January 2016 Currently, Mini Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe that 2016 is already here! I'm totally looking forward to the potential it has for me! I'm linking up with Farley for her awesome Currently, PLUS doing a mini blog hop with a couple of NM Bloggers to bring YOU some awesome prizes and freebies. Check them out below!

First, let's get down to business with Farley's Currently:

Listening:
I was just listening to Landslide (covered by the Dixie Chicks) with my daughters and it had us all tearing up. It is such a timeless song that can mean so many different things depending on the stages of your life. I keep thinking about how they're growing up and how scary it is to think about them both being out of the house in a couple years. That will be a big change for me because I truly have built my life around them.

Loving:
Needless to say I have really enjoyed my break and am not ready to give up wearing my PJs all day and having the time to create. How many days until Spring Break?

Thinking:
I barely slept last night, not because I was up partying, but because my mind was swirling with so many ideas and possibilities and risks that I'm about to take this year. It left me unsettled, yet excited. It also left room for those pesky doubts to creep in. My goal is to banish self doubt in 2016 and believe in myself and what I do and what I'm capable of.

Wanting:
I think I say this almost every month. I want more time to plan, create, and learn but also more time with my girls. Cliche alert: It really does go by so fast!

Needing:
I need to calm my brain and the only way to do that is to figure out what I want to do, make a plan, write it down and get started. I'm a little impatient and sometimes I jump in the pool before I even check to see if there is any water in it. I need to be patient with myself and my progress.

One little word:
My little (but mighty) word this year is BE. We were actually talking about one word resolutions this morning and my family thinks I'm a weirdo for choosing the word BE. I like it because it is a word that can grow and change and morph into what I need it to be. I can BE amazing, or strong, or talented or kind. Or I can just BE in the moment. BE present.
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Well, my friends, this Currently was a little more philosophical than usual, but I think the New Year does that to you. Now that I've dried my teary eyes, I can focus on some fun stuff!

My NMBlogger friends and I teamed up to give you a mini blog hop with prizes and freebies. There are only 2 other stops so you TOTALLY have time to hop around for a minute or two. First, enter our giveaway! Who doesn't want a $30 TpT gift card?? Scroll All.The.Way.Down to grab a cute little winter freebie from me too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now hop on over to my buddy Laura from Tchr888 by clicking the button below! Read her post and grab a freebie while you're at it!

Grab this cutie patootie penguin freebie! It features word problems with up to four double digit addends. It also has space for students to show their strategy, explain in words and write an equation. My kiddos will be working on these when we get back from break.

click here to get your freebie

Movie Clip Monday Linky

I don't know about you, but I love reinforcing the concepts that I teach with video clips. I even have a Pinterest Board dedicated to collecting videos for my classroom called Educational Videos.

That's why I'm also excited to be linking up with the Techie Turtle Teacher for a fun new linky party called Movie Clip Monday!

Before I share my video with you, did you know that there is a way to show a video from YouTube to your class without worrying about ads, questionable popups or other "junk" you just don't want your kiddos to see? It's called safeshare.tv and it couldn't be easier to use. Just copy the link of the video you want from YouTube and paste it into the safeshare box and it will make a new link to the video that you can use to safely share the video. 

I put this adorable penguin video on safeshare for my class since we're studying penguins this month.

Cool Cute Chicks! - Amazing Animal Babies: Emperor Penguin Chicks (Ep 5) - Earth Unplugged

I love this video for two reasons: it is highly engaging visually and gives great kid-friendly information. 

Do you have a great video that you want to share? Link up with the Techie Turtle Teacher by following the directions below!! 

1. Find a video that you'd like to share with your readers.2. Download the Movie Clip Monday graphic above by right clicking to save as. Save your picture in a convenient place for you.3. Write about your video and include the Movie Clip Monday graphic with a link to this post.4. Come back to this post to add your link to the linky. 5. Visit other blogs and leave comments for someone who linked up before you and come back to leave a comment for someone who linked up after you!

An InLinkz Link-up

Five for Friday, a LOOONG weekend, a giveaway, and a sale

I'm linking up with Doodlebugs for FFF.

I am so excited about my new blog design...it's so PRETTY! I am in love with it and I couldn't thank Kristen from Chalk and Apples enough for being so patient with me and my crazy ideas (and color schemes). She is just awesome and is really affordable for teachers like me! I'm doing a giveaway, so head over to my post from Tuesday and enter.

I had a FANTASTIC time in Las Vegas last weekend! Of course, it wasn't all partying and shopping because I was there for my daughter's soccer tournament. The highlight (besides how well the team played) had to be going to the Eric Church concert on Friday night. He rocked that place and left my heart thumping!!!

I have to admit that I've been pretty bad about keeping track of the days of school this year. What kind of 2nd grade teacher am I? I feel like it's coming up soon so I'm prepping my 100th Day Activities pack, which I've marked down from $5 to $3! It is F-U-L-L of activities that your kiddos will love. In fact, there are more activities in there than you can cram into one day! Check it out and grab it while it's still on sale!

It's a Penguin Palooza around here! Yesterday, I linked up with Comprehension Connections for Thematic Thursday, which was all about Penguins. If you're studying penguins, you have to check this out this post.

Snow!?! Here in New Mexico, we actually got some snow!!! This isn't much by east coast standards, but we got pretty riled up about it. It also doesn't help that NOBODY really knows how to drive in the snow...at least I made it to school safely! By the time I got home, it was virtually gone. That's why New Mexicans take pictures of snow.

Thematic Thursday: Penguins

I'm linking up with Comprehension Connection for Thematic Thursday and this week's topic is Penguins!

We are knee deep in our penguin unit right now and the kids just can't get enough. There's something about January that makes it a perfect month to study these adorable creatures. Just do a TpT or Pinterest search for penguins and you'll find a treasure trove of resources to teach a great cross curricular unit. Here are some of my favorites:

I've collected both nonfiction and fiction books from my library and have many engaging and meaningful activities planned. I love Gail Gibbons' books for teaching science concepts because they are packed with great information. You could literally spend a week reading her one of her books in depth. I also love National Geographic and Scholastic Discover More because they feature fantastic photographs and easy to read information. For fiction, I love to read Antarctic Antics, which is a book of poems that are pretty fun. The kids also enjoy all the Tacky books, The Emperor's Egg and Where is Home, Little Pip?.

We have been using Amy Lemons' penguin unit called Waddle With Me, which is packed with fun craftivities, tons of vocabulary, research and writing activities.

I found so many things, I started a Penguins Pinterest board, which you can check out here.

We also are in the middle of doing a Penguin Web Quest, which the students love because they get to scan QR codes and answer specific questions at each station. I also made a FREEBIE page of QR codes that link to websites and a page that links to videos about penguins for further research. 

One of the most fun things to do when we have a few minutes to spare is to turn on the Sea World penguin cam. 

You can even change the camera view to shallow or deep water and see the penguins shoot through the water. I also love these other penguin videos:

I hope you find some great resources! Go back to Comprehension Connection for more fab penguin teaching ideas. 

Five for Friday and a $1 DEAL

I'm linking up with Doodlebugs for FFF!

I love making New Year's resolutions. I always have high hopes for what I will accomplish during the year. Often I accomplish things I didn't even dream of in January, but more often than not, I don't accomplish the things on my list. This year I decided to come up with resolutions that I can't fail on. They are 5 simple words and can have various interpretations.
Learn
Enjoy
Accomplish
Simplify
Health

Looking at it, it makes an acronym for LEASH. I guess I'm going to be on a leash this year (in a good way)!

One of the ways I'm working towards these goals is to pick one word a day and write down one way that I will work on that word. For example, I picked Simplify on Wednesday and decided to clean off the top of my desk and declutter. Today, I picked Accomplish and decided to get all my grading done so I don't have to take it home this weekend.

 We're working on subtraction with regrouping and I'm using various resources to supplement the curriculum my district adopted this year. The curriculum places a huge amount of focus on using the number line to solve problems. My students really struggle with this so I've introduced other ways to teach this concept that bridge the gaps in their understanding. I love this interactive regrouping software:

In my small groups, we're working on subtraction strategies using the iPad and a simple chalkboard app that the kids love. The great thing about it (besides having many fun colors to choose from) is that I can take a screenshot of their work and add it to their digital portfolios.

It's a Penguin Palooza in my classroom this month! We are learning about penguins in science and my team teaching partner is incorporating them into ELA. The kids go crazy about penguins and have really enjoyed studying them. I also love to bribe encourage excellent behavior with my students by putting up the SeaWorld penguin cam.

I'm using Amy Lemons' Waddle With Me: A Penguin Unit and so far we've been working on learning the vocabulary. On Thursday, I gave teams of students a set of vocabulary and definitions cards and had them match them up. It was much harder than they expected! I think we'll do some review and try this activity again next week.

I am lucky to not be experiencing the crazy freezing weather most of the country has been this week. It is cold enough here to freeze the pond on the golf course behind my house, but not too cold to be outside. So, in honor of my friends that are freezing in that arctic blast, my Skating Subtraction task cards are $1....get them while they're on sale!