3 Hour Delay, Friends, DC Cupcakes and More!

I went to Georgetown  this weekend with my roommate to visit a friend who used to live in the area.  The weekend was amazing for many different reasons and those are:

1.  We had a 3 hour delay at school on Friday for inclement weather.  I had already signed up to take a half day on Friday so that I could head to DC, and with the 3 hour delay, it meant that I was at school as students arrived and then left as the announcements started to begin the day.  It was pretty amazing.

2.  I got to see the wonderful Jaclyn and experience her awesome tour of Dumbarton House in Georgetown.  (It was great!)

3.  I went to DC Cupcakes and got to eat a delicious mint cookies and cream cupcake.

4. I rode the Metro for the first time, luckily my roommate knew what she was doing and how to get around.

5. I did the normal touristy things like walking around the mall and checking out some of the Smithsonian museums.

 The only down side is that I have not looked at anything for school yet.  So, it's time to knock out some lesson plans so I'm ready for the kiddos tomorrow. 

$1.20... WHAT?!

That's right!  I made a $1.20 on Teachers Pay Teachers and I'm super excited about it!

I am selling a mini project that I had my students do last year.  It's called Fraction Action in the Neighborhood and my students loved it.  The students have a set of rules for a neighborhood and they have to convert fractions to figure out what needs to be in the neighborhood.  They are figuring out things like, how many houses are a certain color, how many windows each house has, how many homes have pets in the yard, etc.

I had my sample neighborhood out a couple weeks ago as I was editing the project for TpT and one of my students from last year stopped by to say hi.  She saw the project and got excited and kept telling me that she really loved it.  She did mention that it was challenging and in the future I may want to have them work with a partner.  I did this with my 3rd grade gifted class, so if it is going to be done at that level, partners might be great.  If it's older kids, I think they'll be fine.

I am really excited to be selling products on Teachers Pay Teachers.  However, it is one of my main goals to put products out there that are actually beneficial to teachers and students.  I know what it's like to download things or find things that seem amazing only to find out it's not quite helpful.  I'm trying to create quality activities or projects that teachers can use year after year and students can be creative in showing what they know.  With that said, if any of you are also looking at my store or possibly buying things, please let me know if there is anything I can do it make my products better!

I'm never sure how to end these posts, so this time I'll end it with a quote from a student.  (It will help to know that I am 26 for this comment.)

Student 1: "Ms. Woodard, you forgot your glasses again."
Student 2: "Leave her alone, she's old and can't remember things anymore!"

 

What do you want?

Hi blogger friends!  I'm working on a study guide for the book Frindle with a printable journal for students to keep up with.  I want to make sure that I don't leave anything out that teachers would like. This is what I have planned right now:

For the teacher:

• chapter summaries 
• extra blank pages in various formats for the teacher to use as they want

For the students (each chapter has the following):

• vocabulary words/page numbers/definitions  
• journal questions 
• illustration bubble

Is there anything else that you think I should include and/or change?  Your brilliance and expertise will be greatly appreciated!  Thanks in advance.

What's in a Name?

     A couple years ago I gave my students a survey about me at the end of the year.  I have to say it was mostly for my entertainment to see what stood out to them over the year.  I asked them questions like, what is something your teacher wears all the time, who are your teacher's friends at school, what is your teacher's favorite thing to eat for lunch, etc.

     There was one question that cracked me up when I read their responses.  The question was, "What is something your teacher says all the time? and most of the students in the class answered, "Don't touch the gong!"  I loved this response because I really had no idea that I said it so much.

     My parents gave me a gong for my classroom a few years ago for my birthday.  I typically don't bring anything to work if it is slightly sentimental because I know that working with kids, things break.  The gong was for school though so I have it on my desk and students are always asking if they can ring it or touch it and apparently that is always my response.  

     Any time I say it now it stands out and I think about that class pointing it out to me.  I definitely recommend giving students a survey at the end of the year because it is interesting to see what they notice and how they take some of the things that are said or happen in class.

Here I Go...

I'm going to give blogging a try.  I have to give a huge thanks to Tonya for helping me get started.  She has a great blog and amazing products out there on the internet and inspired me to try too.  You can check out her blog here.

I am an elementary school teacher and absolutely love working with kids.  I enjoy teaching them and laughing with them every day.  This is my fifth year teaching and I am constantly learning new things from the students every year; even if I am learning something as simple as the fact that "I smell like sour cream."  (Teaching keeps you humble.)

I'm going to try to share some of the funny moments, lessons I learn, things I create through my blog and hopefully connect with some other awesome bloggers out there!