of mine posted on Facebook that she was look for classroom setups for next year.  I was doing the same thing last night on Pinterest!

So, as I ponder and rearrange Pinterest Boards, I thought I would share some thoughts for the way things look for next year or some things I would like to try.  Here are my

TOP 5 PINTEREST IDEAS TO TRY FOR NEXT YEAR-DECORATOR EDITION:

 I think this is simple, effective, and super cute.  I have a love/hate relationship with my calendar.  I love having one; I hate changing the month.  It just gets put off every month.  I will be halfway through the next month and someone will come in the room and say, "Kim, it's April...and you still have February up!"  Last year I had a student that obsessed about my calendar so I never had to fix it, sadly he moved on to middle school.  Now I have to employee my daughter to fix it. :)  I like that this has all information stuff in one area place, not to mention I love the polka dots!

 I enjoy this saying so much.  I never know what to put on my door, that is one thing that I do not really enjoy doing, but these words are so powerful and meaningful.  I do want my students to know that I love and value them.  I may change up the saying a teensy bit, but I want to do something like this.  Quotes are so fun!

  This is a super cool classroom reward system.  The teacher at this blog assessed what each group of his students would like for a reward and then if the students' behavior earns a letter then they choose where to put the letter on the word.  When a word is filled up the class earns what they spell.  The different colors are for the different groups he has during the day. I think this would work wonderfully for my resource room.  My colleagues and I are always refilling candy buckets and treasure boxes, but these items are rewarding and LOW cost!  Win, win!!  (Click on the picture to go the blog post about this behavior incentive)

Here is a great blogpost about cleaning out all of the teacher stuff and some research to back it up:
http://emilystuff.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/spring-cleaning/  I found some interesting ideas and food for thought here!

Finally, because this is just so stinkin' cute!  I love deco mesh wreaths and I could totally make this.  The colors are adorable and this would be a perfect accent for my door!

I don't want to wish my life away, but I wish it were time to get next year's room ready! :)

Kim

PS...I'm also joining in the Backward/Forward Linky from iTeach 5th!  Join me!

New Social Media Butttons

I have new social media buttons!!  Yay! Feel free to contact me via email, Facebook, Twitter, or follow my Pinterest boards by clicking the link to the right.

If you would like to add your own social media buttons, I would like to share with you how I did mine.  I am not an HTML code writer, but I can search the internet!  Below are the sites I used to find code to help me add pictures and code in Blogger.  Today I would like to share some free resources with you so you can make your own buttons!

Find or create your image for each appropriate button
I found my images here as a free download.  Diana from Custom Blog Designs offers these icons for you to use as a FREEBIE!!



You will need to upload your images to Photobucket or something similar so you can get a URL link for the image.

Next you need to add your HTML code.  Hop on over to the website below to copy the code you need to make your buttons

http://beautifuldawndesigns.net/tutorial-add-social-media-icons-to-blogger-step-by-step/

Add your buttons to your blog and enjoy some new traffic to your social media sites!

Tweet All About It!

I recently joined Twitter and I also found a teacher blogger/Twitter user linky!  What luck!  Follow me!

Follow me on Twitter  @MrsHsResourceRm

https://twitter.com/MrsHsResourceRm

Click the Button above to find some other awesome teacher bloggers!

Spring Break 2013...A Farewell

I am so sad that Spring Break is over.  This week was only a sneak peek for summer and that makes me ready for school to be out.  Don't get me wrong...I love school and my kids, but man, I love being at home!

So what did I do that made it so amazing?

Easter
Swimming with friends at the Pavillion
Visited Frankfort--Salato Wildlife Park, The State Capitol Building, and Rebecca Ruth Candies

Watched The Impossible.  This movie was INTENSE!  If you don't know, it's about the tsunami that hit Thailand.  This whole tragedy is unimaginable, but so inspirational.  I heard it was life changing...it was! Whew!  I highly recommend it, but it is NOT for kids!

Shopped-I bought new dishes!  I love red!

Chilled with my family and enjoyed some wonderful weather (well at least one day of it).

Alas, all good things must come to end.  Six and half weeks until summer...I can make it! :)

Pass The Torch Linky

Get Ready for Bloggy Olympics!!!

Join The 3AM Teacher, the Reading Olympians, and over 80 SUPREME education bloggers as we take you through a tour of the Reading Olympians Root Study Program!!

First of all, confession is good for the soul.  I was not able to teach this series of lessons yet.  In fact, I spaced out on the fact that this was supposed be posted on April 6 and thought it was the next week.  That would have given me the week after spring break to get this worked into my curriculum.  However, I was off on my calculations...so I am instead sharing my plans with you for next week.  Still friends...right? ;)

I teach special education in a resource setting for reading.  My students are in grades 3 and four, but working below grade level.  When I signed up to participate in this program, I requested a younger set of materials.  The 1/2 grade lessons I decided would work well for my students.

I will use the materials as my word work for the week.  I set up my hour reading block with my students in the following way:

• Corrective Reading program for the first 25 minutes of my reading block 3 days a week.
• Guided Reading using a trade book or a book from Reading A-Z.  (I especially like these books because they are leveled and suggestions for lessons are given).  I always teach the same concept they are learning in the regular ed. class, so they do not miss out.
• Sight Word Practice-I employ a time delay strategy to work on sight words.  Each student is at a different level.  I have one student that can read any sight word you put in front of him, so he does reading comprehension time delay using reading comp. task cards (more on that another day).
• Word work (while I call student individually to do sight word time delay or fluency checks)

Day 1:  Give my students a pretest on prefixes and suffixes.  You can find it here.
Show presentation of the materials.  Discuss prefixes and suffixes.

Day 2:  Center: Make prefix book

Day 3: Center: Make suffix book

Day 4: Center: Prefix/Suffix puzzles

Day 5: Quiz.  I will give the same quiz that I give on Day 1 to see how much progress the students made. 

I will post pictures all next week to show our work and progress in understanding the roots of reading!





Discover the program IN ACTION in more K-6th grade classrooms as you Pass the Torch!! Get ideas, discover the progression of the program, and enter the Raffle for a chance to win ONE of the three prizes listed below!!

First Place Winner : Gold Medal

  Prizes: Complete Reading Olympians Program
            $50.00 Amazon Gift Card
            50% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Second Place Winner: Silver Medal

   Prizes: $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
              40% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Third Place Winner: Bronze Medal

    Prizes: 30% off Discount Code for a 1-Day shopping spree at The 3AM Teacher's Etsy store!

Pass the Torch!!!
Click the image below to visit the next blog

Kindergarten:



Grade 1 & 2






Grade 3 & 4






Grade 5 & 6


    a Rafflecopter giveaway

Five for Friday

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five For Friday!  Click the picture below to  play along!

1.  Today is a day off!  It is a teacher professional development, but if you have all of your PD you don't have to be at school today!  Yay for having way more PD than I could speak of!!  Today my Bear is helping me blog!

2.  Also, for the picture above...new hair color!  Highlights for spring!  I love spending the afternoon at the salon!

3.  Tuesday night our school held our annual Math Madness Math Night.  We have a Shut the Box tournament every year with a basketball team to go along with March Madness.  Bear was 1st runner up in his bracket.  He is so proud of that medal (it's his first)!

    

4.  Dress as your favorite StoryBook Character Day.  This was the most fun I've had all year!  We celebrated Read Across America Week by dressing up last Tuesday (ok I know this is not this past week, but oh well).  The first picture is my favorite teacher, Mrs. P.  She is my daughter's teacher and my intern and one of my favorites of all time! :)  Mrs. P. is Fancy Nancy and I am Junie B. Jones.  The other pictures are my kiddos.  Bear is Skippyjon Jones and Chloe is Hermione from Harry Potter (our favorite)!

5.  We are getting ready to head down the WK Parkway this afternoon!  We haven't been home to see family since Christmas.  I am excited to go home and see my family!

Have a great weekend!!

Kim