Transformations!

Is it just me or is the start of this new year flying by already?? I feel like the older I get, the quicker the year goes by. We've only been back in school for about 10 days but we sure are flying by with our curriculum!! It's almost that time of year for state testing, which means all third grade classes at my school double on math. We've been doing this for the past three years I've been at this school (and they've done it years before as well) in order to get the kids ready for state testing. We cover so much material in this third quarter, it's CRAZY! In only the 10 days we've been back, we've already covered multiplying 2-digit numbers by 1 using both distributive property and standard algorithm, elapsed time, transformations, and congruent similar shapes. 

I must say that I am SO PROUD of my kids. They have totally got their elapsed time problems down to a T. This has always been such a difficult skill for my kiddos..we normally teach this in quarter 1. I have no idea why?? This year, I told myself that I would wait because in quarter 1 I'm torturing myself as well as my students. I waited and it has made all the difference. It is amazing at how well they grasped this concept since their mathematical minds have matured over the course of this school year. We took our assessments today and almost all of the students got MP's! Yay!!

Last but not least, I wanted to share a foldable that we made to help the kids with transformations. 

I got my inspiration from Cierra and Shannon at Fabulous Fourth Grade. 

If you aren't already a subscriber to their blog you really need to head over there!! They have a ton of awesome resources..not to mention (the post that I linked) has a billion foldable ideas that are so great!! Awesome visuals ladies :) 

Used a brad so students can physically turn their shape

Have a great rest of the week!!

Happy New Year and January Currently

Happy New Year Everyone!! I haven't been on this ol blog since 2012. I guess my first post of the year will be my January Currently!! :) Gotta love Farley's monthly currently! Head on over to her blog to check it out as well as all the amazing bloggers that link up to her every month!

I'm listening to the wind blowing outside..it's been very windy lately!

I'm loving the COLD weather that we have been having and enjoying the rain that is adding to the wintery feeling. 

I can't stop thinking about all the wonderful and exciting things ahead of us in 2013! 

One of those things is that the boy and I will be moving into our brand new house in late feb./early march!! I am SO EXCITED! We went to take a look at the finished product yesterday and began signing official paperwork.....so now it's a waiting game. I should have taken pictures but will try and remember next time we go and see it :) 

I am totally wanting to stay here in my comfy and warm bed all day long. I have really missed this bed since I've returned to work on Thursday. I spent a good deal of time in this ol bed over the break 1) being sick and 2) reading the ENTIRE 50 Shades of Grey Series!

If you haven't read it, I definitely recommend reading this! I wasn't a fan when I heard about what the story was about..and put off reading it for awhile. The boy ended up bringing home a copy that was left at his hotel by a guest so I decided to try it out. Couldn't put the book down and read all 3 books in a few days. 

I am definitely NEEDING to get out of bed and start working. I have SO MUCH work to do since I put it all off during the break. I had so many plans on accomplishing so much but unfortunately, none of it happened!!  Report cards are definitely screaming my name right now....

And last but note least, my OLW is happiness. This year in 2013, I am striving to be happier! Don't get me wrong, I am not an unhappy person but as I was thinking about what I'd like to accomplish in the new year everything led back to being happier with myself. 

I would like to eat healthier and exercise more. When I eat better, I feel better about myself, I feel energized and not guilty about bad food choices I made. When I exercise, I feel happy and energetic!

I would like to keep a cleaner/organized house and classroom. When I'm surrounded by clutter I feel overwhelmed and think about all the cleaning that needs to be done but when I'm in a clean and organized house, I have nothing to worry about and feel happy! When I do good things for others, I feel happy. So these are my resolutions in a nutshell...to be happier :)

Hoping that you all are having a wonderful start to 2013! I'll be posting soon about what's been going on in my classroom. I have a lot to share from the first two days back!!