Take Me Back Tuesday {A Weekly Linky}

Happy {early} Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for...including the fact that I am currently spending my Thanksgiving Holiday in the Bahamas! :) Since the beach is calling my name, I am going to be short and sweet today. It's time for another Take Me Back Tuesday! Don't forget, if you want to link up, you can join the party below. 

If you are a teacher that will spend some time during Thanksgiving Holiday planning for Christmas, this post is just for you...AND...since we have had a little rain on our cruise, I have been able to put the finishing touches on two new units that will include some of the projects below! They will be loaded to my TPT shop tonight...if my internet service works. ;) So excited to share these with you! 

Now let me take you back to....

************************************Originally Posted: 12.20.12**************************************


We are almost there! We have never continued this late into the year, and I am so ready for a break! I see lots of hot chocolate and Christmas movies in my near future...like tomorrow night! :)  Here is what has kept our little minds busy for the past two days. 

Yesterday was Polar Express Day. I wondered how that would go over in third grade. I honestly think they were even more thrilled about it this year than in the past. I am pretty sure that they love the holidays as much as their teacher! I have created monsters! :) 

After our trip on the Polar Express, we turned out tickets into Christmas ornaments so that they can always remember this tradition that we started way back when in first grade! We were all a little sad that this will be our last year following this tradition. Oh how I will miss these sweet loves next year! 

After we enjoyed hot chocolate while watching a reading of The Polar Express on Storyline Online, we used one of our favorite treats to help us work on our content. The students began by writing a "tell me" description of hot chocolate. As we read these to our partners, the students really saw how weak their content was without strong adjectives, verbs, and a variety of sentence structures. Next, they turned their "tell me" into a "show me" writing. They were way more pleased with their second writing. Then, we made this way too cute craft thanks to Teri at A Cupcake for the Teacher. Check her craft out {HERE}.

Today, we worked once again on building and strengthening our persuasive writing. Okay...have y'all heard "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"? Probably one of the cutest songs ever. We *may* have listened to it 4 or 5 times today. Seriously...cute! After we listened to the song (which includes great persuasive language), the kiddos wrote an essay to persuade their mom/dad to give them their very own hippo for Christmas. We finished with a little craft! 

These just makes me laugh! 

This week, we have been learning about the Gullah culture in our South Carolina History Unit. A craft that is very unique to this culture is the weaving of sweet grass baskets. This year, rather than creating gingerbread houses, we created gingerbread sweet grass baskets. Then, we filled them with peach rings to represent the peaches from our great state. 

I love how these turned out! 

Now...it's party time! 

Friday, I thought you would never arrive! TGIF!!! 

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I hope y'all have an amazing Thanksgiving Break! Be sure and take us back to one of your favorite posts below. I will *hopefully* be back with some previews of my new units tomorrow...internet willing! :) 

Take Me Back Tuesday: A Weekly Linky

I started my little blogging adventure (A.K.A. Second Grade Shenanigans) over two years ago. TWO YEARS! It's crazy how time flies! They say that with age comes wisdom, so I felt that it was only necessary to bring back some of those ideas that have been simmering for the past year or two. I always love to look back over my teaching and reflect on the many things that I have learned along the way and how it has shaped me into the teacher that I am today. I am so thankful that I started this little teaching "photo album" so that I can constantly revisit it for ideas and strengthen my instruction. This might also have a little something to do with the fact that I am terrible at keeping up with my lesson plans from year to year. Absolutely terrible!

So, I have decided that I would start a little "Take Me Back Tuesday" where I will be featuring an "oldie but goldie" lesson idea. You know...a little something from the past. 

So I bring you...

Since the Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner, I feel it is only fair for me to revisit a little turkey lovin'.

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Originally Posted: 11.27.12

It is going to be short and sweet for me tonight! I *may* have stayed up super late last night to finish up a grad school paper {procrastinate much???} and I am feeling it right...about...now! But I had to share these sweet little guys before November becomes a thing of the past! December...already? 

I know that Thanksgiving has already passed us by, but I just had to share our cute turkeys that we made to go along with our fall writings. We finished these up before the break, but since I had to leave early for Indiana, my student teacher had to complete the project with the kiddos! 

How cute are these little fellas??

We will be having our feast on Friday! Well, it is not really a Thanksgiving feast, more like a South Carolina History feast...but it is all the same! I just couldn't miss out on the fun, so I had to postpone! It is still November...right?!? I am super excited about this feast. We have been trucking along in our South Carolina History unit, so for our feast, we will be making settlers and Native American pizzas based on the foods that each group contributed to our state! My kids are counting down the days! 

Before the break, we also finished up a few projects about early SC and have already started moving our way through the Revolutionary War! If you are a SC teacher...can I get a PTL?!? Here are a few of the activities that we completed during our Settlers/Native American Unit.

 We made these ships to help us understand how the first English settlement began. During this lesson, students were also selected as Lord Proprietors and were able to make the decisions in our room for an entire day. We discussed the trip to Barbados and how slavery made it's way to our state. 

On the inside, we added our notes about the French Huguenots, European Jews, Germans, and Scotch-Irish. 

We also spent time learning about the different Native American tribes living in South Carolina long before the settlers. The students worked on maps to identify their location and the types of homes in which they lived. 

I have really enjoyed learning all of this information right along with my kiddos. Seriously, I have to study...all the time! {I am no history buff...it was never really my thing!}

Well, that is all I have for tonight! I hope you are all having a great week! Should we begin a countdown to Christmas?!? :) 

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Now, if you have any oldies but goldies to share, feel free to link up and let the party begin! 

A Bewitching Night...Halloween Bash 2013

Is Halloween really Thursday? Really? There is just something about this year. I can't seem to keep up...it is going by SO fast. Since this spooky holiday is just around the corner, I threw a giant Halloween Bash on Saturday night for my RCA Cheerleaders. So, I thought that I would share some of my party ideas just in case you will be throwing a spooktacular celebration on Thursday and/or if you want to make some cool treats for your kiddos at school. Believe me when I say...these recipes were easy. Like on a scale of 1 to 10...a 0. I am by no means a baker of any sorts, so if I can whip this stuff up...anyone can. 

I definitely had to make our house a little spooky to fit the theme! Spiders and skulls did the trick! Most of my decorations came from Home Goods and Michaels. 

Now for the food...

Loved both of these drink ideas that I found online. They were equal parts scary, tasty, and EASY! 

Vampire Juice {Shirley Temple} 

Lemon lime soda and Grenadine Syrup {I added gummy worm ice cubes for a fun effect!} 

Sewage Water: 

Mix ginger ale and rainbow sherbet if you are going for that dirty water look. I also added monster ice, but forgot to take pictures. So here is the look...

I just used these ice molds, filled them with green water, and added a cherry. Easy and they will keep your drink cold for hours!!! I love how realistic they look without changing the flavor of the drink. They were perfect in the sewage water! 

I have never tried my hand at making cake pops, but y'all...so incredibly easy. I could literally do this with my eyes shut. I used this sweet gem right {HERE} and it will make 12 cake pops in about 3 minutes. Then I dipped them in white chocolate and added the decorations. These will probably make an appearance at every party I host from here on! 

This was a favorite of the night. I used this recipe right {HERE} and it was delish!

We paired our eating with a little LOT of Just Dance 2014, so I didn't feel so bad about stuffing myself with junk. 

Hope y'all are having a great week. I will go ahead and begin praying for all of my teacher friends for your crazy {but fun} Thursday/Friday! 

Happy Halloween! 

Keep Calm...It's Halloween Time, Y'all!

It's time for my favorite holiday. It's no secret that I love Halloween. I *might* even be planning a fabulous Halloween party...just because. In celebration of a little fright fest....

And here are some of my favorite halloween activities that you may want to snatch up during my little sale: 

If I *had* to choose only one of my favorite Halloween/Fall activities, this would be it! My kids always go crazy over pumpkin book reports. Last year we switched it up and did a the same concept, only with biographies! Love, love, love both of these units! So whether you are reading fiction stories, or researching up a storm, these can easily find their way into your classroom. 

 

I loved how these reports turn out...You can read more about our pumpkin bios {HERE}! 

And I just can't get enough of these guys! Check out our pumpkin book reports {HERE}! 

Dead word funeral...check!  Animal Research....check!  Oobleck investigation, Halloween riddles, the life cycle of a pumpkin...check...check...AND check!

This unit is a combination of all things Halloween and writing. Plus it has tons of great resources to assist your students in laying those boring words to rest once and for all! 

Check It Out:

You can pick up all of this sweetness at my TPT store!

And...You can read more about our Dead Word Funeral {HERE}! 

This activity is an October MUST! 

When creating the Dead Zone in your classroom, nothing sets the mood better than...

And finally, if you are in need of some math centers to help your students master those basic skills, you might want to check these out! 

You can read more about these right here! 

So, do you do anything special during this spooktacular month? Last night we enjoyed some time at one of Atlanta's most frightening haunted houses with a few of our students...

Tell me...what are your Halloween plans? 

It's About to Get Real!

Hey, hey…friends! Wow! It literally feels like it has been an eternity since I have been on my sweet little blog. Life has been crazy (to say the least), and if I am being honest, it was necessary to take a little hiatus from this part of my life. Now, don’t get me wrong…I love blogging, but it is a lot of work, y’all. {And let all of my blogging buddies say, AMEN!} So for those of you who have mentioned that I can do it all and wonder if I ever sleep, the answer is no! And truth be told…I just needed a little rest. Trust me, I am completely human and get tired like all of you. This is me being completely real and saying that everyone needs a good break here and there. BUT...I am back in action and excited to begin sharing the gobzillion ideas swirling around in my head. But first, let me catch you up! 

So…where in the world have I been all this time? 

As many of you know, my husband was hired on to teach at the Ron Clark Academy. We moved to Atlanta at the end of July, and since I didn’t have the time needed to find a teaching job, I had planned to take a year off and focus on some other opportunities to build myself as an educator. I was thrilled about the opportunity to better my resources on TPT and present for SDE to get my teacher fix here and there. However, {and this is a BIG however} I quickly figured out that the whole staying at home thing was absolutely NOT for me. Fact: I MUST be around people. I was literally going crazy. Y'all think that I am kidding, but no...really...I was crazy! If you don't believe me, ask my husband. I began praying that the Lord would reveal His plan for me. I somehow knew that he didn't send me to Atlanta to sit in my condo and be sad...all...the dang...time! :) I missed the classroom like crazy, but didn't feel like being a substitute was his plan for me. Although patience is not a major strength I possess, I refused to make a move until the Lord was good and ready for me to make a move in His direction. As always, He was {is and will always be} faithful. 

Love this verse! 

So....here is the big reveal!

Now, I am proud to say that I am also working at the Ron Clark Academy and couldn’t be any happier about this opportunity. The Lord worked everything out in HIS time, and I am so thankful that I waited for Him to reveal His plan for me as an educator. I am working in the development office and getting to experience the business side of school. Although I am missing the classroom atmosphere like crazy, I am honestly enjoying a little welcomed break and am thrilled about this new challenge in my career.  I still have a huge hunger for teaching and am pretty certain that I will return to the classroom, but right now I am down with this wonderful opportunity and perfectly content about the fact that I get to learn from the absolute best at RCA. The Academy truly is  a magical place, and I am so blessed to be part of their team. I never thought I would leave the classroom, but it is so funny how God has an absolute purpose for our life..one that at times, does not match our own. Now onto more important things...if you are ever in Atlanta, you MUST come to RCA and visit me! The RCA experience is honestly the best professional development that I have ever witnessed.  When I visited the academy four years ago, I didn't want to leave. Now, I don't have to! ;) I am also the RCA Blue Dragon's Cheerleading Sponsor! #what?what? 

Thankfully, I am still going to have plenty of time to bring the 1,000,000 ideas I have for resources to TPT. Seriously, I have a list a mile long, and I think I have finally figured this new life out. So…I am back in action and getting ready to create up a storm.  I will also be presenting for SDE at several up and coming conferences. This means that maybe…just maybe…I will get the chance to meet some of you…in real life!

I am also trying to squeeze in my marathon training which is coming up in January. Now that I think about it...I better get on that! ;) 

So life is about to get real…real busy that is! I was able to catch up on a little rest this past month and am now good to go for another year or two! So now, you are all caught up with my life. Thanks to all of you who follow along with my journey both inside and outside of the classroom! :) Now, I am certain that...

I'll be back soon with some fun ideas! :) 

Happy Tuesday, my sweet friends!