Classroom Jenga? And Bees are the best

All right, I took a few days off but it's time for me to resurface. Briefly.
This morning, as I whined about on Facebook, I woke up at 5:45. Why would I do that? Why? That's torturous. I'm single. Why be single and off for the summer if I'm just going to get up at 5:45? Cause that's earlier than I get up for work. I couldn't go back to sleep. I'm going to try to take a nap in a minute, but I don't have much expectations.
One of my lovely colleagues cheered me up a bit. Backstory: This year, we're trying to make sure kids are motivated to read over the summer. We called in parents of a handful of students who made lots of gains this year and had the kids decorate bookbags. They painted their bags and we put books in them for the kids to read over the summer. We included a folder with a daily reading log (freebie at TPT) and some reading activities for the kids to respond to their books.
One of the moms posted this on my facebook:
Well, if it makes you feel better...[Kiddo] has gotten up every day to read for your reading camp! He even did one of his responses...ON HIS OWN...no prodding from me! He's reading that super amoeba book right now!
 WOW! That's like a summer break miracle! And it did make me feel a bit better. I pictured his little self getting up and reading his little books and recording his little stuff. How precious. The little people can rip our hearts out if we let them.
I'm already dreading taking down my mess. I mean, I left a M.E.S.S. in my classroom. My towers of terror reach almost to the ceiling. You could play a really scary game of Classroom Jenga if you wanted to.

What a wreck, huh? That's called Laziness, with a capital L.
I started thinking about how to Cute my room up a little, and since I have a bee theme, I put together this bee themed classroom pack:

You can get it at TPT or Teacher's Notebook!I'm having a problem with the TPT thumbnail thingy and I'm too lazy to make my own, so I'll have to re-attack that later.
And now, to lay around and hope I can sleep. I doubt it. I'm not a day sleeper.
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Cruise Shopping Adventure!

I'm not a big shopper, because I'm not a big spender. I'm super hesitant to spend big bucks on clothes, so I tend to wear things out for years. But in July, I'm going on a cruise! So I needed some new spiffy duds. On Friday, I went Target hunting with my friend Laura. 

Now, what I didn't know about Laura is that she has a deep, terrible secret. She is a shopping enabler. This is what she sounds like in a store:

"Oooooo you need that. It looks so cool. Try it on! OH! It's awesome! You have a great face for that. OOOOH and look this matches. You need to get this one, too. I'll get one so we'll be matching. OOOOOOOOOOH and look at THAT! That's perfect. You'll definitely need to get that."

So, I was hooked. We browsed through the dollar store, and found this funny pirate themed stuff! 

I'll take pictures next week of how I use that.  (It's going to be a motivating thing for my kids to participate in my summer reading pack: Sailing Through Summer! I'm super excited.

Then, I bought a hat. (This one was totally Laura's fault) I love hats, but I tend to buy them and then look at them longingly and never actually wear them. I feel a little silly, like I'm trying to hard. So I bought this hat (You have a GREAT hatface! said Laura) and I have to wear it now. It's absolutely adorable.

Then I found some earrings. (They're birds oh my gosh)

And then a scarf (clearance kachow). 

And maybe a cute travel purse.

Everything was in the gray and blue family. But I don't have a lot of gray clothing. Or gray complimentary clothing. So guess what. 

Today, I went shopping with my mom. This is my mom at a store: "Ooo what do you think about this? I like it. I know you don't like it, but I do. It matches all my other stuff. Wait - maybe I already have it. Oh, yeah, I do. I already have this one. Oh well. Oooo what about this one?" She only enables herself when she's shopping.

I bought a pair of shorts and a dress (clearance kachow)

And then, I found these shoes. 

Now, I don't know if I've mentioned that shoe-shopping for me is a little like hunting the holy grail. My shoes have to be uber-comfortable but I'm not a little old lady (yet) so it's hard for me to find stuff I like. Top that off with my cheap-ness, and he perfect pair of shoes is virtually impossible to find. Crocs, for example, make me look like I'm a few tacos short of a taco truck.  So I'm always searching for the perfect shoe for my not-so-perfect feet. I found some cute Keds (out of my normal budget, but this is a cruise, people!) that I can wear to walk around in that also look cruise-ish. Cause we must be pretty or die! 

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Fraction Fanatic

So I know I've posted about fractions before, and the stations I used to work with the kids and develop the concept.  But I feel the need to spend more time here. Why? This conversation: Student: "Oooo, I know one third is less than two twos because two twos are one whole!" Me: "Two twos?" hoping the kid would see his error and say two halves Student: "Oh, sorry. Two twoths." Sheesh. However, I am celebrating that he knew two twoths make one whole. That's a pretty good start.   That's not the only reason I'm still writing about fractions. This time, we had to go a step (or several) further. We had to find equivalent fractions and compare them using pictures or models. I'm not sure why, but I kind of love finding equivalent fractions. Comparing them, though, is not fun. I'm not sure why this is such a difficult concept, when the kids are using models! But it always is, and I kind of hate it.  First, we made an equivalent fractions foldable to identify the fractions equivalent to 1/2. 

*Found in my More Furry Friends Fractions Pack! Could also be done with any other fraction to record equivalent fractions.
To force help myself to like comparing a little better, I came up with these stations and put together a Equivalent and Comparing Fractions Pack, with a theme that has been pretty popular: furry things. This is a long one, but it has pictures, which helps. And, as you are so very nice, there is a freebie waiting for you as well. Cuisenaire Rods

At my Guided Reading table, I worked with students to identify fractional parts of different-sized wholes using Cuisenaire Rods. They're an interesting way to have conversations about half being half, and representing a relationship between the part and whole of something, regardless of the size of the object. However, some halves are larger than others, if they object is larger.  In case you're interested in reading about cuisenaire rods, this page has some general information and some activities as well.
Comparing Fractions with Pictures Students used this mat to compare fractions that were circles and rectangles. They moved the cardstock symbols on the brads to make =, >, and <. Then they recorded it on their recording sheets. *Found in my More Furry Friends Fractions Pack!

Comparing Written Fractions

At another station, students compared the written fractions using manipulatives. They had to build each fraction pair and compare. Then they recorded the fractions. *Found in my More Furry Friends Fractions Pack!

Comparing Fractions Task Cards

Students drew a card from the stack and built the two fractions described using their manipulatives. They recorded them and compared them. *Found in my More Furry Friends Fractions Pack!

Equivalent Fractions Memory Game

Students played memory with the cards (found on SuperTeacher Worksheets) and made matches of equivalent fractions. This is the only station they didn't have a recording sheet for.

Equivalent Fractions & Comparing Fractions in Textbook

And last but not least (except for possibly least exciting) was a page from the textbook. Students compared fractions and found equivalent fractions using their fraction manipulatives. 

Overall, students gained an understanding of comparing and equivalent fractions, but they're still developing in their mastery. Different-sized wholes are still confusing, so we're attacking that again tomorrow!

And if you liked some of these activities and want to do them with your own kids, grab the pack at TPT:

More Furry Friends Fractions: Equivalent & Comparing Fractions Pack

Freebie for you! Grab it at TPT!

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Juicy End of the Year Activity

Today my kids worked with their buddies to make their Watermelon Memory Book Craftivity.  They had a blast. The third graders (my little people) helped the second graders and they wrote about things they did together this year, but you could write about any memories from the year. 

Remember when we made those little snowmen? You can read about it here. They turned out a little funky lol.

And, if you want to do this with your kids, you can get my craftivity at TPT! It's only $1.00 :)

Thanks for being a buddy :)

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Summer Reading Log Freebie

All right, people. We're in it to win it. I still have 8 days. E.I.G.H.T. days left to make these kids smarter.
I don't know if I'll make it.But the terrifying good thing is I'll have them again next year, when I loop up to fourth.
Ah, fourth. Comfort zone.
To encourage kids to read this summer (and not drop back to atrociously horrible reading levels that we have only just managed to escape with hours and hours of guided reading), we're going to have a fun summer reading program. I'm super excited. We haven't done this before! 
We're going to have a parent meeting next week and kids (five struggling readers from each class) are going to get a canvas bag to decorate for their summer reading books. We are loaning about 3 - 4 books for each student and providing them with a summer reading log (freebie below) and some fun activities to do with their parents. Then, in July, we're going to have a three-day half-day camp with fun activities for reading! I'm super super super excited. 
Here's the calendar reading log. Grab it for free at TPT.

And, if you like the reading log calendars, grab my Monthly Printable Calendar Pack for only 1.50 at TPT or 1.25 Teacher's Notebook! Great for calendar math, reading logs, behavior or homework records! I left the number dates off so you can use them year after year!

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Bad Idea

Law and Order SVU should come with a disclaimer. It should read, "Do not watch more than two episodes at a time. Watching entire seasons at once can prove harmful to your sanity."
I know this from personal experience. I have misguidedly watched more than three complete seasons of Law and Order SVU in the last three weeks. How is this possible? I watch them constantly. I play them while I clean, while I grade, while I plan, while I blog, while I stalk. (ew - stalk - bad choice of words) 
And this was a bad idea. 
I have had sleeping issues. I am thinking of filing a suit against the Law and Order people for disturbing my sanity. Every step of the cat is a masked man; every swish of the dishwasher is someone climbing in through a window. Every noise in my fifty year old house (which makes a lot of noises) is enough to cause me a mini heart attack. I've cried, I've been terrified, and overall, I've gone nuts. 
I should've known this would happen when a blog buddy commented, "Yes, one summer I watched all the Law and Order SVU seasons and I started carrying pepper spray."
Pepper Spray!
And I still kept watching. So now I'm a nutjob. I'm going to rewatch Sherlock instead. He solves crimes, too, but his deep, resonating voice and piercing stare distract me from my terror.As does Martin Freeman. Cause he's just so huggable.

I haven't forgotten my promise. I am planning my 300+ giveaway, but I want it to be great, and that takes time, people, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, enter my Teacher's Notebook giveaway for my 

Pizza Fractions Activity & Craftivity Pack!

and follow me on facebook!

I also plan on Linking up with my Bucket List. The list has begun, but it is not completed.

The game is afoot!

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