July Currently

Linking up with Farley with my favorite linky party for the July Currently!

I'm listening to my soon to be second grader and third grader read to their soon to be pre-k little brother. They read really well and they're going through the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series pretty fast. I'm loving all the giggling. They make my heart happy. 

I'm loving all the family time we are spending together. June was a really good month for summer activities and I can't wait to do more with my family this month.

I'm thinking there is still more to do before summer is over. I know there is almost no time during the school year so I really need to organize my plan and get to it. Lots of DIY things to get done.

I'm really overweight. . . Anywho, I finally talked the hubbs into helping me develop a meal plan and workout plan and it has been AWESOME. I am losing weight like crazy and I feel more active and happy than I have in a LOOONG time. I am just needing to stick to the routine so I can continue to feel this great and eventually get to a weight that I'm happy with. 

My soon to be second grader is turning 7 on July 3rd so after we do some birthday stuff with him we will be celebrating the 4th with family, some yummy Texas BBQ, and fireworks. My hometown does a really small fireworks display and have a few local bands play. 

Can't wait to check out your July Currently. Link up and don't forget the rule of 3.  

Monday Meet Me with TTT

I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune to share 3 things I am thankful for. . .

I am so thankful that I have all of this free time. I am taking advantage of my summer bucket list. I am working out, eating right, losing weight, camping, fishing, swimming, and spending time with family. It has been a really great summer so far. I do want to do some more DIY projects and crafts and I'm so glad I still have to time to get some of that in.

I am LOVING Instagram and all the Insta-friends I am making. I follow teacher bloggers, fitness freaks, jewelry boutiques, make-up gurus, and so much more! I have over 800 followers and I share {mostly} teachery and some personal stuff on IG. I am so thankful people want to get to know me.

I am loving the kindle app on my iPad. I love that I hear about great books and I can download instantly and get my read on. Nothing like reading on my patio when the sun goes down!

I can't wait to read about what your thankful for. Link up!

Summer Bloggin' : Monday Meet Me

I decided to link up with the the Teaching Tribune to let you know 3 things about me.

I'm a little quirky for sure! These are just things the hubbs noticed that I do. I was clueless until he pointed them out, but I won't do it any other way! I've gotta be me! 

Link up and tell us about you!

Let's Talk About Books and a few Freebies!

I love books. I love all KINDS of books so that's why I am so excited about Deanna Jump's weekly linky party because every week I get to share different books with you.

This week I wanted to share my favorite books for the beginning of the year. I like to do an author study on Kevin Henkes. Every year my students fall in love with the characters and stories from this amazing author. 

His books have a lot of characteristics that children adore. They have a clear author's message, cute characters, and repetition. I feel like these books are ideal for grades K-2. 

I always start out with his older books and the very first book I read is Wemberly Worried. I read this text over and over all week, but we focus on a different skill every day. 

Students learn there's nothing to worry about at school and they will meet and make new friends. 

There are tons of activities to do with these books (they're all over TPT and the internet), but I like that for the beginning of the year a successful task for students is for them to share how they feel on the first day (or week) of school. They can practice writing text to self connections. This also gives me a chance to see their early writing skills. I like to combine this activity with a craft. I take photos of my students with worried faces and they write about why they were worried. Then I snap photos of them with relieved faces and they write about what how they became relieved. It makes a really cute display for the first weeks of school and open house. 

I don't have very many things in my TPT store just yet. . .but I do have a Story Maps and and Text Connection freebies that y'all are more than welcome to download. More is coming soon so leave kind feedback and follow me! Hopefully, this gives you ideas on how to build your mini-lessons and how to find good mentor texts. If you haven't read any of Kevin Henkes books you are missing out! 

Throwback Thursday

I'm linking up with the The Teaching Tribune for a little #tbt . . .

I want to share my call to the profession. But first . . .

this is me in first grade, the grade I have taught for the last two years. . . 

I remember coming home from school and teaching my little brother everything I was learning and loving the way that felt. I don't know if I was that good of a little teacher or if he just was an amazing student, but he learned everything I would show him with ease. 

I helped my teachers with ESL students, lower achieving students,  and was a buddy reader almost all of my school career. It just felt right. It just felt like it's what I should do. 

I married right out of high school and we traveled the world. When we finally were stationed back in Texas I enrolled at the local university and finished in 3 years. 

This coming school year I will start my fifth year of teaching, my third year teaching second grade, and I wouldn't change it for the world!

I don't want to turn anyone away from this profession, but I do have to say that it isn't easy. You really have to WANT it to STAY in it. . . 

I think Steve Jobs said it best: 

Let's Talk about Books!

I'm linking up with you lovely Deanna Jump 

to share a book I found this past 13-14 school year. 

I purchased this book earlier this year because the cover art 

caught my eye in the bookstore. 

As a first grade teacher teaching "How to" {procedural} writing is a must. 

Finding good mentor texts for read-alouds is necessary. 

When I read the story I fell in L-O-V-E! 

Rocket is lured into learning to read and this sweet little bird becomes his teacher. Rocket learns to read after a few steps. My first graders loved all the connections we made to this story. They recalled when they were learning letters and sounds. They remembered that they had to practice to get better at it. They noticed the seasons passed in this story and connected it to our school year. They realized as the seasons pass they become smarter in all that they practice at school. They fell in love with Rocket and were so happy that he learned how to read. 

I loved this text because it has substance. It's not just a cute book. I used it to teach both reading and writing. My students responses were amazing! They could write a story map, sequence, inference, summarize, and the list goes on! When we set out to write our own "how to's" they could go back to the story and recall details to help them put their ideas in a sequential order. I really loved this book and hope you will check it out.   

June Currently

It's time to link up with Farley for the June Currently! Yay! Here goes!

I'm having a lazy Sunday. I love sitting on at the patio table and watching my littles play while I get some school work done! I'm so glad this is my last Sunday to be working on school stuff until late August!

It's in the triple digits, but that's just fine with me. There's tons to do outside to enjoy the sunshine.

I'm kind of freaking out because there are only 5 days left. 5 full days with kids. I'm supposed to keep them engaged and pack up my room? We don't have extra PD days or teacher work days. Friday is it and they expect us to leave by 3! 

I am looping up with my firsties and that means I need to pack up and clean this classroom so I can move in to a bigger better classroom! Woot! Woot! The only downside is that I have to pack up and clean this classroom and move into another classroom. {WOMP. WOMP.} I want a cleaning fairy to do it all for me. {A girl can dream.} 

I need to finish my to do list. I have several end of the year paperwork, activities, and gifts to put together and I only have 5 days! Double Eeeek! 

My family lives 6 hours away but I plan on seeing them as much as possible. 

I won't go into how much I need to lose but I have entered some monthly challenges to get me motivated and started. 

Now that I am going back to second I am looking forward to creating new resources and getting some DIY projects done this summer. 

That's it for me! Link up and don't forget the rule of 3! 

Link up here: