Currently...July

Can you believe that it is almost July?  I can't!  This is one of my favorite times of year though.  We are knee deep in summer, the days are longer and hot, and there is still plenty of time left before school starts.

Today I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for the monthly Currently...

Listening:  The kids are playing so quietly.  We just completed a Target visit, so the kids are occupied with some new toys.  Chloe picked a 1000 piece puzzle and Barrett chose MicroChargers.  Hours of fun around here!

Loving:  I think I may have mentioned this a time or two, but I LOVE SUMMER!  Blue skies, green grass, long days, pool water, sunscreen smell, sunburns...I love it all!  

Thinking:  I'm in the mood for ice-cream.  Yes I am.  We may make a DQ run here in a minute! 

Wanting:  I want to get in my new school so bad!  I am so excited!!!!

Needing:I have lots of library books to organize for my new classroom.  This is the first time I've had to purchase new library books for my classroom.  I have inherited class books every year that I've taught and never had the need to buy many of my own.  This summer I had to change all of that.  

*SPOILER ALERT*

Classroom library posts coming soon!

Tips:  If you have an iPad, download Evernote.  This app has changed my life...well that may be a tad overdramatic!  It really has helped me to stay organized and keep all of my random thoughts in one spot.  I have been using it to plan blog posts, TPT products, and make lists for school for next year.  I can't wait to share some cool tricks with you that I have learned on Evernote! Stay tuned for that!

Kim

Five for Friday-June 28 edition

It has been one of those wonderful summer weeks without much to do and a gorgeous week to do it!  It rained a few times, but overall the weather right now is wonderful!
I'm linking up with Five for Friday...no picture style though...'cause that's how exciting my week has been. :)

1.  The kids were entertained by their best buddies on Monday.  Lovely day! We watched movies, the girls played Barbies and we all ate a lot of junk food.  :)

2.  I have lots of time to create new TPT products and work on upcoming blog posts!  This is a first, for real!

Hop on over to my TPT store to pick up some new products!

3.  As of Thursday, I officially became a Scott County employee.  I have a school email there now...that makes it official, right?  I am so excited about this new adventure!

4.  At one point this week, I realized that no matter how organized I think I am, I could do better.  I lost my SS card this week and tore this house up looking for it!  Luckily it was found!  Not where it should have been, but found, nonetheless!

5.  And here in a little bit we are headed to a birthday party.  Party Right Inflatables...sounds like a good time!  The kids are seriously excited!

As I look back at this week, I think that it was pretty good afterall.  No big trips, no elaborate projects, just family, friends and laid back summer times! It was the best!

Kim

Book Bags

We had to flip flop our Summer Fun-Days this week.  Thursday we typically go to the library, but today I had to work, so we switched our Thursday and Friday plans.  This actually worked better anyway.

Our project for tomorrow was to make library bags.  The kids picked out iron on transfers and fabric markers during our Hobby Lobby visit this week.  Today the kids decorated their bags (after coming home from the sitter's house and I finished up what I had to do at work).  Tomorrow we will be heading to the library to try out our new bags in action!

Barrett chose a soccer ball-his favorite!

Chloe chose a fancy butterfly!

*IDEA ALERT*

School use:  For those of you that do Daily 5 or have kids select books to keep in a book basket, I think these bags would be perfect to use as your book basket.  The kids can decorate their bag the way they like and potentially they would take up less room.  You wouldn't necessarily need a bookcase to store these on, but instead several hooks spaced out around your room could help with storage.  

Sidewalk Chalk and PD :)

UPDATE:  IF YOU TRY THIS AT HOME IT MAY STAIN YOUR CONCRETE. WE SCRUBBED OUR DRIVEWAY WITH DAWN AND A PUSH BROOM FOR AN HOUR. :) Pinterest fail!

What you will need to make Squirtable Homemade Sidewalk Chalk:

(per bottle)

1 cup HOT water

1/2 cup Corn Starch

TBSP tempura paint (washable)

one squirt of dishwashing liquid

1.  Combine and stir in a bowl the hot water and cornstarch until there are no lumps

2.  Add TBSP of paint & squirt of dishwashing liquid

3.  Stir

4.  Use a funnel to pour mixture into a squirt bottle

The kids had a great time at their "Wet and Wild Water Wednesday!"  They decorated our driveway with the chalk and then had fun hosing down the sidewalk (and each other) when they finished).

Hope you are enjoying some summer time fun, too!

I'm also linking up today for Workshop Wednesday with Ideas by Jivey!

I actually took the idea for homemade sidewalk paint from Pinterest, but it isn't school related and I don't think it would count as any type of "professional development."  Not that this linky does either, but it sure is fun either way.

Follow my Pinterest Boards HERE

Here are a few of my ideas that I want to try for next year:

Reading:  I am on the look out for new ideas on ways to create a peaceful and inviting reading corner.  This one is particular is built around ideas of brain research.

Mathematics:  It is my plan to create Math Prompting and Cueing Notebooks.  It will serve as a handy math "toolbox" for students to refer to when they need help remember processes of mathematics.  

Sight Words (Word Work): These sight word bottles are a great tool and a new and engaging way to practice sight words.  I think I will employ my kids to make these for me this summer.

New Dork Diaries Book Release--Can you guess where our Trip Tuesday took us?

In keeping with our Summer Fun-Days, our trip today was to Barnes and Noble.  My kids are definitely teacher's kids!  They love to read and one of our favorite past times is curling up on the couch or in my bed and reading together.  We can be reading the same book or all different books, but reading is something we all find joy in.  Today was an extra special day for the kids at B&N.  Chloe's favorite book series, well after Harry Potter, released a new book today.

Chloe loves the Dork Diaries series.  Some have called it the girl version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  It is written in the same diary/journal format and it is a quick read for most.  There are six books in the series now.  I would highly recommend these books for girls between the ages of 9-12.  They deal with friends, parents, and boys.  It is a humorous series of books from the personal diary of Nikki Maxwell. The book features drawings and comics that feature the life on a typical middle schooler.  They are a great read.  Series books are doubly great, because they allow a reader to get "involved" in the life of a character and live with them through ups and downs and are able to "watch" the character develop through the books.  My kids just eat up series books.  

Some of our favorite series books include:

Harry Potter

Dork Diaries

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Junie B. Jones

Horrible Harry

Judy Moody

Stink Moody (Judy's little brother)

A-Z Mysteries

Magic Tree House

The 39 Clues

Little House on the Prairie

Percy Jackson

Kingdom Keepers

Series of Unfortunate Events

Henry and Mudge

Speaking of series books...Barrett also had a successful B&N trip.  He picked out his very first chapter book.  He is a great little reader.  He just finished Kindergarten and decided that he is now a big boy and can read chapter books.  He picked the first book in the Stinky Moody series and read the first several chapters before we even made it home!  He's a boy after my own heart! <3

Oh and a fun fact just to let you in on how nerdy and like their momma my kids are...our other stops today were Staples and Hobby Lobby!  Yep, a teacher's dream! :)

Kim

Made It Monday with the Kiddos

Linking up today for my first Monday Made It of the summer!  

My kids and I are making the most of this summer by giving each day a specific task and it just so happens that Monday is our Make It day! :)

Today we made Jolly Rancher suckers.  You've probably seen them floating around Pinterest.

You will need:

 Jolly Ranchers

Sucker sticks

Parchment Paper

Unwrap the Jolly Ranchers and put them in groups of three on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Leave room between each group of candies so they don't all melt into one gigantic Jolly Rancher.

Here, Bear is organizing his candies before he puts them on the tray.

Candies are ready for the oven.  Heat your oven to 275 degrees and bake in oven for 6 minutes.

When time is up, place a sucker stick into each candy.  Give it a little twist to help stay put.

Our finished product! Yum!

Want to know what else or how we organize our summer fun?  I borrowed the premise for my idea here, but tweaked it to fit our days and our desires.  The kids are asking everyday, "What day is it?  What does that mean we are going to do today?"  They are really staying motivated to follow the schedule, so I thought a little visual would help them remember and help me plan what we are going to do each day.  Feel free to borrow this if you like :)  To download a printable click here!

And finally, calling all special ed. teachers!  Don't forget to go by my TPT store and download my new special education teacher planner!  It is chocked full of organizers to get your new year off on the right foot!  Click the here to be linked to the customizable lesson plan/teacher planner product!  Below you will see the customizable front cover, 1st page of the lesson planner, and a quick reference sheets for IEP goals and benchmarks!

 

Kim

Currently...June!

The sights and sounds of summer vacation has overtaken our home!  I love this time of year!  The days are longer, the kids are calmer, and life is filled with sunny days and fun!  It also is allowing me some extra blogging time...I've actually posted blog posts most days this week.  :)  Today, I get to get caught up with the Currently from Oh Boy Fourth Grade!

Listening:  BBQ Pitmasters.  My husband has been watching this show all day.   I went to Target earlier and he was watching and when I came home it was still on and continues to be!  I have to admit, I kind of like the show and definitely put me in the mood for some good BBQ.  Looks like it will be Sonny's for supper! ;)

Loving:  I love summer!  This is my favorite season!  The long days of sunlight and warm weather fill me with joy.  I also really enjoy spending the day with my kids and filling our days full of memories!

Thinking:  I just can't get my new school out of my head!  I am dying to get into my new classroom and decorate and to meet my new kids.  

Wanting:  I need some new books to read this summer.  I don't have anything on my must read list right now...fiction-wise.  I am currently reading Reading Without Limits by Maddie Witter.  It is a great book and a great companion to the Daily 5 and Cafe that I read last summer.  I do want something to read though that I can take out on the deck and just get lost in.  Any suggestions, friends?

Needing:  My mom spent several days with us a few weeks ago and caught up all of my laundry one day while I was at work.  Awesome!  Now, I just have to keep up the good work she started.  I loathe laundry.  I need to get some organization in my closet and dresser drawers to make things run more efficiently in the laundry department....or I just need to have my mom come stay more often! :)

Summer Vacay Essentials:  Sunscreen.  Swimsuit.  Sandals.  These three items go together like PB&J.  I could spend every single day of the summer at the pool and never have a bad day!  

I hope you are enjoying your summer, too!  

Make It Monday (The Beginning of our Summer Plans)

http://www.remarkablehome.net/2012/06/super-summer-schedule-free-printable.html

At the link above you can find a neat summer plan printable. It goes something like this:

Monday-Make Something Monday

Tuesday-Take a Trip Tuesday

Wednesday-Wet & Wild Wednesday

Thursday-Thinking Thursday (visit a library, museum, website, anywhere that you will learn something)

Friday-Fresh and Fun Friday ( do a new craft or activity that you have found on Pinterest)

Today we kicked summer off right by making some yummy Memorial Day themed cookies (without arguing I might add). 

Chloe did the icing and Barrett did the sprinkling. 

And the finished project:

They were as equally yummy as they are adorable!

Want to make these too?

Well, it is so simple. We will call it semi-homemade!

You will need:

Soft baked cookies (we used Kroger deli chocolate chip)

One tub of icing (our fave is Pilsbury Cream Cheese icing)

Red, white, and blue sprinkles

Directions:

Lay out bottom part for sandwich cookie

Pipe icing in a circle in the center of cookie rotating outward to the edges. 

Top with second cookie and press until the icing starts to squish out the sides. 

Roll the cookies in the sprinkles like a wheel

Stack 

Eat 

:)