Thursday Favorite Things: Houses; Socks; Free Covid Test Kits

Hello!  I'm trying out a new link-up:  Thursday Favorite Things hosted by An Artful Mom and Katherine's Corner.

A Normal House is a House for Me!

I saw on Instagram that there's a trend to live in a normally decorated house vs. the decorated houses that are always shown on Instagram (of course, I can't find the post now..).  Anyway, these top two picture show my very normal house.

On the lower left is a picture of an ornament I keep on my twinkle tree in the living room.  In addition to my normal house, I have a Texas street dog who is a lovable and loving mutt!

A Free App to Redecorate Your House

On Instagram, I also learned about the Onton app that virtually redecorates your house in the style of your choice.  You upload a picture of your room, and the app. generates a picture of the redecorated room.

Check out my normal dining room complete with my husband's puzzle board:

Here's the dining room transformed into cottage-style:

I have been enjoying seeing what my house could look like.  Honestly, I am just trying to keep it neat, tidy and somewhat clean!

Fun Socks!

I LOVE socks!  I also LOVE shopping at TJ Maxx or Marshall's.  I got these online:

These socks are colorful and comfortable!  

You can find these and Smartwool socks at TJ Maxx.  They also have Balega socks on Amazon.

Covid Tests

Last week I had Covid ~ just a mild case.  Consequently, I realized all my Covid tests were expired so off I went to CVS wearing my mask to buy a new testing kit.  Since then, I have ordered four free test kits.  Click here to learn more!

Thank you for visiting today!  I hope you enjoy virtually redecorating your house!  It's a fun diversion when you are isolating or the weather is uncooperative.

Friday Favorites for January 17, 2025: Still Slogging Through January and European Explorers!

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend!  I love learning about people who have changed the world in such a positive way!

Today I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Craftivity

I want to give a shout-out for this adorable Dr. King craft that my class did after reading this informational mini-book about his life.  After reading, the kids wrote an informational paragraph about Dr. King.  

To accompany their paragraphs, we did this timely craftivity.  I love how each student puts his/her unique touch on their Martins!

European Explorers

For years, there has been a Social Studies Standard:

European explorers’ first contacts with Native Peoples in the Northeast with the supporting question:

How did European explorers describe the Northeastern part of the United States and its Native Peoples?

I just felt that I didn't have the proper material to teach this standard so I created my own presentation and activities:

I spent a long time researching and learning all about the different explorers and the Native Americans they met along the way. Please click here or on the image to check out more details about this new product on TPT.

An Orchid Makes A Comeback!

I have an unfortunate habit of killing every orchid that I receive as a gift.  Amazingly, I have saved one:

I saw on Instagram that you are not to rotate or move orchids.  I routinely rotate my plants so they grow evenly, but I was not helping my orchid.  This plant came back from the edge and is about to flower!

Here in Massachusetts, the BIG news is snow and frigid temperatures in the forecast.  In other news, my husband is having surgery for his bilateral inguinal hernias on Wednesday (always something to look forward to!).  Thanks for visiting the blog, and happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Friday Favorites: Frigid, Windy and Snowy Weather (Definitely NOT a Favorite!)

Happy Weekend everyone!  Thank you for popping in as I link up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything!

Lovely Landforms!

Do you teach about landforms? Besides learning the basic landforms, we learned about weathering which is the process of breaking rocks.  Of course, living in Massachusetts in the winter, many potholes emerge so I'm always telling the kids to be on the lookout for potholes:

Who knew potholes could be so educational and useful?  In addition, looking out for potholes while driving is a life skill ~ after all, kids start learning to drive years before they sit behind the wheel of a car!  Think of all the money they could save on replacing the tires on their future cars.

Here's an anchor chart I made:

In addition, we made these fun landform books:

Click here or on the picture to check out this free activity on TPT!

What Students Learn in Social Studies in Kindergarden

Many years ago, I participated in an Atlas project for curriculum development for Social Studies.  I wrote about my experience in my Morning Message the next day:

During the professional development, I was noting all this information my third graders were supposed to know.  The next day, we started with the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance.  At last, I got one student to say it was an oath.  My question - "What's an oath?"  Student - "It's a promise."  That was the beginning and end of what the student knew.  Consequently, we went through the Pledge and discussed how it meant we would be loyal to our country and its flag.

I'd love for you to ask your students to see what their answers are ~ especially if they're a bit older.  Next week, I'll be reviewing the Pledge of Allegiance question again!

Story Structure

Our standards-based report card requires us to assess out students in these two areas:

*Demonstrate an understanding of story structure.

*Determine and summarize important ideas and details of a text.

Click here to get your freebie.

That's all for now!  Please let me know if you ask your own students about the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance!

Also, remember to check out other blogs here: