Currently *November 2015*

Holy cow, it's NOVEMBER! To kick off the month, I am linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for November's CURRENTLY.

Have you heard Ryan Adam's cover of Taylor Swift's 1989 album? It is FANtastic, and perfect background music when I'm working in my classroom. It's moody and beautiful and classic Ryan, just singing about cherry lips and crystal skies.

I am LOVING that my lil' 11-year old beagle, Napoleon, is HEALTHY again! We had a scare a couple of weeks ago, but after some tests, it turned out he just had giardia. Yup. Giardia. Who knew dogs could get giardia?!? I thought is was just people who didn't boil their water when camping... No more drinking out of dirty puddles, please, Napoleon...

I'm thinking about PIRATES for a couple of reasons. One, I finally bought the book Teach Like a Pirate, which is all about increasing student engagement and motivation. Anybody out there read it? Second, my friends are flying to DISNEYLAND in a few weeks for a girls weekend. Disneyland makes me so happy, happy, HAPPY, but I just gotta see if I can work it out with my finances (especially considering I just found out the TPT conference next summer is LITERALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF DISNEYWORLD!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! SO AWESOME!!!).

I'm needing to clean the house and fold clothes. Blah. Don't have anything more to say about that.

Finally, I have been trying out Blue Apron meals for a little while now, and last night's Korean Spicy Chicken wings were Ah-MAZE-ing!! Wish I had some leftovers to eat right now...

That's all for now, folks. Happy Sunday!!!

Jenny :)

Sunday Scoop!

I am jumping on the Sunday Scoop linky train! Thanks for the idea, Teaching Trio!!! Here goes:

HAVE TO's:

*Cupcakes: My fifth grade team has decided to purchase mini-cupcakes and candles for our kiddos, and we will have a special "Wish" ceremony tomorrow. We want kids to think about their biggest wishes for this fifth grade year, and blow out their candles one at a time, while sharing their wishes with the class. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

*Laundry. 'Nuff said.

*Lesson plan for tomorrow: I am starting the year with lots of pre-assessing, community-building, routine-practicing, and art! I am also trying to integrate a lot of lessons around the brain and growth mindset. Please check out Angela Watson's TPT unit on Growth Mindset here... it's FANTASTIC!

HOPE TO's:

*Level Library: We are trying, as a school, to level each of our classroom libraries this year. We also have a leveled library room (separate from our official school library) that kids will be able to use. We are using Fountas and Pinnell's leveling system, and color-coding according to IRLA. The goal is to help students find quality books to read independently, but also not to pigeon-hole them, because it can be good to read other levels for a variety of reasons and at different times, too. :)

*Update One TPT Product: I am in the process of updating some design elements and, in some cases, adding some pages to products in my TPT store. It feels really good to find my voice and my style in my work. :)

HAPPY TO's:

*I got a knock on my front door tonight from a neighbor I've never seen nor met. She said her cat got out of the house, and she thought it ran into my backyard. She wanted permission to check it out. Of course, I said, "Yes, just watch out for all the dog poop!" We are SO bad at picking up Napoleon's poop... Here's a pic of our little 11 year-old pooper (he's a Blazer fan!):

PS, The cat was found safely hiding under our deck. :)

Happy week!!!

:) Jenny

Lights, Camera, SCHOOL!

This year, I have decided to go with a Hollywood theme in my classroom! It will be my first year having a "theme" - I usually just decorate with mostly blues and greens. My husband actually works in the film industry, so I learn a bit about it through him, which inspired me to dip a toe into the themed-classroom pool!

I don't officially go back until August 31st (and kids don't start until the day after Labor Day!), so I have just barely started decorating my classroom so far. I like to have my classroom pretty much all set up before I have to officially be "back," which leaves me time to meet and prep with my team. My mom was up and helped me with my first project: the back to school bulletin board outside my classroom door!

I always like to set something up that I can put the kids names and/or pictures on. Last year, I went with a Wizard of Oz board. I ended up writing the kids' names on the yellow bricks, and it was so cute!

This year, I found some super cute clapboard and filmstrip cut-outs at the Dollar State, and my mom cut out a billion little yellow circles to help me with some marquee letters (thanks mama!). Combined with one of Creative Teaching Press's adorable new chalkboard boarders.... ta da!!!

I think I'll put a photo of the kids and their names on the cut-outs, and "Directed by Mrs. Rynearson" on the award in the middle!!! 

Here's a close-up of the sign... it took quite awhile, but I like!!!

Now I need to keep coming up with cute movie sayings for my room... Craft Services for the sign above the cafeteria menu? Spotlight on... something??? VIP awards for outstanding achievements? "Celebrity of the Week" for community-building? It will be fun to keep coming up with ideas!

I've been having fun creating TONS of Hollywood-themed products in my store. Check them out by clicking on the products below!!! 

      

     

Do any of you have a classroom theme this year?

:) Jenny

Currently July 2015

Hey look, it's my first "Currently" linky party with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

Listening - I have been having way too much fun with Spotify. I listen to it literally every day, and lately I've been super into 80's emotional ballads. Some of my current faves are: Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" and Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love." Songs these days just don't have the earnest emotion like they did in the decade of my birth. :)

Loving - I just finished reading the children's chapter book Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz. It's beautifully written, as well as creepy and weird, and I can totally see it becoming a movie. I'm trying to decide if the creepiness would make it a wicked read-aloud for my 5th graders....or if I would just give them all nightmares. :) Check it out:

Thinking - I'm headed to VEGAS on Sunday morning! I can't wait to fangirl out over meeting some of my teacher idols, as well as learn a whole lot about being a teacherpreneur! I'm also hoping to hop over to the Grand Canyon while I'm out there - yes!!!

Wanting - I've been cross-stitching since I was little, and have started to pick up the habit here and there again. Etsy has the BEST cross-stitch patterns, and I'm trying to narrow down my next project. Gotta have something productive to do while I watch The Bachelorette, right? :)

Needing - I have been told business cards are a MUST to bring to the TPT Vegas Conference, and I have a super idea for cards that are crafty, fun, and memorable. Now I better get my act together and make them, 'cause I have just a few days! Ah, the thrill of the last minute!

All-Star - Um, I think I'M kind of an All-Star by joining this new gym membership thingy called ClassPass. Basically, you can use tons of different gyms and studios throughout town (up to 3 times a month each) for a pretty reasonable monthly fee (I got a 2-for-1 starter deal, too!). So far, I've done a couple of different "Gentle Yoga" classes, an AERIAL yoga class (I went upside-down!), and a cycling class (which was the hardest one by far, as evidenced by me barely being able to walk two days later). Since I haven't exercised very regularly since the 90's (oops), it's nice to join something that is motivating, because I keep getting to try new things, as well as good for me!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy July!!! Now head on back to Farley and continue the party!

:) Jenny

Caterpillars and Butterflies

When my student teacher began his solo experience this spring, I went on a mission. It was a dangerous mission (I had to stand on chairs and use scissors). But is was an important mission. My mission was to BEAUTIFY THE SCHOOL!

Now, I need to start by saying that my school is already pretty stinkin' spectacular. It was build just a few years ago, after they tore down the old version on the same block. But being so new and sparkly, it needed some more color. It needed more character....more evidence that this was a place for KIDS.

So I decided I would design and put up some bulletin boards in common areas around the school that could be long-term. One of my favorites is pictured below:

 The quote says:
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over... it became a butterfly." (which is an old proverb)

Here is a close-up:

The room this is in is where staff meetings happen, students work with adult volunteers, kids gather in the morning before heading up to their classrooms, and some other stuff, too. This year, my school district has been working on the idea of teaching kids a "Growth Mindset" (see Carol Dweck's work), and I thought this quote went perfectly with it!

I asked a first grade teacher for help making some butterflies, and she delivered! Look how cute those lil' first grade handprints are! My 5th graders also made some adorable butterflies with our first grade buddies (not pictured). The kids painted each others hands and made handprints on paper for the wings (little hands for top wings, and big hands for bottom wings). Then the first graders stood up tall and raised their hands like antenna for a photograph: they were printed and turned into the bodies of the butterflies - they turned out SO cute! I ended up stapling them between the other butterflies already on the board to create a wild array of butterfly beauty!!!

Bulletin boards make me so happy. That is all!

:) Jenny

Get It DONE!!!

Holy guacamole, the kids at my school only have 7 days of school left!?? 7 DAYS!!! Oh my goodness! Teachers have 2 more days after that to get stuff done, but the end of the year is a time when so many ideas are swimming in my head, I have got to have a list to keep organized. There's stuff I want to make sure happens before the kids leave (a small gift, an award, a slideshow, etc.), and stuff I am required to make happen before I get to leave for the summer (report cards, PDU documentation, check out duties, etc.).

This year, I decided to make a "End-of-the-Year To-Do List" to help me get it done! I have also made it a FREEBIE at my TPT store! Check it out by clicking on the link below.

The list contains 4 categories: Classroom, Organization, Paperwork, Etc.

I have also included a blank sheet with the same categories for you to write in your own to-do list! 

I hope this helps you wrap up your school year so you can RELAX this summer!

:) Jenny

Favorite 5th Grade Read-Alouds!

In my last post I wrote about my daily schedule routine. I am kind of obsessed with posting the daily routine, both for the sake of my students and my sanity. And thinking about my schedule, there is really only ONE thing that absolutely, positively, must must MUST happen everyday (besides lunch, I guess!)... and that is read-aloud.

Read-aloud time is one of those fantastic low-floor, high-ceiling times of day. As a class, we can tackle challenging text that many students wouldn't be able to decode or comprehend by themselves. It is also a chance to expose kids to books they wouldn't normally select. I am a strong believer in reading aloud even to upper grades kids, and the research supports it, as well. Check out some of my favorite read-alouds below (I've linked each picture to Amazon if you want to buy any!). Woot woot!

 Current Read-Aloud: Crash by Jerry Spinelli

I was first introduced to this read-aloud when I was student-teaching back in 2003. Alas, I was finally introduced to the freakin' wonder and awesomeness of Jerry Spinelli. Having never read his books when I was younger, I never realized what I was missing! I love that many of his stories have a focus on the outcasts, because as we all know, the outcasts are the ones who are actually cool in college and forevermore after that (It gets better guys!!!). Crash is a book about bullying, and it's unusual in that it is written from the perspective of the bully, rather than the victim. It's funny, heartfelt, and completely memorable.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I just read this book for the first time with my students, and they seriously LOVED it. When we finished, I asked the kids how many of them liked it and would encourage me to read it to my class next year, and their hands instantly shot up! Part mystery, part friendship story, part coming-of-age story, and ultimately, part science fiction, this is a page-turner that has it all. Plus, it's a Newbery Award winner that I don't think many kids would choose on their own. I like to expose my kiddos to high-quality literature they might otherwise never pick up, and this is the perfect example of that.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo

I have a bone to pick with my grade-level team about this book. They are not fans, but this book makes me feel so many things, I just don't understand how one couldn't love it! It's about a spoiled, self-centered rabbit doll who gets separated from his family through a freak accident, and moves from family to family through the years, learning lessons about love and life. It will make you laugh and cry (I guess most people anyway!) and I absolutely ADORE IT.

The Van Gogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant

I've used this story to help my students practice the strategy of asking questions during reading. It is about a magical cafe run by a man and his young daughter, and in each chapter something intriguing and mysterious happens. It is a sweet, beautifully written story that makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. Plus - hello- Cynthia Rylant is a superstar.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

This is my favorite read-aloud to start the year with. It's about a school that has one classroom on each of 30 floors, instead of one floor of 30 classrooms ("The builder said he was very sorry."). Each chapter stars one of the teachers or kids on the 30th floor. It is absolutely ridiculous and completely hilarious. One teacher I worked with used to replace the names of the kids in the story with the kids in her class (super fun, although I could never keep all that straight!). Super awesome book to express to kids the joy that can be found in reading. 

So there you have it! Five of my faves. What are the books you tend to read again and again, year after year?

:) Jenny

Schedule Cards!

I sorta have the attention span of a fruit fly, so it is really nice for me to make lists! I love to check things off my to-do lists, and sometimes I even add things to my lists I've already done for the simple pleasure of getting to check them off! Amiright?!?

The most important list I create every day is my classroom schedule. Here's what it looked like on the first day of school:

Next to each Schedule Card (which I have attached magnets to the back of - makes it so easy to move around quickly and cleanly!), I write the target for the day's lesson in kid-friendly language. For example, "I can use an area model to solve multi-digit division problems." Sometimes, I will even write targets for recess ("I can show good sportsmanship as I play today." "I can take turns politely.") or lunch ("I will use good manners in the cafeteria." "I will respond to the attention signal."). I try to read the targets aloud with students as often as possible. Many come in and look at the schedule first thing every morning!

I have created a variety of different Schedule Cards designs that are for sale in my TPT store. Each set includes 45 different pre-labeled cards (3 per page), multiple background choices, and one EDITABLE page. BOOM! Check 'em out by clicking on the images below!



   

       


Hooray for ORGANIZATION! Aaaannnd... cute things! :)

:) Jenny