Tried it Tuesday- A delicious dinner option

Hello Friends!  I hope you had a great Tuesday.  I am happy to announce I passed 50 followers!!!!  I am not sure how that happened, but it did!  I am honored that you all chose to follow me.  I will be doing a small 50 follower giveaway in the next few days, be on the lookout!  I just love to give things away!

Today, I am teaming up with Holly for Tried it Tuesday!
Today, my idea is not a classroom idea.  I am going to the kitchen for this Tried it Tuesday.  

Kraft Fresh Take is a quick and easy dinner solution.  They are Kraft's take on shake and bake.  Each package is divided into two parts one side is cheese and the other side is bread crumbs and seasonings.  You open the package and combine the two parts.  You then add either chicken or fish or pork chops.  You coat the pieces in the bread crumb and cheese mixture and then you just bake it.  When my mom and I first tried these, she was a little skeptical and thought she could just recreate it.  After she tried it, she was sold.  The amount of flavor is perfect.  We have never made it with anything other than chicken, but Jessica, my co-teacher, made it with pork chops and she said it was fantastic.  The package calls for a pound of chicken, but we usually use a pound and a half.  They have many different flavors and we often find them on sale. They are located next to the shredded cheese.  We love them!  Just thought I would share a quick dinner solution because I know all teachers are crazy busy.  The packages also freeze very well and we often stock up when they are on sale!

Don't forget my Teachers Pay Teachers Store is on sale today and tomorrow only!  Check it out!  I added my divisibility rules task cards and enrichment task cards.  

I think that is all for tonight!  Have a great night!

Rosie

Five More Mondays! Teachers Appreciation Week!

Five more Mondays!!!  I don't know why counting down Mondays is getting me through the rest of the school year, but it is!  Happy Teacher Appreciation week fellow teachers!  Today, I was given the following gift by my school.

It was very thoughtful of the school..included was an apple stress ball and chocolate. My kids were a bit crazy today and the stress ball came in handy!

Don't forget my Teachers Pay Teachers store will be on sale tomorrow and Wednesday.  The whole store will be 20% off and if you use the code TAD13 you will get another 10% off.  I plan on cleaning out my wish list with some amazing products!

Today I tried something new to review for a math test.  I had been seeing all over different blogs the game scoot.  So I decided to try it with my kids.  It worked well.  A few things I need to work out before we do it again, but overall it went well.  I asked a few students what they thought and they said it was better than doing problems in the book.  I guess I will have to try it again!

Lastly, if you did not get my freebie from yesterday, make sure you grab it!  It is a student reference sheet on the divisibility rules. I also upload two new products on Divisibility to my TPT store!

Divisibility Reference Student Sheet

Well I think that is all!  Have a great night!
Rosie

Giveaways and freebies and sales!

Hello all!  I hope you have had a fantastic week-end!  I am sad to see it over, but I am ready to just finish.  We have seven more weeks, but only six more Mondays!  For some reason counting down Mondays has made after spring break a little better!

I want to thank everyone who has followed me.  Last week one of my May goals was to reach 50 followers by the end of May.  As of right now I have 39 followers!  I cannot believe it!  You all have been so supportive and encouraging of me in this adventure.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I had the lovely pleasure of one of my products being included in the Teachers for Boston fundraiser.  We have raised over $5000 so far, which is just amazing.  We are holding a special Teachers Appreciation giveaway, where you have a chance to win one of the bundles.  

Teacher Appreciation Giveaway

You only have until May 8th!  Go and enter, it is a great bundle!

Last week, I was asking my kids if they new that next week was Teacher Appreciation week.  Most of them didn't remember, but when reminded they started talking about gifts they wanted to get me and cards they were going to make me.  One of my boys, who often gives me trouble, said how about instead of getting you a present, I just be good in class.  I told him I would take that over any present!  I am praying that he comes through on his offer!

In honor of Teacher Appreciation, I am holding a Teachers Pay Teachers sale on May 7th and 8th.  My whole store is 20% off and with the code TAD13 you can get an additional 10% off, which makes everything 28% off.  I am always up for a great bargin!  Click Here to check out my store!

Now for a freebie...I have been working this week-end on a Divisibility Rules pack with task cards and posters.  It is almost all done, but I want to give you a preview with a freebie.  I have made a student reference sheet that students can use or keep in their math notebooks to help them remember the rules of divisibility.

Divisibility Reference Sheet

Well, I think that is all for tonight!  I hope you have a fantastic week!

Rosie

Five for Friday!

It is Friday!  I would like to shout that from the roof tops!  It was my first week back from Spring Break, but I feel like I have been back for a few weeks.  My students were a bit crazy, so that made my week feel even longer!  I am excited to once again be linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for their Five for Friday!

This week I have been apart of a few different things...I am going to recap four of those things for my Five for Friday!

1. Linky Parties!  This week I linked up with a few different linky parties.  I LOVE linky parties.  I am finding they are an excellent way to learn from others and get great ideas.  

2. Art Festival!  Our school held an art festival on Wednesday and I was one of the workshop teachers.  I loved being able to share one of my passions with students.  You can read all about it HERE.

 

3. Giveaways!  I was apart of my first giveaway this week.  Fifth in the Middle hit 400 followers!!  (I hope to be there one day!)  I was able to include one of my products in her amazing bundle!  She was nice enough to showcase all of use in her blog today.  You should check it out HERE.

4. Bible study!  This week I was able to attend my weekly bible study.  I am not always able to go because I live in New York and teach in New Jersey.  I spend the week-ends in New York and most of the week in New Jersey.  It is a crazy set up, but it is where I am right now in life and I am ok with that!  I came home at the last minute on Thursday night so I could take my mom to the airport early Friday morning on my way to work.  I was able to go to bible study and fellowship with some wonderful girls.  We are studying the Fruits of the Spirit right now and have invited older women in the church to come and speak to us.  Last night out topic was JOY.  The message was amazing and found myself thinking about it today.  One of the things that was said that night was when things are not going your way or you are down, just SMILE!  My kids were were crazy today and I found myself just smiling!  It helped!  When your class is out of control, just SMILE!

5. Graduation Celebration!  This is really something I get to be apart of tomorrow, but it went with my theme today!  Tomorrow, I get the honor of going to a graduation party for one of my brother's best friends.  This is a kid who I have seen grow up since he was a little boy.  I feel so old now that my little brother's friends are graduating from college!  Philip is going to Alaska to work and minister to the people of Alaska.  It is his life long dream to live in Alaska and in a few days he will be living it! 

John (left) and Philip when they were about eight or nine.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Five for Friday!  Have a fantastic weekend!

Rosie

Tricks of the Trade: Bulletin Board Creations

Happy Thursday!  Today I am very excited to be linking up with my fabulous teaching partner, Jessica from Joy in the Journey and my fabulous friend Becky from Compassionate Teacher for their very first linky party!  Tricks of the Trade!  Their first topic this week is Bulletin Board Creations. 

I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of changing bulletin boards.  I usually try and put ones up that can stay up all year or ones that require very little work on my part.  I do have a couple of tricks for you all!

Trick #1

When I plan my boards at the beginning of the year, I always choose backgrounds and boarders that can stay up all year.  I never change those two things.  I always use fabric because it doesn't fade and it lasts for a couple of years.  I did learn that felt is not good for bulletin board background because it is to fluffy.

Trick #2

I always have one board where I can display student work.  This board is called 'Spotlight in STAR Work'.  I like to highlight projects we have done or work that is Star worthy.  

I often have students help me take down and hang my bulletin boards.  An eager boy wanted to help me hang my bulletin board so I let him go to town.  Hence, the randomness of the placement of these projects!

Trick #3

When I am making a title for a bulletin, I always glue it on to a larger piece of paper.  I then laminate it so I can use it for years.  I like using big sheet because I am not fussing with letter and making sure I have enough letters of the same type for the title.

Trick #4

If you have a cinder block, use hot glue to stick you items on.  I am lucky enough to have two walls in my class that are cinder block.  You can not staple into cinder block, so I use hot glue instead.  I make sure everything is laminated (I love to laminate things by the way!) and then just put some hot glue on the back and stick it up.  It does not take the paint off when you take it down and the hot glue just peals right off.  It will save you from many times reapplying tape and sticking things back up.  The hot glue will stay up all year.

Trick #5

Make your bulletin boards fun!  A few years ago, I on these Funky Fact posters from I don't remember and I put them up.  They have been a crowd pleaser.  The students love reading them and often share the funky facts with visitors who come into our classroom.  

Well, I hope you were able to learn some tricks of the trade from me.  I cannot wait to learn other tricks of the trade!

Rosie

May Currently

I am posting this early this morning because I did not get to it last night.  I am linking up with Oh Boy 4th Grade for her monthly Currently party.  I am pretty excited because this is my very first one!

Listening: The house is silent because it is before 6:30 am, but the birds outside are singing away.  It makes me happy spring is here!

Loving:  The trees blooming is one of my favorite things about spring.  I love the color!  It always amazes me what an amazing artist God is.

Thinking: I could not fall asleep last night and my alarm rings very early, so I am a tired teacher today.  Hopefully, I will get a jolt of energy before I see my kids!

Wanting: It is only our first week back from spring break, but it feels like it has been years since spring break.  I am ready for the week-end to recharge my batteries.

Needing: It was one of my May goals and I have not succeed yet.  I need to get on that!

Summer Bucket List: Clean- everything!  I need to go through and get rid of stuff I am not using and reorganize my life.  I also want to revamp the way I teach math.  I think I want to go to math centers and small groups.  I would like to make a bunch of math games and activities for that.

Well, this was fun!  Hope you have a fantastic day.  I will be back tonight to link up with Joy in the Journey and Compassionate Teacher for their new linky party.  Check it out!

Have a fantastic day!

Rosie

Workshops, Workshops, Workshops!

Hello Blogging Buddies!  I hope you all have had a wonderful day today!  Our school held an art festival today for some of our students and some schools near by.  I was chosen to present a workshop to the students on one of my hobbies, quilting.  I presented on what quilting is and the process of making a quilt.  Then, I led the students in an activity based around quilting.  I wish I had forty sewing machines so they all could have made a quilt, but I did not.  Instead, we used paper, crayons, scissors and glue.  The final products turned out great and the workshop went better then I expected!  I even had a girl tell me she wanted to take up quilting!

Some of the samples I displayed for them to see.

The younger students were given quilt squares to color.  They had five different ones to choose from.

I told the students that each quilt has one mistake and this boy showed me his.  I commented on how I liked it and he said it came out this way because I made a mistake!

A couple of students colored two and taped them together to make a small wall hanging.

The older students were given a nine inch white square to use as a base.  They then had to take other colored paper and cut it to make a quilt block.

A final product.

Now on to workshop number two!  I am linking up with the wonderful and fabulous Ideas by Jivey for her Wednesday Workshop!

This weeks theme: Favorite Reading Group Book. This year I am not teaching reading so I do not have a current reading group book, but I will share one I taught in third grade.  Frindle!  I love Frindle by Andrew Clements.  It is such a fun story that has the students on the edge of their seat and their minds working on how they can be like Nick. The book takes place in a fifth grade classroom, but it is perfect for third/fourth grade students. 

Synopsis: He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it. 

The book has great chapters to do studies on characters and character traits.  We would often compare Mrs. Granger and Nick.  There is a chapter on each of them.  When I was doing my student teaching I read this book with my class and even dressed up and acted like Mrs. Granger one day.  This book is also great to read as a jumping off point for dictionary skills because Mrs. Granger loves the dictionary.

I hope you will consider reading this book with or to your class.  My fifth graders loved it when I read it earlier this year.  They now call their pens Frindles!

I hope you have a fantastic night!

Rosie