Visual Plans for January...what a month!

January has been quite a month in Northern Virginia...5 "snow" days and two days with two hour delays, bringing my county to ZERO days (or hours is how they do it here) left. How crazy is that? Temperatures below zero with the wind chill...the day we had a freeze day, it was -11 during the hours that the kids get picked up at the bus stop. I am from upstate NY, so these days off were bogus to me. I remember standing out side with so many layers that I could barely walk up the steps of the bus. My dad built me a small shed that looked like an outhouse. It had a bench in it so that me and my cousins, who lived next door, could get out of the wind on really cold days. Anyways...with this storm in the south right now we might get 1-2 inches tonight. We'll see! 

Well, how about Peek at my Month!

I don't have plans from the first week on January, because they were absolutely useless! We were one of the only counties in our area that had to go back for Th/F and then we wound up having a snow day on Friday! 

The above lesson plans are a full week...yes they are! BUT, I was out Monday with my daughter who had bronchitis and then Friday our first grade team had a full day of planning that had been rescheduled from our first snow day of the year on January 3rd. 

And I have started including a new page of lesson plans that shows which trade books that I get daily worksheets out of. Daily Language Review from Evan Moor is one that I used in second and third grade for morning work. My first grade team decided to start using it for the last two quarters of the year. I think it will really help with their writing and to prepare them for the grade to come with the routine.

There will be some changes taking place in my first grade class over the next couple of weeks in addition to using Daily Language Review. We begin the year with word family spelling lists with five additional sight words from the high frequency list. The word families were very easy for my first graders, so I am happy to move on to Words Their Way sorts. 

We will also start using a color behavioral chart that goes beyond green to Quality Student. I have created many behavioral charts for my TpT store, but I feel that my students would benefit from using only red, yellow, green and blue. I created punch cards at the beginning of the year and had so much on my plate with behavioral issues and getting to learn the curriculum that I did not use them the way I wanted to. So my goal is to use them with the chart and with mini competitions in the classroom to hopefully improve behaviors and academics. I have been pushing my students to write with their neatest handwriting and so I think the first competition will be to produce something with their best handwriting. Other competitions that I have in my mind are spellings bees and flash card fact rounds. 

Until Currently for February...I imagine I won't be getting around to blogging at all the rest of the week since report cards are due! 

Happy New Year! Currently and a New Activity Pack!

Happy New Year to all! I can't believe that we are writing 2014 already...oh how the time flies!

Short recap of my holiday break...

NY, family, friends, four or five Christmases, colds, sneezing, lots of sleeping in, walks in the woods, rang in the New Year, back to VA, one day of school (Thursday), SNOW DAY (Friday) = 3 day weekend, and a new holiday themed pack for TpT!

This is going to be a short post, because I have been on the computer a lot today finishing my pack and my shows are about to begin (The Bachelor at 8pm and Downton Abbey at 9pm!)

Currently with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade

Listening...I went back and counted that I have used General Hospital for at least three of my currently's in 2013...I had like 10 on the DVR that I had to catch up on...watching the last one right now!

Loving...2014 is looking to be a great year! We are saving money, looking forward to nice tax return, working towards a healthier lifestyle, moving into a single family home, friends and family in NY over the summer, and Addyson starting Kindergarten in September (OMG!)

Thinking...that the snow day we had on Friday was our 1st grade team planning day...and on Thursday the outlook for a snow day wasn't too clear, so I left all of my stuff in school. But I did make lesson plans for a sub for Friday so I guess I can use those tomorrow. Hoping our team planning day is rescheduled for this week.  

Wanting...another week off...I mean who doesn't? Once I start back up again, I am sure I'll get into the routine, but it sure has been nice spending time with my husband and daughter. 

Needing...to start my New Year regimen! It is all planned out, lunch made for the week, dinner planned for the week, motivational wall is up, and my husband is ON BOARD! We both want to lose between 20-30 lbs and doing it together will hopefully be good for us. 

Memory/Tradition...even though I usually complain about how hectic our holidays are between going back and forth and visiting friends back in NY, I love it! I can't imagine the day when we don't go back to NY to celebrate the holidays...but then on the other hand I think about Addy and how if we always travel, Santa will never really come to her house. Traditions will change, I'm sure, over the next few years...but the memories of our New York holidays will always stay close to my heart. <3 Home <3

And I leave you with my new activity pack...

...AND because I am feeling generous...and it's the New Year...the first 14 people to comment will get the pack for FREE! To qualify, I need you to 1) leave a comment below, 2) include your e-mail address, 3) be a kind teacher and proof it for me, 4) PIN it on Pinterest using the three holiday names.

Gotta love Snow DAYS (yes, two!) and a Peek at my (short) Week!

We are on snow day #2 here in Northern VA. Not like the snow day's we are used to in upstate NY. My fellow NYer's just laugh at our snow days, but I am not going to complain for sure! I've had to change my visual plans twice, but that's okay too. A nice short week with a field trip, followed by our week leading up to Winter Break will fly right by and then it's back to NY for the holidays. 

And for my holiday gift to my students for next week before break...SNOWMAN SOUP! Found several different photos of this idea on PINTEREST (this one is from Coley's Corner, click photo for original post). I have cute little Christmas bags from the Dollar Tree, a pack of cocoa, mini marshmallows, a mini candy cane and Hershey milk chocolate chips. Not sure if I will make my own labels or get them from someone else. We'll see! I'll post my final products next week when I make them along with some photos from our Polar Express Days!

Happy Holidays: December Currently & Visual Plans

...I am a little later than usually for Currently, with Farley, but here it is!  

Listening: My husband came home from the store with Mortal Instruments from RedBox, so we are giving it a try. Not sure how I feel about it just yet. 

Loving: I had my first observation of the school year, I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it. I have always had good observations, but my class of 28 has surely given me a run for my money. I invited my principal in for guided reading and Daily 5 and the kiddos were ANGELS! I was so proud of them. She left my a note on my desk complimenting my lessons, my students and then said YOU ARE AWESOME! That just made my day! 

Thinking: I was all excited that I got the majority of my Christmas shopping done between Black Friday and Cyber Monday...that is until my four year told me she didn't need her own "iPad". Elf on the Shelf, ours name is Jefferson, has just started visiting our house and I told her to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. Just to see what she thought about the idea, I said told to ask for her own "iPad" in which she replies no. Well that just chapped my buns, especially since I had just ordered a Kindle Fire HD for $119!!! Seriously, saved $50 on the price and thought it was a great idea since she is always using our real iPad. So I cancelled the order. She is in the stage right now where when she doesn't want something, she gets cranky. So I guess it's out to find more pink Princess, Barbie and other things this weekend!

Wanting: As you know, if you already follow my blog, my husband and I are originally from NY. Our friends and family are back in NY celebrating the usual pre-holiday festivities and I am missing home. We stayed in VA for Thanksgiving because we did a lot of traveling this summer and early fall. Plus, my parents were in Wyoming and we planned a Friends Giving. This is the first year we missed Thanksgiving Eve out with our friends...and I am missing the girls ugly sweater/white elephant party...but new traditions in the making. VA is really starting to feel like our new "home". 

Needing: Not sure explaining here...I just need a pamper me day. 

Favorite Tradition: Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation with my parents. We have been watching this movie since I was a little girl, as far back as I can remember. It is HILARIOUS! And I want to buy this shirt from Kohl's to wear this holiday season:

And here are my Visual Plans for this week as well...(two birds, one stone!)

I'll be honest...I was waiting to do Currently because I am in the middle of creating a Christmas Centers Packet and a Holiday Packet of worksheets, but I just don't have the time or motivation to finish them. It's odd because I was like this last December too. I made a Thanksgiving packet last year and this year, tried to finish a Christmas packet both last year and this year...but no such luck yet. I do however have my Polar Express packets available in my TpT store...

  v

Check them out! And because it is the holiday season, I am feeling fabulous because of my observation and I have nothing new to share with you...the first five people to comment will get one of above packets for FREE! All you need to do is the following: 

• PIN the cover on Pinterest with my blog address and Polar Express in the comment 
• Follow me on my blog and blog lovin' if you aren't already
• Leave your e-mail in the comment so I know where to send the packet (and tell me which one you prefer)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Not sure if I will be bloggin' again until I am officially on WINTER BREAK (December 20th is our last day...and YES, we have to go back on January 2nd and 3rd...don't get me started!)

Visual Plans: Better Late than Never!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks so I am going to keep this short. Trying to tie up all of our units so that the 4 1/2 day break does not completely mess with my firsties brains. One Thanksgiving dinner down, and two more to go! I signed my husband and I up for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning so that should be fun. Then we are spending the day with our cousins. It will be the first Thanksgiving that we are not spending with either set of our parents, but we just couldn't justify traveling home for the 10th time in 2013 when we are going home in another few weeks for Christmas. Then Saturday we are hosting our 2nd annual Friends-giving with 25-30 of our friends! Should be much fun!!

Possible delay or snow day tomorrow in NOVA? We'll see...better where my PJ's inside out!

Tieks for my FOLLOWERS!!!

...well a discount anyway! I bought my first pair of tieks about a month or so ago and I love them. They took a week to break in and at first I was not convinced, but then they literally just stared molding to my feet. I wear them almost every day to school and my feet never hurt at the end of the day.

So, I can send this discount opportunity on to four people...be one of the first four and I will email it along. All you have to do is email it to four of your friends and get them in on the discount too! No purchase necessary, just share four friends emails and then you will receive a code in your email for 20% off! And if you are as crazy on a promo code hunter as I am, you know that it is NEAR impossible to find one for Tieks!

I am thinking I will use my code for these:

CHESTNUT!

ALSO...come back soon to be the winner of a Polar Express Packet freebie! 

H is for Helpful Hints (We are THANK ful for Linky Party)

I'm linking up again with Blog Hoppin' for their Linky Party: We are THANK ful for...and today's post is...

I mentioned in my post yesterday to make sure you stopped in for today's helpful hints! Here are my Top Three Helpful Hints for Teachers:

I have been teaching on and off for the past 5 years...every grade K-6. Last year was my first ever FULL year of being a full time teacher. But not matter how long you've been teaching, it will always be important to plan ahead. This has always been a goal of mine each year: plan ahead at least one week. Not until this year, when I found an amazing linky party, have I been so organized in my planning. I am always a week, if not two weeks planned ahead because I am obsessed with creating and blogging with my Visual Plans. There are easy to make, but for your convenience, I uploaded by template on TpT. Click on Hint #1 to go and download it.

A few of my followers have asked me how I make my TpT products...so here you go! Click on Hint #2 for the download.

And last but certainly not least, Donors Choose! This website used to confuse me soooo much and I would get frustrated and give up. Well it is updated in the last few months and now is SUPER easy to create a project. I am currently running a project for an iPad for my classroom. You can now put things in a project from Amazon, Best Buy and Scholastic. Before it was only teacher stores like LakeShore and others. Took me less than 30 minutes to get this project up and ready to go. You can share the project link on your facebook and friends and family can donate as well. Check it out!

Come back tomorrow and check out my post for:

Wednesday:  ACTIVITIES LIKE... We will post about activities that we just love doing in our classrooms!  Show us those WOW lessons!