A Mental Change

I quickly learned when I got pregnant that my "normal" work mentality needed to change.  I was no longer going to be able to stay at school until 6 o'clock at night, and spend countless hours on the weekend prepping and searching for materials for my students.  I was now going to need to focus on a new life.
I am happy that I realized this early on in the pregnancy, but now that I am back to work full time I am having a hard time not getting upset with myself for my never ending To Do list at school.  As I rush out the door to pick up my son each afternoon, I get this quick rush of anxiety as I try and figure out how I am going to get it all done.  Thankfully, the moment I see my son it all disappears and my focus is on him.

How can I be sad when I see this face?
I need to know, how do all of you working mamas do it?  How do you keep up at work and still be present at home?

Author's Study: Setting Ground Rules

Writers' Workshop may seriously be one of my favorite times of the day.  Even better, my students seem to feel the same way this year.  Just as with any procedure I made sure to set expectations with my students.  We spent time as a whole class and created an anchor chart to document what must happen in order to sign up for Author's Chair.

After students spent time practicing with their peers they did one run with me. Their name was then placed on the sign up.   Once I had about 5 students on the sign up, we took a break from our workshop time to meet on the carpet for each author's reading.

I am so proud of the growth my kiddos have made since I have been back from maternity leave.  They have transitioned to meet my expectations and are kicking butt!  Check out one of the readings that knocked our socks off today

What expectations have you set with your students to make Author's Chair a seamless part of your schedule?

Supporting ELLs with GoNoodle

Building confidence with my ELLs (English Language Learners) is one of my greatest challenges each year.  I work at a school where over 38 languages are spoken, 8 in my own classroom.  With dynamics like this integrating language throughout the day is imperative.
Let me back up a moment, those of you that have been following my blog for awhile know that I have been teaching for over a decade.  My experience started in Michigan, moved to California, and has made a home in Oregon.  I have taught 5th grade, 1st grade, and also kinder through 5th grade ESL.  My experiences have opened my eyes to the incredible diversity we are faced with each day.
My time as a K-5 ESL teacher strengthened my language skills as an educator and overall human.  I have had to become confident in my learning of languages and this is a skill I am constantly working on with my ELLs and EOs.
When I first started using GoNoodle years ago, I noticed and instant confidence among my ELLs.  I started paying closer attention to it and here is what I learned...
1. Song is vital for language growth.  We all know that singing songs is a great way to practice language, but singing and dancing with your peers is one of the greatest ways to feel included.  GoNoodle is packed with songs from Pop See Ko to I Like to Move It.  Who doesn't love to get up, move a little or a lot, and sing your heart out?
2. Word Jam and Bodyspell are the greatest brain breaks for reinforcing vocabulary and phonics.  Both of these brain breaks provide direct language support.  Word Jam teaches students new vocabulary while acting out the words.  We are all about fun Total Physical Response (TPR) in my classroom.  Even better is the fact that I can use the vocabulary words provided or customize my own.  I love adding new words from our PYP units to support my ELLs.
Bodyspell is whole body phonics practice.  I have this brain break on as students enter each day.  Plus, I have added each week's phonics pattern.  This way my kiddos practice their spelling words and phonics patterns every morning.  I have seen so much spelling growth since implementing this brain break daily.

Practicing this week's phonics pattern with Bodyspell.

Practicing our long u words.

Acting out some new vocabulary with Word Jam.

3. Learning needs to be connected to real word experiences.  We all know how important it is for students to transfer their learning from the classroom to the world and vice versa.  How about using GoNoodle to help?  My champs LOVE the Run With Us channel.  We have been working on measurement in math, so I figured I would connect the two.  We learned how to Long Jump and reviewed the importance of standard units of measurement.  We then became Olympic athletes and put our GoNoodle learning and mathematical brains to work in a long jump competition.  Students estimated their jumps and recorded their actual lengths on the sheet below (click on the image to grab a copy).

inches template

meters template

I am so proud of the confidence and language growth my students have already made this year.  I can't wait to see where our brain breaks take us.  I would love to know how you support your ELLs.  Do your ELLs love a particular brain break?
Be sure to head over to GoNoodle's Instagram account.  I am taking over so you can see my champs in action!

The Power Of Smell

Don't you love when you catch a whiff of something that sets you back in time?!?  There is something about the faint baby powder smell that takes me back to playing with my dolls as a child.  As an adult, I still long for those moments that take me back to a stressless time; I guess that is why I LOVE smelly markers and pens.  There is no denying that as a teacher we love school supplies, but there is something about smelly markers and pens that makes me feel like I am 6 years old again.
We all know about the traditional Mr. Sketch markers, but have you seen the new limited edition scents?  They are awesome and I have to laugh that there is always one stinky scent.

My favorite scent is still grape.  What about you?

Life of a New Mama: Schedule, What?!?!

If there is something that I have learned as a new mom it is schedules are damn near impossible to follow.  I used to be that person that was five minutes early to everything and I hated, yes hated, when people were late.  Well, the universe came back to smack me on the back of the head, because now I am always late.  It is so difficult to get my sleep-deprived-self out the door, let alone my son, too.
Last week, while trying to get out the door to drop the dog off at the vet, my son decided to have a huge blow out (sorry, TMI).  It was just another one of those moments that I had to stop slowdown and remember whether I am 5 minutes early or ten minutes late it is fine.  Right?  I guess I just need to convince the rest of the world that this is the case.

I hope you are having a great week!

Do you have any advice for how to get out the door, on time, once I go back in the classroom?

Monday Meals: A Whole Chicken in a Crockpot; Oh My!

If you haven't figured it out yet, I love my crockpot.  Seriously, I have no idea what I ever did without it.  Now, with a four month old it is a saving grace for actually having a home cooked meal.  This past week, I decided to get the biggest bang for my buck.  I cooked a whole chicken and then turned around and made bone broth/chicken stock.  My crockpot ran for a day and a half, but it was so worth it.

1 medium to large onion

4-5 pound hen; rinsed and giblets removed

salt

pepper

smoked or sweet paprika

Roughly slice the onion and place it in the bottom of the crockpot.  Place the chicken on top of the onion.   Make sure you have removed the "stuff" from the inside and rinsed the entire bird.  Generously coat with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Cook on LOW for 5 hours.  Be sure to use a meat thermometer to determine if the bird it cooked since different sizes could require another half hour to hour.

There is no liquid necessary because plenty will be produced while the chicken is cooking.

What are you making this week?

Let me know if you are interested in how to use the bones and juices to make bone broth.  Have a great week!

Teal Pumpkin Project

Have you heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project?  I remember seeing information about it last year, but I didn't think anything of it.  What changed?  My son changed this.  Although he is only four months old, he is a child that is able to enjoy food rich holidays because of projects like this.
Over time, more and more food allergies and sensitives have come to light.  This isn't new information, it is our reality.  We have altered the natural makeup of so many food with preservatives, coloring, sugar, and other chemicals causing many of our bodies to revolt.  I know that this has become a heated topic, but it is true.

As a mom and a teacher, I want to see every child happy and able to enjoy life.  This year, we are handing out LED finger lights in hopes of making a few more Trick or Treaters smile.

Are your participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project?

Happy Halloween!!

The Sight Word Conversation

It seems that during conferences every year, I have the same conversation with parents.  "Practicing sight words is a very important skill that I need you to be doing every day.  Remember that these are the words that are difficult or unable to be sounded out, knowing them by sight is instrumental to your child's reading ability.  Making this practice engaging will be necessary." Insert head nod from parent/s.  This is when I start listing ways to make this "practice engaging."
Let's back up for a second, why are sight words so important?  Well, they are the most frequently seen words in text and do not follow traditional spelling patterns.  When words do not follow the "sound it out method" you need to be able to recognize them quickly based on sight memory.  When sight words are mastered it allows for increased fluency of reading.  An increase in fluency does not automatically mean that comprehension becomes stronger, but it does support it.
So back to ways to make sight word mastery engaging...

• pick a word and search for it together at the grocery store or while driving in the car
• play Oh No! or Race to the Finish or a huge favorite Bust the Burglar 
• add sight words to games like Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, or Sorry
• when you land on a square read the word
• good old fashion flash cards work for some kiddos
• use magnetic letters on the fridge to practice words or have fun with alphabet cereal or pasta

My students end up making great sight word growth with the practice they receive at home and the learning that takes place in the classroom.

What do your kiddos do to learn their sight words?

Monday Meals: The Easiest Beef Stew Around

As the weather starts to cool down and the trees change my Michigan Blues set in big time.  I was born and raised in The Mitten and still miss it all the time.  This time of year is the hardest!  One thing that seems to cheer me up is a yummy bowl of beef stew.  There is something about the hardy warmth that brings me to the kitchen table I ate at as a child.

Easy Beef Stew

1-2 lbs stew meat

5 carrots

4 rustic potatoes (about 2 lbs of your choice)

 1 carton of beef broth (about 4 cups)

1 bay leaf

3 stalks of celery (optional)

Add stew meat to the crockpot and season with salt and pepper.  Chop veggies and add them on top of the meat.  Pour in the beef broth.  Give everything a quick stir and add the bay leaf.  Cook for 6 hours on low.  About 30 minutes before it is done cooking, remove 2 ladles of broth into a bowl.  Add  2-3 tablespoons of flour (I use Bob's RedMill GF 1-to-1) to the bowl and whisk to make a slurry.  Add this back to the crockpot and once again give everything a quick stir. You can garnish with parsley if you want.

Super simple and ridiculously yummy!

What is your favorite fall recipe?

Spreading the LOVE

Even on maternity leave, I am loving GoNoodle!  I may not be able to get my wiggles out with my students right now, but I can still dance my stress out.  I just found out that I have been chosen to be a GoNoodle Ambassador.  I am so honored and excited to be a part of this team.

Expect to see some more GoNoodle love throughout the coming year!

Happy Noodling!!