Elementary Shenanigans: August 2014

2014 Morning Song and WHERE I work!

I am loving Teacher Week over at Blog Hoppin! It's so fun reading and learning about so many wonderful educators. Today is all about the classroom…but first…

It seriously cracks me right up that y'all keep requesting songs! Y'all know singing is not my specialty! I dream every single day of becoming a rock star, but I am definitely not there! Dangit! ;) However, I'm so glad y'all love these little songs so much….but I do need to look into hiring someone else to sing them for me! #truth Moving on...here is yet ANOTHER song! I love y'all an awful lot is all I can say! :)

I give you…the 2014 Morning Song

You can download the words in my TPT shop HERE! It will also give you a link to the instrumental version of Really Don't Care by my girl, D. Lovato! Hope y'all enjoy! Just promise you will come back and visit my blog after you listen! ;)

Now I am going to move on and forget that I put this out there for the world to hear! #ohme

Sooooooo….Teacher Week!

Today is all about where you work. When I say I am blessed to work in the school that I do..I REALLY..REALLY mean it! I am sure y'all feel the same way about your school…or at least I hope that you do. Working at the Ron Clark Academy has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love working in an environment where everyone is your biggest cheerleader! It really is amazing!

Speaking of amazing…our new facility is currently underway and should be ready to go in just a few months! The best part? You can come visit, see if for yourself, and spend an entire day in our educator training program! This place is going to be unlike any other place in the world! Here is a little glimpse of RCA…Hogwarts style! Have I talked you into visiting yet? ;) You can follow the progress of our our new educator training facility on our Facebook Page HERE!

EEEEeeeek! Can't wait to see the final result!

So until then, I will be sharing a classroom with one of the most amazing women that I know! You have heard me talk all about Kim Bearden and her fabulous book. Well, she really is as great as she sounds. In fact, she is letting me invade her space and move into her classroom for the next few months until I have my own room! Just look at her classroom…#ohmyword

Yes! That is a VW bug…in her classroom!

All of the classrooms in the school have their own theme…but Kim's room is definitely my favorite! :) I can't wait to work with her! we already have some really fun ideas that we are going to plan together!

So until I can share my own classroom at RCA, this will have to do! If you are interested in coming for a visit, or learning more about the school, visit my "About Me" page above! I would love to meet you!

So have you linked up your classroom space with Blog Hopping? I can't wait to see! Also, don't forget that there is yet another HUGE sale going on over at TPT tomorrow! Don't miss out on stocking your cart with some amazing resources! :)

Meet the Teacher!

I love getting to know people! I literally can talk for hours…and hours! I am so excited about all of the link-ups going on right now where I get to meet so many faces behind some of my favorite blogs! Can't wait to read all about you, but before I go check out all of you that have linked up, here are a few things about me…just in case you are interested! ;)

My Teaching History:

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Running. Shopping. Shoes. Meeting new people. My sweet hubby. My fur baby Maya. Decorating. Chocolate. TEACHING. Blogging. Creating. Crafting. The Beach. Travel. Church. Jesus. Hobby Lobby. Reading.

IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

A ROCK STAR! I mean…come on! Who doesn't want to have the voice of an angel and be able to share it with thousands of people? Now, don't get me wrong. I would not go all Justin Bieber on everyone and make my way into every tabloid (not for positive reasons), but I would love to live all of the fun parts (not dark parts) of a rock star's life! Plus, I just want to be able to sing, y'all! REALLY!

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Creative. Silly. Blessed.

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________, SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"I am so glad I can go home at 3:30 and relax!" ….said no teacher ever!

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Jennifer Lawrence so I can channel my inner Katniss! Channing Tatum…need I say more?!? And last but not least…Michael Jackson! #legendary

My party would be epic! ;)

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

Oh my word…I have no clue! Umm…ummm…ummmm…

On the road again?

(I never see my house! Always on the go, go, GO!)

Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

Time travel! How fun would it be to visit our past and know what lies ahead!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

"For the hard roads, you must have good shoes! And your brain and your hard work are your best shoes ever!"

~Mehmet Murat Ildan

And I'm in LOVE with this song and these very words…

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Let It Go! No…I kid, I kid! But really…anything by my girl, Demi Lavato! Love her!

Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

Both! I am super happy in the morning (up and at 'em) and I stay up until all hours of the night. But night is when my creative genius awakens…which is why I never sleep! Ever!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

I am so excited about one of my newest units Set the Stage to Engage! It's all about my passion to engage my learners and make them hungry for more!

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU!

I am a HUGE reality t.v. junkie! HUGE! Oh…and I met the Bachelorette Andi a few weeks ago while shopping in JCrew! #nobigdeal #areyoukddingme

If you are like me, I love looking at pictures. Why? Well, because I am nosey like that! ;) Aren't we all?! Here is my little scrapbook!

The people that I am so blessed to work with at the Ron Clark Academy!

I *might* have gone skydiving this summer! Best thrill of my life!

The love of my life!

My #bbfs!

That concludes this little Hope King saga! ;) Now I want to learn all about you! Be sure and link up with Blog Hoppin' and Stephanie Stewart below.

The Rock Buffet: New Unit!

So…ummm…you remember my Rock Buffet post?!? From a YEAR ago?!? Well, I actually finished up piecing that very unit together, and believe it or not, it is up on TPT! Y'all have been asking for this for the past year, and I so appreciate your patience. I tried to make it worth the wait. There might…just might…be a unit song that I've shared below. {Cue the cold sweats because I HATE singing for anyone but my students. Why? Because they don't care that I sound like I just rolled out of bed every time I bust out a tune! ;) So promise you won't judge me!}

Check out how I teach rocks and minerals below...

We began this unit by discussing how rocks are created. To demonstrate, we made rock krispie treats. We mixed several "minerals", added heat...and we had rock!

During our observation, the students recorded how the rock was formed.

Once we had this basic concept mastered, along with the three observable properties of minerals, we moved on to the three types of rocks.

My BFF {YouTube} found me this fabulous video which demonstrates how to create the three types of rocks with food.

Yes...his apron says kiss the geologist! :) The kids loved him. After each of his demonstrations, we tried making the rocks too.

The students recorded observations, and created definitions to describe the process that each rock goes through.

Once the students could consistently define and describe each type of rock, we feasted...on rocks, of course!

Best way ever to teach rocks and minerals…and now it's all ready for you!

This little bundle includes 8 engaging lessons, plus all of the resources that you will need to get your students all into our earth materials!

This unit is also complete with a content song that reviews and reinforces all of the major concepts they will learn. Y'all…I even recorded it! Y'all know I can't sing {we've discussed this before}, so just know that this song was recorded in the name of love! I swear it is WAY cuter when the kids sing it! But to keep you from saying that you can't catch the tune….here ya go!

Plus, I've also included a PowerPoint that introduces all content vocab!

You can snag this unit in my TPT shop right now!

Back to School Essentials

One of my favorite packs just recently received a facelift! :)

The first week back to school is always one of the most exciting for me! It is always one of the absolute craziest weeks of my life! There is always more to do than I have time for, but there is just something about meeting a whole new crew of kids that gets me all giddy inside!

Hopefully this little pack will be able to save you some MUCH needed time during the first few days. Remember how I said there is always more to do than I have time for? This is made just for those moments. This little pack contains all of those essentials for parent night (contact magnets, name tags), plus things to help you organize all 1,000 forms and all of that school supplies! It also includes fun postcards to send your students a little piece of mail before the first day or you can personalize a note and have it ready on their desk for the first day of school!

Here is an overall preview:

All resources all available in five different styles/patterns and are customizable which allows you to personalize tags with students’ names, supplies, form titles, & more!

Tip: Hang name tags on the back of student chairs to allows students to move/change seats easily. Plus they don't get nearly as messed up and grimy! Here is a look at a few of the colors and designs. More included within!

This organizational strategy will save you *hours* of supply sorting!

This is the perfect little personal touch to your open house day/night! I always have these on my front board so that parents can grab a magnet to display on their fridge at home! They love them!