Summer suddenly arrives ~ Five For Friday!

Yesterday (Thursday, May 18th) was the hottest day in Boston since 1936!  It reached well into the 90's, and we were extremely lucky at my school that the air-conditioning came on!  Of course, there's plenty more news to report today for the link-up with Doodle Bugs:!

Morning Messages

This week's messages went from National Chocolate Chip Day to introducing our new chapter in Science about animals:

This poem is from the book Hippopotamus Stew:

Opinion Writing

This week's writing included fidget spinners ~ whether they should be banned totally; allowed only during recess; or used all the time.  Well, the decision was made for us on Thursday by the principal who announced that fidget spinners are being totally banned.  The kids will still be finishing their opinion pieces!

Last week we wrote opinion pieces on why our Moms are the best:

Here is Ava's organizer:

This is Taylor's finished product:

Click here to check out this project on TPT!

Fun Making Three Dimensional Shapes

Last week we finished our state Math testing!  After taking the test, we make these rectangular prisms:

This is an educational and fun activity ~ perfect for after testing or the end of the year.  Click here to learn how to make this shape and other 3D shapes!

Learning About Amazing Animals

This week we began learning about animals, and it was the perfect time.  Now that the weather has gotten so hot, the insects came out in full force a recess last Tuesday!  The kids love learning all about different animals, and I love incorporating animals into our Morning Messages, too!

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Updating Product Covers on Canva!

I've been looking at my product offerings on Teachers Pay Teachers and deciding how to make my products look more colorful and attractive.  I decided to update my free "Give Me Five Adjective" writing because it would make a perfect end of the year activity ~ Click here to check it out!

Also I made an instruction sheet for our new centers on Canva. 

 Thanks for visiting today!  Make sure to head over to Doodle Bugs for more:

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May ~ Show and Tell ~ Check it out!

Hello there!  Thanks for stopping by for the monthly Show and Tell Link-Up sponsored by Forever in Fifth Grade!

School Lunch Superhero Day

Author Jarrett Krosoczka who writes the Lunch Lady graphic novel series started a trend with School Lunch Superhero Day.  This year's celebration was on May 5th.  My students created thank you notes for our Lunch Superheros:

Thanks to my colleague, Mrs. Johnson for this poem!

Here's the link to the original blog post from Megan of "My Kind of Makeover."
As soon as I saw this idea on Pinterest, I fell in love!  My students created their own versions and did a fine job.

Check out all the cards now displayed in our school cafeteria:

The TPT Gift Card goes to...

I was exceptionally lucky to win a $10 TPT gift card to raffle off during the last sale.  Instead of raffling it, I gave it to a new teacher on our floor.  She has been subbing all year and is now a permanent sub for a fourth grade teacher on paternity leave.

I got this genius idea from someone in a TPT Social Marketplace Facebook group.  Another teacher in the group gave her card to a friend who taught in a school in a high poverty school.  I then decided to give it to the new teacher above ~ she was so thankful and excited to buy new items on TPT! 

Marble Genius Marble Runs = Great Fun and Engagement!

Last week we completed an official lesson with out Marble Runs.  The goal was to choose five impediments; set up a marble run; find a way to make the marble travel faster using the impediments in different places.  Here are the rules:

As you can see, the kids absolutely LOVE using the marble runs!  At first, the marble would take 5 seconds.  After rearranging the various pieces, most groups got the marble to finish the course in 3 seconds.

Click here to visit the Marble Genius Home Page.

As always, thank you so much for visiting and reading my blog!  

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Double Trouble ~ Five For Friday!

It's been a whirlwind around here so I'm squeezing two weeks' worth of news into this post!

 Check out Canva for Making Great Graphics!

 If you need to make any type of graphic for social media, Canva is the place to go!  There are plenty of free options, and you can upload your own pictures ~ which is what I did to create this masterpiece:

  

Morning Messages

On May 4th, I took the day off to go to my younger son's graduation.  When I know I'll be absent, I do try to prepare a Morning Message like this:

 I LOVE telling my students about my favorite teacher!

 I wrote this Morning Message, especially for the parents!

 After we finished the MCAS, I rearranged our desks into a "U" shape.  Unfortunately, this arrangement led to excessive chatting and fooling around so the desks returned to rows with 2 students desks put together.  Plus, we had an entire day of "Quiet Time" which most of the kids enjoyed and preferred:

 Double Graduations

 On May 4th, my younger son, Andrew, graduated from Northeastern with a PharmD degree:

Yesterday (May 12) my older son, Derek, graduated from UMass Amherst with Masters degree in Public Policy and Regional Planning.  In addition, Derek got an Outstanding Student Award:

That's Derek with his fiancee, Kaylee.  They're getting married in June of 2018 in Vermont, Kaylee's home state.

AAA rocks!

Have you ever wanted to go home so much after work?  Every day I'm looking forward to going home for a change of venue and to put on my fleece sweatpants!  The day before Andrew's graduation, I got to my car, turned the key, and heard "click, click, click..."  I knew this was a situation for AAA!

I love how they come with a brand new battery!

Book Recommendation

Check out this new non-fiction book with a narrator who is a penny:

Click on book to read more at Amazon.

We really enjoyed reading the history of the penny.  This book would make an excellent addition to any money unit, too!

That's it for now!  Thank you so much for reading my news.  If you would like to read more adventures, head to Doodle Bugs for:

Happy Mother's Day weekend!

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Morning Meeting Ideas ~ Head here!

Happy Monday!  Today is my day to post over at Conversations from the Classroom.!  Click on the picture to check out how I write my Morning Messages:

Thanks for visiting today!

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