Public School State of Mind

This is a must watch video! Created by the Blue Valley School District who recognizes that all the public school employees work hard and make a difference in the lives of children. What a great way for a school district to show appreciation and to get it out to the public.. :) Plus these two kid are just so stinkin adorable! haha. 

Thank you to Emily at 4321..Teach for sharing this one :)

Persuasive Writing, Homophones and a Class Consequence

We've been busy at school and have a well deserved break. Hopefully when the kiddos come back they are ready to totally pick up the pace since we will be moving quickly!!

\ This year, I have a few kids who are chronic homework forgetters. They have SO MANY assignments missing that I can't even keep up. It's difficult because I have yard duty everyday. From the time the kids come in in the mornings to turn in their hw and morning recess, I have no time to check their work. I start teaching ASAP and while morning business is going on I'm submitting attendance and getting my SPED kids ready to leave for their class. That means by the time its morning recess I haven't even had time to see who did their homework or not. It's quite frustrating. We talked about this and the kids came up with their own consequence. They said that if they did not do their work or complete it, it is their responsibility to take it (when I have yard duty) or to stay in to finish it (without me having to remind ANYBODY). If they do go out to recess and later in the day after I've checked homework and I find they are missing their assignment, they are to flip their behavior card and write a note home to their parents. I have to admit, I was very impressed with this consequence the kids came up with.  I've tried homework monitors in the past where I had this beautiful template and my monitors would check off the assignments but that didn't work for me. I had some kids being checked off if they were only partially done or even if the quality was horrible (or all wrong). How do you handle this homework dilemma? 

Last week, I purchased this super cute Homophone and Homograph unit from Christina Cottongame. This unit has so many wonderful activities and worksheets for students, I haven't even got a chance to do them all. I only introduced homophones and we pretended to be talking on our phones and read words from our homophone list. We talked about how all of the words sound the same on the phone but since we can see the list we know that they don't mean the same thing. We then made the connections that homophones sound the same but have different spelling and meanings. The kids created these cute silly homophone sentences:

The toad and his toad car got towed away.

Noah was running away from a hare with green hair.

My pet bunny was very weak this week, he didn't move.

Spongebob flew over to Patricks with a bowl of stew because Patrick had the flu.

We also have been working on writing personal narratives. I got this idea from the wonderful Amy Lemons.  I did this last year with my kids and it was a total hit both years. They loved writing about their best friend and everyone has something to write about!!

This is ME!

Aren't the pictures just adorable?? One of my students wrote about her best friend, Courtney M and went on to describe her friend. At the very end she writes she is not only my friend but she is my Teacher!! How cute and sweet is that?? That totally brought a bright smile to my face. I love how in both her writing and picture she managed to capture my 'brown hair with yellowish highlights' lol. 

Have a great week!

Yay! Fall Break and Fab. Five

WOOHOO! It is finally here! I thought I would never make it to today..Fall break. This means that I have 10 days to sleep in, relax, and catch up on the work I have fallen behind on.. including blogging :)

I'll leave you with my fab. five for today :D  (sorry for the excessive use of happy faces..I just can't stop smiling!!)

Source: Uploaded by user via Courtney on Pinterest

I had to laugh at this pin because I often get so caught up in organizing and setting up for the year I almost think that I think this! lol Too bad my organization gets lost in all my crazy piles :/ Yes, I admit it..I'm a piler!!

Source: bugginoutpc.com via Courtney on Pinterest

 I love this adorable sign! Totally having this at MY wedding :)

Source: facebook.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Yes!! I feel that teachers are too often needing to defend their jobs...

Source: ramblingaboutreading.blogspot.com via Courtney on Pinterest

This is so cute, I definitely need to do this!! If you can't see..the apple says "An apple for the teacher is really nothing new, except when you remember parents are teachers too."

Source: savearecipe.blogspot.ca via Courtney on Pinterest

 Ah! I just can't help it with the Christmas pins!!This was just too adorable.

Wishing a Happy Fall to Ya'll.....AND a Review Request!

Even though we really have no real fall here in Hawaii. :( I wish we did, I love cold weather, I love the color of leaves on the tree changing and I most importantly love the fall fashion!! Wish I could dress in warm sweaters, with boots and scarves. 

Anyways' I'm also linking up with Second Grade Math Maniac in her wonderful Fall TPT sale. There are about close to 100 fabulous bloggers linking up to his awesome sale. For this weekend only, all of these fab. ladies will be holding a 20% off sale in their TPT stores. 

Check it out!

Also..for anyone who is actually reading this post, I'm looking for somebody who is willing to review my schedule cards for me. I work really hard on my products and want to provide good quality products for you in my TPT store. Lately, my schedule cards have been downgraded to a 3.9. I know this may not be that big a deal for some of you, but I really want to provide the best for my supporters!  In all of my comments, nobody has mentioned to me what is wrong with the product. Most people have rated me low in accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness. I'm not sure why or how I can improve it. SOOO..for the first three people to comment on this post with your e-mail address, I would love to send you a copy of my schedule cards that I use in my class. The only thing I ask is that you give me a review of this product and try to help me figure out how I can make it better...
Thank you so much!!!

In case you were wondering..this is what they look like on display in my class:

Fab. Five for Friday

Uhm. YES! I know that I am feeling it and I know many other of you bloggers are too! 

Source: thefirstgradefairytales.blogspot.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Uhm. YES! I know that I am feeling the 'teacher tired' and I know many other of you bloggers are too! 

Source: thebusybudgetingmama.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Yes! I  AM pinning and getting ready for Christmas already!! It is my FAVORITE time of year! This will make for a super cute christmas ornament. All you need is double stick tape! How genius!

Source: loveit.com via Courtney on Pinterest

How cute are these peonies?? They are made out of coffee filters!!

Source: backonpointe.tumblr.com via Courtney on Pinterest

This poster should be hung in every teacher's lounge. I think way too many of us teachers stress about things beyond our control. This is something I am working on..but still am not very good at :/ HAHA. I should hang this up in my bedroom and bathroom so I can look at it daily!!

Source: fashionworship.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Loving everything about this outfit, especially that AMAZING watch! I swear I am not a watch person (I posted about another watch in my previous fab. five), I don't even OWN a watch. I'm thinking I need to get a few this holiday season ;) 

Daily 5 Checklist Freebie

This'll be a quick post because I need to head out for some groceries for tonight's dinner. I've been very busy today creating worksheets for my kids to use this week. I created a book that my students will be putting together this week to help them remember all of the non fiction text features. I'll try and share that later this week, or next weekend.

I needed to create some kind of checklist for my students to use to keep track of their daily 5 rotations. Students keep these checklists in the front of their daily 5 binders. Each day, they are required to check off whichever daily 5 choice they are working on for the day. Due to our schedules, some days we only have time for 1 rotation..but on other days we may have time for 3 rotations. This is an easy checklist for the students and myself to follow and keep track of. How do you keep track of your Daily 5 rotations?

Head to my TPT Store to pick up a free copy of this checklist! 

Have a great week!!

September's Currently

Seriously?! September already?? Geez..time sure is flying!!

Okay....So I recently got back from a quick trip to California for my cousin's wedding. It was so beautiful. For those of you who know California, it was at the Redondo Beach Historic Library. 

While we were there..we checked out this really YUMMY Restaurant in K-town (Korea Town). My brother used to work with the owner when he lived in Hawaii. It's called The Dragon and its a fusion of korean and chinese foods. Basically you have all of your chinese basics but there is some korean spice added to most dishes. SO GOOD..Best Chinese food I've probably ever tasted.

Anyways, my family loves to have a good time and enjoy some alcoholic beverages in the process :) SO At our family dinner my brother introduced everyone to the SEOUL TRAIN. It's similar to a sake bomb...There is one part of soju, and a teensy bit of beer. You drop the soju into the beer then drink it all up.  Here's a video of our Seoul Train at our family dinner (with 20 people) My 86 year old Grandma and 91 year old Grandpa also enjoyed their drink) :D 

This led me to watching the youtube show that this concoction originated from, which is called K-town. It's basically a Jersey Shore but with asians. It's also produced by Tyrese. I barely have time to do all the things off of my to-do list..but I just couldn't help myself. I just love myself some drama (from other people's lives) hehe :D

My other new favorite thing is that I have recently discovered wholesale clothing websites. Basically it's really cheap clothing (the original cost) before crazy mark-ups from our most beloved clothing stores...it's so fun and addicting to look at all of the super cute clothes. I haven't brought myself to ordering from any of them yet because I still can't get over the super cheap prices..and I know that I will go crazy. Plus, shipping is quite pricy so I need to take the time to pick through the items I really want and make sure I only have to pay for shipping once :)

I apologize for my lack of blogging and not having a fab. five this week. I've been slacking on pinterest and trying to stay afloat. I have so many things going on..hope to be back soon :D