Monday Made It -- A Win & a Fail

Just a quick link up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for her monthly Monday Made It linky party.  This is where we all get to share our craftiness and creative sides, two areas of our psyche that are not nurtured enough during the school year.

Today, I am sharing a Win and a Fail.

First, the "win".

Last month, I finished up working on my new TpT product, Super Writer Research.  I am addicted to all things writing and am obsessed with helping my 4th grade students write better.  I currently teach two sections of writing and love it!  I can definitely see growth in my writers since the beginning of the year.  I can't wait to hear what the 5th grade teachers think when they get them next year.  :)

We are working on research writing and I noticed that my students love to get on the internet and do research, but they really don't know the difference between a reliable source and an unreliable source, how to take notes, and how to prepare a bibliography.  My new Super Writer Research unit teaches them all they need to know to prepare for research.  You just add your own topic after going over the presentation.

Now for my "fail"...

I consider myself a pretty good cook.  Yesterday for our family St. Patrick's Day dinner, I made an ice cream grasshopper pie.  Well, let me tell ya, I don't know what I did, but it did not turn out.

How simple could it be?

Take a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream and soften it.  I added in about 1/2 cup of mint syrup (the kind you could add to coffee, no alcohol), and poured it into a chocolate cookie crust.  I let that freeze up for a bit.  Then I smoothed on some hot fudge sauce and refroze for a few hours.  Finally, I added some Cool Whip and mint chips to the top and froze it again.  When it was time to eat dinner, we took it out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter for about 15 minute to soften a bit.

When my husband went to cut it to serve it, the pie was so soupy we could have eaten it through a STRAW!  I would have taken a picture of it but I was too busy trying to help scoop what little remained frozen out of the pie plate to serve it.  Uggghhhh....Any idea what happened?

I am looking forward to spring break in two weeks to nurture more of my crafty side.  Can't wait!  I'll probably leave the cooking alone for awhile...

I'm looking forward to seeing more Monday Made It's at 4th Grade Frolics.  See you there!

A Peek at My Week {3-16-14}

Top of the week to ya!  That's leprechaun speak for "Welcome to this week's edition of A Peek at My Week," the weekly linky party where you share what you've got going on this week.

Judging from the activity in blog land, many of you have been on Spring Break this past week.  Not me....I still have two weeks of school.  My kids, however, only have one more week and then they are off to Florida with the high school band to perform at Disney and Universal for the week.  So at home this week, it will be utter craziness with packing, shuttling them back and forth for nightly band practice, and making sure that nothing is forgotten at home when we drop them off at 6:30 am next Sunday.  My daughter is fully prepared though.  She ordered every imaginable cable/plug/charger for her Kindle and iPod from Amazon -- just in case one should break on the trip.  Heaven forbid!

As you know, Monday is St. Patrick's Day.

(Love this super cute clip art by Melonheadz!)

How will we teachers celebrate at school?  We are having a baked potato bar at school for lunch.  Yum!  Then later on in the week, we will welcome in the first day of spring with a Salad Luncheon.  Lots of staff have signed up to bring a different kind of salad to share.  (We LOVE to eat at my school! :)  Here is the salad I plan on making -- Cashew Chicken Rotini Salad.

Two days of group lunches means two mornings I don't have to scrounge around the freezer to figure out what I'm bringing to eat.

In class this week, we are beginning our research for our Famous Heroes research project.  Last week, students pulled names of famous people from a basket.  In the past, I've let them choose their own person, but this year I wanted a little bit more control over the craziness.  (And I'm sorry, but Justin Bieber has no business being considered a hero...But try to tell that to 9 year old girls.)

We have almost finished going through the research process using my new product, Super Writer Research. The kids have done a GREAT job with learning how to take notes from a source without plagiarizing (think I've scared them to death) and using short phrases instead of complete sentences in their note taking.  Now they are ready to roll!

I was hoping to wrap up these research projects before Spring Break.  That gives us 10 days...I'll keep my fingers crossed.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wishing you a wonderful week!

National Writing Project Day #1 & Yummy Cherry Cake

I just arrived home from my first day at the National Writing Project's Summer Institute at UW-Milwaukee and what a great day it was!

First of all, I have to give myself credit for even finding the building I needed to be in!  (I am a little directionally challenged!)  After taking an unintentional campus tour (in the rain), I finally found my building and made my way to my classroom.  I am excited that I now know where I'm going and hopefully this won't happen any more.  :)

Our university director, Karen, did a very fun writing activity with us this morning based on the poem "Where I'm From" by the poet George Ella Lyon.  You can find the poem here, along with a recording of the poet reading the poem to play it for your students. 

Karen began by having us fold a box into eight sections and labeling each section with a different purpose:  sounds/sayings, smells/tastes, places, people, events (good & bad), firsts, traditions/heritage and favorites. Then she gave us about three minutes to fill in each box with a memory from our life.  Here is my brainstorm box:

Karen then brought up the website with the poem and we listened as the poet read the poem.  Then Karen had us write our own Where I'm From poem.  Now, I am not a poet.  I never really enjoyed writing poetry.  But this was an amazing writing experience and before I knew it, I had written a poem.  Here's a snippet:

I am from the garden
     Be it vegetables planted in the cool earth in the late spring
     Sprouting lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes to share
     Or bright and delicate blooming flowers
     That are visited by the honeybees and hummingbirds.

I am from quilting
     Creating history for my kids, preserving a bit of today for tomorrow
     Keeping my hands busy and my mind settled
     Taking part in a tradition that goes back in time
     But is new to this generation of family.

I will spare you the other six stanzas, but please look past my writing and think about the implications for how you can use this in your classroom.

Maybe this could be done with your students at the beginning of the year as a get-to-know-you project.

Maybe you could use it in a content area, perhaps writing as an explorer or scientist.

Maybe you could have your students use this poetry format to write a summary of a book they read.

I think the possibilities are endless!  I can't wait for tomorrow!!

We are doing a TON of writing during the day (which I LOVE!), but I have a big inquiry project to present on Friday and need to get going on my reading.  (Remember, I'm having a motivational issue at the moment...)

But before I go, I'm going to do a quick link up with Teaching Tales Along the Yellow Brick Road for the weekly recipe party.

I have two cherry trees in my backyard in our "orchard".  (I say this jokingly...I only have six trees total so it's hardly an orchard-- 2 cherry, 2 pear, and 2 peach.)  This is the fourth year we've had the cherry trees.  Last year, we had tons of blossoms but a late spring freeze that made all of those babies drop to the ground.  Not one cherry...

This year, both trees blossomed and produced fruit....lots of it.  I picked three times for a total of about 15 cups.  While this may not seem like a lot, I was very excited, considering it was my first real cherry harvest.  My son, Ryan, was ever-so-helpful and offered to pit the cherries for me....my hero!

I made two batches of cherry jam and this cherry cake.  All were really delicious and I want to share the cake recipe with you because I haven't seen another one like it:

Sour Cherry Pudding Cake
Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sour-cherry-pudding-cake/

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1 cup milk
2 T vegetable oil
3 cups pitted sour cherries
1 cup sugar

Mix the flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder, milk & oil in a bowl.   You can mix by hand but the batter will be thick.  (There are no eggs.)  Spread the batter in a 9 x 13 dish (greased).

Mix the 3 cups of cherries with the other 1 cup of sugar.  Mix well.  Spread the cherries on top of the batter.

Bake about 30-33 minutes at 375 degrees or until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.  Sprinkle powdered sugar on top before serving.  Would be awesome with ice cream or fresh whipped cream.  Yum!!

Ready For Some {Linky} Parties???

Hello blogging buddies!  I hope this blog post finds you all well and ready for a fun week!  Since it's Monday, there are lots of linky parties to attend so here we go....

I just love Tara's Monday Made It  party.  I has really reminded me that I need to nurture the creative side of myself throughout the week.  I made THREE trips to Hobby Lobby this week!  (Good thing it's close by!)  Here's what I made:

Take one pillow form.

(Found at Hobby Lobby)

Add one pillow cover. 

 (Found at Hobby Lobby)

Stuff the pillow inside the cover.

(Rosie is trying to help.)

Zipper it shut.

Hot glue some decorations on it to personalize it.

(Found at Hobby Lobby in the paper crafting section.)

And there you go!

Beautiful and so incredibly easy!! 

And it is Puggle approved!

 



At last week's Monday Made It party, I saw these adorable teacher gifts at Head Over Heels for Teaching and I knew I just had to make one.

 So here is my version:

This will come in very handy...especially since I can't ever find my Post-its when I need one!
You can click HERE if you want to know how to make one for yourself (or someone else!).  Super easy...all you need to do is be able to operate a paper cutter and a hot glue gun!  Love it!!

Moving on to Teaching Tales Along the Yellow Brick Road's Eating, Drinking and Linking party.  There are some great recipes here!  I hope you will check them out for yourself.

 Since simplicity is the name of the game this week, I will share my recipe for Loaded Baked Potato Dip.  It is my husband's favorite thing to have when we are having company.  Why not bring some to your Fourth of July picnic?

Loaded Baked Potato Dip
1 16 oz carton sour cream (I use light)
1 pkg dry ranch dressing
1/2 cup Oscar Mayer bacon bits
1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 T chives, finely chopped

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix.  Sprinkle more cheese, bacon bits and chives on top. Serve with potato chips, fries, crackers or veggies.  Saves well (as if there is ever any left to save... : )

 

Photo source: http://ginamarieskitchen.com

 

Next, and staying with the simplicity theme, I'd like to share something that I can't live without for Sabra's Teaching with a Touch of Twang Must Have Mondays.   

 

I am TRYING to eat more healthy foods so getting my daily dose of veggies is very important.  I really, really dislike steaming my own veggies because it makes a big mess (two pots to wash) and very often, I overcook the veggies until they are mushy.

 

Enter Ziploc Zip & Steam bags...

Photo source:   http://jjdishitout.blogspot.com/2009/05/steam-fresh-bag-recipesgreat-idea.html

 

Simply rinse your veggies, pop them into the bag, seal it tight and microwave it as directed on the bag.  We sure are eating A LOT more veggies since I found these babies!

 

And finally.....THANK YOU for following me on Bloglovin'!!  I have been blown away by the amount of people who signed up to follow me and who entered my giveaway.  Congratulations to Layla H. & Charlene S. who were the two winners of my complete Word Parts We Know unit.  If you didn't win but would still like to pick up one of these for yourself, head over to my TpT store.

 

Thanks also for reading this VERY long post!!  :)  Lots going on today....I'm off to pick strawberries with my favorite aunt then we will be making freezer jam this afternoon.  Yum!

 

Have a great week!