The truth is a little late these days.....

I am linking up with Sunny Days in Second Grade for My Truth Monday...

 

This week's theme is what is creepy:

 

Mushrooms.  Recently, I have read that mushrooms are actually healthy for you, but I just can't eat them because of the texture.

 

Scary Movies.  Back in the day, I couldn't wait to get home to watch the original Dark Shadows.  What a great show that was!  After watching Silence of the Lambs, I knew scary movies were a thing of the past for me.

 

The creepiest thing.  A few years ago I thought I saw a mouse in the house.  Then I knew that I saw a mouse scampering across the kitchen floor.  One mouse = lots of mice somewhere in the house.  So I called the exterminator who has come quarterly every since.

 

Happy Halloween!

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Teacher Fitness Thursday On Tuesday Which Is Not Too Late

Today is the second month of Teacher Fitness Thursday, and the topic is motivation. Who or what motivates you? (for my students - motivates = gives you a reason to do something) This link-up was created by Melissa over at Don't Let The Teacher Stay Up Late.

Basically, I have always exercised because I want to stay healthy and young.  Of course, technically, I'm still getting older, but maybe, if I'm lucky, my body will stay/feel young if I exercise.  Additionally, in the past, I've been able to eat what I want without gaining weight.  In the last 2 years, exercise has not been enough to keep the weight off.  Hmmm, I guess my body might be getting older - even with all my exercising.  I'm still going to exercise any way for the health benefits.

 

Happy exercising! 

 

 

 

 

 

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Make-Up News From Last Week: Guest Readers and More About the Authors

Last week our class was amazingly lucky to have 2 guest readers.  First, we had Ms. Michelle who came to read for the second time this year:

That's her son TJ to the left.

 

We were also delighted to have Ms. Karen:

 

 

That's her daughter, Ava, to the left.

 

The students are so excited and delighted to have guest readers, especially when it's their own Mom.  I'm hoping some dads might volunteer, too.

 

 

 

 Here are some more examples of About the Author Sentence Powerpoints.

 

This is Amanda's version.

 

Here is Kyle's:

 

 

 

Here's TJ's page:

 

The kids love making Powerpoints!  Many of them have taught themselves how to add sounds, different effects, .... I'm going to share 3 of these About the Author pages until they are all shown.  Check back soon for more news!

 

 

 

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Another Week = Another Peek

Wow, another week has flown by!  Now it's time to look forward to the week ahead with Jennifer at
http://mrslaffinslaughings.blogspot.com/

 

1.  This week will be a real tornado week as we'll be reading:

 

 

This book is very informative.  I also got Tornadoes by Gail Gibbons so by the end of this week, we will all be tornado experts.

 

 

 

2.  On October 31st, we'll be having a breakfast party.  When we have parties, we have to have healthy food, and breakfast just tends to be a healthier meal.

 

 

 

3.  We'll be starting to learn about Native Americans - one of my favorite chapters in Social Studies.  I'm very fascinated by native cultures.

 

 

 

 

So much to do, so little time....

 

Have a wonderful week!

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Storybooks for Students and a Chapter Book for Grown-Ups!

It's a super Saturday which means it's time to link up with Paula for her Storybook Saturday Link Up!

 

This week I read a really fun book by Daniel Pinkwater:

 

 

There is a whole series of Irving and Muktuk adventures.  In this book, Irving and Muktuk, who are 2 polar bears living in the local zoo, decide to escape so they can go visiting.  This book was great for making predictions.  Plus, it was funny and engaging. 

 

This next book, by the same author:

was in our MCAS (state testing) a few years back.  I find it's fun to read the book earlier in the year, so when we're doing the practice test, the kids are so excited when they realize that we've read the book already.

This is one of the latest Daniel Pinkwater books.  I haven't read it yet, but I'll be ordering it through the interlibrary loan.

 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (from Australia) is a chapter book for grown-ups.  I actually heard about it from Paula - the one and only person who started the Storybook Link-Up.  This is a brand new book here in the USA, and I was the first person to take it out from my library.  This book is about Don, a college professor who is totally brilliant but is lacking in social skills.  He's looking for a wife and creates this long questionnaire that eliminates pretty much everyone.  This book is so funny that it has made me laugh out loud several times, and I don't laugh easily when I'm reading.  If you're looking for an insightful and fun book, you should add this book to your list.

 

Enjoy these fun and funny books!

 

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It sure is a fantastic Friday!

Happy Weekend!  Today I'm linking up to share some random things from my week!

We thoroughly enjoyed learning about carnivorous plants.  Before I read this book:

 

I only knew about Venus flytraps.  Now the kids and I know all about pitcher plants, sundews, bladderworts, cobra lilies, ...  Some of the kids decided that they didn't like the word "bladderwort" for some reason.  At least, they'll probably all remember the name of this carnivorous plant.

 

2

We had Red Sox day last week. 

 

I need to get a Red Sox shirt some day.

 

 

3.  We are practicing to do a play called The Ugly Pumpkin.  The kids are very excited, and we are looking forward to performing for the other 3rd grade classes and the younger grades. 

 

 

4.  Last Wednesday morning I drove my husband to the airport.  We left the house at 6:00 am.  Well, A LOT of people drive into Boston, and we got stuck in a fair amount of traffic.  Any way, I dropped him off (finally) and was on my way to work (on the opposite side of the highway), when my phone rang.  "I can't find my license!"  This is what I said:  "Well, I'm not driving back to the airport."  When I finally made it to Dunkin Donuts, I found his license  on the floor of the car.  I took a picture with my phone and sent it to his phone.  Amazingly, airport security let him through, and he made it to Florida. 

 

 

5.  Today we did the I-ready reading test in Computer Lab.  It was very quiet, and everyone seemed very busy at their computers.  After the test, the kids could work on Powerpoints.  They are amazingly adept at figuring out how to use all the different affects and designs, etc.  I'm even learning new ideas from them! 

 

Until next time...

 

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My Truth About Fitness

 

 

Today I'm finally getting around to linking up with Denise whose blog is at:

http://sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com/

 

Every Monday she'll post a new topic, and people can share their stories.  This week's topic is fitness.  I really try to keep in shape because I want to stay young and healthy.  More importantly, I want to be able to eat what I want and not gain weight.  Now here's the truth: 

 

 

 

I don't know who said this, but I believe it:  Health is our only wealth.  I'm trying to be thankful for my health every day.  That is the truth.

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Wonder What We're Working On Next Week?

Wow, this weekend has flown by!  Now it's time to look forward to the week ahead with Jennifer at
http://mrslaffinslaughings.blogspot.com/

 

1.  This week we'll be reading about carnivorous plants in:

 

 

I do love this book because I'm quite fascinated by Venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants.  I meant to go to Home Depot to see if I could track down my own Venus flytrap, but I never did make it over.  Luckily, I made a flipchart that goes along with this book, and you can check it out here:

 

http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en/Download.aspx?ContentId=156364

 

 

2.  We're starting a new chapter in Math about perimeter and shapes.  We'll be using our rulers quite a bit this week to draw and measure shapes.  Additionally, we'll keep reviewing subtraction.

 

 

3.  Last week we did some work on mentor sentences.  A mentor sentence is a well written sentence from a book.  For the activity last week, we read If You Find A Rock  by Peggy Christian.  This book described finding different types of rocks in all sorts of different places.  I wrote the mentor sentence on the board, and the kids had to write their own version.  It also helped that I have a great assortment of rocks available since we are studying rocks in Science.  The kids' sentences were amazing!  Each sentence needed 4 adjectives, and the kids did a fabulous job.  After I checked one of their sentences, they got a new rock and proceeded to write another sentence. 

 

I got this freebie from:

 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/If-You-Find-a-Rock-Mentor-Sentence-Freebie-712908

 

Next week we'll be doing a similar activity with Enemy Pie.

 

 

4.  Last, but not least, I'll be reading Enemy Pie by Derek Munson.  Thanks to my friend and colleague, Cheryl F., we'll also be listening to the book being read by Camryn Manheim.  Here's the link for that activity:

 

http://www.storylineonline.net/enemy-pie/

 

Here's to a happy and healthy week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Saturdays And Storybooks Always Make Me Smile!

It's a super Saturday which means it's time to link up with Paula for her Storybook Saturday Link Up!

 

I was in my local library picking out my weekly batch of books this morning when I noticed a sign which said that next week is National Civility Week (for my students:  civility means showing respect and using good manners).

 

With that idea in mind, here is my recommendation for Civility Week or any week for that matter:

 

 

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

 

This book even has an accompanying Reading Rainbow DVD:

 

 

This book tells the story of a boy whose new neighbor - Jeremy Ross - becomes his biggest enemy. Dad has a solution to help his son get along with Jeremy - he has to spend the day with Jeremy and invite Jeremy for dinner.  The dessert is "enemy pie."  This book is just a great story to begin with, and it has a great message, too.  Plus, the DVD goes along perfectly.

 

Additionally, I found this link which has activities to accompany Enemy Pie.   

 

http://ayearofmanyfirsts.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-book-nook-enemy-pie.html

 

Please let me know how you like your "enemy pie."  Bon apetit!

 

 

 

 

 

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Five For Friday - Vintage Version

It's that time of the week  to link up with:  http://www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/
for Five for Friday.  Here's the old logo - I thought I'd use this for a change.

1.  Today in Computer Lab, we took a math assessment at I-ready.com.  This assessment gives an idea of what math skills the kids know well as well as areas where more instruction is needed.  To use I-ready, the kids need to use head phones so they can hear the instructions.  Here's a handy tip:  keep each set of  head phones in a sandwich bag.  This system prevents the head phones from getting hopelessly tangled up.

 

2.  We had a guest reader today - Mrs. Gibbons!  She came in and read two Halloween books.  On top of that, she brought gifts:  a mini-pumpkin and a pencil for each student.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed having a guest reader.  Here's a picture:

 

 

 

3.  This afternoon we had Book Buddies with Mrs. Murphy's kindergarten class.  The kids LOVE Book Buddies because they get to read picture books and be role models.  Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  We started sharing our Sentence Powerpoints on the big screen in class.  I just love the About the Author pages so I'm going to share each student's page.  Check these out:

 

 

 

5.  My son, Derek, had his first full day of work today.  He's working in Congressman T.'s (Derek doesn't want me to use his name) local office.  Derek graduated from college last spring and was so excited to finally get a job in government.  Then,  the government shut down on the exact day he was supposed to start.  At long last, he worked all day, and he's not even tired.  It's nice to be young.

 

Any way, I'm hoping to be in bed by 9:00 at the latest, and it's a Friday night. 

 

Happy Weekend!

 

 

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Peek at a 4 Day Week

It's Monday night of a long weekend, and it's time to look forward to the week ahead with Jennifer at
http://mrslaffinslaughings.blogspot.com/

 

1.  Since this is a 4 day week, we'll be reading the story Guys From Space by Daniel Pinkwater.  This story tells of a boy with a very active imagination who goes off with space guys and drinks root beer floats on another planet.  It's perfect for our short week.

 

 

 

2.  We'll be having a Science quiz on rocks and minerals, and then we'll wrap up the chapter by learning about fossils.  I must admit that I've always been quite fascinated by dinosaurs.

 

 

3.  Thanks to the sale at TPT, I bought a product about Mentor Sentences.  I'm pretty excited to try to get my students to write well written sentences with details - emphasis on the "s."  You can check out this teacher's store here:

 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jivey

 

 

 

4.  Due to eating birthday cake last week, I gained 3.2 pounds at Weight Watchers.  This is a huge setback so now I really have to try to eat better.  Of course, my husband who eats so much more than me - including a lot more birthday cake - lost 1.5 pounds. 

 

Have a happy and healthy week! 

 

 

 

 

 

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