I'm linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching for her Five for Friday posts - even though everyone is probably in Vegas for TPT Vegas 2015 I'm over here pretending I'm not missing out.
The husband and I have been working on making our outdoor space more "friendly" and with the sunshine and weather being pretty amazing here in South Dakota, I have been feeling guilty for not being outside and enjoying it more. Besides being outside for my morning walk/run I don't really go outside and just ENJOY because we haven't had a place to do it. Well, that now is put aside. We bought some cheap plastic lawn chairs from a local store and it has been my go to relax place.
The last couple mornings it has been beautiful to just sit outside and read in the morning - it hasn't been too hot and I've even needed a blanket in the shade because I got a little bit chilly. The afternoons have been nice to just sit outside as well and the husky has loved it because we just tie her up to the little stake we have out side and she can just sit and watch people, or sometimes I'll be nice and play with her :) and our neighbors just love to see her and so she's gotten lots of attention being outside. I've been working on my tan a little bit in the afternoons and letting the sun get on my skin while doing some work - love summertime sitting.
If I'm being honest, I have never been much of a "runner" but this summer in our semi cool weather I have been more into giving it a try these last few days. And, of course when new Nike shoes are involved I always say they'll motivate me. So, last night the husband and I were at the mall looking for some new shoes for him [my husband has a slight addiction to shoes] and we ended up finding me a new pair. They are bright and pink and awesome and I am loving how comfy they are. I've only had them for a day but they were super comfortable to walk/run in and I wore them most of the day just around town. They're the Nike Free Flyknit and if your in the market for a new pair of shoes for running [or just wearing around town because they're so darn cute] check these out ASAP.
My desktop was becoming a cluster zone for everything summer related, TPT related, and future classroom so I had to do something about it. I mad my own personal organizer for my desktop and feel so much better about how it looks.
Now I feel like everything has a home and it doesn't look like a big ol' mess.
In my classroom I use a self assessment tool for my kiddos called "Fist to Five" where when we are learning a new topic I'll often ask them how they are feeling on a "Fist to Five" basis. They'll use their hands to tell me what they're feeling and it really helps me figure out where they are at and it's a great way to teach them to be reflective. I've been working on it for a while but decided I needed to finish it up and get it posted in my TPT Store for others to check out if they wanted. The best part if making things for your classroom that you are sure will be useful to other teachers as well. Go check it out if your interested in something that involves self assessment on an easy scale and paper free!
Last year I used Shutterfly for a classroom website and it was pretty basic. I would just upload photos, or files whenever and didn't really care about the layout but HATED the colors that were so basic and generic and didn't fit my style as a teacher very well period. That being said, I heard of a few people using Edublogs and pairing everything through Google Drive but really getting to personalize their website. Well, I got a site, started playing around and realized I still really didn't like that either. I was telling my husband how frustrated I was and when he looked at it he goes "it's just a wordpress site, you could probably just create you own." Duh Camie. Your husband is a web designer. So off he went to Wordpress and got me my own domain name and a website all set up - mrsvanderbush.com. He helped me with the layout a little bit but I did most of the creating and designing and just asked him questions along the way. Can I just say I am in love. It fits my style, has everything I want on it, is easy for parents to remember instead of the long shutterfly one, and I can easily edit everything on the site. AND having my own domain name only cost me $12.00 a YEAR. I haven't been more excited for my classroom website. It now has a blog where parents can learn about and see the learning we are doing, a place for parents to look at our calendar easily, and so many other things. I'd love to help anyone get set up with one if they need help or designing anything for them!
Thanks for stopping by! Until next time - I'm off to enjoy that sunshine!
I was guessing that you teach in Sioux Falls once I saw that you were starting school later this year. I think yours is the first blog I have read that is by a South Dakota blogger. I don't blog-I just read them. I teach in a small rural PreK-12 school west of Sioux Falls. Next year will be my 33rd year. Most of my years have been spent in first grade. However, next year will be my 3rd year doing reading interventions for grades K-6. Have a great year!
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