Radio Silence

Knock, knock... anyone still out there? It's been a long time since my last post! I've been busy with a few things. Turning my classroom from this...

to this...

to this...

to this...

Still a work in progress, but I am loving the bright colors!

I spent some time hanging out on a boat in the Atlantic off of Key West...

Then some more time snorkeling in coral reefs.

I celebrated a birthday by seeings Cats and drinking blueberry martinis...

And my husband proved he understands me well with his birthday gift to me!

All in all, August was pretty wonderful.

Did you guys notice my new theme? I am totally loving what Dreamlike Magic made for me! :) It totally suits me. 

Be back soon... with a giveaway!

Winners all around

I can't believe how many people entered the giveaway for the Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener!  There were about 3,000 entries. Totally nuts! So, without further ado, the winner is....

Lisa L. 

Congrats, Lisa! You will be getting an email from me asking for your address shortly.

What a crazy couple of weeks it's been! I have been working hard at reorganizing my classroom. I had to move down the hall at the end of last year, so I asked my kiddos to help a bit. I gave (what I thought were) pretty good directions about where to put things... but everything still ended up all mixed up. We're talking trade books in no particular order, pencils in the bookcase, and math manipulatives under the sink. OMG! I'm not there yet, but I am doing my best. Hopefully, I'll get it done by next week so I can relax and enjoy the last couple weeks of summer. We go back August 26, and students report the 27th. Eek!

The trash pile... 

To the untrained eye, this is just a mess. To the eye of a trained education professional, this is part of the bulletin board making process... also, still just a mess. :)

Hubby and I also just returned from vacationing in Bar Harbor, ME. We hiked, mountain biked, and mountain climbed in Acadia National Park. We love it there! This is the fifth year we've gone. It's a cute little coastal town which just so happens to have a giant national park attached. You can get a beautiful hotel room with room service for breakfast, and then climb a mountain later that day. What more is there to love? The climbs were awesome. We did the Precipice climb,  which is non-technical climbing (no equipment). You use the boulders, stone stairs, rungs, and ladders to up this mountain. It was seriously scary, but a lot of fun.

 Coming up over a big edge

 Hubby and I going around a cliff corner (note how tightly I am holding onto that rail!)

No joke, we had to climb up these. Seriously. No joke. It's a long way down!

Afterward, we found this video of a couple climbing it online. It's seriously cool- check it out!

Last week, I got a package of goodies from Lana over at 4 the Love of Teaching! We participated in the Back to School Blogger Exchange hosted by Covered in Glitter and Glue and Adventures of Ms. Smith. Check out all these goodies!

I got some really awesome erasable highlights, my first felt tip pens (LOVE), binder dividers, paper & binder clips, an awesome owl notebook, and a collection of goodies from Myrtle Beach.

Beach sand!

Shark teeth (my kiddos will LOVE these. I know they've been watching Shark Week!)

Sea Shells

I totally love everything Lana sent, but I especially love all the Myrtle Beach goodies. How cool are they?! I am going to set up a little museum in my classroom and put them in there. I have always had my students bring in pictures from their vacations, but I am thinking I am going to ask them to bring in more things like this to add to the museum. How cool is that?? Thanks again, Lana!

Now, I've just got to finish my classroom and plan for the first week before my darling hubby and I head off for our second summer vacation in Miami, the Keys, and the Everglades. Woo!

I saw this on MTV and just had to take a picture... all this to get done by 8/25, the last day of summer vacation, which is also my birthday. They were playing No Sleep til Brooklyn during the commercial (I think it's for the music video awards). We've been singing "No sleep till Mandy's Birthday!" since then. Ha!

Now, a fairy tale for teachers everywhere... 

:)

I'm baaaack....

Well, sad to say I am back from London. We had a blast! I can't believe this view won't be greeting me again every day....

So, back to the grind. The final push is on- state math testing is in a week and a half, and science testing is the following week. My little cherubs have spring fever, too, so keeping them focused and on task has been a challenge!

Time to get back to planning lessons and grading- I'll make sure to be back to post more later this week!

Vacation & Planning

This week was February vacation for my school district. It always comes at the time you need it most, doesn't it? Grading is piling up, my planbook is looking empty, and my energy is dipping. Then, right smack dab in the middle of the coldest month of the year, we get a week off. Since it's so cold, there isn't much I'd like to do outdoors. We save our traveling for April vacation, when chances for snow getting in the way of our plans is minimal. So, what do I do over February break? Work, mostly. I think it's that way for many teachers. It's a week not in the classroom, but generally not a week without school work.

Speaking of planning, I have to give a shout out to the online planbook I use, planbookedu. If you are thinking about making the switch to digital, you have to give them a try. Check out how organized my plans look!

There is so much to love about it. I can attach files in my lessons, which helps keep my paperwork organized. The standards attach to the lessons- AND they are searchable! I can type in "fossils" and it will pull up the standards in my grade level that relate to fossils. Seriously. The plans are easy to move around if something changes, as it inevitably does, and you can store templates in certain blocks of the day if you frequently have the same plans. If there is a school cancellation  the system can automatically bump all your plans ahead a day for you, too. I have to admit, I don't use this feature though. I program in all my meetings and after school activities, so bumping my plans ahead a day automatically often changes things that shouldn't change. Manually moving plans forward is a breeze, though- just drag and drop.

Seriously, I can't say enough good things about this website. They do charge for "premium" service, but there is a free trial available. Even after the free trial is over, the basic features are free. Check it out!

Winter Vacation

For me, winter break is all about the 4 Rs: recharging, rejuvenating, relaxing, and resting. Getting some sleep, catching up on reading, visiting with my grandparents, and going to the gym. A girl could get used to this!