Five for Friday-1st week of summer break!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for Five For Friday!

What did I do this week? Hmmm. I didn't have to go to work but I did some work around the house and on some new products.

                                                         

I truly enjoy summer break because I get to read (for fun!). Here's the first book I'm reading. It was just something I picked up at the library while I wait for some other books I have on hold.

My oldest will begin her senior year in the fall. I now have two kids in high school! What happened? Well, it has become my mission to teach the oldest how to cook. She can do ramen noodles, but I want her to be able to actually cook a full meal. I am making my girls cook dinner twice a week. They will help out in the kitchen if I force them ask them nicely, but they don't know how to put a meal together. Their first solo dinner was a super easy chicken taco recipe that cooks in the crockpot. Nothing easier! 

Soccer "season" is never really over in this house. My oldest had her last spring tournament with her club team in Denver last weekend. I always love watching my girls play. Next up is summer conditioning for the HS season, college ID camp, tryouts for the fall and 3v3. I am seriously not sure what I'll do when both girls are done with soccer.

Another thing I love about summer is all the time to get creative. I am working on a piece of a BIG product that I hope to have finished this summer. I want to make a set of math centers for each CCSS in 2nd grade. First up, is this little cutie, which I hope to have uploaded this weekend. 

 Our neighborhood is having a massive yard sale this weekend. The hubster gently mentioned that I should tackle all those mysterious teaching boxes piled up in the garage. I have been holding on to stuff I don't and won't use. Why? I'm not sure. It must be a teacher thing. This year, however, I am P-U-R-G-I-N-G. Yes, I am really going to get rid of stuff. I need way less in my garage and classroom. My school will be getting a brand, spanking new building in two years and I am determined to only move what I will truly need and use into my beautiful new classroom. Here goes!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! 

Summer Reading List Linky Party

I'm joining The Hands-On Teacher in First for a fun linky party to share the books I'm planning to read this summer. I don't usually read for fun during the school year (except for breaks) so summer time is my time to catch up on all the novels I've been wanting to read. I usually get recommendations from friends and do a little "window shopping" at book stores to determine my list. Then I run home and see what is available on my library's site so I can start reserving them. Many of the popular books are on wait lists, so I request those right away. Then I choose some of the lesser known books to read first. I also borrow books from friends and family. This is the book I started today:

This one is up next (since it's due back soon):

My youngest daughter is obsessed with the Divergent Trilogy. I read the first book over winter break and then we saw the movie. I can't wait to start reading the next two (borrowed from my sis):

This book is one that my dear friend has recommended to me a few times. I didn't have time to read it last summer, but I hear it is a great book:

I actually listen to audio books in the car on the way to and from school and listened to both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns (recommended by my older daughter) this spring. They were both beautifully heartbreaking and I was so excited to see there is another book by Khaled Hosseini:

The next two just looked interesting as I was strolling through Costco one day:

As you can see, I have very eclectic tastes. Sometimes I'll have several stories going at a time and will read what suits my mood. I hope I actually get to all these books this summer! Happy Reading!

Wordless Wednesday

I'm linking up with Christina DeCarbo from Sugar and Spice.

What's on your summer reading list? These are a few of mine:

Have you read any of these?

Summer Top Ten

I'm linking up with Deanna Jump!

#10 I'm really looking forward to reading (for fun) again.  I always go to bookstores and take pics of some interesting looking novels to make my summer reading list. Then, I get on my library's site and put hold requests on a few at a time. I read tons of books over the summer so this is the only way I can afford it. These are the first three on my list. 

#9 I'm the director of an awesome week-long camp at my school called Camp Invention. Last summer was my first year running it and I had a blast. Now that I know what I'm doing, I hope to have even more fun with it. Check it out:

#8 My district is hosting a week-long summer tech camp and I'm super excited to have been chosen to attend! I also got a Dell tablet thingy to play with for the summer. My principal wants us to compare it with iPads so she knows what to order for next year. 

#7 I need to get my oldest ready for ACT and the start of her senior year! Yikes! How in the world can I have two kids in high school this year? My amazing student teacher is also a photographer so I want to hook up with her to take my daughter's senior pictures. She also needs to get serious about choosing a school and seeing if she can get some soccer scholarships.

#6 I'm really looking forward to our summer trip to the Cali coast. We go to LA to visit family almost every summer but this year we're adding a few cities to our trip.  I can't wait to see San Francisco, Muir Woods, Alcatraz, Monterrey and drive along Pacific Coast Highway. We're taking a road trip and I just love being able to stop anywhere and check things out. We have no schedule!

#5 I want to reach some TPT goals this summer so I will be spending a good chunk of my time making products. I decided that it would be very easy for me to get lost in my home office for an entire day. I'm going to set limits and have "office hours" in the mornings when my lazy teens are still sleeping. 

#4 I really really need to exercise more. I play rec soccer but our team is moving up a bracket and I should probably work on being in better shape. Sadly, my husband's company isn't paying for our swanky gym membership anymore. Maybe my super fit daughter can motivate me a little.

#3 I want to make time to be a little lazy. I usually run around so much and don't know how to just be still. I think I need to make time to just relax in my hammock so I can recharge my batteries. 

#2 I'm so excited to be going to Las Vegas for a double whammy teacher conference.  My PTO is paying for my admission to the SDE Differentiated Instruction conference and I'm also going to attend the TpT conference. I have always wanted to attend a big conference and now I get to do two! Plus, I get to see my brother and his family. 

#1 Spending as much time with my family is a huge thing I want to do. I'm going to be very busy this summer (see #2-9) and I want to make sure I am spending quality time with them. I don't see my parents and grandmothers enough and I'll only have my daughter at home one more year. 

Five for Friday: best week ever!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs!

Monday was Cinco de Mayo so we had a Mexican themed potluck at school. Some angel made these teeny tiny margarita flavored cupcakes. They were so good! I've been talking about them all week. I won't say exactly how many I ate.

Last week my Promethean board died. The grim reaper came and told me that the projector was dead and they are only $800 to replace. Nice. My school has no money to fix it. I felt like I was teaching with a limb missing. The kids and I rely on it so much! My fab tech called a few people and pulled a few strings and I got a "loaner" replacement. The sweetest sight was seeing my board light up again. The kids cheered and insisted on playing the Happy song.

My principal and the tech were talking in hushed tones and then called me over while I was eating my lunch. They told me I would be getting a new desktop computer, but I was the only one. We just got our technology order in and we're putting new computers in one of our labs loaded with Windows 8! They want me to have one so I can help the teachers if they freak out in the lab. I am getting it on Tuesday so I need to make a space on my desk and get everything off my old computer. Yikes! 

Wednesday, my kids were a little antsy so I decided to turn on some music and let them dance. I recorded their awesome moves for our end of year movie. Some really came out of their shells! I'm trying out iMovie and have found that it's really easy!

Thursday, we met our pen pals in person! They attend a school across town.  We walked to a nearby park and they met us there. It was so cute to watch my kids hand over their last pen pal letter to a friend they've been writing to all year. We played games, ate lunch and played all morning. It was a little sad to see them get on the bus, knowing they may not keep in touch or see each other again.

Have a great weekend everyone! We have 9 days left (after today) and I have tons to do!  

Wordless Wednesday

I'm linking up with Sugar and Spice for Wordless Wednesday.

Ever get one of these answers? I know what I'll be reviewing soon.

TpT Loves Teachers Sale

TpT is having a site wide sale May 6-7 and I'm doing an additional 20% off in my store!

Check it out! Finish the year strong or get stocked up for next year! 

May Currently

I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for her May Currently.

First off, I L-O-V-E the pretty Currently this month. It makes me so excited for summer! Well, here goes:

Listening: I almost always listen to country music on Pandora and I really do like Thomas Rhett. He's not too bad to stare at when I'm supposed to be working.

Loving: I have applied for at least 6 grants to get more iPads in my class. I had actually given up when I got the news that I'd finally won! I'm in the process of ordering a dozen iPad Minis and can't wait to get them!!!

Thinking: I have summer brain. 'Nuff said, am I right?

Wanting: This week I administered district reading tests (those are done and scored) math tests (need to be scored) and a Geometry unit test (need to be scored). Today was also the due date for a huge book report project the kids had to do at home, which need to be scored. Monday is our Play Day so I should be able to get some of it done then, but I also need to work on my cumulative folder comments and get all my grading done so I can start on report cards. Yikes! 14 more days!

Needing: Obviously...I'm not getting one. We have state cup soccer, 8th grade formal dress shopping, the one year anniversary of my grandpa's passing, a ton of family in town, and a very dirty house. Should I even bring my school work home??? 

Surprise: I HIGHLY recommend checking out this awesome tech blog by April Requard called Appsolutely April. She is so inspiring to me and has graciously offered to help me set up my iPads when I get them. She has really great information on using technology with elementary students. Check it out! All her posts are great and often give step by step instructions with visuals! I especially love the post on Keyboarding.

Five For Friday- Let the countdown begin!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs!

Wind, wind, go away. DON'T come back another day! I'm just plain over it. I've seen more flying tumbleweeds than an old timey western. On Sunday, my daughter's soccer team had to dodge these prickly pests while trying to impress a dozen (brave) college coaches. I was a sitting duck wrapped up like a burrito in my blankets. My wonderful husband decided to use me to shield him from the wind and tumbleweeds. What. A. Guy. 

Our caterpillars arrived and the kids went from "eeewwww gross!" to naming them and not wanting to put them away at the end of the day. Some of the names are quite weird  interesting: Bob, Meep, Mr. Cactus, MJ and Bella Pickle. Thank goodness they'll be beautiful butterflies one day and hopefully get renamed. The highlight was when one group's caterpillar (Mr. Cactus) pooped. It just doesn't get old. Nope. 

You can get this Butterfly Observation Booklet (freebie!) by Susan Jones here

I'm going to purchase my iPads this week and I'm so excited but want to make sure I set everything up correctly. I know a gal who is an Apple Distinguished Educator and unofficial tech goddess in our district, who has so graciously offered to give me some advice. You MUST check out her new blog! I get so many ideas from her. Her blog is called App solutely April. The things her elementary students can do with technology is inspiring. Her school website is full of information and ideas too. Oh, and she's a fellow NM teacher! 

My kids turned in their Flip Flap Book Report Projects today and I'm so impressed! They worked on them for three weeks and I must say that they really put some wonderful effort in. You can purchase this product in my store for 50% off! 

Last, but not least: we only have 14 days of school left! I seriously can't wait but I have so much to do, I can't even imagine getting it all in before it ends. Ever feel that way?