Slim Down Saturday -- Will You Be "My Fitness Pal?"

Like many others out there, I am looking to get healthier in this new year.  Losing weight is not a "resolution" (because I don't make those), but as my "One Word" this year is FORWARD, I feel I need to move forward with becoming healthier.

So I'm looking for some help from my (blogging) friends...

I just found this very cool linky party for getting healthy at Third Grade Tidbits.  Years ago when I did Weight Watchers, I know the accountability of the weekly check-in was HUGE!  I really like the idea of this linky party -- maybe it will be just what I need!  Thanks, Gina, for organizing this!!

So here's where I begin...

I am currently using the app, My Fitness Pal, to log my eating and exercise diaries.  There is a very nice feature in it where I can connect with friends for extra support and encouragement.

This is where you come in....

If you are connected with My Fitness Pal and want to be fitness friends, please let me know by leaving your email address in a comment below.  I will send you an invite from my account and we can motivate and inspire each other in our journey to be healthier this year.

For me, I think I need the accountability.  I have already become fitness friends with Lisa Bee at Grade 4 Buzz and knowing that she will see my updates has really kept me on track!  (Thanks, Lisa!!)

Wishing you good health!

Currently January -- Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!  I've woken up on a new side of a new year to a lot of snow here in southeastern Wisconsin.  As I'm writing this post, I'm watching the flakes fall outside my window....It is beautiful!  I'm especially enjoying it because I have no where to go today so as they say, "Let it snow!"

A new year, a new month, and a new chance to link up with Farley for Currently!  I just love these little snapshots of life.  :)

Pretty self explanatory so I won't bore you with details!  Just a special request for prayers for my mom who is having knee replacement surgery next Thursday that the surgery brings her relief for the pain she's been enduring.  Thank you!!

As we begin a new year and start work on those resolutions, I wanted to share this funny thought that I found on Alison at Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin's blog this morning.  It made me laugh!

So that settles it...no need for resolutions because you are ALREADY awesome!

Wishing you all the best in 2014!

A New Year -- a New Sale!!

2013 was such a wonderful year for me, I'm sad to see it go!  I have "met" so many wonderful people through this little blog, which I began back in March.  I am a better teacher, and my students have had better learning experiences, because of the ideas you have all shared with me.  Thank you!!

I'm looking forward to 2014 so I can continue to grow through more collaboration.  There are so many wonderful blogs out there that I haven't even discovered yet.  I'm linking up with Jennifer (great name!) at Simply Kinder for her Teaching Blog Linky Party to meet other teacher bloggers.  Just from looking over the list of those who have already linked up, I see lots of new blogs to explore.  I hope you will check it out!

As a thank you for being a reader of my blog, I am throwing a SALE at my TpT Store!  All of my items are 15% off until Thursday.  Now would be a great time to take a look at my Word Parts We Know program to systematically teach prefix and suffix word parts to your students.  I have had GREAT success with this program and know you will too!  :)

If you are a new reader of my blog, I invite you back on Sundays for my weekly linky party, A Peek at My Week.  Link up to share your plans for the upcoming week, either at school or at home.  Lots of wonderful ideas are shared here and I have been known to change my lesson plans on Sunday nights after discovering something new from a fellow blogger that I just HAVE to try!  :)

Wishing you and your a blessed and joyous new year!  See you in 2014!

One Word for the New Year

As 2013 winds down to a close and we begin to look ahead to 2014, so many of us are thinking about our resolutions for the new year.  For me personally, making a resolution has never really worked well.  Sure, I've made lots of resolutions for new years -- lose weight, eat healthy, be more peaceful, watch less TV -- but like the 63% of people who ditch their resolution after January 15th (my research, not official data), I usually don't see them come to fruition.

So I have decided that this year, I am not going to make any resolutions for the new year. (Gasp!)

I have been reading the awesome book, One Word that Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon.  Instead of making resolutions, I am going to choose One Word to guide me and all I do this year.

My Word?

I consider myself a fairly reflective person.  I spend a lot of time thinking about my life and my choices and how I can make them better.  But I don't always take the next step and do something about it.  That's why I'm choosing the word, forward, to guide me this year.  It can be my mantra in times of doubt, inaction, confusion and goal setting.  When I don't know what to do, I can remember my word as it urges me to take action.

I have decided that I am also going to do a One Word Project with my 4th graders in writing class when we get back next week.  I will ask them to each choose a word, write it creatively on a 9 x 14" paper, then write a brief paragraph about why they chose their word.  We will hang them in the hallway as a reminder of the words we have chosen and to inspire others. (Pictures to come soon!)

I put together this video to show the students some words they could consider using.

What do you think about choosing only one word to guide your new year? What word would you chose?  How could you use the One Word Project in your classroom?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

To learn how others are choosing and using their one word, visit 4th Grade Frolics.

A Peek at My Week -- Vacation Edition! {12-22-13}

Welcome to Winter Break and another edition of A Peek at My Week, the weekly linky party where you can share your plans for your upcoming week.

Santa brought us an early Christmas present this year in the form of an ice storm -- and school was cancelled on Friday, our last day before break!  It was great to begin break a day early, but because this was unexpected, there are many things I left at school that I will need to go in and get sometime this week.

The ice here has been terrible and last night, the snow arrived.  Today, we are supposed to go up to the in-laws to celebrate Christmas, but I'm afraid that the 2 hour trip would turn into a 4+ hour trip so we are seriously considering going.

I am also very excited to spend some time with these guys this week....my niece and nephew from Dallas are here until Christmas.  They moved this past summer and I have missed them so much!

Also on my agenda this week is catching up on lots of reading.  I love to get up early in the morning (before any other distractions get out of bed -- aka my kids) and read.  I have started reading a new book, The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, because I saw it recommended as one of Amazon's Top Picks of the Year.  So far, it's pretty good!

I also hope to get some work done on a new product for my TpT Store called "Writing of the Week."  I have found that with my group of writers this year, they need very explicit instruction in how to put together a writing project.  This new product will feature step-by-step instructions as they complete one part a day, from brainstorming, grouping ideas, writing an introduction and conclusion and finally, publishing.  You can get a sneak peek and download the first lesson here.  (I would LOVE your feedback as I move forward with this product!!)

I wish you a blessed and peaceful week!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

A Peek at My Week {12-15-13}

Here we are in the final stretch.  One more week, friends....We can do this!!  Welcome to A Peek at My Week, a place to link up to share what you've got planned for the upcoming week.

I don't know about your students, but mine have been rather rambunctious this past week.

With the upcoming break from school and a visit from you-know-who, keeping the kiddos motivated and on-task will be quite the challenge.

One thing we will continue to work on this week is our fluency using "'Twas the Night Before Christmas'."  I assigned students lines to read and every day, then they partner read the entire poem with a classmate.  Their fluency has improved dramatically.  Later this week, we will play "I Have Who Has" of lines of the poem using this fun activity from Mr. Hughes.

We will perform the poem for our kindergarten buddies at a buddy party on Wednesday.

Also this week, my writing students will be writing their own family holiday newsletter.  Similar to newsletters that many of us get in Christmas cards from friends and relatives, I am going to have my students think of the three most memorable events from their past year and put together a one-page newsletter. 

How about you?  What are you doing this week to stay sane?  :)

As a side note, there WILL be A Peek at My Week next week, even though it is winter break.  I thought we could share what we are doing over break to help refresh and rejuvenate ourselves.

Wishing you a great week! 

Fun (and Funny) Seasonal How-To Writing

Now that it is the last couple of weeks before the much anticipated Winter Break, I can definitely see that the kids are tired.  It has been a long fall, and we are all looking forward to two weeks off soon. So this is the time when we, the teachers, have to bring out the fireworks in our lesson planning to find creative ways to snag the depleting attention of our students to keep them engaged with learning for at least a few more days.

One activity I have done for the past three years in writing with great success is how-to writing with drawing snowmen. This activity can be spread over three or four days and would make a great way to end your last few days before break.

Day 1:  Pass out paper and ask students to draw a snowman.  They should use crayons, markers, or colored pencils to decorate it, but no other art supplies.

Day 2:  Hand back the students' drawings to the original artist.  Tell students that they now need to write directions on how to draw the exact same snowman in a how-to writing piece.  This is a good time to discuss transition words and using specific details to describe their snowman well.  Tell students that tomorrow, you will distribute the directions randomly around the room and another student will draw the snowman described on their how-to paper.

Day 3:  Randomly distribute the how-to directions and a new sheet of blank paper.  The students are to read and follow the directions as written to try to recreate the snowman drawing.

Day 4:  Gather together to share the "before" and "after" pictures.  It is really funny to see some of the recreations--and leads to a great discussion about adding specific details to writing.

When you think about it, one of the best ways to make meaning of our reading is to VISUALIZE it and if we aren't including enough SPECIFIC detail in our writing, our reader may be confused.  Writers need to remember this.  As you do the show and share, students will quickly see that those who used specific details had the two drawings that looked pretty similar.

Here are two samples of our final product.  Look at the amount of writing in the middle and how that compares to how well the two drawings match.  Hmmmm....

When I finish this activity, I have students write a brief reflection on what they did well and what they need to change for next time when writing.

If you're looking for a fun writing activity to wrap up your week before vacation, I hope you will give it a try!