Project Based Learning

I am in a group on Facebook called #iteachfourth.  It's a new group, but one that I enjoy.  It is fun to collaborate with other fourth grade teachers across the country!

One of the posts that was posted this weekend was about Project Based Learning.  I have heard a little about it, but have never really looked into it, or used it in my class.  But as I was reading more about it, I think I am going to try it out this year.  The group of students that are coming up are, lets say, difficult.  My prayer is by giving them these projects to work through, they will be more engaged and less likely to use disruptive behavior.  However, that led me to a question:

Do you teach the concepts and THEN dive into the project, or do you teach the concepts as you move through the project? I guess technically it could be done either way, but which way would be the most successful?

Have any of you used PBL in your class? Specifically math? Let me know your thoughts.

Claiming a blog...

Since I changed the name of my blog last summer, I need to reclaim my blog on Bloglovin.  So if you don't follow it already, be sure to follow! Thanks :)

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Quick Classroom Tour 2015-2016

Wow! Today started the 3rd week of school! I have been staying later than I have in a few years getting things ready for the next day/week, and it is wearing me out! My hubs isn't too happy about it either, because it leaves him with our girls longer than it used to.  I keep telling him, and myself, once I get into a good routine it will get better.  Right? Let's hope.

So I am IN LOVE with how my room turned out this year! And my kiddos love it, which makes it all worth it!

This is the view from the front door.  

This sign is on my door. I made it using the poster maker at school.

My math workshop rotational board. We are starting tomorrow, so pray for me!!

On this bulletin board I will hang anchor charts that we are no longer using.  That way students can go back and review them if they need to during their spiral work.

This bulletin board is by my desk.  It houses the calendar, and now it also houses our schedule and resource schedule.  

These pictures show my tables that I painted using dry erase paint.  I LOVE THESE!! This has made math so much fun! The students can't wait to work out their problems on the tables! Let's just hope that lasts!

Classroom library and bookshelves holding math manipulatives.

This is my small group table.  I cut the word AREA out and posted it on my back door.  I printed a bunch of PERIMETER words and posted them around the back door, so the kids will see a visual every single day.

My desk.  It's already not that clean :(

I re-did my tool box and added my monogram using my silhouette!

I also re-did my Copy, File, Grade box. 

My new pennets! Love how they turned out!

So that's it!! Hope you enjoyed it! 

Assess Me...Weeks 1 and 2

Boy am I late to the game! I just saw this linky tonight, and it looks like fun! I'm going to do week 1 and 2 together to catch up!!

• I'm definitely a jeans gal.  I like wearing skirts in the summer, but I can also rock the jeans!
• I always have a pair of earrings on...I'm liking necklaces more and more, but I feel naked without my ear jewelry
• Big Pimpin: JZ----in HS I thought it said spin the cheese. HA!
• my wedding rings are white gold and I used to love silver, but the past couple of years all I've worn is gold. Rose gold is my fav
• I love the country way more than the city!
• These days I like to shop online...I hate trying things on in the store and feeling like a fat cow!
• I love breakfast any time of day...but I don't like coffee! 
• I'm a night owl during the summer. Once school starts back, I'll be in bed by 9
• I chose undone because 9 times out of 10 you will find me in shorts and a tee with hair pulled up.  Hey, its summer right?
• Flats all the way...comfort over fashion
• Love airplanes and getting somewhere fast!
• I chose central air over central park because it is HOT here and I don't know what I would do without my AC! I love NYC though :)

Math Workshop bulletin board

Hi everyone! Most of you are probably in Vegas having the time of your life!

As you know, I am planning on starting Guided Math/Math Workshop this year in my classroom.  I was looking on TpT for the rotation set-up, but couldn't really find anything that went with my theme.  So I decided to make one! It's nautical, and navy and mint green.

It's nothing fancy, as I am a newbie at this, but it will do.  It also has the numbers to go with it. Hopefully someone else can use it also!

I also decided to start a TpT store, since I have a feeling I will have to do a lot of creating this year in my math class!

If you want the nautical math workshop labels, you can pick it up for free HERE! 


Also, be sure to follow me on Bloglovin'!!

What I'm Wearing Wednesday

Hey y'all! Today I'm linking up with Jivey for What I'm Wearing Wednesday!!

I have such a hard time getting dressed these days because I have body issues.  I have had trouble losing the weight I put on with my babies, so I just feel uncomfortable in just about EVERYTHING!!  This outfit turned out cute though! 

This week I joined the gym, and got my butt kicked in Body Pump! I'm determined to lose the weight this time around!! I'm also using My Fitness Pal, so follow me to give me tips and motivation!! I'll return the favor!!

MFP Username: Scarico

Five for Friday

Hi y'all! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!

Let's get this party started shall we??

We had VBS at my church this week.  The theme was Journey Off the Map.  I did music/dance, and boy am I tired and sore!

We had 288 this week! I couldn't believe it! And 48 kiddos gave their life to Christ! Awesome sauce!!

I know I already talked about this in my Currently, but I am still so excited about my new blog header!! I couldn't have done any better myself (and let's face it...I couldn't have done it myself at all, thus asking Megan!) Seriously...if y'all need help/new design, run, don't walk, to Megan's site.  

I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday to purchase some new fabric for a bunting in my classroom! That was definitely one of the most fun projects in my room with my old color scheme, so I HAVE to replace it with a new one!!

Here is the old one: I'll post the new one to Monday Made It when I get it finished!

My sweet baby girl turned one this week! She isn't quite walking yet, but boy can she talk up a storm! She and my oldest are 14 months apart, and they LOVE each other so much! It warms my heart to see them hug and kiss all the time, and to see my oldest tell her little sissy it will be okay when she gets upset!

Today we went to visit with a childhood friend of my husbands.  He and his wife had a baby girl in February, and he found out about a month ago he has testicular cancer.  I have never really interacted with someone going through treatment for cancer, especially someone so young.  He is really strong, and his spirits are high, determined to beat this.  So is his wife, but she did have a mini-meltdown today.  I can't imagine having to go through this, especially with an infant to take care of also.  So I ask you guys to please keep them in your prayers.  It would mean the world to them.

Currently July 2015

It's already July?!? Really?!?  My daughter turned one June 30th....can't believe how fast that year went! Soon I'll blink and they will be in school! AHHH!!

On to the currently! I'm linking up with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade!

Listening to the Today Show...I like to watch the makeovers on Thursday.  Boy George was performing today....his fabric hair was just ridiculous! Sorry Boy George fans!

Since I am teaching math only this year, and math is my absolute favorite, I decided to change the name of my blog to Everyday I'm Calculatin.  I asked Megan at Bird in Hand Designs to create my new header and button.  I LOVE it so much! 

I can't believe this is my 3rd week out of school....so I only have like 5 left.  Crazy! The past two summers I have had 4 months off due to having babies....so this one is going by WAAAAAY to quickly! I need to get started on some things for my classroom! I am changing up my color scheme this year, so I have a lot of painting/printing/fabric hunting to do!

This week has been Vacation Bible School at my church.  I learned a few years ago not to teach a class when it is so close to getting out of school for summer.  My nerves couldn't handle it.  So this year I decided to help with music.  It has been fun, learning these songs and dances and showing the kiddos, but man my shoulders hurt! Every single song has a TON of arm movements! The music pastor keeps joking he is going to need rotator cuff surgery :)

All-Star: I don't really consider myself an all-star at anything.  However...I try to be an all-star mom for my girls.  I don't mean that as someone who does all of the things we see on pinterest, but as someone who does their best and gives them just what they need.  It's a tough job!!

AIMS Math

A few years back when I taught 5th grade, my principal had an AIMS rep fly out for a week to do some Professional Development with us.  Her focus was Science, since we had a Science EOG in 5th grade.  She spent the morning rotating between our 3 classes, teaching a different science lesson each time, and then we would meet with her in the afternoon to discuss the lessons and use some more activities.  The best part was definitely the HUGE Binder she made for each of us with a ton of lessons to go along with the standards, and a kit with manipulatives and tools for each of the lessons! My students enjoyed the lessons, and I enjoyed teaching them, as I felt they really broke down the information in a kid friendly way.

Fast forward to now: Our school gave each teacher $200 to spend at the end of the school year for the upcoming year.  I decided to purchase some AIMS activities for math.  I like the idea of using them in my classroom because they are so hands on and kids LOVE hands on.  But I also want to try Guided Math this upcoming year...I will have to try to balance both, and I'm sure I'll be able to once I play around with it, I'm just having a hard time picturing it in my head!

Have any of you used AIMS in your math classes? How did it go?

Change is in the AIR....

Change: It's a word that send mixed emotions.  Some people love tradition and hate change...others change all the time! Me...I'm not great with change, but I know it has to happen.  This change though, I'm A-OKAY with!

Two years ago, my administrators decided to departmentalize grades 3-5.  I volunteered to teach writing, because the other math teacher had been teaching for over 30 years, and I wasn't about to take his favorite away from him right before he retired! But then he retired, and my administrators moved a teacher down from 5th grade to take over math...which meant I was stuck with writing again.  Don't get me wrong, I like writing, but I LOVE MATH.  My brain just gets so excited when math problems are thrown at it...and I feel so excited about teaching when I am teaching math! So, my principal got transferred to another school for the upcoming year, and my AP is now our principal! And she gave me Math back! Did I mention I love her?!?

I haven't taught math since we started Common Core, so I will be stalking blogs like crazy for ideas! I am currently reading Guided Math, as I am hoping (fingers crossed) to implement it into my classroom for this coming year.  Please send me your success stories (and what wasn't successful)...I know a lot of you did a book study on this book a couple of years back, so I will probably go back and re-read those for some ideas!

Another change: Since I am now solely a math teacher, I changed the name of my blog to Everyday I'm Calculatin'....The blog will be getting an update soon! I'm so excited!

I don't even want to look at when the last time I blogged was! I would like to say it will get better, but no promises! With 2 kids, aged 2 and 1, it's going to be a busy summer! I am hoping to at least get some blogging done during nap time! That is if I can get them to take a nap at the same time :)

meet the teacher

I am linking up with Stephanie from Falling Into First for her Meet the Teacher linky! I did one of these when I first started blogging, but thought it would be fun to do again!

This will be my 9th year teaching...Holy Moly! I taught Kindergarten for 3 years, 5th for one (PROPS TO THOSE THAT DO BC I NEVER WANT TO AGAIN!), and this will be my 5th year in Fourth! I teach in Southport, NC, which you may know as the setting of Safe Haven! It was also filmed here, so if you've seen the movie, you know where I am!

I've been married to this guy for 3 years now.  We met in 2006 thru friends, but didn't start dating until 2009.  He is definitely my rock, my best friend, and I don't know what I would do without him! He also is a wonderful dad to these two beauties...they keep us busy for sure!

 Isnt that the cutest thing ever? She loves her little sis!

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Family and friends, the beach, my iPhone, chocolate ice cream, Target, my king size bed, Dr Pepper

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

An Accountant....sounds boring, but I love math and think I would be good at it!

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

sarcastic, funny, motivated

 

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

especially funny in NC at the moment!
 

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

my daddy...I'd love for him to be able to meet his grand daughters!

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

ooo toughy...right now it would be CRAZY MESS I'M IN

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

wiggle my nose and have whatever I want/need appear or disappear! I want to be Samantha Stevens!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

"Life isnt about finding yourself, its about creating yourself"

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

 probably Rumpshaker or Baby Got Back (and no, I do not have a fascination with butts!)

i can't sing, but can bust a rap!

 

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

Neither usually...I love to sleep in, but go to bed at a decent hour.  These days though, baby gets me up between 5-6. 

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU! 

I started out as a dance major...I took classes from 3 years of age until 28.  I still teach the dance group at my church!

Be sure to link up with Stephanie to meet some fabulous bloggers!!

August already?

I can not believe it is August already! Summer is just flying by. I am hoping to get out to my room next week and get it all put together.  Is it sad that I am only planning on going 1 day, and just get what I can done? I'm not going to be all anal this year like I normally am...well at least I hope not! I've got babies to take care of!

Anywho, I am linking up with Farley for August Currently...

1. Listening- I just put my youngest daughter to bed, and hubs and oldest have been asleep for a bit..so it's just me and the dog.  She only comes out when the babes are asleep...so sad.  She's a toy poodle, so she gets scared easily, yet also thinks she's a pit bull at times? 

2. Loving- new babe is sleeping fantastic! Every night she goes between 5-6 hours so that equals a pretty happy rested mama! I hope I'm not jinxing it!

3. Thinking- I need to sleep...sleep when baby sleeps right? But I keep finding all of these great ideas for my classroom and feel like I should be working on them!

4. Wanting- I ordered some border, notebook paper charts, awesome letters, and a few other things for my classroom.  As soon as it arrives, I will go start working in my room.  School is 35 minutes away, so I only want to go once if I can help it.  

5. Needing- lose baby weight...I thought nursing helped you to lose weight? I know it's only been a month, but I'm not expecting it all to come off at once.  It would be nice if the scale moved down a lb or two though! Any suggestions, please send my way.

6. First day- Technically, August 18 is my first day back.  But I am taking another month of FMLA to stay home with baby.  I just can't see going back to work when she is only 6 weeks old.  Family must come first. I may go the 18th for the Welcome Back meeting though...just so I'm not out of the loop when I do go back.  Kiddos start August 25. 

Well that's it! Be sure to link up with Farley!

Writer's Workshop Part 2

Well so much for blogging daily during the girls naps! One goes down, I spend a little time with the other one, put her down, and the 1st wakes up.  Get her down again, and the 2nd wakes up.  So here I am, hoping I can type this in about the 5 minute span I probably have before one wakes up!

In my last post I said I would talk about writing folders and notebooks.  I wish I had pictures, but since I went out on maternity leave and missed the last few weeks of school, I left them all there :(  So try to use your imagination!!

I bought 5 different colors of 3-pronged folders (a class set) and the same colors of folders without prongs, but were already hole punched.  I turned the flat folder inside out, and then inserted it into the 3-pronged folder.  I taped the flat folder together with duct tape, and labeled the sections blank paper, draft, ready to revise/edit, and final.  The students wrote in their notebooks everyday (I'll show you that setup in a minute), and then we chose one to take thru the writing process to publish.  In all honesty though, a regular 2 pocket folder would've been fine.  Half of the time Most of the time students didn't put their paper in the correct pocket, and it drove me crazy way more than them.  They knew where they were in the process and didn't need 4 different pockets to help them.  So this year, 2 pocket folders it is!

The notebook was a better idea.  I got this idea from Pinterest, but it came to this blog Apples of Your Eye! 

All of the writing teachers 3-5 decided we wanted to follow this setup.  I liked how it had their writing ideas at the beginning for them to refer back to, and a table of contents to be able to find their writings.  Surprisingly, they really kept that up!  But now that I've used this setup for a year, I plan to make a few changes.  For one, I think I will organize it by Narrative, Opinion and Informational.  I will still have them put their writing notes in the notebook, but under the category that it refers to.  I think it will help with their understanding better, and they can flip straight to that section and have everything about Narratives together. I will update once I get back into the classroom as to how well I think that is going!

What about you...how do you organize your writer's notebooks? 

Writer's Workshop Part 1

Last year my principal decided that our school wide focus needed to be on writing.  This was partly because of Common Core, and the fact that our students had to answer critical response questions on a Social Studies and Science test, and they did horrible.  So we implemented Lucy Calkin's Writer's Workshop.  For grades 3-5, this meant we departmentalized so we could get the writing component in.  I was lucky enough to be chosen as the writing teacher :)

We had 5 different blocks, that lasted 55 minutes each.  It was tough at first because you really have to get on a good schedule.  I needed a 5-15 minute mini lesson, 35-40 minute writing period, and then 5 minutes of partner time and 5 to share at the end.  If you add all of that up, you can clearly see it exceeds 55 minutes! Some days I had the students share with their partner instead of having a few share to the entire class...so that saved us some time.  But I was having difficulty with the mini lesson part!  I decided to implement a timer, and if I didn't get to a certain point, we would pick up where we left off the next day. At first it annoyed me like crazy because I hated having to quit in the middle of a lesson, but I quickly learned that our writing is evolving anyways, so it wasn't THAT big of deal.  Plus, if I noticed that a student was ready for that particular lesson during our conference, I would go ahead and share it with them and challenge them to work on it in their writing.

I have to admit, I was worried how my students would react to A) having a writing class, and B) writing in general.  They really hadn't been taught HOW to write in a couple of years, because of such a big focus on Reading and Math.  But they stepped up to the plate beautifully! I think it helped that they were able to pick their topics (for the most part) and they REALLY got into it! It will be interesting to see how the upcoming group does considering they have a year under their belt now.

Next time I'll post about our writer's notebooks and folders...it really helped organize their writing!

Do I have any followers left?

Holy Smokes Batman! I haven't blogged since last August? I'll be surprised if anyone even follows the blog anymore :( I promise I have a good reason....

If you recall, last April I had baby girl.  She is so full of life, and has definitely kept me on my toes and entertained! In October, our house sold, and we bought our house in November! So we were very busy!! Not to mention, this also happened...

That's right...there are now TWO girls!  14 months apart...yikes! This little bundle was born June 30th (which was my dad's birthday...he passed away the day after hubby and I got married), so needless to say, my days are FULL!! But I promise, I am going to try to be better about blogging, hopefully during nap times, and get some writing ideas out there! I couldn't believe how far my students came with writing in just one year :)

Anyways, I hope you're still out there in bloggy land as a follower...

Anchor Charts

Well...it's that time.  Monday is my day to start back to school.  The kiddos don't come until the 26th though.  I went out to school all last week to work in my room, and I'm glad I did b/c 1- we have a TON of Professional Development next week, and 2- my mom had some mini strokes yesterday so I will be zipping out of work to get to her every day next week.  My room isn't completely finished, but I should be able to finish it Monday afternoon.  At least I hope!

As most of you know, this year I will be teaching writing to the entire 4th grade.  I will have FIVE blocks.  Count em...ONE..TWO...THREE...FOUR...FIVE!  It got me thinking about anchor charts.  I'm not going to have enough space in my room for five classes worth of anchor charts, much less want to write them that many times!  Then I ran across this post from Ladybug Teaching Files. I LOVE how Kristen makes hers on the computer! I think I will do that, and teach them how to use PowerPoint at the same time!

How do you use anchor charts?

Changes all around!

This is going to be quick because I am EXHAUSTED! I went out to school today to work in my classroom, and stayed way later than I had originally planned! But I was able to get a lot accomplished, so that's good news at least :)  Hopefully by the end of the week I will be able to give a classroom reveal!

As you know, I have been teaching 4th grade math for the past few years.  This year, my school is implementing Lucy Calkin's Writers Workshop school wide.  However, with the way our schedule was for 3-5, it was going to be hard for the Reading teacher to fit everything in in the time frame she had.  So my admin has decided to departmentalize us (1 teach science, 1 teach math, 1 teach reading, 1 teach SS, and 1 teach writing), and I will now be teaching 4th grade writing! I am so excited! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE math, but I was ready for a change...even though I didn't want to switch grade levels and learn an entire new curriculum with a new baby at home! So this is GREAT! The best part is, I used Lucy Calkins during my student teaching, and carried that into my own classroom when I was self-contained, so this isn't going to be entirely brand new to me!

The only stressful part is...now I have nothing to go on my walls.  Everything I have had up for the past few years is math...so nothing that I have for writing matches my color scheme.  Guess what I'll be doing all weekend? Ugh....

How do y'all work this at your school? Do you team teach, departmentalize, or stay self-contained?

Claiming my blog

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I know I'm late to this party, but I've been out with a newborn! Anyways, I'm claiming my blog and would love it if you followed me on blog lovin! I've got some exciting news to share about this upcoming school year, but I will share that tomorrow so I don't post twice in a day :-)

Summer is over?

I can't believe that I have to go back to school in two weeks....I have been out on maternity leave since April 12th. 

It is going to be SO HARD to go back! I DON'T WANNA!!! (insert pic of me crying hysterically!)  Oh well, I guess that is life...at least the life of someone who needs insurance! HA!


As you can tell from my blog, I haven't exactly been in a blogging/creative mood this summer.  Usually by this time my classroom is all set up, I have made all kinds of fun and cute projects, and I'm excited for the new year...this year, not so much.  I didn't even LOOK at a blog until a couple of weeks ago!  I did find some fun ideas, but we will see if I actually get around to making them.  I'm focusing on using Math Workshop for my class this year, so the other projects will have to wait!