New Year's Resolution and Goals for 2015http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lWSy1uFy9r0/Ur9d0YHr2CI/AAAAAAAAPvs/Y2vC9Yhu6JA/s320/Slide2.JPG

OMG, I have been MIA for much too long! I'm pretty my last 4 or 5 posts have all begun that way, but as you will all notice, 2015 WILL bring me back to blogging. I was really loving it when I got started and am looking forward to making the time to get back into it. 

So what better place to start that by linking up with Jessica at Second Grade Nest to share my goals for 2015. 

I would like to take a class or two to earn credits towards my Master's +15. I am debating about a second Master's (in administration), CAGS, etc., but it wouldn't hurt to take a class or two before I decide my next step for sure. 

Blogosphere "profession" - I will blog at least twice a week, but hopefully 3 times a week! 

Get in shape! Get the gym/run at least 3 times each week. Also, I have been wanting to run a 5K (not much, I know...it's a start) and our school has one in April - that will be my first. 

I shouldn't even admit this, but I will be 30 in April and I don't cook. I can bake, I can handle apps, but dinners - YIKES!! I will learn to cook, and hopefully like it, this year! 

At almost 30, I have never been to Disney. This is the place that I would like to visit this year. 

Oh dear, I am not brave in trying new foods. If I'm trying to get in shape, I should try to eat healthier, so I'm going to say that I would like to try to improve my like for vegetables. 

I would like to learn how to sew. 

Craft. I love to be crafty, but I am always so busy that I don't do enough of it. I need to slow down and take more time to do the things I am pinning, instead of just pinning the pretty crafts! :o)

I already I mentioned that I want to run my school's 5K. I know this isn't huge, but I have never been much of a runner and I am pretty out of shape, so I think that my school's 5K, on the day before my 30th birthday, is the perfect place to start. 

Now, click on the link below to head over to Jessica's blog, Second Grade Nest, and share your Resolutions and Goals! 

Thanks for reading! 

Back To School Goals

Two weeks into summer vacation and I am linking up with Jess from I {heart} Recess to reflect on last year's goals and set goals for the upcoming school year. 

Last year's goals: 

If you are interested, you can find my old post here. 

Here's how I did:

Personal: My personal goal was not to stay late at school several nights a week and make more time for myself. Overall I would say I achieved this goal - I procrastinated less this year than usual and rarely stayed late at school (although I do get to school about 90 minutes early each day). For it being my first year in a new district and new grade level, planning and preparing was much less stressful than I expected it to be! :o)

Organizational: Not so successful here. My filing habits were better this year than in the past, so that made it al bit easier to make the mad dash two days before the evidence binder was due to locate the evidence that should have been in it. Oops! 

Planning: A work in progress...that is not to say that my lessons weren't meaningful, but I am already looking at adjusting things, especially math, for next year. I do not dislike the math program that we use, but I'm not sure that it is always meaningful. 

Professional: Success!!

Students: With the amount of tears shed at 4th grade graduation and on the last day of school I am pretty sure that my kiddos enjoyed their school year. 

Motto: Nope! lol

Now for B2S14 Goals...

Head of over to I {heart} Recess to join in the B2S fun and share your goals! 

Thanks for reading! :o)

Ready or not...it's AUGUST!

Now that I blog, I love the beginning of the month for the great linkies that come with it! Today, on August 1st, I am linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade and Jessica from I {heart} Recess. 

Here is my August Currently:

LISTENING: I love Netflix. It allows me to have all of my guilty pleasures right at my fingertips. Currently, I am rewatching Grey's Anatomy. 

LOVING: I have been busy with the summer reading clinic that I am working at for 5 weeks. Tomorrow is our last day. This means, ice cream party and Charlotte's Web. Our read aloud was Charlotte's Web and the kiddos cannot wait to watch the movie; most have seen it, but they like it! It's a good one! :o)

THINKING: I go back to school on Tuesday, September 3rd, so after the clinic ends tomorrow, I have exactly one month before I go back to school. I also have mile-long to do lists...ahhhh!!

WANTING: I CANNOT wait to get into my classroom. My family cannot wait either because my belongings are taking over this house. From what I understand, typically teachers cannot work in their classroom until the last week in August, but being a new teacher to the building, I will be allowed in earlier. You better believe that I'll be stopping by on Monday morning to find out when I can get to work!

NEEDING: I have started so many projects, like really started and started in my mind, that I haven't finished because of the reading clinic, that I have a lot of work to do this month. 

And now, my B2S13 goals, 

PERSONAL: I have always been very dedicated to my job. My first few years teaching, I was at school to and through dinner time at least 3 days a week. Now I am beginning a new job, teaching a new grade level, in a new school. I mustn't procrastinate, I must be very efficient, I must try to maintain a real-life, a fun life outside of school! Maybe only one late night at school...or two, maybe two. 

ORGANIZATION: Last year was an off year, no evaluation for me. Now, being a new teacher again, I will be evaluated this year. This will be my first eval with our new evaluation system, so I must be sure to keep my evidence binder up to date so that I'm not scrounging and running around at the last minute. 

PLANNING: With a new grade level comes new standards. With a new district comes real guided reading, no basal! :o) A new math series, too. I am looking forward to freshening up my teaching style and making my instruction more meaningful to how the kiddos will really need the knowledge in their outside lives. 

PROFESSIONAL: In creating my I Can statements for 4th grade, I was beginning to get used to the 4th grade standards. I do not know them nearly as well as I knew third grade. I need to become more familiar so that I am able to make connections and focus on the necessary areas. 

STUDENTS: I find it important to have high expectations for my kiddos, but I also want them to be excited about coming to school every day. 

MOTTO: I am a bit of a perfectionist, I must do things on my own because if something is wrong I would prefer it to be my fault not someone else's. I am rather competitive and I tend to take things personally. I say "it is what it is" all the time, but I need to start living by, it is what is, and not getting so worked up over little things. 

Thanks for reading! :o)

School Week and Let's Get Acquainted

Two blog posts in two days...who am I?! I will begin with my favorite read alouds in linking up with Tracey over at The Teacher's Chair and her fabulous School Week Linky! 

Favorite, now that means just a hand full, right? I can't just take a picture of the two totes full of my personal read alouds that do not go anywhere near my classroom library? Ok seriously, some of my faves are: 

This is a fairly new book, released in 2012. I used it with my third graders last year as an inference lesson. Before reading the text, we looked at all of the illustrations in great detail and tried to tell the story ourselves. Then I read the story and compared it with our initial predictions/inferences. Eventually, we watched the short film. My student teacher/para was out on the day that I read this and the kiddos could not wait to tell her about it when she returned. This was one of their favorites, for sure. It quickly became one of my all time favorites. 

I have always been rather hesitant to read Edward Tulane to my third graders, but last summer at the reading clinic, I read this book to students going into 4th and 5th grade. They were struggling readers and probably could have read it, but would have missed out on the comprehension if they read it independently. I had to do quite a bit of clarifying with vocabulary words and activating schema, but the kiddos got really into it and fell in love. I am looking forward to getting to share this book as a read aloud with my new 4th graders this year. 

 I think The Polar Express speaks for itself - no explanation needed!

I have read Sideways Stories from Wayside School for the last couple of years to my third grade classes. They L-O-V-E it! Never fails to crack them all up and the extra copies that are in my classroom library are always scoffed right up as students like to follow along and try to read ahead. It is a fun one, for sure!

I could go on all day, but I won't do that to all of you. The pictures of the books above are links to them on Amazon. 

Moving on to Latoya's Let's Get Acquainted linky. This week it is Upcoming School Year Goals! Latoya's blog is Flying Into First. 

#1 - Learn everyone's name 

I am working in a new school this year, so I know very few people. It is weird to think back six years ago to starting a new job, but I do remember worrying about keeping track of who-is-who. So hopefully I will learn everyone's names quickly!

#2 - Be organize and efficient 

I have always prided myself on being organized in my classroom, but teaching a new grade level this year, I am going to need to be more organized and efficient than ever. I will also have to be evaluated for the next 3 years, being a "new teacher" again. BOO!! Yet another reason to be very, very organized with the new evaluation system in place in my state. 

#3 - Parent communication and involvement

I am coming from a school where getting in touch with parents was like pulling teeth and getting parents involved and coming to school was even more difficult. The school that I will be teaching at this year has much more parent involvement, so I would like to be better at communicating openly and frequently with parents and getting them into school in meaningful ways! 

Enough about me, now it's your turn. If you haven't done so already, head over to The Teacher's Chair to link up with the School Week Linky and Flying into First to Get Acquainted! 

Thanks for reading! 

JULY...oh my! Currently and Goals

As I scroll through Bloglovin' and see everyone's post titles it seems this year/summer is flying for everyone. We all seem very surprised that it is ALREADY July! And by already, I clearly mean tomorrow. In any case, July's currently and goals.

First, I am linking up with the famous Currently linky hosted by Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade.

Listening to One Tree Hill. When all else fails, this is my pick for background noise. The older episodes were so much better than the last couple of seasons before the finale. 

Loving getting ready to be a 4th grade teacher in my hometown. My wallet is not loving this so much, but I am having so much fun shopping for my new classroom!

Thinking about what I am going to do this week at the reading clinic that I am working at. For the last 2 summers I did this reading clinic at my college as part of my Reading Specialist practicum. This year I was asked to come back...and be PAID! Woohoo! It is only 9:30-12:00 for 5 weeks. This year I have 7 kiddos, most of whom are going into 2nd grade. 

Wanting a full day of sun. I tend to post frequently about the weather/my desire to get to the beach. After getting out of school on Wednesday, I had to spend Thursday and Friday preparing for the reading clinic. Weekend weather has not been the greatest here in Western Mass lately and although it has been hot and humid, they have been predicting showers and thunderstorms on a daily basis. This weather is killing the little bit of tan that I did have. 

Needing to get ready for tomorrow. I have most of my things packed, but we are working at the "homework house," in a rather underprivileged area, so I have to bring most of the supplies I will need/want. So much to think about. 

Tips, tricks, and hints: Do what you love, love what you do. Pretty self-explanatory, no?!

As usual, if you haven't do so yet, click below to link up with one of the best linkies around! :o)

I refuse to go back and read my June goals. I think that I set my "goals" far too high every month and don't achieve them. We'll see how I do this month. Check out Jess's July Goals linky at I {heart} Recess to set your own goals for this month. 

I believe these goals speak for themselves...I don't think I need to add any descriptions. Maybe in August I will be able to tell you about all of the wonderful things that I achieved this month! ::fingers crossed::

Finally, my teacher friend who is the cutest new mom that I know, posted a photo today of my first meeting with Baby Jacob! If you follow me on Instagram you have already seen this cutie pie, but I have to share again! 

Thanks for reading! 

JUNE: Currently and Goals

Happy June, Friends! We are down to 18 more days of school...we're getting there, slowly but surely. Before I get to my June linkys, I have to share some exciting news! A couple of weeks ago I blogged about how my teaching buddy was expecting and that we were so hoping she would have the baby over the weekend. Well, she did not and Friday was her last day of school before her maternity leave, as her due date was yesterday, June 1st! The last couple of weeks we have had some nasty, hot and humid days, and she was a trooper, working right up to the end! I am happy to announce that she and her husband welcomed their little man into the world yesterday, on his due date! I cannot wait to meet this little cutie pie! :o)

Now, onto Farley's June currently...one of my faves!

LISTENING: The weather here in New England has been crazy. Last weekend, at this time, I was bundled up in winter pj's and slippers...today we have the AC on because it is already hot and humid at 7:00 am. Whatever happened to spring? Although, I am very grateful that we are having this weather and not tornados. My heart breaks for everyone affected by the Oklahoma weather. 

LOVING: There are some K-Cup flavors (pumpkin spice) that I can only drink in the fall/winter. French Toast is a winter limited edition, but I found some the other day at the Bon-Ton and they are always delicious!

THINKING: This one is a bit of a teaser, as I won't post yet why I am thinking about Tuesday. It is school/career related, but I will leave it at that. Hopefully I will be able to post on this soon. Tuesday is also the estimated arrival date of my Erin Condren teacher planner...woohoo!!

WANTING: June 26th is our last day of school. It seems like it is still a lifetime away. I know it will go by quickly because there are so many meetings, field trips, events, etc. but it is such a hectic/stressful time of year. 

NEEDING: I have been posting about the beach since I started blogging and although I got to put my feet in the sand on a chilly day a couple of weeks ago, I still have not made it there on a nice summer day. 

Speaking of the beach, a perfect beach day is with my iced coffee in one hand and a book in the other. And of course I need my phone, mostly for picture taking purposes. 

If you haven't done so yet, click the picture below to link up with Farley's FUN linky!

Another favorite linky of mine is Jess's Monthly Goals. Check it out at I {heart} Recess. 

I have to be honest and say I was terrible with my May goals. Hopefully I will do better in June. 

PERSONAL: Although my summer doesn't begin until June 26th, I hope to make more time for fun outside of school this month. 

FAMILY: I live at home with my mom and younger brother still and my poor mother does most of the cooking. I bake, but I rarely cook. I must cook!

HEALTH: I tried the gym goal last month and that didn't go well, so I will try to eat healthier. 

SCHOOL: I haven't begun to pack up my classroom yet, as we still have 3 and a half weeks, but I have been trying to clean-up, purge, and reorganize. 

BLOG/TPT: I have been lucky if I blog once a week, so I need to do better with that. I also need to grow my very itty-bitty TPT store. 

READ: I have started reading Choice Words by Peter Johnston. An incredible professor that I had for several classes, recommended this book. So far it is wonderful. It is a short book, but a great refresher. For a fun read, I just picked up Home Front by Kristin Hannah. I have read most of her books and I love them all! 

Again, if you haven't do so yet, click on the picture below to link up with Jess. 

May Goals Linky and Bloom's

On this magnificent Monday (can you sense my sarcasm?) I am linking up with Jess at I {heart} Recess for her Monthly Goals Linky. I love this idea! If you haven't done so yet, check out Jess's adorable blog and link up.

Here goes:

1. Personal - So often I read, see, hear something that makes me think of some really good friends that I have lost touch with. Seriously, with cell phones, texting, Facebook, and email, how is it possible to lose touch? I need to get better at being in touch with my friends! 

2. Health - Ok, I know I have already posted this in another post. My goal was to get back to the gym over spring break. Well, I didn't do that ::hangs head in shame::. Starting tomorrow, I will go to the gym at least 4 times a week. 

3. Blogging - I have so many lesson plans, worksheets, and units that I use that I have always just typed up quickly and handed out to the kiddos. Now that I have become a clipart/font addict, I must pretty these items up, make them TpT worthy and get posting! 

4. School - We have 8 more weeks of school. We have so much testing to do still and so many upcoming events. Testing is in two weeks, so at least after that we will be able to focus on having a little fun! 

5. Fun - Speaking of fun, I need to start getting out and having more fun myself. I have never been big into the bar/club scene, but I need to make an effort to start going out on Saturdays (that's the last thing that I usually feeling like doing on Fridays!) I am too young to be so old! :o)

Finally, on Thursday, I have a full-day PD at another school in my district. We have been attending Keys to Literacy (the Comprehension portion) trainings throughout the year. At the first one we even learned to juggle scarves (definitely one of the best PDs I have attended to date!) Any-who...for anyone that is familiar with Keys there is a focus on top-down webs and Bloom's. One of my creations that I am bringing with me on Thursday is posted below. Feel free to grab it if you are able to use it. I have been using this with my kiddos lately, they love being the "teacher" and calling on friends to answer their questions! 

Click on the picture of the prompt page below to link to the freebie.