Nothing Like Accountability

Each night my students are required to read for twenty minutes at home.  This reading log helps me monitor what they are reading and how much progress they are (or aren't) making on their books. As you can see, I like to make my stuff look a bit edgy.  Click here to download. 

Kid Fitness 101

I've been on a fitness kick.  I want to make healthier choices when it comes to diet and exercise.  I've been reading a lot and making some great changes to the way I eat.  There are simple things we can do that allow us to live healthier lifestyles.  I know many of us have Healthy Snack policies in our classrooms, and as part of that I hope to pass on some of the rules I've been living by to my students next year. 


I found a great website for kids to learn about making healthier choices called KidsHealth.org It is likely more geared towards middle school, but it was enough information to help me create my Kid Fitness Cards.  One challenge a week, for eight weeks. Feel free to download the cards below to share with your students or their parents. 

Thanks Pinterest: One Fabulous Bookshelf!

There Are Few Greater Moments Than The Ones Where You Surprise Yourself


So I'm not crafty.  At all.  I am convinced I have a spatial disability (the theory of multiple intelligences says so) and I rarely have any vision to create things, other than on the computer.  So when I saw this book shelf on Pinterest I repinned it... a girl can dream right?  At the end of the school year I realized that I could put a bookshelf on a counter in my room near some dead space.  So I was on a quest.  I refused to pay too much money and as always, Walmart comes to the rescue.  My room has a black theme so I decided to go with a black bookcase. 

And that's when I remembered that fabulous bookshelf I saw on Pinterest.  I have been warned by my fourth grade boys before to make sure I don't decorate the room with anything too girly so I had to switch it up a bit, but in the end... I am in LOVE!  I guess the moral of this story is that there's nothing a girl can't do with her pretty pink toolkit. 

The Journey To 40 Books... One Book Closer

After reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, I was so motivated to ensure my students were reading every day.  We can teach the best minilessons in the world, but if the kids don't have time to practice those strategies, they will never become the readers we strive for them to be.  


For next year, the students will be filling out a card every time they complete a book. They will hang them on a ring on a bulletin board in the classroom. At the end of the year, they will tie the cards together with a ribbon and take home their finished books from fourth grade.   The file can be downloaded below.

Notebooking: Dress Rehearsal

My big goal for next year is to start notebooking.  I absolutely loved the idea so I decided to try it out on my kids before the year was over.  They did an amazing job and it allowed me to start setting up some of the templates for next year.   Here is a sneak peak and there will definitely be more to come. 

This idea was inspired by one of my favorite literacy blogs: A Literate Life.

Because Teachers are People Too: Beauty Arsenal

Too Faced? Both Had Better Be Gorgeous...


So I've been dying to jump into the beauty balm craze but I am very picky about what I put on my face.  But this stuff is a miracle worker.  It is great to put under makeup and most importantly, has sun protection.