Five for a "Researchy" Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  I missed my Five for Friday last week :(  It is one of my favorite things about the week.  So I am happy to be linking up again.

 So #1 for this week has got to be SPRING BREAK! I can't believe it!  The year is rounding the corner to the end and it has gone so fast.  Oh...and FYI...we are suppose to have a huge snow storm this weekend.

Alright...#2 is pizza.  Natalie and I have been working on fractions for the past couple of weeks.  We have had a lot of fun.  Our firsties broke cookies into fractions, make a fraction quilt, and (of course) some pizza.

#3 is for research.  Maria and I have been working on animal research reports for the past couple of weeks and it came to an end today with a celebration!  Parents, second graders, and kindergarteners walked around to our three classrooms and got to hear the research reports.  WOW!  They did a great job! Check out some of the work...

 #4 is research assessment.  We are learning about writing assessment as we go.  It is a constant learning.  Here is the student checklist and rubric that we used for this project.  Click below picture for your copy.

Click Here

Fonts: Type Key by Typadelic and Cinnamon Cake by Brittany Murphy.
#5 is next up...Fancy Nancy.  What The Teacher Wants posted about Fancy words and we got inspired.  After Spring Break, we will begin talking "fancy."  It will also connect to our "Henry and Mudge and Mrs. Hopper's House" that we will be reading.  Students will be writing a "how-to" and may have the opportunity to celebrate some fanciness at the end of our unit!

Happy Weekend Everyone!
Em

Five For Friday

Yay for Friday!!

1.  Okay...brace yourself...My number one this week is S.N.O.W....D.A.Y!  Can you believe it???? First one in two years (I think).  It was a pretty exciting phone call to get.  My girls, husband, and I enjoyed a little "cold" time in the snow together.

2. Our girls decided to share their "fierce" faces with us at dinner.  I just had to share with you!

3. This week we read "The Dot."  Oh...I love this story.  Have you ever used this story in your classroom?

My curious teammate, Natalie, and I decided to try to connect this to our math study of fractions.  And we think it was pretty successful.  Here's what we did:

Our firsties tried to throw a round sponge into the target circle.  Each student got two tries.  We talked about how Vashti learned to not give up.  Then we took our results and wrote fractions.  And (of course) we ended the lesson by telling our firsties to "sign it."

4. Maria and I started a research unit this week.  Animal research.  And...oh..my...goodness...our kiddos are just so excited about it! 
We started with some cute decor.  This owl is based on an owl that I saw here.

Then we read "Sharks!" to our firsties.  We asked them to listen to facts about what the sharks look like, eat, where they live, and how they move.  We used post-its to mark where the facts are located in the book.  (Yellow=looks like; Green=eat; Blue=live; Pink=move).

They picked out their animal today and the book they need to do their research.  How exciting!!

5. Tonight we walked around the antique mall looking for some inspiration.  We bought this cool frame from Ikea.  It was black and we painted it white.

It is going to be hung on a brown wall above a twin bed.  But I just can't decide what should go inside of it.  Any ideas??

And last...I am linking up with Fifth in the Middle to share that I am a...

Happy Weekend everyone!
Em

It's Currently Time!!!!!

Yes.... it's March.... That means... it's time for Farley's Currently!  :)  If you've never done this before, you should.  It's super fun and I just checked... She posted like... 22 hours ago and there were already like 1,000,000 almost 220 posts!!!!  Amazing!

Here's what I'm doing... Currently.  :)

My hubby is listening to/watching basketball.  I'm working on the computer, so I'm listening too.  :)
LOVING..... the ladies I work with.  They are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! I feel so blessed everyday that I have such a wonderful, supportive team. 
THINKING.. I have lots of work to do.  I need to get sub plans ready for Monday because I have a personal day and I'm headed to school tomorrow to get everything in order.
WANTING.... sleep.  My youngest keeps having night terrors (Me diagnosed) and keeps waking up about 2-3 times a night.  I think for the whole month of February I only slept through the night once or twice.  I'll take any advice!
NEEDING... 'nough said.
LIKE.. Minnie Mouse!  Can't wait to see her when we go to Disney this summer.  Which... I need to post about.  :)
LOVE... Mac n' Cheese!  Kraft, homemade, if it has cheese and noodles, I'm in!
HATE... Mustard.  I just don't like it. I guess I should have put M&M's too because I HATE chocolate!  :)


So what are you "Currently" doing???????  Can't wait to hear about it!
PS.... You still have time to head over to our 100 Follower Giveaway! My talented Curious Friend Em made an AWESOME Wreath to giveaway!   :)  Just click the picture below to check it out!!!

Five for Friday (thank goodness)

Wow! It has been a crazy.fun.busy.crazy week!

One
My amazing math teammate, Natalie, and I start working with fractions next week.  So I ordered these two books to help us along.   "Full House" was a new read for me and I think it will be a fun way to introduce the concept.

Two
It was Dr. Seuss week.  One of my favorite activities came from a quick change in plans in our daily schedule.  Maria is so quick to think on her feet!  She came up with this amazing idea to go along with the "The Tooth Book."

Three
This was another favorite activity of mine this week. "Sight Word Apples Up On Top"

Four
This week I successfully made some gluten free banana bread.  My teammate, Karen, needed a healthy treat this week and I think it did the trick :)

Five
Our 100 follower Giveaway ends soon.  Hope you can enter!

Thanks to Doodle Bugs for this time to reflect on the week.  But I am so glad that it is Friday!  I need some sleep time.

Em