April Currently

It's the first part of the month again, time for Farley's Currently. :)  

Listening: I LOVE The Golden Girls.  One of my favorite parts of any break is a enjoying a cup of coffee while watching it. 

Loving: Of course, I am loving my spring break!  
This school year has brought so many changes in education and my mind and body has been exhausted.  I'm so thankful for a day recharge my batteries. 

Thinking: It's time to bring the school bag into the house. I've organized the house and did some work in my yard so I can tackle some school and TpT to do lists.  A little bit here and there will help me get everything well before 8:00 pm on Sunday night.  

Wanting: I am pretty tall, so I wear flats almost every day.  I'm thinking it's time for a really nice pair that's comfortable and cute.  So obviously, I'm thinking a pair of Tieks is in order. :)  Once I get over the sticker shock. 

Needing: I just finished my first cup, and now I'm ready for another. :)  I am trying to cut back on my caffeine intake, so two cups will have to do!

Hours and Days: My kiddos are with me from 9:30-4:00. Yes, that's a late day.  To save money, all the schools in my district are on staggered starts to have fewer buses/drivers.  My hours are from 8:40-4:10.  At first, I wasn't a fan of these hours, but I've gotten used to them over the past three years.  

Our last day with kids is June 2nd, thanks to snow days. We have a work day on June 3rd, which will means I have about two weeks before my summer session at grad school.  

I'm off to hit publish and go enjoy this wonderful day! :) Have a great one!

February Currently and my Brand New Look!

I am linking up with Farley for the first time in ages, it's been way too long, for February's Currently.  I know I'm a little tardy to the party, so I'm thankful she leaves the linky up all month for people like me. :) 

Oh! Notice anything new? My blog just got a HUGE redesign! I am so thankful that Kassie from Designs by Kassie took my vision and turned it into to something SO me. :)

So let's start the Currently party! :)

Listening: My husband LOVES Restaurant Impossible. Since I'm blogging, he gets to drive the remote.  

Loving: Obviously, I'm LOVING my new blog design! It's SO ME! :) I'm also loving that I had a snow day to recover from my last formal observation and my sweet dad showed up unannounced and cleaned off my very snowy driveway with his snow blower!

Thinking: We had a another snow day today.  We've had one five day week since going back after Christmas.  We are on snow day number seven here.  I've enjoyed the breaks but now I'm thinking enough is enough. I heard Opening Day is only fifty five days away, bring on baseball weather! #thiswinterhasbeeninsane #pleasecomespring

Wanting: Jason Aldean is playing at Great American Ballpark this summer with Flordia Georgia Line and my girl, Miranda Lambert. I told my hubs that tickets would be a great 30th birthday present. :)

Needing: To finish grading, it is never ending. #somanypapers #solittletime

Two Fibs and a Lie

1. This is one is actually TRUE! I am good friends with the aunt of one of my former students and her dad, my student's grandpa, introduced me to my husband. 
2. This one is FALSE.  The Cameo and I are not becoming fast friends.  The learning curve/process has been steep but I'm slowly getting there.  #babysteps 
3.  Another TRUTH! I LOVE the Olympics, one of my college friends is actually competing this year in Sochi! He's a member of the USA Bobsledding Team. :) 

Happy New Year and Currently Jan.

I'd like to begin this post by wishing you and yours a very happy new year! 

While 2012 brought some really great things, like our new house, blogging and TpT, it also brought some pretty big lows for my family...so we are welcoming 2013 with open arms at our house! 

This year, I'm hoping to be a bit more focused in my blog posts.  For example, sharing recaps of units or focused practice of skills.  So posts might be more scattered here in there but I hope they will provide you with lots of ideas to implement in your own classroom. My posts might be scattered here and there, which is why I would LOVE to have you follow me on Facebook too.  You can check out Fourth and Ten's page {here}.   I plan on posting more day to day things on Fourth and Ten's Facebook page. 

My precious friend Farley also has January's Currently up! So excited to join in the party since my NYE's celebration includes vegging on the couch with my hubs, pups, and old school SNL (think early 2000s I LOVE Cheri Oteri and Will Ferrell) on Netflix Streaming.  

My OLW for this year is BALANCE.  I have a horrible habit of spreading myself so thin, causing myself to feel stressed and overwhelmed.  I hope to juggle the joys of teaching, blogging, product creating and coaching with the blessings of being a wife, daughter, granddaughter, friend and dog mom a little better this year. :)  Wish me luck! 

November Currently

Hey all! I promise I'm alive. ;) Just a little busy.  We are in middle of this crazy six week period of three sets of parent teacher conferences, report cards, data meetings, Iowa and CoGat testing, IEP meetings, etc. You name it...it has happened or will happen over the past six weeks.  

I just got in from dinner with my grandma, and am loving some quality time with my couch and the Fabulous Farley's November Currently. 

 
This weekend is so welcomed, and I'll be content to stay in my jammies all day long tomorrow.  I desperately need to clean my house, do laundry, and whip up November's math centers.  My fabulous grandma helper is coming to volunteer and Monday, so I need to be prepared! :) 

It hasn't been all work though, last weekend my hubs and I replaced my 10+ year old car last weekend.  :) It's so strange going to a brand new car in the school's parking lot, but I'm loving it though, especially not worrying about my car, it's had so many issues.  

Farley asked us about our favorite music and in the classroom and I'm so glad that she did! I love playing music in the classroom! I usually do some type of jazz music.  My kids LOVE to talk, and I've found the upbeat tempo of most jazz music keeps their hands/feet busy and they're less likely to talk.  If I play classical, they just chat, chat, chat.  I especially love the Vince Guaraldi channel on Pandora! 

Wondering what more bloggers are up to? Head over to Farley's blog to read November Currently's from your favorite bloggers! :) Click on Farley's button to head on over! :)

  

Currently October

Say what? It's time for Currently October already? I'm excited though, because I love getting to know more about my favorite teacher blogging pals. :) Plus it's the perfect excuse to postpone my huge pile of to dos in my teacher bag.  Our lesson plan binders are being reviewed tomorrow and I've got some tidying up to do. :)

I love how Farley added a book section to this month's currently.  Obviously, I LOVE seasonal literature.  You can read how I use seasonal books to motivate my kiddos here.  I have lots of seasonal books, but I'm pretty certain this is my favorite. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Dav Pilkey.  Love that he motivates my boys to read.  Hate that he's the only author they want to read.  Anyways, I just love this book and it's sweet story. :)

Head over to Farley's blog to link up/read all about what your favorite teacher bloggers are up to! :) Thanks so much, Farley!

 

TGI almost Friday! :) I am so excited for a weekend of football.  My district's homecoming is tomorrow, and well these boys play on Saturday. 

Source: via Lisa on Pinterest

I'm not ashamed to admit this, I have a total girl crush on Urban Meyer. :) Go Bucks! :)

Have a great night, friends! 

Currently September

Well look who it is, it's ME blogging on my blog! I certainly hope you enjoyed my guest posters while I was gone.  Our new home is finally unpacked and I'm blogging from my fabulous home office, and what better way to get back in the swing of things than by linking up with the one and only Farley?

In other news, my fourth graders and I survived our first week and half of school! I'll be back with a full recap, but after many nights of working on home tasks until after midnight, locking myself out of my house one day before work, and an endless mountain off back to school paperwork, I was beginning to think I might not! PTL y'all for coffee and Coke Zero! I am loving that the boxes are unpacked and I can get "caught" up today! My new home office and I are about to become very good friends! :)

Ohio State won their first game with Urban Meyer as head coach yesterday! :)  Go Bucks! I just can't wait until the end of the month, when my hubs and I get to go a game at the most wonderful place on Earth, Ohio Stadium!  I just love this picture of Blogging Brutus! :)

Enjoy your days off friends, I hope most of you do have them off! I'll be back this week to share some fun stuff with you, promise! :)

Currently August

I've been back to work teaching summer school for the past three weeks, and I can attest to the back that my top item on my back to school list is coffee and caffeine.  I only have my kiddos for two hours a day, but I come home exhausted.  I wonder if we can do nap time in fourth grade? I so need to work on my teaching stamina! Until it comes back, coffee, coffee, and more coffee.


Okay moving onto my real school must haves, other than coffee...
Every year I purchase a new planner.  Usually this is a desktop calendar where I write everything down. I know I can do the same on my phone, but it just doesn't work for me.  Last year, my desk was so tiny, that I didn't have space for my planner, of any kind, or my lesson plan binder to be laid out on it.  I'm not going to lie, I felt so uncomfortable not being able to easily glance at my lesson plans, or having the ability to jot down a meeting in my calendar after reading an email, or not having the stack of papers I needed for the day.  My desk is really command central.  I'm never sitting down during the day, but the clunky desktop computer that is attached to my Smartboard is there and so it makes to sense to put  the resources I need for the day in an easily accessible there too.  So thankful I will actually have space for these things this year.  :)
Secondly, I always purchase extra school supplies during the summer, for myself and my kiddos.  This year, I'm revamping how I store/handle the kiddos supplies because having them keep them in their desks doesn't work.  Somehow one kid ends up with ALL the glue sticks in the glass, and five of them eat every pencil in the place.  I think I'm boldly taking the step to mostly communal supplies, with the exception of crayons and dry erase markers. 

Lastly, organizational goodies are SO important.  Personally, labels, plastic crates, shoe boxes, and other plastic box/lid combinations keep me sane.  I love grabbing a container knowing all the manipulatives/materials I need are inside.  Last year, I moved schools/grades less than a week before school started and I never felt organized and it drove me bonkers. So I've spent a lot of time this summer, just planning out how I'm going to organize my room and collecting the necessary materials to make it all happen. :) 

Before I hit publish, and link up,  I want to thank dear, sweet Farly for hosting! :) 

I also want to thank you for your sweet, sweet comments and emails after my post last night.  The migraine is gone, woohoo! My migraines are almost always brought on by stress, so I just need to do a better job of relaxing during this super crazy time! :)

Have a great weekend, friends!

July Currently

It's time for July's currently! :) 

This summer is kicking into straight up crazy mode starting now! Our house is about fifty days away from closing, hooray! I start teaching summer school in the middle of July, and my dad's retirement party is this weekend.  Since moving is coming up soon, the purging process should have started weeks ago, but I'm just now getting my act in gear.  Like I've mentioned on the little ole blog before, I love being organized, but getting there is not my strong suite. :)  

As far as the reads sections, I read Sideways Stories From Wayside School to my kids every year and they love it, I love it, everybody loves it.  It's just a big ole love fest of goofy stories. This year, I may or may not have downloaded some of the cartoons for my kiddos.  Really not like the book at all, but they LOVED them. :) This year, I discovered Mercy Watson and my second graders ADORED them.  I think at one point, my class had every copy of the series checked out from the local library.   I reread Teaching With Intention before school every summer, I just love, love, love it. 

Make sure you head over to Farley's blog to check out everybody's Currently posts.  I know I'm heading there as soon as I hit publish! :)



 

Currently February

It's that time again, time to join up with Farley and this month's Currently!

I'm still grinning because of Abby and Michelle's Blogger Meet Up.  It was so fantastic being surrounded by so many people who are so passionate about teaching.   All the love and support in the room was so wonderful and inspiring! 


I mean look at all of us! Thanks for the picture, Abby. :) I can hardly wait to do it again!



Well, I'm out of here for tonight.  Rest and relaxation is on the agenda for tonight. 


Have a great evening!