Global Glitter Tribe December Linky

Hey everyone! I'm linking up with the GGT for the December linky and I must say that I really love the graphic this month! If you'd like to link up with us, please click on the button below to get your graphic, add your text, write your post and join in the fun!

Here goes nothin': 

First up, one of the easiest recipes you can make that will serve a family of four or can be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd is my Crockpot Chicken Tacos. Take a look:


One of my favorite holiday read alouds is Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto. I love this book because in my family we usually fight over the tamales because they are so delicious. You know you are loved when someone brings their tamales out of hiding to serve to you. In fact, this weekend we made 18 dozen tamales but we have to split them between four families, so we really don't have too many tamales...

I've been so lucky the past two years because I have been getting some great technology to work with in my classroom. As of yesterday, I am officially a 1:1 teacher! I just got 10 more iPads and now I have 24! One of the things I love is using nearpod. It is a lesson presentation system that pushes out content to your students' devices (tablets OR computers). You control the pace of the lesson slides and the students engage in interactive activities, quizzes, polls, videos, questions and more. The most awesome thing is that when they answer a question or do an activity, the results show up in real time on your device! I can instantly see who is really understanding the concepts or who needs more help. I can also send examples of student work to each device so we can have discussions. My explanation can't do it justice so you should check it out for yourself. You can sign up for free and there are many free nearpod presentations plus you can make your own!! Here's a sample of the presentations I have in my library.


I was preview shopping last month before the big sales and wandered into Bath and Body Works to pick out some scents for my daughters. I almost always shop online but you can't smell the scents online so I actually went to the mall...gasp! I totally fell in love with this new scent and then I couldn't decide which daughter to give it to so I bought it for myself!!! It's called Fresh Sparkling Snow and it just smells SOOO good.

I'm doing a book study at school with Ron Clark's Move Your Bus, which is totally motivating the leader in me and kinda frustrating me at the same time. The concept is that your organization is a bus and instead of having an engine, the bus is propelled with the power of the people. Now, on your bus you have runners, joggers, walkers and riders plus (hopefully) a driver. I love Ron's description of the different types of workers and now I can't help but to constantly think if I'm being a runner or not. Check it out for yourself:

When it snows around here in the desert (which it occasionally does) people freak out! I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I tell you that everyone expects a snow day when we get one inch of snow. We make tiny muddy snowmen and put on our winter gear and play around until about 2:00 in the afternoon when it melts. I'm a summer girl. Flip flops. Tank tops. Hot weather. Bring it on! I do not like to be cold so you can bet that if it snows, I'll be bundled up inside, fire roaring, sipping hot cocoa. I can enjoy how pretty it looks from inside. Here's a picture I took last year when we did actually get a good amount of snow (for us):

Well, I hope you've enjoyed reading my post and encourage you to link up or check out some other posts!

12 Days of Giving FREEBIE

Happy December everyone! Have you heard about the Global Glitter Tribe Blog's 12 Days of Giving? We're featuring 12 awesome freebies because we believe that we are stronger as a teacher community when we support each other.

I whipped up this little freebie when I realized that my students are struggling with understanding how to solve word problems. Click the pic to get this FREEBIE!

This product features 16 task cards with double digit addition and subtraction with a holiday theme. They all have QR codes that students can scan to check their answers. My students love using an iPad (or other device) to scan the QR codes. I love that my students are getting immediate feedback. Here's a sample:

Just like all my other task card sets, it also includes a student recording sheet and answer key. I use task cards in a variety of ways. Sometimes, they are simply placed in a zip top bag, along with the recording sheets and placed in a math center. Other times, we play Scoot and kids get to move around the room from desk to desk to solve the problems. Sometimes I post them around the room scavenger hunt style. Their favorite way to use task cards is to do Quiz Quiz Trade.

Check out some other awesome freebies featured on the Global Glitter Tribe Blog by clicking on the button below. Did I forget to mention that we're also doing a GIVEAWAY? Oops! I guess you'll have to check it out on the GGT blog!

Global Glitter Tribe Linky

Hey everyone! Have you heard about the Global Glitter Tribe Blog?

We have a linky each month that you can join up. All you need to do is grab their graphic, add your ideas and link up with us. This month, we have some great topics that make you go hmmmm. Scroll all the way down to get your blank template. Here's mine:

Grateful: My list is huge! In fact, I journal everyday and one of the things I write about is what I'm grateful for. Sometimes it is just a simple thing like a great cup of coffee or a good night's sleep. It just starts the day off right for me. Of course my family is #1 on my list, but I am always so astounded at how lucky I am to have had all the opportunities that I have had in my life including my education, job, and leadership opportunities. Read about what I'm thankful for here.

Local: This is the time of year that kiddos get a bad case of the "gimmes". They are bombarded by media telling them to get the newest toys, electronics, games and fashions. I think it's really important to teach my students that not everyone is as lucky as they are. Our school started using each school event (math night, movie night, dances, etc.) as chance to do a nonperishable food collection. We support a local mobile food bank and I'd really love to see some of my students help or do work with the food bank beyond the donations.

Organization: I really like to be organized. I'm a planner. I hate the feeling of not knowing what I need to do. I have days of the week drawers so everything is ready to go and all I have to do is grab and teach. One thing that I can't live without is a list! Recently I had an epiphany about my lists that led me to my latest approach. One week was particularly busy and I felt so overwhelmed with all the tasks that kept piling up so I took a few minutes to prioritize my list. That left it looking messy and disorganized so I started to rewrite it. Then it hit me! Instead of trying to guess what I'd be able to get done on certain days and then inevitably have to rewrite it when things didn't get done, I wrote each item on a mini sticky note and placed them on my desk organizer in order of priority. Now I can rearrange them easily when something else comes up. It has seriously changed my world! Now it looks much neater and I don't waste time rewriting my items.

Broad Perspectives: My 2nd graders are finally starting to learn some real world math skills such as telling time and counting money. I never miss an opportunity to tell them why what we're learning is important. It helps them see the big picture. The other day we were talking about why it is important to know how to tell time and how it could impact them in the workforce if they can't tell time. Now they never fail to remind me when we're late for recess!

Artists: My coworkers introduced my to these awesome directed drawing tutorials on YouTube for kids. Just search Art Hub for Kids and you'll find tons of really great videos that teach real kids how to draw their favorite characters. They are awesome for those times when you have a sub or a little extra time at the end of the day. The videos are geared towards students but I love them too!



Let's Chat: This section is about what you'd like to hear about in the Global Edventures Blab Show. Me? Prep time! How much do you get? How do you fit it all in? Do you stay late or go early?

Now it's your turn! Want to link up? Here's how:

TO PARTICIPATE:

Save the image below

Save the Global Glitter Tribe logo

Edit the photo using a photo editing app or PPT

Post the graphic with your awesome responses to your blog 

Link back to our blog with with the logo

Global Glitter Tribe October Linky

Trying to find time to blog during soccer season is like trying to nail Jello to a tree! Needless to say, it's almost the end of October and I'm finally getting around to linking up with the Glitterati on the Global Glitter Tribe's blog. Get on over there and link up too! Keep reading for lots of goodies and even a FREEBIE!

It's easy to link up, just grab the template, add in your answers and then plop it into your blog. Don't forget to link back to the Global Glitter Tribe Blog.

Here's mine:

Totally Inspirational:

I've started learning more about Growth Mindset and I'm totally intrigued by what it can do for students. The other day during our Number of the Day discussion, a student made a mistake in the equation she was presenting. She felt a little embarrassed but I made sure to heap on the praise because she was able to recognize her mistake and correct it. I told the class how I just saw her brain grow double and she just beamed! Immediately I saw more students take risks in their mathematical thinking with just that one comment I made. I found this awesome bulletin board (sorry about pic quality) on Pinterest that makes so much sense! I'm thinking about how to adapt it for my 2nd graders.

Responsiveness:
Normally I've always led the Number of the Day discussions in my class. This year I decided to shake things up a bit after the first two months. I let students come up and write their work on the board and lead a discussion about their thinking. I have discussion question prompts on the wall they can use if needed, but I really love when they challenge each other. My favorite is when they say, "Prove it!" and the leader can actually explain their thinking to the class. They also started asking the other students who agrees with the leader. The kids started having the most amazing discussions! It was painful and awkward at first, but their discussions have really started blossoming. Here are the questions I have posted on my wall. I got them from Guided Math in Action and made them into posters. Read more about the questions from this post and click the pic to download them for free.

Igniting Passionate Readers:
Even though I just teach math, I still have a substantial classroom library. Fast finishers can always grab a book to read for a few minutes. Plus, my homeroom students get to go book "shopping" each week for books to keep in their book bags to take to literacy class.

This is the fiction side, which makes up half the library.

What really gets kids excited about reading is when I unveil my new monthly theme bookshelf. Each month is a different theme such as holidays, science topics they're studying with their science teacher or special authors. These books are always the most popular because they're only around for a limited time. It creates a hype about reading that is contagious! Here's my October selection:

Bridging the Gap:
Since I teach math all day, I get to really hone in on the math skills my students are struggling with or doing well with. One way to bridge the gap is to meet with my students in a small group each day. Meanwhile, the other students are engaged in math stations. I like to differentiate my stations by having different levels for students. An easy way to do that is to assign certain tasks to certain students. They are just as fun as the other stations, and often look almost the same, but may have smaller numbers to work with or more basic skills (or review). One example is my Batty for Telling Time leveled task cards, which include three levels. You can also mix these cards up for a fun Scoot Activity or Quiz Quiz Trade. It's a bargain at only $3!

Enjoying My Time:
Who doesn't love binge-watching your favorite shows on Netflix? I've recently finished watching Orange is the New Black and Sons of Anarchy and stumbled across Bones, an old show I never got into until now. What I love about Netflix is that I don't have to watch commercials or even fast forward them. I watch while I iron and fold laundry on Sundays and it makes the task much more enjoyable!

Global Glitter Tribe Monthly Linky

Oh. My. Goodness. It has been a week from I don't know where, but I'm glad its O-V-E-R! Even though I'm exhausted, I am also bubbling with excitement inside because I have been asked to be on the Global Glitter Tribe Blog!!!

ALSO, we are doing a monthly linky, which I'm excited about because I haven't blogged in a little while. Ok, a looooong while. But I'm BACK! Want to join up? You know you do! It's easy!

To Participate:

1. Save the image below

2. Open it in PPT or some other image editing software and type or add pictures of your responses

3. Blog about it on your blog

4. Share the Global Glitter Logo and link back to the original post from us

5. Add your link to the InLinkz linkup at the end of the post!

Here's what I did:

Lesson I loved: I had so much fun teaching even and odd numbers this week. On the first day, I made a few kids stand up, we counted them and then I asked them to partner up with someone also standing. We made a big deal about how sometimes someone doesn't have a dance partner, so that is an odd number. After doing this with several numbers, one kid said, "Mrs. Palmer, why don't you be his partner so he doesn't have to dance alone?", and of course I said I would be his partner and started to go towards him dancing. He ran back to his seat and said, "It's ok, I don't need a dance partner!". I always love to read in math class too, so I read Even Steven and Odd Todd.

One issue I'm passionate about: The teacher evaluation system in my state is a joke. It's only 2 years old and already our union is suing our Public Ed Dept because there were so many mistakes in data that impacted teachers' ratings. It was as if our Governor looked at all the failing systems in the country and picked the worst one to implement with us. I could go on and on, but basically 50% of our eval is based on this crazy mathematical equation that not a single person understands that takes test scores (from the previous year) and somehow makes them into a rating. Also, we get penalized for using more than 4 of our 10 sick days a year. Not cool.

Back to School Must Have: obviously

Activity to Share: Since the 2nd week of school I have been doing Number Talks/Number of the Day with my students and I am amazed at the rise in level of mathematical thinking coming out of their brains! After doing a little modeling, they really have been challenging themselves to come up with ways to impress me. Of course, it helps that when someone does impress me, I write a note home to their parents! Since then, I have kids decomposing numbers like pros, counting on and back, doing multi-step equations, and even using multiplication concepts AND being able to prove that their ways to show the number of the day work. They're using vocabulary, demonstrating with confidence, having discussions and fixing their mistakes. These are 2nd graders!!!! They blow my mind daily! They love number talks so much, that they BEG to do more! I use a simple bubble map that I laminated for reuse. 

Little Known Fact: Yes, I have met President Obama! It was before he became President and had come to New Mexico for a rally. My hubs knew a secret service agent, who got me in the front row! After his speech, he came down and shook our hands. I was too nervous to remember to take a picture, but I have a witness!  

Click on the button to take you back to the link up!