Friday Flashback: I'm Alive...Barely!

Oh.My.Word.  It has been two weeks since I last blogged, friends!  Is anyone else feeling the end-of-the-year-crunch, too?  I'm sure you are!  In fact, I just saw a couple of my blogging buddies' posts say that they haven't posted in nearly two weeks either.  Whew!  So glad I'm not the only one!

Here's a little look at what's been happening in our class lately....

We did host our Poetry Picnic celebration!  It was a fun way to end our poetry unit.  Parents came...students sang poems, read poems, and shared projects that we completed during the unit.  We set the tables...

We served our "Simile Sandwiches" with our "Pyramid Napkin" poems and our Acrostic Nameplates helped parents find their child's seat.

I love all of our learning celebrations.  Students get SO excited to actually share their work with families and be the "center of attention!"

This week was particularly busy because we had a field trip.  We visited our local science center for a couple of programs.

We reviewed matter with experiments with dry ice.

Then we explored lego robotics as students had to follow instructions/diagrams to build a chomping alligator.  They loved making it eat the paper fish and adding sound effects to it!

As if that wasn't exciting enough, we also had Field Day this week!  Have I told you how much I love Field Day? *insert sarcasm*  It *may* be my least favorite day of the year.  At least I didn't get a sub this year. HA!  I've never liked Field Day (even as a child), but I despise it now that the whole competition component has been taken out and it's just a glorified recess.  BUT, the kids do love recess, so they had fun!

We made monster visors to help keep us cool a bit.  It has finally warmed up here and was a toasty 90 degrees for our field day.  Trust me, I have the sunburn to prove it! (I love this weather!!!)

These sweet girls are taking a break from the action and keeping cool with freeze pops!  Such cutie-pies!

At least there was still one or two stations that required teamwork instead of just free-for-all play!

Speaking of keeping cool, with these great temperatures, we've had to pull this back out...

I think I posted about this last summer, but thought I would mention it again since it would make for a great end-of-the-year team gift.  Just pick up the spray bottles at Dollar Tree, tie a ribbon around them, and paint or Cameo a monogram on it!  Super cheap and easy gift!  We take these to recess with us and when students get overheated, they come up and ask for a mist.  They LOVE it...sometimes the teachers need one, too! :)

I've also been keeping busy trying to organize all of that end-of-the-year stuff - like my "student bucket" end-of-the-year gifts.

I decided to put away the paint pens and break out the Cameo this year to add students' names and some designs to the buckets.  I picked these buckets up last year (always thinking ahead) in the Target Dollar Bins.

This is what I include in my buckets....

1) A list of "100 Things to Do Instead of Watching TV or Playing Video Games" - We read Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Effect by Patricia Polacco....a book about a town of people who love their TV sets so much they watch them ALL the time and even have pictures of them on their mantles!....then students work in groups to compile lists of 25 things they would like to do that do not include TVs.  I compile the lists into 100 things and include them in the buckets.  If students complete and highlight at least 25 activities from the list and return it to me at the beginning of next school year, I'll give them a little reward!

2) An envelope with my name/address so students can write a letter to me over the summer.  They love this and I love that they are writing!  In fact, I just got a letter a couple of weeks ago from a past student (now a 5th grader at a different school) who still had my address - so sweet!!

3) A book - purchased from Scholastic (hopefully with bonus points) - still waiting on these to arrive!

4) A deck of cards and a little booklet of all the math games we've learned to play with them this year to keep up with that fact fluency!

5) Freeze Pops with a tag that says "Stay Cool, Kid"

6) An individualized Candy Award - something that tells them how special they are for their unique qualities!

7) An end-of-the-year DVD that is filled with pictures from the year set to music in a video format (still to come) - this will fill my entire day tomorrow, I'm sure!

What do you give your students at the end of the year?  I'm always looking for fresh ideas!

Sundays in the South: Crazy Weather, Winner & a Sale!

My, oh my!  I am over this weather!  It is 50 degrees with record amounts of rainfall here. I feel like vampires may start popping out at any moment.  I'm pretty sure Forks is the only place that gets THIS much rain per day!  What happened to our 80 degree weather??  It is May!  In the South!

I need it to reappear ASAP! The hubs and I went out for our Sunday shopping trip today, but I didn't even get half the stuff on my list.  I couldn't take the cold, wet weather.  I could definitely be a California girl (no need to rub it in you Cali bloggers....I've been jealous of your poolside pics all week on Instagram!)

If you STILL haven't joined the Instagram bandwagon - do it!  Today!  You can follow along with the "Madden"ess by clicking below!

My little Gallopade giveaway ended yesterday and the winner is.....

I have sent you an email. :)

Teacher's Clubhouse (primary resources) 

and Lightbulb Minds (intermediate resources) 

 

will both be participating in the BIG TpT sale!  This will be the last sale of the school year, so you will not want to miss out!  Go ahead and stock up for next year!  I know I'm not the only one thinking about next year already, right?!  *sigh* #theteacherlife

Friday Flashback

In Math this week, we continued to practice our measurement skills - with worms!  Since they loved the clay worms so much last week, we kept the trend going.   I told them that since they did such a good job using the rulers correctly, we were going to measure worms again this week - but not those silly clay worms.

That's right.  I hinted that they were the REAL deal.  I even had them close their eyes while I went to get them (I mean,  they can't know where I keep my secret stash).  When they opened their eyes, I was holding a film canister.  I told them that I put a worm in each canister that morning - you know worms like dark places, right?  I went around and sat a canister on each child's desk, but they weren't allowed to touch them yet.  Then, once everyone had a canister, I modeled what we would do.

On the signal, we very carefully pick up the canisters (so we didn't hurt the worms) and hold them high above our heads.  I told them they would feel extremely light - possibly like there was nothing in there at all, but I promised them they were NOT empty!  On the next signal, we would use our other hand/thumb to remove the lids while keeping them held high above our heads.  I didn't want any of the girls to see the worms and "freak out."  ;)  Then on the third signal, we would turn our canisters over and DUMP THE WORMS ON OUR DESKS!

They bit.  Hook, line and sinker.  Every year.  Look at these faces!

Squeamish much?.....Then, dump!

Yarn worms??  Oh, Mrs. Madden!  You fooled us, again!

We used our "cans of worms" to estimate and measure in inches and centimeters and then make comparisons of the two units.

Pretty soon, they're going to stop believing me, but I think I have one more great worm idea up my sleeve for Monday! :)

We also started our ABC Countdown this week!!  WooHoo! Can I get a Hallelujah on that one??

In Science, we wrapped up our Matter Unit with a virtual field trip.

Our instructor was from Texas and she did some really cool experiments with dry ice and nitrogen with the kiddos.

Then they got to do more experiments on their own.  I think our record was 35 drops of water on a penny!

In writing, we did a mix of things....we reviewed "how-to" writing with a fun worm recipe - Worm Pudding - this also knocked out our "A is for Art" on our ABC Countdown calendar - boomyow!

Students used templates for the craftivity and then we glued real spoons to them.  We put black glitter in the "dirt" to make it seem more real and also added the black glitter to the spoon for a realistic effect.

Enjoying worm pudding while we work!

The finished products on display!

We also wrote and published our "pyramid poems" - onto napkins to use at our Poetry Picnic on Monday, of course!

Notice how one poem is about ME?? {heart} And, how I'm the best teacher in the world because we get to measure WORMS in math!?  I'm tellin' ya - they love some worms! :)  I'll be working to get my new worm unit finished up this weekend!

We also tackled possessives this week.  The quiz I made only had 17 questions.  I'm a 20 question kind of teacher, so I had the kiddos flip it over on the back and create a "possessive diagram" of themselves.  They turned out adorbs!  One little girl drew herself in her "mom's wedding dress" - precious!  This little kiddo drew herself wearing "Mrs. Madden's dress".

There was a lot of "Mrs. Madden's high heels" or "Mrs. Madden's lipstick" and they get all the details right, too!  Here's a pic of me wearing the dress above!

This was for "College Day" on the ABC Countdown Calendar.  Gotta love my Gamecock boys! :)

And, finally, we practiced and practiced for our "Poetry Celebration" that we're hosting on Monday.  They were so excited to have a real stand for our microphone and the little spotlight shining on them!

I'm CURRENTLY obsessed with Instagram!

I should have linked up with Farley's CURRENTLY before now.  There's really no excuse.  Well, except for Instagram.

It's amazing that I've been on it for ever personally but never really used it much, but as soon as I created a "teacher" account - obsessed!!

LOVING everyone's photos!!

But, I finally got around to it....

Listening:  What can I say?  TV is always on in the background and it's often reality TV.  I do love a good fashion show - Project Runway, Fashion Star....I'm in!  Did you know that Amanda Valentine (on Project Runway this season) is sisters with Maroon 5's James Valentine?  Interesting tidbit there for you. :)

Loving:  I do not like to owe money.  Who does right?  I know, but seriously....it eats at me.  I do not own a major credit card (now, the hubs is a different story) and I pay my smaller ones off in the store usually.  Well, today I paid off my husband's car.  I bought it for him for his birthday a couple of years ago (his dream FJ Cruiser) and today I bit the bullet and paid it off.  I'm broke, but I'm car payment free!

Thinking:  Does anyone else DRAG this time of year??  At the beginning of the year I'm at school by 6:30 (our kids enter our rooms at 7:45), but at this time of year I am doing good to be there by 7:15.  I am draaaagggging!  Those early morning wakeups have piled on and I am ready to sleep until 7:00 am!  One more month.....I will make it!

Wanting:  A new shoe collection.  That's right.  Not a new pair, a whole new collection!  I don't think I really bought new shoes last spring so I'm in dire need!  I have a feeling we'll be shopping this weekend.  My husband has lost so much weight that he can't wear any of his pants, soooo.....if we go pants shopping, we'll probably pass by shoes, right?!  :)

Needing:  An entire week of sleep.  It seems like even on the weekends lately I've had to wake up early.  I need some serious catching up.  Unfortunately, I'm a night owl so going to bed early isn't really an option.  I can't wait until I can get on my summer schedule - bed at 1:00am and up at 8:00am - heaven!  Because let's face it - bed at 12:00am and up at 5:00am just isn't cutting it anymore!

Summer Bucket List:  Oh, I have BIG items on my "to-do" list for school units this summer, but I couldn't muster up the strength to even consider thinking about those right now.  So, my summer "Bucket List" will only have two things on it for now (until I'm forced to face the other things) -

1. Whole Brain Teaching Conference - Cannot WAIT to hit Louisiana with some of my best teaching friends for this conference and some FUN times!  We'll hit New Orleans before coming back home.  Woot! Woot!

2. Relaxation - I want more than just our family week at the beach this year.  Long weekends away with Mr. Madden.  Lots of books being read.  Days spent at mom's pool.  Relaxation!  (If I put it in writing maybe it will happen!) 


Don't forget to enter my Gallopade Giveaway that ends on Saturday!!  It's super easy to enter!

Have you heard of Gallopade? Win a Product of Your Choice

Oh my word!  I had so much fun posting and looking at teacher pics on Instagram today!  If you've joined the fun, leave your Instagram name for me to follow.  You can find me at http://instagram.com/teachingmaddeness

I have a feeling I'll be posting pics daily!


I love when I come across one of those "rare-never-heard-of-before" teacher resource companies.  Especially when it's a gem like Gallopade.

Earlier in the year, when we were doing biographies, I was searching for some age-appropriate books for some of the famous people my students wanted to learn about that I didn't already have books about in my classroom library.

Let's face it.  It can be tough to find age-appropriate biographies that have enough information to be valuable.  I find that most books are geared toward K-1 or 4+.  Upon my Google search, I stumbled upon these wonderful little books from Gallopade.

I love that they contain so much good information, but at the perfect reading level for most of my kiddos.  I also love that they include a glossary and a "pop quiz" at the back.  Each page also has a puzzle (word searches, codes, scrambled words, etc.) to keep students engaged and to teach them additional information!

The great news is that they are only a couple bucks a piece since they are consumable!  And, they have them on TONS of people - I'm talking the traditional people studied in classrooms (Amelia Earhart, George Washington, etc.) to more recent and/or rare biographies like Michelle Obama, Harry Connick Jr., or the Ringling Brothers).  Click here for the 1,000 Readers List.

As if that isn't enough...they also have amazing Digital Readers available for biographies.  These are awesome for whole group lessons during your biography study - a book for your interactive board!  They combine digital books with video clips (of kids just like your students giving important facts) and the puzzles/quizzes that similar to those in the 1,000 Readers.  The Digital Readers also have a Vocabulary Builder Section and a Pop Quiz.

Don't take my word for it though, try it out yourself!  Gallopade has been kind enough to let me offer you a FREE Digital Reader of Benjamin Franklin.  Just follow the directions below to access it!


To access a trial digital reader (Benjamin Franklin), just go to http://www.mywowboard.com
Then, click the "login" tab at the top.  

Enter the username (case sensitive): DRdemo12
Password: readerdemo12

Next, look to the left in the "My Programs" sidebar and click on "Ben Franklin Demo" (but notice that there's an activity sheet you can print, too!)

Try it out with your kids and see how much they love it!

Of course, after this discovery, I had to search their site a bit more.  That's when I discovered some of their awesome Mystery Series.  Always, looking to expand my genre possibilities, I wanted to test out the "Masters of Disasters" series - what a great way to combine this genre with our study of weather!  These chapter books are perfect for my higher-leveled readers and I think they'll really engage those students who prefer non-fiction over fiction....they'll still get a bit of those "facts" hidden in the story!

One of my favorite things about these books are that they include TONS of valuable information at the back to use in the classroom, like...

1) Book Club Questions
2) Ways to Bring the Book to Life (project ideas)
3) Scavenger Hunt
4) Pop Quiz
5) Glossary
6) Trivia

If you spend a little time browsing around this site, you'll see lots of other amazing resources!  And, be sure to check out their CATALOG to find new resources, like their cool write-on/wipe-off United States maps!

You can win any of the products listed above - you choose....
1. 1,000 Reader Biographies
2. Digital Reader
3. Masters of Disasters Mysteries
4. Write-On/Wipe-Off U.S. Maps

To enter, simply follow Gallopade on Facebook by clicking HERE.   Then, come back and leave a comment with the following....

1) Your product of choice
2) Your email
3) Your Facebook follow name

I'll select the winner on Saturday! 

Sundays in the South: Resolutions, Instagram & Giveaways!

Wow!  Where did our beautiful summer weather go?  It is rainy and in the 50s here today...brrrrr!  I had to pull out the skinny jeans and boots again!

The mister and I trudged out in the rain to do a little shopping today.  I was looking for a few specific items and, well, you know how that goes.  I did find the robin's egg blue placemats I needed to match my new tablecloth for the dining room, but no such luck for a new shower curtain and/or dishes that have been on my "want" list forever!!  :(  I sooooo wish I could just hire someone to keep my home decor current.  I love for it to look nice, but I'm not a fan of finding all the pieces and putting it together myself!

Anywho....we also went to Costco today.  Surprise!  Somehow we always end up there on Sundays even though I always vow never to go there on Sundays and fight with the food-samplers!  Ugh!  But, that is where I buy some of my favorite snacks and a girl can't be without her snacks!

A little over a month ago, I set the wheels in motion for a family "weight loss" challenge.  You see, I always seem to put on 10 pounds over the winter that I need to shed before bikini season rolls around.  Anyone else do this????  My mom and I always get the pounds off by summer, but unfortunately my husband and dad always seem to put on the pounds with us, but are never too concerned about swimsuit season.  I guess that's because they spend ALL day EVERY day on the golf course instead of the beach during the summer. ;)

But, this year, the entire family jumped on my family fitness challenge.  So far, between my husband and I and my parents, we've lost over 60 pounds already!  Whoot! Whoot!  The men are taking it pretty seriously, so I think it's going to be a win-win for everyone!

The guys have really just been changing their diet, but you know that's not enough for us women.  So, my mom and I have definitely been keeping our New Year resolution of getting back to our running routine PLUS we've been adding a couple of miles of walking to our daily workouts.

Of course, you can't deprive yourself from everything so I thought I'd share some of my favorite snacks for those times when I want something "bad" - you know, not fruit, yogurt, or rice cakes....although I do love a chocolate rice cake with a little peanut butter!

My absolute guilty pleasure (and the purpose for my mandatory Costco trip) are these....

Now, I can't really say these are healthy after reading the ingredients, but they sure do satisfy my chocolate craving.  I immediately come home and portion them into 23 ziploc baggies so that I only eat one serving at a time.  But, I do have a portion almost daily!  You can find these at Wal-Mart even, but Costco has the best deal with a 2 pound bag for 9.99.  I may have bough multiple bags today...don't judge.

I stumbled across those after my Trader Joe's was out of Power Berries for months!  I think the Power Berries may be healthier, but when the warehouse is out and they don't know when they will get them back in, what's a girl to do??

Sometimes, I get a really big craving for something salty.  I'm a BIG chip/cracker girl, but not those healthy tasteless crackers.  Blah!  So, here are two of my favorites to nip that salty craving....

 I love, love, love some Pop Chips - but only the barbecue ones!  I first saw these from Jillian Michaels promoting them.  I usually pick them up at Publix, but guess what?  They have huge bags at Costco now!!  I just portion them into small bags as soon as I get them home.  Perfect for a grab and go snack!

I'm also a big fan of these!  Think those orange cheese puffs that you ate when you were little....you know, the ones that got the orange powder ALL over your fingers?  Well these taste just like those, but without the orange fingers....and better for you!  There are 32 of these little puffs in a serving at just over 100 calories....that's a lot of puffs!  I find these at Bi-Lo on the chip aisle, or a Publix on the organic snack aisle.  Unfortunately, my husband tasted these for the first time last week and was shocked that they tasted just like the originals - now I have to share.  sigh

What are some of your favorite "healthy" snack options to satisfy those snack cravings?

On another note, I took the plunge!  I've been on Instagram for a while with a personal account, but I don't really use it THAT often, so I decided I would probably use it more as a teacher.  So....I jumped on the bandwagon and created an Instagram account for my blog!!  Look for "teachingmaddeness" on there, or click the image below to follow me (and then I can find YOU and follow you back!)

 I've only added a few (old) pictures since I just created the account today, but I can't wait to get back to school on Tuesday (we're out of school on Monday since we didn't use our snow days this year! Yippee!!)  You know what they say....a picture is worth a thousand words!!  I hope y'all will join in for the new "Teacher Talk Tuesday" on Instagram!  Just snap a pic and hashtag it with #teachertalktuesday so we can all find each other!!

 

And, now for some fabulous giveaways from a couple of  MY FAVORITE 2ND GRADE TEACHER BLOGGERS!


Linda over at "Around the Kampfire" is starting a series on Tomie DePaolo and she's starting it off with a bang with a giveaway of her precious unit and 10 of his books that you can use with the unit!!  WOW!  Click the button above to head over and enter her giveaway!  If you're not already following her blog, one peek around it will convince you to click that "follow" button - she seriously has PRECIOUS ideas!!

 

Then, head on over to visit Rachel at "The Tattooed Teacher" for her spectacular birthday giveaway!  She celebrated her 16th birthday all over again yesterday with a SWEET deal!  You can win a $50 TpT gift certificate!  And, when I told her that I was celebrating my 16th birthday again this year, she didn't even question it (even though I'm wayyyyy past that)....just another reason why I love her! ;)  Hop on over and enter to win...just click the image above.

Friday Flashback: Winners & a Peek at our Week

Congrats to Kiah for guessing correctly that my LEAST favorite thing about spring is the smell of fresh cut grass!!!!  There were so many good guesses, and lots that are true, but fresh cut grass is my least favorite.  I despise it.  I've even had to take my class in from recess before because the grass had been cut recently and I was totally gagging and about to be sick.  :(  I also hate that my husband smells like grass after playing golf - ugh - that's probably why I never stuck with that sport despite being decent at it and getting cute pink clubs and all. ;)

And, the Rafflecopter random winner is.....Amy W!!

Congrats, gals!  I'll have the new Poetry Pizzazz Unit sent your way asap!!  Hope your kiddos love it as much as mine did!

Speaking of it, here are some of their finished products from this unit...

We also FINALLY wrapped up our money unit and were able to start our MEASUREMENT UNIT today!!  I LOVE this math unit!  Here's how I start it off....

The week before beginning this unit, I read How To Eat Fried Worms to my students.  Then, I tell them that since we've just read a book about worms, we're going to be using WORMS to practice our measurement skills.

I tell them that I am going to give everyone a worm to measure today so that I can make sure they know how to use a ruler properly.  I have them close their eyes....I mean, they can't SEE where I keep my worms hidden.  Then, I have them OPEN their eyes and when they do, I'm standing in front of the class dangling a fat, juicy worm above my open mouth.

Their little mouths drop open in awe.  Sometimes I even lick it.  You won't die from licking a worm.  Even if it is just a clay worm.  hehehe....I finally let them in on my secret, but I do keep them thinking that we WILL use real worms soon.  I just can't let them use them on the FIRST day.  We have to make sure they can use these rulers properly first!

So then, I give everyone a clay worm.  These little clay strips are perfect for this lesson.

I get them from Dollar Tree every year...of course! :)  Once each child has one, I have them "roll" the worms to different lengths to practice using the ruler correctly (starting at the end and reading it to the nearest inch).

We practice....

and practice....

with both inches and centimeters....

And then of course, they all want a picture of themselves "eating" a worm.

Oh, if they only knew what I have in store for them next week! :)  I have some new ideas for this unit, too, and can't wait to work on them this weekend!