Seriously?

Source: Stockphoto

Alright, time to get real!

Disclaimer:

Let me first begin by saying that I usually steer clear of voicing my political or controversial opinions because I think there is a certain time and place for all of that. Not to say I don't have opinions, cause I really do but I think social media is usually not the place to share those thoughts. But some things transpired today and I feel like my thoughts are just needing to spew out right now... so I'm gonna let them!

The "deadly" concoction that made me feel the need to share (in a nutshell):

1. 

Last night I read a horrifying article about a man who posed as someone else on a social media outlet and convinced a 14 year old girl to meet with him. When he met up with her, he kidnapped her, held her against her will and I am sure you can imagine the kinds of things he did to her.

2.

Today, I had three students bring cell phones to school which prompted all my students to talk about their Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat accounts.

WHY?

Why in the world do FOURTH GRADERS - 10 YEAR OLDS have
a). their own expensive smart phones and
b). social media accounts of any kind?

Now, I grew up in this technological age and got a cell phone (a bulky Nokia that could only call) when I was in the 7th grade. I had just started playing middle school sports and the bus would get home from games later than my parents got home, so they wanted me to have a way to call them to come pick me up or if there was an emergency when I was far away. My phone could do nothing cool because at this point smartphones were not even a thing. In fact I didn't even get my first smartphone until I was in my last semester of college and had been married for a year! Some of this fact comes because I am a wee bit anti cellphone, but mostly I just feel like I have some common sense!

Fourth graders are babies, they really are. They are growing up and are ready to accept more responsibility in some ways, but they are still just young, naive, sweet babies! Besides the fact that I am partially against all things electronic for kids (video games, excessive tv, tablets, phones, etc.) I know that those things can be okay in moderation. But for the love of pete, there is literally no reason on this earth that a child in the fourth grade needs to have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or any other thing like that! I know that the majority of children will use these things and never be taken advantage of, kidnapped or tricked, but why as a parent would you even risk it? What benefit is there to a young child having these things on their phone? I really cannot think of a single one! Kids should be playing outside, building forts, reading, coloring, playing with games or toys. NOT spending their time with their nose in a phone on social media!

As an adult I have all of these above mentioned apps (minus snapchat) and don't get me wrong, I love my Instagram and Facebook. They keep me connected to family that lives far away, help me document exciting moments in life and provide some relaxing entertainment after a hard day's work. But I am 25 years old and know how to be smart with these things. I don't friend people I don't know, I set my accounts to private, I don't post my address or other personal information. I can make wise choices. A fourth grader cannot!

When my students were having their conversation about all the social media they had I asked them to raise their hand if they had their own smartphone or tablet at home. Every single student except 1 raised their hand. Now this really didn't surprise me, I know that most kids today have these things. But then I asked them to raise their hands if on those devices they have Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. Three of the 18 who had raised there hands before did not have those apps and just use their phones for games and phone calls. But that is 15 children out of my class who are 10 years old and have social media accounts that are really not meant for people under the age of 18!

I saw this as an opportunity to talk to them about phone and internet safety. We discussed how there are bad people out there and they use those things to hurt people. We talked about how a person you don't know on the internet is just like a stranger you meet on the street. We discussed how their parents should be able to access all of their accounts to make sure they are being safe and how they should always tell someone if anything or anyone seems suspicious.

Many of my kids acted like this was all brand new information to them. Like they had not been told this by their parents before and some were even shocked to hear that some people pretend to be something they are not online to hurt others.

This broke my heart.

I know I am not a parent to a child on the outside world yet, and it will be years before I have a child that can even operate social media but I still cannot imagine allowing my child to use those things at all, but let alone without talking to them about the risks and dangers.

Some of my student's parents may not even be aware that their child has these things. They also may be new to certain social media outlets and don't know the risks. I give these parents a little grace, but as an adult who works with kids every day, I urge all parents to do some research, ask questions and get more involved with what your kids are doing on their phones! You can never be to careful with your precious children!

Now I have to end this by saying that I am not trying to offend anyone. How you parent your child or how you monitor electronics is your choice! I know many parents do set guide lines and are knowledgeable of what their child is doing online, but I also know that sometimes people can be blind to these things and it is important enough that I felt like I needed to say something!

Below are some articles about internet safety and kids that might be helpful:

Safe Kids
Digital Parenting
On Guard 

Be safe!

"I'm Done... Now What?"

At the beginning of the year I was getting the above question about a million times a day. I had explained to my students that they always had the option of reading, finishing morning work or practicing their spelling words. Well, those options worked for a while but then the question came back and I knew something needed to change.

I took to good ol' Pinterest to get some ideas on brain breaks or activities for fast finishers. After I found a few great things, I used a combination of those ideas and came up with my own system.

Introducing the "Sticks Center"

Now, when my students are finished and are sitting there with nothing to do, they have the option to read, finish their morning work or "do the sticks." Simple system that works like this.

1. Draw a stick
2. Do what it says

Simple right? :)

Here is a closer look at the sticks in the can:

These are all of their options. The rule I have is they can't look when they draw a stick and whatever they get, they have to do or they go back to their seat and read.("If you're gonna do the sticks, you do 'em right" I say that a lot) If they draw the same stick in a day they don't have to do it twice, they can redraw. Been doing this for about four months and it has been great so far, they enjoy it and are great at completing the activities. Very little work on my part and they don't ask me the dreaded question anymore!

Here are short explanations of each stick.

Flash Cards: There are two sets of multiplication flashcards (about 20 cards each) they take them back to their seat and go through the cards twice.

Word Problems: The students gets to be the teacher and they write me two word problems. I have to solve it by the end of the day. The only rule is, they have to know the answer to the problem! Sometimes I solve it wrong to see if they can catch my mistake... they have no idea and get so proud of themselves when they catch my mistake!

Spelling ABC Order: Write that week's spelling words in alphabetical order.

Wrap-Ups: Subtraction and multiplication manipulatives. Buy here.

Spin Multiplication: Fun interactive multiplication flashcards. Thanks to the teacher who had my room before me!

Random Worksheet: This folder is full of random challenging worksheets. They have to draw a random one without looking. There are all kinds of things in there like crosswords, riddles, math challenges, word searches.

Book Report: Students get a piece of notebook paper and write a short summary of a book they read recently.

Just for Fun Book: I have a tub full of lower-level children's books. I still think those are fun to read so why wouldn't fourth graders?

Spelling Story: Students write a story containing all of their spelling words.

Rhyming Words: Students pick a word and write as many words that rhyme with it as possible.

Write a Short Story: Students write a story no longer that a page about anything they want!

Math Challenge Number: I created a worksheet with a different number at the top. They pick one and each worksheet has them adding 15 to the number, subtracting 25, writing the number with words, dividing by 3, and multiplying by 13. Really makes them think!

Write Cursive Letters: I don't make my students write in cursive very often but they still need to practice. For this stick they simply have to write their cursive alphabet.

Spelling Pictures: Students draw a picture to go along with each spelling word.

Spelling 2x Whiteboard: Students grab a whiteboard and write their spelling words two times each.

Dictionary Hunt: I love this one! Students use a dictionary to find 3 words they don't know. They write the word, the definition and draw a picture to go with it.

Write 20 Verbs: Pretty self explanatory.

Write 20 adjectives: Ditto!

Alphabet List: Students write their alphabet, then try to come up with a word for each letter. Bonus if they use past vocab or spelling words.

Boggle: My kids are OBSESSED with this one right now. I printed out some pre-made boggle lists with 20 letters. They are all trying to beat each other for who can come up with the most words. One of my students has a list of 112 going right now.. she won't quit! I LOVE it!

ABC Order Challenge: In one of the trays I have multiple worksheets that have lists of words that start with the same letter and need to be put in alphabetical order. They are tricky and my kiddos like the challenge.

Addition Challenge has been replaced with Division Challenge: A large sheet of division problems with remainders. My kids love to do these and see if they can get them all right in one try!


This truly has been great for my classroom! It makes my kiddos use their brains all day long, no sitting doing nothing and a lot less getting into trouble in between activities!

Try it, you'll like it!

Fourth Grade Shenanigans

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that I am a teacher. I am one of those obnoxious people who absolutely loves my job and am excited to go to work everyday!

I teach a wonderful (and also incredibly talkative) group of 19 fourth graders! Something that I love to teach is writing, but there are so many things I have to do during the day it is hard to fit a lot of writing in. We usually do at least one major writing piece a month. I have taught research papers, friendly letters, opinion papers and summary writing. Throughout the week we do some smaller writing projects but I wanted to find a way to incorporate it even more often. 

The best way to help my students become better writers is to give them as many opportunities to write as possible! So I decided we would start doing journal writing after Christmas break. I spent some of break buying those cheap composition notebooks and attaching ribbon as books marks in them. We do journal writing directly after recess on Tuesdays and Thursdays for just fifteen minutes. I made a list of writing prompts to get us through the end of the year and put them all into a powerpoint. 

On the first day back, it was a Monday so we did a read- aloud instead of writing. On Tuesday I explained the process of journaling and gave them time to decorate their journals. Thursday was the first day and they knew that their journal would be out on their desk, Mozart would be playing and they were to come right in, read the prompt on the board and begin writing. I thought I would have tons of questions or kiddos who wouldn't follow or remember the directions. But to my surprise they all came right in, sat down and wrote for fifteen minutes without saying a single word. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, I seriously almost cried! 

Now, the kiddos have finally figured out the schedule. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I read aloud from a chapter book and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, they journal. They always get excited on Tuesdays and Thursdays and say "Yes, it's journal day!" I love that they are getting excited about writing and they work so hard during that time. I respond to what they wrote the time before and they love reading what I wrote back to them each time. I simply use this to encourage them to write and to help them get more and more writing practice. I created a NO EXCUSE list that they glued in the front of their journal and they have to check for the following things before they can turn their journal back in:

1. Capitalize beginning of sentences and proper nouns.

2. Punctuation in the correct places. 

3. Use your best handwriting. 

4. Indent at the beginning of a paragraph. 

5. Write at least a paragraph (which is 5 sentences). 

6. Have fun!

They have done a great job of this so far and I have really seen their writing improve since we started. I would highly encourage other teachers to add this into their day somehow. My students just love it and it is making a difference! 

Here are a few of the writing prompts I have used. 

- If you were a super hero, what powers would you want and why?

- If a genie granted you 3 wishes, what would they be? (You can't wish for more wishes!) 

- Write a Want Ad for a best friend. What qualities are important?

- What are three things you love about yourself. Why do you love these things?

- If you got to rule the school for one day, what things would you do or change? 

Every other Thursday I use a picture and they are to write a story to go along with it. Here are two of my favorites we have used so far. I have just googled writing prompt pictures or found them on pinterest. They really love when it's "Picture Thursday". 

2014 ~ A Look Back

January 2014

After spending the New Years with my family in Texas (my brother's family lives there) we made a pit-stop in Arkansas to pick up a new furry friend! Kira joined our family on January second and as cheesy as it is to say, she has added so much to our lives. She is such a great dog and incredibly loving!

Mr. Smith left his job at the newspaper and started at his old job again. Read more about it here. 

February 2014

February was pretty uneventful. Mr. Smith celebrated turning 24 and I wrote a post about a new season of life we entered. 

March 2014

Another month of laying low and working hard. Nothing too eventful or exciting, just ordinary life. But sometimes that is the best kind! 

April 2014

I didn't post one single time in April so to be honest I don't remember much of what happened. Except that I got my dream teaching job at my dream school (who could forget that?) That's why I love blogging! If I hadn't blogged all year I wouldn't have remembered half of the things that happened. But there is also something sweet about thinking that the month of April is something just Mr. Smith and I can share!

May 2014

I wrapped up an 8 week maternity leave position and began regular subbing at the same school. I was so excited about my new position as a fourth grade teacher that I jumped right in to classroom projects! The weather was amazing and we spent lots of time outside! At the end of the month Mr. Smith and I celebrated out two-year anniversary with a weekend trip to St. Louis! I love that man so stinkin' much. Seriously, he's my favorite!

June 2014

Early in the month of June Mr. Smith and I headed to a small nearby town for a color run that my sister and her husband put on. My best friend and her man joined us and then straight after we headed to a wedding. Mid-June I worked two-weeks teaching Kindergarten at summer school. It was a crazy, busy month!

July 2014

July was a whirlwind! So much happened but it was so much fun.  We joined Mr. Smith's family on a weeklong beach vacation in South Carolina! I did some more classroom crafting and my friends and their pups visited for a BYOD (Bring Your Own Dog party! 

August 2014

August arriving meant that my first year of teaching was quickly approaching. I spent about two weeks getting my classroom all set-up for 20 precious fourth graders! And then by mid August we were off with a bang! I LOVE teaching fourth grade! 

September 2014

September 1st I turned 24 and celebrated quietly with Mr. Smith (that's the best way in my opinion)! September also brought my first full month of teaching, things go by quickly when you are having fun and are constantly running around! I wrote about needing some "me-time". 

October 2014

An exciting month and incredibly busy. No blogging happened so I head to instagram to show some snapshots from the month. 

November

November was really hard for multiple reasons. But is also brought some good, like Thanksgiving crafts, spending time with family and scoring some Black Friday deals without ever leaving the house! Our church opened a new campus in the town I work and we got knee-deep in the launch. Mr. Smith is program director and I am children's coordinator. Lots of work, but all for God!

December 2014

A month of healing and happiness. We decorated for Christmas and then took it down two weeks later cause Theo kept climbing and ruining the tree. Celebrated Jesus' birthday with both sides and I had a week off at home to relax and catch-up on things like laundry and cleaning (read: drinking coffee and netflix) Something else exciting happened too, that I will share later! Kansas Christmas photos here. 

To be honest we look back at this year as really hard, but as I write this I see that it also held so many good, sweet times in our little family. Even so, I welcome 2015 with open arms and I just have a feeling it is going to be the best year yet! 

Finding Time For Me

Two months.

Just looked, and that's how long it has been since I last posted. And guess what... I haven't missed it one bit, until now.

This Summer was the easiest and most laid back Summer of my life. I did not work, other than teaching two weeks of Summer school which was easy money. So my days were spent laying around binge watching Netflix, being fanned and fed grapes straight from the vine (okay so the last two didn't happen but it felt like it). Not only was my Summer so easy, but I even got to soak up an entire week in South Carolina on the beach.

 Rough life, huh?

Summer was basically three months long of "me time". I got bored of doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and began to crave structure and schedules. I didn't want to blog because that was usually a treat and I was treating myself all the time.









Well things have changed now that I am back at school and teaching 19 rowdy fourth graders everyday. My beach view has changed to this...

So now that I spending my weekdays from 7:30-5:00 in an little room full of 10-year-olds, I am ready again for some "me-time"

I actually started to crave it again. I am not one who has ever defined "me-time" as getting my nails done or going to a spa or even shopping ( I like shopping, but on a beginning teacher's salary that is not always plausible). I am such a homebody that I want my enjoyment to be had in my own house. I made a list of the things I want to do more of in the evenings. 

<< Reading >>  I love to read but I have always seen it as a "treat" and I usually read the least in the summers. Luckily I just picked up a great new book that I am already hooked on and spent over an hour reading yesterday! It is just so relaxing to get lost in a good book.

{Visit my goodreads account here}

<< Blogging >> Sometimes I feel embarrassed about my blog, like I am trying to be way cooler than I really am and people will think I am searching for attention. In all honesty, not that many people read this thing. My mom and sister are my biggest fans and so I write with them in mind! But more than that, I enjoy it! I have always liked writing and I don't get to do it much anymore, except for on here. I also love that when I am older or at a different stage in my life, I can look back and read these posts!

<< DIY >> I am not a crafty person at all, I get very little joy out of making a card from scrapbook paper, or deco-paging (spelling?)  little jars. I do however like to undertake larger projects around the house. I recently got the idea to redo our entire kitchen table. I plan on staining it, reupholstering the chairs and possibly even painting the base. I have redone quite a bit of furniture in our house and I really enjoy it. So i am excited to take on this project, even if it means eating at the living room coffee table for a while!

{Read about my coffee bar redo here}

<< Breakfast >> This one might seem odd, but I love having a nice sit-down breakfast. Every morning I grab a granola bar, apple, or something terrible for me and eat it in the car on the way to work. It just makes me feel even more rushed and isn't the best way to begin my day. I want to start waking up just 10-15 minutes earlier so that I have time to make something and sit down and enjoy it!

<< Walking >> I am a bad person and I NEVER work-out. I literally have not exercised (intentionally) in about two years. I know that is not good and I need to do it before my awesome metabolism (thanks dad!) goes to pot. I hate running and I don't want to go to a gym where there are strangers, I do however love to go on walks and take Kira with me. It is way too hot in the Summer to go and Fall is my favorite season so I plan on taking Kira every evening after work now that the air is crisp!

I may have days or even weeks where I don't have the time to do any of these things. The Hubs and I are crazy-busy right now, not only with work but numerous extra projects we have taken on. I will however, make an extra effort to fit these "me-time" activities into my day and hopefully it will bring some much needed balance and bliss to my life!

Career Goals Update

I posted this post a while back about the goals I have for 2014, I want to keep updating it so that I can hold myself accountable and see the progress I have made. 

This time my update is about some career goals I made. I am excited to say that I accomplished two of them already!

Be a teacher in my dream school district.

Eeeeeek! This is by far the most exciting accomplishment so far! In August of 2013 I began my last semester of school student teaching for 16 weeks. I was placed at a school I knew very little about and was in a dinky town about 30 miles away. I was not particularly excited about being placed at this school but I put my best foot forward. Long story short, I fell in love with this school, the children in it and the teachers I worked with. It only took a couple weeks before I decided that was the school I wanted to be working at after I graduated. Since I graduated in December there were no openings at the time. Instead I got to do an 8 week maternity leave position in a first grade classroom and then regular subbing the rest of the time. During my time there some jobs came open and I got myself an interview. I was the first person to interview since I was working there at the time and I had to wait an entire month before I found out my fate. It. Was. Terrible. I wanted the job so bad I could taste it and it was killing met to wait. Finally late on a Tuesday night I got a call and I was offered a position! My dream has come true, I start working in an amazing district with the absolute best students and co-workers! Fourth grade here I come! 

{Crafting for my new classroom}

Collect 50 books for my classroom library.

I did a short maternity leave in another school and the classroom I took over had the most amazing class library. Hundreds of books organized by genre and labeled to perfection. I have always loved reading and encouraging students to read so that library became my new goal! I didn't know for sure what grade I was teaching so I help off on getting any books. Then once I found out I went to Scholastic warehouse sales, used book stores and even got some awesome donations from friends and family! I am proud to say that I actually have close to 200 books for my class library now! 

{Brand-new books I got from a warehouse sale}

Check my 2014 Goals post to see updates and all my other goals!