Thursday, November 20, 2014

Positive Thinking Thursday {11-20-14}

Wowza!  It's Thursday again, which means it's time for some positive thinking!  Thanks for joining me today.
This week's positive thought is in honor of one of my favorite teachers EVER -- Dr. Corey Thompson.  Corey was my classroom management instructor when I went back to school to get my teaching certification.  He is amazing!  This is one of my favorite quotes from Corey:
This would be a good one to share with your students, especially since we are getting to 'that time of year' when effort starts to wane.



Positive Thinking Thursday will be on holiday next week, enjoying turkey and pumpkin pie!  I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Sunday Scoop {11-16-14}

Did you wake up to snow this morning like I did?  Ughhh...It's a good thing it's Sunday which means I don't have to drive anywhere in it.

Sunday also means getting ready for the upcoming week so I'm linking up with the ladies over at Teaching Trio for Sunday Scoop.
Have to Do:
* The short week before Thanksgiving, I have been called for jury duty.  I have to think about sub plans for what could potentially be three days out.
* This Thursday is the second night of parent teacher conferences.  I enjoy talking with the families of my students, but I do not enjoy spending almost 12 hours at school.  It makes for a very long day.
* We are putting a hardwood floor in our dining room and in case my husband hasn't noticed, Thanksgiving is a week and a half away.  Better get a move on it...

Hope to Do:
* I've been working on some short content-area themed fluency passages and hope to get them finished and into my TPT store soon.
*  With all of the recent updates to iTunes/iPhone software, my photos have stopped automatically uploading to my iPhoto file or the cloud.  I have NO IDEA why this is suddenly happening (AGAIN!) and it makes me feel really cranky about blogging because adding pictures is such a problem.  Does anyone know why this is happening???

Happy to Do:
* My dad and stepmom are coming up for lunch today.  We haven't seen them since June so it will be nice.

I hope you have a great week!  Don't forget to stop back on Thursday for Positive Thinking Thursday.  In the mean time, I'm going to see if I can figure out the picture downloading problem I'm having so I can get some new posts going.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Positive Thinking Thursday {11-13-14}

Hi everyone!  Thanks for stopping by.
This week, it's going to be short and sweet for me.
Ben Canales photographer .. trying to get people to realize "light pollution"..
And remember that after the darkness comes light...



Thursday, November 6, 2014

Positive Thinking Thursday {11-06-14}

Happy Thursday, friends!
Well, here we are in November and if there is a common theme running through the month, it is the reminder to be thankful for what we have.

I am so very blessed.

* My family is healthy.
* I have a job I love.
* My students challenge and engage me.
* I work with wonderful colleagues.
* I have a warm home with anything I need.

I could go on and on....

How about you?
I am participating in a 30 day blogging challenge over at Teach Thought Online Community.  These reflections are posted on my writing blog, Sweet Writing Life.  It's not too late to join up to share your #attitudeofgratitude.


Wishing you a day full of blessings!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Currently November {Really???}

Here it is a new month which means it's time to link up with Farley for Currently.
Listening:  It's early so the only thing I hear is the ticking of a clock (that I forgot to turn back one hour last night.)

Loving:  I have a slight clip art addiction...OK, maybe not so slight.  This weekend, there is a huge sale at Sweet Shoppe Designs.  Most of these products cannot be used on TPT products, but I love to use them to design cards, posters, etc.  Basically anything I use for myself that I want to be extra pretty.

Thinking:  I heard Christmas was 8 weeks away.  Ughhh...

Wanting:  Nothing says cozy like a fire in the fireplace.  Tonight will be our first!

Needing:  This one is a biggie.  We are in the process of changing over from standard grading (A-F) to standards based grading (0-4).  I am all in favor of this and believe it will be a much more effective way of assessing students, but I need to find a good grade book that won't make this an enormous task.  Any ideas?  I need to figure this out now.

Reading:  I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora.  It's funny and fast moving and my son keeps bugging me to finish it so he can read it.  Winner!
Product Details
What are you currently up to?  Head on over to Farley's blog and share!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Positive Thinking Thursday {10-30-14}

Happy Positive Thinking Thursday!


What do you think of my new button?  :)

It is no secret on my 4th grade team that I am not a "math person."  I get it, but it takes a little more brain power than other things I teach.  I like to think that this puts me in touch with my students who struggle with or dislike math. I can understand what they don't understand because I've been there. (There's some positivity!)

So in honor of all of this, I am going the funny route this week with my positive thinking and poking a little fun at math.  Some of you may relate to these funnies as much as I did (I hope!).
funny-Math-functions-add-equal-difference-comic
The so-called geniuses who invented Everyday Mathematics must be pot-heads! Their wack-a-doodle math makes me and my child cry.
There are 3 kinds of people in this world - those who are good at math and those who aren't. #homeschool @TheHomeScholar

http://media-cache-ak1.pinimg.com/originals/be/60/78/be60787d057e57b74c50e411856a20a3.jpg
funny math quote
Seriously, I DO enjoy teaching math, but these were too good to pass up.  Watch out grammar...I'm coming for you next!


Wishing you an amazing day full of lots of laughter!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Positive Thinking Thursday {10-23-14}

Happy Thursday!  Thanks for stopping by for Positive Thinking Thursday!

Life sure is crazy these days!  Lesson plans, report cards, parent-teacher conferences, assessments....the list goes on and on.  Some days I wonder if I will make it through to see the other end of November.

If we stop to think about all that is going on, it can be overwhelming. Focusing on what is going well -- and things that we can control --  will help us get through it!

I'll admit it...I am a natural-born worrier.  I think it comes with the territory of being a firstborn child. But I'm trying hard to overcome that and to only focus on now, letting everything else work itself out on its own.

It's not easy, but I'm working on it.

This week's positive thought is dedicated to all the worriers {like me} out there:

Something I should remind myself of often
So don't let that list of things that you have to do or things you can't control paralyze you, stopping you from doing those things that are within your control.  Worrying about them won't get you anywhere. 

Instead, use that rocking chair to read a book or watch a sunset.  

You'll feel much better in the end.

And those things you worried about?  They are going to work themselves out in their own way, in their own time -- without you.



Wishing you a wonderful day without any worries!