UTAH!!!

I know this is my teacher blog, but I'm in need of your help!  First off, I'm not a last minute planner like the hubby!  I like to have things planned out to a degree, lol.  He would probably just fly by the seat of his pants, but that makes me nervous!!  So, I need your help!! Last night the hubby and I decided this coming summer we'd like to go spend some time in Utah! I have flown over this gorgeous state and driven through parts of it, but have never really had the chance to stop and visit! So, what are the must sees, things you'd wouldn't want to miss, places we might want to stay over??  My guess is we will have a week or two to enjoy this beautiful state! Please send me your suggestions!!  Thanks, from the hubby and me!!

Baby Braxton and a Celebration!!

Hi y'all! 

It seems like it's been forever since I've posted on here.  And let me tell you, a lot has happened in these past 4 weeks.  On September 19th our family welcomed this "new" little bundle of sunshine into our lives!!  I'd like to introduce Braxton!! This little pumpkin is just 2 days old in this first picture.  He weighed 10 lbs 2.4 oz and was a whopping 23 1/2 inches long.  Momma had him naturally after 28 hours of labor.  He had a little bit of swelling from the IV fluids and trying to make a grand appearance!!  And, has been struggling to get back to his birth weight after losing all those fluids, but he is finally climbing back up there!  Yeah!!

Two weeks later momma and daddy wanted to have some pictures taken!  So, we did a little photo shoot at grandma and grandpa's house before going out for pizza!  :0)

Daddy is a big "hunter", so a friend of Braxton's mommy made him his very own "deer hat and panties".  The panties even had a little tail and the hat sported antlers!   Adorable!!  Right?!!

 I always love catching little yawns and this one was perfect!! 

I am so thankful the little guy waited until I got home from California to arrive!  I don't know what I would have done if I had missed his birth!  He is just too sweet and loves to snuggle!

I'm also celebrating a milestone with TPT!  It has taken a little while to reach, but feels wonderful knowing I've made it!  I'm celebrating by having a 15% sale over at my store till Sunday evening! 

 

I recently posted my October First Grade Daily Math!  My Daily Math products for kindergarten and first grade review and introduce the Common Core Standards for that particular grade level.  They spiral throughout the month/year and help the kiddos understand the concepts and build on ones from the previous months!  Here is a small sampling of what each looks like!!

I hope you'll stop by my store to pick up some "freebies" and check on the sale!!  Have a fantastic Columbus Day weekend!! 

California!!

Wow!  I just spent a whirlwind week with my little sister traveling around California!  It was a very unexpected trip for me.  She was going out to visit her son, but some unexpected things came up and he was unable to be there to meet her, so she asked me to go along!  Whew!  I had to book a flight, find places for us to stay and get an agenda ready in under a week!  Yikes!!

So, off we went on an adventure!  We did a quick stop over in Vegas for a night!  Lybbie had tickets to see Ron White at the Mirage, so we spent one day walking around and seeing the sights in Vegas.  While sight seeing we stopped off at the Bellagio and the Venetian.  What beautiful hotels!  We were going to go on a gondola ride, but after the show it was a bit late and both of us we're pooped out!!

A couple of our favorite stops in California were Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.  We were afraid we might not get to go to Sequoia due to the fires, but all was good.  We saw 3 little bear cubs!!  Adorable!  Hiked from Wolverton to the General Sherman.  Absolutely a gorgeous hike!!  I would highly recommend the hike over the shuttle to anyone.  The scenery was beautiful and so peaceful and well worth the time spent hiking the 2 miles!  The General Sherman is a sight everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime!!  I've been there a couple of times and it still takes my breath away! 

Yosemite was beautiful as well!!  While driving up the mountain side there are many stops for breathtaking views!  Moro Rock can be seen from several different spots and is quite a sight.  The falls were dry, but the walk back to the lower falls was beautiful!!  Just beautiful!  It always amazes me when I go to places such as these how creative God is and how much beauty we have here on Earth!  If these places are so beautiful, I can't even imagine how beautiful heaven will be some day!!

 Our main destination was LA.  What a busy, busy city!  We drove down to Santa Monica Pier, walked along the coast, saw Rodeo Drive and spent a little time on Hollywood Blvd.  We both decided we're small town girls and the hustle and bustle of the big city are just not for us!  But, it was fun seeing all the sights!! 

 And, probably the most important thing was my new little grandson didn't arrive on the scene while I was gone!!  Yeah!!  He can come any time now! Mamaw is home!!

Let's Talk Math!!

Hi all!! 

One of my favorite subjects in kindergarten is Math!!  It always amazes me how little minds work.  Does any one else feel this way?  Little ones can solve problems in so many ways and sometimes I have no idea how they arrived at the conclusions that they did, but they are spot on!! 

So, today let's talk math!! (Just so ya all know, I'd do this with any grade level.  I'm just sharing from a kindergarten perspective!)

In my classroom each day we spend part of our day introducing and reviewing common core concepts using my Kindergarten Daily Math units.  We also spend part of our day doing an activity called "Math Talk".  I've talked about "Math Talk" before, but thought I'd share a little bit about it again, since it is a quick and easy way to tie in some of the standards each day in your classroom!

Basically "Math Talk" is a conversation about a picture.  The little ones are using math language during our conversations (after much modeling) and sometimes we even incorporate our comprehension strategies into our discussions.   We always begin our conversations talking about what they notice in the pictures.  Many times the little people are able to infer something about what they think is going on in the picture by clues and it is so neat to see how their thinking changes as they gain more information from their classmates (synthesizing).

One of the standards for kindergarten is to describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.  Using our pictures for "Math Talk" helps us tie this standard into our math time.  Another nice thing about using pictures is, it also helps children begin to see things in groups, and not just by 1's.  Each little person is joining the conversation where they are in their thinking/learning.  They are also having the opportunity to learn from their peers' thinking which pushes them just a little bit further. 

At the end of math talk, I give the little people some problems to solve using things within the pictures.  They can solve the problem in any way they wish.  Some will count on, some will add, some will subtract.  It is so neat to see how they're thinking. 

I thought maybe you would like to see what one of our pictures might look like.  I decided to include 2.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy, it could just be a picture you took on vacation, at a holiday gathering, etc.  These just happen to be of my little grandson on a trip to the apple orchard last fall.  The important piece is the conversation!!!   Happy talking! 

A little bit of digging! A little bit of playing! And, a little bit of nature!!

I'm sure you're all wondering, what in the world is she sharing with us this time?? 

Well, finally we've started getting ready for our home construction!!  Can I hear a "Oh, ya"!!?  We have owned our property for about 10 years now and  thought we'd be building on it 3 years in, but several obstacles got in our way (my husband's broken leg, a knee replacement, my back surgery and my momma being diagnosed with cancer among other things).  A little over 2 years ago we moved out to what we commonly refer to as "The Triangle".  Strange things seems to happen out here and the property is shaped kinda like a triangle (according to hubby), more like a trapezoid if ya all ask me, lol. 

Currently, we are living in a 720 square foot apartment above our garage.  Now, it is an adorable little apartment and I do have laundry facilities out here now!  So, I've been pretty happy about the whole thing other than we have no closets really.  That's been a bit tricky and we've had to be a little creative!

On Monday our excavator began knocking down trees in the area where the house is going to be built.  I was so excited and so nervous to see all of those trees being pushed into a huge, I'm telling ya, a huge pile!!  One of my little grandsons loves any kind of motor vehicle or equipment that moves.  So, mamaw gave him a call and he came out to watch.  He had a ball!!!  Not only did he get to see Chuck excavating, but was invited to get up on the equipment!  This was huge for Wyatt!! 

Our little deer have been loving it as well!  All summer I thought we had 2 babies, but apparently there were 3 little all along.  Somewhere one has been hiding!  They have been playing in the opened up area this week and I can't tell you how fun it is to watch them run and chase!! 

Hopefully, all of the digging and moving of dirt will be completed early next week and then the basement wall can be put into place.  Yeah!!  School starts in just about 2 weeks and my husband's class will be building the main part of the house.  And, I will get to help!!  Whoo! Hoo!

Enjoy the pictures below and I will try to keep you up to speed on the progress and how we're doing! 

TPT Back to School Sale!!

Hi y'all!!  The big back to school sale at TPT starts tomorrow!  Load up your shopping carts!  There will be lots of goodies to choose from!  I already have some great items on my "wish list" and can't wait to move them to my shopping cart!! Whoo!  Hoo!!

Be sure to use the Promo Code:  BTS15 when checking out!! 

"A Little Super Hero Extravaganza!!"

This is just a little "Super Hero Extravaganza" for my daughter's new classroom!  I just thought I'd share a few of the things I'd been working on for her.  I love Pinterest, but sometimes it can be a really, really bad thing, if ya know what I mean, lol.  My daughter is going to be teaching Pre-K this year and she has been very busy finding things on Pinterest she'd like to decorate her room with.  She finds it and then asks mom to create it!!  So, I've been a little busy making stuff for her the past week or so and just thought I'd show you a few of "super heroes" I've created. 

First up, is her door sign.  I don't know who originally had this idea, but it's adorable!!  All Kaele has to do is tie a yellow ribbon in the top right-hand corners!  Then, it will be complete!

Next up, the name plates for their little lockers!!  I also made smaller ones for her to use for other things in the classroom!!!

 This little jobber is her newsletter template!  I'm going to make a couple more different choices for her to use over the course of the school year!  But, this will get her started!

And last, I made her some postcards to invite her little ones to "Meet and Greet with Mrs. Smith"!  I still have her Center rotation cards to make yet, but I'm getting really close to having everything caught up!!  Yeah!!

I hope you enjoyed a little peek at our "Super Hero Extravaganza"!!!  Have a great night!

Vacation and Grandbabies!!!

Hi y'all!
I know this is a teaching blog, but sometimes it's just fun to share family!   

My son and his wife just returned from their vacation up in Chetek, Wisconsin.  My husband and I have been discussing about going up to Wisconsin in the near future to try out the four-wheeler trails.  They look so fun!!  Any recommendations???  I know some of you live in that area, so what do you think??

Any who, I thought I'd share a few pictures of my adorable little babies!  Who doesn't love seeing pictures of little ones?!  So, sit back and enjoy!

This cool little dude is Wesson!  He is going to be a first grader this next school year and the oldest of all of my grandbabies!  Not so much a baby anymore! 

 This is him last year on Father's Day!                             This handsome little guy is Wyatt!  He's 3 and always a happy little guy!!

 Wyatt a year ago on Father's Day!  Love the expression!!          And, this little cutie pie is Willow! 

 Lovin' the swing at the cabin!  Look at that smile!!  Love it!