Can't believe I have one more day until I return to work!!  It's been a fantastic summer,  but I have to admit that I'm ready to meet my new kiddos!  I also can't wait to see my colleagues, especially my team.  After a summer of dealing with a newly diagnosed heart condition, I am ready for a routine that keeps me busy and hopefully not too stressed.  Enough blogging, going to finish my To Do list for the house and then tackle my classroom tomorrow!!  Third Grade here I come!!!

2014-2015

Spent the week, except for Thursday, working in my classroom.  Decided to get it done, or close to done, before we go on vacation so that I don't have to worry about it when I get back.  I still have a few things to do, but the  big items are done.  Love the way it's turning out.  Took down most of the polka dots and changed to burlap and chevrons.  It's not completely done, but here's what I've got done so far!  

Love the front door!  I am so proud of myself when I say that I actually made the burlap bunting.  If you know me, you know that this is a triumph!  The Welcome sign was made by a company named  Sparkled Whimsy off of Etsy.  I designed how I wanted it to look and she made it for me.  It's absolutely beautiful and made of solid wood.  You can't see them, but it came with the cutest little black wood boards to show when we are in Specials or at the computer lab, recess, or lunch.    You can see the basket of the boards on the picture two down from this one.  You should definitely check out the Sparkled Whimsy store on Etsy.  Wonderful company to work with.

Love, love, love my Welcome bunting that I MADE!!! 

Okay, so the cute picture frames at the top of this picture I actually painted myself.  I also made the rules pictures that are inside the frames.  Once again, if you know me, you know that even painting these frames is amazing!  I should also add that I made the burlap bow to go on my burlap bulletin board. 

View from front door

This bulletin board will eventually have Writing Center items on it.  Stay tuned!

Love my Ikea buckets with the cute "Lost" labels on them.

One of my Listening Centers

Check out those cute painted R E A D letters.  Recognize that paint color?

Reading and Math Word Work Area

Teacher Time table.  Love my new tabletop easel from Really Good Stuff

Class Jobs

What?  More colored picture frames!  Found these at Michaels for $1.79 each.  Couldn't pass them up.  They were marked down 70%.  Got some small ones for .39 each.  Stay tuned to see the small frames.

Student work display wall

Another student work display wall

Computer Stations with my cute Computer Rules signs

That's about it for now, but I am NOWHERE near done.  The rest will have to wait for August 18th!  On vacation until then!  :)

Still on Vacation!!

Still on summer vacation!  Will post in August!  :) 

Last Day of School

As our year has come to an end, I wanted to thank each one of my parents for all of your support this year. Without your help, my job would not be possible.  Thank you for being supportive, thank you for listening when I had a concern, thank you for making me laugh, thank you for all the wonderful gifts I have received this year, thank you for the sacrifice you make each day for our country, but most of all, THANK YOU for allowing me the opportunity to work with your child.  They are all such a blessing and I am going to miss them so much.  I hope that wherever the military takes you that you always try to stay in touch.  My school email should always  remain the same and I will always do my best to keep the blog up.  If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.  
Please take a moment to watch the video below. This is something I do at the end of the year for my students.  It's fun to see how much we've done this year and how much they have grown.  I hope you enjoy it!

1 more day!

Today officially marks our last full day of school.  We cleaned out, broke down, and tore down all day long. It was exhausting, but I couldn't have gotten it done without my kiddos.  They worked so hard today! Tomorrow we celebrate our year with a party and some down time just enjoying our last few hours together.  I know the kiddos are excited to begin their summer break.  Some are moving on and some are staying.  Whichever the case, I hope that they keep in touch with me through this blog or email.  One of the drawbacks to teaching DOD is that we don't always get to follow our kiddos as they grow up.  Occasionally a former student finds me and it's always so exciting catching up with them.  Enjoy your evening!

5 More Days!

We officially are down to five more days left of this school year.  We have completed all of our learning standards for the year.  Students celebrated Monday when we completed our last Math topic, to include the assessment and our reading assessment.  It was a mad dash, especially with all the time we missed this year due to weather.  We are now wrapping up our year with completing our learning journals. Their math journal is complete and we are finishing up our interactive language arts journal.  It's a great review and a resource for students to use next year.

As we approach summer vacation, please keep in mind that it is very important for students to read over the summer. Research shows that students who do not read over the summer can lose up to two months of reading achievement. (See http://www.ed.gov/blog/2014/03/stopping-the-summer-slide/http://www.ed.gov/blog/2014/03/stopping-the-summer-slide/).   The same applies to practicing math concepts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).  To help your child, I've included some activities students can use to help maintain their learning achievement.  Just spending two hours a day reading and practicing math, will help your child begin next school year with confidence.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Feedback Needed!

I would like your feedback on the use of this blog.  Would you please post a comment on how you feel the blog has helped you this year?  

• Did you refer to it when you needed something?  
• Do you feel the blog kept you up to date?  
• Is there anything you would like to see added that would help you?  
• Also, can you let me know if your deployed spouse was able to access the blog (if they had the chance to).

Any information you can provide would be great.  During the summer I like to make updates and changes.  Your feedback would help me make this blog better for next year. I'm open to all suggestions/comments/etc that will make the blog a great place to visit.

Happy Memorial Day!

(Photographer Unknown)

As we enjoy this weekend, let us not forgot the meaning behind Memorial Day.   Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated after the Civil War to honor the Union and Confederate soldiers that died.  In 1971, Congress declared that Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May.  Click on the link below for more information. 

http://www.usmemorialday.org/

Enjoy this beautiful long weekend, but take a few minutes to explain its true meaning to your child. 

God Bless America

Busy Week

This is not only a short week, but a busy week in our classroom.  With having Monday off, we have to squeeze math into 3 days, so that we will be ready to run/walk for the Eagles Run on Friday.  I know the kiddos are super excited about Friday's activities.  Eagles Run is always a blast and so much fun wrapping our year up with a family picnic and festivities.  

We also have the NFL Play 60 camp on June 5th.  Permission slips went home on Friday.  Students must have a signed permission slip to participate.  This camp is run by the Carolina Panthers, therefore, they will not allow a child to participate without the form signed. 

Lastly, we only have 12 school days left!  I cannot believe how fast this year went by!! I know the kiddos are ready to be done and become 4th graders and I agree with them, but I'm going to miss them.  The next 12 school days will be busy, but fun!!  Have a great weekend.

End of Year Assessments

I cannot believe it is already end of year assessment time! Thursday we started our end of the year math assessment. This assessment measures DoDEA 3rd Grade Math Standards that your child is required to learn.  With 47 problems, I break the test up to about 10 problems a day until we finish it.  This way students do not tire out. So far, I'm very pleased with how they are doing on it.  Each day, I grade the page they finished so that on the last day I can immediately give them a final grade.  It is my expectation that your child score a 85-100% on this assessment to show 3rd Grade Math Mastery.  With daily lessons, Daily 5 Math, homework, and one-on-one teacher time, students should reach this expectation.

This week I also start testing students on the Benchmark Assessment System (BAS).  This is our reading assessment that measures students comprehension and fluency. Students in 3rd grade take this assessment twice a year- beginning and end.  Third grade students should end up on a Level L-P.  Most students are already within this range or higher.  I've included a BAS Text range below for you to use once I have tested your child.  

We also have our Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) test to take before June 5th.  This test measures your child's reading comprehension.  The SRI provides a lexile score for the student to use when selecting "Just Right" books.  

Once all assessments have been completed, I will send home a report with the scores for the whole year so that you can see your child's progress over this school year.  This report is something that I do and is not required by the school or district, but I feel that you need to know exactly where your child is and how much progress they made this year.  I plan to have all reports ready to send home by the last day of school.  Report cards will be mailed home by the school. 

Have a great weekend!!

BAS Text Levels