She's Cute.

  Sorry, I've been an absentee blogger lately. School's making me exhausted, I've been travelling on the weekends and little Finley takes up most of my time when I get home.

 

By the way. Finley? She's adorable. She drives me crazy some times (like right now, she's completely under my covers and digging like her life depends on it). But, she's so darn cute that I can forgive her pretty easily.

 

Here are some pictures of her:

 

She's getting sleepy....

 

and, she's gone!

 

This is where she sleeps. Between me and the headboard. I'm fine with that because otherwise I would probably kick her off the bed! Accidentally, of course.

 

I bought her her own bed and she used her mad digging skillz to destroy it in a week. Money well spent, huh?

 

Last weekend, we headed to my Grandma's for Labor Day. Finley was just so excited about the trip, clearly.

 

Every where she went, she had two little followers.

 

Sometimes she had to get up on the swing with me to get a break :)

 

On Saturday, we went to the parade.

 

I love, love, love her!

 

And, so does this guy. He kept saying "I take her? I take her?"

 

Saturday night, she was EXHAUSTED. And, yes, she's wrapped up like a burrito. I did it as a joke and she didn't even budge! That's how tired she was....

 

Then, we came home on Monday and I spent the whole day watching The Kardashians on Netflix.

 

Finley was NOT a fan...

 

 

But, me? I'm hooked! I've watched it off and on for years but was never a big fan. But, I'm becoming one rapidly. It's soooo funny!

 

Need proof?

 

Oh, Kim.

 

Oh, Scott.

 

If you don't watch this show, you should do it. It's aces for snarkiness.

 

Well, that's all I've got tonight.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

All About Character Traits

Our reading Common Core standard the last two weeks was all about character traits. The thing is... it's not just what a character looks like or their feelings. It's more about how characters change and react to things that happen around them. We've had a lot of fun examining and talking about characters so I wanted to share some of what we did.

 

First of all, we had to go back and talk about character traits as a review from first and second grade. We've been reading Ramona in the afternoons while they pack up so that was a good character for us to list character traits. We made sure to talk about the difference between inside traits and outside traits.

 

Excuse the fact that Ramona looks like a man...

 

Next, I had the kids list character traits about themselves. They made those face-picture frames that are all over Pinterest. You know what I'm talking about...

 

The next day, we started talking about how we have to provide textual evidence of the character traits. So, we read A Bad Case of Stripes and made a chart together to describe Camilla Cream.

 

 

We kind of sequed from this chart to the one below. My friend Kate made this and it was such a great tool to help the kids explain how the character's traits change throughout the story. We did a lot of "I do, We do, You do" with this. We made a chart together, then I gave the kids the traits for Strega Nona and they had to prove it to me, then I gave the kids their own books and had them find the traits and provide the evidence. (Oh, and my whole team did all this! It's not like I just thought it all up by myself. I have a great team!)

 

 

This week, we focused more on how the characters change and drive the story. We used another graphic organizer that Kate thought up and I made to do this. It worked soooo well!

 

 

We read The Great Fuzz Frenzy and filled in the chart to show how the dogs changed in the story.  The kids kind of loved that book! It was actually a great book to show change in characters.

 

One day, we talked a lot about the characters different perspectives. We read Strega Nona Meets Her Match and filled in a graphic organizer.

 

 

We also read A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee which could very well be one of my top 5 favorite children's books. I just love all the rhyming and the pictures and the kiddos loved the story.

 

 

We made a chart to go with it to talk about how the characters drive the story. The kids came up with all the things by themselves - I just "prettied up" the wording a little. We used the chart to talk about the characters in all the books we read. It was a great checklist to guide our discussion! The kids got good at telling how different characters did each of those things.

 

 

When I read the book outloud, I had the kids turn their graphic organizer over on the back and write down character traits as they noticed them. They worked with a partner to then tellhow the character traits changed.

 

 

I didn't get a picture... but the chart was just like the one above.

 

To wrap up the standard, I had the kids make a paper bag character report. I basically teamed the kids up and gave them a book that we had read in class. Except the really high kids... they got a new book :)

 

 

 

They read the book and then filled in a graphic organizer with six shapes on it. Each shape had a question on it: What are the character's likes and dislikes? How did the character change? How did other characters react to them? What event did they cause to happen? What does the character think about? What does the character say?

 

 

 

I had them draw the character and glue them to the bag. Then, they cut out the shapes and glued them to the bag. They also had to draw three objects that are important to the character or represent the character.

 

 

 

It took them a looong time, but they worked so hard! I think they turned out a ton better than I was imagining. I'm glad they got into it and I could tell from their answers that they were thinking and having good discussions about the characters.

 

 

 

We won't have time to do these all the time... but, I will for SURE be doing them again.

 

 

I'd say that...

 

 

 

Must-Haves Monday

 Well, it's that time again! Time to link up over at Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week. I got so many good ideas from this link-up last year so I'm really excited to see all the great stuff!

Today, we're supposed to post about our teacher must-haves! So, here are mine:

1. Crayola Markers



If you like making anchor charts as much as I do, Crayola Markers are a MUST. And, I'm a snob. I'll only use Crayola. I was desperate one day and used some Roseart markers and I almost cried in sadness. It's just not the same. I used to use the fat Sharpie markers but they soaked through the pad of paper and that's no fun.



I even let the kiddos use them sometimes!

2. My Elmo

I seriously don't even know what I did without this thing! I guess I used an overhead projector. Luckily, I got an ELMO about half-way through my first year of teaching so I didn't have to go without one for too long :) It's so useful to have a way to project the worksheets and stuff my kids are doing onto a screen so I can show them directions and examples. I'll say 100% the quality of my kids' work is better when I show them how to do it on the ELMO first.

3. A Big Ol' Teacher Bag



I absolutely have to have a teacher bag. And, the bigger the better! I ordered this one from Ballard Designs this summer. It was $25 and the monogram was free! Shipping was free, too! It's HUGE! I wanted it to say Ms. Ridings, but it was too many letters. So, Lindsay had to work. I've gone through several teacher bags and really any big bag will work. It's just great to have a bag that contains all your grading materials (read: CRAYOLA MARKERS!) and that you can throw all your stuff in to take home.

4. Lots and Lots of Containers and Bins


To say that I have a lot of storage bins in my classroom would be a gross understatement. I realized moving classrooms this year just how bad the obsession has gotten. I have a TON! I'm pretty much obsessed with organization in my classroom and I need for everything to have a container. Otherwise, your room gets junky and looks cluttered. I have bins from a lot of different places. My favorites come from the Dollar Tree and Big Lots. Target has good storage bins, too.

5. Plastic Drawers


I currently have 4 of these babies in my classroom. They are an absolute must for organizing papers. One contains writing paper and computer paper so that I can grab it quickly when I need it. Another one holds all my scrapbook paper. I bought one this summer to hold all of my students' pencils and erasers. My big one has 6 drawers. I keep it on the counter and use it to store worksheets, homework, etc. It's labeled by subject so I can quickly find what I need. Oh, and I just remembered I have another one on the file cabinet by the door that holds labels, pens, paper clips and all that stuff. Really, these are just the best for storage.

6. Clothes Pins

I use clothes pins for everything in my classroom! Here are some ways I use them:


In our classroom library, the kids use their clips to mark which bin their book came from. That way, they know where it goes back.


We store them on ribbons that are hot-glued to the wall.


I use them to hang up student work on bulletin boards.


I use them for center management.


I use them for behavior management.


That's a horrible picture, but I also use them to group kids for guided reading.

7. Pinterest



This doesn't really need an explanation. I use Pinterest DAILY for coming up with ideas and planning lessons. It used to be pretty exhausting to search blogs and googles for ideas. Now, it's all in one place and easy to access. It's changed my teaching so much - in a good way!

8. My iPod and Docking Station


I play quiet music all day, every day in my classroom. It's soothing and calming and I think it's good for your brain. My playlist is quite varied! It includes some classical music, some Disney tunes without the words, some slow pop music without the words, IQ music and the Harry Potter song! I've literally had the same playlist for the last 4 years. You'd think it would drive me nuts after all that time, but it doesn't! I also have a fun playlist that I play at times when we're having fun. It's just some Disney songs and some clean music that's appropriate for kids.

9. Lamps




This picture shows two of the SEVEN lamps currently in my classroom. I have to have lots of lamps. They make a classroom more inviting. Florescent lighting is not good and lamps just give the room a more homey feel. Plus, I've discovered that turning some of the overhead lighting really helps with the noise level and calm level. As the years have gone by, I've done more and more teaching with the overhead lights off. If you have a lot of lamps, it is still plenty bright enough to see and work! I know it sounds weird, but the kids love it and I do, too.

10. My Laptop


I know it's kind of a given, but I use my laptop so much! I kind of love to make graphic organizers and activities for my kiddos on my laptop. I'd be devastated if it crashed and I lost all the things I've made on it. I really need to back it up with a flash drive. I've currently been downloading a bunch of new fonts so that my worksheets will be extra cute. Here are some things I've created on my laptop:


Me on the Map flow map


Character Books for the Wizard of Oz unit


Graphic Organizer


Writing Webs



Okay, I think that's enough examples. I kind of got distracted going back and looking at past blog posts I hadn't seen in a while. I forgot some of the stuff we did last year! Except for the first one, all those examples were from first grade last year. I'm excited to use my laptop to make some new sheets for my third graders!

Thanks for reading my teaching must-haves. If it's your first time reading my blog, feel free to look around!

My Neurotic Little Puppy

I know, I know. That's not a very nice thing to say about your dog.

But, it's honestly true.

Finley is nuts.

Nuts, but adorable. Right?

She has so many weird little quirks and funny things that she does and I wanted to write them down on here so I'll remember them. She's hilarious and  always keeps us laughing :)

1. Before she will eat, she runs up to her food and kind of grabs at it. But she won't get any in her mouth. Then, she runs away and lays down. She goes back and forth and does this about 20 times before she eats. I have NO IDEA why... but, it's the funniest thing I've ever seen.

One of my favorite pics :)

2.It's even funnier when she's in her crate because she has nowhere to run! So, she just takes her head and dips it into her bed really fast. I can't even describe it. I've tried to videotape it... but, she stops if she sees me watching. I'm telling you... she's a weirdo :)

I found this picture yesterday on my camera from the first day I brought her home. She weighed a pound and a half!

3. When she finally does decide to eat it, she quickly grabs a mouthful and then runs away. She drops the mouthful on the ground and then eats one piece at a time. I think this is fairly normal... but, it still makes me laugh.

Finley and Jackson. He goes to my school and he and his big sisters watch Finley for me sometimes :)

4. I've been giving her these little puppy bones that are lamb and apple flavored. They're especially made for puppies and are soft on their tummies and teeth. She LOVES them! But, she won't just eat it. She tries to bury it first! I guess it's just a dog instinct. We'll be on my bed and she'll have the bone hanging out of her mouth and she will dig like her life depends on it. When she's made a little tunnel out of the blankets, she'll leave her bone there. Then, a few minutes later, she'll go get it and eat it. So funny.

Livin' the life...

5. She hates thresholds. She will literally stop at the point in the room where it goes from carpet to hardwood. She doesn't like hardwood floors because her feet slide. So, she'll just sit at the threshold and whine. She's gotten better with this the last few weeks. But, she WILL NOT touch my parents' marble hearth on their fireplace.

I was thinking she was getting so big! Then, I took this picture of her yesterday and changed my mind :) She weighs 4 pounds right now.

6. If I set her down somewhere unfamiliar, she will just lay there with all four legs spread eagle and not move a muscle. I took her into the powder room one time when I needed to run upstairs for a few minutes and was not able to watch her. When I came back to get her about 5 minutes later, she was in the exact same position just looking up at me like "How DARE you?"

Looking out of her travel crate....

7. She gets the zoomies bad! You know what the zoomies are, right? When puppies just kind of go crazy for no apparent reason and start running around? Well, she does this daily. She'll start off playing and then she'll just work herself up and then she starts sprinting around the room in circles making noises that I can only assume she learned from Cujo himself. It's hysterical.

Sweet little profile

8. She HATES ice. But, she LOVES ice. One day, I was working in the kitchen and I gave her an ice cube to play with. She went ballistic. She would run up to it and touch her nose to it. Then, she'd run away making the pig noise (see number 9). Then, she'd run back it and touch it and run away again. On and on and on. She eventually got it in her mouth and carried it into another room and dropped it on the floor in there. Then, she proceeded to continue the game for another 15 minutes. I took it away from her once it was small enough for her to possibly choke. But, it was quality entertainment for a good long time! (Mostly for me.)

Snoozing....

9. She sounds like a pig sometimes. When she's playing, especially anything aggressive, she'll make this deep grunting noise that sounds just like a pig.

Another oldie, but goodie :)

10. Her two favorite toys are a hanger and  a water bottle. I'm not even kidding:

See, I told you!

You may be thinking that she's a beast after all the things I just told you, but she's totally not! She was pretty much completely potty-trained after about 4 days. She has, to this day, never had an accident in her crate. She is sweet as the day is long and loves to cuddle. Right now, she's doing this:

and, I'm a happy girl :)

She's my buddy and I pretty much adore her.

Even though she's totally nuts.